faiz aur hafiz

.... the night had passed and reached  early hours  ,  during hind and pak  mustard hafiz jallandhari got up to recite his  poetry  it was his turn but  other poets were tired, faiz Ahmed  shouted from amidst the audience  to keep it small 

Hafiz was annoyed,  outrageous it was how could faiz Ahmed  cut him short,  hafiz remarked  his nazms were not  small like faiz s one liners

Firaq gorakhpuri intervened  in time  to stop the heated argument  between the  reputed poets by saying that that one liner by hafiz was  enough and the mushaira was over 

page 253

....do you manage your accounts in your own income?

No, not at all,  my accounts are completely dependent on loans and income of others 

.

Don't you think  Mrs bakrat is a little  self centered?

A little? More than  normal  she sends  her congratulations and compliments on her own birthday to her mother 

.

Yunus sahib  had a habit of borrowing things from neighbors,  one morning he reached his neighbor and  asked if the neighbor was going in his car somewhere that day 

Neighbor catching his point emphasized  of course  the car was to be with him all day,  he needed it to  visit several places 

That's so cool,  I.ll need your  bike  actually  yunus  said with satisfaction 

.

A man got his daughter married  and within a week he was pouring out his  tales of woe against his son in law  who didn't know how to drink and  didn't know  how to gamble 

The amazed friend remarked  but that was a blessing not a problem,  

The poor father explained he drank but didn't know how to, gambled but didn't know how to play 

page 67

...she recalled all the   mysterious stories  read during her childhood,  tge golden handle hanging at the main entrance  gave her some  satisfaction,  in the vintage English movies  it was  banged against the door to announce one's arrival,  she  also   hit the  bolt  on the wooden door,  on the third count the door was opened 

This is manahal   daughter of memnu  come to see you,  explained Fatima  Maryam standing by the study table   and he was listening   staring at an invisible point  before him into  the space 

Usher her to the guest room downstairs and   take care of  her , ask her what she likes to eat,  extend hospitality  serve her tea coffee hot chocolate,  he had  broken his silence  after a long  time 

But I ve already  given all these instructions  , she arrived over an hour ago,  Fatima Maryam  said  with her arms folded 

He nodded and turned to look at Fatima  what next 

Manahal wants to see you 

What will she do  by seeing me,  he asked blandly,  why does she want to see me 

See her  sahib she is memnu  s girl  once more Fatima reminded him 

He picked up the newspaper kept in front of him  but isn't she also someone  else's girl too or have you forgotten 

Nothing forgotten  but what  is her mistake in that,  saying this Fatima  had to  harden her heart,  but who else is her relative besides you,  God knows  how much she expects to see you how much she loves you 

Don't try to  trick me into such emotional matters Maryam,  a  knock on the door  made him look towards there  , Maryam  turned to press the door handle,  she stood there 

page 63

....she opened the lid of the jar and offered  the jar to sayyad,  memnu mama had made it  who was an expert in baking,  in a  small oven,  extending her arms a little bit she showed the size,  it used to be always there even when they were gone to boarding schools  , they still had the oven from which came those cookies  , speciality  mama learnt from  the governess  what was her name   ...oh , yes, Fatima Maryam,  just look at their shape,  keep them all together  and they present a zoo,  they used small frames to produce all the cookies 

Oh manahal  you talk so much  mahin said annoyed,  who bores their first time visitors giving all  the details 

Please ma,m let her speak don't stop her,  in our house  she is openly talked about for her chattering and how interesting her chatterings are, sipping his coffee commented  sayyad, he watched admiration stricken at manahal,  he added  the coffee was excellent  the second ever of his life 

And where was the first excellent coffee you tasted asked manahal disappointed 

That is sold in Islamabad  in my favorite coffee shop,  sometime I ll take you there  

Disappointment spread  over her face,  ever since they had come to live there they were kind of got locked  up inside  but before coming down they lived in Islamabad,  her face lit up, she still remembers  though she was very small then

from previous

..asghar and she eloped to get married,  both their families since  didn't forgive them,   mistakes done unwittingly in their youth   regretting at leisure  the child's father returned to his family  , the son born to them was merely one year old then,  sudden death of a brother in the  family   was  an excellent excuse to go back and  take control of the entire family business and even got married to  the  widow, the eloped wife and son were  given up for ever , this was her son's life history 

His life was bitter he realized  unwanted  by father  and his family  he had to accept himself first for being what he was,  he passed his matric and joined a college  where he met zahid and both became good friends,  he too was a poor  boy from poor family like himself,  both  would frequently watch others enjoying themselves and  felt depressed for their own financial reasons,  they felt   inferior  , choosing FSC was a mistake because  the subjects were quite difficult beyond their expectations and comprehension,  so both failed with the lowest points,  finding a government job  with matric  was impossible,  doing  small jobs they came to a decision  they must change their life conditions  and for that they had to cross their path,, both became robbers, in the beginning  they entered empty houses to pick up things,  zahid was an expert lock breaker , he had mastered this skill from another experienced  master locker breaker, their  first two  attempts of robberies were a success and they collected in thousands,  easy money big money  their first ever,  third time zahid  on knife point  extracted  money from a man  completely emptying his pockets,  they  frequently  picked pockets of strangers 

downtown

ustaad

...the first lesson  looked the Mauldin seriously at them both,  zahid  not apparently paying much attention  the other  fully focused  listened..never ever  trust a criminal  whether hardcore or beginner 

Was there any difference between  the types of criminals  asked zahid scornfully

The Mauldin sahib  glared at him, the other  dug his elbow  into his ribs that hurt him  and doubling with pain a dirty abuse escaped from his lips 

Zahud was stubborn   his bad habits known to his friends 

Of course  there was  a classic difference between  the new criminal  who  could sometimes   give in to his feelings of kindness,  the hardcore never showed sympathy and was ruthless  , devoid of all human sentiments,  Mauldin sahib  like  a sage  explained   his  point,  both students  nodded  , maulvi sahib was a most interesting character,  he was the only one in the jail  with whom the two of them got along,  both were  imprisoned for three years  and  the maulvi sahib  was  spending his nineth year, his real name was   replaced by the title maulvi by the other two inmates  because of his long beard , he was regular five times a day  namaz  practitioner,  unlike other prisoners he didn't spend time  humiliating others but kept  to himself,  when these two  entered the prison  maulvi  s solitude  was removed,  one would listen to him attentively  and the other zahid couldn't escape and had no other option 

big thinking of big people

...impossible is to  free them from their shackles who adorned them proudly 

.

..every man till he breathes his last  believes  stubbornly death is  something that happens to only others 

.

Huge buildings collapse when the bricks loose contact of cement bonding  with each other 

.

Intellect in woman is that  attribute  which in it's absence itself is an attribute 

.

Bathing  keeps many problems  away but  not Bathing also is effective to keep  the unwanted away 

.

Two fools together can't  make a wise person , they can make a perfect married couple 

page 229

...napoleon was defeated  and Willington  in the  battlefield  taunted him sarcastically  the English  fight for respect  and napoleon for wealth 

Napoleon retaliated  of course  wars were fought  for what one lacked 

page 61

....for  past one hour she held the calculator  in her hands  doing  accounting  and  making budget  of the month  very busy , manahal sat before her as usual busy over her phone gossiping,  

The problem with the Pakistanis is they have to use their fingertips also after calculations are done on the calculator said manahal  without  taking away her eyes from the  phone  and  mahin who was calculating on her fingers stopped in the  middle 

Manahal launched  pointing out mahin what was she doing  if she didn't  trust the  calculator why use it in the first place 

Mahin  without bothering to make a reply gave her head a jerk before carrying on with her calculations 

It was like  getting the  money from an ATM and then counting it

Perhaps the machine  added or missed out on  a five hundred rupees note

ATM, mahin just realized startled  the other day her card got blocked and the bank had called her to collect her card

Then you must get it today 

Mahin recalled  the young man with  the mention of her ATM card who had walked with her down the past memory lane nostalgically when she had returned  to her native land with  hopes , when she was for the second time thrown out of her parents home,  then how she used to live in fear and how she managed to restore her life practically from those scary looming shadows 

page 218

....hashya focused on driving after talking about the novel  with wasim , she had given him some  consolation,  yesterday she had spoken to  Karachi channel content head madam zarina  on phone  , zarina had shown her unawareness  on the matter because now they were not working on   Dara as and the ones playing on their channel were  not theirs but obtained from  sub channel,   because the madam wasn't  giving any details  and the phone was shut down  hashya contacted the publisher who readily share inside  information,  naved shah t v writer   was discussed  but the galaxy channel was not active anymore, Farhan production was assistingthem,  a new serial bhed was m progress  remake of raz, writer named was  depending on it, gaffer Qasim instructed  hashya not to  mention his name  and keep it to herself,  hashya  decided to pursue the  matter and  found  a sub office of Farhan production  was  working in Lahore  where responsible staff was present  now she was headed towards the sub office 

She stopped her car at a porch in a wonderful building by the  river side,  she had already spoken over the phone to someone  so she directly walked inside,  though she was made to wait a while  before a well-built  bald man dressed in Western  style  trousers and shirt appeared  

page 59

...the children tabanda sent for tuitions were quite weak in studies,  their memory was very poor  and they had  much problems learning things,  mahin had to spend more time   with them,  these were  government schools students  and  lived in nearby villages 

It's unimaginable how you manage to spend so much time with such children when it's impossible to be with them  even for half hour,  Manahal found them quite nuisance,  not liking their dirty worn out clothes,  it seems as if they haven't changed clothes for months,  they were filthy and  stinking,  why don't you ask them if they ever had a bath 

Mahin would hush up manahal  feeling  hurt herself for the innocent children 

One of the bolder of the lot loudly would  speak up to Manahal explaining the condition  of water that the rivers were frozen during winters,  no taps at home  , mother and sister  get water for the kitchen from the neighborhood 

Manahal argued why don't the women also get more water for their bath and  washing the clothes  but the problem was that people like them don't like to stay neat and clean  , their habits were  wrong Manahal just  hated them 

Ok drop this topic now tell us what do your fathers do  One day  mahin intervened  to stop  a fierce argument between Manahal and a student 

The student explained his father  gathered tobacco leaves and sold its powder tea 

Manahal mockingly said it was snuff stuff not tea

page 185

Shamla and gulbaz reached home sometime later, amma was  preparing to take milk from the cows and  goats  ,shamla  dumped the green tender branches before the goats and then sat down with amma to help her  get the milk, the cattle  sged was next to the house they lived in, she  was when free from the  goats shah Faraz  arrived , coincidentally sgahbaz her elder brother was not home  but her abba  afzal khan was home,  shah faraz greeted them all before inviting them to his sister's wedding  specially  his sister Zaino s wish was to send shamla  a day before 

Abba and amma agreed to send shamla to attend the wedding at sangur, shah faraz sat a while to leave  as the  dusky shadows lengthened to spread out

Next day shamla  s elder brother shahbaz  created a scene  , abba wasn't home,  shahbaz first refused to go to  sangur  , he was  absolutely against shamla going to sangur,  his demeanor was severe  and objected  strongly that shamla  reached the wedding  function ahead  by one day 

Ma protested weakly,  she  raised her voice  gently asking dear son what made him object to it when  Zaino and shah faraz were  close to them,  that was amma  s brother's family,  besides zainu and shamla were soul mates 

page 57

...mahin looked at him questioningly

He lifted his head heavenwards as if  waiting for the right words  

, inspiration descended on him and he coughed  to clear his throat to complete his statement it was  as if a child had  obtained  his  favorite desired  toy, hesitantly her  looked at her,  wasn't she  aware of children's  demands he quickly added his explanation  the next moment,   raising his hand  to articulate his point   he expressed  the similarities of his desires, so interesting it was,  mahin queerly peered at him,  had he come to  take a stroll or go sightseeing 

Surprised he shook his head  no it wasn't so, he was  a local 

A native? Now it was her turn to look Surprised  for in as many years she had never  set eyes on him 

His abba got transferred to dera  gazing khan,  the whole family went with him,  abba then sent him away to study  in swabi where be got admission 

G I k I?

Abba got a house built  during his service  and after retirement came back to settle here 

He had just  recently  completed his internship  in multan 

page 55

...mahin  belonged to a most respected family,  she gets married to her tai s son  for love when she was  a student,  for this  unacceptable crime her parents  cut off their ties with her, ,her husband dies, she is forced to lead  a  life full of hardships  with her daughter,  during  her holidays she goes shopping in the valley,  herATM card gets blocked,  her heavy baggage  is difficult to manage and a young man offers to help her, 

He laughed at mahin for gaping at him in sheer surprise,  he trues to make her feel  better,  embarrassed she starts walking away,  he follows her introducing himself as being    a senior class student  where she had joined as a junior  class teacher, his name was Yusuf  sayyad, he reminded her it was her first day at school  , during the  break she was sitting with social studies teacher mem khan  when he happened to spot her for first time 

Mahin s pace increased  with it for it was a long time ago  event, he described her she was clad in navy blue  shirt and gray trousers,  now her step faltered,  she turned to look at him he grinned delightfully,  he added that wasn't all  there was more  of her he remembered  , no need for her to be so surprised,  she said she didn't remember him as her student  in the junior school,  since then she was  teaching in  the same  junior section  , how was it possible he could know  so much about her,  she kept on walking  on the  rough  road up and and down   in the valley,  he laughed again,   he had  taken one lesson from her,  she scowled  it was impossible 

He explained it was  an hour long lecture  , he completed his  statement  by saying it was their sports  hour  and the sports teacher that day was  on leave,  her period was free,  she was  in the  ground   relaxing  in the sun on a bench,  she was sent for by the house master,  zulfar was their class prefect  , sge shook her head denying it because she had no interest and knowledge of sports 

page 183

.... dusk had descended in the valley,  shamla was  coming down the  hill slope carrying  a bundle on her back  tender green branches  of chest nuts  , her ten year old brother  gulbaz was walking ahead her some  feet away,  he too was  carrying  a big bundle of the green tender branches,  the branches were covered with green leaves  that were the favorite feed of their goats,  extra branches were thrown on the roof  left to sun dry  fir fuel 

As Shamla and  her brother  reached the   lowest  point the sun went up to it's highest,  they lived in gatal  locality  surrounded from all sides by  high hills and mountains  on whose  slopes grew  evergreen trees of pine cedar and  chestnut in abundance 

Both shamla and her brother  every other day climbed up the hill to cut down  greens for their goats and fuel, she was sixteen  and a tribal  and very attractive,  now Both had reached the  locality  walking on the narrow gravel  by the sid of the river  leading to their cottage,  suddenly she stopped,  someone had called her by her name, she turned to look before she was stunned,  her eyes hesitant and rather bashful  a wave of shade  passed away,  a silky feeling   sped up her heart beat,  there stood shah faraz 

page 53

....it was her habit that she couldn't share her thoughts  , this was so  again  the case,  the fever that gripped her  lasted weeks,  abbu  declared   there was no need to  do the job anymore, ammi wasn't scolding  and sisters not teasing  and she absolutely silent,  she  tried to   play it down but the smell of cologne and  unsaid statements   numbed her, she sat in the sun sad  when amir came to sit by her side to see the reports, he had  given her resignation he told her,  without looking at him she nodded  it was the best thing to do,  he enquired after her condition, she was grateful almighty had saved her  and this time she lifted her head up to speak directly looking into his eyes,  he silently nodded 

Before the spring  their Nika was fixed without  engagement, phuphu  became very loving, all were satisfied,  she also managed to  take control of herself  , she had cut off  contacting her friends  though,  because she was strong emotionally kept herself balanced and normal,  the decision of the family proved beneficial,   dreams were high and she stayed  engrossed in visions of homemaking losing the sense of time  ,she and amir discussed each and every matter  except that cold evening 

page 156

....  friend  what a terrible thing has happened with that nice girl,  first her brother now her mother too, she is all alone in this world without a relative  or does she have any asked saifan turning his side on the chair 

No relatives I know of, neighbors are taking care of things,  she is a list soul  

Did she give her statement  of any type,  what had happened that her brother committed suicide 

I did go to her but she kept on repeating  there was no problem at home,  they couldn't even have a clue to what extent  natural was thinking of  leaving them,  he was so normal  but  rather  serious  and they thought  it was  his approaching exams turned him serious  and  that's why he was spending so much time in his closed room  , he wanted to become a chartered accountant    and that called for  honest hardwork 

Your  police nose didn't smell anything  suspicious  was with the matter 

Police also needs  clues to get any further, his postmortem report says nothing,  no evidence  no leads 

What about the phone calls, 

There wasn't any phone found in his  stuff

Alina also confirmed the phone was with him and shut off  long before he  was dead 

page 154

....the night had passed,  the winter moon was  sinking down, the whole scenery was enveloped in  foggy sheet,  that was  spreading  everywhere every moment,  the boys who were  sitting around had left, he was now all alone  watching  her  feeling  empathy for her unrest,   restlessly she would open the gate  to lock outside before  shutting the gates to go back,  it was very clear she was  stressed,  her  dearer than life her brother was gone missing   without a clue,  azghar had told  him she had filed a police report  ,  perhaps she was  given  hope  he would be found and brought back home, that's why she was restlessly  taking frequent rounds up to the gate 

He wished he could do something for her,  be of help to her, at least  he could share her sorrow  but he had never before  even lifted his eyes before her,  he  couldn't speak up before her, all that he could do was  pray for her  and that he was doing  for her happiness,  sighing  deeply he lifted his head to see  the Crack of dawn  in a corner of the sky was sprouting light rays,  he got up  tiredly to drag his feet  to reach his house  just round the corner 

It was already  morning sunshine  buzzing with  life,  she sat  on ammi s cot frame  vacantly  looking at the clock,  with  the ticking  sound her hopes dying out, completely hopeless now she was preparing herself  mentally to receive the bad news  when   a soft knock  of a finger on the gate  drew her attention  , she felt a strong silent storm waited her to open the gate   pushing past her to enter the house,  helplessly she had to get up on the second knock 

page 52

...ariba was intelligent,  shrewd to  judge people, she felt  sajadil s admiring eyes  searching her ,she became aware of him,she had never  stored  any other image,  his eyes  praised her  and gave her  different projects, she too  sincerely loved working  on the projects, ambitious as she  was  sky was the limit,  ,she was doing her best to prove herself  , unstoppable  and carefree, this time she was working on  a theme  on marriage of women's choice, she had to present a documentary film on the same, she had to go to the specific area to gather information   and survey  before making notes and write in detail  with her own personal  views,  her days and nights were  all keeping her extremely busy in her project,she would listen to the stories of women in the area and would break into tears, how  helpless woman is, religion allows woman to choose  someone of her choice,   she had included  religion  to add more weight, it was her last  day  on her project 

She lifted her head up to find the office was  vacant,  nobody was in the cabin, the peon was turning the lights off 

She spoke to him if she could hand the file  over to sajadil, then she could also go home, sajadil  s room was situated upstairs,  she began climbing the stairs  turning the file pages  looking at them,  his room was  there  and the corridor  dimly lit, perhaps sur had already left she thought and quickly  stepped forward and gently  touched the door 

taar e ankabut

...the night was chill and dark,  mist and fog had covered the entire surroundings,  the last train had left the station,  leaving behind the  crowded township  passing through   vast open space, the driver pulled on his  gloves  and glanced out of the windshield, the  flashlight on the forehead of the engine  was casting a stream of light  showing the way cutting through the  thick layers of fog,he felt going through a tunnel  of light 

The speed of the train was gradually increasing,  within minutes they were to cross the outskirts of the township, he was still looking out  and was startled, he saw  a body laid up on the  track at the end of the light , frightened he began  blowing the whistle, he pulled the throttle back and  pressed the full brakes, the train was ten bogies  long  impossible to stop instantly 

page 120

...doctor ali discharged her in the evening  and she shifted  from the hospital to her home, she was quite scared to take this step, all that had happened  with her it was impossible for her to ever trust blindly any stranger again,  she had no other place to go to, it was probable  future held more   challenges  but for now this was the only choice 

He commented his observation was  that she was  frightened and if it was because of him she could relax, she was quite safe with him as they sat down in the car 

She was certain of it but  she  was worried  because of her they all were to  get  bothered she made up an instant excuse 

He suggested she must stop thinking on this matter in fact  his expert advice was to think nothing at all  and stay  stress free  ,it was  imperative for her health, he smiled and  the car  slowly  drove off

His house was rather away from the hospital, she thought it took them half hour to reach there, her heart thumped crazily  all through the drive, her life was  showing her  odd happenings  in a quick  series  and she found it very hard to  believe anything  good, in that short time she lived a long life, her experiences  had stolen her complete faith  from her heart,  worries and   and fears  embraced her 

supper on Sunday and my laces

page 51

...during those days  a girl was murdered by her boyfriend,  on  social  level it became a huge  event  and posed a big question mark on national security,  in many other countries what not happens  but it is not given any media coverage  but here  domestic matters that can be easily solved by the elders is brought to the streets   by the so called  n g os raising  voice   to run their business 

Ariba also joined the rally marching shouting slogans  lighting up candles and torches, writing posters,  channels and newspapers  highlighted the hot topic ,Farhan and Sajadil were actively participating 

On women's day such topics  are   debated upon,  banners are made, women  air their opinions  on how much harassment and suffering they go through,  speeches are prepared in advance, sajadil was  lecturing but his eyes were glued on ariba whose Grey etes screwed up, her plaited  braid  hung on her side , there was definitely something in her that made her stand out from other girls 

page 110

...the big long car was headed towards her at great speed, she became aware of it at the last moment  and she had by then rushed to the middle of the road, all her focus was  concentrated  towards amjad holding revolver  that could instantly anytime  put a full stop to her life and it was then  a screaming horn and flashing headlights of a car  drew her attention,  she   turned to see her death approach and  stood stunned waiting for it, the driver  did his best to avoid the direct hit but the brakes  skidded  to a halt not before hitting her throwing her up in the air, what an awful experience it was 

She felt no pain  falling down with a bang on the ground  , just  scared  and  odd sensation  enveloped her,  she saw the car come to a stop and someone got down to   rush towards her,  the voice concerned asked if she was alright,  she   tried to focus her gaze on the person  but she fainted  before  she could see who was it, the  road,  that apparition  the whole scene and surroundings  faded away  and disappeared 

aurat march

....what kind of practice it is

 Girls are well  raised  given good education and given all facilities  ,they are sent to college and universities  but when it comes to taking the most important decisions in life  her wings are clipped off, her freedom of choice  taken away,   like  a lifeline is snipped off, a kite flying high in the skies is suddenly   pulled back and its  string cut off 

She paused to take a breath and looked around, there wasn't any reaction nor expression  just  stony faces and  blank eyes 

The two younger sisters got themselves busy in their homework  as elder ones were images of patience 

So they weren't even aware of what injustice was done to them,  she was surprised 

page 17

....when a  newly arrived family in the neighborhood  moved in to a rented house abba ji  became friends with the widower  like himself  who  had also lost his wife, both were retired pensioners, he had three sons and two daughters, all the five of them were married off,recently he too got  married to a woman  whose only condition was she would live separately from hus sons,  the house belonged to him where he lived with his youngest and middle sons  and their families  but because of his newly wedded wife  he had moved into abba ji  s neighborhood in a rented house  to live separately from his family, abba ji heard him and commented it was a mistake to leave his house and sonsto live in rented house 

The new neighbor explained he was helpless  like a piece of furniture, one of the daughters in law was a doctor and son a banker,the other son and his wife both were teachers in the university,  one of the portions of the house was occupied by the middle son the other side was with the youngest, abba ji was dumped in the annexe, he had no control or command, food was given him there and he couldn't mix with them all, he  had raised them with his sweat and blood  but his condition was pathetic in his own house, the eldest lived in America  and got married to a white woman, one daughter was Australian citizen  second lived in the u k, and he  remained  left forgotten in the annexe alone 

page 90

...on emergency  situations he was posted at shallot shekhopura police station, it wasn't  routine  posting,  he was to investigate a murder case  in which the murdered was the station incharge,  it was November  harsh cold  morning  when station incharge faiz was found  dead in his  adjoining  government quarters,  he was known to him personally,  faiz was a fearless  dutibound  officer,  not bowing  or breaking  before anyone for  power or money,   death is a reality  and  certainty  for each and every living soul, every one is a mortal  and born to  finally return   yet  some people are so complicated they leave behind them  a trail 9f unsolved mysteries, faiz sahib s case was also  surrounded with lots of unanswered questions, had it  been a normal case  the writer investigator would not be sent there 

aulad aur daulat

...it is said  progeny is gotten by the man s luck and wealth from  women's  fortune  but the odd thing is if wealth is lacking woman  turns away and a childless woman  s husband turns to another woman 

.

.

Patient to his doctor 

When my wife speaks I can't hear a word of what she says 

Doctor. It's a blessing from almighty not a sickness 

.

.

Husband. I have heard woman usually speaks 3000 topics but man only 1000

Wife. Absolutely true,  woman has to repeat herself several times to get her point across  idiots 

Husband. What exactly do you want to say 

Wife. See if it is not repeated again you won't catch the point 

page 29

....what excuse will you give  asked Kate,  my friend is sick and in the hospital  though  I hate lying  said Parker

We must do our best 

Not the best  added Parker looking into  nomi s intoxicating eyes but believe it

Absolutely  We shall do the  best  it's a guarantee 

Fine,  Parker took off his jacket,  what's the plan 

Nomi briefed him, as she explained she  closely watched his expressions trying to read how much satisfied he was 

Very soon the mayor's speech will be on air finally said nomi , the shooter will be requested and  given the  amount  hopefully the shooter will  contact them, this way  Kage  said  jerry bakers team with the help of tracker reach the spot,  Parker  glanced affirmatively before  his  gaze glued to the computer monitor where the gravedigger  s associates  were  highlighted,  they had to work together in a private room,  nomi  agreed  thoughtfully 

from previous

...abba ji  turned   silent  with his room    drowned in  soulful sorrows,  he began spending more of his time in the masjid, after returning home he remained  silent   or  held his tasbih telling the beads or recited  the Koran,  he   ate less and his appetite decreased,  he mixed no more with his children and daughters and sons  and other family members,  he spoke   little just  enough to convey the minimum 

abba ji

...abba ji was left  alone,   otherwise all was well,  son daughter in law and their three girls  and  his three daughters  married and sons in law  their children  but  abba ji was left alone amidst a huge  family because his life companion was gone,  minor little problems surrounded her but   none  was so deadly or sudden to  lead her to her death bed, unexpected vacuum  is shocking,  every one knows  man is mortal and finally must  leave  this world yet  it is so painful,  abba ji had a close friend  who  roared with  laughter and  his etes boiled out  and he was dead on the spot,  abba ji s life partner    at night went to bed  sometime later got up to go to the washroom to return  to her cot and sitting down she called out abba ji who was already awake,  he sat up on being called,  she complained of  a sinking heart  and asked for water,  abba ji walked up to  the jug and was pouring her water in a glass  when she collapsed on her bed,  abba ji  kept on calling her  shaking her but she was gone and beyond  the point of  hearing him 

They had spent forty four years together,  spending  heat and cold of life together,  sorrows and joys, highs and lows in health and  sickness  she had stood  by abba ji  s side always 

page 22

...8.55 am

The grave digger is in town , to look at he is as ordinary looking man as you and me,  neither extra tall nor too short,   neither heavy built  nor skinny,  his eyes are extraordinary  power, if he just looked into your eyes  most likely you would never see  life again 

Washington DC  morning time,  month of December  and the  last day of the year,  the gravedigger was clad in dark navy blue  on the blackish side  overcoat,  across his chest  was the shopping bag belt going around his neck and under his arms 

Roads were crowded and nobody noticed him, there wasn't anything  extraordinary about him,  he stood   before the metro station,  the time was five to nine,  he  was never late

He had to  make sure nobody  saw him,  he was at a subway tunnel,  the depth of the  metro tunnel is sixty feet, , commuters are going up and down,  the gravedigger was ready  , it was one minute to nine, his one hand slips into the  bag across his chest  

page 9

...apparently he wasn't as happy or content with life,  uncertain as he was about his future,  unsure how would he lead his life,  so he decided to find out more about his  future  from the seer peer Karamat shah, if the future held only  darkness  the pir could give him some suggestions, 

he would appeal  the seer gave him tips to remove darkness and  give him a taviz 

The seer had come to live in a rented house near zubeda khala  s , his presence was  pulling crowds  and growing  wider and famous gradually,  yet the evening he visited the pir he found him sitting alone in his room,   the floor was  carpetted and long pillows were arranged  all over,  in a corner incense sticks  fumed fragrance,  in another corner  on a low  stool were piled up big fat books, pir sahib held a tasbih  of  huge rounded beads in a hand  and he rather royally leaned against a long pillow comfortably 

chhappar phaad ke

...dear chacha jan

Hope you are doing fine,  you won't be interested in any way in my well-being  but let me customarily tell you I am well, perhaps you are surprised what makes me write this letter to you  because these days the trend of letter writing is over,  people like to stay connected online on whatsapp, Facebook, emails and cellphone messages,  now everyone knows about everyone everything,  who sneezed,  who is doing what 

I could too have  spoken to you over the phone  but I lack courage,  the matter is rather lengthy and  it was  certain you would have  got annoyed the moment I started to  speak,  you would have redacted by roaring growling snarling and flinging  bad words on me,  I would have lost  and  could never have   said  even a word  so phoning you was pointless,  now that I sat down to write this letter I realize how  enjoyable it is to  pen down my feelings,  it feels like I have suddenly become a writer  of a story,  this is true also in a way because I am writing  about my life   which is a story,  it's about  a chapter  of my life story