On the night before their wedding, Arjun does not sleep. He is hiding a loan. Two floors up, Nisha cannot sleep either. She is ignoring a question she already knows the answer to.

Eighteen months later, they stand in Family Court.

This is not a rare story. It is the most ordinary story in India's marriage system — played out across thousands of family court filings every year, in cities that spent fifteen lakh rupees on a wedding and almost nothing on preparing for the marriage that followed.

Plan the Marriage, Not the Wedding is the book that closes that gap.

Written for Indian and South Asian readers, this is the most research-grounded, practically structured marriage readiness guide available — covering everything the horoscope doesn't, everything the matchmaker doesn't ask, and everything the wedding planner cannot tell you.

WHAT THIS BOOK DELIVERS:

— The data you need to take preparation seriously: India's divorce crisis, the NFHS-5 finding that 29% of married women experience spousal violence, the financial cost of unresolved money conflicts

— A complete science of love: what dopamine does to your judgement, what love looks like when the chemistry fades, and what research says about what makes it last

— Vedic astrology done properly: all eight Koots of the Ashtakoot system, the Navamsa chart, and an honest account of what the science says about astrological prediction

— Numerology and astro-numerology: personality mapping that complements chart-based assessment

— Medical compatibility: the pre-marital health checks most Indian families never have

— Financial compatibility: how to have the money conversation before the wedding, not after

— The 100 Questions Before Yes: the complete conversation guide across ten domains — values, family, children, money, career, home, emotional life, physical intimacy, conflict, and the marriage itself

— Your legal rights under Indian law: PWDVA, BNS 85 and 80, maintenance, divorce

— When love needs help: Gottman's Four Horsemen, counselling resources across India, and what to do if you are in danger

A companion to True Relationship: A Detailed Roadmap to Strategic Compatibility (Saantu Roy, 2023).

Knowing is not the same as certainty. But knowing is where every honest choice begins.