Engagement!

There have been lots of weddings and pre-wedding parties to attend recently so it's been pretty hectic. Of particular note, all of our friends crew attended Nasif's wedding in Leicester and mashaAllah it was absolutely amazing! Not to mention kinda weird to think that he's all settled down now. There was also this Kashmiri wedding we went to which had a chocolate fountain and the standard lapses in segregation, although surprisingly infrequent. For entertainment, two aunties forced all the Kashmiris in the room to go to the front and freak out the rest of the guests with our traditional wailing singing. I actually had a good time though. Oh and there was that other wedding where there was a magician!

However, the most exciting of them all was my cousin's engagement in Oxford last Saturday. Completely last minute and on the same day as Salman's sister's wedding, family obviously came first :) Not only did Isra look absolutely stunning, but the day itself was truly magical. There was family, cake, food, phenomenal singing, gifts, kebabs, more cake, a kathak dance and lots of chilling. Isra's fiance and in-laws are a truly inspiring bunch: so humble and loving and just darn nice people through and through. I feel honoured to now also be a part of their family :)

Aside from the engagement, as Isra's sister, Rua was staying in the UK for another week, I got to spend more time with them both. We traipsed Oxford, looked at quills worthy of Rita Skeeter, had scones and high tea and also trawled through Camden Market, ogling at the food stalls. At the end of it all, what really sticks is that God has given us a gift we often don't appreciate enough: our family. And I don't just mean the standard mum, dad, siblings kinda thing, but our cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and those elusive third cousins twice removed relatives as well. Nothing can ever replace those bonds that are forged first from blood and then from love and friendship, and I'm eternally grateful for all of mine :)

Added Note (31.07.2011)

Another cousin got engaged today in Kashmir :)