DUBAI // The much-hyped Dubai wedding of the Indian parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar took place at a private villa yesterday.
Dressed in a north Indian sherwani, Mr Tharoor, 54, smiled all through the traditional Hindu ceremony.
He and Ms Pushkar, 45, held hands as the priest recited religious verses to them. The couple then read vows to each other, which were translated from Sanskrit to English.
"Now that you have accepted me as your husband, you will be the queen of my heart," said Mr Tharoor, as the crowd cheered for the couple.
"I shall always make you happy. I shall never separate you from me and I will take care of you."
The couple were thrown into the media spotlight earlier this year after allegations emerged that Ms Pushkar had received a free stake in the IPL Kochi cricket franchise. This eventually led to Mr Tharoor's resignation as Indian minister of state for external affairs.
Ms Pushkar was dressed in a red designer wedding sari and covered her head with the sari as she completed the rituals. The Dubai-based entrepreneur appeared thrilled throughout the ceremony and was flanked by her family and friends.
"I shall be with you, shoulder to shoulder, in the ups and downs of life," she said.
The home of Indian businessman Prakash Bhojwani in Al Safa was converted into the wedding area where the ceremonies were conducted.
"I just want to see this couple happily married and I'm doing my best to ensure that the wedding goes well," said Mr Bhojwani.
Most guests wore traditional Indian attire. An Indian vegetarian lunch was served for all the guests before the wedding ceremonies began.
Ms Pushkar's teenage son, Shiv, who studies in Dubai, was also present at the wedding and was seen welcoming guests. Despite rumours before the wedding that the guest list was enormous, only about 70 people attended.
Among the guests was the veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher and Mumbai-socialite couple Adi and Parmeshwar Godrej.
"I was invited for the wedding from both sides; by Sunanda and Tharoor," said Mr Kher, who sat in the front row to watch the proceedings.
When asked if he thought the marriage would end the controversy surrounding the couple, he said: "Drama is part of everybody's life, especially if they are public figures. I think they are excited about being together, which is why they are getting married." Also present at the wedding was Harshad Mehta, the owner of the Indian Premier League franchise IPL Kochi, and one of the key figures in the controversy.
The two married last week, ending months of speculation about their relationship before yesterday's second ceremony. The first wedding was held at the ancestral home of Mr Tharoor, who hails from the south Indian state of Kerala, and was performed in traditional Kerala style.
The Dubai wedding yesterday was conducted in Kashmiri style. The newlyweds will hold a reception at the same venue tonight. They will then head to Spain for their honeymoon followed by a reception in New Delhi.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
MATCH INFO
Norwich City 1 (Cantwell 75') Manchester United 2 (Aghalo 51' 118') After extra time.
Man of the match Harry Maguire (Manchester United)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The biog
Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.
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He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Lowdown
Us
Director: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseqph, Evan Alex and Elisabeth Moss
Rating: 4/5
UAE’s revised Cricket World Cup League Two schedule
August, 2021: Host - United States; Teams - UAE, United States and Scotland
Between September and November, 2021 (dates TBC): Host - Namibia; Teams - Namibia, Oman, UAE
December, 2021: Host - UAE; Teams - UAE, Namibia, Oman
February, 2022: Hosts - Nepal; Teams - UAE, Nepal, PNG
June, 2022: Hosts - Scotland; Teams - UAE, United States, Scotland
September, 2022: Hosts - PNG; Teams - UAE, PNG, Nepal
February, 2023: Hosts - UAE; Teams - UAE, PNG, Nepal
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Jebel Ali card
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2.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,400m
2.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,000m
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3.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m
The National selections
1.45pm: Cosmic Glow
2.15pm: Karaginsky
2.45pm: Welcome Surprise
3.15pm: Taamol
3.45pm: Rayig
4.15pm: Chiefdom
4.45pm: California Jumbo
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
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Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
