A groom’s family from Jagtiyal in Telangana recently flew into a rage when they spotted a juicy titbit in the menu served by the bride’s side. They discovered that the calorie-rich, creamy mutton marrow dish was missing in the menu. It was a crucial piece of culinary data not shared with them earlier, they ranted and raved.
They were “insulted”, incensed and a fist fight broke out between the two parties. The police were called in but the groom’s family was boiling with anger and finally the wedding was called off.
This is not the first time such clashes over gastronomy have led to marriages being called off in India. Food rage seems to reign supreme. Deadly fights have broken out in weddings over the innocuous Bengali sweet rosogulla, for example. Guests broke chairs and flung them around at a wedding in Uttar Pradesh when the groom’s side was served just one rosogulla instead of ‘mandatory’ two.
Somehow, food without mutton at weddings offends some and god forbid if dishes run out.
Biryani, yes, but which one?
Good food, we are often told, is the secret to a person’s heart but it can also break hearts, it seems.
Hearts were broken when a wedding was called off in Bengaluru after a row broke out between the families of the bride and the groom over the kind of biryani to be served at the wedding. While the bride’s family preferred chicken, the groom’s side wouldn’t settle for anything other than mutton.
According to media reports, when the girl’s family prepared 30 kg of chicken biryani and sent it over to the groom’s house, the reaction was explosive. The groom’s family felt slighted and got angry with this chicken feed. They felt humiliated at not being served mutton biryani but were soon placated. But, sure enough, it was brought up again at the wedding and tempers ran high leading to a squabble.
Needless to say, the bridegroom’s fuming family stalked off leaving two broken hearts.
The humble rosogulla has also caused bloodshed at a wedding in Agra in 2022. A 20-year-old guest was stabbed to death and several others injured when a fight broke out over rosogullas. A video of the fight went viral on social media. Somehow, it was found to be hilarious.
Paneer dish, an eternal favourite at weddings, can also stir up ugly passions. Just last week, a brawl broke out at a wedding in New Delhi over paneer, or the lack thereof. Chairs and tables were flung around and fisticuffs indulged in as the matar paneer did not keep up to its name – it lacked paneer pieces.
In February this year, a scuffle broke out at a wedding in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh after the fufaji (paternal aunt’s husband) did not get his share of paneer. Fufaji was furious and kicked up a big fuss which led to a fight between the two parties. The incident went viral on X, as furious fufaji and others started violently beating up the guests.
Brides turn their back
In a welcome trend, some brides are putting their hennaed foot down. In June this year, a bride showed the groom the door after his family misbehaved with her father over mutton.
This bizarre incident took place at the bride’s residence in Sambalpur district in Odisha. A quarrel broke out after the mutton ran out at the feast and around eight guests from the groom’s side could not be served the dish. They were plied with chicken and fish dishes but they stood their ground. It was to be mutton or nothing else.
As the bride’s father bowed and pleaded to no effect, the bride stepped in. The story ended with the bridgegroom leaving without a bride by his side.
Wedding food seems to get the goat of Indians, irrespective of geography or culture. Down south, brawls have often broken out over the composition of the ubiquitous rasam.
Not just the food, but the serving of it can offend, too. The service needs to be ‘warm and welcoming’, the curry needs to go around often enough…it’s an endless list.
As Indian weddings gets bigger and glitzier, it only seems that food rage will continue to simmer.