From enjoyable viral movies and celebration of Indian sporting glory to moments that made us shake our heads in marvel – the yr 2024 had all of this and extra to supply on Indian social media.
Listed here are among the most memorable moments that we’ve got picked for you.
The months-long Ambani wedding ceremony
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani and his household saved the world captivated for a number of months with opulent celebrations for his son Anant’s wedding ceremony.
The extravaganza first caught folks’s eye in March when among the world’s most influential folks began arriving in India to attend a pre-wedding occasion. The star of that present was pop star Rihanna, whose efficiency on the occasion was her first in India.
Over the following few months, Backstreet Boys, Katy Perry, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and Justin Bieber carried out at completely different occasions main as much as the marriage.
Company included Mark Zuckerberg and his spouse Priscilla Chan, Invoice Gates, Kim Kardashian, actor John Cena, former British prime ministers Tony Blair and Boris Johnson, Samsung chairman Jay Y Lee and Bollywood famous person Shah Rukh Khan amongst a whole lot of others.
Invoice Gates’s chai with Dolly Chaiwala
Dolly Chaiwala, a tea vendor from the state of Maharashtra, discovered himself going viral on-line after he served a cup of tea to Microsoft co-founder Invoice Gates.
The tea vendor was already identified for his flamboyant social media presence and distinctive type of serving tea.
Gates’s video of the second has greater than 176m views on his official Instagram web page.
“In India, you can find innovation everywhere you turn – even in the preparation of a simple cup of tea,” he wrote.
Dolly Chaiwala later advised information company ANI he did not know he’d served tea to the tech billionaire.
“I was not aware of it at all. I thought that he was a guy from a foreign country and I had to serve him tea,” he stated.
When Tendulkar noticed a brand new bowling star on-line
Sushila Meena, a 10-year-old lady from the small tribal hamlet Ramer Talab within the northern state of Rajasthan, went viral on social media this month after cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar shared a video of her bowling on X, previously Twitter.
The younger lady’s video, initially shared on Instagram by her faculty trainer, confirmed her bowling in sluggish movement on a makeshift cricket pitch in her village.
Tendulkar shared the video, commenting that her bowling motion was “smooth, effortless, and lovely to watch!” He additionally stated Meena had “shades of” former India bowler Zahir Khan.
Khan promptly agreed. A number of former cricketers have now come ahead to assist her realise her dream of enjoying for India.
India’s teen chess champion
India celebrated as Gukesh Dommaraju defeated China’s Ding Liren this month to develop into the youngest-ever world chess champion.
Dommaraju, 18, is 4 years youthful than the previous record-holder, Russian grand-master Garry Kasparov, who was 22 when he gained the title in 1985.
Indians had been following the 14-game World Championship competitors with an depth often reserved for main cricket tournaments.
Followers started celebrating after a blunder by Liren paved the way in which for Dommaraju’s win.
{The teenager} burst into tears as his win was introduced and the room erupted with cheers.
The video of his tearful response rapidly went viral on social media.
The caramel popcorn debate
Is caramel popcorn similar to some other popcorn? No, argued India’s Items and Companies Tax (GST) Council which determines the charges at which numerous merchandise are taxed.
Earlier this month, the council introduced that non-branded popcorn that was combined with salt and spices can be taxed at 5% however caramel popcorn, which it categorised as a sugar confectionery, would appeal to an 18% tax.
India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman defined that the presence of added sugar made caramel popcorn a “mithai” or confectionery, therefore attracting tax beneath a unique class than common popcorn.
The choice had Indians up in arms, sparking a variety of memes and criticism on-line.
“Our country’s tax system has truly evolved, popcorn is now the gold standard of luxury,” one consumer wrote on X.
Instagram influencer and movie star popularly often called Orry commented that caramel popcorn was injurious to “financial health”.
Jairam Ramesh, a spokesman of major opposition Congress occasion, stated the “absurdity of three different tax slabs for popcorn under GST… only brings to light a deeper issue: the growing complexity of a system that was supposed to be a Good and Simple Tax”.