Drawing more than 300 students to Lutkin Hall, the South Asian Students Alliance hosted Indian matchmaker Sima Taparia as its fall keynote speaker Friday evening.
Taparia, popularly referred to as “Sima Aunty,” is the driving force of the show “Indian Matchmaking” on Netflix. She is a Mumbai-based matchmaker who specializes in finding compatible marriage partners for candidates on the basis of their submitted preferences.
The event began with a short introduction of Sima Aunty by Weinberg sophomores Anitej Siluveru and Serena Mehta, SASA’s co-directors of social affairs.
Taparia then entered while dancing and singing along to her hit song “Shadi ki Tayaree hai,” accompanied by SASA’s freshmen representatives and welcomed with cheers and loud hoots from the crowd.
“It is my dream come true to be at Northwestern,” Taparia said. “It is a proud moment for me and for India.”
Taparia took the audience through her life story and said her dream was always to earn love and respect from the world. She explained that she first started matchmaking in 2005 when she found a match for her younger sister.
Taparia also talked about her relationship with her husband Anup Taparia, whom she married when she was 19 years old, sharing her philosophy that “behind every successful woman is a progressive husband.”
Indian Matchmaking, a show that launched in 2020, quickly gained popularity not just in India but globally as well. The show’s third season premiered in April and, as Taparia said, it made her “a celebrity overnight.”
Throughout the talk, Taparia praised the values that have helped her succeed in her work.
“I’m very proud of my Indian values,” she said. Calling the show “one of its kind,” she spoke about how it has impacted the younger generations. “Youngsters are calling and telling me that now they all want to do arranged marriage.”
Taparia also discussed the many accolades she’s received for the show, including two total Emmy nominations.
Medill freshman Lavanya Subramanian, who helped organize the event and got to spend time with Taparia, said she was excited to meet her.
“She’s really sweet,” Subramanian said. “In some senses, she’s the same as when she’s on TV, but she’s much more chill and down-to-earth than I thought.”
Taparia has been traveling across the United States this year, speaking at several universities including Stanford and Cornell.
SESP junior Sai Thirunagari said he attended the event because he’s a fan of “Indian Matchmaking.”
“I thought (the event) was very unexpected but very entertaining,” he said. “We really saw how theatrical and charismatic Sima Aunty is.”
Towards the end of the talk, Taparia answered a few questions from audience members. One question pertained to whether plans for season four are in the works.
“When Netflix will say yes, we will plan that also,” Taparia said.
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