A Wedding Plan(ner)

How often do we hear a “Yes” from a would-be bride or groom, when asked if they would take the services of a wedding planner for their wedding…certainly, a whole lot of times. This is a mere recent concept..something which has gained a lot of popularity in this dynamic and modern society.

- So, Why is it that the Concept of having a wedding planner become so popular in the recent years??

It is because of the busy lifestyle of people; the bride, the groom, their family or the relatives are so engrossed with their personal and professional life that they do not have time to work out every single detail that will go into making their “D Day” a memorable one and so they outsource all of these activities to a Wedding Planner.

Wedding Planner acts as someone who would work on all the matters related to a wedding, on exactly the requirements as would be specified by the bride and the groom. Their services are not just restricted to the requirements on the wedding day like catering, accommodation, decor, photos, videos etc. But, it goes beyond that to include post-wedding services like gifts for guests, honeymoon arrangements for bride and groom and a lot more.

Thus the dynamic wedding industry coupled with an unexpected increase in the budgets, and an increased focus on making every detail perfect for the wedding day has ensured that the services of a wedding planner as something to be sought out for!!

For More Interesting Articles Visit us @ http://ourvivaha.com/blog

Also Visit our Website @ http://ourvivaha.com

Are Luxury Brands Affordable?

Journey of the “Brands” in India

“Tu taan Cotton County paundi si, ohne Gant lia da”

The highlighted words in the above line are the brands of apparels. It’s a line of famous Punjabi songs which describes the comparison of Indian Vs the Foreign Brands

I still remember the times, not so long ago, when shopping in Sarojini or Lajpat Nagar in Delhi was just the best thing that could happen to a girl and for some high-end shopping, it was the famous Connaught Place which had some of the best brands available.

And then came along, the Mall Culture, and the whole definition of Luxury for Urban India changed and how. Brands which were unheard of are common place now. And, I am sure everyone has seen at least one brand which they can’t pronounce correctly. Yes, of course there are brands like “Ermenegildo Zegna “.

Today, shopping from brands has become normal for any middle-class Indian family. These brands start their range from 500-600 which makes it rather easy for anyone to own that brand.

And these days, even singers use brand names extensively in their songs.  I am sure we can all relate to the following lines “Rado ki ghadi haathon mein ,Perfume Gucci wala “!

Brands have travelled a rather Long Journey in India. Few brands have succeeded, few lost dropped off as they didn’t do well. Some had to even shut shop and return to their countries because of the Overheads such as huge rentals and other fixed costs. If some of them such as the men’s luxury brand Dunhill have had to close out because doing business in our country was no longer viable, others such as Hugo Boss and Judith Leiber had to shift to smaller outlets.

Govt’s approval for added FDI in our country just might be the motivator for such upcoming brands.

From Zara to Starbucks, there are innumerable brands available now to lure us into spending.  But, surely it will take a long time for these international brands to replace our desi Haldiram’s and not to forget Bata Rs.999.

For More Interesting Articles, Visit us @ http://ourvivaha.com/blog/
Also Visit our Website @ http://ourvivaha.com

Mirror Mirror

Mirror Mirror on the Wall .. Who is the Fairest of us all??

Since time immemorial, beauty has been a virtue associated with women. All women are expected to be beautiful. In Indian society the ideal of a woman is “slim”, “fair” and “beautiful”. One look at the matrimonial columns of any newspaper will reiterate the fact that our Indian society is obsessed with beauty. It is this attitude that raises expectations from ordinary women. Any woman who does not fit the ideal i.e “fair”, “slim” and “beautiful” is not considered attractive or beautiful enough.

Like in Greek mythology where Aphrodite or Venus was considered to be the Goddess of Beauty, our Indian mythology too is abundant with Beautiful women like Goddess Parvati, and Maneka who lured the great sage Vishvamitra with her Beauty. One has to understand that each individual is unique and has her/his own charisma. To expect all women to conform to the “ideal” is futile.

Coming to the present context, living in a world of commodities, more often than not, we tend to overlook the historical context, the cultural and social implications of; the impact on mentalities, and the impact on our lives of commercial products and the marketing techniques used to sell these products. One of the best examples is that of ‘Fair & Lovely’, a product of Unilever, which is marketed in India by Hindustan Lever Limited, the Indian subsidiary of Unilever.

One of the market leaders in fairness creams, ‘Fair & Lovely’ targets young women who aspire to be fair. Here fairness is closely associated with the “ideal” beauty. Thus, fair women are considered to be beautiful.

If one closely follows the advertisements one can guess that the brand promotes a certain type of a woman who is fair. What makes this situation more problematic is that beauty is equated to having a fair skin tone. It automatically puts whites above non-whites and justifies their success on a sub-conscious level.

Infact, this craze for white skin has been aggressively marketed. In advertisements, it is always shown that in order to be successful, liked and approved by others, one needs to have fair skin. However, this is not true. In order to succeed in life one needs to have character and depth. That is what makes an individual successful.

Like the popular saying goes, “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.”

-Arpita Bhattacharya

For more Interesting Articles Visit us @ http://ourvivaha.com/blog

Also Visit our Website @ http://ourvivaha.com/