BOB ABERNETHY: In the show "Fiddler on the Roof," there's a wonderful moment when Tevye, the devout 19th-century Russian Jewish milkman, turns to Golde, his wife of 25 years, and sings plaintively, "Do you love me?" In a union such as theirs, arranged by the parents, love followed marriage and not the other way around. The bride and groom met on their wedding day and had no say in the selection of a spouse.

We are now in our wedding season, the month of June 1999, and arranged marriages are still being celebrated by many Orthodox Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu couples. These days, along with something old, there's also something new in arranged marriage, American style. Our correspondent is Betty Rollin.

[Editor's note: The names and locations of the Hindu family members who appeared in the original version of this story have been changed at their request.]

BETTY ROLLIN: When Ajay and Malini Shenoy, both Americans, got married last August, they went the traditional Hindu route, not only in how they married, but how they met. Their parents did the choosing. It was a two-year worldwide search, including a horoscope check, that the Shahs initiated from their home in Georgia. Finally, in Pennsylvania, they found a suitable match in Malini.

Ms. DEVAKI SHAH: He liked the family, the way they lived, and they are also middle-class family like us. And the girl is a very nice girl. And our son is very tall, and this girl is also tall. So looking at pretty much everything, we thought this may go through.

Mr. AJAY SHENOY: You almost go in with a sense of detachment, that whatever happens, let it happen and that there's an underlying trust that everything will work out for the best.

ROLLIN: The best may include love, but not necessarily right away.

Mrs. MALINI SHENOY: For me, love was really after marriage. I don't think that I've experienced true love yet. I'm starting to.

ROLLIN: In the Hindu religion, marriage is a sacred obligation, part of what you must do to gain salvation, and it's the parents' duty to find a match for their children, which is as much a match between families. That's the way it's been for thousands of years in India, and many American Hindus see no reason to change, especially when the young people themselves are devout. Besides, today they have veto power over each candidate.

Dr. CHITRA SHAH: When I was four years old on the playground and asked by my classmate, who was also four years old, to marry him, I said it couldn't happen, that my parents had to pick.

ROLLIN: Some young people rebel against this tradition, as did Chitra Shah when she was a teenager. But now she's 25 years old, a doctor, and like her brother, she's only too happy to have her parents find her a mate.

Dr. SHAH: It's not as if I'm going to be able to meet the person of a similar background at the 7-Eleven.

ROLLIN: Caroline and David Gabay, Orthodox Jews who were married four years ago, also came to feel they needed special help in their search.

Mrs. CAROLINE GABAY: I went to the bars and I went to all the different singles scenes, and I wasn't meeting the kind of people that I was hoping to spend the rest of my life with.

Mr. DAVID GABAY: There is no conceivable way in a typical New York scene that you can meet somebody and know whether or not you're really wasting your time.

Rebbetzin ESTHER JUNGREIS (Matchmaker): Oh, now we could do something for you ...

ROLLIN: Enter Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, a rabbi's widow who has made matchmaking her life's work. Like the Hindus, Orthodox Jews consider marriage a religious mandate.

Rebbetzin JUNGREIS: Marriage is a commandment; it's not an option. It's a mitzvah.

(To Man): I'm going to call you with somebody very special.

We do not date just for fun. Whenever two young people meet socially, it is what we call in Hebrew "tachlis," which means for purpose.

(To Congregation): (Foreign language spoken)