Shoaib-Sania wedding: Nikah Ceremony and Family Affairs!

HYDERABAD: The Mirza family threw their weight behind Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik, who was embroiled in controversial divorce proceedings with another Hyderabadi, but by the end of Monday evening, it was clear that they were both stronger and wiser for the experience.

While Sania has turned to designer siblings Shantanu and Nikhil for her clothes for the April 15 reception in Hyderabad, and the one to follow in Pakistan, she had always wanted to wear her mother’s wedding sari for her own nikah. She made that decision the moment she first laid eyes on Nasima’s sari as a teenager. Nasima had only worn the sari once, on her own wedding day, and then had locked it away until she pulled it out for her first born.

Sania’s nikah, which had a gathering of less than 100 people, including the groom’s immediate family —- mother Sultana Malik, three sisters and their families and younger brother — was held at the Taj Krishna grand ballroom. There were separate stages for the bride and groom, with a partition running down the giant hallway. The stages were done in traditional Hyderabadi fashion. Chunky pillars lined the regal, gold-edged backdrop, which had floral decorations of roses, carnations and lilies running down the panels. The cuisine was essentially Hyderabadi too, from the biryani down to the jalebis.

As the hour-long ceremony came to a close, and photographers went into overdrive, the guests settled down to a round of refreshments. The tension of the last few days, was replaced by relief and joy, which slowly gave away to tears. As Nasima and Imran gave away their daughter to her husband’s family, they could do little to hide their tears. The Mirzas are many things, but essentially they are a family that has stood together through sunshine and storm.