This Article is From Nov 25, 2016

A Rs 500 Wedding To Plastic Shagun: Shaadi Season Copes With Notes Ban

A Rs 500 Wedding To Plastic Shagun: Shaadi Season Copes With Notes Ban

A couple sitting with credit/debit card machines at their reception.

"Recession ho ya inflation, shadiyaan toh hoti rahengi" - who knew this one dialogue from Anushka Sharma and Ranveer Singh's Band Baaja Baaraat would make so much more sense six years after the film's release?

Weddings in India are a celebration of community - there's a reason why the term 'big fat Indian wedding' is so popular and so apt. So has the scrapping of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 made an impact on the wedding scene in India? Let's take a look.

Scenario #1: In this special wedding in Surat, Gujarat, a couple got married on a budget of just Rs 500. Neither big nor fat but a wedding none the less, and an endearing one at that. "Since our wedding date was already fixed, we decided to give up on a grand marriage and instead had a 'chai, paani wala' wedding," the groom told ANI. The bride too was happy with this setting. You know how the 'miyan biwi razi...' saying goes right?
 
Scenario #2: If you think the first scenario was cool, check out what this couple's doing to ensure a happy and convenient day. They're sitting with credit/debit card machines at their reception. Say what? Everyone's heard of plastic currency (you kinda have to, given the situation we're in) but 'plastic shagun' may just be a first. OK, we're not sure if the couple actually did this at their wedding or if this is just a joke to lighten the mood but this seems like quite a neat solution.
 
Scenario #3: This right here is why we described the concept of 'plastic shagun' as a good idea. Imagine this Chennai man's plight standing in the bank queue with a wedding card in his hand. "My friend's daughter is going to get married tomorrow and her reception is scheduled to take place today evening," he told ANI on November 10, just days after PM Modi's announcement. "I came to RBI to exchange notes but only got Rs 4,000. Even though I demanded more by showing marriage card, they refused," he said. Of course they did, only a PAN card or Aadhar card is acceptable proof, not a friend's daughter's wedding card.
 
Scenario #4: In stark contrast to all the above, the grand Reddy wedding in Bengaluru a couple of days ago made incredulous headlines. It almost seemed like there was no cash crunch in the country when pictures of the wedding hosted by politician and mining tycoon G Janardhana Reddy made it online. Attended by some 50,000 guests who were invited through LCD invitations, the wedding had replicas of a famous temple in Hampi and the bride and groom's respective houses as decoration. According to activists, the grand affair cost Rs 500 crores but relatives and organisers claim the money spent was around Rs 30 crore. Whatever the amount, the wedding grabbed several eyeballs, including those of the Income Tax department.
 

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