India’s fabulously opulent weddings are about to make a boisterous comeback for millions of citizens after a hiatus of nearly two years following the nationwide decline in Covid-19 cases and an escalation in the vaccination campaign.
The Confederation of All India Traders in New Delhi recently stated that more than three million weddings across the country – most of them postponed due to the Covid pandemic – have been postponed to the “auspicious” four-week period from mid-November on the Hindu lunar calendar.
Of these, around 150,000 are to take place in the federal capital, with all major hotels and wedding locations being reserved in Delhi. Thousands of wedding planners, caterers and florists were hired and huge amounts of expensive jewelry and artistic trousseau and other luxury goods were procured for the celebrations.
“There is no five-star hotel to be found anywhere in the country until mid-December, as they are all fully booked for high-end marriages,” says upscale wedding planner Ahana Chowdhary in Delhi’s suburb of Gurgaon. After months of bans and restrictions due to Covid, many people “do all they can to weddings and splurge”.
A cross-section of saree, dress and jewelry designers also report brisk business, with many claiming they did not expect such a reversal in sales to the point where they surpass the pre-Covid wedding season.
“There is a sudden sense of urgency [in the marriage market] and we’re running out of stocks, ”said the renowned Indian couturier Ritu Kumar of the Economic Times, calling the turnaround in sales“ sensational ”.
Market reforms
Over the past three decades, following India’s market reforms in the early 1990s, lavish weddings have become the leitmotif of the country’s growing upper middle class – numbering around 300 million – to showcase their newfound wealth.
The global financial consultancy KPMG values India’s wedding industry at around 43 billion euros annually, focusing on the six-month “marriage season” that begins at the end of October each year and lasts until March.
Commodity analysts say a large part of that spending goes on gold jewelry that is set with gemstones like diamonds, emeralds, and rubies.
India is the world’s largest consumer of gold. Many opulent households display such jewelry even before weddings, which encourages envy and competition between relatives and guests.
Wedding planners estimate that bride dowry costs tens of millions of rupees in most middle and upper middle class Indian families. Dowries can include prime real estate, luxury automobiles, and expensive works of art.
All of these weddings start with elaborate, hand-delivered invitations, often accompanied by a gold sovereign, an expensive silk stole, a fine wool scarf or a bespoke silver ball.
Cruel fairy tale
Depending on the region, religion and caste of the families involved, these weddings can be celebrated over several days in unbridled solemnity for hundreds of guests, who are celebrated with imported delicacies, spirits and wines.
Wealthier grooms have opted for horse-drawn carriages or even a line of elephants to make their way to the wedding venue. There are also a growing number of attendants arriving in helicopters and showering guests downstairs with fragrant rose petals.
However, the ongoing pandemic has imposed a limit of no more than 200 guests by the government, an order that several wedding planners said was disregarded by most.
“Nobody would believe at a wedding like this that India is a developing country where almost two-thirds of its 1.3 billion people live on no more than $ 3 a day,” says Rita Paul, one in Delhi resident fashion designer. Such weddings, she says, are like cruel fairy tales.
