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The wedding bazaar sure thrown up some interesting business opportunities. In Rajasthan weddings are huge family events—so much so that to not have enough guests may be embarrassing. To prevent this from happening an agency called the Best Guests Centre has been set up in the city of Jodhpur.
Its founder, MI Syed, got the idea for the agency when a friend married a woman from a different caste. The groom’s family did not approve of the marriage, and only five guests turned up.
The Best Guests Agency has around 70 people on its books. They can turn up either traditionally dressed or in smart Western clothes, and are briefed on family history and pretend to be friends from the past.
“If there are lots of guests who come to your wedding, people think you have greater influence and greater prestige in society,” he said.
The hired guests first go and spend some time with them, so that they know the style and atmosphere of the home. Then they behave accordingly.
“That’s the reason why I’ve helped in 10 marriages so far—and not one of my guests has ever been found out,” says
Syed.
Not everyone is excited by the turn towards opulence. Newspaper columnist, publisher and Delhi’s uncrowned cultural czarina, Malvika Singh, terms lavish weddings as “graceless.” “Where weddings were once celebrated, today they are performed,” she says.
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