Indian weddings we all love to hate

Indian weddings are more of a joke, wherein, 'wedding' is a sophisticated term used to signify the process of the groom getting auctioned off by his parents in exchange for ransom. And you see a lot of people from the groom's family happily discussing how they struck gold by cracking the best deal with the bride's parents. This is also the best place to show your financial status. Of course, because this is the only place which will have more witnesses to your wealth than any other place.

Everyone will agree that except for the very close friends and family of the bride and groom, all the rest that grace the occasion just have their eyes affixed on the calorie counter, making a mental note of what will satisfy their palates. Apart from seeing some 40-something-aunties wearing shoddy make-up and outfits that scream for help, you also see a lot of competition among them as to who is wearing a more expensive saree and who is looking better than the other. In fact, much unlike the common scenario that we generally observe at a wedding, you also overhear guests discussing things like ''Aaj ka khana toh kuch bhi nahi hai. Maine apni beti ki shaadi mein 2000 ki dish rakhi thi'', that only make you want to hate Indian weddings all the more. So basically, one wedding becomes a reference point for how good or bad other weddings are! I personally feel very bad when the newly-married couple has to stand for 3-4 hours, smiling, entertaining the guests on stage and posing for pictures, when you can see the couple glancing at the long queue every few minutes, secretly wishing for the queue to disappear. God bless girls who stand for the entire duration of the reception party wearing 5-inch heels. They are sure to ask their husbands for a foot massage soon after they retreat to their rooms. Poor husbands! Their night becomes memorable for a different reason altogether.

Another thing I find very unnecessary is how all the gifts a bride receives from her family as well as from her new family, as part of the tradition, are put on display. I asked my mother about the reason for the existence of such a custom and why it is still practiced, to which, i was told that this is a way of making everyone around feel involved. And apparently, it also makes people happy when they see that the bride has been provided with all the bare essentials. My point is, why does this involve the entire extended family or society? Isn't wedding supposed to be a private affair and aren't these things only for the very closed ones to know? Do you think people are genuinely going to be happy on seeing everything that the bride has been bestowed with? In fact, in hindsight, people who may not be able to afford expensive jewellery and other items for their children's wedding, are getting prompted to go out of their way and burn a hole in their pockets.This is because they may not want their children to get any less or they may be forced to do so to ensure their standing in the society remains intact.

The funniest part about an Indian wedding is people often discussing internally, how either the guy or the girl seems to have got plain lucky with his/her match. Also, curiosity builds up, especially among people of marriageable age, to know what honeymoon destination has been decided upon by the couple. But, irrespective of all the bashing up and criticizing of Indian weddings that we indulge in, we all dream to have a big fat Indian wedding. Because, getting married sans all the drama and razzmatazz seems like no fun!

Following the musical path....

After long hours of contemplation, after brainstorming ideas on three different subjects, i finally decided to zero in on writing about my affinity towards one of the purest forms of art, MUSIC. Listening to music is like feeding the soul. It always ensures that my peace of mind stays intact. Music to music lovers is like money to the poor. It is very sacred and precious. A day passsed without listening to music feels like something is amiss. I don't know if it's just the music lovers who feel this strongly about music or it is a common view; but, i can vouch for the fact that music makes life more beautiful.

Out of the 24 hours in a day, how much time do we keep aside to do what we genuinely love doing? How much time is actually spent doing something to distress ourselves? And let's not consider activities like driving, jogging, gymming etc if they are not optional. So, after striking off many activities that we may do because they are forced upon us or done to look cool or maybe, because we lack the availability of better options, we are barely left with a handful of activities or as many call them 'hobbies'. Out of the one or two hours that we may devote in a day to enjoy and relax oursleves, how many actvities do we actually indulge in that disconnect us from the stress of the real world? I would say, barely two or three. And music, is one of them. It may not be a part of our standard, basic requirements, but that does not take away from its strong influence on our mind and soul.

I, somehow, have developed this strange connect with music. I can wholly and solely bank on music to keep me company, anytime and anywhere. I can listen to music for endless hours and not get bored. That is quite something, given we have various other ways to distract ourselves. This is the kind of impact music has. For me, this insanity has developed over the years, which is now bordering on almost making me handicapped without music. So, out of curiosity, i just looked up the internet to understand if this could actually happen. And, i came across some astonishing facts, given as the effects of music, of which, some were difficult to comprehend. One of the many surprising things i learnt was that music helps secrete immune-boosting hormones by creating a positive and emotional environment which contributes to reducing the factors responsible for damaging the immune system. This fact has provided an added incentive to listen to music. Another interesting nugget i stumbled upon was that music can heavily influence your emotions. So much so, that a strong and commanding piece of music can make one violent and destructive, enough to bear severe repercussions. At the same time, a soft and soothing piece of music can have an equally calming effect on one's mind and soul. Infact, relaxing music is a remedy to improve the duration and intensity of concentration in all age groups.So, better choose your music carefully!

Overlooking its very few adverse effects, music has been known to create magical effects on schizophrenic patents and induced hope in many a depressed soul. I personally owe most of my extended imagination and visualisation to music, of which a lot would have remained uneplored had it not been for the world of rhythms,tunes and melodies. It's a different thing that at times i get transported to the dream world which sometimes makes me want to keep fantasising and not come back to the real world. But, so long as music makes me forget everything else while i have my headphones on, everything is justified.