And for a Friday, onset of the festive season – Dassera, Diwali Pooja, family reunions, shopping, festivities and marriages – some thoughts….. some musings…..
Mid October to January is the series of major festivities across India with a number of days which, as per astrology, is best for marriages. So one can expect a cluster of family/friends weddings, including destination weddings over the next 90 days. Indians are travelling and booking places across the country. Ofcourse Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur are the first choice for destination weddings as they provide exclusive havelis and palaces for the defined number of guests and good air rail and road connectivity. Holiday destinations are led by Goa, Kerala and Srinagar. This year all hotels have upped their rates. Air travel too has become expensive. Advance planning is a must to avoid surge pricing by the airlines. A new trend is for many NRIs who got married in different parts of the World during Covid, desire to have their dream “Monsoon Indian” weddings. Two years lapse and one technical wedding already over, is of no consequence. Once in a life time, Biggest Life event is the Motto.
In India weddings and Gold jewelry go hand in hand. India is one of the largest importer of Gold for jewelry. Every year more than 700 tonnes of Gold is imported as per the World Gold Council. South India consumes 60% of this and Kerala is the top Indian state for gold purchase. The biggest names of Jewelers, Josco, Joyalukkas, Bhima and Kalyan are all from Kerala. The town of Trissur in North Kerala is the gold capital city. It is rumoured that every day more than 500 kgs of gold is converted in Thrissur. An average middle class Malayali women will have more than 300 grams at any time, considered the safest and most liquid investment by her. Just 2 NBFCs in Kerala, Muthoot Finance and Mannapuram Finance, hold more than 230 tonnes of gold as security; quantity larger than what is held by some European countries, an indication of the enormous clout of gold in the economy.
Let us all look forward and enjoy the forthcoming festivities, the responsible way, the equitable way, the SEEGOS way.