This is just one of the many signs of Bollywood’s influence on the traditionally low-key Tamil traditions. Professor P Radhakrishnan, of the Madras Institute of Development Studies, says increased exposure to films is definitely a factor. But the main reason, says Ramya, is that south Indians are increasingly marrying northerners. Also, cultural influences and expensive religious rites of that are socially meaningful, such as marriages and children’s rites, have been common ever since the IT boom brought wealth to sections of the Tamil community.