“So, you want a groom for your daughter?”
“Yes.”
“What’s her name?”
“Nigar Sultana.
“With this name, you wouldn’t get an alliance in ten years.”
“So, what should I do?”
“Change her name to Mehak, Khushboo or Muskan. Don’t you watch TV serials?”
Welcome to the Standard Matrimonial Bureau and the world of Hamid Kamal and Dedh Matwale.
Sometimes, humour is the best way to drive home the point. No amount of discourse and homilies can work the magic the way wit and irony does. That’s what Hamid Kamal and Subhani, Hyderabad’s best-known comic duo, have done to educate people on the need to simplify marriages.
Their latest CD, titled Readymade Dulha , is an eye-opener. It covers the entire gamut of problems and pitfalls involved when parents think of marrying off their wards. Through pun-filled hilarious situations, Hamid Kamal talks of people’s false egos, their unrealistic ambitions and silly preferences while hunting for prospective brides and grooms. But all objections vanish when the money is right. That’s the bottom-line.
The title of the play relates to a person who comes all decked up and is desperate for marriage. How marriage bureaus take people for ride is also exposed brilliantly.
Even the bitter truths are told with a touch of humour. Take for instance, the scene where brides are being selected. Elderly women make minute examination of their feet, teeth and hair. In desperation, Bade Khan saab , who runs the marriage bureau, remarks “ Amma dulhan dekhrein ya qurbani ka bakra (Are you examining the bride-to-be or a sacrificial goat?)”.
Sure, many miseries lie in the small circle of the wedding ring. But before marrying of their wards, parents would do well to get this Readymade Dulha to their homes. Who knows, their ideas of pompous marriages might just change.
