Marriage of attraction is a gamble anyway, so you might as well marry into a family that is similar to your own, and make that much less of an adjustment. But the ’love marriage’, as it is called, is equally common in India now. But it would be interesting to do a comparison of what would work better. Marriage is hard work, and it is a gamble.

Nair frames marriage less as a romantic destiny than as a practical, risk-laden undertaking shaped by social structures. By calling “marriage of attraction” a gamble, she suggests that passion alone is an unreliable foundation; compatibility with a partner’s family and cultural milieu can reduce friction because marriage often joins households and expectations, not just individuals. Her mention of “love marriage” becoming common in India highlights a society in transition, where individual choice increasingly coexists with (or challenges) arranged-match logics. The quote’s final insistence—“Marriage is hard work, and it is a gamble”—underscores that no system guarantees success; effort, negotiation, and adaptation remain central regardless of how the match begins.