Tea with Bill Gates, Ambani wedding, chess glory and other viral moments of 2024 from India

From hilarious viral videos and celebrating Indian sporting glory to moments that made us shake our heads in wonder – 2024 had all this and much more to offer on Indian social media.

Here are some of the most memorable moments we have selected for you.

Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani and his family captivated the world for several months lavish celebrations for his son Anant's wedding.

The extravaganza was the first to catch people's eyes in March when some of the most influential people in the world started arriving in India to attend a pre-wedding function. The star of this show was pop star Rihanna, whose performance of the event was her first in India.

Over the next few months, the Backstreet Boys, Katy Perry, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and Justin Bieber performed at various events leading up to the wedding.

Guests included Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, Bill Gates, Kim Kardashian, actor John Cena, former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Boris Johnson, Samsung chairman Jay Lee and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan among hundreds of others.

Dolly Chaiwala, a tea seller from the state of Maharashtra, went viral online after serving a cup of tea to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

The tea seller was already known for his flamboyant social media presence and unique style of serving tea.

of Gates video currently has more than 176 million views on his official Instagram page.

“In India, you can find innovation everywhere you turn – even in making a simple cup of tea,” he writes.

Dolly Chaiwala later told news agency ANI that he was unaware that he had served tea to the tech billionaire.

“I didn't realize it at all. I thought he was a man from a foreign country and I had to serve him tea,” he said.

Sushila Meena, a 10-year-old girl from the small tribal village of Ramer Talab in 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, formerly Twitter.

The young girl's video, originally shared on Instagram by her teacher, shows her bowling in slow motion on a makeshift cricket pitch in her village.

Tendulkar shared the video, commenting that her bowling action was “smooth, effortless and beautiful to watch!” He also said that Meena has “shades” of former Indian bowler Zaheer Khan.

Han immediately agreed. Several former cricketers have come forward to help her realize her dream of playing for India.

India is celebrated as Gukesh Domaraju defeated China's Ding Liren will become the youngest world chess champion this month.

Dommaraju, 18, is four years younger than the former record holder, Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov, who was 22 when he won the title in 1985.

The Indians followed the 14-match World Cup contest with an intensity usually reserved for major cricket tournaments.

The fans started to celebrate after a mistake by Liren paved the way for Dommaraju's victory.

The teenager broke down in tears when his victory was announced and the room erupted in cheers.

The video of his tearful reaction quickly went viral on social media.

Is caramel popcorn like any other popcorn? No, says India's Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, which sets the rates at which various products are taxed.

Earlier this month, the council announced that unbranded popcorn, which is mixed with salt and spices, would be taxed at 5%, but caramel popcorn, which it categorized as sugary, would attract an 18% tax.

India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman explained that the presence of added sugar makes caramel popcorn “mithai” or confectionery, therefore attracting taxes in a different category than regular popcorn.

The decision upset Indians, sparking a number of memes and criticisms online.

“Our country's tax system has really evolved, popcorn is now the gold standard of luxury,” wrote one X user.

An Instagram influencer and celebrity known as Ori commented that caramel popcorn is bad for “financial health.”

Jairam Ramesh, a spokesman for the main opposition Congress party, said “the absurdity of three different tax slabs on popcorn under the GST … only highlights a deeper problem: the growing complexity of a system that was supposed to be a good, simple tax “.