We have indeed come a long way from the days of Bharat being exoticized as the land of snake charmers and opulently decorated elephants. For a long time, the Western media and popular culture ecosystem has indulged in what can be called “poverty tourism” in the context of Bharat. Bharat’s rising geopolitical stature, and the glorious narrative of cultural resurgence doesn’t obviously sit well with the “poverty tourism” brigade. They don’t quite know how to handle the new Bharat. Hence, one sees the large-scale demonization of Hindu culture and traditions, and unwanted criticism of everything that has something to do with the projection of Bharatiya culture on the world stage.
The recently held Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding was a grand and lavish spectacle yes, but it was a spectacle rooted in the praxis and power of Hindu culture. While the participation of a phenomenal number of Bollywood stars and global celebrities provided the “entertainment” questioned to the wedding, the wedding ceremony itself wasn’t just about entertainment. It was a proud showcasing of the “Hindu Vivah Sanskar” on the world stage.
The Ambani wedding with elaborate rituals conducted in the manner of a typical Hindu wedding ceremony, was a far cry from the woke weddings of Bollywood. Be it the Parineeti Chopra Raghav Chaddha wedding or the Alia Bhatt Ranbir Kapoor wedding ceremony, Bharatiya “grand” weddings have unfortunately become synonymous with the woke culture where the bride and groom get dressed in white and cut the cake, in the tradition of a Christian wedding ceremony. Nowadays, it’s even becoming a fashion to have bridesmaids in Hindu wedding ceremonies! Such is the level of “secularization” elite Hindu weddings have undergone.
In such a scenario, it’s a breath of fresh air that the country’s biggest business tycoon holds the wedding of his son in traditional Hindu style and also uses the occasion to showcase the beauty and magnanimity of Hindu vivah sanskars on the world stage.
What prevented Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant from donning Western suits and gowns during their wedding festivities? They could have easily done that, keeping in sync with the woke weddings of Bollywood. Instead, the entire family chose to showcase a formidable traditional Hindu wedding ensemble in all wedding functions which is in itself a courageous statement to make in “secular India”.
It would be perhaps apt to call the Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant wedding a seamless amalgamation of tradition and modern luxury. The Western media and popular culture ecosystem always portray Hindu culture and traditions as being antithetical to modernity. That’s why grand spectacles like the Ambani wedding combining the beauty and magnanimity of Hindu rituals with modern luxury and style unsettle them. This is not quite the Bharat they would like to portray. That explains why a huge section of Western media is spewing venom against the Ambani wedding, calling it “vulgar” and what not.
Both Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita Ambani addressed the guests during the wedding festivities and spoke about the immense significance of Hindu wedding rituals. Mukesh Ambani, while welcoming the guests, took a moment to share his thoughts on the symbolic significance of a Hindu marriage ceremony. He said that such ceremonies are amongst the most significant rites of passage in an individual’s life, linking them to spiritual practices, societal duties, and the wider community at large. He also emphasized the role played by his wife Nita Ambani in curating a wedding that provided guests with an immersive experience in Bharatiya culture and traditions.
He described Hindu marriage as the most significant Sanskar that binds individuals to their cultural and spiritual roots. “I pray for the good health, limitless happiness, and boundless success of each and every one present here. Your blessings for Anant and Radhika on this auspicious day are invaluable. Together with all of you, we invoke Panch Tattva, the five foundational elements of Mother Nature to offer strength and sustenance to the couple”, he said. The Panch Tattva are the five foundational elements of the universe – fire, water, wind, earth, and sky.
Nita Ambani also addressed the guests, explaining the spiritual significance of the “Kanyadaan” ceremony and its life changing impact on the newlyweds. She spoke of the importance of daughters in Hindu culture and highlighted the immensely self-reforming nature of Hindu Dharma and philosophy, which has enabled women to be adored and respected for ages.
“As we continue with the wedding ceremony, we are about to witness the noblest of all acts in Indian culture, the ‘Kanyadaan’, commonly signifying the giving away of the bride by her parents. But as a daughter myself, as the mother of a daughter, and also a mother-in-law, I see that no parents can ever give away their daughters. Daughters are life’s biggest blessings and greatest joys”, she said.
Further speaking about the value and reverence given to daughters in Indian culture, she said, “India’s spiritual and cultural traditions hold women in the highest esteem. Our scriptures teach us, where there are daughters, there is auspiciousness. Daughters have a higher God-given power. An Indian wedding rests on the foundation of perfect equality between var and kanya, that is, between groom and bride, and also between their families. Hence, the true cultural significance of Kanyadaan is that the bride’s parents accept the groom as their son and entrust his family with their precious daughter”.
Kanyadaan is indeed one of the most misunderstood traditions of a Hindu marriage ceremony. Rituals like “saat phere” (seven sacred rounds of the fire to solemnize the wedding) and Kanyadaan have been consistently distorted and demonized by the Western media and popular culture ecosystem. A beautiful and profound ritual like Kanyadaan is interpreted by wokes at a rather shallow and surface level, and thus it is conveniently denounced as being derogatory to women since it apparently treats women as things to be given away. Nothing could be farther from the truth. As Nita Ambani aptly, explained, the giving away of the daughter is merely symbolic of the deep emotional and spiritual exchange that happens between two families in a Hindu marriage ceremony.
The Ambani wedding was widely publicized and every small detail regarding the celebrations was broadcast massively through both mainstream and social media. The videos of Mukesh Ambani addressing the guests and explaining to them the significance of Hindu Vivah Sanskar, and that of Nita Ambani explaining the symbolic importance of Kanyadaan have gone viral on social media! One of the most powerful business families of Bharat like the Ambanis not just proudly showcasing Hindu rituals at their son’s wedding but also taking the occasion to explain the larger significance of these rituals to a global audience is indeed commendable.
The Ambani wedding was also attended by a large number of Hindu saints and Dharma Gurus including the Shankaracharyas. Swami Chidanand Saraswati, Baba Ramdev, Baageshwar Dham Sarkar, Jagadguru Rambhadracharya, Swami Sadananda Saraswati (Shankaracharya of Dwarka Peeth), Swami Avimukteshwaranand ( Jyotirmath Shankaracharya), Sadhvi Rithambara ji, and Gaur Gopal Das are some of the prominent Hindu seers and saints who attended the Anant Ambani wedding.
I cannot recall any elite Bharatiya wedding where Hindu Dharma Gurus and saints have been invited on such a massive scale and honored using the traditional protocol. This indeed sets the standards high for the showcasing of Hindu culture as Bharat’s soft power on a global stage. It also familiarizes the global audience with the essence of a traditional Hindu wedding. How would foreigners know about the greatness and magnanimity of Hindu sanskars and rituals, if they don’t get to see these celebrated on a grand scale.
By creating a grand spectacle of Hindu culture and traditions, the Anant Ambani-Radikha Merchant wedding has accomplished this seemingly impossible feat. It has reset the narrative as the global audience gets a taste of an authentic Hindu wedding ceremony and not a phony secular wedding where Hindu traditions have been toned down or wiped off altogether to suit the “secular” taste.
Elite weddings in Bharat also do agenda-setting as far as the overall wedding market is concerned. Bharatiyas are invariably getting influenced by the woke weddings of Bollywood, getting alienated from their own customs and traditions and feeling compelled to cut cakes and open champagne bottles at their wedding ceremonies, to be seen as a part of the “in” crowd. The Ambani wedding has the potential to reverse this trend. It makes it cool yet again to wear traditional Bharatiya fineries, and heavy jewelry, and celebrate all the rituals of a Hindu wedding ceremony in their wholehearted intricacies and complexity. If a wedding ceremony can take Bharat’s soft power on the global stage and make Hindus feel proud of their own culture once again, there is nothing like it.
