Author: Amita Verma
Publication: The Asian Age
Date: December 3, 2003
It was supposed to be a proper nikaah
ceremony but the bride refused to say "qabool" and the parents hurriedly
turned it into an engagement ceremony instead.
The bride, Qaiser Jahan, refused
to say qabool because she fell asleep during the ceremony, and that was
quite natural as she is just three months old. Her groom, Altaf, is barely
four years old.
This unique "wedding," according
to a report published in a local daily, was scheduled for Monday in Bijnor
district, but the stubborn bride forced a change of schedule and the parents
of the bridal couple had to remain content with an engagement ceremony
instead.
Qaiser Jahan, the bride, is the
daughter of Nisar Ahmad of Jandarpur village, and the father, it seems,
had promised his cousin sister, Taslima, that he would marry his first
daughter to her son. Taslima had a son, Altaf, four years ago and when
Nisar Ahmad's second wife Gulshan delivered a baby girl three months ago,
the parents instantly began preparing for the wedding without even waiting
for the kids to grow up. The baraat arrived in style at the village on
Sunday night with the groom Altaf happily sitting on his father's lap and
enjoying the attention. On Monday morning, Altaf was dressed up as a groom
and taken in a Tata Sumo to the gaily-decorated residence of his bride.
A meal comprising sheermal, steaming
hot kebabs, biryani and topped with sewain was laid out for the baraatis
and the guests who came in hundreds to witness this unique wedding.
As the baraatis savoured the food,
the maulvi began the nikaah ceremony. Altaf, who had apparently been tutored
for the event, accepted the nikaah but when the maulvi went to seek Qaiser
Jahan's assent for the wedding and asked her to say qabool, there was no
response. The maulvi repeated his question but again he was greeted with
silence. Qaiser Jahan had fallen asleep by then.
The maulvi then advised the parents
of the bridal couple to convert the event into an engagement ceremony and
wait for the bride to grow up enough to be able to utter the word "qabool."
Though the baraat returned after
the engagement, the bride continued to sleep through the day. Festivities
in both households, however, continued and the "wedding" is now expected
to take place sometime in summer when Qaiser will be older by a few more
months.
While the whole of Jandarpur village
participated in the event, the local administration feigns complete ignorance
about this infant wedding. "We have no such information, so there is no
question of our taking any action," said a police official and banged down
the telephone on Tuesday.