I am a tomboy and I am not happy about wearing a lehenga on my wedding day

I would rather wear plain jeans than look like a decorated Christmas tree.

Sarwat Fatima Sarwat Fatima
अप्रैल 10, 2017
For years, I had harboured the secret fantasy of attending my own wedding dressed in casuals. Photo Courtesy: YouTube/ SonyMusicIndia

Weddings in India are supposed to be an elaborate affair. And no matter how much you despise all the traditional fanfare, there are times when you just can't help getting sucked right into it. For instance, having spent most of my adult life comfortably clad in baggy jeans and loose tees, I am forced to wear a lehenga on my wedding reception. One that's embellished with stuff of my nightmares. Heavy embroidery, crystals, shiny sequins--you name it, my lehenga has it all.

No offense to the brides who like getting dolled up on their wedding day, but someone who has no idea how to manage a lehenga and that heavy-duty chunni with grace, it's indeed scary. What if I trip? What if I make a fool of myself? There will be hundreds of people to witness my horror. And thanks to the age of smartphones, it will be etched in everyone's memories in form of pictures and videos.

The problem is that I have always been a tomboy, and don't pay much attention to the way I look. In fact, I love winter because all I have to do during the season is put on a pair of tracks and a hoodie. So, having spent most of my life focusing on comfort rather than anything else, wearing a heavy-embroidered lehenga just for the sake of it makes no sense to me.

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For years, I had harboured the secret fantasy of attending my own wedding dressed in casuals. But, whenever I said that out loud, it always ended in a screaming match between me and my mother. So, eventually I had to give in, but not without much drama.

 

It's no secret that families in India see weddings as an opportunity to display their wealth and status. Now, that includes the clothes and the jewellery the poor bride is forced to wear. Try suggesting to your family that you would be happier wearing something much simpler, and you will get to hear, "Log kya kahenge. Humne apni beti ko kuch diya hi nahi."

Seriously, this mentality is responsible for turning the bride into a Christmas tree--all in the name of tradition. I on the other hand don't agree with it. Women should be allowed to wear what the hell they like, wedding day or not. And since I am not happy being clad in a lehenga, I pray to God that somehow miraculously works out.

Also read: I got my pre-bridal done a week before my wedding, and it was the stuff of nightmares

 

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