First calm, then joy at the Mirza abode

HYDERABAD: Muslim households in the City were agog even before the break of dawn on Friday for Id-ul-Zuha celebrations. Mohd Shaffi''s abode in the Banjara Hills, however, was unusually calm. None stepped out and they hardly had any visitor.
But by the time people started returning from early morning prayers, Shaffi''s house resembled a movie studio with a caravan of outdoor broadcast vans parked outside and a bunch of camera crews swarming all over the place.The Shaffis — Mohammed and Hamida and their kids — were watching their niece Sania Mirza play Serena Williams. Also present were Sania''s sister Anam and grandmother Aiyesha Bai.
Shaffi''s house was overflowing with hope as the family sat glued to the TV as Sania played the biggest match of her life at Melbourne Park. While Shaffi''s little kids looked amused with the unexpected spotlight, the elders sat motionless with a prayer on their lips and hope in their hearts. For the local channels and a few national networks, it was an event worth taking live to the living rooms of millions of tennis fans in the country. They captured every moment and emotion that Sania''s kith expressed and the world was watching.
That the first fifteen minutes were quite painful for the family could be gauged from the hush that prevailed. At that moment, it felt as though the Shaffis and Anam would have been happier with a little privacy. But when Sania lifted her game and held serve in the sixth game, Anam let go a sigh of relief, the Shaffis broke into a smile and cheered as the shutterbugs got to work. The spirits rose quite high when Sania got her act together in the second set. "I hope my sister wins," Anam began to dream. But she was quick to add "If she loses it''s okay. It''s only her first big match."