IAS topper Tina Dabi and runner-up Athar Khan tie knot in Pahalgam

Srinagar: It was done in accordance with the law of love and strictly as per the local traditions in the best Kashmiri ambience.

Tina Dabi, the 2015 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) topper, and second-ranker Athar Amir Khan, along with their close relations and friends, relocated to Pahalgam, the Valley’s premier resort about 90-km south of summer capital Srinagar, at the weekend to tie the nuptial knot.

Athar is a Kashmiri Muslim from Devipora village of Anantnag district’s Mattan area and Dabi is a dalit girl from Delhi. After passing the UPSC examination with flying colours, Athar had opted for his home state cadre and Dabi for Haryana, but both got Rajasthan cadre of the IAS.

For them it was “love at first sight” when they had met at the department of personnel and training (DoPT) office in Delhi during the 2016 felicitation ceremony. They soon decided to become life partners.

“He informed us about it and I told him your joy is our joy and your decision is our strength,” said Mohammad Shafi Khan, father of the groom. His wife and Athar’s mother Tahira Khan added, “I knew it for sure that his choice can never be wrong.”

The wedding took place in typical Kashmiri style during which the Valley’s distinct rituals and traditions were followed and the guests who had come from different parts of the Valley, Delhi and Rajasthan were served Wazwan, the rich Kashmiri cuisine, fresh and dry fruits and pastry and other expensive bakery.

Taking the eating choice of some of the non-local invitees into consideration, vegetarian food with touch of Kashmir was also made available, said a family friend. The invitation cards for the wedding feast were issued by Athar’s grandparents Ghulam Ahmed Khan and Zaina Begum.  

Wanwun, the traditional Kashmiri folk songs, were sung by local ladies throughout the ceremony which started at Athar’s home at Devipora days ahead of the main ritual held at Pahalgam.

When the news about the wedding ceremony was broken to the outside world by a local journalist through Twitter, it evoked mixed reaction from people across the country. While a large number of people congratulated the couple, many chose to criticise them mainly because they come from different religious backgrounds.