After trying my luck at speed dating, I decided a new tactic by going to a speed intros evening.

The first one I tried was Muslim Speed Intros which was held mid afternoon in a hotel in Russell Square in Central London, England UK.

We then got five minutes to speak to each guy before they rotated.

When I got there, the group was evenly matched with 25 men and 25 women.

The group were a wide mix of nationalities. Apart from the Desis, there were Tunisians, Lebanese and Turkish people.

Pretty much everyone there, both guys and girls said they had come because they had marriage in mind.

The good thing about Speed Intros was it saved you from having to spend the next 25 weekends having potential rishtey come round for tea with your mum.

While that was all well and good, the one thing the organisers didn’t realise that this didn’t mean you should skip the tea as well (or in my case coffee).

As my caffeine withdrawal symptoms started to kick in, I ended up having to go to the hotel bar to get a stiff drink to keep myself going – an extra large black espresso no less.

Nearly all the girls wore Western clothes, apart from one who turned up in shalwar kameez and seemed to feel uncomfortable which was a shame because it didn’t have that kind of atmosphere.

If anything, I was the one who seemed to stick out like a sore thumb, particularly as my leather trousers didn’t go down too well with the row of disapproving auntijee’s in hijaab who were sitting in the guests section, even though I had worn them with a kurta and jacket.

The guys were mostly dressed in a casual way, and maybe could have put more of an effort in. But having said that, when I spoke to them, they were all really decent guys who you could introduce to your mum.

There was one chap there who seemed to have got the event mixed up with a Muslim Missionaries convention as he was more interested in preaching Islam to all the girls rather than getting to know anyone.

The funny thing was he didn’t have the beard and the pot belly to go with it. In fact he bore more than a passing resemblance to a well know Bollywood actor.

Apart from him, all the others were chilled out and interested in what I had to say.

Although there wasn’t really any chemistry with any of the guys, I hit it off with one of them mainly because he had turned up in a cool kurta, similar to mine with jeans and also got the same glares from the auntijees. I decided to stay in touch with him, so we could exchange fashion tips.

I have to admit though, by the time I got to number 15, despite my coffee, I started to feel a bit overwhelmed and confused about which guy was which.

The only down side, apart from the lack of coffee and tea was that the girls were not that friendly and tended to keep themselves to themselves or just hung out with the friends they turned up with. It was all a bit clique which was a shame as they missed out on a good way of making new friends and an opportunity to compare notes.

Muslim Speed Intros UK are hosted by Ayesha & Hara

Okay, first of all, I have to admit that I got to the event three hours late, so if the atmosphere hadn't got going by then, it was never gonna happen.

Luckily it had and when I went inside, it was more like being at a party than a speed dating night.

One of the first things I noticed was that unlike other similar events I have been to, there seemed to be more guys than girls, which was obviously great for me.

It was a good crowd and most of the people there had ticked yes for at least five people which is pretty good going.

Everyone there were in their late 20's to mid 30's and it was a mixed crowd of Punjabis, Gujaratis, etc. The girls were dressed in club wear and the guys were dressed in a casual, trendy way. There were a few freshies there (ie fresh off the boat), but on the whole, there were a lot of eligible professional people there.

The event was organised in the usual way, girls sitting at tables while the guys rotated around the room, but the room was laid out really nicely with red drapes and decorations to give it a romantic atmosphere, to get everyone in the mood. The organisers were really friendly and made an effort to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves.

The girls seemed on the whole looking for more serious relationships while the guys were mostly there to have a good time.

There was one girl at the night who was really stunning, a tall, slim, Asian Kate Moss. I noticed each time she liked a guy, she asked him to sit next to her, rather than opposite her. I thought she would have dozens of guys ticking her box even without fluttering her eyelashes.

However, her flirting technique didn't seem to have the desired effect. "No she is like a man. No curves" said one of the blokes after. "We prefer girls who are a bit lively, and have more personality. Someone who you can have a laugh with, not a stick insect."

As I watched, I noticed the guys all seemed to go for the girls who were more homely, bubbly girls next door, rather than the beautiful supermodel ones.

Similarly, I asked the guys what they thought the girls went for, and they all seemed to think we liked the desi David Beckhams, with the funky clothes and hair cuts.

On the whole the guys were all friendly and lively.

While some of the girls who had come down to the event from up north were friendly, the London crowd seemed to keep themselves to themselves.

Unfortunately, we were all there for the same reason and they seemed to see every other girl as potential competition rather than a potential friend. They didn't realise what they were missing out on.

Although I didn't meet my Mr Right, I had a great time and would definitely go again.

Apna Speed Dating hosted this event, pictures courtesy of Apna Speed Dating.

Review by www.AsianCommunity.Net