The Big Fat Indian Weddings!

Waking up to a lazy Saturday morning and I hear people giggling. When I step outside my gallery, I see people cheering and the Baraatis dancing to the tunes of a typical Band Baaja; some are relishing over ice-cream cups, kids bothering their parents and constantly nagging about the loud music and the firecrackers till chocolates come their way, women don their perfect attires and men are dancing, sweating, being the perfect hosts yet smiling. It’s not just two people, but two families coming together. What a perfect scenario of an Indian wedding!

The New Year and Makarsankrati have set and the biggest wedding season has begun in almost every part of our country. Don’t we love weddings, even though it might be that of a faraway relative’s cousin brother’s daughter or whoever? I’ve never seen people more excited than planning their weddings. Right from the day the Kundlis of both the Bride and Groom are matched, their biggest task has begun. From planning the wedding cards, functions, inviting guests via post, phone calls, visiting them to shopping for the couple and the entire family of their respective spouses; the list hasn’t ended. Deciding the perfect place for the wedding and reception, the mare and most importantly- the band and the caterer; when it comes to wedding food, all of us know what gluttons we can be (Don’t forget alcohol for Sindhi and Punjabi weddings)!

This might be just any wedding, but what adds spice to Indian weddings that even celebrities abroad plan their weddings in the Indian style? The beautiful traditional outfits and the age-old rituals and traditions! Talking about the outfits, what large sum of money is spent on these spectacular dresses they might just wear once in a lifetime but then; as they say, a girl looks the most beautiful in her wedding dress. Also, the music- whether it’s about the Band during the Baraat or Shehnai playing during the wedding. There’s something about it that pulls you because whenever you witness a Baraat, you suddenly feel like, a Punjabi inside you has woken up and would leave everything behind to join them dancing. You might have had the most tiresome day but you would never get tired dancing when you don the avatar of a Baraati.

Since the time a daughter is born, a father keeps saving every penny for her wedding day; but what about the boy’s family? Well, that’s our typical India. Inside this beautiful picture of the perfect wedding you enjoy lies the pain and sweat of a father’s constant efforts to fulfil every wish of the bridegroom’s family. Wedding, as we little know- is the biggest market. With every passing year, the amount spent on weddings has only been increasing. Do you realize the amount of gold they purchase and then make its way to the bank lockers! We might talk about westernization and modernisation, but we still haven’t let gone the practice of dowry? Well, here’s a fun fact. While Hindus usually, give dowry to the Bridegroom’s family; in Muslims, the Bridegroom has to give it to the Bride in the form of ‘Meher’. I think this should become an important ritual so that more girls are born in this world and not abandoned in the fear of them being a burden.

But then, whom do we spend so much time and money for- The people outside who put on garish outfits and make their way only for the sake of coming or maybe just to give some token and relish good food. Our generation has forgotten the essence of Indian weddings or maybe we find it too loud to call half the city and spend a butt load of money over it. From several functions that lasted for a week it has become just one huge reception. We might love it, we might hate it but we surely can’t ignore the changes in the mindset of people over time because of the fast moving life we choose, over spending time with relatives and reliving those old times. So that’s what Indian weddings are basically, a little bit of everything. A little too loud, too many varieties of food, too many functions, too many people coming and wedding not just of two people, but two different families. No wonder we call them the Big Fat Indian Weddings.