Cape Town - Just days after the Gupta’s four-day-long wedding was wrapped up in South Africa, it has emerged that the rich and controversial family are planning to hold a lavish “after party” back in India.
The Daily Mail reported that the sleepy town of Saharanpur in west Utta Pradesh, where the Guptas still own a home, was gearing up for the “grandest wedding reception ever”, which is set to take place on May 12.
But while some South African ministers attended the ceremony at Sun City - where the Gupta’s booked out the entire five-star Palace at the Lost City hotel in the resort complex to accommodate their wedding guests - there has been no indication whether any South African ministers or President Jacob Zuma himself would be joining the Gupta’s latest festivities.
Spokesman for the Presidency Mac Maharaj told the Cape Argus on Sunday that he had not been made aware of the scheduled event.
The “after party”, much like the wedding, is expected to take place a massive scale.
Vikas Sharma, the contractor for Silver Castle, the venue for the reception, told the Daily Mail he could not recall a bigger event in the town.
Sharma told the UK publication that the entire Silver Castle property - including both the lawns and 20 rooms - would be used for the function.
“We have been given an estimate of around 5 000 people, (not including) around 1 000 support staff of caterers and decorators for the event. We have earlier hosted big events on our two-lawn venue, but the number of VVIPs expected to come to the May 12 party is more than any (we’ve had before).”
A slew of caterers and decorators are set to arrive on May 9 to take over preparation for the big event. The Guptas are even planning to set up a mini-replica of Delhi’s Akshardham temple at the Lal Dass Ka Bada on the banks of the Pao Doi river, where their late father spent a lot of time.
But it is not just the party that has people buzzing. The invitation card - estimated to be priced around 1 500 rupees (R250) - has also been a massive talking point.
Ainan Masood Ansair, a mess manager at IIT Roorke’s Saharanpur campus, showed how the name of each invitee was printed on the card; its paper cover even has a unique tag and each invite comes with a collection of “special sweets”.
Cape Argus