Modern weddings in Kashmir increasingly resemble public exhibitions where families compete through spending, decoration and spectacle. 

Banquet halls overflow with excess, designer outfits appear for a single evening, and wazwan feasts grow larger with every season. 

Gold, furniture, electronics and expensive gifts pass through the ceremony as silent social requirements. Every event sends the same message: social standing must remain visible.

Many families simply cannot keep pace.

A painful social crisis now sits behind the glitter of wedding culture. Hundreds of young women remain unmarried because their families lack the money required to satisfy rising expectations. Education, character and compatibility often receive less attention than financial display. Marriage proposals come with indirect demands wrapped in polite language. Families understand the code immediately.

One young woman from north Kashmir illustrates this reality with heartbreaking clarity. 

Sana, whose name has been changed, completed her education years ago and hoped to begin a stable married life. Her father works as a daily-wage labourer and spent years saving small amounts for her wedding. Every proposal eventually collapsed under the pressure of expectations tied to lavish celebrations, expensive clothing and costly exchanges between families. Time moved forward while hope slowly faded inside the household.

Sana represents many daughters in Kashmir today.

This problem extends far beyond rising wedding expenses. Kashmir’s marriage culture now operates through status competition. Families measure social respect through visible consumption. American sociologist Thorstein Veblen described this process more than a century ago as “conspicuous consumption,” where spending becomes a performance aimed at gaining recognition and prestige. 

The Salary Filter:........

© Kashmir Observer