Asha is getting married on the 18th of Dec. She herself is a doctor by profession and so is her would-be husband. They were to get married last year but due to Covid and their own duties at hospitals, postponed it to 2021-year end.

One would think that being doctors, they would have a very small wedding. Nope. They are going the whole nine yards, with four-day functions, guest lists, trousseau, jewellery, caterer, venues and pretty much everything else. And they say that wherever they have gone for shopping, the places were crowded with many like them, shopping for that grand wedding.

There are quite a few who say Covid has changed their perspective towards life and are going for small, intimate functions. But such are far and few in between. Everyone seems to be desperate to celebrate – the couple getting married and the guests waiting to attend. And all are shopping.

As per a report by Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), an estimated 25 lakh weddings are expected to conclude between November 14 and December 13, just one month. And as per CII, this one month is expected to generate business worth Rs 3 lakh crore from the sectors dependent on it. Catering, textile, jewellery, garments have been reaping benefits for the past couple of months though the new variant has cast a pall of gloom once again on the hospitality and travel sector but Q3 is likely to be very good for them too.

A year ago, the lower income groups heaved a sigh of relief as a “corona marriage” meant low expenses and that meant lesser loans for weddings. And we had felt that this trend might stay on even after the pandemic recedes. Sadly, this change in the mindset will not happen so soon; like many other things in India, it will take generations. Lavish weddings are back in demand, being demanded by the groom’s folks and the poor, cannot afford it yet want to feel rich, earn prestige by putting forth a wedding which is way beyond their means.

So, has the pandemic taught us any lessons? Maybe some learnt but most left that chapter for “option”. Majority of us are back to living the way we did in 2019, maybe more so, what will all this repressed wants and demands. The Omicron has put some caution back yet no one wants to scale down – all want to wait and watch. This wedding season, which ends on 13th Dec will end on a very good note but thereafter, it all depends on the progress of the variant.

Marriages are indeed made in heaven but here on earth, the process of getting married is hell!