The big fat Congress wedding
30,000 attend wedding of Cong leader Kanwar Singh Tanwar’s son with daughter of ex-MLA Jaunapuria
New Delhi: A helicopter claimed as a wedding present, 30,000 guests, 100 vegetarian dishes, 2 mammoth pandals that took 1,000 workers nearly 40 days to erect, 12 giant screens to televise the wedding ceremony, and return gifts for guests who came to bless the couple.
The groom and his family couldn't have asked for more during these austere times. But then Lalit Tanwar is no ordinary groom. On Tuesday night, the son of Congress leader Kanwar Singh Tanwar tied the knot with Yogita, daughter of former Sohna MLA Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria.
With declared assets of more than Rs. 150 crore, Tanwar was the richest candidate during the 2008 Delhi Assembly elections. As son Lalit arrived in a BMW, the giant screens at Jaunapur in Fatehpur Beri came alive, capturing every detail. Both Lalit and his bride Yogita are said to be MBA graduates.
The scale of the wedding left guests stunned. But the father of the groom maintained that it was a "simple" affair. "I got many poor girls married, but no one noticed. True, a Bell 429 helicopter was given, but it was a simple wedding," Tanwar told Newsline.
However, DGCA records show the only Bell 429 helicopter in India was delivered to Span Air in November 2010. Its registration code is VT-NKL. A Chennai-based group is in talks to buy another Bell 429 later this year.
When told about this, Tanwar said: "I don't know these details. All I know is that it is a Bell 429 that we have."
There were two pandals -- one for the aam aadmi and the other for VIPs. Nearly 30,000 people went in and out of the two pandals as the feast began. There were nearly 100 dishes -- Thai, Chinese, Indian and Continental -- but all vegetarian. Alcohol and non-vegetarian food was a strict no-no.
Tanwar said the Rs. 33-crore chopper is parked at the Delhi airport, so a silver replica was gifted by the Jaunapurias to the family. "We are not going to construct a helipad. We will use the helicopter as and when required from the airport itself. Many in Delhi have their own aircraft. No one has a helipad," Tanwar said.
Sources said the first trip of the newly wed couple could be to Vaishno Devi. The Tanwars have planned a grand reception at their Asola farmhouse on Thursday, which several celebrities likely to attend. Another reception is planned for March 6 at Hotel Ashok where political heavyweights have been invited. Those who made it to the wedding included Kamal Nath, Ram Vilas Paswan, D P Yadav and Girija Vyas.
Asked about the ostentatious wedding of the son of a party leader, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president J P Agarwal said: "I am not aware about the wedding expenses. We were not the ones who brought him to the Congress fold. He was initiated into the party by AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh."
Here are some of the other most expensive weddings that have already taken place
High-end marriages
Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia
Date: November 18, 2006
Cost: $78 million
The highest ranked in Forbes list of most expensive weddings. Daughter of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, Vanisha was married to investment banker Amit Bhatia at Vaux le Vicomte, a 17th-century chateau in France, in 2004. The wedding celebrations went on for five days, and included extravagances such as invitations on a 20 page silver book. Bollywood stars like Aishwarya Rai, Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherjee and pop star Kylie Minogue were also present at the wedding.
Elizabeth Hurley and Arun Nayar
Date: March 2, 2007
Cost: $2.5 million
Hollywood actress Elizabeth Hurley and Indian textile heir Arun Nayar got hitched at a lavish wedding including an eight-day celebration spanning Europe and Asia. The couple was married at Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire, Britain for Hurley's family and friends, then again in Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur, India for Nayar's people.
Vikram Chatwal and Priya Sachdev
Date: February 18, 2006
Cost: $20 million
The son of a New York hotelier, Vikram Chatwal married model/actress Priya Sachdev during a 10-day celebration spread across three Indian cities Mumbai, Udaipur, and Delhi. Six hundred guests from 26 countries attended the nuptials, and were flown in on private chartered jets. Guests included Bill Clinton, Naomi Campbell, and P Diddy
Source: The Indian Express & India Syndicate
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