A Grand Green Affair

There have been several instances related with weddings that have caught my eye, all of them about going green and making an eco-beautiful wedding come alive. The theme sounds fancy and more so because all of us at some level have tried to involve ourselves in eco-friendly buys or propagating the message of sustainability /afforestation etc in our society. One of the news snippets went about how girl’s parents gifted a neem tree sapling for dowry to their son-in-law. Another piece that I came across boasted of how everyone who became part of a wedding ceremony planted trees to mark this new beginning. It does evoke a sense of victory and happiness where our society is headed towards something that has real value for environment and how everyone including media is glorifying this good deed, which in turn is aiding in awareness building at all levels. As an educated citizen of my country if I gain perspective out of these green weddings and try to make them happen in all the functions that I ever plan to host, Ill then know that I am doing my bit for the environment. And if all of us together start a green movement the difference is sure to be large enough to have a long lasting impact.

How can you go green in your wedding? is the question that I’ll be attempting to answer. Also, I am fortunate enough to have witnessed one such green wedding in my own family that I can now talk about them so confidently. So the necessary ingredients that are important for your wedding to go green are as follows-

You begin with the decoration which ideally is supposed to be an all-flower decoration in almost all the receptions. What you can add more to the decoration are the organic leaves that will complement the flowers you put. Food can be chosen to be organic, bringing the vegetables straight form an organic farm in local neighborhood and thus avoiding the chemical traces in your food. The jewellery can be made out of flowers for not just the bride but for all the women in the house. The wedding card and the plates in which you would serve your guests can be made out of recyclable paper or probably an organic leaf. A farm or garden wedding venue would add to the charm of your eco-friendly wedding.  The most important step towards your green wedding has to be the planting of saplings by your guests. It is not only auspicious but it is also your genial duty towards mother earth.

This is how you make your wedding photographs look greener & brighter and your wedding more memorable.

By: Raghav Mishra

   IIM Indore

“A relationship with strong roots laughs at storms”

Relationship that stays strong

Relationships is a big word, which comes with trust, love and most importantly respect. IITIIMShaadi.com makes earning that precious respect for one another an easy process, as it ensures that the bride and groom have similar educational backgrounds and one does not feel that their inferior or superior to the other. They are on the same path, ready to begin a whole new together. To create their own small little world, where they can obtain happiness without the fear of being judged or criticized.

You can’t build a great building on a weak foundation. You must have a solid foundation if you’re going to have a strong superstructure. Relationships fueled with respect create this basic foundation that make marriages secure and everlasting. Marriages are said to be the highest and purest form of true love, where two souls connect and unite as one. A kind of love which is like an ever-fixed mark that can survive any storm or disaster. IITIIMShaadi.com hopes that you not only find that special love but also a true friend, as the website allows you to search for a partner that has survived through the same hard work, stress and pressure as you have and therefore would understand you better as he or she has been in your shoes. This leads to the creation of a more powerful bond, as it is rightfully said that “Friendship is the best foundation for a strong relationship.”

About Writer: Riya Aggarwal is a class 10 th student who likes to write and inspire people around.

Ki & Ka

Ki and Ka

Ki & Ka

Why are the observed roles of a couple in a relationship be dependent on the approval of the society?

The modern man is standing to re-define his role in the house. No more is he bounded by the frames of a strict Dad, who returns home in the evening and to whom the kids rush with their books (the typical Dil wale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge scene). He might have become the one already waiting at home with the kids for the wife to arrive from office, with the evening soup prepared and music playing in the background.

A recently released Kareena Kapoor Khan and Arjun Kapoor starrer created the buzz and got the attention of many. It made me remember a friend of mine, who’s Dad has been staying at home for more than fifteen years, managing the household, while his wife has been taking care of the business. Their kids have fared well in their lives, with one of them pursuing a management course, in a premier B-school in the nation. So, the unconventional notion of Ki & Ka already exists in the society. But, surely the numbers are quite a few, that they can be counted on the fingers.

Marriages, as most things, are often exaggerated as a phenomenon, hard to comprehend. A lady once told me that barring 1 in 100, everyone whether man/woman wants to look great on the day of marriage and feel the exquisite happiness in thinking that nobody else is as presentable as them. The wait for the marriage is not for a reason; the need for support from a man/woman in all their decisions is huge. Kids nowadays feel that they will have those happy experiences of cuddling cheerfully ever after, however let me pull the curtains down on that, marriage is not about that. Marriage is a learning experience that must begin with the trust. It’s not just a legal binding contract that sets your roles as the home-maker or bread earner. It’s about exploring the undefined possibilities of life, while walking with someone else. Letting each other grow and understand the strengths and weaknesses of each other.

It's a beautiful experience to have a partner, yet we may not consider it excessively important. In the event, that two people wish to be together in a modern society, you'll need to abide by the rules in the society and accordingly get married. But, why should the roles to be played by the man and his wife in the family get characterized by society?

Is it less demanding to be a homemaker or a bread earner? – That’s debatable though! However terming guy in a marriage as the house-husband is definitely not something I can digest easily. It’s only suggestive of the thing that the lady is out of the house! They are home-makers. Digest it my dear friends. Being a homemaker, be it a man or lady is a ton harder in light of the fact that there is no appreciation of your endeavors even when you are on your toes for 24*7. You knowingly or unknowingly tend to underestimate the individual. It resembles doing some work with no acknowledgement or without an option of anything else to pursue. Society does not say that a man can't work at home or a lady can't work outside. It is more about two partners who need to shoulder obligations to run their family smoothly.

Let’s support our Ki & Ka and know that the marriage is about being supportive and singing to the tunes of love.

By-

Aksh Bhardwaj

FMS, Delhi

Can Love be Arranged?

Can Love be arranged?

Once you turn 25 in India, the primary agenda of everybody around you is to get you married. The relatives take sheer pleasure in taking responsibility to find a suitable match for their girl. The boy still gets to enjoy his freedom as the right age for a boy to get married is 28 in India. The “door wale mamaji” and “chahchi ki bhabhi” all get down to suggesting potential grooms in their distant families. In all this fiasco no one bothers asking the girl what kind of groom she is looking for.

With all the social media looming large, Facebook has given parents more space to search for a boy. My father also made a Facebook account since the clergyman in his office found a groom for his girl on Fb. Little did I know that setting up his account was inviting trouble for myself. In the middle of the night I would get a random boy’s photograph in my chat message and the next thing I know is I am meeting that stranger. It is all the more amusing how we put our most hypocrite side out when we are on this forced date. “Do you drink? Have you had a boyfriend? Do you party late night?” the answer to all such questions is a ‘No’, even though deep inside you want to blow a smoke bubble on his face and throw a glass of whisky on him but somehow you behave like a ‘sanskari’ lady.

In one meeting you have to reach a decision whether or not you are willing to spend the rest of your life with the fake replica of the person who you met. The first meeting mostly revolves around asking about educational background, career and family. This should be the first criteria, in fact the first filter in all these matrimony websites. Instead the first filter is caste, time of birth, manglik or non-manglik, gotra etc. The society is advancing rapidly and the youth now understands that caste is no guarantee for a good match. In fact to be able to spend lifetime with a person it is important to have a similar mindset. This comes when the two people are from equivalent educational backgrounds doing well in their respective fields. Who can explain this novel idea to parents!

My father still wants a Brahmin guy who is a doctor or an engineer. Since these are still the reputed professions and he wouldn’t let his little girl settle for anything less. Fancy professions like photography do not even make it to the list of professions for them. He has pre-set filters in his head – the boy should be of the same or higher caste, he should be a vegetarian, he should be earning more than what his daughter is earning, however if he is earning very well it is okay for him to be a non-vegetarian. Hypocrisy is fed by us and later we crib when people show such a behavior. My father is impressed by websites which let him search on these filters, realizing little that this is an obsolete concept.

The youth today gives more importance to love and independence in finding a partner for themselves. They do not understand the concept of arranged marriages and the sheer existence of it. The West attracts them but deep inside they do want one partner for life. Indians have been adventurous when it comes to marriages. The concept of arranged marriage is still prevalent because people don’t want to go through the extra burden of relationships and heartbreaks before a marriage. In the West people believe in knowing a person in and out before getting married but in India people find love in the process of getting to know their partner. The trust that develops once you get to know little things about your partner and the selfless efforts you put to keep him/ her happy is what drives marriages in India. We look at marriage through a different prism. Once the marriage is consummated we start accepting the person for who he is rather than finding a better one. This acceptance is what brings the inherent satisfaction and eventually happiness in a relationship.

By-

Vrinda Maheshwari

MICA, Ahemadabad

She

SHE 

The night befell upon us, as the dozing off sun said its goodbyes... 

My hands waved the farewell to him, but these eyes were yet looking ashore
 the towering glare of the moonlight, had no promises in the bag of hope... 

So I started walking along the shore,
 I started walking along the shore... 

The darkness spread wittingly, capturing the fame of the daylight

 I walked on and on, hoping for a ghost to be my friend
 yet the quietness killed all the beating strokes, and aloofness was all left of the barren land

 Sitting by the window, she was talking to him 

No smiles no frowns, just something in her twinkling eyes
 but the moon had no answers, why somebody had stolen all the stars 

And I was walking along the shore, quietly through the raging hearts. .. 

The girl wanted something for her, She didn’t know what the heart may ask 
and thus I met the sweet stranger, someone as lost as me in the dark

 We had no words, nor any love to share
 Just we needed a moment to live, nothing about the life we cared 

So I sat with her, along the mighty shore
 Watching the water roaring in the dark,
 challenging the rocks who went falling down apart 

Time couldn't bind us, nor the thirst of being free 
Just a dark night standing ahead smiling upon me, Maybe no stars to light my way, 
I am content, cause I have a friend, and she had me.. ..

By Aksh Bhardwaj

      FMS, Delhi

Matching The Match !!

Matching the Match

Hey! Haven’t you been able to tell it to the guy or girl sitting next to you, at your school or college, how much you loved them? It indeed is quite tough when it comes to expressing your feelings. Some of you might have been able to lay your guts out in the open, and you might have failed at it. Besides, all of us know how messy it can be to interact with strangers that are introduced to us by our parents, as potential life partners. More so, even relatives step in and do their part of the bad job. This worked back in their time, not any more. Today, in a potential life partner, we not only desire characteristics that will gel well with our families, their education also plays a crucial role as well.

But, you need not worry; IITIIMShaadi.com is at your service. Obviously, we won’t be able to pair you up with the one you loved, but we might be able to do a better job.

Well, there are a thousand other matrimonial websites on the internet, we do not want a new one, you might say? Probably not, but you should still check out this unique thing we have to offer. So the question arises, what's the difference between us and any other matrimonial websites?

And the answer in one simple word is, Education.

A person spends roughly a third of their life, working hard to get the best possible education. You prepare rigorously to chase your dreams and to become competent enough on every front. So, naturally there is a desire for a partner who can understand, construe and reciprocate. Someone who has been through a similarly rigorous education, knows the struggles and appreciates them together with you. Education is something of utmost importance and you need a partner who can match and mingle up with your qualifications. Taking seven Pheres and chanting mantras only will not do in today's world. Not only for a better life for yourselves but also for the upcoming generations, should your better half be an educated soul mate who may save your life from breaking into semesters. Earlier marriage was valued more than education and kids were forced to get married at an early stage. Now things are different. Today education tops the list of priorities. A study also suggests that more-educated people have the highest chances for long-term marriages and can understand each other better than any other normal couple.

And for that if you’re waiting to get delivered your Sunday’s edition of newspaper or wasting time on any other matrimonial website, just have a look at iitiimshaadi.com instead, where each profile is subjected to verification before making it public. You would get disappointed as you won’t be able to see sizzling Katrina Kaif or Hrithik’s six packs as profile pictures. But, the final experience will make IITIIMShaadi.com your preferred choice.

By -

Sumeet Patel

IIM Rohtak