The compulsions of conjugal dharma

The marriage season is on, and with a vengeance. Even as an anti-BJP grand political alliance is being mooted, Delhi and other cities are bracing themselves for a tsunami of weddings as pandits declare that, after a four-month hiatus, the auspicious days for weddings are back. However, all bandhans —of convenience or otherwise, be they coalitional or connubial — can be a cause of inconvenience to others, as in the remark that while marriages may be made in heaven, they create below a hell of traffic jams. As the big fat Indian wedding gains added weight, wedlocks result in gridlocks.

While the proposed Mahagathbandhan has yet to hit upon an auspicious muhurat for an exchange of vows to solemnise its union, behind-the-scenes preparations for the formal nuptial ceremony are reportedly afoot for what promises to be a dhoom-dhaam affair, despite cynics who claim that such amess-alliance only demonstrates the triumph of hope over experience in that such disparate partners will inevitably leave all concerned in a plight. Despite such caveats, marriage à-la-mode appears to be the order of the day for couples as well as for parties. Indeed, in the case of the Mahagathbandhan, its proposers could justify their ménage-à-trois-andmore on the grounds that as the plural of spouse is spice, the knot they seek to tie won’t end up as a noose.