MUMBAI: Bollywood's hottest stars, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, entered into matrimony on Friday April 20, amidst much fanfare. It was a grand culmination of three days of celebration, but the day was marred by a couple of unpleasant incidents.
The couple exchanged garlands amid chanting of 'mantras' by priests specially flown in from Benares and took 'pheras' around the holy fire (hom) as friends and family looked on. Clad in a cream and gold sherwani and his face fully covered by strands of flowers, Abhishek Bachchan looked every part the jubilant groom, waving at his friends and onlookers as he made his way -- astride a beautifully decorated white horse -- to the venue of the wedding, from his residence Jalsa to the Bachchans' Juhu residence Prateeksha which was the venue of the wedding.
Before he started off, younger sister Shweta performed 'Nazar Utarana', to ward off the evil eye. The father of the groom, however, looked grim as he herded his family into the gates, even as a band played the hit song 'rock and roll' from 'Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna', a film that stars both Amitabh and Abhishek.
As the accompanying musical band played popular songs from Abhishek's movies like "Kajra Re" and evergreen tunes such as "Aaj Mere Yar Ki Shaadi Hai", the groom waved to multitudes of fans and onlookers who had gathered outside Jalsa, eliciting crazed cat-calls and shrill whistles.
While male members of the 'baraat' wore saffron turbans, the women were clad in richly embroidered sarees in dazzling colors. Earlier, all the 'baraatis' or members of the wedding procession boarded six luxury buses that took them to Prateeksha.
Venkateswara's blessings Later, on Sunday, the newly-weds sought blessings of Lord Venkateshwara at the famous hill shrine at Tirumala near Tirupati. The Bollywood stars who were in the sanctum sanctorum for about ten minutes, temple sources said. Abhishek's father Amitabh Bachahan, mother Jaya Bachchan, noted industrialist Anil Ambani and his wife Tina accompanied the couple.
During their stay at the sanctum sanctorum from 0940 am to 0950 am, the priests chanted prayers and offered them the celestial ghee lamp 'arathi', the sources said. Later, chief priest Sri Ramana Dikshithulu showered "divine blessings" upon the couple at the Sri Ranganayaka Mandapa in the temple.
Abhishek and Aishwarya also made some cash offerings in the Hundi (offering box) situated at Dwarapalas Mandapam close to the sanctum sanctorum.
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