Sudhir to spend sh5b For daughter's wedding

By Milan Nanziri, Alex Balimwikungu and Brian Abong

When a rich man’s daughter weds, the village comes to a standstill. But when Sudhir Ruparelia’s daughter weds, all weddings, parties and bank accounts come to a standstill.

Rated as East Africa’s richest by a recent Forbes Magazines “Africa’s 40 Richest”, he has thrown all his financial muscle into his daughter’s wedding.

Sudhir has tasked a budget committee to spend up to $2m on his daughter, Meera Ruparelia’s wedding that will take place on Valentine’s Day. Meera is Sudhir’s first born and he is out to pamper her with anything that money can buy.

It will double the cost of the Donald Trump — Melania Knauss wedding. It will be much more expensive than the David- Victoria Beckham wedding ($800,000) and if Madonna and Guy Ritchie ($1.5m) were invited, their jaws would drop. Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones ($1.5) may get seats at the edge of the V.I.P lounge.

It did not even take him a second thought to come up with the $2m amount. $2,000,000 is about sh5b. No Ugandan has even spent a fifth of that amount on a wedding. Flex Kabuye claimed he spent sh1b on his, but several people who attended argued and claimed that was a lie.

So what brought about the sh5b? It was sheer excitement. The moment Sudhir learnt of his daughter’s relationship, he decided it was going to be a landmark event. Sudhir has the composure and tact to hold his nerve in making critical business decisions but he understandably got excited. He lifted the lid on the simmering romance between his 27-year-old daughter and her fiancé on the  social network Facebook.

His post naturally attracted an incessant wave of congratulatory messages from friends. But the overwhelming responses also carried with them a wave of curiosity; everyone was demanding to know so much more than the picture of the engagement ring that the tycoon had casually shared; who is the guy, when is the wedding, the dress, how much will it cost? He had let it out of the bag, and the easiest question to answer was the one concerning money.

In an exclusive interview with The Kampala Sun, he hinted at $2m. Close family sources divulged the other details. There are going to be two wedding ceremonies. “One of the receptions will take place in London at the luxurious Grosvenor Hotel Park Lane,” says a close family member. It means that the couple will have their civil marriage in London. “ There will also be an Indian wedding at Speke Resort Munyonyo on February 14, 2014 (Valentine’s Day)”, it has been revealed.

Meera is the first born of Sudhir and  Joystna Ruparelia. Close sources say she is the favourite daughter in the family. A number of Sudhir’s businesses have been named after her. Whenever you see a Meera Investments label, think of her. She is a hotel heiress, studied in the UK and graduated with a degree in Business at the City University, London.

You are bound to find Meera hanging out with the affluent. However, even in public she prefers to keep a low profile and in many cases goes unnoticed even by the prying media. She is a globe trotter, maintaining bi-coastal relations between her home (Uganda) and an exotic location (Dubai).

On her plate, since her transition from managing the family estates in Dubai, was the refurbishment of Speke Apartments on Wampewo Avenue, 130 residential apartment oversight in Bukoto and managing Eagle Plaza an arcade in downtown Kampala.

THE GROOM-TO-BE, RAVI KOTECHA

His name is Ravi Kotecha and he is a close family friend of the Sudhirs. The two families have been very close for over 10 years. The Kotecha family owns a multimillion dollar business in Kenya, where the family lives. Ravi manages the Nairobi franchise.

At 30 years, he is only three years older than Meera. His dad is a prominent businessman in Kisumu. He is like the Sudhir of that place. Ravi grew up with his father in Kisumu, was sent away to study, but recently returned to manage the family business.

“Ravi has always flown in from Kenya to come and attend to business or family gatherings hosted by his tycoon uncle Bhasker Kotecha, the proprietor of Midcom here in Uganda,” says a source, “ they (Meera and Ravi) have known each other for over seven years, mostly on business terms.”

Someone in the Ruparelia household, who calls Sudhir uncle, says Ravi just like Meera studied in the UK. He returned to Kisumu, Kenya around the same time Meera returned to Uganda from Dubai where she has for close to three years been managing the Ruparelia estate.

NOT LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

Meera and Ravi is not a textbook couple. Not the kind you will tell you, “from the first time I saw her, I knew it.” Their romance is fueled by common sense. Their love grew. It was not on first sight. From experience, Meera knew better than believing in a fairytale romance. “I have dated before but something always came up; distance and delity,” she confides.

Fidelity? Someone cheated on Sudhir’s daughter! That is like cheating on money. According to our source, Meera and Ravi always bumped into each other whenever Ravi flew into Uganda to attend family business, social gatherings and just for holidays when he needed a break. They had nothing in common; not friends or interests.

“They didn’t like each other at all,” explains Meera’s close friend. “Meera lived her life in Uganda, UK and Dubai. They would meet at gatherings, talk as friends and sometimes when she was ying to Nairobi, she would call him just to let him know that she was going to be in his area code,” she says.

For two years, they steadily flirted but Meera, being the career-oriented young lady that she is, never took to the flirts. She had to concentrate on pleasing her dad who had become her mentor and boss at the same time. So romance was out of the question.

“Meera was so busy and focused on trying to leave up to her father’s expectations. She needed someone to talk to, someone going through the same thing and she would sometimes talk to Ravi as a friend,” says the source.

Ravi couldn’t believe that all his romantic gestures of spontaneous sending of flowers and heavy flirting had just landed him in the un-fancied friend zone. He had planned to give up on Meera but his cousin advised him to try once more, this time ‘bigger and louder’.

In February 2012, Meera invited him to her sister’s birthday. He turned up. “I noticed a chemistry developing between the two. Most of us did, but we didn’t want to look so inquisitive. He had a particular liking for her. He mildly flirted and she reciprocated.” Her friend says when the two met at the Goat Races in August 2012, they unusually stepped up the flirting a notch higher.

“After her sister’s birthday party, they had regularly kept in touch. Meera told us she was starting to feel chemistry between them. So we weren’t surprised that the two were getting naughty at the Goat Races,” she says.

Two weeks after the Goat Races (in September), Ravi called Meera from Nairobi. He wanted to fly in to specically see her. Not business, not family but for her. “Meera was in shock. She didn’t think he could go through with it so she made him a bet. ‘If you fly for me, to me, I will buy you dinner for your efforts.”

He flew to Uganda and she had to keep her promise. Meera played the perfect hostess, inviting him to dinner with her family and later organised a beautiful dinner for the two of them to wind up his weekend in Kampala. He returned to Nairobi and called her after a day asking her to be his girlfriend.

“Meera being a traditional and romantic girl was offended by the over-the-phone proposal. She needed advice. She told her mum about it and they talked at length. When he called back, she said she would go to Nairobi for her proposal because the phone proposal was rude and unbetting.

Meera and Joystana, her mum, kept her dad out of the loop for the real reason of her visit to Nairobi in October. From then on they have been dating. Wedding planners should delay celebrations because, according to Meera’s close friends, she is planning on getting a designer snow white dress from London.

“I have not yet engaged any wedding planners but I am very particular with what I want,” says Meera. She is likely to take on her own wedding planning and service providing.

THE ENGAGEMENT

From the day word of the relationship made rounds, many have been observant of Meera’s ways. For quite a while, Meera has had a gigantic stone on her left hand. “It is true she is engaged, I was even there but don’t tell her I told you,” says her colleague.

Apparently she got engaged in Switzerland. Ravi invited a bunch of us (family and friends) to a Ski Resort in Verbier, Switzerland for his birthday/engagement holiday and enlisted Brother Rajiv and Sister Sheena in asking everyone to keep his intentions secret from Meera. We stayed for a week and towards the end of the holiday, on the second last night, he proposed to her in a room filled with all she loves; a scenic view of the snow filled mountains, a room filled with candles and flowers and she said, “yes”.

Meera speaks out

We caught up with Meera a few weeks ago and she talked about love, romance, marriage and much more. Excerpts from the interview below:

TKS: Are you engaged? Do you  Love him?

MR: Yes I am. And I love him now but didn’t before. It wasn’t love at fi rst sight. He was flirtous for a long time but I paid no attention to him till last year.

TKS: Why do you love him now?

MR: (Chuckles) He is easy to love, everything is easy with him. I have dated before but something always came up; distance and fidelity. We are fitting, our lives, career paths and families. Family is important in Indian culture and our families have no objection.

TKS: Does Mr. Ruparaliea know?

MR: Yes he does. I was scared to tell him at first given the business and his expectations of me so I only shared with my mom, she is my best friend. He somehow found out and immediately thwarted my idea of a small wedding. Sheena told me he thinks ‘Ravi is the one’.

TKS: So, there is a wedding. Where will it be?

MR: I just got Engaged, I don’t know, but definitely in Uganda. This is my home, my friends and family are here and so is my career. We are planning an engagement party later this year but we are still in the planning process.

TKS: Will it be a big affair? Munyonyo has played host to grand weddings. Your Dad owns it and let’s faces it you’re a billionaire’s daughter.

MR: (Smiles Shyly). Actually I wanted a low key affair in consideration of Dad. He is quiet and private and I had kept this from him for so long but he wants a big do. So we will see. As I said we are still in the planning stages.

TKS: Have you found a wedding planner?

MR: (Laughing) No, not yet. But I am particular, too particular perhaps because I know for sure I will be hands on as far as the decor is concerned.

TKS: How many carats are in your ring?

MR: I don’t know. It’s a ring, a symbol.

TKS: What happens now since you are in Kampala and he is in Nairobi?

MR: Like I said, he and I are fitting and it’s easy. Going exclusive came without a thought and the distance doesn’t matter. We meet once a month for a weekend depending on the situation, he comes to Uganda, I go to Kenya or we go out of Africa. We work and date and our families are okay with it because we are taking time to know ourselves better.

Sorry, potential Meera stalkers

Becoming tycoon, Sudhir Ruparelia’s son-in-law can only mean one thing. You start dreaming in colour and discard all your black and white dreams. For a town where guys are wont to brag about the fact that Sudhir accepted their friendship request on Facebook, imagine the billionaire “Big daddy” invited you for talks about his daughter, Meera Ruparelia’s affections for you.

For starters, the 27 year old is a stunner, has a healthy bank account, and is the daughter of a billionaire who is on the Forbes list of the wealthiest men in East Africa.

However, most of all, she has a charming and disarming personality and is as entrepreneurial as the dad. Anyway, this is the stuff fantasies are made of.

We know of many guys for whom Sudhir is just a call away. Over the years, they have milled with his family and although we have no overt proof of it, they, like thousands of male admirers out there, would have silently harboured
thoughts of marrying into Ruparelia’s family. Ironically, majority draw from the media and will certainly not warm to the news of Meera’s engagement and impending wedding.

Muhereza Kyamutetera (fireworks advertising)

He is happily married with children, but at one time before he walked down the aisle; his closeness to Sudhir’s family was the source of gossip among peers. Anyone who attended the annual Ascot Goat races told the closeness he had to the family; he shared free Cuban Cigars with Sudhir and took to dress like an oil sheikh just to look the tycoon part. This got tongues wagging, but alas, the rumours have come to pass.

James Odomel (Media analyst)

According to friends, not so far back, Odomel was so close to Sudhir’s family; his sentences were punctuated by… “You know me and my best friend Sudhir….blah blah...” It was Sudhir...this and Sudhir that… When he talked of Meera, you visualized an Angel and when it came to Rajiv (Sudhir’s son); you thought Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg was pedestrian to Rajiv in terms of dimes.

Andrew Mwenda (The independent)

There was a joke that motor-mouth, Andrew Mwenda was still single at his advanced age because the two had entered a pact where he would marry Sudhir’s daughter one time. He had the dimes and the wit and the entrepreneurial skills, the two would ably gel. It was a joke
after all.

Natty Dread Babara (Photographer)

The celebrity dreadlocked photographer was once a bosom buddy to the tycoon, but they had a bitter fall out which, according to sources stemmed from Natty failing to draw the line between friendship and family. He is the only one who is on record for voicing his intentions about the charming daughter to the tycoon, which caused the bitter split.

Navio (Rapper)

This is best reported in third person narration. They say that Navio had once included her among his “to-do” list, but nothing came to fruition.

Marrying a rich man’s daughter

Ugandans were once rated the laziest people in East Africa. Now being as lazy as we are, it means people want to find the easiest way to get by. If you are a chic, get pregnant with someone’s baby and he will probably take care of you. However, if you are a man, here is the idiots guide on how to hook up a rich man’s daughter.

Be a man

Well firstly you have to be a man. If people have at any time doubted your masculinity, then we have a problem. See, a rich man won’t just let his daughter go fwaa like that; he will want to be sure.

Get one with daddy issues

A chick with daddy issues will date the exact opposite of who her parents want her to be with. Let that opposite be you, show up like the opportunist you are and launch a full frontal assault. Smile, make her laugh and don’t forget to tell her she is always right.

Wager at a casino

Casinos are a great place to get free stuff , as long as you know how to play the games, you might even get yourself a wife, a rich one at that. With endless drinks for anyone who is on table, save some dimes and approach the rich guys later on when they are drunk, clean them out and make them have to bet their daughter.

Become a one hit wonder

Music is a universal language, all you have to do is take time off to compose a song. Make  sure it’s something listenable and the topic should be ‘love’. The subject of the song, Mr Rich man’s daughter. Release it and wait for her to hear it. If she doesn’t like it or for some reason it doesn’t work, do a remix with someone who knows how to sing.

Infiltrate the family

The word infiltrate is key here, you have to do it like your life depends on it because honestly it sort of does. Get your sister or one of those female friends, then sit back and let her blow your trumpet for you.

You can also fi nd out if she is spiritual. If so, just talk to her pastor or religious leader and make a deal. He will make a sort of prediction/prophesy that she is going to meet the person God has chosen for her in that church.

Online dating

The beauty about online dating is that people can fall in love and all even without ever meeting. You can Photoshop your head onto a fairly buff body, lie about your income and basically become the man of your dreams and hers. Keep giving excuses not to meet until you are sure she has fallen high heels in love with you. When you fi nally meet, you can just say you got fi red, lost weight and all but that you still love her.

Speak with an accent

In this Uganda of ours, if you can say masaawo with a believable accent, your presence will be noted by every lady in the taxi. Nothing is easier to lie about than having gone outside countries, all the information is available online and with Google maps, you can even show her the imaginary UK house in which you grew up. At least now you have one thing in common, even though it’s a bleached lie.