French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu in his book,
Distinction
, says that to be on the top of the social ladder you need to create a platform, and own it. Moreover, if you aspire to move from being an object of “social envy” to an “icon”, you need to make sure there’s no way anyone can follow you up the ladder.Bourdieu argues, that a crucial source of power in society comes from symbolic capital.And this capital can be accumulated when you carry out certain social obligations that command respect and honour – such as fighting a war, or in today’s context, spending billions on a wedding.There are weddings and there are weddings, or rather pre-weddings. There are weddings you envy, because a certain film star graces the occasion, dances and takes selfies with the extended family. But it becomes truly iconic when a galaxy of stars and other global celebrities jostle to take a selfie with the groomAnant Ambaniand the brideRadhika Merchant. This time, to show their relatives and millions of fans on social media.One of my favourite anecdotes ofopulenceandluxuryof Bharat’s royalty has a much larger social significance today. Patiala’s MaharajaBhupinder Singhwas insulted at a Rolls Royce showroom in London as the manager failed to recognise him, and he had a certain skin colour. The next day, the Maharaja walked in with full grandeur and bought all the six cars. To drive home a point, he converted all of them into garbage vans and donated them to the municipality.Now, that is the power of opulence – one that can convert an epitome of luxury which is the Rolls Royce car, into a garbage van, without a care. Opulence is iconic. You can aspire to buy a Rolls Royce some day, but you can’t even imagine converting it into a garbage van.The word luxury comes from the word luxe or dazzle. You and I may be dazzled by luxury, but it may not impress a Maharaja Bhupinder Singh then orMukesh Ambanitoday.So were you really surprised to see the three Khans performing together with Anant? Were you stunned to see RiRi perform? Or were you actually surprised to see all of Bollywood queued up to welcome Radhika’s passage into the new family, performing a traditional ritual to ward off the evil eye?What we witnessed was the power of opulence, which transformed luxury and dazzle to the quotidienne — an exclusive preserve of the icons.How has it impacted our lives? Well, maybe nothing beyond the realms of social media consumption and discussions over coffee. But that is the idea, no ladders, so you can’t even imagine emulating even a tiny part of it.Untouched by envy or aspiration.The wedding industry in India was estimated to be $130 billion in 2023 by
The Economist
. Anant’s pre wedding alone has increased that number by a modest $150 million in 2024, giving the world a new hot wedding destination -Jamnagar.My memorable moment from the pre-wedding clips that flooded social media for days, was when $178 billion-worthMark Zuckerbergwas curious about a watch that Anant was wearing, a $1.25 million customized Richard Mille RMS-10 Asia Tourbillon Koi Fish made from 18K rose gold and adorned with diamonds. What’s yours?
Prof (Dr) Mahul Brahma
About the author: Prof (Dr) Mahul Brahma is an academician, fellow (UK), luxury commentator, author of
Bharat, A Luxe Story
