Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant got engaged on January 19. Anant is the youngest son of Reliance Industries chairman and billionaire Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita Ambani. Radhika Merchant is the daughter of industrialist Viren Merchant.
The evening’s festivities started with members of the Ambani family led by Anant’s sister Isha going to the Merchant residence to invite them and Radhika to the evening’s functions. The Merchant family was received warmly by the Ambani family at their residence amidst Aarti and chanting of mantras.
Age-old traditions such as the Gol Dhana and ChunariVidhi – followed for generations among Gujarati Hindu families – were conducted with great enthusiasm in the family temple and ceremony areas even as the families exchanged gifts and greetings.
The families followed Anant and Radhika to the temple to seek Lord Krishna’s blessings for the union and the evening ceremonies. From there the group moved to the ceremony venue to start the functions with a Ganesh puja followed by the reading of the traditional Lagan Patrika or the invitation to the upcoming wedding. Gol Dhana and the ChunariVidhi followed with blessings and gifts exchanged between Anant and Radhika’s families.