When something as traditional as marriage is tied to technology, technology has to shed its GenX shell and reach out to Gen-Ex, i.e., the parents. That is exactly what has happened to match-making via the Net.

After matching over five lakh people, India?s premier matrimonial service providing portal, shaadi.com, is now coming to the neighbourhood. The first centre in Calcutta is opening its doors on Keyatala Road on Wednesday.

?In India, parents take the initiative for marriage. Since the 50-plus group is not connected to the Net, they are missing our services. Shaadi Point is an off-line space that will cater to non-Net users,? says Omprakash Hassanandani, business head of Shaadi Point, from Mumbai.

At a Shaadi Point, a person is guided by an adviser to create a bio-data of the candidate. The bio-data is added to the central pool of prospects and he/she is helped to search for a suitable match on the computer ? all that the parent is incapable of doing on his/her own.

The search can run on 15 parameters, like age, height, religion, mother tongue, education, city etc. A printout of the shortlisted bio-data along with the contact details is handed over to help them contact the parents of the prospect.

?Marriage contact on the Net is becoming popular. Even then, 30 per cent of the biodata posted on shaadi.com is done by relatives.?

Another factor is kept in mind while setting up the Shaadi Point. ?Parents like to keep the search discreet. So, the spot has to be accessible but not highly visible,? he says.

Multiple Shaadi Points have been set up in metros like Mumbai and Delhi, as well as towns like Nasik, Pune, Aurangabad and Surat. While the Keyatala centre will be the first in eastern India, a rapid expansion is on the cards. ?In the next 30 days, we will have three more centres ? in Ballygunge and Howrah, and on Shakespeare Sarani.? Asansol, Hooghly, Midnapore, Burdwan and 24-Parganas are also on the radar.

There is no city-district divide when it comes to parents flocking at the off-line centres. ?The penetration is happening both geographically and psychologically.?

The company will also offer wedding packages. ?We are creating databases in each city for wedding halls, decorators, caterers, priests, designers etc. People are willing to pay a bit more for hassle-free wedding arrangements.?