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

Valentine’s Day: Veteran Tamil matchmaker ‘Kalyanamalai’ Mohan on changing wedding trends and love

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.