The great Indian Wedding

In India, marriages are traditionally between two families rather than two individuals. Whatever may be the economic level of the family, weddings are large family events. Parents usually spend a significant proportion of their assets on the marriage of their children. Because of the prevalent social norms in India, most people spend way more on a daughter’s wedding than on a son’s.

Several friends of mine who have gotten married in the recent past have had to spend all their savings on their weddings because if they had’nt, their parents would have emptied out their retirement kitties. It is very common for a young couple, and their parents (specially of the bride) to take loans to fund the extravaganza.

It all seems such a waste to me. Sure a wedding is a very important event, but after all it’s just a party. Surely nobody needs to go bankrupt in order to have a fulfilling marriage. How can one start one’s married life (or for that matter any new stage in life) on such a wrong foot? And besides most weddings are a social formality, for both the hosts and the guests. It’s actually just a handful of people who are really happy for you, and those people care too much for you to cause you or your family to go bankrupt. The rich can afford to have grand weddings, because they are not sacrificing their financial security. But it’s the middle class who hurt their finances the most by taking loans.

Several friends think that I have such a cold calculated view because I have not experienced the wedding fever myself. And that I will be very different if I am the one getting married. Sure there is some truth in that statement, because human nature is unpredictable. But I hope I won’t fall into that category. In any case, if a guy wants to empty a significant part of his and my savings for a party, then he won’t be the right person for me!!!