It is not difficult to miss a wedding date on your calendar as wedding rituals are nothing less than a festival these days. It seems like a wedding is not considered complete unless the whole world has noticed it! Mittals, Ambanis, cine stars, politicians, famous people and people ‘famous for being famous’ jostle for space in newsprint and electronic media with their lavishly laid out wedding spectacles.
Sometimes, it appears as if a silent war is on to outdo one’s compatriots in the whole business of marriage. The reported cost of Mukesh Ambani’s daughter’s wedding was Rs.700 crores. While the marriage of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal’s daughter rang in at a whopping 60 million dollars. His younger brother chipped in by spending almost 500 crores on his daughter’s wedding. In comparison, the wedding of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to his girlfriend was a discreet affair. Undeniably, dream weddings are a booming economy. So, how can you miss out on jumping on the bandwagon? It is there for everyone to watch with mesmerising eyes. Which lehenga did Isha Ambani wear to her wedding? Which delicacies were served to the guests? Such details populate the social firmament of society.
Culture Of Pomp And Show
Nowadays, it is not unusual to come across the question – where is the wedding destination? Well, this is a relatively new concept for many. A destination wedding involves the selection of a unique spot on the globe where all guests merge to join the carnival of a wedding. Gone are the days of sober and homely, fun-filled marriages. The culture of opulence serenades the universe of marriages.
It is not surprising, therefore, if standards posted by celebrities are imitated by people across towns and cities of India. Marriage palaces are now a norm in most cities and if a family celebrates a wedding in a marriage palace (community halls are now relics of yesteryears), it is considered a matter of pride and earner of social respect. Families across the cross-section of society invest a humongous amount of money to decorate the venue, deck up the bride and groom to perfection, serve a range of cuisines to invited guests and to declare the wedding to the whole world by hiring the best DJ in town.
It is reported that the moneyed and elite rich class across India now insists on roping in celebrity singers, dancers and actors. Famous actors like Shahrukh Khan apparently charge huge amounts of money to perform at a wedding.
Forget about the studio photographer, now one cannot even do without a high-tech pre-wedding shoot, a wedding shoot, which in turn is followed by an exclusive honeymoon shoot. It is all about raving at shining faces, drowning in glitter, craving for attention and garnering maximum likes on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms with pictures.
Recently, it was reported that Pooja Batra, an actress has decided to get married. Lo and behold, the press just ate the whole story alive. It may be expected that as the wedding approaches, the media is surely bound to try and get pompous images of love locked couple. Socialisation in the contemporary scenario now rests on the pincer as to what an individual wore at a wedding or what one served at a wedding. Unless the wedding is grand, it is not quite considered a wedding. Simplicity won’t do anymore. Forget about social grace and mingling. It is all about fun and frolic now. After all, you only live once!
New Wants And New Inequalities
This culture of opulence in weddings is now acquiring a pan-Indian character. One may have a divergent view as to whether people are increasingly resorting to a vulgar display of wealth at such gatherings or whether it is no one’s business to question the enjoyment and celebration as it comes at a cost.
One thing is certain, the opulence of a select few has given rise to the creation of new wants and desires. After all, every individual has a right to spend his money the way he or she likes. These dream weddings held by the rich and nouveau riche classes post a very benchmark for other classes in the society who try to follow them and poorly imitate them as well. Whenever these weddings are celebrated, it instantaneously evokes admiration among some looking at the way a wedding is celebrated. Animated conversations start revolving around small details of the wedding. It is also likely to cause heartburn among those who can only wish to be part of such an indulgence.
What Explains This Culture Of Extravagance?
An explanation for this culture of extravagance may be found in the theories of political economy and economics. The growth of the industrial economy in Europe in the 19th and early twentieth centuries marked a spectacular rise in commerce beyond national boundaries. Alfred Marshall, a famed economist in his work, Principles of Economics(8th edition, London,1920) has argued that man’s wants in the early stages of development( from evolutionary perspective) gives rise to his activities,yet after every new step upwards it is regarded as the development of new activities giving rise to new wants, rather than new wants giving rise to new activities.
In essence, as per his theory, the purpose of economic organisation is not only to satisfy wants but to create new wants. One may recall that process of industrialisation as it took place in western countries led to the growth of a world market and it, in turn, created a melange of wants beyond the basic sustenance needs.
In his famous work, The Wealth of Nations, celebrated economist, Adam Smith had observed “Little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism, but peace, easy taxes and a tolerable administration of justice, all the rest being brought about by the natural course of things.” But we may be wrong in assuming that opulence filters down the class hierarchy order in Indian societal set-up.
In fact, despite having a regime of competition laws oriented to check monopolisation and concentration of wealth in few hands, we have had scams running into billions of rupees and our parliament is always looking for the best method to check tax-evasion and circuiting of tax laws. There may be economics behind the rise in this ostentatious culture and living but it certainly creates new kind of inequalities and new gentry. For example, there is an individual who owns an iPhone ( status symbol these days) and another doesn’t. It leads to the creation of a new category of privileges and gives birth to new entitlements. Gadgets, access to technology and affinity to highly placed individuals is the leitmotif of social status.
In the process, old hierarchies may dissolve to some extent but do not wither away as their hold over traditional economic network and access to resources for maximising the generation of wealth remains almost intact. Status revolves around possession of new gadgets and access to the moneyed circles. More than the opulence of a wedding, it is noticed as to who was invited and who was left out? Being invited to a big fat Indian wedding gives credence to an individual’s social standing. This may appear strange but is fast becoming a live reality.
Sometime back, a legislator had sought a ban on ostentatious weddings. It appears that as the marriage bazaar grows leaps and bounds, weddings in the near future are definitely going for the moon. These may get as crazy and zany as one can imagine. Needless to stress, new strains of opulent behaviour have taken root in society.