India is the worlds largest consumer of gold. Why gold？ Because in India， there is no possession more valuable. For Indians， gold jewelry is wearable wealth， financial security thats also a fashion statement. Indias love for gold is as ancient as its culture. And with its growing prosperity， the one event that drives most of that demand is an Indian wedding.

There may be no wedding like an Indian wedding. The events can last for days with music and dancing and traditions that go back centuries. Everywhere you look， theres a collection of colors， flowers and food. And then theres the gold： breathtaking. Here its a symbol of purity that also shows off the couples wealth and wellbeing.

Reporter： Ive heard several times since Ive been here， “No gold， no wedding.”

Divya Chauhan （Wedding Planner）： Yes， absolutely. Chauhans Friend： Its very true.

Chauhan： The bride is ready， the groom is ready， the venue is set， the food is set， but if you dont have gold， theres no wedding.

In November， in the small southern city of Tumkur， they pulled together the wedding event of the season. Two of the towns elite families joined through the marriage of Nivedita Keshavmurthy and Akshay Bavikatte—both doctors. The families spent over $200，000 just on gold. Guests came to wish the couple well， not to mention it gave everyone a chance to break out their finest gold jewelry.

Chauhan： The gold will show off the prosperity and the stand of the family in the society.

Reporter： Is that vanity？ What is that？

Chauhan： Its not vanity. Its just something so culturally ingrained in us that you cant have reasoning around it.

An Indian bride is usually given jewelry by her parents， gold they started buying when she was born. Its her financial security after she joins her husbands family—gold shell control throughout the marriage.

Ajay Mitra （World Gold Councils Managing Director for India and the Middle East）： Gold is a part of life. You can not have a family which doesnt own gold. It is an incomplete family.

Reverence for gold touches everyone， from the very old to the very young. From the high-end stores in major cities， to the gold-plated jewelry shops in the poorest villages.

The Bavikatte wedding was a Hindu ceremony， the religion for 80% of Indians. The bride and groom had gold on them and all around them， a powerful symbol of purity and eternity that Hindus elevate to the status of a goddess. They call her Lakshmi. Every fall， theres a religious holiday， one day when Hindus worship Lakshmi by shopping for gold.

Chauhan： That day， if you buy gold， its considered to bring you prosperity， good luck， health， wealth， everything. If you buy gold a day before， you get nothing. You buy gold a day after， you get nothing.

Reporter： So you dont just buy it， you buy it on a particular…

Chauhan： Day.

Reporter： And thats the way it is.

Chauhan： Yes.

Reporter： You dont question that.

Chauhan： We have never questioned it. We just know if you buy gold today itll bring you prosperity. Goddess Lakshmi will visit your house. So hey， lets do it. Who doesnt want to be prosperous？

Reporter： How can you be both frugal and conservative， but yet be willing to spend thousands of dollars on gold？

Ishu Datwani （Gold Store Owner） ： Because in your mind， that is a saving. That is going toward your saving account. You know， a lot of people， when they come and buy gold， they dont think theyre spending money. Its not an expense. Its an investment.

印度是世界上最大的黃金消費國家。為什么是黃金呢？因為在印度，沒有什么財產(chǎn)比黃金更貴重的了。對于印度人來說，黃金首飾既是可以穿戴的財富，又代表了經(jīng)濟保障，更是一種彰顯時尚的方式。印度人對黃金的喜愛就像印度文化般歷史悠久，而隨著該國日益繁榮，婚禮成了推動黃金需求的大事件。

世上也許沒有什么婚禮比得上印度人的婚禮。一場載歌載舞的傳統(tǒng)婚禮會持續(xù)數(shù)日，婚禮上古老的傳統(tǒng)儀式已經(jīng)流傳了數(shù)百年?；槎Y上處處是琳瑯滿目的絢麗色彩、鮮花和美食。還有黃金，讓人倒吸一口氣的金子。在這里，它是純潔的象征，也向世人宣示新婚夫婦的財富和他們的康樂。

記者：我到印度后聽別人說過好幾次，“沒有黃金就不能舉行婚禮”。

迪婭·查罕（婚禮策劃人）：是的，絕對正確。查罕的朋友：這是一句大實話。

查罕：新娘準備好了，新郎準備好了，場地準備好了，食物也準備好了，但如果沒有金子，婚禮就無法舉行。

11月，在印度南部的杜姆古爾小鎮(zhèn)，她們攜手策劃了一場年度最盛大的婚禮。鎮(zhèn)上兩個上層家庭聯(lián)姻，兩家的納瓦迪特·凱沙墨菲和阿克謝·巴瓦卡德（兩人都是醫(yī)生）喜結(jié)連理。兩家光是在黃金上就花了超過二十萬美元。賓客們到此向新人表示祝賀，此外，這也給了所有人一個展示自己最漂亮的金首飾的絕好機會。

查罕：在這里，黃金可以顯示一個家庭富足的生活和這個家庭的社會地位。

記者：這是虛榮心嗎？還是其他什么？

查罕：這不是虛榮心。這只是在我們的文化里根深蒂固的某種東西，是沒法說理的。

新娘的父母通常會給女兒金首飾，這是從她出生之日起就開始為她購置的。這些黃金在她進入夫家后由她自己掌控，是她的財富保障。

亞杰·密特拉（世界黃金協(xié)會印度及中東總經(jīng)理）：黃金是生活的一部分，一個家庭沒有黃金就不成為一個家，那將會是一個不完整的家庭。

對黃金的推崇之情與所有的人都息息相關(guān)，老老少少無一例外。從大城市里的高端金店到最貧困地區(qū)的鍍金首飾店都可以體現(xiàn)這一點。

80%的印度人都信仰印度教，巴瓦卡德家的婚禮正是一個印度教婚禮。新娘新郎身上戴滿了金飾，他們周圍也堆滿了金子，這是純潔和永恒一個強有力的象征，金子的這種象征意義還被提升了到女神的地位。這位女神叫拉克什米。每年秋天有一個宗教節(jié)日，在那一天，印度教徒會以購買黃金的方式來表示對拉克什米女神的敬意。

查罕：在那天，如果你去買金，那就會給你帶來興旺、好運氣、健康、財富，一切一切。如果你在前一天買的話，你什么都得不到；你如果晚一天買，也是什么都不會得到。

記者：這么說，就不僅僅是買金子這么簡單，還要在某個特定的日子買……

查罕：特定的日子。

記者：事情就是這個樣子。

查罕：是的。

記者：你們不會質(zhì)疑這一點。

查罕：我們從來都不質(zhì)疑這個。我們就是知道，如果你今天買金，你就會興旺。拉克什米女神就會到你家。好啊，那就干唄，誰不想興旺呢？

記者：一個人怎么可能在節(jié)儉和保守的同時，又愿意花好幾千元去購買黃金呢？

依蘇·達特瓦尼（金店老板）：那是因為在你的心里，這樣做是存錢，這等于往你的儲蓄賬戶里存錢。你知道，許多人來買黃金的時候，他們不覺得他們是在花錢。那不是一筆開銷，而是一次投資。