Paving Their Own Future

As ABHISHEK and VIHARI PODDAR celebrate their 10th anniversary this year, the couple share with Annabel Tan the highs and lows of a whirlwind romance that has gone the distance.

- Annabel Tan

Had everything gone to plan, Vihari and Abhishek Poddar would have celebrated their 10th anniversary with a second wedding this year. Unlike their first wedding, which was a grand affair like their families wanted, this would have been an intimate event just for the couple and their friends, taking place at the resplendent Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, India, where Indian actress Priyanka Chopra married American singer Nick Jonas.

They had booked the venue over a year in advance, but were forced to cancel due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is a shame, but life hardly goes as planned and that is not always a bad thing – especially in the case of Abhishek and Vihari, who have continually gone against the grain.

DESTINY LIGHTS THE WAY

In Indian society, arranged marriages are customary and make up the majority of all marriages. Vihari did meet with a few matches who were eligible bachelors that ticked all the traditional boxes: well-educated, from good families, wealthy (some were billionaires). “In our culture, you marry someone your family feels is suitable,” explains the 35-year-old jeweller. “Being the rebel that I am, it clearly didn’t go that way.”