The Abhi-Ash Syndrome

[deelight]

The  saccharin sweet story of the Knight in Shining Armour and the Princess of Bollywood is getting me quite queasy.

What's worse is that everything about this Ace wedding is so annoyingly traditional and steretypical that it makes me cringe.
One would think that the Bachchans would be a progressive and liberal but of course that's far from the truth

Comments

[quizling]

As with the recently concluded World Cup (or is it still on?) I have decided to simply ignore the Bachchan brouhaha. It's not too difficult -- a lack of interest in the event means I can flip pages or switch channels without being drawn in out of morbid curiosity.

But this tree-marrying thing does interest me, I'll admit. It's easy enough to talk of preserving our hoary traditions and how such things are a purely personal faith, but I disagree. If you are a much-loved public figure, you are expected to be a role model. Washing one's regressive spiritual linen in public is not a happy way to go about it.

It's sad to see Amitabh Bachchan regularly donating crores to the temple at Tirupati -- an institution that's filthy rich -- while doing next to nothing for (say) the street children of Bombay. It reveals how Indian notions of spirituality are based on innate selfishness.

[quizling]

Oh, perfectly valid. But then let's have the good sense not try and deify them please.

[quizling]

Naturally. We're morons. Which is why I was saying it wouldn't be a bad thing if Bachchan were slightly less moronic than he is now -- it might have made a small difference. For instance, if even ten couples decided to forgo this manglik rubbish because the Bachchans had set a good example, that would have been a good start.

My wife and I were incompatible on the basis of caste as well as horoscope, but we went ahead and got married despite misgivings from two sets of parents. But that's hardly likely to influence anyone. The point I was making was: as a role model for all ages, Bachchan has the power to influence people's minds positively -- if only he weren't such a superstitious wimp in real life.

[quizling]

My wife and I were incompatible on the basis of caste as well as horoscope

Ditto about Abhishek and Aishwarya except that their parents' consent to the marriage.

[deelight]

I cannot believe how these guys could donate so much to Tirupati. 51 lakhs each! Wow. There's so much one could have done for a more worthy cause.