Delhi is buzzing with food and marriage festivals in the Christmas month of December.

A four- day exhibition called Celebrating Vivah was held in Delhi after making its mark in Dubai, Mumbai, Hydrabad, Kolkata, Ludhiana and Bangalore. The exhibits included trousseau to international cosmetic brands, home accessories to honeymoon destinations, luxury watches and jewellery to accessories and all other ingredients that make a truly gorgeous wedding. Tarun Sards of Celebrating Vivah told that their next destination would be London.

This is their fifth consecutive year since they started their Vivah Exhibition. They propose to move from Delhi to Chennai where the exhibition is scheduled to be held from January 10-13.

Their special showpieces consisted of interesting items like designer lehengas, jewellery pouches, dress hanger covers and ornate suit boxes. Besides, there were sculptures of gods and goddesses with Swarovski detailing by Impressiors Artware. Maishaa’s aromatic pillow covers and bed sheet collections attracted huge crowds.

Anurag Garg of Maishaa told the gathering that the brand had been chosen as "the New York Fashion Week's official bed linen brand." Other brands displayed at the exhibition included Tanishq, CTC, Study by Janak, Celeste, Chateau Indage, Kaya Skin Clinic, Priya & Chintan , New Zealand tourism and Christian Dior.

But……..can Vivah be performed without an array of the sumptuous foods?

Along side Vivah there have been a host of food festivals in the capital. Prominent among them was Mosaic restaurant’s Bengali food festival—Bengali Kitchen. Bengali Kitchen is known for its emphasis on reproducing the flavors of ‘barir ranna’ -home food. The festival offered a range of authentic Bengali cuisine which included Tel Koi (bony fish from the eastern parts of the country), Chital Macher Muitha (de-boned chital fish cooked in a cumin and onion gravy), Thorer Ghonto (inner tender portion of banana plant, minced and cooked with baby potatoes) and Aloo Posto (potatoes slow-cooked in a paste of khus-khus in mustard oil).  Aloo Posto creates flavors of mustard and green chilies subtly, without dominating the dish.

All main dishes were served with rice or paratha, dal, lip-smacking date-and-raisin chutney, a choice of potato, pumpkin or brinjal bhaja (fried). Piping hot Gur Sandesh was served as dessert. Customers could interact with the manager and a warm natured Assamese lady about the ingredients of the dishes that made the dining an intensely personal experience.

Close on the heals of the Bengali festival, Delhiites would be able to enjoy the foods from the ‘kitchens’ of Rajasthan, Goa, Kashmir, Assam followed by the north-eastern kitchen.