Mrs Tharoor to quit Dubai, honeymoon hits a snag

Jetsetting newlyweds Sunanda Pushkar and Shashi Tharoor have not had the smoothest of starts to their married life – quite literally.

After the pair were dragged over the coals by the media earlier this year for their involvement in the Indian Premier League cricket franchise, they could be forgiven for thinking the worst was behind them. But a technical snag on Tuesday probably had them wondering what further choppy waters they might need to navigate before things settle down.

The couple did not have a pleasant start to their honeymoon on Tuesday as their Emirates Airline flight to Dubai was forced to return to Thiruvanthapuram within an hour of take off.

It was scheduled for 4.35am but took off after a 25-minute delay at 5am, the Times of India reported, quotting airport sources. The plane, however, returned to the airport at 6am due to a technical snag. Their flight has been rescheduled for the afternoon.

The couple are headed to Dubai for a three-day celebration before moving on to Spain for a short honeymoon.

Quitting Dubai

Meanwhile, socialites in the UAE hoping Sunanda Pushkar’s marriage to Shashi Tharoor will lend an air of gravitas to their dinner parties are in for a disappointment.

The former UN diplomat and his new wife, who have been regularly spotted Dubai this past year, clearly believe their future lies in India, where Tharoor is a Member of Parliament.

After a three-day celebration in Dubai this week and a short honeymoon in Spain later this month, the pair will establish bases in Delhi and Kerala, former real estate saleswoman Pushkar told an Indian television station.

"I am giving up everything in Dubai and moving to India. I am going to learn Malayalam and divide time between Delhi and Kerala," she said yesterday. Malayalam is the principal language of the South Indian state of Kerala, where Tharoor’s Thiruvananthapuram constituency is sited.

The decision to move to India was likely taken with Tharoor’s career in mind.

Pushkar has a personal stake in Dubai, where her son Shiv has been going to school. Tharoor reportedly also has extended family in the UAE.

Thus far, she has only learned the Malayalam greeting for the Indian harvest festival of Onam, celebrated this week across Kerala. “She has learnt to say 'Happy Onam' in Malayalam,” Tharoor told the publication.

“She is the person who, I believe, is going to make a great contribution to my life and to Kerala. So I am sure the people of Kerala, who have welcomed and embraced her, will have no complaints on the score that she is not Malayali,” he added.

Tharoor and Pushkar were married on Sunday in a traditional ceremony at Tharoor's 200-year-old ancestral home in Kerala. They were introduced to each other by Dubai-based education entrepreneur Sunny Varkey. It is the third time each has been married.

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