page 120

....both were  stunned to complete silence  not breathing  , breathing is a necessity to life,  both  were  dying to live together  figuratively,  

With three native  life supports 

Her  rose complexion 

Charms divine  bathed  beauty 

Her  loveliness  a   wholesome story 

Descriptions  fill up uncountable pages 

Enveloped in spring fragrance 

That  can turn deserts to life 

Her voice sweet  oasis refreshing 

Her silence  cool soothing 

Ethereal being 

She  is an enchantress 

page 104

....appa how long you have not been to our place,  for months,  Ana s annoyance showed clear and loud on the phone,  

Dear,  I can't  travel  so  soon so much,  explained tavanda beghum 

But appa, you are absolutely free tge whole day,   why don't you come  insisted  Ana stubbornly 

All right my dear,  I shall try , give the phone to your mother,  there is something  important to talk about 

Obediently  Ana handed the cell phone to nosha beghum 

Both sisters  quickly  engrossed in a conversation 

Ana got bored and returned to  sit before the television  once again in the lounge  to watch her favorite show 

from previous

....the  majestic school building that  till  few days ago  resonated with hundreds of children's   cheerful  voices  turned  deadly silent,  gayash sat clutching  his head  in a vacant room,  just a few minutes before he had received  a  heavy duty  , property tax notice  , three days  earlier   the first court notice   was related to the  map  though  minor alterations  he had made in the  building,   , gayash was  absolutely clear it was dirty tactics to make  him a soft target  certain  they were  those who didn't want him to be in the place 

Sighing  he opened a drawer  of a table where  a postcard size  picture  of hashta was kept,   it was a picture  secretly clicked  at nathya gali  where he had  stayed overnight 

page 102

...appa,  you don't know how much  upset I am with shanya,  she thinks  money is blank paper,  childish  she spends endlessly , sometimes diapers  urgently needed on other times  milk powder   and herself she remains  constantly sick,  moaning with  a variety of pains  from back pain to  specific  aches, my poor Farhan  works so hard to earn  and run the  family but who can  advise his wife,  I am his mother,  Ana his sister,  we destined to  burn slowly   nosha beghum  s sentimental outpour was bitter 

Tabanda beghum  faintly smiled  and remained silent but her smile  couldn't escape from nosha beghum s  keen   observation and sge flared up 

Appa,  you have honestly always been very lucky,  in the matters of husband and in laws  too,  in fact  in the case of daughter in law  also  , what else  could one ask for,  who else is as fortunate as you,  nosha beghum concluded  she herself was  unlucky to get a daughter in law like  shanya 

from previous

....two weeks passed by after the school episode,  gayash had returned home a few days ago from the hospital, his heart sank seeing the condition of the  school  , elder brother insisted he came along with him but he refused,  he very frankly  told him he was there to stay,  before being discharged from the hospital he had already sent his mother to Nathya gali for had she stayed she would have pressed him to leave the place and go back to Nathya gali,  he hired a big lawyer's services  and hoped hus friend humayun will get bail soon, gayash s lawyer  based on the collected information  proved it he had intimate relationship with a stage  dancer, Sheila was her sister and a stage drama actress  herself,  the judge had also  believed  humayun was trapped  but he was accused of being found alone with Shela in a closed room 

page 99

...jannat was married off into mamu  s household,  jannat delighted everyone,  she would start her day with namaz,, she wake up Raju,  ladies stayed home to pray as men folk attended  masjid  congregation,  after namaz she cleaned the surroundings and cooked hot delicious parathas for all , , naki and kamal would leave for school,  Karamdin for his work  and Bilal for factory 

She got razya admission to a stitching course  and taught wadi cooking skills  and house management , rozy smoothened  mud paste  onto the mud oven,  jannat  shone the dishes dazzling,  washed laundry  with instructions to spread the clothes on the lines in  the sun inside out so no visible  patches of bird droppings or other  matter  would show up on the right side,  while she cooked she would make wadi sit by her side  telling her demonstrating her how to roast spices, step by step  and systematically kept the clean utensils after drying them up on the shelves,  she opened  all the cupboards and cleaned them up before  neatly folding the clothes and stack them back, piling up the worn out torn pairs to mend them  for reuse,  by evenings she sprayed water in the vicinity  before  arranging  cots for the night,  dinners  were punctually  ready before Maghreb 

kanch mahal

...Farah and singer faizan  defied  chacha mukhrar s  prohibitive orders  and kept meeting each other,  a storm  came when chacha knew of it, she was trying to equal  a low grade  singer  to them,  he would rather kill the  singer  than to accept that alliance,  mukhtar roared in rage and the daughter was locked up inside 

Faizan was a self made  progressive man  trying to establish himself in the  showbiz world,   just one elder brother worked in sharja, his old father and  sister lived with faizan,  chacha mukhrar turned against this  man's life,  as  bad luck would have it  before faizan could declare of his secret love affair  he was  wrongly  implicated in a murder case which was reopened  though he was given bail

page 97

....it was Bilal  s habit to  visit his  phuphu at least once a week,   where he liked  the peaceful quiet atmosphere,  younger phuphu had just one son and daughter,  elder son Yasser and jannat who had completed her f a and done a stitching course and now stayed home  giving tuitions to children and  managed her house,  jannat was a  cultured  and practical girl  who always kept her head covered neatly with a dupatta,  she spoke  decently with every one around her,  her style was gentle,  everyone who met ber liked her 

In those days   Bilal also  git attracted by her and decided this girl will definitely make his home a  paradise,  Yasser was his close friend,  they returned home in the evenings  often together,  Yasser had got Bilal a job in the same factory he was working in,  salaries increase with time  but it was  Bilal  who was quite popular  amongst people,  the masters trusted him for his honesty,  he became the foreman within two years and his salary increased 

Bano s frequent rounds to the market quickly  filled up her boxes,  she even shortlisted three young marriageable girls,  Bilal one  supper time   shared his views and asked his parents to ask phuphu for jannat  s hand, Karmazin was extremely happy but ammi created a scene  screaming her on the job boy was hooked by phuphu and her daughter 

Bilal  firmly explained  jannat wasn't even aware he liked her 

gazal

... there is yet breathing  left in the body 

There is still hope of life left

Returned we from the seas

Yet our thirst  remains unsatisfied 

Broken the heart is left crunched

Yet the feel of that touch remains around 

Blossoms have long ago  fallen from trees 

Yet their fragrance remains around 

jannat

...summer afternoon was slowly sagging down,  it was four in the evening  when those  four sisters sat in the yard under a tree   eating  half ripe and  unripe mangoes that were  buried in wheat  a few days ago  which  turned edible today,  after eating the pulp  the sisters  collected the  mango kernels  to playfully throw them one by one  as far away as they could as a result the whole  yard was covered with  mango peels and kernels 

page 87

...hanya was enjoying  her hit cup of tea with farzana, farzana sat  facing her looking  worried,  

Hanya asked her what was wrong with her

Ùncertain farzana  expressed her fears something might go wrong 

Hanya confidently  assured her she was there with her and nothing could go wrong 

Farzana liked kafil and couldn't  harm him 

Stop it, there wasn't any need of emotional show hanya was genuinely annoyed,  she asked her to  keep her mouth shut or did farzana  understand 

Farzana  slowly nodded her head but her expressions  were clear  she  was very upset,  kafil  didn't like her  and she liked him  but  something had happened between them that farzana was  ready to take her own life,  hanta saved her life,  now hanya  wanted to avenge  farzana s  situation from kafil  , she had already taken the first step towards it, , she had  filed a report against  kafil in the police station and successfully humiliated  him, farzana who was in love with him wasn't happy about this,  how could she  bear to see him in pain 

page 59

...yawar, what's wrong with you,  ever since you came back from the office  you have locked  yourself inside your room,  not eating nor resting,  are you  burdened with the entire office work,  ammi was irritated and speaking to him sitting by his side 

Ammi,  he said,  just some more work was to be completed  then he will be free,  he asked her to send him a cup of tea, his eyes unwavering  were fixed all the time on his laptop 

Ammi argued how could he have just tea on an empty stomach in such a summer heat,  he must first eat the food she would send him,  she had specially  made  kheema karela his choice on his  demand,  she was in the kitchen  whole day  and he didn't even bother to taste it, she complained 

He quickly agreed to eat his food,  he had forgotten to eat  because of his being so busy,  he cared for ammi, , she added tandoori rotisserie had also  stiffened,  he  said he was ready to eat  cold food also,  he said lovingly,  she shook her head and left the room 

Karela kheema was absolutely delicious with raita, salad and tandoori rotisserie, he ate heartily,  Maryam his younger sister brought him his tea, he began searching for forest related   material 

from previous

...Hanya  reached zwar s office  at the police station,  he recognized her the daughter of Seth Shahid Ahmed khan whose  many  matters were solved by zwar! Hanya had heard so much  so many times of him that she had  come to him to discuss  some matter and ask for his help,  she was certain he could help her 

He was a smiling amiable helpful person reay to help 

Hanya said the first thing to remember was he must not let anyone  not even her father  influence him in the matter 

wahashi

...sge was in her room sitting  holding a bottle of sleeping pills in her hands,  tears covered her face,  cupping her hand with  pills she  was  trying to muster courage to swallow them,  her plans were quite dangerous,  she wanted to end her life,  her hand jerked and all the pills fell onto the floor,  it had happened because another girl had entered the room  and  her life was saved  

What do you think you are  doing 

Don't you already know it 

Farzana,  this isn't the solution to your problem,  she held her face and tried to  make her see the  point assuring her all her support m they will together definitely find some way out,  she embraced Farzana and began patting her  but her eyes were  deeply thoughtful 

page 30

Soon  again daroga met wahab , in the early golden dawning sunlight  the entire Baghdad was  bathed gold, wahab was riding through  the bazaar  carrying   a couple of baskets ,  daroga  gathered himself  his flab shaking  to block wahab  s way

Scratching his beard  wahab asked  sayyad the reason for stopping him,  his eyes  pools of innocence  and  boredom 

Daroga   explained he needed to check his  baggage 

What checking , he wasn't a criminal,  he was an honest worker seeking a decent job,  it was unreasonable he was being stopped for checking 

Daroga was following the orders of  khalifa who had  clearly instructed all 

Not to  sell rotten  stuff  and  tried to  search  his things 

Wahab  was  irritated  the Khalifa had no sense  to   understand the right from wrong or he would not have appointed an unsuitable person like you on this job 

Wahab s fearless and bold manner  shook the daroga  s spirit and threatened wagab to mind his tongue or he will be buried alive for speaking against the Khalifa 

page 57

... Sunday bazaar at gulshan  Ravi was held in   massive open lands ,  all sides were  entrances and exits without defining territory  till bom explosions  sent scare ripples   and security  was increased  with   instant  rope territory,  leaving just one  way inside  with lady police and walk through  metal detection  ramp, now  the route to Sunday bazaar was  longer and tiring  , earlier just outside the hostel  started the Sunday rush

She was having fun with razya and Nadya  going to different stalls,  she was tight fisted when it came to spending money,   she was frugal by nature and quite careful buyer, her shopping bag contained  few things,  she stood looking at a bag at a stall when a loud enthusiastic greeting  made her lift her head,  it was yawar who appeared pleasantly surprised to see her there,  he was buying weekly vegetables and fruit with his mother and lived nearby  , she  also lived nearby  her reply was abrupt 

His house was located in the next block by the main market,  he respectfully invited her to  visit him to meet his sisters and mother,  he excitedly explained his mother was with him and asked her to meet her,  she refused because she was in a hurry  some other time,  holding Nadya  s hands she walked away,  he was left  standing alone  thinking over her attitude as she  razya and Nadya  moved away 

Who is this so handsome man 

Why didn't you ever before talk about him 

Both razya and Nadya  exchanged meaningful glances  as they spoke to her 

page 29

...the evening was in its final phase,  the streets were   getting  silent,  wahab was slowly walking back towards his house,  his alert senses  informed him daroga sayad was around,  wahab didn't like this man  at all , he quickly  rode off  on his  hyper active horse,  daroga saw  him  riding away and  got up to catch him  but his  heavyweight  didn't allow  him to be as swift,  he shouted  someone  go catch  wahab who had already disappeared 8n the  far oblivion,  the shopkeeper  asked sayyad if the man was his close friend  seeing how uncomfortable daroga looked,  he was  an attractive seller  who  bought and sold scented  soaps and things in Baghdad 

Sayyad denied being friends with wahab  because sayyad didn't like such crazy people 

Then why did you try to  follow him  asked the  perfume seller who was not  intimidated by the daroga in any way,  daroga  had been informal and ordinary man with flaws  that  didn't  overshadow  the attar seller s curiosity,  daroga explained it was  his duty  then looked around before  speaking  in  whispering  tone Khalifa   harun  alrashid had hired him to keep an eye on the  runaway 

from previous

...the next morning began  stormily,  soon  after breakfast the qazi   reached there demanding for his   deposit,  he was returning to basra, he had  completed all his personal matters  by the previous evening,  the box was opened and looked empty,  he was outraged  his deposit missing,  he shouted he had specially instructed them to guard the box and contents , the  native  explained  he had left for fajar but the keys were with qazi, qazi s  deposit  disappeared from the inn meant  absolute destruction of the inn, perhaps some other  travel was the culprit  because the proprietor had seen a coin on the floor,  he showed the coin  turning it over on its sides, qazi  roared all travelers were to stay put , nobody must leave,  he would  investigate  and check each one  himself for his missing  one thousand  dinar coins garland,  qazi was overwhelmed with  rage and sorrow,  the other three travelers were   investigated  for   grueling time before ushering them into one room,  gaush,  magish and abid stared at each other  suspiciously,  the night before spent gossiping friendly  manner was lost, the pleasantness  replaced by unpleasantness,  qazi conducted investigation  humiliated them  and their dignity was  shattered 

page 25

... in the  streets and lanes and markets of Baghdad  inky dusky veil  had spread out, , shopkeepers also looked satisfied with the day  s business profit, among them some merchants were  not  so  happy with their  day and were swaying between hope and desire  for the left over evening,  gauss was one such business man,  his face was a portrait of sheer disappointment and  irritation 

Seeing what come towards him  was a serious matter of self concern,  since morning episode he hadn't made any progress  and he was bad definitely bad omen and asked shouting in anger why was he there,  the traveler had wanted to see him , he asked the shopkeeper to hold his horse  reigns for a moment,  the horse was very strong and hyper active,  not wanting it to runaway,  what laughed 

Gauss  rebuked him for making damages and showed his worriedness  , he asked him to go away elsewhere 

Wahab gave him a dinar the reason he had come,  it was the price he was paying for the morning roti and asked him to return the  first coin he was given,  he said scratching his head 

Gauss explained he was satisfied with less , wagab argued in the morning he didn't have enough but after a good sale of all his baskets it was his ethical duty to make full payment,  his own satisfaction was more important than the shopkeepers  contentment 

page 57

....the building of  forest department  was a preparttition  haveli of maharaja  known as poonch house,  there were more government offices inside it, , as usual  nobody  was seen working,  when senior officials  would  think of restoration of the old building  the media made a noise  that a historical  heritage site was being destroyed,  the design and map was being destroyed,  rare features and landmark of the past was being changed and replaced though all was already done  , when the flaky paint fell off with old plaster  cement patches  were  applied to keep the rest of the stuff from falling off,  old broken windows  were  fixed with pieces of ply  wood,  entire previous whitewash of limestone was hidden  with layers of paint , higher officials  cabins were customized  to their  standards and liking, inside and outside  constant changes were made,  but the ceiling remained untouched  and still appeared  old wooden and made of rotting planks that were definitely  the choice once upon a time of the then maharaja,  the metal work and mesh around were  retained,  razya and her siblings were away at bahawalpur

page 24

....getting to the local market the traveler merchant  with his special smile asked the first  person what was he selling,  in genuine curiosity 

You seem to be an outsider  here  the native  asked 8n rebound 

Yes, he explained he was  new in  town and he had come from sham Syria  his tone filled with pride  and  respect 

The native sarcastically asked didn't sham citizens eat grains or not recognized it

Well,  in sham it is called a paratha  delicious  spicy and layered and flaky meant for human consumption but this doesn't look fit for human beings  , he looked  at the very thin flat roti bread 

In Baghdad this is called roti and eaten by people because in our Baghdad people eat only to stay alive and not for pleasure,  he shook his head  to stop the thread of conversation that was heating up to an argument 

The merchant said its neither a roti nor a paratha,  it's an argument 

The native snatched the  roti  from his hands and put it quickly into the basket and covered it annoyed  and turned away from the unwanted presence  

page 23

...stranger you have just reached the right place,  I am  nakshibn mazahir  he said proudly 

Wonderful,   it's just as I was told,   hospitality here is  outstanding smiling said novaro 

The host explained  the inn was established  generations ago  by his grandfather who worked on it  to make it a success,  later his father inherited it along with the responsibilities but the real  standards were set by himself  naksh  spoke stiff necked taking all the credit  and asked him from where had he come 

The traveler was from sham Syria and a business man  come to see   cattle 

Naksh was put off  and turned  cold and  expression hard before turning away his face offending him for his cheap appearance,  clothes and worn out shoes 

Naksh asked him to speak up quickly whatever he had to say because he was very busy 

The traveler wanted a room 

Two dinars for a room rudely  spoke Naksh 

It's too much,  kindly  lower the  charges a bit  noro was rather surprised all he wanted was  a room for the night to rest 

In that case  a place to sleep is available for half a dinar too, he could sleep  in the cot placed there in the yard 

page 17

...in a poetry recital  gathering Manohar  sahay Anwar was reading out his  gazal...

whose land was it

Explained is nothing 

World is nothing 

Harahan poet sitting there on the stage next to him added 

Only  it's us in our entire family 

Whole family is nothing 

My child is too good but

My child's mother  is nothing 

                   ₩₩₩

Someone asked  israrul haqq majaz

How is your  health these days 

He answered..when there is no health there is no  question of asking how  is it 

zindgi ki khubsurti

...the three storey building of the government hostel  was designed on a long straight line,   rooms in a row  corridor in the  middle and again another row of more rooms facing the front,  room doors faced each other  , huge meshed windows  on the starting and ending points of the corridor which hardly ventilated the corridor but they definitely  casted dim sunlight  to keep the corridor  lighted up during the daytime 

All the three floors  were  built on the same pattern  except  on the middle floor  the corridor had a door on one side instead of the window,  the wooden door lead to a dining room  beside the spiral stairs and a kitchen,  there was a  l e d television on one of the  walls in the dining hall for furniture  three long tables and chairs and cheap curtains  furnished the window,  in the kitchen  all the walls were  covered with rotting wooden cabinets in which the girls  kept their things locked up , greasy and dirty the ply had lost all their beauty,  there was no air conditioning in the hostel nor was anyone given permission to keep one,  summer nights were  terribly testing specially for those who had  West facing  room  windows  that  let 8n full burning sun heat  raising the temperatures of their room  walls  , direct afternoon sun by the evening  turned the rooms to  hot ovens, girls  moved up to the terrace  to sleep in the cool, mostly in the months of July and August 

page 37

....you, stammered  she looking at him dumbfounded  , it was absolutely unbelievable  on the other side he was relaxed leaning  against the couch smoking a cigarette and  flicked the ash into the ashtray put beside him  , he  wasn't surprised so he was aware  who was he marrying,   , her head began spinning  as she held her head between her hands unable to take it any more as she fell on her knees on the  carpetted floor,  firstly she was already not well  secondly to find herself married to the man who had called her a bad charactered woman  and hungry for wealth , this was  a shock  , her life companion  him?, her legs felt weak and she trembled  as she   collapsed under her own overwhelmingly rising   emotions,  the house maid knocked at the door before stepping in horrified to see the bew bride  sitting down on the flooring  holding her aching head,  the  groom ordered authoritatively to put down the tea tray on one side and leave  , the maid quickly exited, he  rubbed tge stub into the ashtray and walked up to her extended his hands asking her to get up from the floor,  she  growled  her etes flooded with tears to get away from her,  what type of game was he playing 

He said on a sombre note they were  legally married,  not runaways nor was she abducted 

from previous

...jamalaldin was a plain simple man of forty five,  , long unkempt haired,  thick     spectacles sat  smoking cigarettes   at Kathy  s place  looking aloof and  separated from others  as if trying to    smoke away  all his sorrows,  shakil and tanvir sat facing him, , both police cops felt  from his manner of talking he loved Kathy,  and couldn't have murdered her,  

Ah!!it was her birthday today sighed Jamal, I have always had  good feelings for her 

What else do you know enquired tanvir 

Jamal knew her for quite a long time since she was a straggler singing her way up trying to make a name,  he had  helped her then 

Did you like her 

Yes,  he had  liked her all the that time and wanted to marry her 

What did she want 

He was just a friend for her  he said frankly and  wanted to marry someone else 

Who 

He remained silent for long and  tanvir prompted   Faraz ali

No,  Farah ali came very late in her life,  Jamal coughed,  she liked  a merchant  safdar and this was twenty years ago 

Tanvir wanted him to tell him all about it

He had met him hardly twice and couldn't tell much but Kathy s  parents  objected to this relationship and he left

Tanvir asked why then Jamal didn't marry her 

Jamal briefly  said no

Why not, tanvir poked 

Perhaps she would have  agreed this time on the rebound 

Jamal waving his hands said he loved her too much to ask her again and  hear her no could have killed him 

From previous

...by mid day Farhan had collected all the mobile phones records of Kathy and reported  inspector  tanvir,  but nothing much was gathered from it, ,Farhan was giving him the details,  Kathy  had  mostly spoken  telephonically   to musical  functions  management,  Farhan  instructed him to prepare list of all the callers and others she had made conversation with,  and bring them all under investigation,  Farhan   discovered   in between  from another sim kathy  had   thrice   called her  own mother who lived in another town but she too had no new information to share with him,  only that  Kathy had a surprise for  her mother,  tanvir asked what was the surprise , Farhan explained  her mother was not aware of it, all she knew was  Kathy soon wanted to give her a surprise,  tanvir thought it was rather confusing  Kathy was fully dressed for a function  of some special kind,  right, agreed Farhan  her mother had said it was Kathy  s birthday day second February and she was dressed for the occasion 

But something is definitely there not clear and with that a flash In tanvir s mind  flashed an image  of a man with the car  dubious character  approach  in the city footage,  tanvir began seriously rethinking over the matter 

What could be it, nothing  suspicious came out from Kathy s phone record,  therefore she was specially dressed for someone and waiting for him and his information must be there somewhere  of his coming 

page 6

...it was midnight  , the woman in early thirties  stood decorating herself before her Cheval glass in the dressing room,  she was beautiful , her manner of dressing herself seemed it was some special occasion,  her dress was red and exquisite  and expensive,  she put on her makeup properly,  she did her hair styling carefully,  she wore delicate  and rich jewelry to highlight her attractive looks at that very moment a xar horn was heard,  she turned to look and a smile spread on her lovely face,   certainly it was the one she was dressed up for,  she left the room to  go out, , on her  dressing table was placed a birthday card so beautiful  with a greeting message to Kathy, it was her

                                               ₩₩₩

The sun was up, in a posh defense area before a mansion police cars were lined up and  crowds thronged,  the air was filled with  a low pitched murmur, they all were discussing  about the house and the lady owner,  it  belonged to  a famous singer Kathy  who lived alone  for very long time there,  famous as she  she was a familiar figure to all  and needed no description  , she was a popular socialite  seen and invited to every evening party 

page 36

...decorated with red roses the black luxury car  speeding   smoothly  entered a posh  area, a newly wedded couple sat  together in the back seat  , the bride s head was  exploding with  pain and she felt quite heavy,  no matter how much a girl loves her  parents and family the moment she is  sent off at rukhsati  all her   threads of emotional breaths and  thoughts  get  tied up with the man sitting next to her , she becomes overwhelmed  and apprehensive  of their future,  but it seemed in that car  there were robots  instead of humans sitting, the bride was weak  heartbroken and   and  had  a head splitting   pain  all she wanted was  to kiss the dust of her birth place  and  embrace the lanes of her  paternal  village  where she grew up,  she wanted to  break into  a long loud screaming  cry like  the  backward  women folk who release all their stress  but who should she cry for  When she was officially given a final farewell   , who could she  lean on for emotional support,  the groom sat  watching out through the car window   with an  exceptionally  blank face,  one of his cousins sat  at the driving seat  and the groom  s mother in the front seat  as if tongue tied but  her face  expressed the tension she was trying to  supress,  the car stopped  before a massive grand house  and each one  was jolted out of his  personal   reverie,  gates were opened by the guards and the car came to finally stop at the porch  where the groom  got down quickly and spoke  to the staff before   quickly  stepping inside the house 

page 12

....cheerfully blossomed  faces that wore  makeup,  smiles adorned people  in the hall,  waving fluttering  colorful  veils girls took group pictures and selfies,  all the arrangements were done,  even aksi had arrived from the beauty parlor  ready , fakhra beghum looked at aksi with  emotion filled eyes,  who looked so charming   just right target for an evil eye,  mother  kept her own gaze away fearing  it could  also bring harm upon her girl,  aksi was tightly surrounded with her cousins  when fakhra  dabbed a tissue to the corners of her eyes  and  gestured  sadra to come to her,  sadra quickly  reached her mother 

Why hasn't the barat  reached,  baba also had asked the same so many times,  mother  scolded sadra and her in laws for never being punctual,  the owners of marriage halls  pack up on time not extending one more minute,  mother  glared at her elder daughter  angrily 

Sadra assured she will phone askand, from her  shoulder bag she pulled her phone out and  punched her husband's number,  the ringing was heard clear and loud but he didn't answer it, sadra satisfied put back her phone into the bag and turned to tell all the girls to leave the bride alone , the barat was on its way,  the girls happily ran out to welcome the groom,  fakhra beghum had already left 

from previous

...a wife in a special mischief mood asked her husband what would he do if she died 

Perhaps  said the husband  he would die too

Wife was overwhelmed and surprised by this unexpected reply  and asked him was it that he loved her too much and can't live without her 

Too much  unexpected happiness also kills  escaped the truth from his mouth 

A man owned a double storey building,  he was quite tired of his  tenants,  he invited a pop singer   to  arrange a musical night at his place,  the singer  in his  style asked which one would he prefer  to listen first 

Any thing,  all we want is to scare away  the tenants 

dhundhai..the search

.....a man reaches his neighbor  s bakery and asks the proprietor  if he had seen his cat around 

Seen? screamed  the owner,  of course every one saw the cat come in  , the cat destroyed three cakes and ate one, leaving its footprints everywhere,  four chicken patties   quickly gulped down before   turning the milk container  down, one customer slipped on the  milk flowing on the floor  and hit the trays of eggs cracking  several dozen eggs

Oh, that's so awful  said the cat owner customarily  without a trace of regret  , he then  pulled out a poster  to show the proprietor  handwritten with a marker  about  his missing cat and asked if he would mind  if he pasted the poster on his show window 

page 109

....sukrat  made just one rule for all his associates and disciples  to follow  control and tolerance,   nobody should speak  in a higher than normal pitch  to show annoyance,  not to raise his voice above normal,  not to get aggressive or violent  verbally and physically  to threaten others,  not to use abusive language  and be physically abusive  or the culprit was  suspended from his  camp

Socrates defined tolerance was the  spirit of all civilized societies,  loose tolerance and the whole set up collapses ,  to maintain good society  right management   needs to be balanced  and only tolerance  can  balance  and keep the society stable 

Education  improves the skills of debating, logic, and planning but tolerance has to be practiced by the educated  or the difference between the polished and tbe rough  doesn't remain,  the power  must remain in the  hands of the tolerant or the society suffers 

Brute force  has power and strength  but no tolerance 

A civil  society s core  is tolerance around which society  grows  progressively 

page 103

....leaving the house Kiran had informed her  nazya was picking her up, asma explained,  nazya was going somewhere so she would drop her on her way at the gym

Is nazya s contact number available 

Yes, asma  sent it, both Kiran and nazya were class fellows 

He remembered   nazya  was income tax officer  Jawad Bashir s daughter 

Absolutely so , asma confirmed  

Try to contact  her father and ask about the girls,  as a would  reach home in half hour 

Harim, sonia and others were asked but nobody knew the whereabouts of Kiran,  nazya told him she had canceled her plans of picking her up, she got herself excused,  she was sorry she couldn't tell more about Kiran,  

This incident  badly   worried hasin shah and asma,  she was their life and her phone was turned off constantly,  hasin shah spoke in quite a serious tone his daughter was  trapped in some  dangerous situation