FIVE HUNDRED guests are expected to attend the wedding reception of a Bahrain-born national cricketer and his blushing bride, the great-granddaughter of a former Indian Prime Minister, on Thursday.
David Mathias will tie the knot with Kalyani Desai, the great-granddaughter of former Indian Prime Minister Morarji Desai, at the Gulf Hotel Bahrain Convention and Spa during a three-day grand celebration.
“Our family has a long history in Bahrain, and there are a lot of memories and good moments attached to Bahrain – it’s home for us, so we really wanted to have the wedding here,” the groom-to-be told the GDN.
“We wanted to have close friends and family in attendance so a destination wedding was ideal and since Bahrain is rising on that list of sought-after locations and is also home – it all just made sense.”
Global cricket celebrities are expected to attend the lavish festivities, including Indian national team vice-captain Kannaur Lokesh Rahul as well as cricketer Robin Uthappa, who has previously represented India on the international stage.
Thrills
In addition to the wedding festivities, guests will also get to enjoy extreme off-road biking thrills near the Bahrain International Circuit and a sight-seeing tour around the kingdom.
The Hindu-Christian wedding has rituals lined up until Thursday for guests and family.
The official ceremonies kick off this evening with a family-only musical celebration, colloquially called ‘Sangeet’ in India at the Gulf Hotel.
Tomorrow evening, a ‘Roce and Haldi’ ceremony will take place for family at the Wyndham Grand.
Roce is a traditional pre-wedding Indian Roman Catholic ritual, during which the bride and groom are anointed with coconut oil and coconut milk before being bathed in hot water.
Haldi is a Hindu pre-wedding ceremony, during which a paste of turmeric, oil and water is applied to the bride and groom.
The combined ceremonies will bring together the two families in anticipation of the big day.
The nuptials for the happy couple will take place on Thursday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia and will be officiated by Father Saji Thomas.
This will be followed by a reception for both friends and family at the Gulf Hotel in the evening, as they celebrate the union of Mr Mathias, 31, and Ms Desai, 30.
The young couple met two years ago through a mutual friend, at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Certain parts of life were deeply impacted but it gave us an opportunity to talk a lot more over the phone,” Mr Mathias added.
At some point in the ensuing year-and-a-half, they fell in love – with some help from Mr Mathias’ cooking skills.
“I loved David’s appreciation for the small things in life and his family – and he also cooks some really good food,” Ms Desai added. “In particular, his grilled prawns’ salad with avocado mash on the side is absolutely fantastic!”
Along with the two falling for each other, Ms Desai also fell in love with Bahrain, and the couple intend to split their time between Bahrain and the Indian city of Bangalore, after exchanging vows as they jointly run a business start-up venture called Lifegate Pharmaceuticals and Wellness.
The two got engaged in Bangalore late last year and were supposed to get married in March but pandemic issues delayed it for another three months.
And, now two years and a pandemic after they first set eyes on each other, the couple is set to tie the knot – news that promises a bright future not just for the two families but Bahrain’s recovering wedding sector as well.
naman@gulfweekly.com
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