Wedding bells for Royal family at Udaipur

WEDDING BELLS FOR ROYALS

Shivraj Singh,the scion of the Jodhpur royal family,who got engaged recently is set to tie the knot by the year-end,while Padamja Kumari of the royal family of Udaipur will also marry soon.

Splendid decorations,with the whole city decked up,gala celebrations in typical Rajasthani style,exotic cuisines,royal delicacies and a long guest list including members of the royal family,besides the whos who of the city,Jodhpur is set for a big wedding this year-end.And everyone who loves a regal wedding,is looking forward to the wedding of Shivraj Singh,son of Maharaja Gajraj Singh of Jodhpur.

Shivraj Singh recently got engaged to Gayatri Kumari,princess of Askot in Uttranchal.It was a private affair and the ceremony was held in the presence of members of the royal families and a few close friends of the families.Since then everyone has been speculating about the wedding date,however the marriage will happen only by the end of this year,as doctors are being consulted on Shivraj Singhs condition, said a friend of the royal family in Jodhpur.

Shivraj Singh,the scion of the Jodhpur royal family and an ace polo player,met with an accident in 2005 while playing a match in Jaipur and slipped into coma due to severe head injuries.He had been confined to bed since the last few years and only now has started moving around slowly, added another source.The marriage will be a traditional wedding,much like the recent engagement ceremony at Maharaja Gaj Singhs residence,Umaid Bhawan,in Jodhpur.The wedding will be solemnised at Umaid Bhawan,like most royal weddings.The guest list will include big names from politics,besides some Bollywood actors as well, added the source.

And there is going to be another royal wedding.Princess Padamja Kumari,daughter of Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar of Udaipur is also set to tie the knot soon. ( By Divya Kaushik Times News Network)

 

Alumni Profiles, Padmaja Kumari Mewar Udaipur

Padmaja Kumari Mewar is a paradox.

She is strongly traditional and, at the same time, boldly progressive. Her concern is the past, which keeps her endlessly focused on the future. She's both of the Eastern and Western world -- and yet she is typical of neither. Her heritage defines her, but in her family she is like no one who has come before her.
Ms. Mewar is more than just one paradox -- she is many. And yet, in her life and in her business running India's HRH Hotels, all of these strands come together seamlessly.

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Born into a family of Indian royalty that traces its lineage back 77 generations, Ms. Mewar is the latest in her family line to serve the Udaipur region in northwest India. Founded by Maharashi Harit Rashi in 734 AD, the State of Mewar, unlike other regions at the time, based its rule on the idea of "custodianship" -- the simple belief that the dewan (prime minister) of the region should act not as king but instead should act as an administrator for the state.

Padmaja Kumari Mewar Udaipur

In the 1,500 years since, custodianship has remained central to the family's mission and duty; thus, it is Ms. Mewar's charge today. An heir to the family legacy, but no longer a dewan in a traditional sense, Ms. Mewar is the Managing Director of Eternal Mewar -- a conglomerate that works to serve and preserve the region in a variety of ways, from education services to hotels and tourism to historical preservation to public health initiatives.

This transition has taken place mostly within the last 60 years. In the middle of the last century, with the affairs of the state changing, the Mewar family began acting not only as custodians to their kingdom but also purveyors of its traditions.

During the 1950s and 60s, Ms. Mewar's grandfather, Mahrana Bhagwat Singhji, re-imagined the family's mission -- extending the call for custodianship beyond the surrounding region to the world at large. Foreign dignitaries on official visits to the state were given lodge at the family palaces and educational and preservation foundations were established in the region.

Later, Ms. Mewar's father, Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar, extended these programs to include improved local health care and support for regional arts and crafts. These moves, each with an eye on the future, preserved both the region and the family.

Yet, it was another of her father's decisions -- the one that sent his daughter thousands of miles away from home to study in the United States -- that may very well have been his boldest.

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Padmaja Kumari Newar went to Northfield Mount Hermon, a private boarding school in western Massachusetts, when she was only 16. It was her father's idea.

Studying at a college in America was a necessity, her father thought, and Ms. Mewar would only be better prepared by coming for high school as well. In the summer of 1997, her first in America, he enrolled her in the Exploration Senior Program. The transition, Ms. Mewar recalls, both at Explo and in high school, was difficult -- culturally, of course, but also scholastically.

"In the States, it's common knowledge that what you read in a book is not always the same as the way it is on the outside," she says. "When going to Exploration, I realized the style of education was completely different. I remember still thinking in terms of right and wrong answers. It truly forces you to think for yourself. You know, the whole idea of not necessarily having the right or wrong answer, I think, is one of the things that I picked up in America and I realized it is just much more closely aligned to the real world."

After high school, Ms. Mewar matriculated to Tulane University in New Orleans, where she studied international relations and minored in business. Upon graduation, she moved to New York City and took a job at the Four Seasons. Over the course of two years she worked her way from the front desk clerk to special service liaison for the hotel's most important clients.

Having grown up in a family where custodianship is key and then having worked in the hotel industry in the US, Ms. Mewar developed a unique understanding of how to serve.

"In India, it's in our DNA," Ms. Mewar said in an interview with the New York Times. "We learn it in our nuclear families from the earliest age. On the other hand, Westerners deliver a kind of seamless service that I admire. You don't see the waiter refilling your glass but it gets done."

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After her time at the Four Seasons, Ms. Mewar has returned home to join Eternal Mewar, working as Managing Director and traveling extensively to promote the dozen or so palaces and hunting lodges that make up the hotel chain.

In the past year, she's traveled throughout Europe -- to Germany, Russia, Spain, and Italy -- as HRH Hotels attempts to diversify and expand into new markets. All the while, the notion of custodianship is never far from her mind or far from the company's mission. Today, in addition to the hotels, Eternal Mewar runs schools, museums, and galleries, and also funds charities and helps support local businesses.

"We are very serious about our communities and services and the way we go about doing business," she says. "It really is a living heritage. Every family has family traditions, family heritage, and it [custodianship] is such a strong part of our identity and heritage. My father's worked very hard, and it's only fair for me to think progressively and make sure it doesn't end here. It's a great responsibility. We want to go on for another 1,500 years at least."

All eyes now on reception, likely to be star-studded

By Dipak Kumar Dash,TNN | Mar3,2011

NEW DELHI: After the big, fat wedding of Lalit, youngest son of politician Kanwar Singh Tanwar, with Sohna ex-MLA Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria's daughter, Yogita, now all eyes are on the grand reception that Tanwar is throwing on Sunday evening at a five-star hotel. Despite Tanwar's denial, there are reports that top Bollywood stars including Bipasa Basu and Malaika Arora would join the party. Those close to Tanwars said actress Manisha Koirala had attended the reception party of his eldest son.

The bride's father, Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria owns a Gurgaon-based real estate firm – SS Builders.

About the transformation of the wedding venue to a five-star venue, Rupinder Walia of DS decorators said, "When we visited the site where the wedding took place, it was a mustard and sugarcane field. We took about a month to create this ambience and brought artists from different states."

But Tanwar is not the only one to spend big on a marriage. Several Gujjar leaders from Delhi and its suburbs have hosted lavish weddings. Mercedes and BMWs have become common gifts. "An MLA's son got a farmhouse, an Endeavour and two Santros recently besides huge cash. In several cases bride's parents, who are into politics and are either sitting MLAs or ex-MLAs are gifting two Mercedes cars or a Hummer and huge quality of gold and silver," said a resident of Ghitorni.

Landless and poor Gujjars say their community leaders, who have made their fortune due to the real estate boom, are setting a bad precedent for
the rest.

"Because of this trend, even those who have nothing with them take huge loans for expensive gifts to the grooms," said Raghuvir Bidhuri, an elderly from Badarpur village.

Barbers, who play a key role in these marriages, seem to be making a fortune. "There has been a huge change in recent years. Earlier, we used to get cash gifts of Rs 1,000 or less in a marriage. Then people started giving us motorcycles. Now, we even get cars as gifts," said Vinod Kumar, a barber from Ghaziabad.

Lavish Indian wedding celebrations continue

Royal Wedding, Lalit Tanwar with Yogita Jaunapuria at Delhi

March04, 2011

A helicopter was among the gifts for the groom in what is being described as one of India's most expensive weddings.

The week-long nuptials of Lalit Tanwar to his bride Yogita Jaunapuria are lavish and attended by thousands.

The pair married at a family farmhouse on Tuesday - the groom reportedly wore a garland made of bank notes and received the helicopter as a gift.

On Thursday the families hosted a community reception. Celebrations are set to culminate this weekend in Delhi. Thousands of people - including Bollywood stars and politicians - have been invited to attend.

Mr Tanwar's father Kanwar is a hugely wealthy city politician from the ruling Congress party - while the bride's father is an influential former Delhi politician - making the arranged marriage a perfect power deal.

The exact details of the ceremony - which consists of four functions over a seven-day period - have been fiercely disputed. "I don't understand why there is so much hoopla about this marriage," Kanwar Singh Tanwar told the Times of India.

"All estimates of this marriage in the media are speculation." In the Indian Express, he was quoted as saying: "True, a Bell 429 helicopter was given but it was a simple wedding."

Extravaganza

Thursday's Indian newspapers say that the wedding was celebrated with 100 dishes and 12 giant TV screens to broadcast proceedings.

The Hindustan Times reported that 2,000 guests were invited to the pre-wedding ceremony last week and each was given a silver biscuit, a safari suit and $500 (£307) in cash, while at a different ritual the bride's family welcomed the groom with gifts worth $5m (£3m).

There was even a reported gift of $5,500 (£3,381) for the groom's barber.

The Hindustan Times says the ceremony has been held at the right time - because this week the government announced plans to introduce a bill before parliament which limits the amount of food that can be served at weddings - estimated to account for nearly 15% of the country's total food-grain waste.

Estimates as to the cost of the extravaganza vary hugely. The Times of India calculated it to be at one billion rupees ($22m/£13.5m), while the Mail Today said that it was around $55m (£33.8m).

The celebrations are due to culminate on Sunday with a VIP reception at a five-star hotel in Delhi - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to attend.