The Great Ambani Wedding, The Rise Of India’s Urban Royalty!

The term “royalty” traditionally refers to individuals of royal blood or status (any individual monarch, such as a king, queen, emperor, empress, prince, princess etc.); however, considering the latest shenanigans and extravaganzas, which, mind you, only India’s corporate elites can afford, perhaps it’s time to coin a new term for the ultra-rich and their lavish lifestyles: the Urban Royalty.

The entire country is aware that a mega event is to transpire in the coming days. In fact, Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant have become household names. It won’t be surprising if even Hollywood has registered that something of tremendous importance is happening in India!

The Ram Mandir inauguration probably pales in comparison, and the leaking roof can be sidelined for the moment; even as the stage is being set for the main event, which will take place soon, the celebrations started much earlier.

Now, don’t get it wrong—it is not a question of being envious, the resources belong to the family, after all. But what’s undeniably grating is how resources are being stretched, and the common man is being inconvenienced and sidelined for this grand spectacle.

Let’s see where it started. After months of planning and one star-studded pre-wedding celebration after another, one of the year’s most talked—about events is finally here.

Now, Asia’s richest billionaire, Mukesh Ambani, and his wife, Nita Ambani, are no strangers to affluent weddings—they had Beyoncé perform at their daughter Isha Ambani’s 2018 nuptials and followed it up with their middle child, Akash Ambani’s 2019 wedding. But the youngest Ambani child’s wedding is set to eclipse both in media frenzy and public curiosity.

Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding will take place in Mumbai on July 12, 2024, and the festivities have already spanned continents.

There was the Rihanna-starring Hastakshar (signature) ceremony in Jamnagar, Gujarat, followed by a second pre-wedding celebration that sailed through Italy on a luxury liner and concluded in Cannes with a concert featuring Katy Perry.

Finally, the wedding ceremony will be held at the Jio World Convention Center in Mumbai, which is located in the Bandra Kurla Complex, the city’s central business district.

The Jio World Convention Center is 1,108,812 square feet and features five modular halls, 25 meeting rooms, and a ballroom, offering grand and intimate spaces for events.

Now comes the part that concerns the ordinary folks; according to the Hindustan Times, the Mumbai Traffic Police have announced specific road closures near the venue from 1 PM until midnight from July 12 to 15 to ensure smooth traffic flow for the wedding.

These restrictions have sparked online outrage, with many frustrated by public infrastructure being disrupted for a private event.

And why wouldn’t they be?

While the wedding is a grand celebration for the family, why should the rules be bent and the common man inconvenienced for a night of festivities?

Hence, the rise of India’s Urban Royalty.

But does it stop here?

Absolutely not!

For the Jamnagar pre-wedding bash, the Indian Air Force managed over 600 jets in just five days.

Jamnagar’s tiny airport, which typically caters to about five civilian aircraft a day, rose to the occasion by hosting around 600 flights during the pre-wedding celebration for Mukesh Ambani’s son, thanks to assistance from the Indian Air Force.

The Jamnagar airport, a military airfield with a civilian terminal, saw unprecedented traffic during the five-day period from February 23 to March 4.

According to a report by The Hindu, Reliance Group sought help from the Defence Secretary to facilitate 24/7 operations at the airfield for Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s pre-wedding festivities.

The Chief of Air Staff authorized round-the-clock operations at the Jamnagar air base upon the Defence Secretary’s request.

The airport had initially expected around 30-40 aircraft for the event but recorded over 600 inbound and outbound movements during the main five days.

The airfield, primarily a fighter base, operates in coordination with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for civil aircraft movements and the Air Traffic Control (ATC) ended up managing numerous scheduled and non-scheduled flights alongside regular defense services operations.

Jamnagar, the fifth-largest city in Gujarat, is south of the Gulf of Kutch and is home to one of the world’s largest oil refineries and petrochemical complexes.

The AAI temporarily designated the airport as an international airport, and to facilitate the event, IAF personnel were pressed in to construct roads, taxi tracks, and pit stops, ensuring the smooth flow and efficient offloading of passengers and cargo.

The closure of Mumbai airport for non-scheduled flights further complicated matters, necessitating the use of IAF’s technical area to prevent flight safety issues.

The IAF also stepped in to ensure the seamless execution of operations when Reliance had manpower shortages.

As reported by Business Standard, airport authorities had to set up temporary customs, immigration, and quarantine counters, and renovate the airport in about 45 days.

The event was attended by high-profile guests such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Ivanka Trump, Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, and Sachin Tendulkar.

Rihanna even performed for the couple, with media estimates suggesting the global pop star was paid $8-9 million (Rs 66-74 crore) for the performance.

Now that the details are in, the extent of influence and clout that conglomerates like the Ambani’s and Adani’s wield within the nation’s political circles becomes clear, so much so that an organization like the IAF was pressed into service to ensure the “smooth” functioning of a private event and to “accommodate” the guests.

The defence personnel working for the event were reduced to staff workers. These from elite forces, who have cleared rigorous exams and undergone challenging training to serve in the IAF, were relegated to “servers” to facilitate a “civil” wedding.

Hence, the rise of the Urban Royalty, who may not have royal blood but possess the money, clout, and influence to bend policies and administration to suit their needs.

Let’s see. Are there any pressing concerns that the country is facing?

Plenty.

In fact, the entire nation is plagued with infrastructure woes, from collapsing bridges and gaping holes in newly built roads to crumbling structures. And Mumbai has its fair share of problems.

The incessant rains have caused chaos, leading to waterlogging (now a regular occurrence, the cost one pays for living in India). Amid this chaos, one can only imagine the entire state machinery (traffic police and regular police) being mobilized to ensure that the Ambani wedding event goes off without a hitch.

Who cares if there’s a medical emergency and the blocked route could mean life or death for someone?

But really, who cares?

The common man is just that—common, and in the presence of the Urban Royalty, they have very little “status.”

Here’s raising a glass to India’s Urban Royalty!