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Thiruvananthapuram: Cash no bar, big fat wedding today

Son of Adoor Prakash and daughter of Biju Ramesh to get married.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Come Sunday, the state capital is set to witness the mother of all weddings, that too in times of acute cash crunch, at Rajadhani Gardens at Venpalavattom here. The groom is Ajaykrishnan, son of Congress leader and former Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash, and the bride, Megha B. Ramesh, 24, youngest daughter of Biju Ramesh, president of Bar Owners’ Association, who blew the whistle on former finance minister K.M. Mani. Ajaykrishnan is a practising chartered accountant based in Adoor and Megha an M.Tech holder in structural engineering.

The couples’ betrothal on June 22 had courted a controversy due to the presence of top Congress leaders at the function. Former chief minister Oommen Chandy and Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala may keep off the function on Sunday to avoid further controversies. Both have programmes in their respective constituencies in Puthupally and Haripad. Some of the Left leaders have already called on Biju to convey their wishes.

Biju admitted that he was splurging on his daughter’s marriage because of his love to her. He told DC that he had faced several problems in the run-up to the marriage when his mother Indira Devi fell ill and had to undergo intestine surgery. Biju has invited 20,000 guests for the mega marriage taking place between 6 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. with the reception from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

There are 18 counters to cater to 6,000 guests at a time, who can savour a 100-item menu. Biju has imported two ovens costing Rs 1.25 crore each from Germany which can cook 600 kilos of chicken biryani in 40 minutes. He was exempted from paying tax as they were directly imported. There are 100 items on the menu to be prepared by 800 workers. Biju’s corporate chef Radheesh Nair and his deputy E. P. Rittu are in charge of the dishes, said Biju whose ventures includes 10 hotels, construction business, an engineering college and hotel management college.

“There will be 18 live buffet stations, 80-feet-long per counter. All the menu items will be displayed on the 18 counters except salad and dessert so that the guests don’t have to run around. Apart from my hotels, others in the city too have been booked for the guests who are coming from the country and abroad,” added Biju.
At a time only 6,000 guests can savour the lavish spread and hence Biju has arranged several live programmes. At 5 p.m., there will be fusion music by Sundararajan. Separate events will be held when the groom and bride enter the hall at 6 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. respectively.

There will be no nadaswaram but the ambience will be rich with chanting of mantras by priests from Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple when the bride and the groom tie the knot. After the marriage, Shweta Mohan’s music band, ‘Bennet and Band’ will perform which will be followed by dance troupe Tandav’s programme. The entrance has a replica of Mysore Palace and the venue is modelled after Akshardam temple which is 55 feet in height and 120 feet in width. Biju has refused to reveal the cost of the extravaganza which may run into crores of rupees.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
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