How to Book a Matrimonial Ad in Anandabazar Patrika: Step-by-Step

How to Book a Matrimonial Ad in Anandabazar Patrika

For a great many Bengali families, the matrimonial column of Anandabazar Patrika is still where a marriage search begins. The paper has carried Patro Patri Chai advertisements for decades, and the Sunday classified page remains one of the few places where a genuinely wide, self-selecting Bengali readership looks in the same direction on the same morning.

The booking itself is straightforward once you know the rules. Most of the difficulty families run into is not procedural — it is writing an ad that earns responses without overspending on characters.

Here is the whole process, in order.

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Step 1 — Understand the Sunday-only rule

Anandabazar Patrika publishes matrimonial classifieds on Sunday only.

This shapes everything else. It means:

• Your release date is always a Sunday
• You should book by Friday at the latest — the standard guidance is two days before release, and space fills
• If you miss the cut-off, your next opportunity is a full week away

Families who plan around a specific occasion — an anniversary, a visit home, a festival weekend — should count backwards from the Sunday they want and book with room to spare.

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Step 2 — Choose your ad format

There are two matrimonial formats, and the choice is genuinely consequential.

Classified text

Plain running text in the Patro Patri Chai column, charged per character. You can add paid enhancements — bold, a tick mark, a border, a background tint — to lift it off the page.

This is what the majority of families book. It is economical, and in a column where every ad looks broadly alike, a well-written text ad competes perfectly well.

Classified display

Charged per square centimetre rather than per character. This format permits a photograph, colour, a custom typeface and a border.

Classified Display Ads are designed to highlight your advertisement with bold text, borders, colour highlights, and longer content, making it more attractive and noticeable. 

Add-on advantage is ABP + The Telegraph Package available for Consecutive 2 Sundays.

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Step 3 — Choose your edition or package

Anandabazar Patrika publishes a Kolkata edition alongside district editions across West Bengal. You can book a single edition, or take a package.

The common options:

• Single edition — lowest cost, narrowest reach
• South Bengal package — Birbhum, West Bardhaman, Purulia, Bankura, West and East Medinipur, Jhargram
• All West Bengal package — every WB edition
• ABP + The Telegraph combo — publishes simultaneously in both mastheads across Bankura, Birbhum, Bardhaman, Darjeeling, Hooghly, Howrah, Kolkata, Medinipur, Jhargram, North and South 24 Parganas, Murshidabad, Nadia and Purulia

One point that is widely misunderstood: the classified page content is identical across editions. Your ad reads exactly the same in Kolkata as in Cooch Behar. The edition you pick changes distribution volume, not content. Because of that, families who are open to a match from anywhere in Bengal generally take the all-WB or combo package rather than paying for Kolkata alone.

Conversely, if you specifically want a Kolkata-based match — a common preference — the Kolkata edition alone is the efficient choice.

→ Current package rates: Anandabazar Patrika ad rates 2026

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Step 4 — Write the ad

This is where families lose money, and where the difference between a good ad and a poor one shows up in the response count.

Since classified text is charged per character, every word must earn its place. Too short and you fail to convey anything a reader can act on. Too long and you are paying for words that add nothing.

What a matrimonial ad needs to contain

Working from the top, in the order a reader scans:

1. Whether you seek a groom or a bride — Patro Chai (groom wanted) or Patri Chai (bride wanted)
2. Caste or community, if it matters to you. Readers filter on this first, so it belongs in the opening line
3. Age and height
4. Education and profession
5. Family background, briefly — a phrase, not a paragraph
6. Location
7. Contact details — the whole point of the advertisement

The rules that save you money

Abbreviate aggressively, but only where meaning survives. Standard matrimonial abbreviations are well understood by this readership. Invented ones are not.

Lead with the filter, not the flourish. A reader scanning fifty ads decides in two seconds whether yours is relevant. Adjectives cost characters and change nothing.

Check the contact number twice. A single wrong digit turns a paid advertisement into nothing at all. This happens more often than you would expect.

Use one enhancement, not four. A tick mark or bold caste line pulls the eye. Bold, coloured, ticked and bordered simultaneously just costs four times as much and stops standing out, because it no longer contrasts with anything.

Choose your sub-category carefully

Matrimonial classifieds are grouped into sub-categories — by caste, religion, community and language. Your ad appears under the heading you select. Choosing the wrong one buries a perfectly good ad in front of the wrong readers.

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Step 5 — Select your release date and confirm

Pick your Sunday. Confirm the booking at least two days ahead. Payment options include credit card, debit card, UPI, net banking and cheque.

You will receive confirmation with the release date and the final ad matter. Proofread the confirmation, not just your draft. Once the paper goes to press there is no correction.

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Should you book more than one Sunday?

Frequently, yes. A single insertion produces a burst of responses over roughly three or four days and then goes quiet. Families with a specific set of requirements — a narrower caste and profession combination, say — often find that two or three insertions across consecutive weeks produce meaningfully more than one.

Considering this aspect, Anandabazar Patrika has launched an attractive Matrimony Ad scheme. You can avail of a package of 1 Paid + 1 Free advertisement, published on two consecutive Sundays. ABP Matrimony Ad Just Rs.2772/-

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A note on managing the responses

Practical, and rarely mentioned: a well-placed matrimonial advertisement in an all-Bengal package can generate a substantial volume of calls, and they arrive concentrated on Sunday and Monday.

Decide beforehand who in the family is fielding them, and use a number that person can actually answer. A number that rings unanswered through Sunday afternoon wastes the entire booking.

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Frequently asked questions

Which day do matrimonial ads publish in Anandabazar Patrika? Sunday only.

Can I include a photograph? Yes, Extra charges will be applicable for photographs. 

How many characters do I get in the base rate? Matrimonial classified packages are typically quoted against a base character count, Classified 120 Character is Minimum & Classified Display Width 2.8 Cm x 5 Cm Height, with additional characters charged beyond it. Confirm the current base when booking.

Can I book for both Kolkata and Jharkhand? Not in a single Anandabazar Patrika booking — ABP circulates within West Bengal. For Jharkhand you have to book another newspaper separately.

How late can I book for this Sunday? Book two days before release as a rule. Later requests are sometimes accommodated depending on space, but you should not plan around it.

Can I change the ad after booking? Only before it goes to press. Once released, no.

Do you help write the ad? Yes — ad drafting is included at no charge. Send us the details and we will draft it, count the characters, and tell you what it costs before you commit.

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Get your matrimonial ad drafted and quoted

Send us the particulars — community, age, height, education, profession, location and contact number — and we will draft the ad, optimize it for character count, and quote the exact cost across the edition options.

No charge for the drafting, and no obligation to book.

Draft my matrimonial ad →