A typical Marwari spread. The community has decided to adopt an austerity drive in weddings. Picture by Rashbehari Das

Never-ending rows of food with flavours from Italy, Lebanon and China, flowers flown in from Europe and a d?cor fit for a Maharaja ? Marwari marriages have, for years, been known for their lavishness and defined by their extravagance.

But thanks to an austerity move by industrialist H.M. Bangur, there is community talk of choosing simplicity over splurge, replacing the elaborate with essentials.

?He (Bangur) responded to our request of a simple reception and scrapped all elaborate arrangements that the family had planned to celebrate the wedding of his daughter Pooja with Gaurav Jain. We hope this will set a precedent,? said Satya Narayan Bajaj, president, International Marwari Federation.

The organisation, along with a host of other social outfits, like All-India Marwari Federation and a few other city-based bodies, has been part of a movement aimed at minimising a ?show of wealth? at weddings.

Not only did the Bangur family cut down on the frills ? pruning the guest list from 1,500 to 400, bringing down items on the menu from over 25 to 11, replacing an ornate invitation card with a simple one and cancelling the order for imported flowers ? a generous grant was also announced.

In the presence of Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, H.M. Bangur pledged a donation of Rs 1 crore for various social organisations in both Bengal and Rajasthan.

?Overspending has become a norm in marriages these days, as people want to prove their success in life with lavish arrangements. But this has never been the community?s tradition and I just tried to renew that culture,? observed Bangur. According to him, the response to his low-key reception has been positive and community leaders have congratulated him for taking such a ?bold? decision.

?The trend of keeping things simple has started in Jaipur, in Rajasthan. Bangur-ji has made a beginning and people are talking about the gesture. We hope that it will soon also become the norm in Calcutta,? said Sundeep Bhutoria, president of the youth wing of the International Marwari Federation.