Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar fly to Mukesh Ambani's Varanasi bash

India’s richest man and business tycoon Mukesh Ambani churned the holy city of Varanasi on Saturday with frissons of wife Nita Ambani’s 51st birthday celebrations. 

The power couple arrived in Varanasi at 4 pm in a private jet, accompanied by mother Kokila Ben, the Bachchan family, Kareena Kapoor and Sachin Tendulkar and his wife Anjali.

Three more chartered planes carrying about 50 of Mukesh’s personal guests landed in quick succession soon afterwards. Among them were leading artistes from Bollywood, including comedian Kapil Sharma, who were to perform at the gala party at the Taj Palace hotel in Varanasi. Sources say the spectacular do would have cost the RIL chief several crores.

From the airport, the train of BMW and Mercedes cars drove straight to the Nadesar Palace where the Ambanis and their close friends would be staying till Sunday. The VIPs then went for a darshan at the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple. While Nita looked a picture of grace in a pink Banarasi sari, Mukesh wore simplicity in a cream coloured silk “dhoti-kurta”.

In the evening, the VVIP guests participated in the famous Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat where special preparations were made for the high-end visitors. Apart from the stern security arrangements, the ghat wore a festive look with elaborate lighting and decoration. Wooden steps, specially made for the occasion, were put up at several points to facilitate the VIP movement.

The evening culminated in a grand dinner party where numerous varieties of the world famous Banarasi paan is reported to have dominated the lavish vegetarian fare.