Anant Ambani, Radhika Merchant's pre-wedding functions begin in Jamnagar; see pics

Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's pre-wedding functions started on Wednesday with Anna Seva at the Jogwad village near Reliance Township in Jamnagar, Gujarat. Reliance Industries Limited CMD Mukesh Ambani, his son Anant Ambani, and other members of the Ambani family served traditional Gujarati food to villagers. 

Radhika's maternal grandmother and parents, Viren and Shaila Merchant, also took part in the Anna Seva. Food will be served to about 51,000 local residents which will continue for the next few days.

The Ambani family organised Anna Seva to seek blessings of the local community for the pre-wedding celebrations of Anant and Radhika. After the meal, the attendees enjoyed traditional folk music. Famous Gujarati singer Kirtidan Gadhvi performed on the occasion. The tradition of serving food is old in the Ambani family, which has been serving food on auspicious family occasions.

The Ambani family will have a three-day gala event from March 1 to 3 in Jamnagar. On the first day, there will be a cocktail party for the guests dubbed as 'An Evening in Everland', for which the dress code is elegant cocktail outfits. On the second day,  guests will be taken for 'A Walk on the Wildside' and are advised to wear comfortable clothing and shoes. 

The evening will see guests participating in 'Mela Rouge'  where they would be expected to dress up in traditional Indian outfits. The final day will see guests celebrating the cultural heritage of India with 'Hastakshar' as the theme.

Around 1,000 guests are expected to attend the couple’s pre-wedding celebrations. These include the who's who of different walks of life including Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Melinda Gates, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, and Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger. 

In a conversation with India Today's News Director Rahul Kanwal, Anant spoke about why he picked Jamnagar for the celebrations. He said he was inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Wed in India' call. Anant said Jamnagar is his grandmother's birthplace, and the town where his grandfather Dhirubhai Ambani and father Mukesh Ambani started their business.

"I have grown up here, and it's my good fortune that we could plan the celebration here. This is my dadi's janm bhoomi and my dada and papa's karm bhoomi. It's a matter of pride and happiness when our PM said that one should get married in India. And this is my home. My father often says that this is my dada's sasural (in-laws' house), and hence we are celebrating here. I also believe I am from Jamnagar, yahin ka nagarik hun," Anant Ambani said.