At last, in a land starved of good tidings from the political arena, here is some heart-warming news. A minister in the Karnataka cabinet got his daughter married in a humble mass-marriage ceremony.
News source: 'Just wedding, no bling-bling', Prathima Nandakumar, The Week, 24 November 2014
There was no ostentatious show of wealth, pomposity, grandeur, going underwater to tie the knot, marrying on a plane, or any of the other type of tomfoolery the rich and the famous indulge in to showcase their wealth and status.
Some get married thrice; once each in style of the different faiths. Do they also have to divorce thrice in the future? Just a thought. But jokes apart, in these days where marriages are falling apart within the first anniversary, with some resulting in bitter court disputes, one wonders if the event requires such a grand celebratory beginning in the first place. Why can't the same money be used more meaningfully; as in securing the children's future or helping the poor?
Coming back to this particular wedding, there was no theme party; no reception in front of a heritage building; no division of food stalls into continental, Chinese, Thai, South Indian, Mongolian, or Arctic; no wasting of uneaten food; and there was no dancing to Sheila ki jawani... or Chikni Chameli...
Boring? No, utterly sensible. And meaningful.
The other couples in the mass-wedding - from poor socioeconomic backgrounds - were given cows as gifts to encourage cattle rearing and self-reliance; there were couples from different religions married according to their faith; the meal served was basic; and the event was even blessed by the visit of the chief minister.
It is indeed a rare breed of politicians - this particular minister is apparently not the first to do such a thing - that has the maturity and humility to undertake such a step. In doing so he has set an example for all of us. Hopefully he won't be the last politician to do so. May his tribe increase!
I condemn ostentatious gatherings in this video made in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic: https://youtu.be/VmqTaWFwXIs
Image source: https://starofmysore.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/mass-marriage.jpg
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