Wedding invitation cards these days aren't the same, they used to be in the past. People take a whole lot of time to decide the design, pattern and colours of the card. Now, everyone wants an unique and innovative wedding card in comparison to others and they go from eco-friendly cards to cards containing seed from which you can grow saplings. Then, there are personalized cards with luxury chocolates, dry fruits, card in the form of Aadhar card, document or a match box shaped card. The list is long.
Have you ever come across a wedding card of your parents? Most of us, must have not and to think of having a look at the grandparents wedding card seems impossible.
Recently, an 89-year-old wedding invitation card, written in Urdu, is doing rounds on the internet. Users are surprised to note the intricacies mentioned in the card. The wedding card was shared by a Twitter user Sonal Battla on her Twitter account. She captioned the post as, "My grandparents' wedding invitation circa #1933 #Delhi."
In the picture shared, the wedding invitation card is a coffee-brown shaded card in Urdu. The letter is an invite for a son's wedding scheduled on April 23, 1933.
The card translates to, "I praise and pay gratitude to Prophet Muhammad. Respected Sir, Peace be upon You I am thankful to Almighty Allah for this blessed time. Wedding of my son, Hafiz Muhammad Yousaf is scheduled on 23 April 1933/27 Zil-Hajj 1351 on Sunday.
It is also mentioned that the bride's house is located in Kishan Ganj. "I invite you to come to my house situated at Street Qasim Jaan, and then accompany us to the house of Bride situated in Kishan Ganj Locality, to become part of Nikkah (Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad) and eat a meal. Walima is on 24 April 1933 / 28 Zil-Hajj 1351. Come to my house at 10 am and become part of Walima and make me thankful to you."
The father of the groom, also adds that he will appreciate punctuality. "Barat will start its journey sharp at 11:30 am. Your punctuality will make me comfortable."
Writer of the invitation: Muhammad Ibrahim Hafiz Shahaab-ud-Din Muhammad Ibrahim; Place: Delhi.
Look at the wedding invitation card from 1933 below:
Since being shared, the card has got 556.5k views and over 7k likes. It has also gathered many comments from the Twitter users.
One user said, "The Urdu is so beautiful!"
A second person appreciated the letter but also pointed out that the name of the bride was missing. "So beautifully written! Probably someone would go around the gullies with a register and the RSVP would be the letter suad written by the invitee in the register. The name of the bride is missing from the invitation."
"Very informative card of last century. Look how beautifully wrote with Khat-e-Nastaleeque (Urdu calligraphy style) with blend of modest words . Thanks for sharing and salute for preservation of that lost treasure of our past identity." said the third user.
Another one said, "Wow. Such an antique piece of family heritage and a proof of how the times have changed."
