Omprakash Hassanandani is the Business Head of Shaadi.com centre, a Shaadi.com Enterprise. Shaadi.com centre is the first national network of one-stop matchmaking centers (retail outlets) across the nation, with 155 centers in 87 cities spread across India. Chennaionline's H Ramakrishnan interacted with Omprakash, while he was in Chennai recently.

Rama: You were with NIIT,Arvind Mills and IT Kids before you joined People Group. Among these which one do you cherish most?

O. H: All my work experiences have been great. But Shaadi.com Centre has been the closest to my heart. Because this is an area which helps me serve society in the real sense. It helps me to find partners for people, to help them evolve, to organise their lives. Marriage is on of the important Ashrams of life, as presented by the Vedas. There are four key stages of life that one should go through before emancipation. Brahmacharya, Grihasthaasrama, Vaanaprastha and Sanyasa. I am happy I am able to help people enter the Grihasthasrama.

Rama: How did you succeed in converting Shaadi.com centres into an organised business?



O H: You see, I joined this group about five and a half years back. Shaadi.com was already very active at that time. It was however limited only to Internet. I found that only those having the knowledge of and access to Internet were able to find their life partners through our services. We wanted to extend this benefit to non Internet users as well. So we came up with this model of Shaadi.com Centre, which is basically a retail chain of matrimonial services, where a parent who is a non-Internet user can also can walk in and find a partner for his son or daughter. They need tto just fill up a simple bio-data form. Our relationship advisers will help them find a suitable match.

Rama: It is a marriage between on line and off line.

OH: Yes, absolutely.

Rama: You have experience in IT,Training, Apparels, Education and now Matrimony. How did you develop this ability to identify business opportunities?

O H: I have interest in the specialisation in the area of retail distribution and franchising. My experience is ion these areas. When I joined Shaadi.com, I realised that this business needed a distribution model that reached beyond the Internet. That is the common thread beneath all the experience that I have.

Rama: How did you conceive of the Chai meetings? And, how do they work?

O H: Earlier we used to do something called Swayamvar, where the prospective brides and grooms belonging to a particular mother tongue would get together. For example about five hundred brides and grooms of the Tamil community would get together in one location. And, we were having such get togethers and they were very successful. As we progressed, we realised that for every individual, all the rest of the prospects were not matching. So we needed to bring in more relevance. We started arranging smaller such meets where every individual is contextual or relevant to the other one. That is how we started organising these Chai meetings. We will have only about twenty prospects in such meets and one will be very relevant to the other. So, personal interaction will be possible. Choice is available without all the chaos that goes with pomp ansd show.

Rama: Where do you have these Chai meetings?

O H: Mainly at our Centres or at times at small marriage halls. They work very well.

Rama: Why do you think Chennai is an important market for you?

O H: Well, Chennai is one of the top four cities of our nation. It is a large metro. Tamils are a very vital community and therefore it is an important market for us.

Rama: How do your trained advisors help parents in hunting for the finest of matches?

O H: We have a strong training programme in place which helps our relationship advisors understand the parents' requirements. Based on their requirements, they shortlist and help find the most suitable matches. Our advisors connect with the parents to understand what their requirements are. After this they will go to our large database, shortlist the most suitable matches, sit with the parents once again and take them through every aspect of the matches.

Rama: You had earned your Commercial Pilot License (CPL) at one of the best flying schools in the United States - Pegasus Flight School, Texas. Why didn't you take flying as your career?

O H: Well, I come from a conservative family. My grand-parents were a little concerned with me getting into that career. I agreed to choose a career other than that. Anyway I am currently a member at The Bombay Flying Club and continue to fly as a hobby, as and when time permits.

Rama: Thank you very much

O H: It's my pleasure.