Mumbai :  A 20-year-old girl Ameena Ahmed Shaikh  married  a 2-feet tall bridgeroom  Arif Ibrahim tambe, age 32, at a wedding  ceremony in Govandi near Thane on August 31.

Ameena lives in Govandi, while Arif Tambe living in Thane.  Ameena Shaikh said it was love at first sight for her.

Ameena clarified that the marriage was not out of compassion, nor was it a forced marriage. It was a conscious decision, she said.

Ameena Shaikh  first saw Tambe at his shop in a Thane market.

“Four months ago, I had gone to his shop to get some songs copied onto my mobile’s memory card. I was bowled over at first sight. Tambe was busy with his work and didn’t give me a second glance. I had heard of him from my brother-in-law who would often escort him in an autorickshaw. I decided to marry him then and there,” Ameena said, shyly.

The nikaah was  solemnized at a mosque here, followed by a wedding reception for friends and relatives. Ameena wore a  glitzy sharara, while the bridegroom wore a tailored sherwani.

Tambe owns a shop in the market. While he is mainly into online railway ticket booking, Tambe is also said to be good with cellphones and memory cards. He is the older of two brothers in his family.

“I am confident that he will take good care of me. He is self-employed and earns for himself and his family, which makes him very special,” Ameena Shaikh told.

For the girl’s family, the announcement came as a pleasant surprise. “They were initially shocked, but I assured them that he would be the right choice. As my brother-in-law knows the Tambe family, he initiated the talks,” Ameena Shaikh  said.