My big fat — no, wait, small and modest — Indian wedding

Indian groom Gaurav Assomul (R) and bride Kajal Fabiani (L) arrive for their wedding party at the Opera of Monaco on March 21, 2011, in Monaco. (VALERY HACHE – AFP/Getty Images)

It's not just billionaires and celebrities who splash out for weddings in India. The poor do it, too, often going deep into debt to pull off the show — and never recovering again. But can a bunch of activist types rein in excess?  And is it even their business to try?

According to the Times of India, prominent members of the National Advisory Council (development types with strong influence on Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi) have recommended legal limits on the Big Fat Indian Wedding. 

Among the suggestions were restrictions on the number of dishes that could be served, the number of separate wedding-related events that could be held, and the number of guests.

Not everybody is keen, though, according to the paper:

"Some of the suggestions, sources in the government said, seemed to be a throwback from the 1960s when such curbs had been placed in the wake of a famine and the Chinese aggression," TOI said. "The Guest Control Order, which was under the Essential Commodities Act, placed restrictions on the number of guests who could be invited. Special permission from designated officials was required in case the ceiling was to be breached."