By Lauren Ironmonger, Nicole Abadee, Frances Mocnik, Jill Dupleix and Melissa Singer
SPOTLIGHT / Their big fat Indian wedding
A novel addition to an India travel itinerary: joining a wedding celebration.
Dreaming of having that once-in-a-lifetime experience on your next holiday? Well, it seems you’re not alone. Capitalising on the West’s growing fascination with Indian culture and love and weddings in particular – think Netflix’s popular Indian Matchmaking – travel company JoinMyWedding allows curious tourists to pay to attend a couple’s marriage festivities – in India.
Founded by Hungarian-Australian Orsi Parkanyi in 2016, the company’s promotional material promises “the ultimate cultural immersion”. “Indian weddings are world-famous,” Parkanyi says, pointing out that JoinMyWedding is now representative of a changing tourism industry in which travellers want a truly immersive experience beyond the usual popular attractions. The website pairs couples, who submit their love stories and wedding itineraries, with tourists willing to pay $US150 ($233) a head for the privilege of witnessing one day of the nuptials (or $US250 for two days). Mridula Nath Chakraborty, from Monash University’s Intercultural Lab, says the site’s popularity – it fields thousands of applications – is evidence of India’s ascendancy in a shifting geopolitical order.
While Parkanyi and former guests describe the experience as one of genuine cultural exchange, others say JoinMyWedding is an example of cultural fetishism. Chakraborty also warns that commercialising a wedding in this way could have a reductive, flattening effect: “In the age of social media, [the wedding] becomes even more of a spectacle, compounding the ways in which materialistic ostentation rules.” Lauren Ironmonger
READ / Family drama
Set in Ireland, this new family saga by Paul Murray has been nominated for the Booker Prize.
The Barnes family, the subject of Irish writer Paul Murray’s fourth novel (and Booker Prize candidate) The Bee Sting (Hamish Hamilton; $33), is a hot mess. Father Dickie’s previously thriving garage business is collapsing, his beautiful, high-spending wife Imelda is in shock, his teenage daughter Cass is angry and 12- year-old son PJ is scared. Set in rural Ireland and Dublin, the plot of this sprawling, Franzen-like family drama unfolds to reveal the dark backstories of Imelda’s violent, poverty-stricken family life, Dickie’s long-buried secrets and the tragedy that brought them together. A compelling exploration of how the past haunts the present. Love, marriage, family life, guilt, grief – the whole world is in this novel. Exceptional. Nicole Abadee
WEAR / Finishing touch
The headband: a modern spring racing crown.
If you’re not fascinated by fascinators but have a date with the races this spring, the easiest way to get in the millinery spirit is with a padded headband. The look already has the endorsement of “it” girl Sofia Richie Grainge, who sported a cushy black headband over slicked-back hair during New York Fashion Week. Sydney-based Chantelle Ford’s styles expertly straddle the line between fashion and whimsy. Her Lana headband ($130) gives a nod to Barbiecore pink as well as the season’s incoming red trend. An each-way bet for your head! Melissa Singer
EAT / More with less
Change the Course’s recipes, such as this hearty shakshuka, show that simple doesn’t have to mean inferior.
Good food has a transformative power, says the team behind social enterprise Two Good Co’s third and latest cookbook, Change the Course ($45). The recipes are shorter and simpler because having less time or money, they say, should never mean less love and nourishment. Think shakshuka, chermoula chicken and barley and no-churn ice-cream from renowned chefs including Neil Perry, Nagi Maehashi and Good Weekend’s Danielle Alvarez and Julia Busuttil Nishimura. With 50 per cent of profits reinvested in supporting, empowering and employing women who are rebuilding their lives after domestic violence, homelessness and complex trauma, the power of good food continues. Jill Dupleix
CELEBRATE / Space odyssey
Gaetano Pesce’s Up 50 chair and ottoman.
Since 1993, Space Furniture has been connecting design lovers with international interior trends through skilfully curated furniture collections (including memorable pieces like Gaetano Pesce’s Up 50 chair and ottoman). It’s hosted talks with global design leaders such as Ron Arad, Philippe Starck, Antonio Citterio, Patricia Urquiola and more. To celebrate its 30th birthday, stores will exhibit installations showcasing the history of Space and its people and creative output (until October 31). Piero Lissoni, the celebrated architect, designer and art director of Italian furniture brand B&B Italia, will relaunch the Space Singapore store before kicking off celebrations in Sydney and Melbourne. Frances Mocnik
DRINK / The fizz biz
A new carbonator – designed to infuse almost any liquid with bubbles.
Get ready to add some sparkle to your sips with Breville’s InFizz Fusion, a new style of beverage carbonator that can infuse bubbles into almost any beverage, including flat soda ($299). The key to the process is a pressure-control system housed in the FusionCap, which can carbonate flavoured drinks without risk of overflow. Endless experimentation awaits: think iced teas, wine, juice – even sangria and margaritas. Cheers! Frances Mocnik
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