Courtship to Commitment
At the private luncheon in New York to announce the winners, there was much anticipation and emotion in the air. The 11 contesting couples were from all across America; messages were flowing in. The four contestants from the New York–New Jersey region who were present at the event witnessed the long deliberation of the judges who finally conceded ties in two places because they loved all the stories. The five judges were actor Manu Narayan, the male lead in ‘Bombay Dreams;’ Shashi Tharoor, author and under-secretary general at the U.N.; presiding judge Seema Andhare, Air-India’s regional director, USA and Canada; LaVelle Olexa, senior vice president, fashion merchandizing at Lord & Taylor; and Aarti Tandon, a N.Y. attorney and vice president of a life-style magazine from India.
GRAND PRIZE WINNERS
New York: Reetu Agarwala, 26, left, graduate student at the Harvard Business School, and Priyank Sean Gupta, 26, graduate student at the Columbia Business School at the Contest event on July 12. Gupta is seen helping Agarwala with the prize necklace. The couple also received two business class tickets to India by Air-India. (File Photo)
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Grand Prize
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2 Business Class Tickets
to India by Air-India |
Multistrand garnet ribbon necklace, retail price $1,700; and cuff-links, center top, citrine and ruby set in 22 carat gold, retail price $975; by Gem Palace, family of jewelers for Indian royalty for 7 generations. Munnu Kasliwal is the designer in the family.
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1st runners up (In a tie)
Puerto Rico: Jyoti Mehta, 25, right, a telecommunicator for 9-1-1, and Orville Valentin, 25, an accountant for the Power Electric Authority, at the El Morro Fortress, Old San Juan, on Valentine’s Day 2004.
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Prize
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$500 Gift Coupon each from Lord & Taylor, ‘The Signature of American Style’ Fifth Avenue store in N.Y. since the 19th century.
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California: Amisha Mehtani, right, who works for a startup software company in sales, and Shalabh Moonat, who runs his own company specializing in Remedy Application Development, during a vacation in Chicago in June 2003.
2nd runners up (In a tie)
Texas/Arizona: Geetha Rao, 29, right, a resident in pediatrics at the University of Texas, Houston, and Raju Thiagarajan, 31, a resident in internal medicine at Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona.
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Prize
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$500 Gift Coupon each from fashion designer Alia Khan who supplies to stores in New York and also deals with private customers at her showroom in N.Y.
For more information, visit www.aliakhan.com
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California: Mary Elizabeth Morales (Beth), 24, right, a finance paralegal at Chapman & Cutler LLP in San Francisco, and Sidharth Singh (Sid), 25, an investment banker at Broadview, a division of Jefferies in San Francisco, at Thirsty Bear, a bar, in March 2003.
WEDDINGS
Steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal spent almost $78 million for his daughter Vanisha’s wedding which is billed as the most expensive wedding ever. In India, former cabinet minister Capt. Satish Sharma’s daughter Sarika wed actor Rahul Bhatt at an exclusive ceremony attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi and N.Y. hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal and his son Vikram Chatwal, among others.
SATISH SHARMA’S DAUGHTER
Sarika weds Rahul in New Delhi
October 28: Former Indian cabinet minister Satish Sharma’s daughter Sarika and actor Rahul Bhatt were wed at an exclusive ceremony in New Delhi on Oct. 28. The wedding at Sharma’s Mehrauli farm residence on the outskirts of the city was attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, family friend and president of the ruling Congress Party Sonia Gandhi and her entire family, apart from other guests. The Gandhis, not known to attend many social functions, included (Sonia) Gandhi’s Italian mother Paola Maino, her son and Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi, daughter Priyanka, son-in-law Robert Vadra and granddaughter Maria. The guests also included New York hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal and his son Vikram Chatwal, close family friends of the Sharmas who visited New Delhi specially for the ceremony. Seen in the photo, Rahul, right, with Sarika. (File Photo)
LAKSHMI MITTAL’S DAUGHTER
Vanisha weds Amit in France
June 22: The wedding of steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal’s daughter Vanisha, 23, with London-based financier Amit Bhatia, 25, went down in history as the most expensive wedding ever. The lavish wedding celebrations, which cost nearly $78 million, ran for six days. The engagement ceremony took place in London on June 5 and the marriage at the 17th century Chateau Vaux le Vicomte in France on June 22. The guest list of 1,200 included the pick of Indian and British society, top Bollywood filmstars like Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, and major business figures from across the world. Seen in the photo, from left, Amit, left, and Vanisha at Annabel’s nightclub in London, during their engagement party on June 5. (File Photo)
IMRAN-JEMIMA
Imran divorces Jemima
June 22: Flamboyant cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan divorced his British-born wife Jemima after nine years of marriage on June 22. “I sadly announce that Jemima and I are divorced,” he said. They were married in May 1995 and have two sons –– seven-year-old Salman and four-year-old Qasim. The break-up came amid reports of a steadily growing friendship between Jemima ––– who after her marriage embraced Islam and took the name of Haiqa ––– and British actor Hugh Grant. (File Photo)
Review 2004