A Colorful Rishta Success Story - Saba Ali & Mehmood Altaf

My parents were very worried about my Rishta. With color being a big thing in our society, Rishta in Pakistan was a dream for me and my family. From my cousins to suitors, everyone avoided my Rishta. I was going through the toughest period of my life. I was worried for my aging parents who wanted to get me married and it was not easy because of my color. I remember being called “sanwli” or “kali” by some mothers who had visited to see me. All my degrees and a well-paying corporate job were useless because the color was the biggest acceptance people needed. It was then that I decided to stop my search and put an end to this humiliation for not just me but also my parents whose faces were sad and at a loss of hope all the time. I felt terrible and defeated. Society had defeated me by its norms and I could not do anything to change that. All the Rishta aunties who visited my mother always shook their heads when my name was mentioned. Depressed, my parents stopped the search to get some break from the regular degradation of their daughter. My life started to become normal but at the back of my head, I knew I was ignoring Shadi. My mother would often get a phone call from someone interested and jump out of happiness but I started to reject all the proposals, not because I did not want to marry but because of the problems I had seen earlier. So, I kept myself busy with work and a bit of social media. One fine evening, as I scrolled the newsfeed on Facebook and my eyes caught a matrimonial group on the screen. It offered Rishtas throughout Pakistan and also had some Rishtas from overseas. I am not a big fan of marriage bureaus but this one seemed genuine with real people posting their Rishtas and not just Rishta aunties competing for grooms and brides. Deep down, I knew there was no chance but I joined anyway. I kept checking the Rishtas that were regularly updated in the group. There were many girls with similar problems and I felt a ray of hope pass through me. All these Rishtas were of girls facing the same problems I had for years. But I waited before I would post something. It was not easy for someone like me to post myself on social media. In-person, I was ridiculed and was scared to be bullied online. Regularly, I would just scroll through the Rishta and try to convince myself for a post but my courage would dry in the middle. Once scrolling through the group, I found a matchmaker who was an admin posting a Rishta on behalf of someone. That was it, this admin would help me. So, I messaged him and explained the entire story. He consoled me and assured me to not worry. With his help, I signed up on Pakistani Rishtey’s website and my profile was live. The matchmaker told me to just wait and I did just that. A week passed by and I could just see profile views but no interactions. It was Wednesday of the next week when I got a message from a profile. It was a mother in search of a Rishta. I warned her of my color and she just laughed it off. She seemed like a nice lady and our conversation continued for some days. We exchanged our numbers and our matchmaker arranged a meeting with the family. When I told my mother and father about this, they were overjoyed but hesitant. As we prepared to welcome the Rishta seekers into our home, we all grew nervous. When their family arrived, I could see a well-kept lady, the one I talked to on the phone. She was accompanied by a fair-looking man who had a friendly face. After the greetings, I went inside to get chai while my parents talked. They had tea and the mother asked very few questions because she already knew a lot about me from the profile on the website. They left with positive feedback. It was the first time someone had come and not left with a rude face. My parents' faces shone brighter than anything that day. Two days later, my mother received a phone call from the lady. They wanted to fix dates. I remember my father’s proud face that day. As I enter into the third year of my happy marriage, I still look back and thank Pakistani Rishtey for making it happen for me. I would never have gotten a traditional family like this nor a loving and respectful husband. My mother and father are nana and Nani now and we are all a close-knitted family. Thank you Pakistani Rishtey!