Curbs on big fat weddings leave a bitter taste for Valley Chefs

The state government’s order to check extravagant wedding celebrations has not gone down well with ‘wazas’ (traditional chefs) and other stakeholders while others remain sceptical about the implementation of the government order.
Even as people had already started booking wazas ahead of the wedding season that usually starts after mid-April and lasts till October-end, the chefs now fear another year of loss.
“Last year, our business took a hit due to the unrest. Now, the government order will again hit us hard and we fear another year of loss. While I feel that restricting the guest list to 400 to 500 persons will affect us mildly, but allowing only seven non-vegetarian dishes is going to cause heavy losses,” said Mohammad Ashraf, a waza.
Wazas are famous for cooking ‘wazwan’, which includes at least 15 gastronomical delights, mainly of lamb meat. The feast is served for lunch and dinner on weddings. The food is cooked by a team of wazas under a tent erected at the place of the wedding.
Ashraf said the order was uncalled for and the government should concentrate on resolving day-to-day problems instead of “hitting” the livelihood of people.
The order on curbing fat weddings also became a topic of debate on the social media. Though several quarters for long have been objecting to big weddings, people are sceptical about the implementation of the order as similar efforts from the government in the past have failed.
“It never worked in the past — it will never work now or in future. Wazwan zindabad!” said Rauf Tramboo. Fearing the order could lead to corruption, he recollected an incident in the 1980s when a “guest control team” was bribed to allow the cooking of more dishes.
Pertinently, despite calls from various quarters to hold austere weddings and avoid the ‘wazwan extravagance’, the love for this feast has remained strong in the Valley. In fact, almost every year, people usually see a new dish on their plate during marriages, especially for the feast to welcome the groom and the “baraatis”.
The government has also ordered a ban on loudspeakers as wedding singers usually perform through the night. Aki, a disc jockey, said the diktat would hit the event management sector as well. “Trimming the guest list is okay as a lot of (food) wastage happens (in weddings). But, banning music will directly hit the event management sector. The government should reconsider the decision,” he said.