page 551...

.....bi jan was highly  impressed by saliqa and her system  of working,   she was delighted  to  know her and feel  blessed to  have  her married into her family,  saliqa had made changes  in the house  management  and brought  a quality  to their  plain ordinary  lifestyle,  when bi jan was informed  saliqa  was engaged to her first cousin  who was not suited  and the marriage was called off , her younger sister was getting married,  mother  was authentic  and died of shock of  her broken  engagement,   now  just father and daughter  will  be left    bi jan raised her hands  towards the heavens  and showed gratitude  for  giving her such a wonderful  news  , now  it was time  to arrange  this   matrimonial  alliance,  

Appeared on the scene  right then  saliqa holding  sugar free cake  she had  baked and  walnut tea, , ginger tea, lemon tea, cinnamon  tea, herbal tea,  saffron tea,  kashmiri tea  , green tea  and others were  heard of but this  walnut tea was quite different , ibrahim snatched  the  tea from  the tray of bi jan and sipping it appreciatively commented  it was perfect and unusual combination  that must be  included in hotels,  saliqa  explained  him it was her own recipe 

Got my  water tank  replaced  was  leaky 

page 59....

.....so saliqa dusted her imainary  collars,  tge man was impressed by ger  skills,  she was to reach the address  next day  four  to take interviews and judge  the  candidates,  the phone number  gad no office  , perhaps  the office  was  at   home  , she  must  prepare  for tomorrow 

She asked jugnu if she  must go all alone  there,  she pleaded  but  jugnu was adamant  and refused to  accompany her, in fact she suggested  saliqa  should invite the entire neighborhood  and reach there surrounded with them all

Jugnu was not at all interested in interior decorations  and cooking   , what a waste of time 

Jugnu admired  saliqa honestly for looking  so good  in white net long shirt, green veil , powdered face, light lipstick  , black long braid swinging  at the back,  suddenly jugnu exclaimed  looking at the bracelet  saliqa  wore on her wrist,  it was made from  the  piece of fabric  torn  out from jugnu  s dress and jugnu s red bead ear danglers were decorated on saliqa s shoes

page 57....

..... jugnu  was getting  married,  her wedding day was nearing,   the groom  and his family were  too good,  she was engaged  just a few  months ago,, all her fears were  wiped  away   when she met  abbas Ahmed,   , the scare sheheryar  gave them both sisters,   she  again  began  trusting  people,  though  saliqa  still  avoided  attending  any functions  nor dishes mix  with  others, she  had decided  not  to  marry,  never  get married was her motto  adamantly  she  stuck to, , ammi was dead , khala  sometimes  visited  them  to enquire  after their well being,  her eyes remained lowered before  them, , she  was  ashamed  and  felt guilty  her son's  decision  was the  reason  for ammi, s death,  she  would  see  saliqa and jugnu  s sadness  on their faces and  that made her sorrowful  too, sheheryar,  s wife was rude  and  ill treated  khala  and  misbehaved  with  kids, the wife  was not practical  and lived  in America  mostly  , khala  shared her  sadness   secretly with noora, khala was left alone,  her sister  died  because sheheryar  refused to  marry saliqa,  shazya was   rude  and khala   knew  saliqa  and jugnu  blamed  sheheryar  for  ammi, s death,  he was guilty,  , every blessing denied is a curse,  shazya neglected her wifely duties,  as a mother  she was  a failure,  as a daughter in law  a  flop 

page 55....

.....ammi confronted saliqa saying  khala  was   telling her  sheheryar refused to  marry her, 8f there had been some   argument between them she should have  discussed  the matter  with  ammi and  elders to resolve it , ammi  was getting  breathless with tension and stress,   she was authentic 

Jugnu  explained  khala was right  , sheheryar had decided to not marry saliqa  and break up the  engagement,  ammi  screamed  how  can  anyone  refuse  saliqa,  what a nice person she was and they  had all they needed,  she collapsed onto her  cot, 

Jugnu   was terrified  to see ammi paling,  her face  drained of all color,  she  tried to convince her  it  didn't matter  if sheheryar  rejected  saliqa  there were  hundreds  of better suited  groom's  ready to marry  saliqa  , praising saliqa for her  courteous  caring  manner  , both were aware  it wasn't true   or why should  sheheryar  break  up 

page 55....

....saliqa  was haughty and  questioned  jugnu  not  believing it  that   anyone  specially  her fiance  sheheryar  was dumping her for someone else  just   because  of  cooking  inventions,  she sarcastically   spoke  to jugnu about it  and jugnu  lowered her head in  sad affirmation  hoping  saliqa  would catch  the point  , jugnu  remained silent  not  wishing to hurt   her sister 

Saliqa laughed  out loud  taunting  that it was a good  joke  , sheheryar loved her and he showed his  love for her in all his  actions  and   was it ever heard of that   lovers  dislike  their  beloved   s behavior  , it was not acceptable to her,  she  constantly  shook her head denying it,  her  eyes were fixed on a small  wooden frame held in her hands,  she was  beginning to arrange  pink cotton  material  in the frame  , it was a handkerchief  with  sheheryar  written on it in blue   marker ink,  saliqa  planned to embroider  the  name in  silk and gift it to sheheryar 

from previous....

......saliqa asked him if khala knew he was  hospitalized  and  put  on the drip, jugnu noticed he was  not  looking at saliqa  , he didn't tell his  aging parents who were already  weak and not keeping well,  he just told them  he was  visiting a friend,  his tone  was rather rough  speaking to saliqa who thought it was  because of his health condition  and was quite  satisfied,  jugnu  looked at the watch and said it was time  they went back , their parents were not informed  , Sheheryar didn't try to stop them,  he would also  leave  in a couple of hours,  sali1a said she was sorry for his  condition,  she was such a good cook   and he couldn't  stop himself  from eating  her dishes  and operate on her  insistence  , jugnu and he  thought  how  stupid  one  can  be , jugnu  quickly tried to cover up the  undercurrents   asking both to forget  the incident,  he shivered with horror recalling the flies he swallowed   as saliqa  proudly  took tge credit for  her culinary skills  wishing she had cooked something special for him  for speedy recovery 

page 53....

......jugnu  was shocked and asked sheheryar   it wasn't  true that he would  refuse to marry saliqa  on such a trivial matter,  she loved him and  be dead  if he didn't marry her , she prided in  showing off her culinary  skills  because she wanted to please him, 

Sheheryar argued  he spent five days in the hospital just because of her sister   , he still  was moaning  painfully,  jugnu  said  it must  be  his  weak  digestion  responsible  for  his situation,  but he  declared he could 

 not spend his  rest of the life  with  such a terrible  cook , he wanted to  lead a normal  life happily but her sister saliqa was abnormal  for sure, he stared at the ceiling fan  lying straight in bed, his forehead displayed  several  scowls, 

Jugnu  explained saliqa will be a dead  woman without him 

He said he would be  dead man sacrificed on the alter of her kitchen experiments 

page 51....

....saliqa  complained  nobody including  sheheryar  remembered  their engagement  day  , it was already  one year and  she wanted to celebrate the anniversary of her engagement  by baking  a  new  salted  spicy cake   never before  thought of,  jugnu silently messaged  sheheryar  whose instant  emotion  smiley  of crying  was sent  

Jugnu  enjoyed giving him a scare  , all was saliqa s terrible  cooking  skills  one  wished not  to do justice but injustice  to and  secretly  wished  to get one's  deadly enemy to  eat it as a  revenge,  

Just imagine  there were twelve months in a year and so many birthdays and  this was just tge beginning  of saliqa  s    deadly inventions  how  could   he cope with this  all the year round  and  year after year  

from previous..

.....saliqa served a bowl of  blue  liquid that looked horrible like poison with two golden fishes floating on the surface, sheheryar   screamed in fright  what's that,  saliqa  was amused  on his ignorance,  she explained  it was something special to bring  lots of glow on the face 

Sheheryar relaxed it was  applied on the face....?

she  laughed and  proudly explained it was a French dish  she had modified  by replacing  fishes whole  in place of scooped eyes he was to eat the dish 

page 49....

.......saliqa  began  revealing her  plans to sheru her fiance   of one year that his mother khala  and her ammi  had decided  marriage will take place  after one year,  saliqa wanted it to  happen in February instead of March,  valentine's was her favorite day to get married to him,  she  will bake  red chilly flakes cake her latest  invention  to set a new trend for  modern lovers,  she hoped nobody  accused her of showing  how much  eager she was to get married quickly,  this was  new  free world  and she was sharing her heart out

Sheheryar  was alerted,  he quickly  rejected her whole plan  and refused to get married before time,  what dangerous ideas she had of  red chillies cake  his mind was burning  and heart smoking,  

from previous.....

.....saliva was  betrothed  to sheheryar  her khala s son for  over a year but  he was delaying  their  wedding date everytime he net  saliva she looked cute but her cookery experiments  were  complete  flop shows  and  he was rather terrified of her  future plans  of  cooking  new dishes  for him and his  mother   , he quickly  stopped her explaining his tummy was weak  , her  guardian angels also  got  more worried   than surprised  ,  both were childhood friends and grew up together,  she didn't shy off from him nor did he hesitate  from voicing  his  views  , their  families also  gave them  space and freedom,  they  met frequently  at each  other's house  every  week,  she would eagerly wait for him so she could  surprise him with her latest  culinary  invention 

page 48...

.....both  friends   felt  humiliated,  as if they  were specially  invited by  jugnu  at home  to  be insulted by her sister  saliva who  cut of tge  dress materials  meant  for them gifts  from  jugnu,  saliva deliberately  showing  her innocence  asked  sweetly why did  jugnu  choose  tge colors  saliva needed  to cut off for her tablecloth  , jugnu  was offended  but stared blankly  at her  mean sister  ushering her friends into  her room as ammi tried  uselessly  to  patch  up

from previous.....

.....jugnu, s friends  she explained  teasing her sister  saliva would ask if this was biryani  or  very expensive  pearl string crushed  and served  because the food won't taste like food  but  display  expensive  ingredients  piled up together  making them feel guilty 

The other one would say she had a puppy that got stolen  so  in his memory  she  changed the Facebook account  password,  the silly girls  don't even know   what are the names of  sweets inside the boxes , saliva frowned  and asked  so she  shouldn't  cook  anything  special  for her friends,  jugnu  explained  her friends were  plain like her and   enjoyed their company 

page 47...

Jugnu declared  her two friends asma and  afshan were coming to spend the day with them,  one was getting married and the other was  celebrating her birthday,  so  she   had kept  gifts for  them   first sge thought of  inviting to a hotel but  partying at home was preferable,   saliva offered  to give a helping hand   to cook some fanciful  dishes because  jugular was simply ordinary,  

Jugnu,s  facial  color  drained,  she  quickly squeaked  rejecting the idea of  her sister offering to cook  anything for her wonderful friends who were ordinary and simple like jugnu , ate simple  food but loved decorating themselves  and  wear good costumes  so she had  a simple  feast planned  with later on expensive  choicest gifts 

from previous....

.....speaking on the phone with her fiance  sge left the  room  to jugular who signed   a deep  breath  of freedom  and  decided  not to eat the afternoon  meal,, feeling  free  to go to  the  kitchen  to spend some time as the other had gone  out  thankfully  with  her phone  talking to sheheryar,  jugular asked  noora what was she cooking,  the  dirty dishes  were  piled  up  and  noora was agitated  so  she  answered  poison was cooked  for lunch,   a slowly face   added  that  different  names  were  given  to these poisons  and called by  several names  but by then jugular had  checked  opening the lids of the pans and  also  was  quite impressed by noora  s smart  talks 

page 45.....

......she said  since childhood they  grew up  listening  about  Shola a quick meal  readied from  leftover  salan by adding  vegetables and  lots of hot spices to it,  giving it the peculiar  name,  variations of it  were  available ,  the more  red pepper  thrown into  the mix  made their  ears and nostrils  smoke  , to put off the fire and heat of spices  eyes watered,   Shola was adequately  named  but the  staler  the mix the heavier  it was on  digestion,  naturally  consuming  such foods is sickening ,

She ignored  her remarks 

fun e zaiqa...

.....baingun  pakodas

Pyaz  pakodas

Kala chana  chaat

Green spicy alu

Alu  salad

Unripe banana  shami kebabs 

Special  alu chaat

Rice  saucy  chicken 

Chicken  handi

Fruit chaat 

Simple  but  nutritious 

......both  women  began laughing  thinking of other  women  brigade  waiting to attack the food and invade the kitchen,  she asked jugnu bibi  to make  coffee  and she was going to the kitchen to put the kettle on the boil,  promising  to  answer  ger questions on her  return 

Of course   she was married  to the man of her parents  choice  because in their  cultural set up  love is  arranged  after  marriage  not  permitted before marriage  now bibi  how is it possible to forcibly  fall 8n love  with a stranger,  bibi nodded wanting an explanation 

Well  everyone prays secretly  fearing   the spouse will not be of their  liking  but compromises are made for instance  if the bride is  dark  the  groom  feels  grateful  or fair one would have shown attitude 

The bride on the other hand feels the groom is  very fat but daily herbal tea will reduce him somewhat 

golden words....

.....accumulation of negative thoughts  is the  cause  of sorrow 

What is  not fruitful  nor good in the  mortal world  is also  useless  afterwards 

One should  respect  the rights of others  to enjoy his own rights  

People  must   practice  righteousness  politeness civility  to  reach out  others  hearts  nothing else works as well

from previous....

.....he began answering her queries  explaining  seriously  about his  projects,  she carefully listened and  declared  to her father  when sheheryar  left  that Mr sheheryar will from now on work with her in her business set up  established in America,  he was just perfect  for that  office 

Father  said  she was short tempered and  within minutes   humiliated  others  and  sheheryar   had a  solid  family background 

page 40....

.....arif duration  introduced his only daughter shazya  to sheheryar  saying  he was a well qualified  honest in work   man  because of whom  much  profit  was  coming  their  way,  he really  seemed  sincerely  impressed by sheheryar  and his  working, 

She cheerfully  acknowledged  his  introduction and  praised  him for  his  qualities  her father  was speaking of,  she  added he must be  truly  too good  or her father never  spoke  with  so much  pride  of anyone else,  there were hundreds  of them  kept  on his business  but   it was  for the first time  she  heard him  admiring  someone 

Sheheryar  in mock dramatic  manner  bent  to bow in  showing  her  his gratitude 

from previous .....

......he  asked aunty  it was  high time  she stopped crying in life and  move out of the haveli and  let the past  bury  there,  Nasir laughed,  next day they left for Lucknow  and Nasir was  with them,  baba was  quite  surprised  to see him back  so  unexpectedly  early,  he embraced baba  affectionately  and  declared  he must  see  who was  come with him , 

Baba  ,s old eyes  happily but  sheer disbelief  saw  his dead son afaq,s wife  was standing there with naghma  , baba  warmly welcomed both his grand daughter and  her mother  wishing out loud  if only  afaq had not left this world so early  and broke into emotional tears  remembering  afaq  in many different ways,  , his eyes began   shedding  tears unstoppably  , all became  emotional,  he stepped forward and  wiped  baba, s tears trying to convince his old grandfather that  it was no  use crying  because  abbu was given  only that much  life, it was the day of  family  reunion  and  an occasion to celebrate  life 

page 39...khwahish

..... man can desire  freely but can't  and  won't get what he wants  in life,  some  desires become  unfulfilled  wishes,   these  unfulfilled wishes  turn hidden unseen wounds, two  things are  very painful in life  , first is  not getting what one desires,  second is getting  what one does not desire 

page 37.....

.....axra and said  saw her condition was bad, , they quickly called a doctor and meantime  her  wet clothes were charged,  ber pulse was checked,  treatment was continued and her condition  started  improving,  her fever dropped,  her fast breathing  became normal,  she was  swinging between  consciousness and unconsciousness,  apparently  she was a healthy woman  but uttered not a single word,, most of the time  kept staring  into the oblivion,  their efforts  were  wasted  but she remained silent,  only God knew what  really had happened with her, , the local  doctor was contacted who referred her to  a city  medical  center,  next day they took her there,  the  experienced doctor checked her up , all her physical conditions were  good , her emotional condition was disturbed  , perhaps  there was a psychological  shock  , she  was given  new  diagnosis,  one  day she began screaming in her sleep.....pleading   not to  kill her child  in   return she was ready to give up  afaaq

page 35....

.....she  spoke to him  to listen to her carefully if that was what he wanted to know,, they  didn't  subscribe to the  news paper  because it was extra  expenditure,,  there were three of them to  eat and just one  meager  income,, Naghma s friend gave her some  books wrapped up in an old  newspaper,  she us  a nice decent  girl  of the doctor in the  neighborhood 

   ...  he interrupted  her for wavering away from the main subject  leading her back to the point that she was telling about the newspaper 

....she caught  the thread of the lost conversation and  explained  she was about to anyway   unfold the events,  so   she began reading  and her condition  became   too bad , it was only because of God's grace that the  kind doctor's timely intervention  saved her, she scowled  remembering  the  huge bill  she had to pay 

page 35....

..... neurologist  and experts say parents can play  a very important role in tackling their children  during  examination  season  when the children get ultra stressed and  examination fever, to combat  fear ,   according  to english   journal  health news    parents  of  children  also  get depressed  during  exams  and   unleash  their  stress  on tge children  who already  can't  cope  with it well,  in this situation if parents  cooperate wisely  with their children  struggling  to face  exams  children  feel  strong emotionally and  perform better 

gazal...

......I want to  dedicate each beautiful dusk to your name 

Wishing to  pen down  our love story 

If  courage you can muster to walk along  with me 

I am ready to will my youth to you  dear 

 Dewy are tresses  and  lips and glow 

If  ever happen to  see someone like you 

I would write odes  to beauties 

Wanting to be always in your thoughts  8n your eyes

In you heart and in your mind

Nights are  endless  no trace of calmness in heart 

if you come  all scented nocturnal  flowers shower 

Your voice  i do hear

Like  the flowing rivers

Life changes  like seasons 

How breakup  occurred  i could explain 

page 31...

......never  show any interest in them who  maintain distance from you 

....loud noisy  people  get more  loud and noisier  with time  and close association 

Keep  the experienced close   to take  full advantage  from  their expertise 

Always  find plus points in others  and  praise them,  on finding  

weaknesses   remember to show your own  plus points 

Doubt is  sickness that  doesn't allow the affected one to stay calm 

from previous....

.....the letter read

Ammi, 

By the time you get this letter  I shall be gone   far far away from you,,   how long  could I have   gone on obeying you,  amir loves me,  , I am leaving with him,  if only   one percent  flicker of hope  was possible to see  afaq could  change  then this extreme step  would not have been necessary,  I have no wish to waste away my golden  days on him, , please try forgive me 

Shamina

from previous....

.....hands of time  kept moving forward and backwards  and what was never thought of   passed to happen unexpectedly,  true that the world is not  completely   forever  correct  nor forever corrupt but laws of nature  prove stronger,  man is  mortal  and  us answerable  to  the all powerful  for  his own worldly  deeds, 

Time  always  returns you your  wicked  deeds,  Time doesn't have  mercy  for all,  now it was time  to pay back  one night shamina eloped with her lover  and carried all her mother's  gold  and  cash  with her

! Naaz  got a handwritten letter from her room 

gazal....

....  he  searches for   that one heart amongst thousands 

Someone  like his own equal 

That what was never  solved by the brainy 

He wants to  find  such  complex  problems 

Get rid of dishonest  political minds 

He searches for some eliminater 

Many a times  in competitive  spirit  wrong was done 

Now he searches for something to cool off 

Where storms   stretch out  yawning 

He looks for  secure shores amidst  them 

That who  might  light up his  soul 

He searches for someone  perfect 

Diary   of secrets  of all sorrows  wherever it  is kept 

He searches for  it through all destinies 

page 27....

.....the hazrat was asked  to explain who is the best of all  faithful  followers 

The Hazrat spoketh   that  who uses his hands and words in favor of his community 

The Hazrat was asked  by  someone  what  attributes  make  one  faithful  follower 

The hazrat explained  feeding  and greeting  others whether  known  or  unknown when  needed  

Th Hazrat  said  nobody can be  really  sincere faithful follower until he  wishes others well  as he unto  himself 

The Hazrat  said  until one   is more interested and focused in  Him above his family,  parents,   children and  worldly  profits  he can't be  truly  be  called a faithful follower 

gazal

.....misfortune  times  will rub off  its hands  simply 

Your memories  surround me   always simply 

Life will stop in some corner  tired some day 

But  the entire world  will move on simply 

Unable to  free  away from  the past  images 

Life will day and night  go on same way simply 

No winds can  blow  off  it away 

Flame of  passion will burn  in him simply 

Like a pearl  in its shell is protected 

Desire for you in heart shall glow always simply 

from previous...

....he had been  wanting to speak with appa for many days  but he couldn't  muster enough courage,  she encouraged him   and was  curious what could  it be  for which he needed  courage  to speak,  perhaps  hexwas in love,  faruq  khan faltered and  became  silent  then blurted  out he had secretly  married a  woman  in  need  ,  it was an  explosion 

Didn't he trust  appa, do marriages  ever  happen  secretly  because they are noisy social  occasions,  her tone was complaining 

page 23.....

...,,no dear  , don't say like that,  you are the only  life joy in  his life,  you are his pride and   treasure,   many times  he was asked to share his problems with  children who might have some  solution to it,  baba affectionately  combed  his fingers caressing on her head, she  impatiently wanted to  know  who could it be,  baba explained   he meant his wife and  the lost daughter,  she  doubted    her senses  and his mental condition 

! She  argued  sheheryar,s  mother  died when he was just   a year old,  what was baba  telling was completely  different  story,  Nasir  held baba from his shoulders  demanding an explanation 

Baba asked them to brace  themselves to  hear the secret   in silence 

gazal

.....certainly you were good and stay good  but tell all about it

What speaks  new times  about  others tell all about it

He  stopped  noticing  beauties of nature  in surroundings 

How are those tresses and  those  cheeks  tell all about it 

Do the eyes go dry or keep flooding constantly 

How much   tear soaked  gets the kerchief in a day tell all about it 

It's pleasure to be  amongst  noisy crowds 

Buying  fake flowers unperfumed 

Now its  desired  to enjoy   snowfall as much life 

Reach hill Station  tell all about it 

No need to recite  poet, s    poetry  to the poet 

A beginner asks assistance  to get along in life 

Just how much  can  one  collect to be successful rich 

Tell all about it 

page 19.....

.......if he had returned they could have  met 

 Amidst  dark tresses  dusk would have   set

If   he thirsted for her love  on journey 

Never  would he  have lifted  his  eyes towards  oceans  to see

A  protest  on earth  definitely  had  come 

Life  had wasted  scattered to pieces 

He would place  burning  mud  lamos on her defeat 

Celebrating  their    third war   game over 

He would   hit the crown and throne away

Becoming  Alexander the great 

If he wrote down  on  bleeding rivers 

All ink  must be  emptied 

He would   start off for the  deserts 

Giving up sorrows of the world 

from previous.....

......she looked  at him  with her eyes   suddenly  not noticing  anything,  her grip on his hand loosened  , Nasir and he both   were shocked to see her falling down,  they supported her to sit  down in the nearby sofa,   her entire body began to shiver,  her face turned  pale,  his  inner doctor  was  wakened  so he stepped forward to check her pulse,  during all this time  azra beghum  appeared   very  upset and worried,  naturally   anyone  whose sister is in this condition will feel  upset  but  what surprised him was azra beghum. S  eyes  look at him with sheer hatred and  anger and  annoyance and more  mixed  feelings  he  could not  define,  she simply said  her sister  frequently got those  panic attacks  thanks to a doctor  whose treatment was given her

page 17.....

.....a deep sorrow settled down inside him,  looking at his wrist watch he asked their  permission to leave,  suddenly  he observed  in the eyes of aunty  the minutes earlier  politeness had vanished and some other  expression  replaced it,she stopped him  speaking  nicely but  her words and tone didn't match her  in sincerity,  Nasir  nudged him with his elbow  digging into his side  signaling  it was  perfect timing to flee 

page 15....

......nasir  nastily  taunted him who asked him to go out in such a weather,  both were  eternally starving,  all types of rats and cats seemed to be playing inside their  empty stomachs,  both decided to head towards the canteen,  

Theirs were  a job in which they came  across  innumerable  faces they  couldn't remember,  but at night he  was kept awake by the  two  women   he gad met in the haveli where he took shelter during the storm 

They had even offered him their hospitality,  they looked decent and  of good family,  who could be they 

Next time  he was crossing the street with Nasir  he pointed towards the haveli  and narrated his  experience 

Nasir stopped the bike there and  commented  it looked  a haunted haveli,  he must have  met the resident  ghosts,  it was scary to get involved with  the  dead spirits