The big fat Indian Wedding

Seventy grands for a lehnga?? I heard that figure and my jaw dropped. You may call me a hoarder but I seriously believe marriage now-a-days have become a way to waste money on unnecessary things. It’s how people show to others how much they have and can spend. I know people say it's the most important day, you'll remember it forever but for me, I don't really remember things from the past that much or with details. I'd  rather take that money and use it as a house down payment or emergency fund or pay odd all student loan/cc/auto debt. 

I’m thinking about why people so clearly prefer big weddings, even with the price tag. For a lot of people, I think it’s a matter of priorities: they’ve thought things through and the idea of a big wedding and all that goes with it (fun times with family, a great party and so on) is worth it. But, the experience of the perfect wedding is worth more than the alternatives of where they can spend that money.Hardly, anyone thinks about that. It has become a kind of social pressure these days.

Every one of us have if not more, but at least one Mrs. Sharma in our neighborhood, who we have a comparison with on a day to day basis of…umm…anything! Sofas, curtains, imported cutlery, cars, property, ‘that’ latest brand of Air conditioner blah blah blah. The funny part is when we lack having one ‘that’ thing because then it becomes an awwww subject, which forces our poor mom to complain about  this politely yet compulsorily to our poor dad who becomes a mere victim of such economically waste game of “I-have-more-money, honey”. Pheww!!

This is one such story of my home when some years back, one aunty in my neighborhood came just like any other day and started talking about whole colony and then finally coming to that point…the moment when she tells what’s that new thing in their home and of course how much it costs. Well, my mom did not really appreciated washing clothes in washing machine those days, so therefore there was not much need of it at home. But how could Mrs. Sharma not notice that? So, obviously she said in a swankier way how she owns a IFB which is an in-thing and we don’t have even a Videocon. As usual, my dad had to become the victim of such ostentation and he brought home a brand new WM which even after years is lying unused and filling lot of space in the balcony! Guess it’s some kind of pressure that these ladies bear. (Obviously I tried to make understand ladies back home that you shouldn’t really be bothered about such things, but of no use).

So, yes...Marriage! It starts with expensive costumes…that costs huuuugeeeee which is literally of no use save that wedding night…to jewellery-to make-up (now-a-days, as we all go branded so L’Oreal or Lakme experts have taken that job robbing our local beauty parlor aunties) to Dj, orchestra…Not forgetting the big farm house wedding which are based on themes having proper rehearsals for different ceremonies, dishes of different regions, outfits, etc. There’s also a new trend of Palace weddings where old royal places are now used as hotels and resorts where filmstars performs, food is in abundance, high profile people were invited, preparations began before months, dances choreographed, costumes precisely made etc. Lot of food just goes in drain in a country where an average poor still lives in 17 rupees per day, electricity is overused, jamming traffic on the roads without caring for a common man how he might feel who is returning after a day’s hectic work that this wedding means nothing in his life.

And what happens...you wear them, you look good, you sit in the chair pretending to look decent, you become the star of night, you have to behave cultured and worse! You have to eat in the end..!! :(  Gross...It’s my wedding, I want to welcome the baraat, I want to do the Naagin-dance for Dulha..I want to get drunk may be…but all I have to do is sit quiet, allow the paparazzi to see you become a model and be all shy! I see people spending a lot of money they don't have on their wedding day, then spend years fighting over money trying to pay back the money they borrowed as well as other bills. It doesn't seem worth it to me. 

If it was on me and I could have my orders followed, I would not indulge in such grand affair but keep it simple and sober yet interesting in my own very special ways! Whoa... sorry for this... I kind of sound bi-polar about this wedding thing, but it just seem like SO much money!

P.S : I certainly have no plans of marriage or anything of that sort in near future but updates and pictures of people getting married on FB makes me feel this way.