> strange emphasize on the job history of the wife, including her exact title, and the purchase of the luxury car. Having grown up there, I think I can speak t

> strange emphasize on the job history of the wife, including her exact title, and the purchase of the luxury car. Having grown up there, I think I can speak to this. Both are very culture specific. Job Titles are prominently mentioned in wedding invitations (esp. in South Indian invitations). My dad's invitation also states his exact title as well as his degree in engineering, incl. the major and minor. I thought that was strange too and do remember asking my dad about it when I was a kid. I think he said something to the effect of "It lets everyone attending the wedding know that I have a good job and will be able to take care of your mother and that she is going into marriage with an educated man making a good salary." The luxury car mention seems to be a more recent cultural / social phenomena. Before the auto makers and loans came to India (think pre-1980s), having a car was a social status / symbol. It signaled to your neighbors that you were doing well in life. This probably doesn't hold true anymore, with the arrival of car loans and several foreign automakers who have dealerships across India. Given that the writer of the story is also east indian, I figured he placed an emphasis on these 2 things...