Thirty days. More than a lakh weddings. And all this in one city: Delhi. November and December are the best months for industries that depend on couples tying the knot: wedding planners, caterers, decorators, jewellers, tailors, designers, hotels, and so on.
This is also the time of year when many markets in Old Delhi are at their liveliest. No matter in which part of Delhi the wedding is, the bridal lehenga will most likely be stitched by a karigar at Maliwara, an area near the better-known Chandni Chowk. The best karigars often are from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal.
Thanks to the larger-than-life Yash Chopra and Karan Johar films, sangeet, mehndi, chooda (red and white bangles) and kaleere (dome-shaped jewellery, like mini chandeliers, that are tied to the chooda ) of the Punjabis are now part of wedding lexicons across India. Kinari Bazaar is where these accessories are sold in at least a hundred shops. Families come to the same market to buy the sehra (turban) for the groom. Crisp currency notes strung in a garland — something that grooms only in north India are seen wearing — is the other Kinari Bazaar speciality. Some say that NRI families get garlands made with dollars and pounds.
Delhi still likes to invite guests to its weddings with cards and a box of mithai (also chocolates and/or dry fruits). A little away from Kinari Bazaar is Nai Sarak, synonymous with wedding cards. As far as the eye can see, there are shops and shops in all shapes and sizes, their shelves and windows stacked with cards in eye-popping colours.
Photos: Kamal Narang