Who is ‘Kalyanamalai’ Mohan? Tamil Nadu’s OG matchmaker on playing cupid for over 25 years

As TV Mohan was heading towards the transit gate at Doha International Airport recently, a couple stopped him. A baby in her arms and a smile on her face, the young mother bent down to seek Mohan’s blessings.

“Do you remember us?” she asked, gesturing towards her husband. “We got married because of you. And this… is our baby.”

Mohan smiled, visibly moved. Encounters like this are almost routine for him — at airports, cultural events and wedding halls.

Long before Sima Aunty and today’s algorithm-driven matchmakers entered popular culture, there was ‘Kalyanamalai’ Mohan. The original Tamil matchmaker, his rise in the matrimonial space coincided with the spread of television. Since 2000, his appearances on Kalyanamalai, Sun TV’s long-running matchmaking show, have brought him widespread recognition. Over more than 1,200 episodes, Mohan has conversed with hopeful alliance seekers, positioning himself as a bridge between prospective brides and grooms. Today, after 26 years in the field, Kalyanamalai has facilitated over 6.5 lakh weddings.

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Hailing from Thiruvarur district, Mohan vividly recalls the matrimonial customs of the 1980s. “I remember a time when many homes in villages across Tamil Nadu hosted the customary ponnu paakara ritual, where the groom’s family would visit a prospective bride’s home. Afterwards, they would say, ‘Kadidaasu podarom’ (we will write to you with our decision). If it arrived as a postcard, the postman would often deliver it having already read the contents,” Mohan recalls, wryly.

Those were the years when decisions were largely driven by parents and relatives. “Gradually, as education and employment opportunities opened up for both men and women, families began to realise that relatives were no longer central to the decision-making process,” he says. It was around this shift that the idea of Kalyanamalai took shape. “The matrimonial section of The Hindu was hugely popular — sometimes running over four pages. Every Sunday, parents would buy a copy and pore over the listings.”

What if that same exercise could unfold on television, he wondered. That question eventually gave birth to Kalyanamalai as a concept.

‘Kalyanamalai’ Mohan, matchmaker
| Photo Credit:
Johan Sathyadas

Knot happening

Despite spending over 25 years in the field and witnessing sweeping technological change, Kalyanamalai and Mohan have endured. So what, according to him, is the secret to this longevity? “Even as we adapt to changing attitudes towards marriage, we take pride in finding the right person for each search. Some platforms bombard people with multiple profiles, but we first understand the requirement, without judgement, and then suggest a few names. In some cases, we have recommended just one person, and a marriage has followed,” he says.

Mohan believes that an excess of choice has become a major obstacle in today’s matchmaking process. For him, occasions such as Valentine’s Day are less about grand gestures and more about decisions that last a lifetime. “Young people today swipe through profiles as though they are shopping for saris or vegetables. Marriage cannot be decided this way; it concerns the rest of your life. An alliance seeker must also accept that not every expectation will be met. I believe a few meetings are enough to make a decision — beyond that, people begin focussing on what they don’t want rather than what they hope for.”

Now 74, Mohan observes a marked shift in attitudes towards marriage. “Parents today are often hesitant to even raise the subject with their children. Many ask me, ‘How do I approach my son or daughter about this?’ That parents feel this anxiety is worrying. All they want, ultimately, is for their children to live peaceful lives.”

He recalls discussing this at length with the late former President APJ Abdul Kalam, a conversation he counts among the most meaningful of his life. “Do you know what he told me?” Mohan says. “He said we are not merely matching a boy and a girl, but setting future generations in motion for every family. Those words still ring in my ears.”