India perfected matrimony. Why hasn’t it figured out faith-based dating?

Aarav’s Hinge profile is a masterclass in plausible deniability.

Nowhere does the 29-year-old Bengaluru -based IT professional mention that he’s a Tamil Brahmin. There’s no reference to whether he’s an Iyer or an Iyengar, no mention of horoscopes, and certainly no hint that his mother has already begun mentally auditioning potential daughters-in-law. Instead, he leaves behind the sort of clues only the right people are meant to notice: a photograph from Chennai’s Margazhi music season, another with a steel tumbler of filter coffee, and a prompt passionately insisting that Mylapore has the city’s best sambar.

His parents have accepted that he will probably meet someone on his own. They would prefer that someone belonged to the same community. He doesn’t entirely disagree. “Shared traditions matter,” he says. “I just don’t want to discuss horoscopes before I’ve figured out whether I even enjoy spending time with someone.”