Chai with Bill Gates, Ambani’s wedding, chess glory and other viral moments of 2024 in India

From hilarious viral videos and celebration of Indian sporting glory to moments that made us shake our heads in amazement – ​​the year 2024 had all this and more to offer on Indian social media.

Here are some of the most memorable moments we have selected for you.

Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani and his family kept the world captivated for several months with opulent celebrations for his son Anant’s wedding.

The show first attracted attention in march when some of the world’s most influential people started arriving in India to attend a pre-wedding event. The star of that show was pop star Rihanna, whose performance in the event it was the first in India.

During the following months, the Backstreet Boys, Katy Perry, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and Justin Bieber performed at different events leading up to the wedding.

Guests included Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, Bill Gates, Kim Kardashian, actor John Cena, former british prime ministers Tony Blair and Boris Johnson, Samsung chairman Jay Y Lee and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, among hundreds of others.

Dolly Chaiwala, a tea seller from the state of Maharashtra, went viral online after serving Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates a cup of tea.

The tea seller was already known for his extravagant social media presence and unique style of serving tea.

doors video At the moment it has more than 176 million views on its official Instagram page.

“In India, you can find innovation everywhere, even in the preparation of a simple cup of tea,” he wrote.

Dolly Chaiwala later told news agency ANI that she did not know that she had served tea to the tech billionaire.

“I didn’t realize it at all. I thought it was a guy from a foreign country and I had to serve him tea,” he said.

Sushila Meena, a 10-year-old girl from the small tribal village Ramer Talab in the northern state of Rajasthan, went viral on social media this month after cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar shared a video of her bowling in X, formerly Twitter.

The young girl’s video, originally shared on Instagram by her school teacher, showed her bowling in slow motion on a makeshift cricket pitch in her village.

Tendulkar shared the video and commented that his bowling action was “smooth, effortless and lovely to watch”. He also said that Meena had “shades” of former Indian fast bowler Zahir Khan.

Khan quickly agreed. Several former cricketers have come forward to help her realize her dream of playing for India.

India celebrates like Gukesh Domaraju defeated Chinese Ding Liren will become the youngest world chess champion in history this month.

Dommaraju, 18, is four years younger than the former record holder, Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov, who was 22 when he won the title in 1985.

The Indians had been following the 14-match World Championship competition with an intensity normally reserved for major cricket tournaments.

Fans began celebrating after a mistake by Liren paved the way for Dommaraju’s victory.

The teenager burst into tears when his victory was announced and the room erupted in cheers.

The video of her tearful reaction quickly went viral on social media.

Is caramel popcorn like any other popcorn? No, argued India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) Board, which determines the rates at which various products are taxed.

Earlier this month, the council announced that unbranded popcorn mixed with salt and spices would be subject to a 5% tax, but caramel popcorn, which it categorized as a fudge, would receive an 18% tax. .

India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman explained that the presence of added sugar turned caramel popcorn into a “mithai” or sweet, thus attracting taxes in a different category than regular popcorn.

The decision angered Indians, sparking a series of memes and criticism online.

“Our country’s tax system has really evolved, popcorn is now the gold standard of luxury,” wrote one user on X.

Instagram influencer and celebrity popularly known as Orry commented that caramel popcorn was bad for “financial health.”

Jairam Ramesh, spokesman for the main opposition Congress party, said that “the absurdity of three different tax slabs for popcorn under the GST… only brings to light a deeper problem: the increasing complexity of a system that is “I thought it was good and simple.” Tax”.