Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant wedding

And their lovely daughter, Isha, founded www.hercircle.in/

I can totally appreciate the charitable position the family take and applaud it
What I can’t understand is the guests at the ceremonies.
Why do the Blairs the Johnsons and the Kardashians attend, are they personal friends of the families?
It all seems so weird to me.

The grooms father is the biggest buyer of Russian oil.

www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-29/western-security-doubts-grow-amid-india-russia-oil-trade/103033716

annsixty

I can totally appreciate the charitable position the family take and applaud it
What I can’t understand is the guests at the ceremonies.
Why do the Blairs the Johnsons and the Kardashians attend, are they personal friends of the families?
It all seems so weird to me.

As I said earlier, they were paid to be there.

petra

The grooms father is the biggest buyer of Russian oil.

www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-29/western-security-doubts-grow-amid-india-russia-oil-trade/103033716

His oil refinery in the western town of Jamnagar is the largest in the world.
^In 2021, it acquired the historic country club Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire for £57m.
A bulk of what Indians consume today, from the shows they watch, to the clothes they wear and potentially even how they will transact in the future, comes from the Ambani stable

Bit of a dilemma here, visually the clothing warn by many of the guests was beautiful, but the self-indulgence and the ostentatious display of wealth I found distasteful. I can’t imagine how they thought this display was ok! Each to their own - as it obviously was!

All this talk of the largesse of the family and their feeding of the poor is like throwing a few scraps from their overloaded table.

Yes, if someone gave two coins to the poor and it was all of the money they had to their name, they would have given more than the tens of thousands of rupees given by the Ambani family.

Macadia

And their lovely daughter, Isha, founded www.hercircle.in/

Her mother launched that, I think.

Fine with those with access to the internet, not so helpful for those living in the slums or on the streets.

Macadia

Yes, if someone gave two coins to the poor and it was all of the money they had to their name, they would have given more than the tens of thousands of rupees given by the Ambani family.

Your post reminds of the parable of The Widow’s Mite in the Bible.

maddyone

Macadia

Yes, if someone gave two coins to the poor and it was all of the money they had to their name, they would have given more than the tens of thousands of rupees given by the Ambani family.

Your post reminds of the parable of The Widow’s Mite in the Bible.

It is.

Well I must live a very sheltered life and this thread has been quite enlightening. I've never heard of this family, nor anything about the wedding. But as I've now read all the thread I feel I'm up to speed with it all.

If cultural appropriation is wrong, why do the vast majority of people in non western European. North American countries all wear clothes derived from western clothes - for men - trousers, shirts, suits, ties etc, for women the trousers, dresses etc etc that we wear?

Come to that why are so many restaurants ethnic, and willing to sell their cuisine to anyone whether it is French, Italian, Spanish to Mongolian, Mexican or African?

I am currently wearing a cotton dress, a culturally appropriated fabric.

As far as this wedding goes yes, obscenely OTT to those from other cultures but the norm for wealthy Hindus in their own country. I agree with GSM

Urmstongran Would you consider yourself a mug for donating to a Food Bank in the UK, even though we have lots of multi=millionaires and billionaires in this country. The analogy is exact. These huge divergencies of wealth between the very poor and very rich can be found in almost every country in the world, including our own. it doesn't mean we do nto help those who suffer most at the low income end.

This poor soul didn't get the invitation with the dress code.
Or else his luggage went astray.

It clearly is in the public domains and open to comment.

I'm not sure if this couple's attire could be criticised as 'cultural appropration' or applauded as the correct attire for an Indian wedding.

I think they look smart, the dress is lovely, and hey are appropriately dressed.

The outfits were custom made for all of the guests apparently🙄

Ktsmum

The outfits were custom made for all of the guests apparently🙄

But not Justin Bieber's (although it could be languishing in a baggage depot somewhere in transit).

I probably sound awful, but I have no idea who these people are!

This over the top affair just illustrates how tone deaf the super rich are to the poverty all around them. It has always been the case. Years ago the super rich were the Royal and Imperial houses and their suffering people gawped at the spectacles they enacted whilst so many lived in abject poverty themselves. In time, they were overthrown or simply bowed out. Today it is big business which gives rise to the new and equally self interested elites. The difference is, the world is watching through the lens of universal media. It makes me despair that human nature continues to be so self serving and shallow and that the hoi polloi are still enthralled by their obscene displays of wealth in a suffering world.

They can do what they like with their money, of course, and no doubt they sleep very soundly at night. But it’s the exceptions to the rule that give me faith in humanity.

Warren Buffett for example, who has pledged to give away 99% of his wealth, who still lives in the relatively modest family home he bought back in the 1950s, and whose second marriage took place at his daughter’s home. He gave his three children enough money to set up their own non-profit organisations so they could make their own way in the world.

Obcene show of wealth, given the poverty elsewhere in the world

Well can’t imagine the Blair’s or Johnson’s going to a shindig like this if there wasn’t financial benefit for them!
I’m just aghast at the obscene amount spent on this wedding when the UK is still expected to donate to this so called ‘poor’ country!?
They should be ashamed of themselves, whatever traditions are! Purely obscene! Whatever next?

This was Boris Johnson’s outfit.

Does it really matter? I gather they gave free food to local people which wouldn't have happened otherwise.
Yes, most of us might think the money cd have been spent on helping more people but not our money so not our choice.