Tamil matrimony in Colombo

Colombo's Tamil families, many of them in Wellawatte, Dehiwala and Kotahena, often trace their roots to Jaffna, Batticaloa, Trincomalee or the hill country. Their sons and daughters study and work in the city, and proposals arrive from relatives in the North and East as well as from families abroad.

City life, family roots

For many Colombo families, the home town still matters when a match is discussed. Elders will ask where a family comes from, which temple they belong to and who their relatives are. The couple themselves usually care just as much about education, work and whether they will get on. A good profile answers both: it gives the family background elders look for, and the education, profession and interests the couple care about.

Busy professionals, limited time

Many Tamil men and women in Colombo work long hours as doctors, engineers, accountants and teachers, or in IT and banking. Filtering by education and profession, and seeing a full horoscope match before any calls are made, lets busy families spend their time on proposals that are genuinely suitable rather than on every enquiry that arrives.

The horoscope, before the first visit

Traditionally, families exchange horoscopes and take both charts to an astrologer before a first visit. That is still worth doing for the final decision. But checking the 10 Porutham, Sevvai Dosham and the strength of each chart up front means you only take forward the proposals that already look right, instead of waiting days for each answer.

Proposals from abroad

Colombo families often receive proposals from Canada, the UK, Australia and Europe. These can be excellent matches, but they deserve the same care as a local proposal. Before families meet, it helps to know:

• that the profile has been checked by a real person, not created by anyone with an email address;
• where the couple would live after marriage, and what that means for the bride's or groom's career;
• that both families have looked at the same horoscope match.

Our guides on Toronto and Canada and London and the UK describe how families abroad approach the search.

Privacy in the city

Colombo's Tamil community is large but connected, and word travels quickly. Keeping photos and contact details hidden until both families accept a connection means a son or daughter can be considered for marriage without their details circulating in messaging groups.