Gaudy display of wealth
- Sangai Express Editorial :: November 07, 2008 -
The wedding season is now upon us and each day is now crammed with one marriage ceremony too many. Wedding day is undoubtedly one of the most important dates in the life of anyone.
It means taking yet another major step in the stages of a human life and while there have been debates over the institution of marriage, on the other hand it remains true that it is something universal.
It is a union of two individuals and is a major step towards more responsibility. It means commitment and the willingness to adjust with each other, though for the women, the adjustment question is more important in a patriarchal society like the Manipuri society.
Marriage of two individuals is also a stepping stone towards starting a family and this means more responsibility and the world of an individual is suddenly not only about himself or herself but also about the other half and the children who will follow suit.
Setting up a family is no joke and that is why so much stress is laid on the responsibility question and this entails not only sharing the journey of life with another person but also about bringing up children, who will one day go on to inherit the world.
And when we talk about responsibility, it should not only be about after the wedding but even in the preparation of the wedding itself.
Call it the increased earning capacities of the people or anything else, but one disturbing trend that we have witnessed in recent times is the obnoxious display of wealth and assets at the time of any marriage ceremony.
We agree that since wedding day is one of the most important dates, we may stretch the purse a little more, but when this comes to downright display of wealth that borders on the vulgar that it is time for some stock taking.
It has become something of a fashion statement today to print very, very expensive invitation card, with all the unnecessary gloss. It just serves no purpose to go in for such expenses, when any decent invitation card will serve the purpose.
Moreover Manipur is not a money churning State like Gujarat or say Mumbai and the money that is expended on such expensive cards, will go outside the State, thereby draining whatever little wealth we have. Let us be practical, is our suggestion.
The absurdly large number of vehicles used in any wedding ceremony is another eye sore. Not only does it mean wasting scarce resources like fuel, but it also means adding to the air pollution, not to speak of the traffic jams it creates.
What nine or ten cars can do, one bus will easily suffice. The money used for the vehicles as well as the expensive invitation cards can easily be put to better use, such as paying the school fees of a child belonging to an impoverished family.
Another word that we would like to add here is the huge wastage of food during the Mapam Chakkouba. It just does not make any sense to prepare more than two fish dishes. It makes no sense to put more rice on the plate of the invitees.
Instead of wasting all the food, it would serve a much nobler cause if the food were used to feed some hungry mouths.
Remember not everyone is a Lakshmi Mittal.
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