It’s been a week of proposals so sparkly they could cause temporary blindness. While Cristiano Ronaldo’s $5 million ring to Georgina Rodríguez had the internet gasping louder than a penalty shootout, back in Mumbai, Arjun Tendulkar was quietly rewriting the playbook for celebrity engagements. The 25-year-old son of cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar sealed the deal with Saaniya Chandhok, heiress to an ice cream empire and proud LSE alum
The private ceremony was all hush-hush, no drones, no choreographed camel entrances, just a close-knit guest list who now have bragging rights for life. But behind the simplicity lies a union that bridges stadium roars with hotel lobbies, IPL wickets with vanilla cones. And if you thought this was just another celebrity romance, think again, this is the kind of alliance that makes both Page 3 and business sections salivate. Here’s how cricket’s next-gen bowler and hospitality’s heiress are rewriting India’s social calendar.
The scoop on Saaniya Chandhok: Heiress, Entrepreneur and Pet Whisperer
If you think Saaniya Chandhok is just another high-society socialite waiting for wedding hashtags, think again, she’s a businesswoman who can discuss balance sheets while holding a golden retriever in one arm and a tub of artisanal gelato in the other. As the granddaughter of Ravi Ghai, chairman of the Graviss Group, she hails from the family that gave India Kwality ice cream, The Brooklyn Creamery, and the InterContinental Hotel on Marine Drive.
But instead of simply leaning on the family name, Saaniya graduated from the London School of Economics and earned a Veterinary Technician diploma from the Worldwide Veterinary Service in 2024. She then founded Mr. Paws Pet Spa & Store LLP in Mumbai, creating a boutique pet-care brand that’s as stylish as a Milan runway for poodles. Her Instagram may be private, but her résumé is basically public evidence that she’s as comfortable in a boardroom as she is in a dog park. In short, she’s a blend of legacy and hustle, the perfect match for someone whose own surname is shorthand for cricketing greatness.
Arjun Tendulkar: The bowler who can deliver on and off the pitch
While Arjun’s last name ensures the spotlight is never far away, he’s been steadily building a cricket career that isn’t just a footnote in Sachin Tendulkar’s Wikipedia page. A left-arm medium-pace bowler who plays for Goa in domestic cricket, Arjun made headlines by scoring a century on his Ranji Trophy debut – a rare feat for a bowler and a nice way of telling critics, ‘I can bat too,’
His IPL stint with the Mumbai Indians began in 2021, and though his game time has been limited, he still took his first IPL wicket against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2023. Beyond cricket, his net worth sits around ₹22 crore, with IPL contracts and domestic cricket earnings stacking up alongside brand associations. Yet, for all his sporting pedigree, Arjun has managed to keep his personal life low-key, until now. The engagement marks his most public non-cricket ‘delivery’ yet, and it’s safe to say he’s bowled a maiden over.
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The private celebration in a public world
In an era where celebrity couples treat Instagram like a wedding planner, Arjun and Saaniya’s engagement was refreshingly low-key. No sponsored hashtags, no drone shots over cliffside proposals, no ‘exclusive’ pre-wedding shoots leaked to lifestyle portals. The function took place in Mumbai, shielded from paparazzi, with just family and closest friends.
Even their social media reflects the same, Saaniya’s Instagram is private, followed by only 805 people, including Arjun and his sister Sara Tendulkar. It’s almost countercultural for two people from such prominent families to keep things so contained. But perhaps that’s the charm, when the rest of the world is playing to the gallery, these two seem content to stay in the dressing room, planning their innings quietly. The restraint not only speaks to their personalities but also sets a precedent for how high-profile unions can be celebrated without becoming a public circus.
A match made in Mumbai with global footnotes
While the engagement was rooted firmly in Mumbai tradition, the couple’s paths have always been international in flavor. Arjun’s cricketing commitments take him across India’s cricket map, while Saaniya’s education, London School of Economics and a diploma from Worldwide Veterinary Service in 2024n adds a global polish. Their families, too, have footprints beyond Indian shores, from Graviss Group’s overseas ventures to the worldwide fanbase that still follows every Tendulkar headline.
Theirs is a Mumbai story in spirit, but with threads running through cricket grounds in Goa, hospitality conferences in London, and maybe even ice cream parlors in New York. If Ronaldo and Georgina’s romance is about spectacle, Arjun and Saaniya’s is about substance, a quieter, steadier, but equally fascinating blend of ambition, heritage, and yes, just enough sweetness to keep everyone watching.
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