Indian rishta ad seeking 'non-burper' and 'non-farter' husband goes viral

An Indian rishta hunt advertisement has gone viral online for its mockery of extremely absurd demands in conventional ads. The ad was posted by an "opinionated feminist" and has left several people in fits of laughter.

Who is this opinionated feminist? We know little about the poster, but what we do know is that they're over 30, educated, short haired, with piercings, and work in the social sector (against capitalism).

Who is she looking for? A 25 to 28-year-old man, who's handsome and well built. The demands don't end there. If you don't have an established business, a bungalow and at least 20 acres of farm land, you will be turned away.

If you have all of those things, you're one step closer to qualification.

And the last requirement has to do with your digestive system. Just how efficient it is will have a significant impact on your chances with this girl. If the machine in there is faulty, and you've got a "burpy" and "farty" situation going on, you might as well pack your bags and go home — bungalow or otherwise.

Many people on the internet missed the point entirely and found the advertisement toxic.Tweet after tweet slammed it for being hypocritical, since the woman "fighting against capitalism" wants someone with an established business and enjoying all the privileges of capitalism. The publisher of the ad was called names and told to "make her own money."

However, as it turns out, BBC confirmed that the advertisement was obviously a joke. The ad was poking fun at rishta advertisements that are very common in India.

It was a joke between two siblings and a best friend, whom BBC tracked down via the email address provided. It didn't reveal their true identities. , however did not reveal their true identities, giving them pseudonyms. The "opinionated feminist" was called Sakshi, her brother Srijan and her best friend Damyanti.

The ad was a prank they played for the woman's 30th birthday.

"Turning 30 is a milestone, especially because of all the conversation in our society around marriage. As you turn 30, your family and society start putting pressure on you to get married and settle down," said the woman's brother.

She does have piercings and short hair and works in the social sector, but the farting and burping thing turned out to be a family joke.

The night before her birthday, the woman's brother gave her a paper scroll as a gift. "When I unrolled it, it had the email address — curbyourpatriarchy@gmail.com — and the password. I had no idea what I was supposed to do with that," she said. "In the morning, he brought me a copy of the newspaper with the page opened to the matrimonial columns and we had a good laugh. It was a fun prank."

She told BBC that the advertisement has appeared to hurt quite a few men's egos.

"You can't say such things out loud. Men ask for tall, slim beautiful brides all the time, they brag about their wealth, but when the tables are turned, they can't stomach it. How could a woman set such criteria?

"It was a satirical statement on this narrative and I assume that the people getting triggered are the same as those who put out these kinds of 'slim, fair, beautiful bride wanted' type of ads in the first place".