Aishwarya Rai

Bollywood heartthrob Abhishek Bachchan and our very own stunning beauty, Aishwarya Rai were married this Friday in a ceremony that brought most of Mumbai to a standstill.

The Bollywood-besotted Indian city of Mumbai came to a standstill at the weekend as two of its biggest stars, emerald-eyed beauty Aishwarya Rai, 33, and Abhishek Bachchan, tied the knot.

Dubbed the wedding of the century by the Indian media, the festivities had many of the elements of one of the couple’s on-screen romances - riotous colour, dance routines and melodrama. The celebrations ran over three days and included a Sunday visit to the Tirupathi Ventakeswara temple in the south of the country, where the couple partook of prasad or blessed food.

Aishwarya, a former Miss World, was breathtaking on that occasion in a hand-embroidered red and gold sari, with vermilion powder in the parting of her hair, and a necklace of black and gold beads. Her 31-year-old groom was dressed in a loose white tunic over baggy trousers.

The traditional festivities had kicked off on Friday with a private marriage ceremony at the Bachan family home, where hundreds of well-wishers cheered the 31-year-old groom as he emerged astride a white stallion, his face covered by a veil of white flowers.

This was followed the next day by the bidai, a ceremony in which the bride bids farewell to her parental home. With all the excitement of their big day over, the newlyweds have apparently jetted off to Venice, Italy for a month-long honeymoon.

This was the biggest and most talked about marriage of all times. And why not? It was Ash Abhishek, the Bollywood’s two biggest superstars, and world over known celebrities, getting married. So Aishwarya Rai is now finally Mrs. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Wow! That’s a relief. We, as always, wish Aishwarya and Abhishek, all the best in their lives. Wishing them a very happy and married life.