In another dramatic turn, tennis star Sania Mirza married Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik at a five-star hotel around 1 pm as per Muslim customs on April 12, ahead of the earlier announced date of April 15. Sania-Shoaib's hi-profile wedding is the latest buzz in both India and Pakistan. After plethora of debates, finally, the wedding bells rang in Hyderabad.
Sania, wearing her mother's red wedding saree, emerged from her Jubille Hills bungalow an hour before the wedding, and got into a black Mercedes, with mediapersons falling over each other to take a shot. She was accompanied by her sister Anam, parents Naseem and Imran and friend and Bollywood actress Rakshanda Khan. The convoy reached hotel Taj Deccan which is opposite Taj Krishna, and Sania was taken through an underground passage to the venue. The nikah was performed in the presence of a select gathering comprising only the family members and friends of the newly-wed couple.
The reason why this marriage took place prior to its scheduled time is believed to be the protests by some NGOs and other political parties, who didn't breathe easy since the time Sania-Shoaib wedding news was in the air.
A Sunni Ulema board had issued a fatwa on April 11, raising objection against the proximity of the yet-to-be-married Sania with Shoaib as the groom was staying in the Mirza's home in Hyderabad. However, the families steered clear of possible legal hurdles before going ahead with the ceremony by seeking necessary counsel.
All papers were in place before the arrival of the bride and groom, and the ceremony was over within five minutes. The Qutbah was read by the head Qazi. Shoaib agreed to Rs 61 lakh as meher amount to Sania at the time of the nikaah.
The marriage ceremony was a very simple affair. Sania's family members and Shoaib's close relatives, including his sisters and brothers-in-law, attended the function. Some of the basic rites and rituals that are performed prior to the nikaah like mehendi and sangeet ceremony could not take place because of the constant threats that both the families were facing. However, there is no ritual of mehendi among Muslims but some families have started having it in the last few years.
The Sania-Shoiab marriage is not less than a bollywood flick with so many twists and turns ending with a happily married tag. Bollywood could have scripted this, sporting superstars in love, getting married across the Indo-Pak border. A wedding in Hyderabad, a reception in Lahore, a home in Dubai, a great story indeed.
—Anubha K.Singh
No comments:
Post a Comment