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!
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!
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