holy matrimony!

Indian marriages are insane. Period. There are no ifs and buts about it. There is no joining of souls and soulful gazing into each other's eyes while reading self-composed vows like American sitcom characters do. There is a lot of watery eye contact with the priest's eyes as he chants the mantras while you try your level best to turn your head at strange angles to avoid the "holy" smoke. One doesn't exchange rings and swear to live and die together. Rather, at least in Bengali weddings, the bride's father puts the ring on the groom's finger....and only death shall part the father and son in law! You look around trying to spot a familiar face but you don't see anyone because, well, they are all busy running around, getting everything right for the three hundred people who you really don't know and will probably never meet again in your life. In short, after having fed on all that fluffy western romance, getting married in India is like a hearty kick to your mental backside! You realize that weddings are not romantic, they are not meant to be. They are public events of gargantuan proportions that remind you that your getting married is a social fact. Everybody's involved and interested and there is no escaping it. There is no riding away into the sunset. To a certain extent, the winter smog in Delhi pretty much kills the sunset but largely because those three hundred people you don't know might also want to ride along!