Just some food for thought: Why was Everest Hotel chosen as the venue in the first place? The hotel used to be good, but now it's just a second-tier hotel in Kathmandu. [OK, the hotel is hugely popular with Indian and Bangladeshi tourists. Maybe that's where the grooms' families and friends were staying.] Maybe -- just maybe -- Sujata does NOT have all that money that people say she has. I mean, had Sujata et al thrown the same party at Hyatt or Soaltee, such an act would have siganlled to all that she did have a lot of money. At least at Soaltee or Hyatt, the parking nightmare would not happended to the extent it happened at Hotel Everest. There could be another way to look at this issue: Because she's PM's daughter, Sujata's 'social capital' is likely to be very high (and that explains that many people being invited). But her 'financial capital' is not that high at this point in time (and this explains why she chose Hotel Everest -- and NOT Soaltee or Hyatt -- as a party venue). Just thinking aloud -- tetti ho. Meantime, here's a quick back of the envelope calculation for expenses: Let's say, as per the standard practice in Kathmandu, the hotel gave away the premises, sound systems, etc for free and charged only for the food. [This is how Kathmandu hotels make money at parties.) Let's give a very high-end charge: Rs. 450 per person. The total guests according to the report: 3500 That comes out to: 450 x 3500 = Rs. 15,75,000 Rounding off to: 16 Lakh rupees. I don't know whether alcohol was served or not. (The groom might be a practising Muslim . . . but who knows!) But let's say alcohol was served. Kathmandu's wine market is controlled by two Nepalis of Marwari origins, both of whom -- as most businesspeople in Nepal -- face an incentive to be be in the good books of those in power. The beer companies face the same incentives. I would not be surprised if heavy discounts were given to separately purchase of alcoholic beverages. I am going to assume that half the guests took some form of alcoholic drinks. That's 1700 guests. Since some take wine; others, beer and, still others Red Label and so on, let's average it out by simply assuming that per person alcoholic drink expenditure was in the vicinity of: 200 rupees or about 40+ % of the per-person food bill. That adds up to 200 x 1700 = Rs. 340,000 or around Rs. 3.5 lakh. The entire cost is: 16 lakh (food) + 3.5 (drinks) = UNDER 20 lakh or about US $ 28,000 . (Please keep in mind that all expenses I have shown above are liberal estimates). ****** Conclusion? Is this a lavish party? The answer depends on who's looking at what. Those who hate Sujata will use this party as another stone to throw at her. Those who belong to Sujata's peer group in Kathmandu, will find this a very modest party. oohi ashu