Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant are hosting a sangeet, a night of dancing and music traditionally held before the wedding. Photo: Manish Malhotra
Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant are hosting a sangeet, a night of dancing and music traditionally held before the wedding. Photo: Manish Malhotra
Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant are hosting a sangeet, a night of dancing and music traditionally held before the wedding. Photo: Manish Malhotra
Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant are hosting a sangeet, a night of dancing and music traditionally held before the wedding. Photo: Manish Malhotra

Ambani wedding: Sangeet details revealed as invites are sent out


Evelyn Lau
  • English
  • Arabic

The Indian wedding of the year is getting closer.

Anant Ambani, 29, the youngest son of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani (one of the world's richest men) and his wife Nita, is set to wed Radhika Merchant, 29, the daughter of industrialist Viren Merchant, on July 12 in Mumbai.

Ahead of the wedding, invitations for the sangeet have now been sent out. The personalised invite, which The National has seen, reveals the event will take place on July 5 at the Grand Theatre in the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai.

The theme of the night is a “celebration of hearts” and promises guests a “night of song, dance and wonder” with a dress code of “Indian regional glam”.

The sangeet invite from Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant
The sangeet invite from Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant

Further details were revealed last month about the wedding from the save-the-date card. Designed in red and gold, it was revealed the three-day celebration will begin on July 12 with the “shubh vivaah”, or auspicious wedding. The dress code for the event is listed as “Indian traditional”.

This will be followed by a “shubh aashirdwad” (the latter word means blessings) on July 13, with guests expected to be dressed in “Indian formal” attire. Celebrations will then culminate in the “mangal utsav”, or the wedding reception, on July 14, with “Indian chic” being the dress code.

Indian weddings typically go on for multiple days. They comprise a haldi ceremony, mehndi ritual, sangeet and wedding ceremony and end with a reception party. Since their engagement, the couple have held two pre-wedding bashes with Rihanna and the Backstreet Boys both performing.

The Ambanis are not ones to cut corners at family weddings. Anant's sister Isha Ambani's star-studded 7 billion rupee ($86 million) nuptials in 2018, is still the most expensive Indian wedding of all time and included a performance by Beyonce.

What is the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre?

The centre, more commonly known as NMACC, opened in March last year.

Designed by American architects TVS Design, the building lies within the precinct of Mumbai's much larger Jio World Centre, a business and leisure hub at the heart of Bandra Kurla Complex's commercial district. The Grand Theatre has a capacity of 2,000 seats and was designed for immersive experiences.

How they line up for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix

1 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

2 Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari

3 Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari

4 Max Verstappen, Red Bull

5 Kevin Magnussen, Haas

6 Romain Grosjean, Haas

7 Nico Hulkenberg, Renault

*8 Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull

9 Carlos Sainz, Renault

10 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes

11 Fernando Alonso, McLaren

12 Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren

13 Sergio Perez, Force India

14 Lance Stroll, Williams

15 Esteban Ocon, Force India

16 Brendon Hartley, Toro Rosso

17 Marcus Ericsson, Sauber

18 Charles Leclerc, Sauber

19 Sergey Sirotkin, Williams

20 Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso

* Daniel Ricciardo qualified fifth but had a three-place grid penalty for speeding in red flag conditions during practice

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tamkeen's offering
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THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick

Hometown: Cologne, Germany

Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)

Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes

Favourite hobby: Football

Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk

French business

France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.

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Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20JustClean%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20with%20offices%20in%20other%20GCC%20countries%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202016%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20160%2B%20with%2021%20nationalities%20in%20eight%20cities%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20online%20laundry%20and%20cleaning%20services%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2430m%20from%20Kuwait-based%20Faith%20Capital%20Holding%20and%20Gulf%20Investment%20Corporation%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key figures in the life of the fort

Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.

Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.

Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.

Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae

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iPhone XR
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Apple Watch Series 4
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RESULTS

6.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200
Winner: Miqyaas, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Rashed Bouresly (trainer).

7.05pm: Handicap Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Untold Secret, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.

7.40pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m​​​​​​​
Winner: Shanty Star, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.

8.15pm: Handicap Dh190,000 (D) 1,600m​​​​​​​
Winner: Alkaamel, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.

8.50pm: Handicap Dh175,000 (D) 1,400m​​​​​​​
Winner: Speedy Move, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.

9.25pm: Handicap Dh175,000 (D) 2,000m​​​​​​​
Winner: Quartier Francois, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20results%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EIreland%20beat%20UAE%20by%20six%20wickets%0D%3Cbr%3EZimbabwe%20beat%20UAE%20by%20eight%20wickets%0D%3Cbr%3EUAE%20beat%20Netherlands%20by%2010%20wickets%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EUAE%20v%20Vanuatu%2C%20Thursday%2C%203pm%2C%20Zayed%20Cricket%20Stadium%0D%3Cbr%3EIreland%20v%20Netherlands%2C%207.30pm%2C%20Zayed%20Cricket%20Stadium%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EGroup%20B%20table%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1)%20Ireland%203%203%200%206%20%2B2.407%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Netherlands%203%202%201%204%20%2B1.117%0D%3Cbr%3E3)%20UAE%203%201%202%202%200.000%0D%3Cbr%3E4)%20Zimbabwe%204%201%203%202%20-0.844%0D%3Cbr%3E5)%20Vanuatu%203%201%202%202%20-2.180%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
List of officials:

Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.

Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.

Racecard

2pm Handicap Dh 90,000 1,800m

2.30pm Handicap Dh120,000 1,950m

3pm Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m

3.30pm Jebel Ali Classic Conditions Dh300,000 1,400m

4pm Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m

4.30pm Conditions Dh250,000 1,400m

5pm Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m

5.30pm Handicap Dh85,000 1,000m

 

The National selections:

2pm Arch Gold

2.30pm Conclusion

3pm Al Battar

3.30pm Golden Jaguar

4pm Al Motayar

4.30pm Tapi Sioux

5pm Leadership

5.30pm Dahawi

Updated: June 22, 2024, 4:06 AM