| Jab miyaan-biwi raazi, toh jio aur jeene do qaazi If you haven’t heard of the biggest Indian wedding ever… erm, no, you have. The grand finale of the nuptials of Anant Ambani, son of billionaire businesspersons Mukesh and Nita Ambani, with Radhika Merchant, is here. The wedding, with its multiple pre-wedding celebrations and rituals, has been nothing short of grande. You can safely assume someone in another corner of the world is bingeing the same #AmbaniWedding reel that you are at any point of time — the cruise, the haldi, Rihanna, the Khans, Justin Bieber (who was paid ₹83 crore for the performance), the assemblage of some of India’s most iconic stars and cricketers. In our context and cultural semantics, the Ambani wedding is the India equivalent of at least a royal wedding in the West. Shaadis are serious affairs in India. It’s one of the few rare occasions where ostentation and going all-out for grandeur remain socially acceptable. Between 8 million and 10 million weddings are held every year in India — it is, no sh*t, a ₹10 lakh-crore industry, dwarfing that of the US in comparison. The meaning of this is that the bigger a wedding, the larger the role it plays in driving a number of ancillary industries dependent on it, from jewellery to apparels and events. The other day, Rishabh in my team remarked that had he been Akash’s chacha, no matter kitne duur ka, he wouldn’t have minded another round of pre-wedding celebrations. And no matter what the sentiment outside is, the biggest day(s) in the life of the dulha and dulhan is also just as much important for their parents, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, bhuaji and fufa, no matter how naraaz he is. For any wedding in India, months go into planning the functions. Getting the perfect outfit for pictures that’ll become part of core memories. Making sure the baraatis have at least 10 mains and 10 dessert options… Organising the biggest wedding in one’s clan is said to be a matter of pride. So, it’s only sensible to accept that the Ambanis are like any other family. Their youngest son is getting married, and till their grandchildren grow up, there isn’t going to be another wedding anytime soon. At the outset, this might seem like an “OTT affair” and a series of hugely unsubtle displays of wealth. But what the mainstream narrative also tends to conceal is the fact that the family has, by way of such lavish functions, also generated a lot of employment. From the people serving food at these functions, to the caterers hired, to the security — massive livelihood has come as a combo offer. Let’s also not forget the Samuh Vivah (mass wedding) that the Ambanis organised recently for over 50 underprivileged couples from the Palghar area in Maharashtra. Why aren’t we talking about that? All I’m saying is, in a democracy, any citizen has the right to do what the culture permits them, no? A very recent study by Jefferies states, “An otherwise value-conscious society, Indians love to spend on weddings, which could be disproportionate to their level of income or wealth. And this is irrespective of the economic classes, as the tendency to overspend is seen across.” Long story short, agar mere pados ke Ahluwalia ji 500-500 ke notes sirf baraat mein vaar sakte hain (just before the demonetisation though), surely an industrialist has the right to go somewhat all-out at their child’s wedding, too? It happens to be a tiny fraction of their wealth, BTW. I just feel we can be mature about this, enjoy the entertainment and the times, and move on. Jio or jeene do (pun unintended). Complain about the gulab jamun, if you must. |
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