The Big Fat Indian Wedding

There are officially, a lot of “knotty” people out there.

While the rest of India puts freezing toes into hot-as-toast quilts, Delhi(and many other places) are gearing up for a long season of weddings.

I heard that this Monday, Delhi alone, had over 36,000 weddings. Whew!

Not to be left behind , yesterday had quite a few thousand lined up too.

Threading our way through traffic last night, it didn’t help us at al that there were several thousands of people on the road, bravely bearing the bitter cold, out to attend some wedding or the other.

A column in the national daily, perhaps because of lack of other newsy articles, reported how poor, “overworked,” politicos had an average of 12 weddings to attend every other night.

Sample this hypothetical situ: Secretary of a politician at a press meet, “Sir had to attend Mr. so-and-so’s brother-in-law’s son’s wedding last night. He is dog tired after all that revelry. So kindly excuse his political gaffes / howlers today.”
Wow!

So last night, on our way back from West Delhi (where we had gone to see a house for best friend who is to get married next month), we saw loads of Delhiite baraatis, out in all their gaudy finery, bejeweled hands raised in typical marriage dance style, swaying to the loud tunes that the local bands belted out.

Grooms sat on pretty white mares. Most looked unmistakably forlorn (was it because of the cold or the fact that they were abandoning their single status for a lifetime of in-laws, groceries, kids? lol)

Kids looked as if they were having the time of their lives, dancing, prancing, yelling gleefully, some so enthused that they were shrieking like banshees.
Despite the car windows rolled up, we could scarcely hear a word of what we were spouting; the deafening cymbals drowning any attempt at conversation with their deafening sound.

Is that what they call music?

I guess even the Bard, William Shakespeare, would think twice before saying again, “If music be the food of love, play on..”

Needless to say, my ears hurt till late last night.

And earaches suck big time.

Owwwwwww

And to think I have to attend quite a few nuptials in the coming few months.
Thank God for the awesome food they serve there, though.

Quite a saving grace. Burp.