You Say Mango, I Say Screw You

I can state with confidence that I am fairly obsessed with Indian weddings. What's not to love? The whiff of the exotic hangs over even the simplest affairs: the gilded saris, the brides adorned with mendhi, the sacred fire, a Bollywood-style dance marathon threatening to break out at any moment.

And oh the drama.

Despite laws passed to crackdown on the dowry system which usually serves to bankrupt a bride's family, dowry-gouging is alive and well.

This past weekend, two prominent families gathered together in Pune to celebrate the marriage of their children. By the end of the day, the wedding was called off, the police were called by both families, and the mess made international news, thanks to... mangoes?

Dowry considerations may not always be necessary to render a marital tie asunder, it would seem. A trivial demand — that 'aamras' (mango pulp) be served in the marriage-hall — was sufficient for a wedding to be called off in Pune recently.

The demand for the 'aamras' came from the groom's side during the wedding ceremony at the Shivshankar hall in Mukundnagar here on April 17. The daughter of the city-based Bhise family was to be married to the son of the Botaljis from Talegaon-Dabhade.

Just before the ceremony could begin, the Botaljis demanded that their relatives be served 'aamras'. The Bhises expressed their inability to do so, saying that the menu for the occasion had been decided by both sides a long time back and that 'aamras' was not to be on the fare. They said it was too late to arrange for the 'aamras' now.

No word if the famillies decided to have a dance off to decide who was responsible for the mango mess up.

Story continued here.