Makeup and weddings

When I wrote about make up, I shared how I felt about it. A friend said that make up is always a couple of notches above the normal look, so as to look good in photographs. The result is not for the person but for the captured image. Whoah! I wanted to feel good for myself not for posterity. Weddings these days seem to have become all about photographs. I mean I dare not say 'snaps' or 'photos' or 'pics'. It is all about 'images' now. I remember the photographer in Jharia, I can't remember his name but I remember the face so clearly. He was of medium height, dark, curly hair and thick black glasses. He wore dark coloured shirts too which were not a norm. For weddings, men wore white or cream Kurta Pajama or safari suit. All these shops like 'Manyavar' and what not, did not exist then. Grooms did not match their clothes to the decor or the bride or the theme or the flower decoration on the stage. In fact, the bride did not know what the groom would be wearing except a broad idea. It was all a surprise. Now the photoshoot happens before the wedding in exotic locales. There is full fledged make up and styling team with the bride and the groom. The wedding venue has to be spectacular or the bride will spend her Father's money to ensure it looks spectacular. The colour co ordinated clothes are bought for the bride and the groom. In my times, only siblings wore matching clothes. I have an Aunt who ensured her whole family of four including Uncle and my cousins wore the same colour for every party.

For everything, I see in today's world, I seem to have a reference point in Jharia. In Dhanbad, there was Dhanbad Photo Studio. Their cool quotient was little higher as it was located in Rajendra Market. The owners were my Aunt's neighbours. People whose daughters were an eligible age, would secretly go to their house to get their daughter's photo clicked, for matrimonial purposes. The girls would come all dressed early in the morning to their house, a little shy and accompanied by mother or some Aunt. The owner had kept a spare room to click these pictures. I had one such photo session by a retired photographer on my new house terrace. My face was full of pimples, I had washed my hair and worn a relatively new salwar kameez. This was my favourite green kurta with a yellow dupatta. It had a square neck with cord piping. The Mehndi green was a Khadi silk with a sunflower yellow dupatta brought from Sheetal stores at Grant Road in Mumbai. It was a very big store during my college days. Sorry I do not think, I knew words like multi designer stores, at that time. The owner, an old chirpy gentleman, was warm and gracious. My Uncle knew him well. He was shot at point blank range outside his shop some years later. I still remember him and he was gem of a person.

Read an article about a grand weddings on how one has to blog and create a thrill of the wedding with 'countdown begins' kind of tags. The wedding is given a hashtag which is usually made by a few initials of the bride and the groom's name. That apparently builds excitement in the people's mind and gives uniqueness to your wedding. The blog covers all aspects of the uber cool bride. The newspapers cover these blogs. On a couple of occasions, I have visited these blogs and figured out that the bride is promoting her line of clothes or jewellery. I mean 'idhar bhi dhandha' [ business even in the wedding]. I am so far removed from this current concept of weddings. I mean what does one do with the photoshoots at different places. Stick pictures all over the house or is it for social media only or for friends who could not be a part of the wedding. Everything is from the photographer's lens perspective. The relatives have to dress a certain way and stand a certain way during the entry of the bride or some ceremony. This is the new genre wedding. Accept it.