This was the mother of tradition-observing, and yet a modern, Hindu wedding. A contradiction in terms? Perhaps. But as the saying goes: ‘We are like this only’. The Ambanis have certainly set a new standard, one that will be difficult to surpass. The scale, the banquet-ry, the jewels, the presents, the wedding outfits, the fancy watches, the star-studded guest list — a potent spectacle to be remembered for years to come.
Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding, a grand celebration of tradition and modern luxury, certainly challenged conventional notions of simplicity. And yet, it ran true to the best traditions of Sanatana Dharma. The Ambanis conducted a bhandara in Mumbai for four months that fed hundreds of people. They organised and paid for mass weddings of underprivileged people with gifts like clothes and gold for the brides and Rs 1 lakh each for the grooms.
This wedding will take time to be fully appreciated for its impact, but it spoke to the world about the coming of age, not just of a leading industrial group, but of the Bharat of 2024. One that is on its way to becoming the third-largest economy in the world, going from a $4 trillion GDP to three times that amount, fuelled by its 7% growth rate, the highest among major economies. A country that believes it will be developed in every respect by its centenary year, 2047.
The pre-wedding celebrations were kicked off at the Ambani petrochemical complex and city of Jamnagar. Among the 1,200 guests were dozens of national and international bigwigs, including Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner. Rihanna performed, along with many Bollywood stars. Diljit Dosanjh electrified the audience with his performance.
It is in Jamnagar that Anant Ambani, the groom and the youngest Ambani son, works and lives as the resident Director-in-Charge. Anant Ambani has also created an animal hospital and sanctuary across 3,000 acres in the area. This was unveiled to the public earlier this year, with Anant emphasising that it is a sanctuary for traumatised and injured animals, including elephants, and not a zoo.
The Ambanis have restored and rebuilt numerous Hindu temples in the Jamnagar-Chorwad area of Gujarat, their ancestral home. In fact, a couple of these temples were recently featured in the media as part of the wedding preparations. The family are also major sponsors of Lord Krishna temples, including the renowned Shrinathji Temple at Nathdwara in Rajasthan, a site they visited in the run-up to the auspicious occasion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the ‘Shubh Ashirwad’ ceremony, held the day after the wedding. The pre-wedding celebrations in Mumbai featured a performance by Justin Bieber. The multi-day festivities attracted a star-studded guest list, including many of India’s A-list actors, international figures like John Cena and Kim Kardashian, prominent politicians from both the ruling party and the Opposition, former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Boris Johnson, and cricket superstars Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Fortunately, long gone are the days when Jawaharlal Nehru, nearly 20 years after Independence, called in a snake charmer to entertain Jacqueline Kennedy. A telling photograph of the event was followed by Mrs Kennedy becoming a guest of the Maharaja of Jaipur, living in a palace, enjoying royal banquets and entertainment, and witnessing polo matches.
Nothing much was done, it seems, to alter the Kiplingesque Jungle Book-style image of India – an India of Gunga Din, fakirs on beds of nails, rope climbers, and of course, tigers roaming the forests, still fair game for VIP guests from Britain. And yes, the snake charmers.
Jawaharlal Nehru saw no contradiction between his ardent Fabian Socialist principles and his admiration of Soviet five-year plans, which India aped.
Alongside these, he established top-class, government-financed higher education institutions, dams, and heavy industry. Heavy industry was to take up the “commanding heights of the economy” and be regarded as modern “temples”.
Nehru was notoriously against promoting Hindu temples, Sanatana Dharma, and its traditions because he considered them both majoritarian and obscurantist. He stoutly opposed the restoration of Somnath Temple, destroyed by Islamic invaders, including Allauddin Khilji. It was completed nonetheless, with the help of India’s first President Rajendra Prasad, and others.
Subsequent years after Nehru saw persistent socialism inflict shortages of everything, including restrictions on the number of wedding guests and a scarcity of milk that led to bans on milk-based sweets for weddings and ceremonies. It’s hard to believe how bad things were back then. Today, we still have erstwhile maharajas, but they do much more than play polo and pose for pictures with wild animals they’re banned from hunting. Some are politicians, others are hoteliers, conservationists, and industrialists.
Yes, we are proudly Hindu, but we are also doing everything possible to realise our potential in the modern world. The spectacular wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant is a tribute to this fact.
The writer is a Delhi-based political commentator. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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