khwab azab

.... in that  partially lit up room the air smelled of cigarette smoke and  alcohol,  it was a small compact room   , the furniture  consisted  merely of a sofa a glass table  and a tiny fridge in a corner,  bland walls were   painted   light blue  and the lights casted from the l e d  made colored patterns on it , the two  occupants of the sofa  geld golden  liquid in the glasses and   burning cigarette   lost in thoughts 

This is not right  spoke  in whispered tone tge one on the right m he was  twenty seven and  fair and  bright forehead,  dark eyebrows  looked   squeezed up on the frowning  forehead,  dark brown eyes  shaded with   deep thoughts  , thin loos tightly  clenched  showing inner   turbulence 

What is not right  asked the person on the left  rising his voice 

He was twenty two,  red and white complexion 

Thus whatever we are doing  is not right,  he pointed towards the  the liquor and cigarette 

But whatever happened to us was that right  replied  the younger one 

Not at all,  he shock his head vehemently 

So just stop arguing then

 Said the younger man sipping his bitter drink 

Even I don't want to discuss the matter,  I want to forget it all  myself  he poured even a larger   amount of the bitter liquid inside him but trying to forget that brings that back afresh with greater intensity  , bitter  experiences had made him bitter 

Life is like this  the other  agreed 

I wish  that life could give us options of delete and undo

page 137

....hello , he spoke on the phone

Aslamalekum,  a female voice answered  asking if she was speaking to kamal sahib,  her tone  was demanding walekum salam he replied in a cultured  voice,  who was  she  and how did she get his number,  the sim he was using was just bought yesterday,  after  Sharman town  episode he needed a new number,  for the new sim he even got a back cell phone,  he gad cautiously stored his  important previous numbers in the card, his second phone was also currently working  that is what was so surprising  tge new number he didn't give anyone  how did this woman unknown to him get it above all she knew him by his name, 

Just for a fleeting moment he thought of  denying his real identity  to the stranger woman caller but now  it was too late   , he had to handle it delicately  and cleverly 

All this argument flashed through his mind  in a fraction of a second,  next  minute  the woman introduced herself  she was taken Fatima,  the person who gave me your number  I have come to live in his luxury apartment  could you please visit me today sometime  at teen taller high rise  building fifth floor  , I am not permitted to share more with you  there is a most important urgent matter to discuss 

page 23

....the bell for the third period  rang  and she felt her legs trembling,  she also held the heavy load of copies,  she drank  cold water from the tap of the cooler outside tge staff room  , taking small steps  reached the stairs,  these stairs were right outside  the principal  s office  , he always kept an eye on  who was going up and down  , she stopped outside his office,  hoping he would see her and remember her , he was already  there waiting for her,  one more old staff member  and Ma'am sadya were with him,  she   was taken to class fifth  where the whole class stood up together and  greeted them,  the principal   asked them to  wait 

Who is the class monitor  he asked 

Maid came out 

What is your name 

Maid sir  he answered respectfully with his head lowered 

Maid take off your monitor s badge and put it on the  table there and go back to your seat , suppressed  humiliating  laughs made ripples , just one stare from Ma'am sadya  was enough to silence them 

Now the students whose names will be mentioned  will come here and stand up in a line near the  board all the rest on their knees in their own places, the list of names of students she had given  was read out  , six girls and four boys  all stood  there in a line , 

Now anyone who  would  like to tell  who did this 

page 21

...   not certain of the time  she fell asleep  thinking  about her  unsolved matters  , she even missed her fajar namaz  , she felt  bad the day had begun on a  bad omen,  she began  getting ready,  she asked one of the sisters to iron her dupatta  but sge instantly  denied  offended she wasn't  a servant,  there was no time to argue  or she couldn't have  ironed it herself   , she also  had to eat her breakfast,  fajar was missed  and on an empty stomach  ger day was  sure to  doom,  she quickly folded her dupatta and pressed it  , briskly  walked towards the kitchen  where amma already was  having her breakfast,  greeting her  she sat down  , thankfully her breakfast was ready  or she would have  spent some more of her time cooking it  and  the van  would have reached her door 

What makes you so upset,  mothers have a special  x ray eyes  CT scan and whatnot to see directly through their children 

Not at all,  who said so,  she swallowed mouthful  and washed it down with a long sip of tea  , she tried to give a satisfactory answer  nothing to worry about 

Was one of your younger siblings  rude to you,  she asked firmly   with her eyes sharply looking at her

Mother  now they don't even  relate to me in any way,  don't you worry,  it's a small  matter in the school,  it should  resolve by itself 

What kind of matter it is  that  gave my daughter a sleepless night  , that she even missed her fajar 

deher

....   he was the ruthless    rough man  who had harrassed the senior judge,  in his own  style he completed the  conversation  before shutting off  and putting the phone  in his pocket  and then he turned towards his companion  to speak  in his  crude manner  that  he would  ring up the old man after one hour  , what do you think  will that  judge give us jasim  s whereabouts 

Shakoor, I don't think he would  give in  shaking his head  mansoor gave his opinion to shakoor m in fact  there is no way he could ever know  the location of jasim 

Then  he is a dead man  he gestured towards the unconscious man,  if he is useless   he won't live another hour 

Shakoor left  his sentence  unexplained meaningfully,  mansoor  curious asked how long would it take for him to regain his senses 

The shot we gave him into his neck 

   Works for two hours at least  but kamal is no ordinary man  didn't you see his  confidence and  spirit,   how  enthusiastically he had entered that health  spa  , one more hour and he he will be up

Mansoor looked at him questioningly  what till then 

Shakoor shrugged his shoulders .. wait until he is up

He must live to finalize the process with the damn judge 

page 125

...wife says   slog and roast yourself 

Husband goes to work 

Boss says go to hell

Husband goes home 

.

.married women talk  over an hour  with their mothers  finally  they say they will talk later when they have time 

.

.  Woman's  five minutes of getting ready  is equal to man s five minutes  of coming 

.

. Very hard  strict rules  make things happen  but relationships are damaged,  distance increases between hearts, to lead an integrated life together  thinking should be thoughtful and flexible,    drop  some  points let others agree on some  on other times you agree , this is right attitude  to maintain  refreshing  relationships,  always remember egotistical attitude  is followed by regrets and bitterness 

.

.Husband was teaching his wife English   when it was time to lunch 

The wife brought food and said  dear eat your dinner 

You fool   this is lunch  mid day meal 

You are the fool dear,  this is leftover dinner from last night 

shaad baad

...he was then posted at shahadra  police station,  on his first day    arrived the weirdest and  sensational of the cases , it was  winter chill morning,  the sun was disappeared  somewhere,  after fajar he sat down to have his breakfast  ,  there was  someone knocking at his  quarter's door,  leaving his food he walked up to the front door 

He gad only last evening moved into this quarter with his luggage,  he took charge from his previous  colleague in charge  followed by  a wholesome  meeting with his new staff , he had returned after dinner out, , the staff consisted of one asi, one  senior  constable  three constables  now he was also included in the  staff,  in those days  on the staff were  not seen  an army of hang around youngsters like these days,  times change so do  things and rules, 

He opened the door to find   constable wahid standing there,  he looked extremely  worried  and nervous 

Why and what makes you so upset so early in the morning 

A milkman  just reached and informed about a complicated  crime,  two  persons are found murdered some distance away from the station 

shaka

...year  1723

Capiz--Phillipines 

  As the  night  settled  whole  capital was   pelted by  storm and  rain 

Renuz  drew the curtains aside and looked out,   torrential rain  and crackling  lightning   turned the  scene  mysterious,  the chariot was  passing through the forest   unmade roads half sift half hard  almost impossible to find way , the speed was   difficult to maintain,  stormy winds blew around   lashing  everything 

Usually people  shut themselves up inside their houses before sunset  surrounded with  forests and  small islands   the area was   located on a few  thousand  miles,  the natives mostly  were  fishermen,  they either spent the day fishing  or collecting seashells,  women folk  carved out and beautifully polished the seashells  turning them into  exquisite shapes 

Sea foods of capital were  famous in entire Phillipines,  the hunters  prided in their muscle power,  they threw fishing nets   onto the seawater singing songs  , pulled out  nutritious  sea foods  consumed  it and  showed gratitude to the sea  before going to bed,  perhaps  this was the most peaceful  and satisfying place in the world 

page 69

....five signs of good fortune 

1  waking up at fajar

2 getting interested in religion  mindfully 

3 staying patient during  bad times 

4  face begins to glow 

Hazrat ali spoketh thus he whose face glows  good fortune smiles on him 

5  he who spends little  and stays fulfilled 

,

,a woman of goodness  fills up her family with positive energy 

. Getting full attention from her husband  the wife is blessed 

.

.anyone who sincerely takes care of people  not his relatives  is  undoubtedly  a kind person. 

.

.

.someone said. You are so good 

I said. That is bad

from previous

....do you really think you are deserving,  how do you know that  asked the principal 

Sir, it's my education and training,  after completing my education  small part time jobs in schools gave me  extensive experience to handle children   and to reform them,  she kept her feet firmly  clutching the floor beneath and hands tightly gripping each other,  they all were closely watching her minutely  in detail  her each and every move 

How old are you  miss aksi  asked the vice principal 

Ma'am it's mentioned in my documents on the table 

Give straight answers to what is being asked,  she was rebuked and miss aksi turned red

Twenty seven Ma'am 

Miss aksi I am   seventy  and still learning  and  there is no end to learning  but you say after completing your education  at Twenty seven  , all eyes  turned to stare at her

Absolutely right you are sir, what I mean by education is the formal  school  college and university education   she was quick to respond 

I believe  whenever the teacher goes into teach the class  he himself learns more 

Well said sir I will try to change my outlook 

dosti esa nata

...madam sadya  the voice of the principal sahib rose , if you are free look outside,  miss aksi  is standing there,  perhaps  there is some matter  with her, before  you leave  l come and listen to me,  she was  walking up and down  outside the principal  s office  for very long,   sadya also happened to be his wife  and  the vice principal,  she saw sadta the wife of the principal  and herself the vice principal  go into the office  and then soon after go out,  this specific  office was   almost located in the middle of the  building,  all the walls of the office were   eight feet high  glass  and above the glass the material was  9f unidentifiable  substance either it was wood or   something,  both the offices had a connecting doorway  that remained always open  until  parents of students  were present   to give them privacy,  one could see the entire school building  from the office  and  the hidden corners  were  on  camera 

What happened miss ajsi, is everything  alright 

Mam I have something  personal to discuss  ,  the shrewd principal must have already  told her  outside whose office she had been waiting and walking up and down 

For personal matters go to the  staff room  where  all kinds of emergency services are available 

Madam I am here to make a complaint  a student did this to me  when I was busy writing on the blackboard  , someone threw  red ink  in such an embarrassing manner 

Miss aksi tge culprit student would not confess but other  students can tell  who did it 

from previous

...azhar khan also belonged to a modern family,  his wife was known as Mrs khan,  they had an only daughter zombie shortened from zorba

Zombie was extremely happy that evening,  it wasn't  for the feasting, it was because sharab was coming  to their place for the first time,  they had been friends for over a year now  and  most of on close informal terms,  they had met each other  through  farhana  in the club,  the women's club was  established by a woman,  it was  just for women  but male members also were registered,   they were carefully handpicked only from good family backgrounds,  rules were strictly followed and decorum  respectfully maintained  

izhar e muhabbet

.... young sharab belonged to a  modern family,  his father Jamal mia was a musician,  trained in playing different types of musical instruments like the sitar , he enjoyed   his music sense, , one day he was  sitting on the floor carpet  in the drawing room and  playing a melody on the sitar  , it was early evening  and a peg of liquor  was placed on a side  from which he would take a sip now and then,  taking a sip he removed his hand from the strings and turned to look at his son  sharab who also had a glass of drink in his hands,  both father and son were  so informal  that they  could  drink together  in each other's presence,   in this matter they were quite frank  both  were  very cautious drinkers , sharab drank very little  

Swallowing the sip the father spoke to his son  asking about his new tune 

Dear father  you ought to be a musician  sharab smiled  though it wasn't  to his liking at all 

It is rough  and still needs developing  father explained 

Dad , please  continue  working on it I have to go to my room 

He put his empty glass down 

Jamal mia  nodded  cheerfully and   enthusiastically  began    playing the sitar

A few minutes later beghum Jamal happened to  cross the room and saw the mobile  kept near Jamal ringing  but the musician was absolutely engrossed in his  music 

Pick up the phone she  told him,  he couldn't hear her because he was  lost in his own  music,  scowling she picked up the phone and put it on his ear, hearing the ringing he   came out of the  magic spell  

from previous

....just at the right time  a well dressed man  from the back entrance  appeared on the stage  to stand before the Mike on the daise,  the bell rang  and the program started,  the man  slowly  began asking questions  one by one  from the girls,  the first question  went blank without any response from anyone  including her, second question was answered by four participants,  hers alone was  the right answer,  as Shyamalan had  tutored her she waited and didn't hurry to answer,  she had put her hand on her forehead  and answered thoughtfully 

The announcer declared  on the Mike her answer was correct , the hall echoed with excited roaring applause,  fifteen  questions were  asked,  two other girls gave three right answers  one more gave two right answers and hers were twelve  found right,  she was declared the winner   amidst whistles  shrieking  noisy clapping  for ten  long minutes,  she was handed ceremoniously  two return  flight  tickets to Goa and khandala along with a signed check for sixteen lakhs  a travel bag full of the company  s branded  dresses with monograms , she was requested to show up in the company dresses on stage  for  pictures,  later she packed them up again 

People were going crazy,  runners up also congratulated her on her  win , so she was ready to go first to goa then khandala and lastly to agra on her pleasure  leisure  business trip 

muqabla

....seven girls were to participate in the competition,  it was a competition of a different type  sponsored by a company  , the winner girl would get a chance to see agra khandala and gia  , the  free trip  arranged by the company,   eight sat stay in a hotel  with  sixteen lack   cash for allowance  , it was a publicity  competition to promote  their attire  considered one of the  best designs,  the winner girl  was to wear them  around  on her trips 

It was  a most  attractive  offer  and not at all difficult,  yet sge never thought of  taking part in it,  she didn't really think she was  extraordinary beautiful  nor so brainy  but shyamchander insisted   and she  registered herself for it 

He was there in the super store  to buy  things  for him self,  where sge worked as a sales girl and  was marketing  for a cosmetic company,  her pockets were stuffed with   the products  promotional materials 

He was a handsome young man,  very quickly hus good nature  etiquettes and  behavior   attracted her to him,  both became very good friends,  several times they went out dating dining  on the beaches and restaurants,  he only drew her attention to the unicare company and  encouraged her to  participate in the competition 

She had laughed  she knew how beautiful she was mockingly  and so brainy  she forgot the name of the products 

Asan shikar

....it was very difficult to speculate,  she wasn't a young beautiful girl but an old  aging woman  Mrs  harmin,  then why were the two  boys  revolved around her,  perhaps because sge had just emerged from the bank   or the  bug bag hanging on her shoulder was their main concern,  the old woman clutched the shoulder bag  as if it was her life also because now she  was  walking on a tight  street secluded section of road absolutely  away from the city crowd 

Whatever was the real reason tge boys were following her for one reason or the other,  perhaps the old woman was an easy prey for them,  both of them  looked  completely  untrustworthy and   vague,  both of them  came closer to the old woman   from behind  and moved to her left and right  sides,  one of them suddenly held her by her hand  the other quickly snapped off the  strap of the hanging shoulder bag  , they tried to snatched it from ber clutches,  the old woman  lost her balance,  the boys waited for her to  stretch out her hands  to regain her balance and protect her face  from  getting injured 

Their  hopes were shattered,  she did the unexpected  , she  tightly clutched her bag,  she even fell down,  she was  fragile  and weak,  something  cracked inside her,  but she was strong minded  or was it her will power she simply refused to let go of the bag 

One boy wrapped up the broken strap and pulled it  the other kicked on her side  she neither  screamed nor did she call for help,  both boys  would not leave  without their  prize but she  wresled and  fought  and struggled  and  didn't  loosen her grip on her bag 

Unfortunately  Mrs harmin   proved  nit equal to the strength of the young boys,  sh fell unconscious  and the boys  fled with the bag 

page 17

... fast winds from the valley blew against the car,  rains lashed mercilessly  , he sat in his seat looking at the vacant seat next to him,  his heart began to sink 

Where is Daniel gone 

Perhaps she regained her consciousness  when he was changing the tyre,   debating with himself he opened the car door  to search for her around  the car, it was pitch dark and   visibility on the road was extremely poor,  he turned the headlights on, , the strong flash of light found her, , he spotted her walking towards the valley,   though  her walk was not stable,  her arms were stretched out before her as the blindfolded  move in a dark room,  she was just a few feet away from the car,  he quickly got out from the car  and  ran to catch her, she had sensed it that someone was following her, she stopped and turned to look 

Chad,  dear  I am so glad you have come  she spoke in a soft voice and moved towards him 

She explained she hit her head  injuring herself in an accident,  she wrapped herself round him in a tight embrace 

She continued how she injured herself she didn't remember,  he held her firmly removed her hands from his neck 

She began  retreating her steps  , did he injure her, she was confused,  she couldn't  understand  his new  and different  manifestation 

The  moment  suddenly transported him to his childhood,  it was  during summers,  his father's pet dog turned aggressive,  the dog bit him on his arm,  father killed his own  favorite dog 

from previous

..I am coming  he said 

It would be better if you didn't 

I ought to I must,  he shut off the phone,  he emerged from his room  and made sure nobody was around walked through the long corridor to reach her room 

Eva looked nervous,  the taperecorder was resting on the side table,  

Gosh you look as if you have seen a ghost 

I am alright 

Eva you better be fine  or I can't do this work without you,  your support is needed,  as I have told you often before  you have to be very strong and careful,  this plan s failure and success depends  entirely upon you 

I know it, don't you worry I will get better,  Eva said nodding,  he lighted a cigarette and began  walking up and down the room 

Did you hide your car amidst the canopy of trees 

Yes, after lunch I  went upto the spot,  the car is right  behind the thickets  next to the drive board 

Alright,  he strolled up casually to the window to see outside,  the sky was covered with dark clouds predicting  rain 

Eva it could rain 

Yes it is likely 

Hopefully it shouldn't  when we are executing  our plan,  it will be impossible to change the tyrre in rain,  she shivered 

Chad, will you still kill Daniel if it's raining 

Of course even if there is an earthquake,  today I definitely will kill her , nobody  and nothing can stop me from killing Daniel today 

What will you do about your footprints 

The road is metalled don't you worry 

Suddenly he remembered chauffeur Joe, he was forgotten altogether,  his mind was kept so busy in his planning  that the chauffeur was forgotten 

Eva  we have forgotten Joe

I have taken care of that 

from previous

....four days later he sat reading the newspaper early morning in his study  before going to his office,  Eva entered  the study with the letters , she   put down all the post on the table  and   with a glance   passed a silent message  and left the room,  he  checked tge letters in the  middle of the pile there was a piece of paper  , a couplet was typed on it, he began reading it

Daniel has fixed  twenty eighth  Thursday   a meeting at Mrs hanz  the violin store   lady  at her place  at nine thirty  night 

His heart jumped out of his chest,  Mrs hand was  Daniel's  closest friend,  that fat woman was quite talkative,  once started  sge refused to shut up, , Daniel liked  her because she was a great gossip and Daniel got to know what was happening to who in town 

Daniel was desperately trying to contact  Stevenson for past several days  and now the meeting between Stevenson and Daniel was arranged  at hand s house 

mrig nagahan

...he  along with Eva  made a cunning scheme of killing Daniel,  both of them  believed  it wasn't a preconceived  crime,  they simply  wanted to get rid of her to clear their way,  there wasn't any other better option,  apparently it seemed quite an easy task  with  tremendous    consequences  , the  wealth  they would receive was unimaginable 

But  as it is ..nothing in this world is easy to get,  murdering  someone   certainly in not at all  easy,  earning  sixty million dollars in a  wink was not possible,   one's own life is also at stake when  he tries to take someone else's life,  just think what if your attempt fails  the other gers a chance to kill you,  it is somewhat like the last fight between John's and slid

Emerging from Eva s room  he went into his own to fall asleep immediately  to wake up at ten thirty,  in the shower he   decided to first  contact  Daniel,  she wrongly believed he had been with another woman last evening,  if she  got the proof of his  unfaithfulness  it could   become difficult for him,  he must now try to  make her believe he was true to her,  he had  to bring to life  his invented character of sergeant  Jim,  otherwise she would never trust him,   he got ready and sat down to breakfast on the terrace  , meantime he found a way to solve his problem 

nazm

....winds stopped  of course  but 

As if That Evening  was sobbing 

.

Yellow leaves  in the storms 

Heard strange stories 

.

Hearing them  all the leaves

Sobbed rustled  trembled 

.

Unknown  deep sorrows 

Uprooted the old trees 

.

We looked for you everywhere 

In the valley  on the roads

. 

Every climb every slope

You remained unheard of

.then we consoled the throbbing heart 

After the storms we shall  look 

.

.we will find the ways to locate 

But it was a mere thought 

.

It destroyed us forever 

The winds did stop after a while 

.

But  long time had passed 

On the head of our hair

.

.

Had descended  silver beams

Stars in the sky had disappeared 

.

Roses were dead and gone 

The joy that thrilled had dried up

.

All those people were gone 

Most of all and above all

.

.we were   not yours any more

You were not anymore mine

.

The storms had passed indeed 

But  ages had passed by

.

Kalam iftikhar 

.

.

page 283

....baji, he spoke  people  do reach here  to take medicine  but it is not possible to  check  who all came at exactly what time  the boy explained 

Let me show you  her picture she said 

Shamma  showed  sonia s picture saved on her  mobile 

Seeing the picture he was slightly  taken aback  , he became silent 

Shamma again asked if she had come 

No nit in my presence  he replied  vaguely 

Listening to him  shamsher stepped forward  and  bending across and over the counter he grabbed his collar 

Of course you know everything,  quickly answer  when was she here  and how did she go back  he  roared 

He stammered  , he wouldn't do anything to hurt him,  he meekly  tried to release himself from his  tight grip,  shamsher  left his collar to immediately slap him on his face,  shamsher  ordered her to call the police,  he knows  what happened 

Shamma suggested they ought to pick up the boy and question him themselves 

The boy became nervous 

He blurted he didn't do anything,  he wasn't involved,  the Seth had strict orders  to stay out of his way 

Shamsher asked icily where was the Seth 

shalazen

...she  turned the corner  leading to the road  and stopped dead stunned 

The scene had suddenly changed completely,  a few steps  ago there was deadly silence as if time  had come to a stand still , life was stopped  at ease,  on the other side life was a full volume commotion noisy  hyper active,   fast paced   , high rise buildings   fast moving vehicles   illuminated colorful  signboards on shops ,crowds  tightly  moving in all directions,  everything was different 

She breathed  a long  desperate  sigh , clutched her shawl  tightly around her , the weather was quite unpleasant,  inside  sge couldn't have known it, , thankful she had  brought her shawl with her,  she turned to look,  there was still  darkness and very still very silent,  nothing moved,  certainly nobody knew  about anything  so far,  she decided to  join the crowds before the house  woke up and  realized what was  the matter,  she   took a step forward  and quickly  crossed the road to reach the other side,  there was a big mall situated before her, , people were  simply  pouring in and out , it was  surrounded by several eateries and restaurants,  she realized  she was  standing on the food street where  food corners   small restaurants  food courts sold  all types of foods,  air was filled with  aroma of mixed foods,  her hunger was fanned,  but she couldn't  take the risk of stopping there to eat she walked a few more steps and  saw the yellow magnificent car

page 21

...I spent  ten years in different countries,  now I have started an import export business,  zen had brought  her to a Cafe,   after  formally  exchanging  greetings and courtesies  he asked why didn't he get married  adding  so far

Parents were not there,  brother and his wife didn't bother , basically  he was  himself a decent man zen smiled   did he look  over age , his chin supported on his hands 

Not too old  anab commented  casting a glance on him 

I did try my best  to look not so old before reaching here 

If only anab had lifted her eyes  to catch his naughty expression 

How quickly you managed to prepare so much  isn't that surprising  but his  expression was not  showing any signs of surprise  except  mischief 

There is a party in my school today 

Teachers forced me to dress  up, nervously she  rearranged the veil covering her head,  gold bangles  on her wrists  were   absolutely  ignored 

What an awesome  forced  experience   his tone was quite sober 

Zen was speaking to her like they were long time  acquaintances 

If that ugly incident had not happened in her life  definitely sge would have  taken her life  differently