Finally, after weeks of international drama and some high-stakes diplomacy between nuclear-armed neighbors, all eyes were fixed … on the bride. She was spectacular in a gold silk wedding gown, embellished with ornate red embroidery and more than $35,000 worth of Swarovski crystals. Her raven hair was covered by an 18-foot red veil enriched with gold needlework. The jewels – pearls and diamonds as well as lots of gold in rich adornments — dazzled. Even the large golden nose ring she wore to signify the innocence of the bride, according to Muslim tradition, added high glamour to the entire ensemble.
The reason for the international tension and anticipation? The bride was Sania Mirza, 23, India’s top tennis champion while the groom was Pakistani cricket star Shoaib Malik. The week of marriage celebrations culminated in a lavish reception at a posh hotel in Hyderabad, India, on Thursday night.
Vibrant colors, sumptuous foods
Such is the way at South Asian weddings, where less is not more and the festivities — heady feasts of vibrant colors and sumptuous foods — go on for at least a week. The marriage of Mirza and Malik, both Muslim and two of South Asia’s most celebrated sports royalty, didn’t disappoint.
Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik at their lavish wedding feast.
More than 1,200 guests, including Bollywood stars, sports personalities, artists and politicians, feasted on dozens of ethnic, traditional and European specialties, including 12 different kinds of desserts.
Not that the press was there to report on it — Mirza’s parents barred coverage of the event after sensational headlines over the couple’s engagement set off a media frenzy that dominated the news in Pakistan and India for almost two weeks.
Sonia Gandhi, India’s best-known politician and leader of the ruling Congress Party, congratulated the couple and wished them a lifetime of prosperity. “May all your dreams come true,” she wrote.
Days of tradition
On Monday, at the official signing of a marriage document, called the nikah, Mirza wore the red sari that her mother wore 25 years ago for own nikah. Then on Tuesday, there was the mehendi, when the bride and 400 women, all family friends, had their hands, arms and feet painted in intricate patterns with henna, a vegetable dye, a centuries-old ritual, in preparation for the big reception.
A day later, it was the sangeet, an evening of traditional music and dance.
Srinivasan Kannan, the sports editor of the Indian Mail Today newspaper and a personal friend of Mirza, said the couple never took their eyes off one another. “They are besotted,” he said. “They kept glancing at each other and you could see the love in their eyes. It was all so romantic.”
Days of controversy
It may have been a picture of romantic harmony, but the days leading up to the wedding were steeped in controversy that threatened to derail the fragile diplomatic relations between Pakistan and India.
Another Indian woman, Ayesha Siddiqui, went to the police, claiming that Malik had married her in 2002 on the telephone after she sent him her picture — and that therefore he could not marry Mirza. The Indians seized Malik’s passport and opened a criminal investigation against him. Malik claimed he had been duped, that the girl in the photographs he had received was not the same girl he thought he was marrying. As emotions boiled over, South Asians were riveted.
Finally, Muslim clerics worked out a compromise. Malik sent the woman divorce papers so the marriage to Mirza could go ahead.
Government gifts
After the quickie divorce brought calm, officials from both countries embraced the union. Firdous Awan, Pakistan’s federal minister for Population and Welfare, attended the events and presented a gold crown to Mirza on behalf of the people of Sialkot, Malik’s home town. She also brought gifts from government of Pakistan.
“I am confident this marriage will better the peace process between our two countries,” she said. “Pakistanis will welcome Sania as one of their own.”
The celebrity couple now head for Pakistan where another round of marriage celebrations will begin on April 22.
The fairy tale continues.
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