Ambanis of India host one of the most expensive weddings in history

LAHORE: The lavish wedding of richest Indian business tycoon Mukesh Ambani's daughter Isha with Anand Piramal has cost US$ 100 million or Pakistani Rs 13.90 billion to the owner of Reliance Industries and Indian Premier League franchise, the Mumbai Indians.

Yes, take a deep breath, because this is possibly the second grandest star-studded wedding in world history, just $10 million less than the $110 million or Pakistani Rs 15.3 billion (inflation adjusted) matrimony of Prince Charles-Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, research conducted by the "Jang Group and Geo Television Network" shows. The New York-based "Bloomberg," a privately held financial, software, data, and media company, had recently stated: "India is preparing for what could be one of the world's most expensive weddings ever. 

On December 12, Asia's richest man - oil-and-telecom tycoon Mukesh Ambani - is scheduled to give away his daughter Isha to billionaire industrialist Ajay Piramal's son, Anand. The week-long extravaganza is estimated to cost about US$100 million, according to people familiar with the planning. To put the figure in perspective, Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding 37 years ago reportedly cost US$110 million in today's dollars."

Having over 19,000 employees in 176 locations around the planet, the "Bloomberg" media house had gone on to write: "The guest list is so long that the Ambanis and Piramals have taken over at least five five-star hotels nearby, and a war room has been set up in Mumbai to manage logistics, they said.

According to local media reports, more than 100 chartered flights will fly guests to and from Udaipur's Maharana Pratap Airport." The $110 million cost of Charles-Diana was also mentioned in the April 29, 2011 edition of the "Business Insider," an American financial and business news website having operations in the UK, Australia, China, Germany, France, South Africa, India, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Nordics, Poland, Spain and Singapore etc. On Isha Ambani's wedlock, the "Washington Post" has written:" Her family's Mumbai home, named for the mythical Atlantic island Antilia, has 27 stories, three helipads and is estimated to be one of the world's most expensive properties, second only to Buckingham Palace."

Meanwhile, the "Time" magazine writes: "In a season of big Indian weddings, the marriage of the scions of two billionaire families might be the biggest of them all. The bride, Isha Ambani, is the Ivy League-educated daughter of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, thought to be India’s richest man. Forbes estimates his net worth at over $43 billion. The groom, Anand Piramal, is the relative pauper. His father, industrialist Ajay Piramal, is thought to be worth $10 billion." This 95-year old American weekly news magazine and news website with a circulation of 2 .35 million maintains:" Among India’s rich, weddings are displays of almost unimaginable wealth, with guests flown in on chartered jets from around the world and celebrities paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for brief appearances. In 2004, a daughter of Indian steel baron Lakshmi Mittal held her engagement party at Versailles." By the way, the Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia marital knot had cost over $60 million or Pakistani Rs 8.34 billion. The wedding of another Indian business magnate Janardhana Reddy's daughter, Brahmani, had cost in excess of $ 74 million or Pakistani Rs 10.29 billion in 2016.

The November 15, 2016 edition of the "BBC News" had mentioned: "The lavish wedding of the daughter of an Indian politician has sparked outrage as millions across the country are in the midst of a cash flow crisis. The five-day wedding of businessman and ex-state minister G Janardhana Reddy's daughter, Brahmani, is estimated to cost about 5 billion Indian rupees ($74m; £59m). But with gold-plated invitations and Bollywood stars expected to perform, the nuptials have proved controversial." The guests invited for the wedding ceremony of Janardhana Reddy's daughter had received personalized wedding invites via LCD screens, which had reportedly cost a whopping Indian Rs 50 million.

The guests were later fed in utensils crafted out of pure gold and silver. After drawing the ire of the cash-strapped masses, the hosts had tried to downplay the Rs 5 billion bill to just Rs 300 million. The bride's wedding sari had cost Indian Rs 170 million and her jewellery was priced at Indian Rs 900 million. Moreover, according to Indian media reports, some 3,000 bouncers and 300 policemen were deputed on security duty along with sniffer dogs and bomb squads.