The Big Indian Wedding

So is this wedding a pathetic tamasa?

As Coco Chanel writely said..

" Some people are so poor, they have only money "

Do you think too much was spent on the wedding?

Proportion My Dear, Proportion 🤷🏻‍♀️so advocate some.

Many of us will buy a saree worth 10 K INR in a split second, well maybe we take a long to choose but you got the gist. And that maybe bekaar-ka-kharcha for our domestic help as for them they get the best in 1 K.

They have build their empire. Their ancestors have that gut to take every small risk to think big and now they are making it bigger.

If they are rich then they are. If we cannot build our empire then that's our problem.

After an elaborate engagement, prewedding celebration in Jamnagar and Europe, all star studded and with guests from across the globe, the wedding lasted for three days, not including the sangeet and the prayers. 

There is a reason why the super rich Ambanis look so comic in their desperation to find an audience in the social media with their choice of over the top dresses, celebrations, milling around guests, being the guide,  dancing on which they probably spent hundreds of practice hours to coordinate their two left feet, their need to bring in western pop singers to go global, get famous actors to serve food and entertain guests with jokes. This is not something that we have seen before. 

They could do what they are best capable of, With the kind of salary and dividends to each of them from various business ventures, and all kind of money - and plans for expansion, how better could they do it?

Would doing charity, help them expand their business? They are business family - they know what is best for them. Establishing a global brand is important for them, and they did find an opportunity here. 

Wedding of three children over the years with that of the last one spreading almost a year am sure they have bettered themselves and can start their own event management company too.

They collectively appear to be needing the ostentation to confirm their happiness, are they too living in their bubbles. These need to put the bubble on social media for the watch and swoon  unwashed masses. The social cells are instructed to add hundreds of comments on these videos that go ‘ very nice’, ‘good dancing’, ‘adorable’ and so on basically asking all others to follow in the same vein.

It makes you wonder what might their thoughts be… Mukesh is probably scheming about how to make more as soon as this is over. Nita is bemoaning she has no more sons to marry off in a serial wedding spree. The family must, by now, be bored with clothes, jewellery, travel? 

A woman is often expected to be flawless. But what if, amidst all the festivities, she couldn't manage to stay awake? From what we saw in the videos, she handled her children, the guests, the rituals, and the responsibilities of being the eldest daughter-in-law admirably. After all, they are human too, and like us at weddings, they too might need a power nap.

A  wedding of 5 days, great Indian culture and music for the world to see, sound and light shows of our great ancient architecture  as background to the family photographs making the world salivate over our incredible country and the first business family who can afford to frame it for personal shoots. Vanity satiated. Tourism promoted. Jobs created. Many agencies,workers, cooks and laymans will be earning from these events.  Guests invited will be spending on designer cloths, travel, lodging,  gifts.

Now they could have opened a few schools. In each state. The kids used their own expertise to give back to the people. Built toilets, dug wells, built animal sanctuaries, financed clinics, created maternal counselling - all as Anant Radhika Centres. What a wedding that would be?

But then for each their own way of celebrating. One life. They show how to make life a celebration.  Wish and 🙏 pray not at the cost of bankruptcy. 

All these was, is and will be part of the society, how well has it been written by RK Lakshman far before. I do not say this wedding was vulgar. Looks like it was meticulously planned with lots and lots of effort.

Neither supporting such Grandeurs nor Ambanis. Just that to each their own 🤜🏽🤛🏽

My friends in Mumbai have to park their cars at Jio Park ( see the strategy) and walk to office, a 30 min commute now takes 2 hrs. The event has been declared public event, so all schools and companies have early dismissal or wfh. And this  continues for 7 days. The message is if you have wealth you can own a city and country and beyond! It is unfair at every level, but more things are unfair in life than fair!

Who is to blame for it? The bad roads, the crowd? 

Wishing and praying 🙏,  after all these thamasha may there be showers of blessings on the couple. For me this wedding stands out for couple of reasons:

Showcasing that not all of India is a poor country as the west perceive; the rituals explained and traditions followed by Nita and Mukesh - Nita's explanation on Kanyadhan had brought tears to some eyes too and how they tried to include all, and kept a separate day for their employee, help and associates like the owner of the Mysore Cafe and those who brought up Anand, and on that day treated them with AR Rahman music with amazing singers, hats off for that.