Marriage, much more than party time!

Bengal means business... when it comes to weddings. In the hierarchy of Bengali weddings, though, some garner far more public interest than others - or, at least that's what the media in the state insists should interest the public. Marriages in which the son or daughter marries a foreigner (read: White people) in traditional gear is a media favourite. But, last Friday, talk of the town was the union of two politicians - the venerable Dilip Ghosh, ex-West Bengal BJP president, with his party colleague, Rinku Majumdar. In a match made during morning walks, Majumdar reportedly popped the question to Ghosh at an IPL match last month at Eden Gardens. And the rest is, as they say, fodder for much excited and excitable deliberations by the people of Bengal on the subject of the ultimate political alliance: marriage.

When a veteran politician gets married, why is it seen as such a strange, special spectacle? When two politicians get married to each other, it's a veritable anthropological fest for everyone. Perhaps the fascination lies in the modern trend of people in public service going out of their way to proclaim they are 'married to their service', 'married to the job', or other such pious niceties. For Dilu-da and Rinku-di, there is no contradiction in loving each other and the 'people'. From our end, we wish them a very happy married life.