LETTER FROM NEW DELHI
A modest domestic airfield usually run by the armed forces, Jamnagar Airport in Gujarat acquired international status for a few days in early March. This made it easier to handle the ballet of private jets. Many of them landed on the tarmac of this not-too-touristy corner of India, located in a semi-arid region south of the Gulf of Kutch, along the Arabian Sea, known for housing the world’s largest oil and petrochemical complex. The city is home to the world’s largest petroleum and petrochemical complex, as well as beautiful British remains, Jain and Hindu temples and Rajput palaces.
It was not for its heritage that Indian and international celebrities flocked to Jamnagar under the television cameras, but rather, it was to attend from March 1 to 3 the “pre-wedding” of one of the sons of Mukesh Ambani, 66, Asia’s richest man. Anant Ambani, 28, who suffers from obesity, will marry Radhika Merchant in July, the daughter of Viren Merchant, the director general of Encore Healthcare, a pharmaceutical company.
Arriving on the airport’s red carpet were Bollywood’s biggest stars –Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in particular – and Hollywood stars, sports champions, Americans Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, as well as Ivanka Trump, daughter of the former US president, accompanied by her husband and daughter, industrialists, Disney’s director general, Bob Iger, billionaires, the prime minister of Qatar, Mohammed Ben Abderrahmane Al Thani, and even the King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, and the Queen, Jetsun Pema, renowned for their sobriety.
American singer Rihanna was also present but on stage. The Ambani family secured the American singer’s first performance in India. According to Indian media reports, they paid nearly $7 million (€6.4 million).
The Indian billionaire invited around 1,200 guests to Jamnagar, the town of his ancestors, for three days of festivities, shows and sumptuous meals featuring hundreds of different dishes prepared by 21 chefs. The happy few stayed in luxury tents complete with hairdressers, make-up artists, laundry and stylists, with each day set to begin with a new dress code. There were flowers galore, horses, elephants, gold and rubies.
Anant Ambani’s “pre-wedding,” again according to the country’s press, cost around $150 million (around €138 million), which is a trifle for his father. His group, Reliance, is valued at $115 billion according to the magazineForbes. He owns the Jamnagar refinery.Anant’s mother, Nita Ambani, wore an emerald necklace worth over $60 million.
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