ELIZABETH Hurley and Arun Nayar. Russell BrandandKaty Perry.Andnowthemost celebrated couple in Hollywood, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
India has become the top destination for celebrity weddings.
Indian newspapers have reported that “Brangelina” is all set to tie the knot in the Indian state of Rajasthan in the new year. The wedding will be held in the town of Jodhpur known for its palaces. The Hindustan Times reported that the wedding of Pitt and Jolie will be blessed by a Hindu priest who is said to have saved their relationship through “couples’ yoga”.
Gurudev Ramlalji Siyag, an 83-year-old mystic who describes himself as “one of India’s living saints,” is reported to have taught the Hollywood stars yoga and meditation techniques during a tour of the US.
The daily quoted a friend of the couple as saying that the meditation has helped ease the stress of their hectic lives – they are raising six children while travelling
constantly for filmand charity commitments. “They’ve been practising his Siddha yoga and they start and end the day by chanting a sacred word he’s given them. It’s transformed their relationship – they’ve both cut back on drinking and no longer argue,” a friend told the newspaper.
They are now understood to be planning a Hindu wedding at the guru’s Adhyatma Vigyan Satsang Kendraashram next month.
Officials told local reporters the couple mayarrive in the city to celebrate New Year’s Eve and marry soon after. The first auspicious day in the Hindu calendar following that is Jan 14.
Meanwhile, a disciple of the guru at his Jodhpur ashram said he could neither confirm nor deny any wedding plans or that “Brangelina” have even met him. But now the question on everyone’s mind is what makes India, particularly Rajasthan, a hot spot for Hollywood A-listers’ weddings?
Mystic charm
Bollywood director Mahesh Bhatt said: “These celebrities are so drenched in western ways that they want to explore the mystic charm of India. Rajasthan’s palaces and vibrant culture are added reasons.”
However, Hindu groups cautioned that such a ceremony shouldn’t be reduced to a mere spectacle.
“We want them (Brangelina) to take the marriage seriously and perform it devoutly,” Mr Rajan Zed of the Universal Society of Hinduism, USA, told the Hindustan
Times.
Rajasthan has many former royal palaces which now operate as fortress hotels where celebrities can be guaranteed privacy.
Representatives for Pitt and Jolie declined to commenton the reports.
