Nations that forget their culture and heritage become like a building whose foundations are crumbling. Punjabis are fortunate, who have inherited a rich heritage, which every Punjabi is proud of. But now Punjabis have not only started moving away from their heritage and culture, but they have also rapidly accepted the influence of Western culture. Punjabis have changed their eating, drinking, dressing and lifestyle to a great extent. Even our new generation has started considering ‘living in a relationship’ instead of not getting married as their culture. The idea of keeping the family limited and not having children beyond that is being adopted without thinking. The evil trick of making arranged marriages historical has started. According to a report, the annual expenditure on marriages in India has started to be Rs 10 lakh crore. According to an estimate, there will be 40 crore marriages in the next 15 years, half of which are going to happen in the next five years. This year, there are about 40 lakh marriages in November-December, while in 2023, there were 35 lakh and 32 lakh marriages in 2022. This year, the highest number of marriages are going to happen in two months of this year than in the last three years. Marriages have become the fourth largest industry in India. Every year, 80 lakh to 10 crore marriages are happening. The trend of foreign ‘wedding destinations’ among Indians has decreased by 25 percent, while in the country it has increased by 20 percent. On an average, up to Rs 12 lakh is being spent on a marriage, which is more than the expenditure on the education of a child from pre-nursery to graduation for 18 years. The expenditure on marriage has started to appear as the biggest for any family. 50 percent of the amount spent on weddings is spent on jewelry and 10 percent on clothes.
According to reports by several agencies from India and abroad, including Jeffrey Cat and Sky Scanner, about three and a half lakh crore rupees are spent on buying jewelry every year in India. An expenditure of Rs 2.19 lakh crore is being said to be spent on catering. Rs 84 lakh crore is being spent on clothes and the same amount is being spent on decorations. The expenditure on photography has crossed one crore lakh. The expenditure on events has now started to be around two and a half lakh crore.
