Sania Mirza and Mohammad Sohrab Mirza at their engagement in Hyderabad on Friday.
Sohrab will offer Sania a Rs 10 lakh diamond ring and other jewellry, family sources said. This is in addition to 11 different dresses, including a traditional pink and golden Hyderabadi Lacha, the groom's family will bring along.
The ceremony, to be attended by 300 close relatives and family friends from both the sides, will be held at a five-star hotel amid elaborate security.
A blend of elegance and Hyderabadi warmth marked the formal engagement of tennis star Sania Mirza with Mohammad Sohrab Mirza at a five-star hotel here on Friday night.
Ms. Mirza’s family had every reason to be proud of the momentous occasion. The two families had known each other for several decades; both hail from Hyderabad but are not related despite having the same family name.
Ms. Mirza’s father, Imran Mirza, clarified that the alliance was not fixed by the two maternal grandmothers, as was being speculated.
The families also insisted that the wedding is not scheduled to be held in the near future, as Ms. Mirza is not contemplating quitting her sport now.
It was one of very few occasions in the city that evoked considerable excitement.
The ceremony itself, however, was an extremely private affair attended by close family friends and relatives. Mr. Imran Mirza had already made it clear that he did not want the ceremony to be publicised by the media.
“This is purely a family affair. Please try to understand our feelings and give us some privacy. Sania herself has requested that there should not be a wide publicity for the event,” he told media persons thronging their residence in Banjara Hills from the morning. Later in the evening, invitees struggled to enter the venue as hordes of journalists waited to catch a glimpse of the VVIPs arriving to attend the 8 p.m. function.
The big names who have lined up for the simple but impressive function where Sania and Sohrab exchanged rings and shared a piece of cake, chocolate and bread included Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna, well-known television artiste Rakshananda Khan, Telugu film star Manchu Vishnu, Congress MLA Daggubati Venkateshwara Rao and former Test cricketer Arshad Ayub.
