NEW DELHI: In a season of big Indian weddings, the marriage of two business scions on Wednesday is set to be the biggest of them all.
Isha Ambani is the Ivy League-educated daughter of Mukesh Ambani, chairman and majority stakeholder in oil and gas giant Reliance Industries, whose net worth Forbes estimates at over $43 billion.
Her groom, Anand Piramal, is the son of Indian industrialist Ajay Piramal, whose namesake conglomerate is estimated to be worth over $10 billion.
At one of the couple’s pre-wedding events on Sunday, Beyonce performed for a star-studded gathering at a 16th-century palace in the Indian city of Udaipur. Guests included Hillary Clinton and a host of Bollywood A-listers.
The competitiveness of India’s wintertime wedding season is growing more extreme, exacerbating the pressure on regular Indians to go into debt to finance elaborate weddings, according to Archana Dalmia, a social activist in New Delhi.
“A farmer might commit suicide because he can’t save enough money to get his daughter married,” she said.
The extravagant wedding of Indian actress Priyanka Chopra and American singer Nick Jonas earlier this month — attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — was straight out of a Bollywood film.
So-called dowry deaths — brides killed when their families fail to meet in-laws’ dowry demands — constitute a substantial share of all female homicides in India, a 2018 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report found.
While opulence has always been a feature of Indian weddings, families used to hand down bridal saris as heirlooms. No more, Dalmia said.
“This generation is very different. Priyanka Chopra will never be able to wear it again and she won’t be able to pass it down,” Dalmia said.
Celebrities flock to Indian business scions’ lavish wedding
Celebrities flock to Indian business scions’ lavish wedding
- The extravagant wedding of Indian actress Priyanka Chopra and American singer Nick Jonas earlier this month — attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — was straight out of a Bollywood film
6 planets will parade across the night sky at the end of February
NEW YORK: Six planets are linking up in the sky at the end of February, and most will be visible to the naked eye.
It’s what’s known as a planetary parade, which happens when multiple planets appear to line up in the sky at once. The planets aren’t in a straight line, but are close together on one side of the sun.
Skygazers can usually spot two or three planets after sunset, according to NASA. Hangouts of four or five that can be glimpsed with the naked eye are less common and occur every few years. Last year featured lineups of six and all seven planets.
When will they be visible?
On Saturday, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible to the naked eye if clear skies allow. Uranus and Neptune can only be spotted with binoculars and telescopes.
What time is optimal for viewing?
Go outside about an hour after sunset and venture away from tall buildings and trees that will block the view. Look to the western sky and spot Mercury, Venus and Saturn close to the horizon. Jupiter will be higher up, along with Uranus and Neptune.
How to know if you’ve spied a member of the parade?
“If it’s twinkling, it’s a star. If it is not twinkling, it’s a planet,” said planetary scientist Sara Mazrouei with Humber Polytechnic in Canada.
The parade should be visible over the weekend and in the days after. Eventually, Mercury will bow out and dip below the horizon.
At least one bright planet is visible on most nights, according to NASA.
Glimpsing many in the sky at once is a fun way to connect with astronomers of centuries’ past, said planetary scientist Emily Elizondo with Michigan State University.
Ancient astronomers used to make sense of the universe “just by looking up at the stars and the planets,” Elizondo said, “which is something that we can do today.”
