The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan In Color
Monday, August 31, 2020 — 7

Heard the ruckus for the new 

Netflix reality TV show “Indian 
Matchmaking,” but not sure if 
you want to watch it? Don’t fret 
the details, I won’t spoil any-
thing, but I’ll help you navigate 
whether or not this is a show for 
you. 

If you come from a Desi fam-

ily like me, you grew up hearing 
about how the numerous rela-
tionships in your family were 
based upon an arranged mar-
riage. While it is not as com-
monly practiced today, arranged 
marriages are super common 
within Southeast Asian house-

holds, as well as most Central 
Asian countries and the Middle 
East. That’s why when I saw the 
commotion around Netflix hav-
ing a show focused on the South 
Asian community, I couldn’t wait 
to see this rishta aunty work her 
magic in what I understood as a 
nuanced modern take. While the 
show is based between both India 
and the United States, the rela-
tionships are inherently driven 
by regressive ideals of colorism, 
classism and gender stereotypes. 

Sima Aunty, the rishta queen 

of Mumbai, pulls biodata to 
form the most compatible pairs, 
in which contains information 
about the single men and women 
seeking to get paired based on 

age, height, education, career and 
more. Needless to say, the show is 
extremely toxic but insightful on 
a harsh reality for many within 
Desi culture. 

A fun game Sima Aunty sub-

consciously plays is find-the-
backhanded-compliment. If the 
man or woman does not fit the 
idealistic norm of being rich, fair, 
petite or beautiful enough, don’t 
worry! This rishta aunty might 
say their personality makes up 
for what’s lacking. And if the lad 
or laddie has the “better rated” 
for looks, education and stabil-
ity, they’ll get the upper hand in 
Sima Aunty finding them more 
suitable matches. If you’re the 
bottom end of the pair — and to 

make her job easier — she’ll rec-
ommend how you’ll have to com-
promise on personal desires in a 
future spouse in order to make 
the marriage work. 

Depending on the focus, be it 

the man or woman, the narra-
tive changes but the superficial-
ity is maintained. For all the girl 
bosses — independent and run-
ning their lives — Aunty suggests 
it will be harder to match them 
because they have a mind of their 
own and the financial mobility 
to do so, inconveniencing Sima’s 
search. Similarly, if a client was 
previously divorced or is not the 
ideal body weight, you’ve gotta 
give Sima more time because 
you’re burdening her with under-

sible characteristics. 

Meanwhile, the men on the 

show are in an entirely other 
ballgame. While you get the 
occasional sweet laddu padhus 
who will charm the audience 
with their wholesome charisma, 
Sima prefers they have stable 
careers and six-figure jobs. The 
best part about being a male on 
her show is the richer you are 
the more choices you get. These 
men get hundreds of biodatas to 
choose from because objectify-
ing women is so much fun! And 
who’s to blame them? They, or 
rather the parents, have to make 
sure their son’s wife is beauti-
ful and fair enough for their off-
spring because we all know it’s 

the male that carries the brain in 
the household — so that is already 
guaranteed. 

Overall, if you’re looking for 

a show to make you feel better 
about yourself, this is the show 
for you! Let this show bring out 
your own insecurities. The best 
part is if you have immigrant 
families 
from 
similar 
back-

grounds, they can reminisce, 
reliving extreme trauma from 
their own past, but this time with 
the whole family! As a female 
South-Asian American, I feel like 
this show is a mockery of cultural 
Desi traditions and households, 
only to be the laughing stock of 
the Western world. But hey, by all 
means Netflix—at least it sells! 

 IZZA AHMED-GHANI

MiC Staff Writer

A satiric review of Netflix’s ‘Indian Matchmaking’

Disclaimer: *names have been 

abbreviated in order to ensure the 
privacy of the identities involved

In October 2019, the people of 

Lebanon began to fill the streets 
chanting “kellon yaani kellon,” 
which translates to “all of them 
means all of them.” All of them, 
referring to the corrupt sectarian 
government officials who have pri-
oritized their own greed over pro-
viding the Lebanese people with 
fundamental aid and services for 
years, leaving Lebanon to be the 
third most indebted country in the 
world. Lebanon has a debt to GDP 
ratio of 152 percent, and has over 
75 percent of its population living 
below the poverty line. The country 
is without a stable economy, stable 

electricity, waste management ser-
vices and food security for no rea-
son other than the government’s 
inherent greed. When the Lebanese 
people chant, “kellon yaani kellon,” 
it is intended to leave no question 
that all politicians, whether the 
president or a cabinet member, are 
the problem. As long as the current 
ideologies 
perpetuated 
through 

political power persist, Lebanon 
will be stuck in an eternal cycle of 
corruption. 

Years of a broken economic sys-

tem, characterized by corruption 
and heavy reliance on imports, the 
pegging of the Lebanese currency to 
the US dollar and a diaspora which 
endlessly pumps cash into a fragile 
banking system, has inevitably led 
to the toppling of Lebanon’s econo-
my. In recent months, the Lebanese 
currency has crashed and prices 
have skyrocketed, creating a disap-

pearing middle class and further 
distress on the poor. Over 49 per-
cent of Lebanon’s population (6.8 
million) are food insecure, and with 
the price of grocery staples dou-
bling, or even tripling, low income 
people are destitute. Some parents 
have to decide if they are going to 
buy formula or diapers — as there is 
no way for them to afford both. 

HK*, who has lived in Lebanon 

throughout her whole life, includ-
ing the civil war, told The Daily the 

economic collapse has left Lebanon 
in the worst state she has ever seen. 

“During the civil war, we were 

mostly scared of bombings,” HK 
said. “We had hope that the war 
would end. Now, we are scared of 
tomorrow and we cannot see hope.” 

Lack of hope, a shared sentiment 

among the Lebanese, is reasonable, 
given the little to no aid the govern-
ment is providing for the people. 
The government has failed to reim-
burse hospitals, making it impos-

sible to pay staff and buy medical 
supplies, exacerbating the effects of 
COVID-19. 

“COVID-19 is a problem, like it 

is everywhere in the world, but it 
is not our main problem,” HK said. 
“The economy is our biggest prob-
lem.” 

Videos have surfaced of pregnant 

women eating from dumpsters and 
mothers on the streets offering to 
sell their organs to feed their chil-
dren. Among those belonging to 
the most vulnerable communities 
are Syrian refugees— 30 percent of 
Lebanon’s population. Over 87 per-
cent of the refugees lack food, 73 
percent lack a permanent home and 
each one of them are at devastating 
odds against Lebanon’s economic 
crisis and COVID-19. 

“With all the suffering going 

on, the government is not doing 
anything,” HK said. “We need a 
government that cares about their 
people — both the poor and the rich 
people.”

Although the economic crisis 

hits the poor the hardest, those with 
economic stability are still affected. 
Banks are limiting withdrawals and 
those who have bank accounts in 
dollars are getting paid in liras — 
which are worth nothing. 

“I went to the supermarket and 

spent around half a million liras. 
That bought me hardly anything, 
basically nothing,” HK said. 

Like most of Lebanon’s public 

services, electricity is poorly provid-
ed through a government-owned 
company. Electricite du Liban, the 
state power company, cannot afford 
to purchase enough fuel to provide 
twenty-four-hour electricity for 
the Lebanese people but can easily 
afford to put millions of dollars into 
the pockets of government leaders 
and their colleagues. When the pro-
testors say kellon yaani kellon, they 
are talking about the government 
leaders who fail to keep the lights 
on, the garbage off the streets and 
the Lebanese children fed and in 
school. Kellon yaani kellon until the 
lights are always on. 

 MAYA KADOUH

MiC Staff Writer

Kellon Yaani Kellon

 Illustration by Hibah Chughtai

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