A dazzling chandelier made up of a thousand bright LED lamps hangs in the center of this huge hall, hanging from the ceiling by fine fiber optics. On the sound system, the final crescendo of Vatapi by a fusion band. The percussion (mridangam, ghatam, is that a cymbal from a bandset? Is that a snare drum?) is breathtaking. Flower-bedecked stage is invitingly waiting to be occupied. The core welcome party and the early birds mingle.
Part of the welcoming party, inviting guests to celebrate the event
Weddings in India are legendary. Even milestone anniversaries of weddings are celebrated in a similarly opulent style and flair. Twice this year, we got to participate in these Bollywood-inspired affairs.
As a matter of principle, I’m totally against the extravagant and ostentatious display of wealth. This opulence can be put to myriad uses. In fact, those that know my views on marriage and wedding would be shocked to find me so willingly participate!
What’s different now is that I’m also able to see how these weddings offer opportunities for long-lost family and friends to reconnect. It was a wedding in March that gave me a sense of kinship with extended family. People at that wedding gathered from several parts of this sprawling city (that hadn’t met for years), several cities, and yes, several countries. In these days of diaspora, weddings (and class reunions, it seems) are the catalysts for re-connection. Attending weddings, I am realizing, is a way to show loyalty – since these events are such a huge yes, HUGE milestones in people’s lives. Their own weddings, but also the weddings of their children… That is really the only reason that we will attend a couple more such weddings next month.
