Faizan graduated a few years before her and joined his father in their real estate business. Diyana was preparing for a career in journalism when the pandemic struck. During a holiday in Srinagar, as travel restrictions began to ease, Faizan’s sister took the opportunity to play matchmaker. Their similar backgrounds led to a swift connection, and a two-year engagement followed. Though initially considering Lake Como, the couple chose Srinagar to accommodate Diyana’s ailing grandmother.
“Sailing down the Dal in that shikara, I realised I got my Lake Como experience but in a far prettier setting,” Diyana confesses, her eyes sparkling with laughter. The following day, in the cool banquet room of the hotel, women gather in their wedding finery, anticipating the bride’s arrival after completing the Aab Sherun, or ‘water ceremony,’ a cleansing ritual where the bride is bathed in saffron and rose-infused water. It’s an intimate, emotional moment of maternal blessings, where the women of the family prepare the bride for her new life.
As we wait, Diyana enters the room accompanied by her mother and aunts. Dressed in an emerald green and gold tilla pheran, an amethyst purple dupatta draped loosely over her head, she looks radiating even despite the absence of makeup. But her red-rimmed eyes betray recent tears. Her mother Fauzia, blue-grey eyes glistening, guides her to a table at the centre of the room.
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Diyana reads from the Quran and offers her hands up in prayer to seek blessings, the elder women surround her, singing traditional love songs and offering marital advice. The atmosphere is both solemn and joyous.
Typically, Kashmiri Muslim weddings are small, communal affairs hosted at home, where families gather in multi-story houses with intricately carved wooden interiors. Men assemble on one floor, women on another, enjoying elaborate meals served by family members at a leisurely pace that can stretch over hours. Diyana and Faizan’s wedding, however, is a blend of modern and traditional. While locals fill the guest list, there are also many friends and family members who have flown in from Delhi and Mumbai. Accommodating 600 people at home was impossible, so the Khanyari family decided to host some functions at the Vivanta, which belongs to the bride’s khala (aunt).
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