metamorphosis of the "ghaten"

A few months ago I was invited for a wedding. It was a maharashtrian wedding. Now, middle class maharashtrians were never known for their fashion savvy. They have been always categorized as “ghatis”. No offence to anyone as I myself am a maharashtrian. So when I went to the reception I went with the normal concept of a maharashtrian wedding. That the ladies would be wearing at the most “paithanis” or the “shalus” from their own weddings. Was I in for a shock! When I got there, I thought I had gate crashed a balaji telefilms set. The ladies were in “kundan”(crystal) work chiffons. Draped in the latest of styles, with matching accessories. The metamorphosis of the ghati woman into a fashion “plate” has completely passed me by. I never realized that these days there are package deals for everything. The groom package with all the clothes required for the different rituals, the bride package. Glad to know that the marathi girls didn’t get left behind in this fashion race.
There were a couple of girls,whom most of the men were ogling. One was wearing a black saree (black till recently was a complete no no at our weddings) which had golden sequins and she had draped her saree in a gujrati style, but the pallu was left lose and she was wearing a very miniscule golden sequined bustier. That was when I realized that I have been relegated to the gen-prev (previous generation as against gen-next)…. Cos all I could think of was wardrobe malfunction. This girl was smart and could really carry off her outfit. But well…. In my mind all I could think of was wardrobe malfunction…a janet jackson moment… till recently I read an article that wardrobe malfunctions are also staged to get maximum effect and footage.
The second girl was wearing a lehenga choli. It was a bright orange outfit with a nice deep cleavage showing round neck with a tattoo proudly peeping over the neck line. She also had glitter stuck mehendi (Henna tattoos) on her hands.
I was proud to note that the ghatis have atlast arrived on the fashion scene. BRAVO!