A gift you can flush
Of all the wedding gifts a couple receives, there are always a few they’d like to flush down the toilet. A
growing number of couples in India are flushing their gifts, but not to get rid of them.
PUNE: What qualifies as the perfect marriage gift? Jewellery, dress, diamonds or a luxurious car? None of the above, feels Savitri Mane, who has decided to give her niece the most 'precious' gift of all — a portable toilet.
Katraj-resident Savitri's niece Raksha is marrying a youth from Bhor this week. When Raksha's parents noticed that the groom's house does not have a toilet, they decided to gift the bride one.
"It has become a trend nowadays to buy portable toilets as gifts. The demand is on the rise this season. Parents, whose daughters are marrying rural youths, have added a portable toilet to their list of gifts offered to the groom," said Ramdas Mane of Mane Industries in Bhosari. His firm has received orders for more than 1,000 toilets in the past few days. "Already, we have provided 2,500 toilets in 200 villages in Pune, Satara and Kolhapur," he said. [Link]
I'm not sure what a "portable toilet" is, but I presume it's one that can be carried easily, one that doesn't take much effort to gift wrap.
Excited bride (unwrapping gift): "A toilet! We got a toilet!"
Groom: "Why are you surprised? Didn't you put it on the bridal registry?"
"Basically, girls from urban areas are not willing to marry into rural families. A girl from the police lines in Pune was married in Sangli and had to suffer a lot because there was no toilet facility," said Pratima Joshi of Shelter Associates. She added that city girls make sure that these basic amenities are available in their in-laws' houses before getting married.
"When my uncle asked about the marriage gift, I suggested a portable toilet. As a new bride I would not be in a position to ask my in-laws to construct a toilet at their place. So, while leaving Pune, I will carry my toilet," said Ekta Tare, who is getting married to a youth from Khatav in Satara. [Link]
It’s a great wedding gift, one that both husband and wife can use for many years to come, as long as their marriage doesn’t go down the … uh … toilet.
accents. That's not a big problem. But once they start talking like Americans, they soon find themselves eating, drinking and gaining weight like Americans. Some of them wake up to find tattoos on their bodies, blonde hair on their heads and guns under their beds. Well, perhaps not all of that is happening. But some of it definitely is, as 

friendliness. Conversations are a way for your India
counterparts to get to know and feel comfortable with you. Small talk
is also used to help build relationships. Good conversation topics
include politics, cricket, films, and Indian Economic Reform. Indian
traditions and history are also welcomed topics. Try to avoid
discussing Pakistan, poverty in India, and religions.
machismo culture, has started to offer fast-tracked gun
licences for those who agree to be sterilised.
warrants
I've always liked Venus and Serena Williams, not just because they're great tennis players, but also because they're usually good sports. If it were possible for the sisters to move up a notch in my book, the photo on the right (from The Hindu, via
Here are some more excerpts from matrimonial ads on the Net:
almost anyone.

type of monkeys you'd want to eat -- if you're into eating them, that is. Monkey meat is a delicacy for some West African people, including a Liberian immigrant named Mamie Manneh, who has been
when I got married. Prabir Das, of Assam, India, isn't so lucky.
the advice of astrologers and thus avoiding a curse. The groom was covered in bark, but at least "he" didn't bark. P. Selvakumar, a 33-year-old Indian man, wasn't so lucky.




"his continued efforts to remain at peace with the fact that the American presidency was once stolen from him."
revel in the accomplishments of my countrymen. After all, India has won
just three medals in the last six Olympic Games, two bronze and one silver,
despite the Indian Olympic Association’s best efforts to find good athletes and
lure them to India.


