A REGAL, TRADITIONAL AFFAIR WITH A MODERN SOUL

DOCUMENTED BY JASMEEN DUGAL................

The date has been set. New York based supermodel and Royal Rajput Anjhula Singh Bais weds industrialist Satish Selvanathan! It was a lavish spectacle of style, royal pageantry and traditional ceremony though with a thoroughly modern twist!!

In front of guests from 28 different countries — no presents; guests were advised to donate to charities including the Citizens Initiative Fund for Sri Lanka that helps displaced refugees after a war — Anjhula Singh Bais, daughter of Thakur Birendra Bikram Singh Bais and Thakurani Asha Singh Bais married Satish Selvanathan, son of business magnate Hari Selvanathan. Besides other lavish return gifts, guests also received the coffee table book To India with love, from New York to Mumbai, and all proceeds go to the victims of the Taj Mumbai attacks.

The celebrations lasted for several days. Luxury air-conditioned tents were set up in the middle of the dessert and camel carts brought in the luggage. The royal treatment did not end there! Guests were ferried in royal armory i.e. one-tonne vehicles from one ceremony to another! The bride decided she would be the belle of her wedding and had Kama Sutra miniature paintings mehendi on her hands instead of the classic paisley while guests chose goodies from stalls full of trinkets, bangles and bindis. For shopaholics, the hosts had the best jewelers brought in from Jaipur and set up a bazaar in the royal camp. Hey, the girls did not have all the fun! The uptaan ceremony for Satish took place at Fort Seengh Sagar (former pleasure palace of the Maharaja) during an all-men's lunch!

As the days went by in a whirl of celebrations, ayurvedic massages were on offer at the Royal Tents and safaris or hot air balloon rides were set up. The best Cuban cigars were offered during the polo match and the sangeet, presented by Chetan Seth of Cingari. Speaking of polo, the elephant polo had the groom's side friends playing against the bride's side; nine elephants raised their trunks to salute the bride and bridegroom as the two walked in and one elephant even garlanded the couple with its trunk!  Nostalgia was in the air as an amazing slide show documented each phase of their lives until the wedding. Later, Satish and Anjhula took a few close friends on a tiger safari in Rathambore, Gem Palace in Jaipur and Taj Mahal in Agra. In Delhi, industrialist Mohit Burman hosted a dinner for them and the formal reception took place at the Cinnamon Grand in Colombo Sri Lanka. The Buddhist Ceremony is yet to take place in New York.

No wedding review can be complete without mentioning the guests and here their titles vied for importance. Guests included the former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, industrialists Sandeep Jajodia, Karan Paul and Mohit Burman, Kalyani Chawla, Maharani Sangita Katiwade, Begum Roshika Kumari, Kunwar Vikramaditya Singh, Kunwar Parikshit Singh, Rani Kavita Kumari Sahiba Rathore, British Diplomat Tom Owen Edmunds, Australian Diplomat Priyanga Hettiarachi, Prince Abhijit Singh, Janak Jethmalani and several others.

26-MARCH-2011