Four months after the celebrations of the nuptials of Reliance group scion Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant kicked off in Jamnagar in March, the wedding will finally come to a close in Mumbai on Sunday evening.
From a pre-wedding event in Jamnagar to a Europe cruise and celebrity concerts by Rihannna, Justin Beiber and Katie Perry, the wedding has provided thickets of fodder for netizens to turn into memes, cartoons and parodies.
As political leaders from all quarters joined the Bollywood celebrities on the reception night on Friday at the Jio Convention Centre in the Bandra-Kurla Complex, employees of many companies located in the commerical hub were advised to work from home. The traffic restrictions would make it inconvenient to get to the office.
Even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in a campaign speech in May claimed that the Congress had received “tempos” full of cash from the Amabanis and also the Adani group, he also attended the celebrations.
This prompted Congress leader Jairam Ramesh to make a crack about Modi’s presence, as also the long-drawn-out nature of the Ambani wedding.
Another post took a dig at Modi’s failure to visit Manipur, where a deadly ethnic conflict has been raging between the Kuki and Meitei communities since May last year.
One user took a dig at Modi’s penchant for being photographed.
The enormous, ecletic guest list was the subject of some commentary.
Ramdev, whose company sells a juice that mixes aloe vera with amla was also in attendence.
The nexus of money and politics also came into focus.
What does it mean to have such a lavish wedding in a country in which 80 crore people depend on free government foodgrain?
RK Laxman seems to have predicted the reaction decades ago.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!