Many single people in the United States are turning to new, creative ways to meet their soul mate. These include online dating sites, matchmaking and speed dating, a series of brief one-on-one meetings. For young Indians living in Washington, DC, there's a new twist to meeting Mr. or Ms. Right. For producer Rohit Kulkarni, VOA's Jim Bertel has more on a dinner cruise where love is on the menu.

Socializing on a singles cruise

Organizer Anjali Giri says the cruise is a new twist on speed dating.  "We have mostly done this in restaurants in the past or hotels or banquet halls but in this case we thought the atmosphere of the cruise is really romantic."

For $100, participants will be introduced to a number of young singles plus enjoy food and entertainment.

Jugal Patel is among the young people looking for love. "Events like these are a good opportunity to meet people, to meet single people."

Just before sunset, the Odyssey sets sail, packed with young, single Indian Americans.

Nehal Patel sees an advantage to holding a singles event on a ship. "Well you can't leave -- that's awesome, so no one can escape out of here, you can't jump out, so that's awesome."

Indian singles' cruises are a new concept for the Indian community in the United States but their popularity is catching on. Such events are now routinely organized in cities like New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington DC where there are concentrations of Indian-Americans. For these young adults, it is a great way to find love with someone who shares their heritage.