Opinion Work from mandap: Hustle’s new mantra

Being “married to one’s work” is a cliché best avoided in writing; working while getting married is so startlingly literal that it could be literary. It could be a punchline, parody or deeper, absurd subversion. However, in a time when the world is too busy hustling for reflection, and jokes have become facts, it can also be none of these. A photo of a US-based, Indian-origin start-up co-founder working on her laptop in full bridal regalia at her own wedding, apparently just 10 minutes after the ceremony, has gone viral. Her brother and co-founder shared the photo on X, pointing out that “people romanticise start-ups but it is a lot of work”.

Predictably, this drew mixed reactions, with polarisation setting in between the hustlers and the hustle-nots, those who see the necessity of the 72-hour work week and advocates of the right to disconnect. It comes amid serious global debates about the nature and future of work, and in this case, the ideology and reality of entrepreneurship: It is, undeniably, “a lot of work”. For those in the driving seat, or on the wedding sofa, it may be a matter of personal priorities, cost-benefit calculus and beliefs about the good life. For their employees, who may be expected to follow their example, it’s less about philosophy and more about 2 am phone calls from the boss.

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Coming back to the sofa, there’s someone else on it: The groom, turban and all. The brother, in a later post, referred to the husband not being happy about his bride taking meetings during their honeymoon. But in the photo, he appears happy enough to do what 90-hour zealots deride: Stare at his wife. When it comes to marriage, perhaps that’s all that matters.