Of weddings, nuclear plants and bribes for politicians

Bangalore must certainly be the wedding capitol of the world.  Weddings may occur on any auspicious day (could be a Sunday or a Tuesday, etc.)  There are various stratifications of wedding venues, but the most glamorous are on the Palace Road, and the cost of these affairs is enormous.  (We keep hoping for an invitation, but none has arrived.)

There are strings of twinkle lights throughout large grounds with tents, gazebos, food courts, etc.  Large signs welcome the guests saying, for example, “The families of Vidya and Pratam welcome you!  Today they are wed.  We wish them a lifetime of happiness.”  Brides dress in silk, with lots of gold jewelry worth the price of a new Mercedes.

There is actually legislation proposed here to limit the amount that people can spend on weddings.   It's not always so light-hearted -- sometimes resulting in suicides and/or murders over the lack of money for a proper betrothal.

Contrasting with this was a wedding we observed while driving in Rajasthan.  We were first attracted by the sounds coming from a small open truck that featured a person in a lion costume dancing to upbeat music.  In the U.S. it might have been a promotion by a radio station of a special event.  Behind the truck there was a procession of people, and in their midst was a young bride, dressed rather simply, riding on a horse to meet her groom.  Traditionally the groom rode in on a horse, so seeing her was surprising, but the driver confirmed that it was a wedding procession.  This occurred in a rural and fairly impoverished area.  So these are the extremes of modern India.   

A couple of other experiences on our roadtrip were worth noting.  The nuclear power plant near Ahmedabad is quite open and exposed.  It was near a military area, but didn’t seem heavily guarded or separated from passers-by.  In India, it is now commonplace to be searched when entering a hotel or mall.  The security guards put a mirror underneath the front of the car and open the “boot” (as the British called the trunk of a car.)  How very strange that we get searched entering 5-star hotels but that the nuclear plant seems accessible to all.

We were stopped at a roadblock on the way to Rajasthan and the guards opened our suitcases and searched them.  After we were back on the highway, we asked our driver what it was all about.  He said that a public official was coming on that road shortly, and they wanted to make sure we weren’t carrying suitcases of money to bribe him!  Would that we had such means, eh?    

When we had worked on campaigns for local politicians in Pittsburgh, the bribes were carried around in small bags to poll workers on the morning of each election -- very discreetly.  I'm quite certain that the police and judges were a part of this network in the U. S.  -- as I'm sure they are here, too.  Must have been an election ruse that we encountered in Gujarat.