QUARTZ OBSESSION PODCAST

Indian weddings: The priciest party of your life

Indian weddings: The priciest party of your life
Image: Photo by Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citirin-Safadi
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It’s the stuff of Bollywood dreams, come to life—the big fat Indian wedding has withstood the test of time, economic turbulence, social reform, and even modern technology. But when you factor in pent-up pandemic demand, can India’s $50 billion industry possibly keep it up?

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Featuring

Kira Bindrim is the host of the Quartz Obsession podcast. She is an executive editor who works on global newsroom coverage and email products. She is obsessed with reading and reality TV.

Manavi Kapur is a reporter with Quartz India covering health, the pandemic, gender, and socioeconomic inequality. She is obsessed with postcards, museums, and reading fiction.


Show notes

Manavi Kapur’s Obsession email on Indian weddings

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas wedding

Henna (mehndi) ceremony

Umaid Bhawan palace in Jodhpur

Priyanka Chopra on Ellen

Turmeric (haldi) ceremony

Priyanka Chopra’s wedding dress

Lehengas by Sabyasachi Mukherjee

Dupatta

Manish Malhotra, outfitter of Bollywood stars

Banarasi silk

Katrina Kaif weds Vicky Kaushal

Bole Chudiyan,” song about karva chauth festival from the movie Khabi Khushi Khabie Gham

Shah Rukh Khan

This episode uses the following sounds from freesound.org and Free Music Archive:
Bhangra rhythm 3 by sankalp
Variatio 22 a 1 Clav by Kimiko Ishizaka


Read the full transcript, or a lightly edited version.