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Bachchans to visit Vindhyavasani temple in U.P.

Atiq KhanAtiq Khan

Amitabh Bachchan

LUCKNOW: The entire Bachchan clan with their would-be daughter-in-law, Aishwarya Rai in tow will visit the famed Vindhyavasini temple in Vindhyachal in Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh on January 27. The upcoming visit would be the first to be undertaken anywhere by the Bachchan family after Ms. Rai's engagement to Abhishek Bachchan earlier this month.

They would be accompanied by Reliance Energy Chairman, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, Tina Ambani and film star, Priety Zinta.

Aishwarya Rai

Their visit has been timed to coincide with the birthday celebrations of Samajwadi Party General Secretary and a close friend of Big B, Amar Singh, who turns 51 on January 27. For a change, the Uttar Pradesh Development Council Chairman's birthday celebrations would witness the mass wedding of 51 couples belonging to below the poverty line (BPL) strata of society. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav, is likely to grace the function.

Shiv Shankar Yadav, the Mirzapur district unit president of Samajwadi Party said since Mr. Singh will turn 51 on January 27, it was decided to perform the same number of marriages. "Amar Singhji will perform the kanyadaan of the brides who were mostly from the district and were drawn from all the castes", Mr Yadav told "The Hindu" from Mirzapur.

Abhishek Bachchan

He said the "nikaah" of three Muslim pairs was also be performed on the occasion but it had been deferred as marriages among the Muslims are not solemnised during the month of Moharram. Mr Yadav said the mass wedding ceremony was being organised by the Amar Singh Fans Association with the Mirzapur unit of SP being given the responsibility for overseeing the arrangements.

The Bachchan "parivar" may also bless the newly-wed couples but prior to attending the mass marriage ceremony, the entire family would perform "darshan" ( offer prayers) of the presiding deity, Vindhyavasini, who is an incarnation ( "avatar") of Goddess Durga. Already, the star visit was being billed as a mega event. According to the scheduled programme, the Bachchans and their friends will travel by helicopter from Varanasi, about 45 kilometres from Mirzapur.

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