Smile Please

The growing fetish these days of taking dozens of pictures in the same pose has its roots in weddings, where the bride and groom remain seated on their thrones on stage, while family members crowd around them, jostling each other to catch the best angle of the camera’s frame.

While some people are simply “photogenic”, others may find themselves not so blessed. The good news for such people is that with today’s cameras and editing softwares, anyone can generate beautiful pictures. Sameer’s camera is one such tool.

Sameer is usually called upon by family members to photograph wedding events they are unwilling to pay professional photographers for. While his parents normally disapprove of the hobby, they acquiesce very easily to such demands. Sameer doesn’t mind. Not only does he get to do what he loves, he manages to sail through what would otherwise be some very long hours. After all, what else would Sameer be doing at mayons, mehndis and dholkis?

Funnily, because of the camera in his hands, Sameer gains access to ceremonies other men may not be allowed to witness. At a second cousin’s mayon, Sameer was asked to capture the hues of the jahez (dowry) being given to the ladka-walas (groom’s family) so as to maintain evidence of the bride’s monetary worth. Another time, for a combined mehndi, Sameer was asked to travel in the bus transporting the girls so that on the way he could record their song-singing ritual. He was the only male in the bus apart from the driver.

But sometimes, things go a little too far for Sameer’s liking. One such occasion was a mun dikhai/mayon at some random relative’s house. The event began with the bride in focus, sitting on stage under a veil, being forced to eat motichur ke laddoo and receiving money for it. Following that, she was taken inside the house for the ubtan applying ritual, while in the garden, music was turned on and the boys started making fools of themselves, dancing to “mein tou awein awein awein awein lut gaya”.

What made Sameer uncomfortable was being called inside the house to photograph the ubtan-laden bride. This was a family where the ladies observed parda, yet he was asked to photograph the bride with her lower legs, arms and face fully visible. He could see the bride was extremely uncomfortable having him around and Sameer himself felt awkward. But shockingly, the older women around did not seem to care. So Sameer had to endure a painful hour of snapping shots of girls he rarely saw while they posed and laughed openly in front of him. Sameer knew most people who did parda did not indulge in such behavior and he wondered why this particular family felt the urge to put together such a grand sham when they clearly did not believe in it.