Arranged marriage vs love marriage: It is said that marriages are made in heaven. In India, marriages are made in hotels, communities halls and farm houses. I am saying all this because majority of marriages in India are still arranged marriages and these are arranged by parents of both sides. Surprisingly, arranged marriages are more successful and happier than love marriages. In such marriages consents of the both girl and boy are sought before finalizing these marriages. However, a decade back it was customary not to seek the consent of either boy or girl going to marry. Logic for success in such marriages is mainly considered to be matching criterias like age, education, family background etc. In love marriages such considerations are given less weightage or even ignored. Love marriages are considered successful in the begining but later on majority of such marriages results in breaking of relationship.

Age: Results of a study on marriage and divorce were published few days back. Study conducted by researchers at Bath University found that a woman, with superior education, marrying a man five or more years older made them a happy couple. This conclusion holds good for people belonging to both developed and developing countries. This is true in all senses and applicable to Indian couples also. However, difference between man and woman should not be more than 8-10 years otherwise it would lead to divorce or separation. Chances of separations are more if a woman id older than the man. Study also revealed that such couples are three times or more as likely to divorce then they were the same age group. Hence, couples belonging to same age group have more chances to lead a happy and stable life.

Education: Study suggested that there were more chances of stable married life if woman was more educated than man. In Indian conditions, education of woman did not matter few years back but now things are changing. There is a change in thinking of people. Earlier,male dominated society did not favor the idea of woman doing a job outside her home. However, it is getting difficult day by day to provide good facility and education to children if man is the only earning member of the house. Hence, an educated male would prefer to have an educated wife. If both husband and wife belong to same field of education, it make them a perfect couple.

Family background: If both male and female are from similar background (financially and socially), there are more chances of a stable and happeir married life compared to couple belonging to dissimilar background. If husband belongs to a greedy family then wife belonging to financially sound family had more chances of a comfortable life at in-laws house. If she belongs to a poor family, she shall always be teased for her family background. However, this all depends on the understanding of husband. If he is a practical man and has longsightedness, he can manage the things in future.

Physical attributes: Physical attributes of a couple plays great role in married life. If both male and female are at par with each other, more stable and happier life can be expected compared to husband and wife differing greatly in appearance, height, and color etc. If pair match well then marriage may be expected to be successful and chances of separation will be less. If male or female is more beautiful than the counterpart, this will always be an issue. However, it all depends on the understanding between two.

Other factors: Married life is likely to be happeir if both are bachelors and first timers or both are divorcee. If only one among two has been a divorcee, than chances of survival of relationship becomes dim.