A chance to find your soulmate in 8 minutes

The concept is quite simple. Singles who are interested in the event are given a table with a member of the opposite sex – to interact with them for exactly eight minutes – after which they move to the next table and meet a different person.

At the end of a couple of hours, all the singles have met each other (age-appropriate measures are in place, of course) after which every person is given a scorecard to indicate the people they would like to meet again. If there is a mutual match (or matches), then personal details are mailed to the participants the next day – and the rest is in Cupid’s hands! 

“During the interaction, phone numbers or email addresses are not to be exchanged – that happens post-event if there are matches. We have held 93 such speed-dating initiatives across India, but this is the first time in Chennai. We were initially sceptical, but Chennaiites kept sending us enquiries and we decided to go ahead with it. Since it’s the first time here, we are planning to keep it to 20 men and 20 women,” explained Prateek Arora, Head of Marketing at LOL (Life of Line) which is organising the event. The Park Hotel Nungambakkam will host the gathering on Sunday, December 10.

The participants will be split into three age groups: 21-30, 31-40 and 41-60, and each person is guaranteed ‘dates’ with at least eight other people during the course of the proceedings. “Matrimony is slowly becoming obsolete, and this concept is evident of that. We are already close to being booked out, so this shows that people in Chennai are game for this,” Prateek said.