Amaranth, brick, coral, and 48 other shades of red

A mass wedding ceremony in India’s capital, supported financially by an NGO and endorsed by the Delhi government, is a relief from dowry and wedding expenses. Through conversations with brides, grooms, and their kin, Ashna Butani finds that though couples and families are happy to have broken out of the cycle of spending a chunk of their savings on a ceremony, the rituals reinforce endogamy and traditional expectations