Book title – The Great Indian Tamasha: Adventures of a Wedding Planner

Author: Rasika Bhatia

Format: Kindle

Pages: 184

Blurb: “Reception ho yah inflation…shaadiyaan toh honi hai.’
The band, baaja, baraat have got louder. With destination weddings, experiential events, curated guestlists gaining popularity, the wedding planner has become a permanent fixture on the shaadi scene not just as the event organiser but as the friend, philosopher, and guide to the entire khandaan.
The Great Indian Tamasha makes us realize that saying yes to the proposal is probably the easiest part. As we immerse ourselves in the chaos of the stories laced with black humour, we are exposed to the dark underbelly of the weddings of the affluent and the influential. These weddings are more than just a glamorous return to traditions or celebration of new kinship bonds; they have come to epitomize conspicuous consumption and a show of strength.
Well-known wedding planner Rasika Bhatia’s incisive portrayal of spirited brides, hesitant grooms, controlling parents, greedy in-laws, fraudulent clients, and conniving competitors aptly depicts the behind-the-scenes shenanigans of the modern big, fat Indian wedding that has indeed become a tamasha.”

My Rating: 4/5

Review: The author has brought her life experiences from weddings to our reading corners. Every chapter is a new experience and maybe learning for the author, which she has imparted to everyone else in the business. Weddings in India have become a grand affair due to social media coverage. However, Delhi was always in the news for extravagant weddings over the past two decades. There is cut-throat market competition in the wedding business. The author projected her experiences strewn across 22 chapters. She gave a first-hand experience to the readers about the mishaps happening backstage. It takes courage to walk away from a meeting where goons claim a cut on your hard-earned money. It broke my heart reading about the commission cuts asked from Rasika, even when she stood up against the commission, yet she had to quit the venue. Wedding organizers deal with bridezillas, drunk grooms, and parent tantrums, yet at the end of the day, they deliver the work with all their hearts. It was horrible that Rasika was stabbed with a pen as the customer wasn’t impressed with the decor. My two cents here would be apart from the money invested in the function, a wedding organizer is investing time, labor, and talent to showcase the best for your event. The least we can do is treat them as human beings. People in the high-income strata assume that wedding events are no longer chargeable. Organizers kept the chase on for their money, their sole source of income. The author has done a commendable job by bringing out the reality of wedding industry. My personal favorite story would be – the one where Rasika walks out of the event with the team as she was stabbed. It was cruel of the client but Rasika stood up for her self-esteem, which is applauding.

Some of my favorite lines from the book:

“Why do a girl’s parents have to dry their faces and wipe sweat beads? Why not the groom’s parents? That is going to be another story.”

“People will say things to you to make you feel bad and they will try to break you, nobody will praise you.”

Buy here – Amazon

Review – Goodreads