Bulging tummies and
people filling their plates with food more than they can consume is a common
scene at weddings in India. Of course the occasional sounds of ‘burps’ and
‘farts’ are common too; overeating leads to both right friends. Apart from all
the glamour, dance and happiness associated with Indian weddings; food
consumption or let’s say its wastage is more often witnessed by all at any
matrimonial occasion in India.
Wastage of food in Indian Weddings |
The Arabs it is said to
often offer gifts and valuable items to the bride’s family in exchange for the
‘bride’; but in India the bride’s family apart from dowry has to prepare for an
extensive feast for the entire guests. Uncle’s, aunts, cousins, relatives,
distant neighbors, colleagues all are invited to witness the holy matrimony and
then feed on the ‘food’ laid before them. The quality and quantity of the food
made available are scrutinized with such vigor that ‘chef contests’ may seem
child’s play in front of them.
All this would have
been bearable; but the sight of plates almost full of food being thrown in the
garbage; due to the simple reason that the honorable ‘guest’ did not like the
food offered or wished to try different items and thus ended up eating less but
wasting ample. These are not ‘unique’ scenes but common episodes of Indian
wedding ‘sagas’; trust me for I have been a witness to all such scenarios on
numerous occasions.
Wastage of food in Indian Marriages |
The moment ‘food’ is
ready to be served to the guests; a struggle for being the first to fill the
plate starts and everyone seems to be in a hurry as if they are going to miss
the last train to Pluto or never have the opportunity to eat again in their
life. At times it would feel that ‘refugees from Ethiopia’ are invited at
wedding feasts in India; no disrespect intended here for the Ethiopian
brethren. The way those honorable guests indulge in pushing and pulling would
certainly amaze even the most professional rugby players.
To add insult to
injury; is the quantity of food wasted at such occasions. If the food left
uneaten or half eaten is taken into account you can easily deduce that it will
come to twice the quantity consumed by the guests at any wedding feast. Imagine
if this food instead of being wasted is used to feed poor people who are unable
to have three meals a day; will it not be a blessing for them and eternal
happiness of our empty souls. We have become so selfish and status conscious
that we forget our extravagance is not only foolish but also unsuitable; for if
we avoid showing off and use the same money spent on feeding the poor instead
of our guests it will be an act of kindness that would please heaven and earth
alike.
Food wastage in Indian Weddings |
There are numerous ways
to help the poor and stop wasting food at marriages is certainly one of them.
We can confine to having a one dish wedding feast and thus use the excess money
to feed our unfortunate brothers and sisters living in various slums all over
India. May we get the desire and will to do the right thing!
very well said.. in the philippines though few are being wasted because people would feel suck a shame if they are wasting food... "You came here for the wedding not for the food" as they say.
ReplyDeleteI hate wasting food. You have some great ideas and I hope people take heed.
ReplyDeleteNever thought of that. Pretty photos!
ReplyDeleteYour photos are beautiful and it does look like there would be massive amounts of food and these events. Due to the expense of the menu, I don't see a lot of food wasted at the weddings I attend. Portions are not overdone for the most part and they are made very close to the amount of guests that have indicated they are attending.
ReplyDeleteI hope your blog post gets the attention of those that need to see it.
I hate wasting food too. I hope people will read your post and realize the food waste could easily be prevented.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this share, I will definitely keep some of these points in mind as I am planning my own wedding!
ReplyDeleteWhat great ideas - it really can be scary the amount of food we do waste.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point. I have been to several events lately where in lieu of gifts the host has requested items that can be donated to the local food pantry. I think that many people are aware of the problem and are trying to make efforts to do what they can to help.
ReplyDeleteI dislike all types of buffets, whether they are for weddings or just in restaurants. I think this was well written.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. Lots I had not thought of.
ReplyDeleteI hate wasting food as well. I am always telling my boys about doing it. There are just so many people in other countries who would be grateful to have all of the food that gets wasted in America.
ReplyDeleteLove your post very informative and I have been to a couple Indian weddings as well, they are very extravagant and well prepared, the food goes on for days with many choices and that being said I, at the end of the party, dont know how much food is wasted but Im sure it is plenty. Thank you for bringing this too light and I agree food should be considered.
ReplyDelete