ROOTS OF TRUE ISLAND LOVE

FAMILY and friends from across the globe flew into Bahrain to join the wedding celebrations of the daughter of one of the oldest expat Indian families to have settled on the island.

Stunning bride Natasha, 25, part of the fourth generation of the Bhatia family to call the kingdom its home, tied the knot and took her vows around the sacred fire as she married her sweetheart, Rahul Bhatia, 27, from Dubai in a grand ceremony at the Ritz Carlton Bahrain Hotel & Spa.

Wearing an olive green and maroon lehenga, designed by famous Indian designer Sabyasachi and accessorised with designer diamonds, the former St Christopher’s School and British School student, who graduated from University of Toronto, last year, said: “I am happy, excited and thrilled.
 
“I am in love and it is one of the most amazing times of my life. My father and grandfather have been very generous. Every wish of mine has been fulfilled. I couldn’t ask for more!”

The couple, now enjoying a quiet honeymoon in Bali, met nine-years ago at a wedding in India. Their love blossomed on the internet as they continued their education 14,862 kilometers apart in Australia and Canada.
 
In typical Indian-style, the couple’s parents arranged the wedding. Guests flocked from India, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, US, Italy and the neighbouring Gulf states to witness the traditional Hindu ceremony in a white and gold setting that was followed by a grand cocktail reception that witnessed the ‘who’s who of Bahrain’ congratulate the couple.

The no-expenses spared festivity was a three-day affair that had guests playing time-honoured games and singing Sindhi songs that have been sung for generations at the henna ceremony.

On the night before the nuptials, the younger Bhatias swayed to the music of DJ Jeff from Dubai and took part in choreographed dance sequences arranged by the bride’s uncle and aunt, Chetan and Deepa Bhatia at the Sangeet ceremony.

The bride’s father Viren Bhatia, managing director of Oilfield and Technical Supply Centre, who organised the event with his wife Rekha, said: “We are a family who have been here for more than 200 years. We believe that this is our country and all our friends and family are here. I couldn’t think of another place I’d rather hold this event.”
The couple also have a son, Harsh, who is at university and daughter Mrinal, who is a student of St Christopher’s School.

Rekha’s father Chatarbhuj was a trader in land and gold while Viren’s father Vasudev was a trader in cardamom and food stuff, a business started by Viren’s grandfather Khushaldas.

His college friend, Bob Thacker, whose family has also been Bahrain for more than half a century, added: “We are very happy for Natasha. We have a tinge of sadness that she is going to go away but we are not going to let it colour the celebration.”

Natasha is part of the Thattai community in Bahrain who are among the pioneers who made the Gulf region a second home. The entrepreneurs who originally hail from Thatta in Sind (now Pakistan) began trading with Arab lands in the early 1700s.

Gangaram Tikamdas was the first Thattai Bhatia to come to Bahrain in the early 1900s. The community popularly known as ‘banians’ were greatly trusted and had unofficially gained recognition as ‘treasurers to the Shaikhs’.

The strict vegetarians kept up their traditions and were financiers to the pearl traders. At one point the largest house in Manama was Beit D.I that belonged to a Thattai entrepreneur.

The present Manama temple was built by the community more than 150 years ago and they also helped set up the first Arabic school in Muharraq and the Indian School, which is the largest expatriate school in the kingdom.