A procession of men decked up in designer sherwanis and women in embroidered silk sarees danced to the beats of hit Bollywood songs from ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ all the way to the banquet halls behind a brass band. The groom with his face veiled with floral beads followed the procession, comfortably sat on a chalky white mare. The scene is becoming a common sight at many weddings in the city of late.
In order to keep up with the traditions, this is believed to be only complete after loud ceremonies, celebrations that end at the wee hours of the morning with over 2,000 guests was soon being replaced by modest weddings.
“Now-a-days, people have started taking keen interest in themed-weddings, destination weddings and heritage weddings in the city. For the past five years, we have been noticing an increase in demand for white mares and bagghis. There is a special Rajasthani-styled bagghi—the Rajwara bagghi that is pulled by two or four horses, which is available at a price of Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 consecutively. Grooms also prefer to book just a mare at a price range of Rs 5,000-6,000 in the city that has gone up in the past couple of years. The year 2010 soon after the recession people have started spending more and wishing to have a grand wedding depending on their budget and choice,” said Chanakya Mishra, one of the top wedding planners, Brandmark Events, Kutchhery Road.
With people stepping out to be extravagant with their wedding affairs, the city has been witnessing more and more grooms trying to make their entry grand with the white mares and even the bagghi that is pulled by two horses to impress their brides.
“Everybody wants a fairytale wedding and so did I. So, to make it come true we have splurged quite a bit on fancy decoration and entertainment. We will have an artificial water-light-music show for the guests. The fun part is that my husband is going to come and get me on a bagghi, which consists of a rath that is drawn by two or more horses,” said Keshi Singh, a soon-to-be bride from Deepatoli.
Tanu Singh, a 29-year-old management consultant from Bengalaru, who got married in May, last year, said that he give his wedding a traditional touch by reaching the venue on a white horse. “I always wanted to get married in an authentic Rajasthani style as our ancestors used to earlier. So, I ditched the luxury car to only surprise everyone by riding a white horse to the mandap. The look on my wife’s face was something I can never forget,” said Singh.
Meanwhile, wedding planners in the city also agreed that there is a certain visible increase in the demand for horses and bagghis in the city since 2010. “Families have not only been demanding for ghodis and bagghis but also the brides now demand for dolis. The single mare is available at a price of Rs 8,100 and a bagghi pulled by four horses is available at Rs 14,000. Brides’ dolis are available in various designs such as the lotus, Peacock, Temples, with closed and open doors at a range of Rs 6,500. We have been making a decent amount of profit for the past three years now in the city and neighbouring districts,” said Vikas Aggarwal, Shubhlabh Creations, another wedding planner from Upper Bazaar.
The wedding planners agreed that there is a certain wave of traditionalism fusion with Bollywood style in the city, according to the demands placed by the grooms as well as brides families. They cite the sudden shift in trend to the fact that people’s quest to look absolutely filmy and different on the biggest day of their life.