Anshika Gupta, an account manager with a leading tech firm in Bangalore, says such ostentatious splurge has its repercussions on the common man. Her Views:
From pre-wedding shoots to destination weddings and post-wedding celebrations, Indians are splurging on marriage ceremonies like never before. And now, the Ambanis have set a new benchmark with an ostentatious display of wealth. What are the implications of such a vulgar show of status and wealth?
Well, for one, an event that has captured all our attention and easily become the highlight of this year, is, without doubt the grand Ambani Wedding. Anant Ambani, son of billionaires Mukesh and Nita Ambani married Radhika Merchant on 12th July. But somehow, this wedding has seemed to be never ending ever since the year began. Why? Because that really is the case!
The festivities which started with an engagement ceremony in January 2024, was followed by a three-day pre-wedding soiree in Jamnagar in March. Then came a four-day European cruise which finally concluded in the Ambanis’ very own Mumbai pad on 12th July (or so we think). There are reportedly grand post-wedding festivities planned in London as well.
This wedding has naturally raised so many questions in my mind – we have grown up hearing how a person’s wedding is ‘the most important day of their lives’ – families for centuries have saved up a big chunk of their money for their children’s weddings. Most of the times, the said weddings are less about children and more about showcasing their standing in society. And the Ambanis seem to have done nothing different for their son.
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However, something seems to be glaringly different and off-putting about this entire affair. These nuptials seem less like a meaningful moment between two people in love and more a grandiose display of paraphernalia for the astounding wealth of Asia’s richest family with the event being orchestrated to make it a giant PR stunt for the Ambanis. Most guests clearly were paid obscene amounts to attend the wedding of someone they had never met before and none of them seemed to be genuinely happy for the couple.
While the ostentatious display of wealth, the presence of international celebrities and global leaders has put India on the map in a much larger way and boosted the already booming Indian wedding industry, it has also highlighted the extreme disparity that exists between India’s rich and the poor. And while the intention may have been of making this wedding aspirational, all it has done is create a strong feeling of resentment towards the Ambanis’ privilege.
I can’t help but think how the immense wealth displayed here over months could have been put to use at so many other places – healthcare, education, employment – the avenues are endless. In a country that looks at marriage as the ultimate end goal (specially for women), this was an opportunity to show its citizens what it is that truly defines progress – not just a larger-than-life gross parade of wealth but wealth that contributes to the upliftment of each strata of society.
It has only raised the baseless aspirations and expectations of the marriageable population to themselves have a wedding of this sort which I am sure shall fuel further wastage of money, resources and time. For, isn’t there just one Ambani?
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As told to Deepa Gupta