By Irfan Mohammed
Jeddah: Sobbing and getting emotional for the bride on the wedding day is something common and, in fact, one can’t imagine the Indian marriage without the bride crying. However, the groom bursting into tears and crying on his wedding is a rare scene.
Mohammed Imad Ali, hailing from Santoshnagar in Hyderabad and working in Jeddah, was out of control when he suddenly started bursting into tears as he began to speak with his father Mohammed Ahmed Ali Shakeel in Hyderabad over the video call immediately after his Nikah.
The scene of a young Hyderabadi NRI engineer, donning a golden colour embroidered sherwani with tears in eyes during his marriage on Thursday, was an emotional moment.
A year ago, when the world was yet to hear about COVID-19, Shakeel had begun preparations for a big fat wedding for his NRI son in Jeddah city, where many of his relatives are living. The marriage was scheduled in March last year. Imad Ali obtained visiting visas for his parents and they were reportedly scheduled to fly to Saudi Arabia, but before their trip, a lockdown was imposed.
But, in a matter of a week, things changed so much. Their plans of tying the knot hopelessly tangled in a pandemic that showed no signs of abating and the wedding was postponed.
In post lockdown, the groom’s parents were unable to come to Saudi Arabia and neither was the groom able to travel home owing to various reasons.
Finally, both families decided to conduct the wedding without the presence of the groom’s parents.
The maternal uncle of the groom, Syed Kaleemuddin, who works in a travel support industry, performed wedding ceremonial rites in the absence of the groom’s father.