Weddings, they say , are made in heaven. This one was made in the conference room of a city hospital. The groom is Md Shahnawaz Alam, who is a mechanical engineer working in Saudi Arabia's Dammam. The bride is lawyer Heyra Javed, who has been working for a Hyderabad-based legal services unit.
TOI
Their wedding was supposed to be hosted at United Palace in Beniapukur. But a day before that, medical emergency forced Heyra's family to rush her to the GD Hospital and Diabetes Institute. After a lot of tension, the qazi solemnised the wedding at the hospital in presence of 15 family members.
"There is still humanity left in this world. Heroes are not seen only in movies. My brotherin-law is a hero for us. I told him that he is like the Shahid Kapoor of 'Vivaah' who went on to marry a girl who had got burnt after the house was on fire," said the bride's cousin Nahid Shamim.
Heyra too is aware of this comparison. On Thursday, after her Ryles tube was removed, the newly-married Heyra told TOI: "I know everyone is comparing him to Shahid Kapoor from 'Vivaah'. I am both happy and sad. I am happy because the wedding finally happened on the day it was scheduled. But I am sad that it didn't happen the way it was supposed to."
On Wednesday night, 28-year-old Heyra, decked up in a red lehenga, was ta ken to the conference room in a wheelchair from Bed No. 536 of the female ward. There was an IV channel on her hand. The Ryles tube was attached as well. It was Nahid's father Shamim Hassan Khan who had brought up Heyra after she was bereaved in 2001. Heyra was a student of Pratt Memorial and then studied law in Hazra Law College. The couple had met after the families had arranged their marriage.
A few days back, Shahnawaz had flown down from Daman for the wedding to his ancestral home in Dalkhola.
TOI
Along with the 'baraat', comprising some 30-odd people, he had boarded the Kanchankanya Express to reach Kolkata on Tuesday. Heyra's haldi ceremony had got over on Monday. In the evening, she complained of extreme stomach ache and started vomiting. By Tuesday evening, the pain was unbearable and Heyra had to be hospitalised. "On Tuesday evening, she was diagnosed with intestinal obstruction. We could not discharge her on the day of her wedding because the treatment wasn't over," said Musrefa Hossain, the CEO of GD Hospital and Diabetes Institute.
Tension mounted for both families.
"In our religion, cancelling a wedding after the haldi ceremony is a bad sign.?Finally, it was decided that the wedding would happen according to the schedule. I am so thankful for the cooperation of the hospital staff. They opened the conference room, served sandesh, tea, coffee and biscuits to us too," Nahid added.
Describing her cousin's act as "heroic", she explained that it was extremely difficult for Heyra to speak since she had the Ryles tube on. "But in our custom, we have to hear the bride say 'kabool hai'thrice over for the nikaah to be solemnised. We strained our ears while didi said those words," Nahid added.
Once the nikaah was over, the bride was shifted back to her room. The groom went to the United Palace to treat the guests with mutton biryani, chicken chnab, baby naan and shahi tukda.
"The bride is still under observation.We will try a conservative treatment. If she doesn't respond, we will go for a surgery," Hossain said.