AISHWARYA AND ABHISHEK are all geared for the big day that is just three days away. The festivities will begin shortly at Amitabh Bachchan’s residence in Mumbai, Prateeksha. Commencing with the haldi ceremony, the marriage will be a quiet affair to which are invited the Rai’s and the Bachchan’s close family friends and relatives. The guest list has gone up to 24.

 

The henna for Aishwarya’s mehndi is coming in from Sojat, a place in Rajasthan known for the most extensive cultivation of henna in the country. The beautiful actress will adorn a red zari embroidered ghagra choli for her mehndi ceremony that will be held on the 18^th designed by Ash’s favourite designer, Neeta Lulla. For her wedding too, Aishwarya has chosen to wear an ensemble created by Neeta, a gold zari embroidered saree. Vrinda Rai, Aishwarya’s mom has chosen to gift Ash the heritage jewellery from her own collection and her inheritance from the Rai family.

 

Jyoti Kumari, 17, is a college girl from Sipaya Tola in Gopalganj district who is an ardent fan of Aishwarya. She is toiling away day and night to come up with a red embroidered saree for the beauty to wear on her wedding. She selected the vibrant red colour keeping Aishwarya’s beauty and fair complexion in mind.

 

Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla will design Aishwarya’s sangeet outfit. The duo are a favourite with Jaya Bachchan, Ash’s would be mother-in-law. Jaya is on her toes, busy creating a Bengali wedding for Ash and Abhi. Her mother, Indira Bhaduri is in Kolkata, busy shopping for a typical Bengali wedding. She has bought the special Topor (crown worn by the Bengali groom), the white shakha and red pola bangles that are auspicious for the bride. She has also arranged for all the pooja items needed for the ceremony along with gift items for extended family called Pranami. She has also got special jewellery designed for the would-be bahu.

 

According to the grapevine, Jaya has ordered two iron bangles to be designed for her celebrity bahu in addition to the gold collection. The bangles weigh over 120 grams, which means that the estimated cost of the bangles is well above one lakh.

 

Kolkata based designer, Shabri Datta, will design Abhishek’s wedding ensemble. She is a well-known revivalist menswear designer and it was Vrinda Rai’s suggestion that men wear outfits designed by Datta. She is likely to come up with creations for all the men in the Bachchan family including Big B.

 

The celebrations will be a blend of tradition and class. The manganiars, a community of singers from Rajasthan is likely to perform at the wedding. Gazi Khan, the lead singer of the group lately performed at the Liz-Arun wedding in Jodhpur. The group is known for improvising Rajasthani folk music for weddings and other festive occasions.

 

Gazi Khan is likely to perform at Bachchan’s residence jalsa in Mumbai and the songs will include hits like Hazari Gulero, Nimbooda Nimbooda, Mehndi Mehndi etc.

 

Huge, soundproof air-conditioned tents have been put up for the guests who will arrive at the Bachchans’ residence. Close friends of Amitji and Jaya will entertain the guests with a ‘bidi jalike’ performance. Jaya’s friends have been gifted exquisite sarees created by designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla.

 

Bollywood superstar, Salman Khan who was also linked with Aishwarya Rai previously is gifting an expensive Sherwani to Abhishek on his wedding day. Amitabh Bachchan invited his father Salim Khan, with his family to the reception of Abhishek and Aishwarya. Sallu sent an SMS congratulating the duo once the marriage news was out in the open.

 

The wedding day being just three days away is undoubtedly a long awaited event for the Bachchans and the Rais. The marriage will not only strengthen the bond but will also enhance the corporate image of the two families. Owing to Teji Bachchan’s (Amitabh’s mother) ill health, the duo won’t leave for their honeymoon right away. However, it is predicted that they have Ireland as one of the prime destinations on their mind.

 

All of us wish the couple good luck as they start the journey for a new phase of life.