Editorial March 2022

Last month, we celebrated Valentine’s Day—a holiday designed to commemorate love. Across America, people sent their significant others a token of their love. It might have been flowers or jewelry, chocolates, or perhaps a simple card. But some ask, why hold a celebration of love only on Feb. 14? Shouldn’t we celebrate and express “the greatest of all things” each and every day? So, at Desh-Videsh, we do not talk about commemorating love every month—but we do at least four months a year: March, June, September, and December. Yes—these four months are Desh-Videsh wedding issues which bring you wedding-love stories of newlyweds!

In this issue, we bring you six such love stories. One of the weddings is the wedding of Bollywood celebrities Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal. I am sure all of you must have heard of this wedding. In our article, though, we bring you some details some of you may not know. And these details also include a complete list of their wedding vendors.These vendors are, of course, famous wedding vendors in India and may be very expensive. But you never know. Some of them are looking for exposure in the USA. So it does not hurt to check them out.

Every month, we get several requests from couples who would like for us to cover their wedding. So, selecting only five to six weddings is not an easy task. Bride/Groom and their families are always asking us, “What does Desh-Videsh look for in weddings?” As I talked about celebrating love in the beginning of this column, we are definitely looking for a wedding which is full of romance … starting from how the boy meets the girl, to romantic proposals, to romantic vows. Next, we look for weddings where couples honor their religion and culture. And last but not least: great photography.

So, considering these factors, we present to you five weddings in this issue. One of them is a fusion wedding with a Hindu ceremony followed by Christian ceremony; and another one is a Muslim Nikah.

I talked about how honoring religion and culture is one of the criteria we use to pick a wedding story. Let me point out cultural uniqueness and the prominent importance of religion in the wedding of Daisy and Anup. One unique aspect is where the bride entered on a horse-drawn carriage with her two mamas and mamis. Usually only the groom comes on a horse or in a horse-drawn carriage; but in this wedding Daisy made the first-ever move and started this unique trend. Well done, Daisy!! Daisy did not stop there. She went on to add a unique cultural mix of Hindu wedding rituals. The bride added Holi into her Haldi for all the guests to enjoy as they partied. The other way Daisy featured religion prominently in her wedding is where she herself personally designed a special dupatta for her wedding. She had a ten-foot-long red dupatta with the seven vows (Satapadi) embroidered around the edges.

Preeyal and Dishil’s wedding story is a perfect example of young Indian Americans adding cultural nuances to their wedding. Both of them were captains of their respective university Raas dance teams: Emory SaRaas and Florida GatoRaas. And they met at the Raas Competition. Sometimes, young Indian Americans or their parents do not realize the importance of incorporating our culture and religion in their children’s lives—not only to learn about our culture but also to meet your soulmate. Meeting your future partner at a Raas competition or at a Holi or Diwali celebration is completely different from meeting somebody at a bar.

Before I end this month’s column, let me announce the date of our first 2022 Myshadi Bridal Expo. It will be held on May 15 2022 at the Hilton Orlando. Please check out more details in our advertisement on the back of this issue and in your email inbox.

We will see you soon!!

Raj Shah

Managing Editor