This Article is From May 26, 2015

At Arpita's Reception, Salman Khan 'Hands Over Sister, His Heart' to Mandi

At Arpita's Reception, Salman Khan 'Hands Over Sister, His Heart' to Mandi

This image was posted on Twitter by BajrangiBhaijaan

The hill town of Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, entertained VIP guests from Mumbai on Monday. Actor Salman Khan, dressed in blue, waved at cameras and crowds from a balcony with his sister Arpita and her husband of six months, Aayush Sharma. The Sharmas were throwing Arpita and Aayush a wedding reception in their home town. "I have come here to hand over my sister, who is my heart," Salman told Mandi.
  Arpita wore a red lehenga while Aayush was far more casually dressed in a blue jacket and sunglasses. The family group on the balcony included Salman's brother Sohail and mother Salma, and Aayush's parents. His father Anil Sharma is Himachal Pradesh's Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister.

At the reception, Salman thrilled the crowd by dancing to the strains of Himachali music. "I heard that people of Himachal are very good so are the locals of Mandi. It gives me a great pleasure to see the good people around. Now I have a connection with people of Mandi and Himachal Pradesh. I will do whatever I can do for you people," he said.

The Mandi reception, held six months after the wedding last year, included a traditional community feast, locally called 'Dham', to which over 10,000 guests were invited.

'Dham' is a traditional meal served on leaf plates to guests seated on the floor and cooked by the 'botis' or hereditary chefs. The menu has chaa ghosht (lamb in yoghurt gravy) or murgh anardana (chicken stewed in pomegranate paste) for non-vegetarians. For vegetarians, it offers Himachali dal channa (split gram with fennel seeds) and mathri choware (lentil fritters in spinach gravy). Dessert is usually meethe chawal (sweetened red rice with dry fruits and saffron). The food is traditionally cooked in copper vessels, which impart a unique flavour to the dishes. Earlier in the day, the winding lanes of Himachal Pradesh were crammed end to end with locals, phones held aloft to take pictures, as Salman drove into town flanked by his bodyguard Shera and Sohail.

 

Image courtesy: PTI

Arpita and Aayush were previously spotted in a quieter moment at the Tarna Temple in Mandi. Arpita looked pretty in a simple red suit.

The reception preparations started over the weekend with a mehendi ceremony:


 

Arpita also tweeted about her homecoming as Mrs Aayush Sharma:


 

Arpita and Aayush married in an extravagant ceremony last November in Hyderabad's Falaknuma Palace. The wedding gala was attended by Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif and other stars. Soon after the wedding, the Khans hosted a reception for the newly-weds in Mumbai which saw the likes of Shah Rukh Khan and Sonakshi Sinha attend.
With IANS inputs
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