‘Sukh, Swasthya, Samriddhi, Safalta For Anant-Radhika’: Mukesh Ambani’s Wedding Speech Goes Viral, Wins Hearts

Reliance Industries Limited Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani, in his speech ahead of his son Anant’s wedding to Radhika Merchant on Friday, sought “sukh (happiness), swasthya (health), samriddhi (prosperity) and safalta (success) for the couple". His humble apology for not being able to welcome guests amid the baaraat left netizens impressed.

“To all our guests today, on behalf of Nita and I, I have to say that the baaraat took over and we could not welcome you as we would have liked from our hearts. So, my apologies…We wanted to welcome each and every one of you, and I take this opportunity, along with Nita, Shaila, and Viren, to welcome each and every one of you with a warm heart," he said.

Elaborating on the Indian tradition, Ambani said, “In the Indian tradition, marriage is between two individuals, whereas wedding is between two families and all their friends and near and dear ones…This is the final and auspicious ceremony of their divine union and the last wedding in our family…"

Invoking the blessings of all elders of the Ambani and Merchant families, “Today, I pray that Anant and Radhika are blessed with a life together filled with happiness, good health, prosperity and success."

He invoked the five elements of nature, so “they offer strength and sustenance to the couple". “According to Sanatana, a wedding performed as per rituals becomes a celestial union. Just as Lakshmi residents in Vishnu heart, Anant will keep Radhika in his heart…Marriage becomes an essential guarantor of continuity, cohesion, wellbeing and progress of human race. The matrimony of Anant and Radhika commits them to serve humanity as a whole…The air is filled with spiritual aroma…"

Anant Ambani, 29, on Friday got married to pharmaceutical heiress and childhood sweetheart Radhika Merchant, 29, daughter of Viren and Shaila Merchant, at a star-studded event attended by celebrities from across the globe, politicians, who’s who of Hindi and south Indian cinema world and almost all the top cricketers in the country. The ceremony was held at Mumbai’s Jio World Drive — a convention centre built and owned by the Ambani family.

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian and her sister Khloe, Nigerian rapper Rema, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, and global business tycoons ranging from oil giant Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser to Samsung Electronics chairman Jay Lee and drug major GSK plc chief executive Emma Walmsley were in attendance at the event that has been dubbed as the ‘wedding of the year’.

Almost the entire top rung bollywood actors — from Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan to Ajay Devgn, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Tiger Shroff and Varun Dhawan — were present, most with their families, while superstars Rajinikanth, Ram Charan and Mahesh Babu led the entourage from down south.

The wedding saw the entire gamut of Indian cricketers descend — from icons like Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni to yesteryear great Krish Srikkanth and latest sensations Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav.

The groom, dressed in a rust orange sherwani, set off from Antilia — the Ambani family residence — in a luxurious red car covered in strings of white flowers for the convention centre, where the ‘baraat’ assembled for a short journey to the mandap. Designer duo Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla’s pastel hues dominated the Ambani family’s attire.

The three-day wedding extravaganza is the final stop in a string of lavish parties the family has hosted since March. First a three-day pre-wedding celebration was held in March in the family’s refinery township of Jamnagar in Gujarat that hosted tech billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner in the 1,200-strong guest list, and had an exclusive performance by Rihanna.

David Blaine did magic tricks and the festivities also involved a trip to Ambani’s ‘animal rescue center’ housing exotic animals.

In May, the Ambanis set off on a four-day Mediterranean cruise starting in the Italian city of Palermo, featuring on-deck concerts from the Backstreet Boys, Pitbull, and David Guetta, and a performance by Katy Perry at a masquerade ball at the Château de la Croix des Gardes mansion in France. DJ David Guetta played at a toga party at sea. The cruise ended in Italy’s Portofino, where tenor Andrea Bocelli serenaded the party in the town square.

Last week, Justin Bieber performed at the ‘sangeet’ or musical night. The lavish wedding itself will be a three-day affair, with a small dinner for exclusive guests on Saturday and a grand reception on July 14.

With PTI Inputs