WHILE THE MASSES ARE MIRED IN GUT WRENCHING POVERTY

And I thought some Jewish weddings were extravagant.

INDIAN POLITICIAN’S £14 MILLION WEDDING FOR HIS SON … COMPLETE WITH 18,000 GUESTS AND A REPLICA RAJASTANI PALACE
£4m helicopter among gifts

Mail Online
March 4, 2011

A leading Indian politician has come under fire after splashing out £14m on a lavish wedding for his son.

Kanwar Singh Tanwar staged what is believed to be the most expensive wedding in recent history for his son Lalit Tanwar and bride Yogita Jaunapuria.

A £4m helicopter was among the presents from the 18,000 guests invited to the ostentatious replica Rajastani palace.

But Mr Tanwar has been criticized for staging the grand ceremony at a time when India leaders have urged senior figure to rein in their displays of wealth.

A series of corruption scandals involving senior figures have engulfed the country in the past year.

And the grand display of wealth is at odds with the £280m annual aid that Britain has agreed to continue funneling to the country.

But none of that stopped Mr Tanwar when the threw the staggering bash in Delhi earlier this week.

The bride's family is understood to have given the groom a Bell 429 helicopter as a wedding gift. But because it could not be flown to the party they presented the groom with a silver model instead.

More than 18,000 guests watched as the groom arrived in a top-of-the-range BMW. The arrival was broadcast on giant screens as guests waited inside the enormous tent.

Gifts for the guests included up to £30 each in cash, a shawl for the women and a suit for the men, and a silver coin commemorating the occasion.

Even the barber went home much happier having received an impressive £2,000 in tips alone.

The luxury menu for the event is said to have included Thai, Italian Chinese and Indian delicacies which were served by up to 1,000 staff.

Mr Tanwar's secretary said that the wedding had cost 'many crores' but the full cost will not be known until all the bills are received.

'Yes it's true, but how much is the total cost, that's the million dollar question. It is many crores but total expenditure will only be known when the wedding (celebrations) have ended, he told the Daily Telegraph.

In Indian currency, a crores is worth around £136,000.

The lavish wedding comes despite pleas from Mr Tanwar's party leader, Sonia Gandhi, for her members to be more modest with their shows of wealth and identify with 'the common man'
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And the event does not reflect well on a country that has been mired by a series of corruption scandals involving government leaders, corporate figures and media leaders in the past year.

Despite the scandals and the plight of India's poverty stricken masses, it is estimated to be the world's fastest growing economy this year, surpassing even China.

And the lavish wedding will be seized upon by those unhappy with the £280m in annual aid that Britain funnels to the country.