When a husband took to the radiowaves to discuss his troubled marriage, the irony could not have been richer. It was not another woman, an alcohol problem, or an obsession with golf that had driven his wife away. It was his addiction to the radio. More specifically, the very radio station he was now baring his soul to. While the caller, revealed only as Tony, was pouring out his heart to Radio 5 Live host Victoria Derbyshire, his wife of 14 years was in the midst of filing for divorce. Tony rang the morning phone-in during a discussion on the pros and cons of the station.
He went on to explain that his obsession with 5 Live had led to furious domestic rows. He told how he had to sneak around their home trying to tune in without his wife knowing. He finally received a letter from her solicitor which claimed his 'preoccupation with Radio 5 Live had led to a complete breakdown of social interaction between us'. 'My missus left me over 5 Live,' he lamented during the phone-in. 'I've listened to 5 Live for years, even right back to the very beginning.' Tony, who spoke with a Yorkshire accent, and assured Miss Derbyshire his call was not a 'wind-up', added: 'I used to have a shop and I listened to the radio all day. 'But when I came home at six o'clock I wasn't allowed to have the radio on in the evening. 'One day I was in the conservatory listening to it and she came in and threw the radio on the floor and stamped on it.
'But she still couldn't stop it playing so she yanked the wire out of the wall and the radio finished up at the bottom of our garden. 'She used to say to me, "How can you listen to that constant chatter all the time, because it drives me completely mad?" I tried to tell her interesting things that I'd actually heard on 5 Live to try and pacify her but as soon as I said that I'd heard it on 5 Live then the shutters would go down.'
Tony said things got so bad that his wife began doing character assassinations of individual hosts, including Miss Derbyshire. He added: 'She went two years ago and we're not divorced yet but a friend of hers said to her, "Has he asked you to go back?" When I heard this I thought to myself that if the price of her coming back is that I have to not listen to 5 Live again then she can stay where she is.'
That India marries off its daughters in such a hurry that they have little time to grow out of their teens is a fact that no longer raises eyebrows. But what should come as a shock to a country that preens itself over its growing economic prowess is that we fare worse than sub-Saharan Africa, or for that matter, all of Africa put together, when it comes to child marriage.
If that's not bad enough, sample this. The degree to which child marriage is practised in India is more than double the figure for Pakistan, a country we don't quite look up to as a role model. While India would like to believe that it will one day break into the league of countries such as the US and UK, we can take solace from the fact that a worldwide scorecard on child marriage shows that we're better off than Bangladesh, Mali and Burkina Faso. The US and UK dont even figure on the list.
A 2011 data sheet called `The World's Women and Girls', released by the Washington-based Population Reference Bureau, shows that 47% of women in India between the ages of 20 and 24 were married by 18. This is higher than the average for South Central Asia (45%), of which India is a part. The average for Africa as a continent works out to 34%. Most African countries fare better than India, including Ghana, Sudan and Nigeria. While Pakistan's score works out to 24%, even Afghanistan, with a pathetic score of 43%, does a better job than India when it comes to curbing child marriage. Vibhuti Patel, director, post graduate studies and research (PGSR) and head of the PG economics department at SNDT University, who was an early advocate of India's feminist movement, points to the rather strange link between child marriage and the success of some of India's welfare schemes such as the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).
SSA helps schoolgirls till Class IV, after which there are a large number of dropouts and ICDS children in the age group of 0-6. As a result adolescent girls, who mostly drop out after Class VII as they can't cope up with math, science and English, don't have to look after their younger siblings. ``In the absence of any programmes targeting adolescent girls in terms of vocational training or life-skill development by the state or by civil society groups, many parents are worried that these girls, who are now free of responsibility and have a lot of time on their hands, may end up in premarital relationships and turn unwed mothers,'' she said.
That's why parents in even progressive states like Gujarat and Maharashtra marry off their daughters at an early age, said Patel.
Pointing to the health consequences of child marriage, P Arokiasamy of the International Institute of Population Science, Mumbai, says child marriage has much to do with the low status of women in India.
Arokiasamy says the practice has more to do with culture than development. Sex ratio in Africa is better than India since several tribal societies are matriarchal. In India, regions where the status of women is low, such as Rajasthan, Bihar and Jharkhand, have more child marriages. Even in Andhra Pradesh, which has a low fertility rate, a large proportion of women are married in their teens. Meanwhile, states like Himachal Pradesh, Goa and Jammu and Kashmir fare a lot better. South Central Asia (of which India is a part)---45
the wife of Prince Williams. Kate grew up in chapel row village near Newbury and studied in Scotland, university of ST Andrews, where she met William in 2001.
Kate and Williams relationship has had many brakes- ups and patch-ups. When the relationship become public ,Kate got wide public attention .
She is the eldest of three children born to Carole Elizabeth Middleton, former flight attendant and now part-owner of Party Pieces with an estimated worth of £30 million.
Kate was working for clothing company jigsaw. In 2008 she quit the job to become professional photographer, intending to take private classes with photographer Mario.
Kate Middleton awards
year
Most Promising Newcomer
2008
the top ten style icons
2007
people magzine best-dressed
2007-10
Fabulous Fashion Independents
2007
monthly beauty icon
2008
international best-dressed list
2011
Wedding story
P-Williams Kate Middleton engaged in Kenya on2010, in ten day trip to the wild life conservancy to celebrate William passing his RAF helicopter search and rescue course. The couple married in Westminster abbey on 29 April 2011,in the us.
Her 'vintage' lace and silk dress was designed by Alexander McQueen's Sarah Burton and Kate teamed it with elegant handmade Robinson Pelham diamond earrings. They were designed especially for her big day and commissioned by her parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, as a wedding present.
There was jubilation in the house of the Jenas in Andhia village in Bhadrak's Bond block on Saturday when Gadadhar returned after 21 long years. The brothers were overjoyed to have him back.
For the past two decades, the family was frantically searching for him but in vain. Gadadhar had left his native village in August 1989 to pursue engineering in Burla.
Gadadhar had changed a lot in these years. But thankfully, his eldest brother recognised him. The family reunion was indeed touching.
"Since Gadadhar was studious and excelled in academics, we wanted him to pursue higher studies. We hoped he would take care of us financially. But he disappeared from Burla. Today we are very happy to have him back. But we feel dismayed that he has not married," said Bidyadhar, the eldest brother.
It seems pressure of marriage forced Gadadhar to do the vanishing act. While he was pursuing his studies, his parents would keep asking him to settle down. "When pressure of marriage started building up, I thought I would disappear. I wanted to remain a bachelor. Now, I am employed as a service engineer with a private company in Surat, Gujarat. But sometime back, I started missing my family. It became unbearable after sometime. And so I came home," said the missing brother, now in his middle ages.
Gadadhar informed that since his parents and an elder brother had passed away, he would like to settle down in the village and take up family responsibility. "I would like to teach my brothers' children and involve myself in charitable work," said Gadadhar.
Childhood friends of Gadadhar were also thrilled. "Gadadhar would be shy but friendly. We missed him on occasions like Raja festival. Now we will not let him disappear again," said Pramod Jena, a childhood friend.
Saudi Arabia is witnessing social and legal debates over reported cases of minor girls' marriages. During the past few months local press reported several cases of minor girls being wed to men who were of the ages of their fathers or grandfathers.
Earlier in October, the official Human Rights Commission urged civil groups and the media to stand against such marriages. It said that marrying young girls to older men violates children's rights stipulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child of which the Kingdom is a signatory.
Naeema Al Zamil, chairperson of a charity and social works society, Wood for Charity Work and Social Solidarity, toldGulf Newson Friday: "During a four-year period we have discovered five cases of marriages of female minors whose age ranged between 10 and 12." In some cases they discovered that the minor wife is less than 14 years old and has a child.
"We cannot intervene and stop this kind of marriage as official legislation does not ban them despite press statements and promises made by officials stating that legislation banning these marriages will be announced soon," she pointed out.
She said in most cases the parents and the minor girls agree on the marriage proposal. She noted that they are focusing on awareness campaigns and training courses targeting all society segments.
Suhaila Zain Al Abdeen, a member of the non-official National Human Rights Society, said minors' marriage contradicts international agreements signed by the Saudi government.
Sleuths of the cyber crime wing attached to the city police on Thursday arrested a 34-year-old man who works in the HR department of a software company in the city for posting on the internet his wife's profile as that of a call girl. Police have also arrested a 27-year-old woman working in his office in connection with the same case.
Mahesh (34), a resident of Nungambakkam, and Subashini (27) were remanded on Wednesday. Police said the duo confessed to having uploaded fictitious materials against the name of Saroja (name changed), with her e-mail and social networking login.
Saroja (28) married Mahesh five years ago and the couple has a son. Mahesh developed contacts with many women and promised to marry them after divorcing Saroja, the investigators said.
A few months ago, Mahesh assaulted Saroja and she was confined inside a dark room in his house. He told his friends that Saroja, then working as an engineering college lecturer, was mentally ill. She later resigned from her job and started working as an assistant manager in a private company. She went to live with her parents, but later returned to live with Mahesh.
Recently, while verifying her mails and social networking site, she found that some one had hacked into her profile and mentioned her as a call girl. She immediately filed a complaint with the city police commissioner's office. The petition was forwarded to the cyber crime wing which found it to be the handiwork of her husband. Police have registered a case under Section 4 (1) of Tamil Nadu Women Harassment Prevention Act. The arrested duo were remanded in judicial custody.
–Brides-to-be are often simply too busy juggling the demands of their professional and personal lives to oversee the wedding planning
US alone has close to 10,000 wedding consultantsaccording to Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC).
Wedding Consulting in India
•Potential?
–Wedding budgets are 'large'
–Brides and grooms are getting involved wedding related decisions
–Higher disposable incomes – need to do something different and memorable
–Bollywood serves as an inspiration for designer weddings
•Plan a wedding from A to Z.
–Ensure that the bride's vision of the wedding day becomes reality, from securing the perfect ceremony and reception locations, to booking vendors who deliver, to making sure everything and everyone is at the right place at the right time on the big day.
•Negotiate with wedding vendors.
–Wedding consultants are also skilled negotiators. Because they know the wedding industry well, vendors are less likely to dupe them into higher prices or sales gimmicks.
•Act as a go-between with vendors and family members.
–Wedding consultants can be masterful coordinators, peacemakers, and etiquette experts. They can communicate with various vendors on family's behalf and spare clients the stress of dealing with conflicts or misunderstandings.
•Wedding Day Coordination
–Wedding consultant can take care of all the details on the wedding day so that the family can sit back and enjoy the celebrations.
•Some other responsibilities of wedding consultants:
–Organizing entertainers like DJs, singers, and folk troupes required for various functions
–Printing and mailing of Invitations
–Arranging for wedding souvenirs
–Trousseau planning and Gift wrapping
–Car rentals
–Accommodation for the guests
So what does it take to be a successful wedding consultant
YOU NEED TO BE PEOPLE PERSON.
•You'll be dealing constantly with weepy brides, demanding mothers, cranky suppliers and others who will vie for your attention.
•You'll be bargaining with vendors, overseeing the activities of hordes of hired helpers, and mingling with the guests at wedding receptions.
•So it helps if you really love working with people and have an upbeat, positive outlook to help you weather the inevitable problems that arise when you're coordinating countless details.
A STRONG BUSINESS BACKGROUND.
•You'll be coordinating budgets and overseeing finances for your clients.
•Plus you'll be taking care of the details of running your own business, which will include taxes, billing and other financial matters.
•You may even have to deal with personnel administration at some point in your career.
•So business experience (or barring that, at least a good head for numbers and details) is very important.
Target Market
Market size:
10 million weddings every year
•which means there should be plenty of people who will need your services, right?
•In theory, yes. But you'll be much more successful if you tailor your services to a specific group within that market.
•What are the characteristics of the people that are likely to use your services or products.
•Are they likely to be upper middle income or super-rich?
•Are they NRI's or locals?
•Are Gujarati families as likely to use your services as Punjabi families?
•Or are Telegu families as likely to use your services as Keralite / Tamilian families?
•Who is likely to foot the bills for those dream weddings? Mom and Dad, or the bride and groom.
Startup Cost
•There aren't many viable businesses around that eager entrepreneurs can jump into, backed by just a modest amount of capital, a vision and lots of enthusiasm. Fortunately, wedding consulting is one of them.
•Because most wedding consultant businesses begin as homebased businesses, start-up costs are relatively low.
–You don't need to rent an office. You may be able to use equipment you already own, such as a computer or a cellphone.
–A word of warning: Don't even think about investing in retail merchandise or props that can be used at weddings until you've been in business for a while. You don't need the extra financial burden when you start out.
A Day in the Life of a Wedding Consultant
•There are certain tasks common to all wedding consultants. Among them are
–day-to-day business administration,
–bridal consultations,
–wedding-day organization,
–vendor and service coordination.
•Day-to-Day Administration
–To begin with, you'll spend lots of time on the telephone every day, fielding inquiries from interested brides, following up on vendor leads and checking on the status of wedding preparations.
–If you employ contract or temporary help during weddings, you'll have to meet with them on a regular basis to provide instructions and go over details.
–Then there's the paperwork. You'll also have to keep meticulous records on the choices your brides make, the status of wedding day plans and other details.
•Consultations
–To determine what a bride wants and how much she wants to turn over to you, you'll have to schedule consultations.
–Initially, it is simply an introductory meeting . . . to determine if you are a good match for each other.
–If the bride decides to hand over the wedding to you, the consultation meetings will be focussed on going over the plans.
–There are a number of brides who don't need a wedding consultant but are just looking for ideas and advice. You can charge these brides on a per hour basis for spending time with them.
•The Wedding Day
–Wedding consultants act as the bride's advocate on the happy day, making sure everthing runs smoothly on time, and so on.
–Consultants often hire extra help on a contract basis to assist with wedding day activities.
•Working with Vendors
–One of the things that will make you invaluable to customers is your knowledge of the bridal industry. As a consultant, you're expected to be the font from which all knowledge about the industry flows. That means knowing things like which wedding gown styles or decorating schemes are in vogue and which are passé, or whether it's inspired or gauche to use silk flowers in the bride's bouquet.
•Who Will Your Major Suppliers Be?
–Reception halls and banquet sites
–Caterers
–Florists & decorators
–Entertainers and DJs
–Photographers and videographers
–Hotels & Car Rentals
–Mehndiwalis
A Day in the Life of a Wedding Consultant
•How to develop Vendor Expertise?
–Your clients will count on you to recommend reliable suppliers that offer the best quality and value for their money. So it's your job to research bridal service providers in your target market to find the best possible sources for the products or services you'll require.
•The easiest way to identify potential service providers is by asking friends and business acquaintances for recommendations.
•Identify as many potential sources as possible so you'll have several to choose from when the time comes to make a recommendation to the bride.
•Keep in mind, too, that you should locate vendors in the low, medium and high price ranges to accommodate all budgets.
•Then once you've compiled your list of sources, pick up the phone and make appointments to see their facilities and products in person.
Marketing your Service
•Before you start spending on advertising of any kind, it's wise to create a basic marketing plan.
•Your marketing plan can be a part of the business plan you've already written.
–It should describe your target market and the competitive environment you're operating in (this is where your market research comes in) as well as address how you're going to make your customers aware of your business.
–Information relating to pricing, industry trends and advertising also has a place in your marketing plan.
•Advertising options for wedding consultants include
–Yellow Pages advertising,
–magazine ads,
–brochures,
–Bridal shows
–PR
–word-of-mouth
•A Few tips for your Marketing Plan
–It's best to advertise only in consumer publications that cater specifically to brides since at any given time, only 2 percent of the population is considering marriage.
–A brochure is a great tool for reaching brides-to-be in the places they're likely to frequent, like bridal boutiques, jewellerrs etc.
–Whoever said there's no such thing as a free lunch must have overlooked word-of-mouth (WOM) advertising.
–Some wedding consultants call their clients a few weeks after the wedding to get feedback and verify their satisfaction. During that conversation, you can also get a referral or two from the satisfied bride, which you can turn then into a WOM opportunity by using her name when you call the person to whom she referred you.
–Take part in bridal shows in your city which are hunting grounds for brides. You are likely to generate good leads on the spot.
Wedding Consultants-Who's who of the business
Top Wedding Consultants in India
•They have made a place for themselves in the wedding market
•From lavish dos to theme weddings and simple ceremonies, they aim to fulfil the client's every whim and fancy.
•Companies like Sound of Music, Partylines, Ferns and Petals etc offer hassle- free pre-designed theme weddings be it Japanese, Mexican, Rajasthan, or Gujarati, and on-order weddings to make the special day even more memorable.
Sound of Music-
•Meher Sarid's entertainment company Sound of Music has been in the business of fashioning fantasy weddings and they organise over 50 marriage extravaganzas during peak wedding season.
•The USP of Sound of Music is lavish themes and concepts. Some of the themes executed by Sound of Music include the 'restaurant' theme with three different cuisine restaurants set up with befitting decor, props and entertainment.
•Sound of Music charges 15 per cent of the total expenditure of the evening and the one-stop shop offers every conceivable wedding product and service: flying in Russian ballet and Egyptian belly dancers, chefs from Tokyo or even arranging a honeymoon cruise in the Caribbean.
Ferns 'n' Petals
•Vikas Gutgutia's company Ferns 'n' Petals offers a variety of options and themes which range from being the low-budgeted purely floral to havelis, Mughal palaces that are draped with ethnic fabrics like zardosi, brocade or jamawar for relaxed budgets.
•It not only handles the décor but also invitations, menu cards, gift packing, trousseau packing and even co-ordinated clothing for the stewards and music and entertainment personnel to match with the theme.
Mansa=
•For those who do not want the executed feel, there is Mansa which works on arranging a special wedding with the personal touch. Mansa is run by Gurlein Manchanda and Ivan Rodrigues and they have organised weddings for prominent business families like the Daburs, Popleys, Mittals, Hindujas, Singhanias and Poddars.
The duo conceptualise the entire theme, plan the layout in minute detail and carry out each part of the project with clockwork precision. Nothing is too small for their planning. The crockery, the cutlery, the napkins, the chairs and tables, the drapes, the stage and the decorations along the aisles are all covered in their plan
apart from the main constructions of the venue and the styling
Wizcraft
•Wizcraft is well known for its theme events which are much sought after by leading diamond merchants and prominent industrialists.
•Wizcraft has a special unit dedicated to weddings, and it specialises in pre-wedding parties, especially theme-based ones. Space Age, Wild West evening, Red Indians, Arabian Nights complete with belly dancers have been executed by it.
•Besides this, it offers a range of services — from administrative tasks like airport pick-ups and dishing super efficient hospitality for the groom's party to managing creative tasks like the décor and entertainment for the evenings.
•And when there's word about a wedding at a super-rich home, the Wizcraft team approaches the family with a slick computer presentation.
•Wizcraft has implemented a multitude of themes. Hold your breath, it has even staged a war theme at one wedding function: a pre-wedding party at the Mumbai Turf Club with bunkers and tents all over. The guests were dressed thematically and the stunt men were all over. Firebombs and smoke bombs added to the excitement.
Sleuths of the cyber crime wing attached to the city police on Thursday arrested a 34-year-old man who works in the HR department of a software company in the city for posting on the internet his wife's profile as that of a call girl. Police have also arrested a 27-year-old woman working in his office in connection with the same case. 
Mansa=
