Do Indians spend too much on wedding functions?

It’s being touted as the wedding of the year and why not? British model and actress Liz Hurley and her business tycoon husband Arun Nayar are in India to complete the last leg of their transcontinental wedding.

Replete with lavish parties in Mumbai, ceremonies in three different forts and palaces in Jodhpur, the cost of the high-profile wedding is reportedly £2 million.

It is widely believed that some of the cost of the gala affair is reportedly covered by the sale of exclusive photo rights to Hello magazine.

It seems nothing short of a wedding fit for a monarch and that brings us to the question of the day: Are Indians spending too much on wedding functions?

In the panel of experts were fashion designer Rina Dhaka, senior journalist and author Anil Dharkar and wedding planner Vandana Mohan.

Marriages made in banks

Celebrity weddings in India can cost up to Rs 200 crore. These are marriages not made in heaven but in banks. So, are these weddings just smartly managed media events?

“It all depends on the kind of wedding. As far as celebrity events are concerned, yes, they are big events and then wedding planners like us are hired to manage the event. Yes, there is a certain amount of bonhomie that is still left in the smaller ceremonies. But at the end of it all it’s the media who makes it really nice and big,” says Mohan.

But there is another side to this wedding fanfare as it generates employment and has become an industry in its own right.

“I am so glad that people are spending so much money because the flip side of it is that this is an industry today and it creates millions of jobs. You can pick up any part of a wedding and there is someone who has got a job to do. So, that aspect needs to be looked at,” explains Mohan.

However, many believe that spending this kind of money in a country where millions starve is ridiculous, mindless and irresponsible.

“That is the conventional wisdom and we can always take that view. It is an obscene amount of money that is being spent. But if this money is not spent on what celebrities are doing, will they spend it on a worthy cause? I doubt it. They would have used it in other ways for themselves. So, a way to look at it is that this is money going into the economy,” says Dharkar and then adds in jest, “My only regret about the Mittal wedding is that it took place in France."

The Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar wedding is partly, perhaps, funded by the sale of exclusive photos to a magazine. So, the media is almost playing the role of a contributor to this wedding. What does all this do to the concept of holy matrimony?

“Such marriages are like watching a film. It’s like watching a movie on your own life,” says Dhaka.

But then fashion designers make a lot of money from weddings?

“Yes, we do. Not only from the hosts but also from the guests. Sometimes airlines misplace their baggage and even that adds up to our bills,” quips Dhaka.

“But the sad part is that the soul is lost. I usually have fun in weddings, which are simple and homely and yet lavish. Basic family values like parents standing at the door to welcome guests is so wonderful. But in these large events one misses such things, which belong to the solemn ceremony of a wedding,” Dhaka adds.

Wedding Wow

It’s a high volume business that generates crores of rupees during the year and amid the unabated spending, established corporates are cashing in on the festivities.

So, is there a certain ostentation in the way that we are viewing marriages now? Is that in the fore in big wedding extravaganzas like that of Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar.

“Of course, for Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar it is like the Raj revisited. There are elephants and grand palaces of Rajasthan. I know families who are not so well off but they, too, want to go and do every bit of it all. It’s basically wanting to relive the kind of fantasy that one has seen in movies. So, it is harmless fun at that level,” reasons Dharkar.

But why do Indians spend so much money on marriages and is it the ultimate demonstration of love for the child?

“Indians only spend twice in their lives. Once when their child is getting married and the other time is when they are building homes. Most Indians say that spending on weddings is the only way they can showcase their wealth. They believe that this is the day they are earning for,” says Mohan.

Dhaka agrees that there is demonstration of wealth but it also leads to a trickle effect in terms of employment.

“At the moment there is a lot to do with personal pursuit or how one can outdo the other wedding. But it creates a great trickle effect in terms of employment and generation of various trades. So, if we can cash in on this holy ceremony then there are a lot of people who can laugh their way to the banks,” says Dhaka.

But is the media responsible for creating this kind of wedding extravaganza?

Without batting an eyelid Dharkar agrees saying, “Absolutely. I want to know who in India is really interested in Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar so much that it is in all the papers and TV screens all the time. I am completely sick of it all.”

However, Dhaka concludes by saying that marriages lose its meaning when celebrated in this fashion.

“I think it is really about a solemn ceremony between family and people who one grows up with. The minute one starts being filmed, it becomes plastic and then there is no time to reflect on these things,” says Dhaka.

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