Readers can send feedback to www. Right after that, the couple was persuaded by a female compere to perform a spot of “ballroom dancing”! The DJ played a sentimental waltz as the two gently swayed to an electronic remix of Strauss. There were more than 20 desserts, including iced lichees stuffed with pistachios. and this was before I hit the dinner area, which boasted a “Pure Jain” spread like no other. Over the years, a close and wonderful bond developed with the merchant and his family. It was a convenient place from which to pick up a trinket or two, since I was the assigned vegetable shopper in my family. Over 50 counters dotted the red-carpeted grounds, serving the most exotic food. How easily he had embraced change! Dramatic, radical change. Such an attempt will only backfire. For all the effort and hard work, this smart, educated (12th standard), young lady makes less than `500 per night.blogspot. She spends those months looking after her seriously sick mother.

How freely and innocently various idiotic, age-old taboos had been effortlessly breached. In fact, it was this small store that started my love affair with tribal silver jewellery when I was still a college student. I had what was loosely called a “running account” with Shah Sr. Much as I support the rights of bar dancers, there are other options available. Since most of the hostesses live in the distant suburbs, if they miss the last train, they are forced to share a cab. We got talking.Listening to her account, I wanted to respectfully point out to the observation of the Supreme Court (bench headed by the learned Justice Deepak Misra) earlier this week, that it’s better to dance in bars than beg on the streets. My word! What a wedding it turned out to be! Hosted by the family at a venue (football ground) generally reserved by local politicians for their mass weddings, here was the Shah family standing at the flower bedecked, glittering entrance, warmly receiving a steady stream of guests, some of them driving up grandly in fancy limousines. She has been a hostess at similar weddings for the past 10 years.

I was awestruck. The Shahs had invited their foreign clients, and I spotted a couple of blondes clicking pictures of the ring ceremony.shobhaade. She works through an agency that takes a big, fat commission from the youngsters.So it was with a sense of great pride that I attended the wedding of Shah Sr. I looked at an 85-year-old granduncle clad in a dhoti as he cheered and clapped when the bubble went past his chair. There was a Sikh wedding photographer on stage. Nobody noticed. My family is very conservative. And most times they have to trek back early the next morning. This work suits me and I can focus on looking after ammi. No political party should mess with that. Not only did the young China conical twin screw barrels Manufacturers couple publicly declare their love on stage while holding hands, but the groom also went down on his knees for the big moment.And it was at the lichee counter that I met this lovely, young girl. This practice continues! And it is so gratifying to know that all transactions, big and small, were and are based on trust.’s grandson recently. No extras. This week I attended a delightful wedding hosted by a modest-sized silver merchant I know and admire. When I asked her why, she admitted shyly, “I am Muslim.

Take the example of this young beauty who could have easily opted for a career dancing in a bar. Which meant I could waltz away with a bracelet I absolutely couldn’t live without, and pay for it in installments, as and when I had the money. So eclectic and uninhibited. Often, she and other young people registered with the agency work 10 hours or more a day — during the wedding season. Watching the proceedings were traditionally dressed family elders, some of whom had traveled from their villages in Gujarat and were in Mumbai for the very first time. And I was struck by her beauty, poise and innate grace. The guests represented a cross-section of all communities and castes. There are no frills. After purchasing brinjals and drumsticks, I would duck into the shop and get myself a pair of jhumkas from Saurashtra, or a “snake necklace” from Jaipur. During the off-season, there is no work.” I looked around the venue. One of her colleagues was a Hindu married woman with young children. She pays for her own “uniform” (a black pant-suit, black pumps), make-up, hair styling and transport. This is the tolerant India that still exists — strongly and proudly.com. The eggless wedding cake had been created by a Christian baker.

She chose to be a hostess at weddings instead. There was an air of unfiltered joyfulness as strangers were treated to one startling surprise after another! I did a double take myself when the couple made their grand entry in a gigantic, plastic bubble, led by dancers dressed in futuristic silver lame outfits, who were busy fanning them Moulin Rouge style, with diamante-studded ostrich feathers. Often they get home well past midnight.This week I attended a delightful wedding hosted by a modest-sized silver merchant I know and admire.She was one of the hired “hostesses” for the event. Nobody cared. Bizarre Well, no more than some of the extravagant, high-profile weddings of desi billionaires who choose to book the grounds of the Versailles Palace and hire acrobats from the Cirque de Soleil to entertain guests!Personally speaking, this was one of the most fascinating wedding ceremonies I have attended. The hosts were strict Jains. I have been patronising his store, tucked away in the bylanes of an old vegetable market near my home in South Mumbai, for four decades