CULTURE-INDIA: Have Money, Will Marry

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Isha Tara

NEW DELHI, Jan 16 1996 (IPS) - Indians are celebrating weddings in style — forking out fortunes to make them memorable.

Wedding bills add up to millions of rupees as more and more Indians opt to celebrate with theme parties, designer dresses, live entertainment and haute cuisine. No expense seems too much for what is still seen as a once in a life-time event.

Gone are the days when weddings were simple ceremonies conducted at home, and every member of the joint family pitched in to give a helping hand. Now, the celebrations ardless rounds of eating and merrymaking, often staged and choreographed in luxury hotels and suburban farm houses.

Money is no consideration — glitz is all that counts. From invitation cards to post-wedding cocktails, the celebrations are opulent, showy affairs.

A north Indian businessman had invitations etched in glass, while a shipping tycoon commissioned India’s most flamboyant artist M.F. Hussain to paint invitations for his son’s marriage ceremony.

Another time, the host gave away bangles in 21 carat gold to each one of his 5,000-odd guests.

These grandiose events are managed by a new breed of professionals called ‘Event Planners’. Mainly based in India’s cities and in the hotel industry, they organise everything from weddings to enormous birthday bashes, anniversary parties and even product launches.

A client wanted a Texan theme party, and the planners conjured up a stable with horses, ear-shattering music and waiters sporting holsters. The amount of money spent on the party could buy a modest apartment in Bombay.

Just the dinner expense at hotels cost upwards of 500 rupees (35 rupees to a dollar) per person. Indians are experimenting with cuisine: traditional Indian buffets are accompanied by Mexican, Thai, Italian or Chinese food.

Everyone wants to do something different.

Two years ago, a Dubai-based Indian jeweller chartered a plane to host his son’s wedding. Priests chanted prayers from ancient Hindu texts in mid-air. The jeweller is reported to be planning his younger son’s wedding in a submarine.

Though less exotic, those who can afford to are hiring professional decorators to design elaborate, many-tiered marquees. Delhi’s historic Red Fort was reproduced in canvas for a recent wedding. The groom arrived on a chariot drawn by six-white horses, preceded by a cavalcade of caparisoned elephants. (MORE)

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