ishteharbazi

....she lay with her head on the bed and feet  leaned against the wall pointing upwards towards the ceiling 

The new thing was Mrs Josephine had invited only her very close friends and guests for  her wedding anniversary  cake,  what an awesome cake it was,  declared  decidedly  Julie looking at the  wonderful cake 

So what about it, you always bake the bestest of the cakes laughed  mili

The cake was  displayed  in a compact room on a  tiny showcase bed, she hoped everyone would remember the cake and give her more orders  for their functions Julie thinking aloud turned to look at her,  Mili was embarrassed and quickly  sat up straight 

What about  close circle of Mrs Josephine  you are talking about,  that woman is so horrible who would like to be close to her, it would be certainly strangely surprising and  don't expect to get any more orders,  Mrs Josephine  hardly can have one or two friends,  that is all,  perhaps nobody will  ever  notice the taste and flavor of your cake,  even if one or two cake orders you get from them how wealthy will that make you,  mili was  explaining  her  rather teasingly 

kanch mahal

...a k s death  made  highlights  in the news for a few days  before  fading away into the  background  but there was one particular news that wasn't  losing its position from the front page and was constantly  occupying  limelight  and it was the serial  raaz  s popularity  and success 

Hashya was at frozen house in her bedroom,  phone signals  drew her attention on the line was function desiner madam mehnaz who  bursted  with compliments  showering congratulations on her for becoming a successful super star overnight,  now the most sought after actress  and talk of the town 

page 213

....once mulla dopyaza  was approached by his neighbor  who wanted to borrow his donkey 

The mulla didn't want to give him his donkey and said the donkey wasn't at home,  at that point the donkey brayed declaring his  presence at home 

The neighbor  expressed how much he regretted  mulla s excuse accusing him of lying,  if he didn't care to lend his donkey he could have refused instead of lying 

The mulla said he too regretted it, that the neighbor didn't believe him but believed the donkey s statement 

from previous

.....the night quietly descended,  gulabo   was pressing her mother's head  rubbing her forehead  to erase her headache , mother was lying in her cot and gulabo  glued to the cot , in the evening she had  herded the cattle back home from the fields to  discover mother  was not feeling well,  she was tossing and turning moaning in pain  with the bedsheets covering her

Gulabo  made rotis  followed by  heating up the gravy and waited  long time for brother and when he didn't turn up she ate her own meal  and fed her mother too, shauki wrestler  usually returned home  late afternight,  it was already  late and he still wasn't home 

After eating her dinner mother got back into her bed and gulabo  began  rubbing her head softly,  her fingers were  moving on her mother's head but her own mind was  moving  in her imagination with shehroz  in the valley,  wasn't that unbelievable both had come so close to each other,  for her it was love at first sight 

Her reverie was shattered,  someone was  banging the main door as if pouring out all his rage on the door 

nazm

....do write down a few words 

If you get tired  through the journey 

When you find yourself lost in the life maze 

Rest a while 

To write down a few words 

Let the  rain drops 

Settle  on  your palm 

To write down a beautiful nazm

To a dirt covered  child 

Sit him in your lap 

On his smile 

Write down  quickly a couplet 

Seeing flowers blooming 

Caress them 

On their  fragrance 

Compose a spontaneous gazal 

Just don't be pathetic nor give up 

Never in any way 

On a note of new hope 

Just reflect a small spark of joy  

Daman se lgi aag

...hearing the   vegetable vendor shout zarangar relaxing in the sofa with her legs stretched out  before her in the lounge  quickly shut off the morning television show she was watching  with the remote,  plucking her dupatta lying near by covered herself and slipped her feet in the slippers  to hurriedly rush towards the main gate 

The hawker was in a crispy  voice  was describing the vegetables he was carrying for sale potatoes  brinjal ladyfingers,  his voice resonated in ears

She had reached the main door and as her habit was  put her eye to the  eye hole to check outside scene,  there stood the Bina the young girl of chaudhary sahib  at her own gate  looking at the vegetables and asking the price from the hawker , at that moment the door of the opposite house also opened and   emerged  tipu sleepily 

page 191

...dusk had descended in the village,  gulabo was  on her way homewards herding her cattle and  goats , her family owned lots of lands, her daily morning routine was  untying her  cattle and take them to their lands where they were  given their feed and kept  tied as she would return home for the day to again go back for them in the evening  

That evening she was   coming back home withher cattle on the  gravel foot path along the  flowing river through the fields,  it was quite a narrow  walking space not enough for two people,  she suddenly stopped  , a stranger was seen walking towards her, , he looked city bred dressed in trousers and shirt, he was rather tall and well built,  inher village  damas were too some  guys tall and strong  who when  walked the streets  the ground shuddered  beneath them but gulabo never was  impressed or got involved with anyone,  God knows what was something special in the stranger that  every step he took forward  attracted her,  she stood mesmerized  , her surroundings  simply  disappeared  time stopped,  most interesting situation arose that shattered the charm shaking her out of the broken spell

The  gravel foot path along the river,  the walking space was tight for two people and on one side the river was flowing on the other side were the  fields and one of the cows  git out of mind and crazily attacked him with her horns 

maat

....her name was gulab jaan,  everyone called her gulabo, someonehas saiditwhat is  in thename,  a rose would be a rose whateveriscalled

Thougha name makes a person moreinteresting sometimes a person is   called  afsar khan  yet he is merely a peon, fakir shah  named  turned out to be a billionaire  merchant  sometimes  it happens  differently  for example  the name  defines  the  person  and  gulabo was absolutely perfect name for her,  she was  beautiful like a pink rise and refreshingly attractive  but her nature was  aggressive,  her rage  shook up the whole  village,  she walked around  royally stiff necked not entertaining anyone,  all the  young men were acquainted to her well  but nobody  to her liking,  she was  every single man's secret  heart s desire, she was  the most  desirable  woman   who walked around like a floating dream,  dreams are not made from  substance reality is made of,   dreams reside strictly in  the subconscious,  she was  impossible to  get real for any of them,  it was a  useless  trying to  get her  the reason was shaukat ali the wrestler 

page 167

...iltajà

Beghum took the car  out and  occupied the driving seat, husband  sentimentally  appealed  to  drive carefully  and  hit the cheapest  thing 

 One day she reached home carrying a extra large carton  containing  lots of tiny holes in it

Her sister enquired  what did she bring home 

Remember I get to see rats in dreams,  so  a cat to catch them all 

But sis  dreams are dreams  and  rats unreal her tone sounded  surprised 

So what the cat I got too is unreal

A man driving  lost his way,  he stopped a cyclist  to ask  the  road to gulistan johar 

The cyclist didn't know it

Fine  then tell me  which road to take to  the university 

I don't know 

Don't you know anything  flared up the car driver 

All I know is I am not lost and  going on  my right way 

 Replied  the  satisfied  cyclist with a relish 

An aircraft  flew across the sea and  in the sky began spinning,   chaos and panic spread,  the voice of the  captain rose on the speaker addressing the  scared to death noisy confused women not to worry it was an imported aircraft,  foreign nationals  were taking care of it regularly so all must remain calm,  they can look out of the window and make their trip even more enjoyable by watching the  setting sun  the red ball of the sun sinking in the sea , tourists are  seen boating  , you can see the bright red boat  I am in it speaking directly to you from 

deher

...life is dear to everyone  because  life  is lived just once,  jami was  stuck  in impossible situation at that moment  , he had no  escape  no other option  except  following the instructions of jasim

Jami in a rising voice declared he had in the dark  got hit by a bus,  though nothing much  was to worry about,  so  someone must reach the girl quickly 

Here jami completed his statement and there jasim hit him hard  with his gun handle  on his scalp,  before collapsing a groan was heard  from jami, uncertain  if he was  temporarily  incapacitated or absolutely dead  jasim  waited a while,  jasim was completely uninterested in jami s summer vacation   nor was  he  interested in his  transfer,  he  had only  retaliated on the  gazal philosophy  clearing up the day's work 

Jasim   caught the bus  that didn't go anywhere before  safdar arrived  and carefully  spoke in a very low voice  to najib to stay  very quiet  jami was  fast asleep  jasim had sung him a lullaby and next it was  safdar  s turn,  it was  show time 

page 113

...one afternoon  a very old  vintage car   came stopped before a restaurant,  the driver got down  and spoke to the man standing near him  to  take care of the car  until he came back 

The owner driver of the car  completing his work returned  and  pushed a ten rupee note in the hand as gratitude of the man who was left there to take care of the car,  the man  angrily  asked for fifty rupees 

The car owner was surprised wasn't that  too much to ask  , he took just five minutes off to the restaurant 

The man explained  it wasn't about the time he meant,  it was  for being humiliation  for being associated with that car, every passersby by thought the vintage car belonged to him 

page 75

...that evening  engrossed in thoughts she got down from the  bus began walking on the footpath  ,  a black car  swisher past her, , for no reason at all she felt  zoib was  inside the car, she had almost reached home 

She saw the car stop at mamu  s house and zoib get down,  she deliberately  slowed down her pace so that  zoib  could go into the house before she reached there 

When she reached home  zoib and hena   stood  at the entrance door  laughing out loud at something,  little sister and sherjal  were playing badminton 

Hi aiza, don't your shoulders  tire out carrying so much burden asked mashal 

Zoib said  it was a fake act of goodness to impress people  all should understand 

Aiza explained defensively it wasn't false but true  orders from Master she followed  , not  tired out because it wasn't burden on her in fact it kept her going and helped her maintain her  ethical balance,  also it keeps her safe and protected from evil,  almighty knows better  she turned to go towards her own room , better for you all to stay out of my way  or I too know all of you and your virtuousness , flinging the words to the surprised audience she quickly disappeared 

Downstairs  fakhra mamani  dived deep into  the  stream of dirty accusations  in defense of her two daughters 

page 73

...the days passed off slowly and lazily  if she wasn't hopeful about her future she wasn't hopeless either,  perhaps times would change  and a peaceful moment might drop into her lap  of destiny 

Exams were near,  she got books issued from the library  and reached home after dusk,  she was in a mood to study,  eager to  make notes quickly  because not much time was left for exams 

She was close to her house when she saw massi approaching, she was  looking here and there and seemed in quite a hurry 

Aiza bibi listen  , massi stopped her and held her hands dragging her backwards to the bus stop 

Wait what's happening massi asked aiza, what's wrong,  why are  you so nervous,  aiza pulled out her hands from the other woman's grip 

Fakhra bibi and all with Tariq sahib have gone somewhere and  guests from fakhra bibi  s side of relatives are sitting at home,  two  young  boys and an elderly man  , they are  asking  about you,  explained massi worriedly 

kashta ahsan

...tge boss's driver was present at the airport when he  emerged,  the driver picked up his  luggage  and he took the passenger seat next to the  driver's,  the driver informed him the boss wanted to see him  in the haveli,  he remained silent  because he was sure the driver would  follow his boss's orders only  one of the top loyal  of the boss, on mir sahib s command  he could kill   anybody who offended mir sahib  , in the long list  of the dead were  included  mir sahib  s uncle and his two sons  , , mir sahib had  tried to settle the property dispute  but  hus official guards and driver were shot  , mir sahib offered a  lifetime job to this driver  , his loyalty was tested and unshakable,  he was accommodated in  a  portion of the haveli,  this was separate yet  closer to mir sahib,  the driver  came guard was  equipped with mobile  to stay connected,  Bari shah  was  mir sahib  s full time  bodyguard and  trusted  man  who was  responsible to pay  for the fees abroad  of the man in the passenger seat who was  now a qualified barrister,  because the  drive was  going to be quite long he asked sharing j how was  the  town  life,  conversationally to pass the time 

The old Town that  didn't change in one hundred years  can't be  expected to  change in the last five years,  he smiled and  asked no more questions  , it was  a completely logical answer 

Shah ji added  he didn't dare go to the city again nor did he attend the funeral of his father 

Why not,  didn't mir sahib give him permission for this 

from previous

..there is a   fine line drawn between   sinners and  godly  territories,  when man reaches that point  his soul gets branded  and he  never  gets salvation  from  the mundane,  one should  be thankful for all the mercies,  , when he realizes  he is bestowed  with  positive attributes like  honesty  sincerity  he must rejoice  for being the chosen candidate,  beware of sinfulness in your mind,  be chaste and  clean even in your mind 

from previous

...someone who knows  and he knows that he knows  is truly learned  , learn from him 

Someone who doesn't know and knows  he doesn't know it  is a learner , teach him 

Someone who knows but doesn't know that he knows  is intellectually asleep,  wake him up 

Someone who doesn't know and doesn't know that he doesn't know is a fool,  stay away from him 

page 83

...it's easy to find out how much knowledge man has  but it's impossible to understand his mind 

I have no time  to  hate them who hate me because I spend all my time with those who love me 

I couldn't find the two people all my life  first someone who  gave  charity in the name of Allah and became poor,  second  someone who sinned and escaped  Allah's   punishment 

page 73

Inspector Karam daad  left home for office  like every day schedule  , a taxi lazily passed by before him,  he promptly jumped up opened the door and got in and instructed the driver to  follow the  taxi  ahead,  it looks so suspicious 

The driver explained he had to  follow the taxi in front because it was  towing his 

During a hotel  seminar two experts neuro psychology  happen to come across each other,  both knew each other,  one of them gave a smile  and said hello to the other,  tge other didn't respond at all  instead he began scratching his head as he stood by a pillar thinking what could be the  purpose of  the smile and hello 

Two hours later he finally got his query sorted out,  that the purpose of hello to him was merely  a greeting 

Majid sahib asked  sharing sahib why was he arguing to give a big discount when he never paid for the groceries in years and  always his account was carried forward 

Sharing sahib explained the lesser the amount  the bill showed the lesser the loss of the poor shopkeeper 

gumshuda

....the wife and younger brother of the missing person  had come to file a report,  it was  one   rainy evening during the  monsoon season,  the whole day had experienced  frequent  showers,  , heavy pouring would stop but the  incessant drizzling didn't,  it was  still  wet cold weather 

The  investigating officer  invited the brother in law and  sister in law  inside his office  asking them to be seated  as comfortably as is possible in the police station to get ready to answer the questions 

Who are you people 

Where from 

What's the problem that brought you here 

The man introduced himself as azim a resident of momin Abad, he said the woman was his bhabhi  shadan married to his elder brother handful, who was  not anywhere to be found,  missing from yesterday 

What exactly do you mean by disappeared  missing,  

The village momin Abad was  located just two miles away from the police station , he turned to look at them one by one 

He left last morning  for  Jamal pur explained shadan tearfully,  he had  assured her of his return by the evening  and when he didn't reach home   she  believed he was staying back in the other village  for the night 

page 81

.... how do you feel now,  the doctor had  instructed you to  not have butter,  non vegetarian  heavy foods  alcohol  cigarettes,   so did that help you at all 

Oh ýes, absolutely,  by not  spending on such  foods I saved enough to pay the doctor 

Who can  object  to a mother of young girls  going out with them 

The girls of course 

Shabbat  would  be better  doing  films 

Silent ones

A sahib  stayed under treatment in a private clinic   for three months  of a particular  doctor  but  without any improvement,  one day he packed up his  luggage  informing the doctor  he  would rather  go  back home and  wait  for his end in normal circumstances 

page 69

.... we are decent people,  we can't tolerate any of this all, , how could we possibly  face the world if something  goes  wrong,  mamani  declared  dancing her  hands  vigorously 

Mamu if you don't wish to see me here around  then pay me the rent of the house,  I would  go to the hostel  but  think  at least thousands of times before  pointing your finger on my character,  you also have three daughters,  what if  you leave them in this condition,  in  the same circumstances I am,  God forbid  they  have to  go through all that I have  been through,  what would be their feelings 

She who was supposed to be extremely  strong  her  so called strength  corroded her inner spirit  shattered long time ago  still was  pretending  obstinately  wearing  a false fake covering of  super  strength 

That night she broke down  fighting with her own self,  she was starved and  hunger pangs  doubled her  but she refused to accept anything from that family,  what kind of brother her amma had,  devoid of any humane kindness,  without  affection,, what a weak man who saw the world through his  wicked wife's eyes and  followed instructions  of his  crafty daughters,  wasn't he aware  almighty was all pervading and all powerful 

She weakly got out from the bed to  get to the washroom to  do was,  during  wazu she  drank lots of water to fill up her empty stomach  before  spreading the mat to perform her namaz 

page 63

...in the next few days her classes  became regular,  students  would  pick up a  noisy argument  when they didn't want to attend classes,   their  low moods would definitely find something awful to argue about  asking  the  sir if yellow journalism wasn't turning  yellowed and yellowed, nobody was safe , no house  no family was secure anymore,  homely  housewives were not spared  a voice called out from  the end of the hall,  sir,   added  another student  truth must be brought out  with facts instead of biased  personal stories that destroy people's lives 

Another  voice raised a question  why should not   scandals of  stay home women  be exposed  in exciting manner 

Because she wasn't aware of the names of students  she  kept herself  strictly restricted to hearing the voices  for the time being,  any other   strict  teacher would have  cleverly  carried forward the debate for some later time slot before  giving  his lecture  on the syllabus  , some lecturers  unprepared  would waste the entire period in discussions,  in such  mood swing debates roshni and kazim  held the forward position,  kazim was the  nominated  c r of the class,  roshni  sweetly greeted auza on meeting and before leaving  yet  it was no longer possible to revive  old  association 

What had become of her in the past  few years,  she appeared in tight jeans and a short flimsy top or a different version of  tights with a short revealing  kurti, dupattas in the university were   disappeared  like historical extinct species 

page 47

...and then two days later mervin and Clarence in the lounge at home  were having late breakfast,  it was  a warm morning of  summer,  Clarence added  sugar and  milk to his coffee  before  plunging into his newspaper,  he was a professional stockbroker  therefore he would most carefully  scan the commerce page and  other  matters quite  in detail,  this  habit  of his was included  in his daily routine,   his job took him to the Wallstreet  brokage house every day  where he worked as a freelancer  , he visited it as often as it was needed 

Mervin had kept her   small  leather  bound  notebook open  and checking   previous events   important to her,  she  religiously  was regular  diary keeper, they both had started eating their breakfast when their chef  Ivana entered the lounge holding a tray  announcing  ceremoniously  that he would like to show in a visitor 

Mervin lifted up her head in surprise  who called that early morning 

Clarence looked from the upper edge of the newspaper  and enquired his chef Ivana who was it

Miss marya deller 

Thats so odd said Clarence  putting away the newspaper on his side  and asked his wife  Mervin  when did she become so close to deller that she dropped by so early morning that too unchaperoned

page 43

....the party was on its full swing,  the  live band  changed the   tune   so sensational that sent ripples of   intrinsic  joy through the crowd,  the saxophone played  intoxicating  exoticness  filling their hearts with unspeakable desires

Mervin was a  music and dancing wizard unbeatable  and  unstoppable,  tge jazz band  had created an awesome magical atmosphere,   the band was  enchanting and  the air musically drunken,  mervin  could feel an odd  sensitivity in her legs,  the crowd simply was impatient to go to the  dance floor  but mervin  was kept involved by the hostess of the party Mrs deller

Who was  in full seriousness instructing Mervyn to take care of herself like in a green house  then she explained  what exactly green house was to grow delicate  foliage under controlled conditions  with green sheets shades  that allow   filtered sunlight and oxygen to enter the enclosure and  carbondyoxide  methane nitrates ozone and the likes  can't  

Most dealers definitely enjoyed talking on her favorite subject of green house  but Mervyn never liked  gardening  in the first place 

atraf

...James Robert white sat  watching the  clock on the  dark  wall in that small room , already eleven  just half hour more to go  before they would come to get him,  he began praying  the priest would  arrive quickly,  he got up to  walk  restlessly from one wall to the other,  his felt his stomach  behave funny,  he regretted  having eaten the food brought for him,  that very moment  a knock on the door  made him quite nervous,  he   unintentionally looked at the wall clock 

No no, it couldn't be them,  this was the time for the pastor to reach there,  

He nervously asked the person  at the door to enter 

The heavy wooden door was pushed open  and father Thomas Mc Carthage walked in,  a long sigh of great relief  escaped from him on seeing the visitor,  he  almost leaped to catch his hand in his warmly,  thanking God for he had come,  because he couldn't  go through it at all 

The pastor  spoke to him  as he would to a child  suggesting  they must  make proper use of their time,  the priest was called to hear his confessions 

Son, I am ready to hear you out,  the priest looked directly into his eyes,  James eyes were  widened,  he wished he wasn't there,  he didn't deserve it, he. lowered  his head 

Son, this is normally how people feel,  now we have  not much time left,  better  make your confessions now,  that will  help your spirit  liberate  without pain,  freeing you from all your burdens 

from previous

..he opened his eyes in the morning  , rukhsar was  offering her namaz, he got out of his bed did his walk and  recited his namaz,  rukhsar said it was  so silent upstairs nobody was   heard walking around,   

He explained upstairs had no kids who would jump around  and  it was so early  five thirty only  perhaps  they got up late,  rukhsar felt embarrassed  for he was right  , she had  in fact  taken two rounds outside in the hope of seeing the upstairs family 

He laughed at her curiosity and the concern   so maternal  her instinct was   , would she like to have tea he would make it for her 

She used to like him  for making tea for her,  they both became rather nostalgic,  she relaxed before the television  and he went to the kitchen to make tea 

The window was open,  soft cool breeze  blew in , both  began  having their  freshly made hot tea, , she began talking about sarmad  s childhood,  how  shy he used to be and now  what an amazing   success  he had got, 

Naturally  they prided in their  son s feats taking  credit for being his parents  and his accomplishments 

They slept of exhaustion of the previous day  his sleep  was  disrupted  by  screaming,  mahin was screaming  incessantly,  papa come quickly,  her voice frightened,  they ran out , from the  door was coming in Ahmed  followed by Mahmud,  their faces white  followed by mahin , they all couldn't speak and their eyes were wide open with horror,  she  shakily pointed towards  something and collapsed on to the ground,  she was  saved from banging her head  and sat on the  sofa,  then  another scream was heard,  this time it was  rukhsar,  he ran outside,  the door leading upstairs was left open and rukhsar stood   staring  in a state of shock  in that direction,  her eyes  rolling  spinning like a wheel 

Unable to take it anymore he looked around,  the floor was covered with dust and the hall was empty with nobody seen around,  he rushed towards sarmad s room 

from previous

....they returned home after  dining out,  children went on their respective rooms,  sarmad quickly to his  bedroom,  perhaps  in a hurry to use the washroom,  laughed rukhsar,  both of them went in  to their bedroom,  rukhsar suggested  the wakil sahib ought to manage the whole thing by himself,  she wouldn't let her husband go to Karachi to manage  the  situation 

Look, there wasn't so much to worry about 

She couldn't  think of being left alone, it was scary 

Was she  a little  kid unable to stay alone for some days,  mother of four he said appreciatively,  she  stubbornly  stuck on her point   to let others  do the running around 

Finally he had to  give in agreeing to make someone else take over full responsibility if possible 

So it was decided early next morning he would ring them up, she  tidied up the room before  turning to freshen up herself,  her  kept his silence  and  stayed in bed,  there was a knock on the door,  , mahi stood  there holding  tea tray , she stepped  in to place it on the  sidetable  in the corner  before leaving,  he  loudly  called out to his wife to  come  out from the washroom to have her tea while it was still hot 

In the morning at ten  he phoned the lawyer who had no problem with the matter , all the  documents were ready,  showing gratitude he promised to send the amount online,  so the case was settled,  though such property cases  took generations  but thankfully  out of court  this one  git sorted out 

At lunch  rukhsar  mentioned  how beautiful the gir  was who lived upstairs,  out of this world,  rukhsar sounded enthusiastic  and warm 

But how and where  did she happen to see her 

Just a glimpse on the terrace,  rukhsar was returning after cleaning up the floor  and just saw a glimpse of the ethereal beauty 

Naseeb ki barshein

...it was her first day in the university,  studying in the department of journalism  and writing  columns in the newspapers  was her ultimate dream but her this dream wasn't coming up  and today she was  feeling her dream was come true,  she enthralled in that  rapturous moment savoring  it

She sat very close to the door  therefore  every one entering the  room had to walk past her,  it was right here on these seats by the door her mother and father had   completed their  degrees in journalism 

Tgat was Abadallaslam  khursheed mehdi Hasan and waris mir Era and they all contemporaries  now that  Era was over,  with  new masters   students and their times also had changed  yet the building remained the same 

Sir fayaz had come in to the class room  and started  roll call one by one introductions were made 

Faiza masood jami

She introduced herself  , her abba nasood jami was also a student here 

Are you  masood jami s daughter 

, sur fayaz s voice  reverberated with  respect,  so happy to have you here as a student,  wishing you  would prove  your father's  daughter 

Absolutely installation her voice  was strong with hopeful  trust 

The first two rows were  for the girls,  the boys  occupied  the right  side benches  and all the  vacant seats were  filled with boys but this trend in this course was    overuled and both gender students  divided the classroom fifty fifty  in two equal halves 

She was  engrossed in her thoughts  when her reverie was  shattered by a female voice from the  last seat  introducing herself  roshni farhan

Faiza  wanted  to turn around to see that girl but how could she break discipline in the class in the presence of the master and turn to see the speaker 

page 65

.....aren't you being obstinate about nothing, 

Busted angrily  nayman,  it had been a week long argument,  ranzan excitement was at it's peak,  preparations for the eid were almost done,  immediately after eid were  starting the wedding functions of faza , he had planned a long leave from his office  to  peacefully  attend arrange  and manage his sister's  wedding , he could  also be with his brother sister and mother for eid but nazta  obstinately refused to celebrate eid anywhere except  at home,  to reach Lahore just a day before the wedding function,  whereas he didn't want to appear  a stranger at his darling  dear little sister's wedding  but nazya was stubborn  not giving in, he had tried to  make her see sense but she wouldn't agree 

It wasn't  obstinacy  it is  ethical infact  it was her right she argued,  she never interfered with  his matters or meddle with in laws,  she always gave them the  respect they deserved  and got respect in return  but it wasn't right to take undue advantage of her  gentleness,  she was quite articulate her tone serious 

from previous

....it was the last  week of July   heatwave  on its superlative  climax,  without  air conditioning  life was completely impossible,  be had just finished his task and got up from the computer  that his attention was  drawn to  some sudden dropping sound  outside,  he walked towards the front door  to open it and  take  a peek outside,  he went a but further  to check the side lane  that lead to the  back lawn,  there was  a  stairway going upstairs  in the middle  of whose door was  wide open,  he  took a few more steps forward,  he  could smell a most  intoxicating sandalwood  scent , he slowly began walking forward,  that peculiar scent  was  coming out through that open door,  curiosity  made him  look  carefully inside,  spiral stairway  was going upstairs and the  scent  was carried downstairs from upstairs  on the  flowing airwaves 

He  put his foot slowly forward in the direction,  the sandalwood scent sharpened,  he kept on moving forward,  at the end of the spiral stairs the door was  open  , he could see clearly the scene inside the room,  from the door he could see  nobody there,  he walked towards the center of the room  though it was  strictly wrong  but  his curiosity got over him 

The upstairs rooms were exactly positioned as the downstairs rooms he occupied with his family but here the wall to wall red carpet was  spread  on the floor,  the  most expensive sofas were arranged   in a neat style,  there was  a long center table placed in the  center with showpiece  decorated on it,  the windows that opened in the courtyard were  heavily curtained,  the whole  area smelled of sandalwood,  he  stood there in surprise,  the kitchen door was shut,  all the  rooms on the right side and left side were also shut 

from previous

...he turned the motorbike in the direction of Kaberle  bhai  s state agency,  kabir bhai was  as usual present in his agency  , glimpsing him come kabir quickly git up and asked  how was he  , if he had happily settled in his new house  

Sitting down in a chair he explained all was  good and the house was  fantastic  but...

But what  kabir asked  looking at him 

Well something is  strange there a feeling of something not explicit 

Laughed out loud kabir  before  saying  they must enjoy life  and  ignore  unimportant matters 

And what exactly did kabir mean by  those matters  he asked surprised,  what matters were to be ignored as unimportant 

You have such a big beautiful house  what's your problem,  you seem to be a practical man,  find out more about rents around the area,  electricity bills water bills and  three phase  meters , cooking gas  all is easily available for you  yet you  are so ungrateful,  his tone was now  sharp 

He suddenly realized kabir was  nervous  though  he had said nothing against the house,  kabir looked very  worried so he explained he wasn't complaining 

Then what 

Nothing  and he came out,  kabir saw him leave but said nothing more 

He started his bike headed towards the market,  rukhsar had given a list of things,  when he reached home  with  shoppers rukhsar was very happy to tell him  someone had  come upstairs she heard furniture being moved through she couldn't see anyone 

Aina mashal

....the house in the first glance looked good surrounded with  a  large ground it was a double storey building,  the lawn was at the back yard,  mango lemon and other citrus  grew around it, there was a garage at the entrance  with a small green grassy patch next to it, the condition of the  trees and lawn they were not taken care of, the state agent said what a huge area it covered,  the rooms were airy spacious and  most interestingly on the both sides of the  location were  side streets  , people  had their  sides  sticking to neighbors  walls tightly  congested,  the two bedrooms  contained large  windows that opened into the back lawn for  ventilation,  television lounge and the drawing room,  store  and specially the kitchen were absolutely fantastic 

I think your mother will love the kitchen of all places softly whispered he into his son's ear, he declared he wanted what bedroom separately just for himself,  demands started to  unroll,  father glared where would other siblings live,  couldn't they take the room next to the study room,  make that the children's room,  they could argue over that later on first  they must see the whole house 

haqqdaar

...after the formal dinner  all came to sit down in the lounge gossiping pleasantly,  naman and nazya had come with their children from pindi to Lahore  where  nayman planned to spend their vacation in his family house there lived his widowed mother with her eldest married son and youngest daughter  faza, nayman had spent his first  year of married life with his wife in this house,  then he was posted to another town but they still had a room  exclusively to themselves that they occasionally occupied every time they were in Lahore,  bashri was elder to fatal and younger to nayman  had invited nayman and  nazya to dinner 

Bashri admired  bazta s suit lovingly,  nayman  was speaking to ahsan husband of Bashri  stopped to look at her waiting for nazta s answer who explained it was a birthday gift from her maternal family,  her brother and bhabhi always remembered her on all the occasions,  she spoke with an attitude and style  to nayman s great relief before turning attentively towards  ahsan again 

akhri padav

...it is said marriage is a laddu  who takes it regrets and who doesn't  also regrets,  the experienced experts say  it's better to have it because in both the cases  the result is regretted 

Ability  belonged to that tribe that believed  one must  firmly refuse to have the kaddu for self interest and to avoid experiencing bad things in life , whether good or bad one must lead his own life  peacefully,  ignore what the world wants from you,  actually the world  comes later on she had completely failed to explain her point to her father who was unable to understand her viewpoint and wanted her married off as soon as possible,  before her graduation was completed he had started to look  for a suitable match for her there was firstly traditional reason  second  reason was abortion had nobody else besides him for family , he wished to  see her settled in his life time