MUMBAI: When you are a hundred years old, you don’t want to postpone anything, especially your own wedding. Faced with compulsory self-isolation, centenarian film-maker and former BBC journalist Yavar Abbas of London married activist-writer Noor Zaheer , sister of theatre personality Nadira Babbar , 10 days before their scheduled ceremony in London.Matters came to a head when the UK government asked its citizens over 70 to get ready for self-isolation in the wake of the rampaging novel coronavirus . Abbas, who as a British Army photographer had covered World War II in Burma and was present when the Japanese surrendered, and his partner Zaheer, 60, freaked as they had planned the wedding for March 27. When the marriage registration office told them that they couldn’t register marriage during the “self-isolation period”, which could last over a month, they registered it on March 17.“The registration office gave two choices if wanted to get it done before the isolation period began: either one hour from the time we called them or the next morning. We chose the next morning as our witness couldn’t have reached at such a short notice,” said Abbas on phone from London. “We couldn’t have waited for this virus to go away and decided to marry and isolate ourselves at our home. We are spending quality time together.”Born at Charkhari in UP, Abbas studied at Lucknow and Allahabad before turning photographer. After the war, he went to the UK and joined BBC Urdu service; later he became a filmmaker. Delhi’s feisty Zaheer, the youngest of the four daughters of famous progressive Urdu writers and intellectuals Sajjad Zaheer and Razia, stole the heart of Abbas, a widower, with her activism and writings.So what propelled a 100 year old to marry? “The primary motive is love. Age doesn’t stop you when you want to love someone,” explained Abbas, who has lived a fairly adventurous life. During his last visit to Mumbai, he had told TOI how he, along with a friend, had driven all the way to India from England in a car.So for how long they have been courting? “I first met Noor in Allahabad around 12 years ago but in the last one year or so, we have been very close. We didn’t want to live as lovers all life and wanted to spend the rest of our lives as husband-wife,” he said.Zaheer told TOI that her first concern after getting married is to get a spouse visa. “I am very happy for her. If they want, I will hold a reception in Mumbai when they are here next time,” said Nadira.Abbas’s niece (brother’s daughter) Shahla is married to Akhtar Rangoonwala , an executive chairman at Anjuman-I-Islam. “We are very happy for Yavar uncle. Given the positive person he is, we are not surprised that he has married at 100,” said Rangoonwala.A card-carrying communist and former president of Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), Zaheer has several books to her credit, including “My God is a Woman” and “Denied by Allah”. Currently, the newly-married couple is maintaining “social distancing” at their London home.