Seventieth marriage anniversary of industrialist B.K. Birla and Sarala Birla, on Monday could have been a quiet private affair. But Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development, led by their daughter-in-law, Rajashree Birla, wanted it to be different.

So, 71 couples from Hindalco's Renukut plant's CSR coverage area in eastern Uttar Pradesh were brought here and married off in a dowry-free “mass” function on Monday in the presence of the senior Birla couple. The function was part of a three-day celebration for which the whole Birla clan flocked to the city, where the nonagenarian stubbornly dug in. His grand son, Kumar Mangalam Birla, was seen in all events, except for the board meeting of Kesoram Industries on Saturday morning.

Expectations were in the air that the family patriarch would formally hand over the baton to Kumar Mangalam Birla of the Century Textiles & Industries and induct him to Kesoram Industries' board of directors at the private gathering on the weekend. But there was no official announcement.

Kumar Mangalam Birla politely declined to comment on the subject. “Some other day, please”, was his response to a Business Line query on Monday.

Two years ago at the Kesoram's 90th AGM, B.K. Birla had said: “I made my succession plan and got the final approval of my family members a month ago. Though I want to retire at 90, my grandson Kumar has asked me to continue managing the group as long as I am fit to do so.”

On occasions, Kumar Mangalam Birla chaired the AGMs of Century Textiles. Kumar Mangalam is on the board of Century Textiles, but still has not stepped into the boardroom of Kesoram. Other outfits of the BK Birla group have been seeing a gradual change of hands among kith and kin.

> jayanta_mallick@thehindu.co.in

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