Blockbuster Indian weddings

Big fat Indian weddings are increasingly becoming an occasion to make a social statement. There’s competition among families to make weddings the most talked of social event. Blockbuster Indian weddings are in vogue and each season the bar gets raised as people vie to spend obscene amount of money to make it an out-of-this-world experience.

It is common practice for wedding hosts to demand from the wedding managers and Five Star chefs and banquet teams that the food and arrangements should be unique and on a scale that has never happened before. I am surprised how they manage to convince and satisfy their hosts each time.

I attended a big wedding ceremony yesterday night. No doubt the decor and the food was elegant and great. All who came to attend the wedding, were put up in Hotel Marriott, but I stayed at the Hotel Anantara as I prefer my own space.

Indians hosting weddings overseas is a new trend. About five years back, the place of choice for lavish weddings would have been Goa, Udaipur or Ooty. In the last four to five years Dubai, Bally and Thailand have become the favourite destinations. And if it is a Marwari wedding it has to be Munna Maharaj. Not just for the food but also for the infrastructure he has set up to cater to clients in destinations outside India.

Munna Maharaj is a household name synonymous with lavish Indian weddings. I have known him for the past 16 or 17 years now and have witnessed his journey from Munna Halwai to `The Munna Maharaj’. However, despite his success, he remains the same down-to-earth person of yester years. He is polite, very courteous and always composed. Besides his mastery over the food and his ability to charm palates, I personally feel his success has a lot to do with his pleasant behaviour. He respects his old customers and, in spite of his busy schedule, is always just a phone call away. Munna Maharaj has redefined Indian food and sweets by creating an enviable variety of `Indianised’ international dishes. He has given a
new meaning to the Indian weddings in catering.

Good show Munna Maharaj.

ess bee