{"id":10871,"date":"2011-10-24T04:10:53","date_gmt":"2011-10-24T04:10:53","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-10-24T04:10:53","modified_gmt":"2011-10-24T04:10:53","slug":"-Happily-Unmarried-in-India-a-Tough-Sell-","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=10871","title":{"rendered":"‘Happily Unmarried\u2019 in India: a Tough Sell?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the marriage season approaches and brides and grooms get ready to tie the knot, we paid a visit to a gadget and design shop with a most non-Indian name: \u201cHappily Unmarried.\u201d The \u2018Daaru Cushion.\u2019Founders Rajat Tuli and Rahul Anand started their company as a one-stop shop for unmarried people looking to settle in the city on their own. \u201cWhen we were single, nothing was working for us,\u201d says Mr. Anand, 37, explaining why they came up with the idea for Happily Unmarried. He said they found it difficult to find accommodation and to get hold of the kind of furniture they wanted for their homes. Moved by their own plight, the duo decided to provide services like \u201crented accommodation, mattresses, curtains and whatever the young people needed to set up their homes,\u201d says Mr. Anand. And that\u2019s how Happily Unmarried was born in 2003.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But it didn\u2019t quite work out the way they initially planned it. \u201cThis sector was completely unorganized and we were too small to change it. Plus, we didn\u2019t have enough resources,\u201d says Mr. Anand. They decided to drop their services and to focus on products instead. The idea was to come up with products suitable for single people \u2013 a market they felt in India was untapped. \u201cNobody was targeting this segment which is young, emerging and single,\u201d says Mr. Tuli, who is now 36. \u201cThere was nothing for unmarried people. Everything from movies to holidays was customized for the needs of families or children,\u201d adds Mr. Anand, who is still unmarried. Their product line includes gimmicky, humorous gadgets that clearly target the young and free. They include their \u201cDaaru Cushion,\u201d or alcohol cushion, which features an A to Z for the drinking man (or woman) spanning from B for beer, to V for vodka to S for soda. Their range also features a CD rack shaped like a tiffin box.<\/p>\n

Mr. Tuli, feels that the idea of being unmarried sells better than marriage: \u201cOf course, you won\u2019t find a shirt which says \u2018happily married\u2019 but you will find one which says \u2018happily unmarried.\u2019\u201d He finds that greater economic independence means that more youngsters are choosing to live without partners. \u201cThe idea of marriage is becoming more and more irrelevant,\u201d he notes. Although Mr. Tuli himself married two years ago, he strongly believes that young people who can afford it, should aim to enjoy at least five years of independence before getting married. But the founders insist that while Happily Unmarried originally targeted unmarried people, its products are for everyone. Mr. Anand estimates that around 50 % of their customers are actually married. \u201cThe concept of being \u201chappily unmarried\u201d appeals more generally to people who have a state of mind which is \u201cfun, carefree, with no responsibilities,\u201d says Mr. Tuli. Since they first opened, Happily Unmarried has expanded. Currently, they own three stores in Delhi and one in Shillong, while their products are being sold in 17 cities \u2013 an indication that singledom may no longer be so uncool in India.<\/strong><\/p>\n

SOURCE<\/a>
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