The Wedding Wallah (Marriage Bureau For Rich People) [Paperback]

Farahad Zama is shy no more. His writing in The Wedding Wallah is much more mature as he addresses major social issues such as "domestic terrorism".

I love the contrast of last books romance between Rehman and Usha, and I have started to question if that was real love...In this book you see a different type of love flourish. One that is much more genuine and can be called truer. But we won't know until the next book.

Mr. Ali was pictured in a MUCH softer light. While, Mrs. Alis showed her very strong character. I have always pictured Mr. Ali to be a sweet cranky old man with his virtues, but in this book we see a more patient, relaxed and less fussy grandpa with a wealth of wisdom. Mrs. Ali becomes a cranky and fussy lady with a lot of charm and wisdom.

Aruna-I do have to say I hate her never-ending innocence ( might have ended in that Forest chapter I hope). She's such a prude sometimes...it's like: GET OVER IT!
But I do love the relationship between her and Ram.

The characters were all well developed and i appreciated being reminded of what had occurred the book before. But I enjoyed that Farahad is addressing some important topics in India..not just the need to find a suitable match or avoiding a match, but what is going on in a socio-political scale. I would appreciate more insight on the different castes and their social stand in todays India. That can be introduced when Mr. Ali is working on a case. Knowing more about the different Castes or Social groups will be of help to understand the characters development, their decisions, their requirements for marriage mates and much more.

Overall- I couldn't put down the book! I sat for 6 hours and read it through!!!

I read this out of order, reading it after the first book. I really enjoyed the first book, and really enjoyed this one as well. The characters are all interesting, and having been to India the descriptions of the town, especially the hordes cramming onto the buses, are brought to life really well.

I hope the author adds book four to the series before too long.

Mr Ali, the Wedding Wallah, is still very popular at helping arranged marriages occur amongst educated clients and wealthy families. He is over the moon, when it appears he may have been able to make a match for his niece Pari, an impoverished pretty young widow and Dilawar, the handsome businessman from the city.

I will admit to being a little apprehensive about reading this third book in the series. I absolutely loved the first book 'The Marriage Bureau for Rich People, however, I really did not enjoy the second book 'The Many Conditions of Love' as much at all. Thankfully, this book renewed my interest in the day to day lives of Mr Ali and his friends and family.

In fact, this book seemed to be a lot more realistic and darker than the previous two books, as it dealt with two topics which I presume are quite politically hot at this moment in time in India. Firstly the book looks closely at the legalisation of homosexuality. This really shocked me, discovering how backward they were in their views of gays and lesbians. I had never considered that other countries may still consider this to be wrong and felt thankful to live in a society where this is no longer the case. Poor Dilawar is being pushed into a marriage to give him the respectability his mother craves for him and the family name. Dilawar, weakened by society's attitude of his sexuality, struggles to stand up for his rights. It was quite sad to read and I couldn't help but feel his pain at not being allowed to be himself.

The second topic dealt with in this book is the importance of the Naxalites, a loose term used to define some rather violent groups who cause destruction and kidnappings in the name of landless labourers. They have an almost Robin Hood mentality but with sheer brutality involved to get their rewards. I am presuming that they still exist in India, as I could not find any information to contradict this point. The actions they carry out within the book, bring home the harsh reality of the inequality occurring in India and once again allows you to feel thankful that you don't have to live in similar conditions.

This book also highlights the changes occurring India, which seem to be pushing it into the modern world. The young are restless to live like the youth from Westernized societies and mobile phones and social networking are competing with the more traditional ways of the country. You realise straight away that the older generations are reluctant to move forward with technology and change. I love the contrast of the young and the old. The ways of the old still coexisting with the modernness of the young.

The characters are just adorable. It was lovely to revisit these characters and see how their lives have progressed. I loved returning to Aruna and Ramanujam's relationship, to see it continue to blossom, allowing Aruna to stand on her own two feet. Mrs Ali, continues to entertain me with her crafty ways and causing mayhem with her nosy neighbours. I felt a little annoyed with Rehman though, as I wanted him to open his eyes and see what beauty lies before him.

The book ends on a little bit of a cliffhanger, as there are a couple of situations that have been left unresolved, so I look forward to reading more in the future.

My only niggle with this book was that certain events that occur at the end of the book were told rather than shown and I would have liked to see a more dramatic ending to a situation that occurs.

If you like The No1 Ladies Detective series, then you will enjoy this book too, as I feel it mirrors the simplicity of life in the same way the Alexander McCall Smith series does.

An enjoyable read, that educates you without you realising!