Read more: Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed attends royal wedding virtually
Inside Dubai's St Thomas Orthodox Cathedral on Monday evening, Justin George and Jubee Vargheese joined together as husband and wife in front of 25 friends and family.
Dressed in an embellished dusty pink sari, endless lengths of delicate lace draped the bride’s petite frame.
A radiant Ms Vargheese beamed with pride as her mother and father walked her down the aisle.
Though it was not quite the day she had envisaged, it still proved to be memorable.
If not for the pandemic, the guest count would have been closer to 400. The venue would have been different too. India, not Dubai.
"We started planning our wedding in February then the coronavirus outbreak happened and things changed very quickly," she told The National.
I feel like any other bride would feel, nervous and excited
“We had scheduled a big wedding back home on August 24 but had to cancel it because of all the restrictions.
“We did think about postponing it until things settled but we decided just a few weeks ago to go ahead with a smaller ceremony in Dubai.”
As the evening peak hour traffic built outside the cathedral’s walls in Oud Metha, wedding guests gathered to welcome the bride and groom.
Clad in colourful saris and suits – from reds to purples and blues to oranges – they looked decidedly different from typical wedding crowd.
All wore a face mask and many opted for gloves. Men stood to the left and women to the right, their heads covered with the pallu, the edge of the sari.
The earnest marriage service placed an emphasis on worship over celebration.
As delicate hymns echoed throughout the cathedral and the intimate gathering got under way, the surroundings painted a stark reminder of the current pandemic.
A thermal thermometer was placed at the entrance to check those moving in and out of the building. And separate entry and exit points were clearly marked to guide guests in and out.
As the bride and groom sat before the priest during the blessing of the rings and blessing of the crowns, the entire congregation remained on their feet.
Bright yellow stickers dotted the carpet, each placed two metres apart. They reminded guests of the prevailing physical-distancing rule.
As bride and groom, Mr George and Ms Vargheese were exempt from covering their faces.
Even the priest, Father Ninan Panackamattam, sported a light blue surgical mask, though it did little to take the shine off his vibrant gold vestment, the robe worn by the clergy.
“To be very frank, I feel like any other bride would feel, nervous and excited,” Ms Vargheese said.
“The only difference is I feel a little bit worried because we have to think about everyone’s safety.
“If the plans went ahead as normal in India we would have had between 250 to 400 guests, instead we have 25 for the ceremony and 40 for a reception dinner.
“All the planning would have been arranged by an events management company in India so actually, this way it is a lot more simple and I love it.”
Typically, a ceremony like this would last up to two hours, but with strict government regulations in place the service was capped at only 30 minutes.
This month, Dubai's government declared wedding receptions of up to 200 people would be permitted, opening up the opportunity for newly weds to celebrate with a larger troop of friends and family.
While many couples in the city chose to postpone or cancel their weddings prior to the announcement because of Covid-19, Mr George and Ms Vargheese decided to go ahead with theirs.
And though their wedding preparations took a big hit, guests said the day was a jubilant affair.
“I’ve come today for my cousin’s wedding,” said Charmagne Thomas, relative of the groom.
“It has been a very unique experience for me, we’re in Covid times so here we are wearing gloves and a mask to a wedding, but different is not a bad thing.
“I feel like the happiness has been multiplied so much and I’m so happy to share in this day.”
Supporting the bride, Merin Sara, 21, and Neha Daniel, 20, wore matching pink masks to complement their vibrant outfits.
“We’ve been close friends with Jubee for many years and despite the fact we are going through a pandemic, it’s a joy to be here,” said Ms Daniel.
“To me, it honestly doesn’t feel any different apart from having to wear a mask," she said.
“Honestly, we thought we would never attend a wedding during these times so we feel blessed to be here and be able to celebrate through such a challenging time.”
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
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THE%20HOLDOVERS
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Destroyer
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Sebastian Stan
Rating: 3/5
UAE release: January 31
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The biog
Family: wife, four children, 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren
Reads: Newspapers, historical, religious books and biographies
Education: High school in Thatta, a city now in Pakistan
Regrets: Not completing college in Karachi when universities were shut down following protests by freedom fighters for the British to quit India
Happiness: Work on creative ideas, you will also need ideals to make people happy
If you go
- The nearest international airport to the start of the Chuysky Trakt is in Novosibirsk. Emirates (www.emirates.com) offer codeshare flights with S7 Airlines (www.s7.ru) via Moscow for US$5,300 (Dh19,467) return including taxes. Cheaper flights are available on Flydubai and Air Astana or Aeroflot combination, flying via Astana in Kazakhstan or Moscow. Economy class tickets are available for US$650 (Dh2,400).
- The Double Tree by Hilton in Novosibirsk ( 7 383 2230100,) has double rooms from US$60 (Dh220). You can rent cabins at camp grounds or rooms in guesthouses in the towns for around US$25 (Dh90).
- The transport Minibuses run along the Chuysky Trakt but if you want to stop for sightseeing, hire a taxi from Gorno-Altaisk for about US$100 (Dh360) a day. Take a Russian phrasebook or download a translation app. Tour companies such as Altair-Tour ( 7 383 2125115 ) offer hiking and adventure packages.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
LIGUE 1 FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Nice v Angers (9pm)
Lille v Monaco (10.45pm)
Saturday
Montpellier v Paris Saint-Germain (7pm)
Bordeaux v Guingamp (10pm)
Caen v Amiens (10pm)
Lyon v Dijon (10pm)
Metz v Troyes (10pm)
Sunday
Saint-Etienne v Rennes (5pm)
Strasbourg v Nantes (7pm)
Marseille v Toulouse (11pm)
Mobile phone packages comparison
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
