That goes without saying. A wedding in India, it has to be big. Sometimes we even succeed in making it fairly classy. Just sometimes.
While the love for all things Indian grows in the parts of the world that see sunlight later (!!!!), Indians are slowly moving towards sleek affairs. No more ostentation, less noise, fewer relatives (selected gathering as they call it) and the works. Essentially, we are well en route the western civilisation path. But this is true to anything but the weddings.
Weddings still have to be large, huge and any synonym that you might want to attach to it. Then whether it is Sabeer Bhatia or Bhatia uncle's youngest son's sister-in-law, the rule is as universal as it gets. So today when my best friend told me he is getting married sometime next year, I was already imagining a lavish wedding with fancy jewelry and great food and cool gifts even before he finished the sentence (and no, he is not Punjabi!!). Just for that one moment, easy gone were the inhibitions of being perceived desi (snigger).
I guess, like all Indians, weddings are an integral part of my existence too. The reds and the golds have dominated and will do so, at least for a very long time to come. The day when the geographies are forgotten. And the way Punjabi bhangra has pervaded even the south and the west, just acts as another unifying factor (the various versions are hilarious).
So while I get ready for a Gujju wedding, and decide what to wear and what to gift, may the Indian wedding become bigger!!!
In Tarun Tahiliani
5 hours ago