Jodhpur out; Ash-Abhishek wedding in Jaipur or Gwalior

The wedding of actors Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai may not be held in Rajasthan's Jodhpur city due to shortage of hotel rooms, and the new possible venues could be Jaipur or Gwalior, informed sources said.

The sources said Jodhpur was found unsuitable since March is the peak tourism season in the desert state. The Bachchans had earlier planned to host the marriage at the grand Umaid Bhavan Palace here.

According to sources in Umaid Bhavan Palace, Bollywood's first family has decided to shift the venue to Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh or Jaipur. The marriage is expected to take place March 19.

"They want to hold the wedding ceremonies in a heritage property. So they are now looking for a city that can provide them with the required setting. Gwalior and Jaipur seem to be the frontrunners," a hotel source told IANS.

Travel industry experts, however, say that finding the required numbers of rooms in Jaipur in March would also be very difficult because of tourist rush.

Even foreign tourists are desperate for rooms in Rajasthan now.

"It would not be easy for anyone to get rooms in March. We are being forced to change itineraries for our foreign clients this month due to shortage of rooms," said Navendu Goswami, a tour operator.

Amitabh Bachchan had earlier sent couple of his close friends to Jodhpur to finalise the hotel bookings in Umaid Bhavan as well as four other hotels. They wanted to book these hotels for a period of three days from March 18.

As directed by astrologers, the Bachchan family is keen that Abhishek and Aishwarya tie the knot as soon as possible.

Umaid Bhavan, however, is currently all set to play host to the wedding parties of Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar. Hurley and Nayar married in England March 3 after which they will host celebrations in Mumbai and Jodhpur. The couple arrived in Mumbai Monday. The couple have booked the hotel from March 7-10.