akhrii sham se pehle

.......it was one colorful evening in  Karachi,  October breezes  pleasantly  played around,  the lawn was surrounded with   evergreens  swaying rhythmically in the playful  drifts , exactly in the  middle of the lawn  sat  two figures   , Shahnawaz with his closest friend  saif chaudhary  , in chairs , they were having tea  a uniformed man in his early twenties  stood respectfully  some distance away   but alert  

Shahnawaz  was a  man in his mid forties  a strong healthy  built,   taller than six feet  round faced and bright  blazing  complexion,   neatly trimmed  beard    a few  graying  strands , saif was hus age but looked  considerably younger  probably because  he was dressed in trousers and shirt  and was completely clean shaven  , Shahnawaz was clad in  salwar qaneez  of most expensive   fabric 

karguzar

....unemployment was a predicament  tightening around the educated youth  leaving them drained,  they saw their future was dark and  they were helpless 

 Revolving endlessly between its buts and perhaps and reaching nowhere,  finally  seeing all the pros and cons Zafar decided to drop off all what ifs and if onlys and  crush down all his self dignity for survival, to become a pizza delivery boy 

Zafar was double masters  in psychology and criminology  were his major  subjects,  he had  been unsuccessful to secure any job for past two years,  swallowing the bitter  pride down his throat filling him with bitterness completely 

He parked his bike  against the wall in the front of the apartment building  and opened his hot pot delivery box to take out a regular pizza  and started climbing the stairs 

from previous

...but zavya never cared about  babar,  she never made him tea ,  she never was seen   carefully keeping his used things,  what does she have  that babar  likes in zavya her younger sister to wanting to marry her and  ignore the true feelings of the elder sister,  she  kept on thinking about it but couldn't find any answer ,her real love  was  being sacrificed  at the altar of zavya s  marriage with  babar   leaving her to mournful remorse  for life 

After  zavya babar got married she was completely confined to her own room,  praying  brings one closer to almighty  simply because only almighty  bestows   what the world does not give 

She  was praying for her  own wishes  fulfillment  but observing  zany wasn't  even  an  iota  interested in babar She began praying for his happiness 

page 104

...baby was going for training,  she was thinking of getting him married first,  all his life her brother had taken good care of them,  he gave him education  good enough to make hus career as an officer,  brother had first  right to claim babar 

She was listening to phuphu carefully,  her face turning red with secret glee a wrong   insinuation,  nobody was interested in looking at her reaction,  sge git up to make tea , nobody paid any attention to her  presence or absence  she thoughtfully made tea 

Elder daughter  is ne of course she  decidedly though,  phuphu will ask only for my hand in marriage,  baby will definitely  happily  agree to get married  , because he must be aware how much I love him  like I see  his indifference  but when it comes to marriage one chooses  the one who genuinely cares about him 

pritam aisi preet na karyo

,,dear love  don't love like a date palm

It gives no protection from sun or rain 

The fruit is beyond reach in vain 

Love like the love of cotton 

That covers the body all life till end 

Also goes along together with death 

Don't love like  the bird's love that flies away in dry

Love like the love  of a fish 

That dies  when it becomes dry 

Bhagat kabir

page 269

Qamar  got a job in a bank , he held a high position of power,  happily he  reached a famous tailor to get  himself a new suitable  suit stitched,  a few days later he again was at the tailor  s for a trial,  the  tailor professionally efficient  made a few changes  in the suit qamar  had put on, Qamar suddenly realized there weren't any pockets,  

The tailor explained  bankers usually have their hands in others pockets 

badlah

...his gaze suddenly fell on rahela,  he couldn't  recognize her at all,  just a flicker of doubt  but looking more carefully he believed it she had completely changed,  there was no doubt she was an extremely beautiful woman  and  when natural beauty is developed  it  increases manyfold,  he was at that moment sitting in a restaurant inside a mall  from where he had spotted her,  she was all alone,  she wasn't shopping  perhaps there was some other reason,  he suddenly became very happy,  fake happiness   saturated with hatred 

adhura shikar

...the hall  resonated with orchestra music,  it was an Italian melody,  a dancer  performed  on the stage,  her features were  chiseled   , she wasn't more than twenty five,  he watched her  interested only in her good looks , people were  busy in their own  gossiping,  with him at the table were  Tiffany and  Patrick,  Tiffany was  boring with her non stop  talking,   only when  Bruce Rothman entered  did he find some real relief from Tiffany,  Bruce was flanked with his other associates,  all of them  reached the table  next to theirs , in  Tiffany was still gossiping  , Patrick knew  her  silly stories were intolerably boring,  his eyes lingered around  Bruce  s table,  where  he was trying to explain  something  urgently to his associates,  he smiled suddenly  by himself before  the smile disappeared quickly,  Bruce spoke to Jacob  he was certain it was a white deer

khalish dil aur diya

....Maura  crossed the gate   and saw  babar chaudhary  up on the terrace  across the street,  he sent a flying kiss  with his right hand three fingers  the moment their eyes met  , she reached the university  point stop her mind engrossed in romantic thoughts  to find tanya her neighbor friend from the back street already present there 

What is making you look so red and glowing 

I am intoxicated by the thoughts of love  see, the whoke world is  swaying , answered  Mayra 

You mean  babar bhai is visiting  halima aunty

Mayra nodded  emphatically before boarding the point  and their conversation  ended there with a full stop,  when at twenty past one of clock Tahir left the class   the exhausted students  rushed to the canteen  but Mayra opened her bag to retouch her makeup 

aa ghr chalein mere humdum

...for past some  time she sat alone by herself in the cabin,  she had deliberately  booked a cabin like this for herself  before  booking  online,  it was absolutely  empty,  except hers all other  seats were vacant,  she had checked again 8n the early morning hours,  there wasn't any partner with her , she sat comfortably  her feet up and  herself wrapped  up  warmly  in a shawl,  it was peaceful  the door shut, her trip to this cabin always was alone,  , she heard the whistle blow,  she sighed deeply,  , a smile  appeared on her lips,  happy to travel alone,  at that moment  someone tried  his strength on the door and opened it wide, the smile on Sanya s face  wiped out completely  when a young man  carrying a bag and holding a small girl on his shoulders  entered the cabin 

atish khun

... it was sizzling  burning sun,   sge was being lashed mercilessly,  it is believed  mercy  is showered from above  , but it was lashing  being showered on the  youth s back , the  man who was lashing  ruthlessly  was an expert leaving deep gashes  bleeding,  tge young skin was  torn completely  spilling blood  everywhere,  

He was tied up in the open area  to a pole , two strong  men were taking turns  to bash him up

Human body can  tolerate  pain up to a certain point  after that breaking point man collapses  usually dead,  the victim was being punished  for several days constantly,  his strength was giving up on hus intolerable  pain,  his  deafening screams were drowning in the loud lashing sounds 

uljhan

... taimur Ahmed  had just  recently  joined   secret service   and a weird case  reached him , the case was handed him from his senior officer  sikander shah near retirement  and  mostly  gave his  juniors  the cases  to let them handle them and gain experience 

Listen  junior he spoke  in the lives of police officers  the first case  is  always  the starting point and  turning point  opening  the future doors to success 

What exactly is the nature of the case  taimur  quickly asked  the moment  the senior  had paused to take a breath 

It's a challenging case but not poor, it's a case of a fake diamond robbery,  the weird part is that the robber also didn't know the diamond was a fake 

jungbaaz

....boss , a scream rose behind his back,  he turned to see a stranger woman   screaming  as a wounded  man appeared  from the  door  before collapsing,   mevik and his wife mibby were present  inside during the explosion,   the man hesitated  a moment  before  running away  as if  death was chasing him, a few seconds later the death  holding  a long pistol showed up , this was Jacky, he looked at him for a split second  and then away  at the nan running away,  this was enough time  for him to hit him hard on his face and wrapping him around he pushed him inside the room, but Jacky was a diehard material  not giving up easily  without a tough fight, Jacky  fired a shot  , tge bullet sunk deep into the snow,  Jack was a bad rascally man

He heard  Mosby sobbing,  she was in a corner  tightly  holding her dead husband  mevik , their two  little innocent children  were near by crying  as the  pool of blood  increased in size

surkh jal

... yes Jafar, I have reached the timberline  now where to  from here,  the old man sitting  at the stall heard the biker  who was clad in trousers and shirt take off his helmet and speaking to someone on his mobile 

Wonderful m the person on the other end  praised him, you have reached  the spot  quickly 

Naturally  the one in need  will do anything and everything  in despair,  there was sadness in the biker s voice 

Don't you worry dear friend,  your bad times have come to an end,  from today you won't be humiliated,  your family will also respect you  someone was encouraging him on line 

I am absolutely grateful to you 

No worries  in friendship,  no favors no gratitude  , the friend on the line  affectionately  rebuked him  before changing the subject 

Now listen attentively  we can  always talk later,  after this timber spot the signal doesn't work  so Now carefully note down the address 

I am listening 

Go straight until you reach  the crossroad 

Take the  left hand side  path it will lead you to a right turn  

I will meet you there 

Did you get my instructions or will, you forget 

aqabi khidki

... Jeff,  look  ,  the exact  model is Ready as you wanted

Oh what is this  Jeff s voice was full of sarcasm  amazing thing added

I knew it you would be surprised,  added failed to catch the sarcasm 

Jeff added  he was not merely surprised but so much worried,  what have you brought  mister addey 

Jeff was speaking to addey his helper  in the photo studio,   it was one of tge most reputed  studios in Manhattan,  addey was sent by the board  as helper to assist Jeff, ,  Mr Thomas  had selected the sixteen year old  boy 

He was given the responsibility of  taking good care of the expert photographer   and always ve around him

Jeff had  given  addey his first assignment   to get him a model of the Himalayas  from the workshop 

from previous

...undoubtedly he was a very good friend 

Since when were you guys friends 

We were  together in primary school  since then,  we graduated together 

Can you tell who was his enemies 

Personally it's a difficult question 

Why difficult  the investigator was startled 

Sajjad wasn't a type of person someone could hate he was a wonderful  adorable chap

You mean  a helpful supportive friend 

Absolutely right 

If he was so much popular  why was he murdered 

It was sajad  s work  that made people turn against him and then reconcile 

Your observations are very helpful and deep  but do explain  in detail 

Suleman said he would try to explain 

Sajjad worked  in a newspaper agency  as a commercial assistant 

That I am aware of , tell more 

Information regarding builders and  business parties are gathered and  published  ruining their reputation  so  these companies  negotiate  off the table 

anadi

....the murder scene was behind the railway quarters,  he reached the  crime scene  quickly,  Yasser his assistant was with him,  the body lay on the long grass  ,  hardly anyone   passed  from  the back of the quarters,  it was a secluded area , just a rail track  on which  trains crossed  in their own  rhythmic style 

The body was photographed from  several different angles,  both  detective and his assistant were trying to  inspect  the scene  carefully 

Sir, it's definitely a case of robbery  suggested  Yasser  

How can you say that  he asked his junior 

Because the victim's  motor bike is standing a few steps away,  the robber must have stolen his  mobile 

I don't think so,  nobody will kill anyone for just a mobile 

It's a case of simple plain murder 

How so 

Robber would have run away  having shot  him if the victim had resisted  and taken away the mobile with him,  what made him hit the  victim on his head instead of firing at him  and  dragging the body to  lay it on the long grass 

 

page 25

...life seemed  absolutely perfectly beautiful , like a fairy tale,  he who had strangely for over a year  lost himself  had recovered completely,  , there was no end to  wealth  property and  mundane relationships,  no desire was left, , sanawar sat in the  television lounge  looking  at his pictures with alya beghum  at their wedding,  amal was preparing  dinner in the kitchen busy,  

When alya beghum called her stopping her telling beads of the prayer  tasbih

Yes ammi 

I remember  bibi sahib so much,  my heart beats prayers for her all the time,  without her we won't be here,  I don't understand why you stopped working in her company  after coming here  though,,,

What made you suddenly remember her, for heavens sake why don't you just forget your past life,  how many times I have told you to forget  your old life and old contacts 

page 15

...

Sanawar, someone was gently calling his name  patting  his cheeks , he was in deep sleep  but still he could feel the  softness of the touch  , he opened his eyes  to see a  girl bent over him concerned,  he looked at her  Straight into her eyes,  unwillingly he sat upright 

What happened,  are you feeling good,  she came to sit down by his side,  yes I am feeling fine,  you get coffee for me by then I will  freshen up,  throwing  away the blanket aside he got out if  bed, , as he emerged later rubbing his wet head with a towel  , a all was entering the room holding a tray,  she gave him an alluring smile,  his hands stopped   for a second,  he  momentarily  stretched his lips  to quickly wipe out the smile 

Where is ammi  he asked  hanging the towel on the back of the chair 

She is gone visiting  Mrs javed,  she informed him placing the tray on the table 

Kam himmat

....it was Thursday afternoon,  that meant  he was meeting  Laila  for lunch at seet water torn,  yes, theirs was a complicated relationship,  but why does someone have so many  differences,  isn't  everyone made of the same material  leaving no space for any  differences,  Laila was late and  his  mind  was wandering 

What is really important in life  that matters

Those relationships that you choose to work on,  it is not the same with everyone,  many a clever people  are also unhappy  , Laila he thought  was impossible to understand  , chimpanzee was a better choice to get along with  but he wasn't ready to exchange Laila for a chimpanzee  because she was certainly  many more times attractive than a chimpanzee 

He   doesn't know how much  correct his judgment is about Laila  , he honestly loves her that's true,  his nostrils  filled with  her perfume   she had reached the table and was drawing the chair to sit down 

from previous

...it is said  a famous rich poet was asked by a newspaper  reporter  in an interview 

Sir what do you do in your free time 

I paint in my free time 

So you  are also a painter

Oh yes of course 

All the house doors and windows are painted by me 

page 119

.one man was longtime chronic drunkard,  he was advised to practice yoga exercises  , after ten months long   hard  exercises  his wife was asked how much affective  yoga proved  for them 

The wife  fuming explained  now her husband can easily drink standing on his head and other postures 

Surkh file

... this happened in May of 1983, Berlin was divided into two  separate cities with a wall,   east Germany was under Russian  control,  west Germany was under American control,  early morning in the  foggy sunlight    Russian colonel  waited for the British agent  in the secluded  railway yard , the colonel heard a slight  sound behind him,  Sam is that you  he asked in a very low voice,  Sam Minardi was a British  intelligence agent  carefully watching the colonel   if he  had reached there absolutely alone or someone else was trailing him , mecardi stepped forward  to ket the colonel  recognize him 

Colonel,  why did you urgently need to see ne  personally,  tge colonel was from the red army special branch 

do tarfa

...the dead body lay on tge end side  of tge circus  on tge muddy ground,  that was a local  fair outside the village held as a native event,   normally  the ground was used by the village children  to play  football and gulli danda, nobody knew of cricket in those times,  so it was out of question 

He squatted  to check the dead body,, the victim was around twenty five good-looking and well groomed , clad in blue pair of salwar suit,  black leather sandals  on his feet,  dusty complexion  and rather tall but unfortunately dead quite dead,  he  lay there on his back  motionless  a dagger blade   sunk into his chest upto the handle , around  tge spot where the dagger   was stabbed  some blood gad spread around on his shirt not falling  down much, this was apparent  at first sight,   that the victim was stabbed to death,  but when the detective  to investigate  turned the dead body  over  he saw his skull was cracked badly  but the blood had bot wetted the muddy ground at all instead his collar was stained a bit

sarfaroshi si muhabbet

.... the season s first snow fall  had started,  , he didn't realize he had walked out from the bar   to slowly  reach the roadside bench to sit down on it . some distance away  a  street light struggled  very hard to reach its faint light  to him , moment by moment  the  dripping  night got deeper and deeper,  his innerself  heavily resonated   with the outer  profound  silence 

He was stung to his soul    regretful,  his past memories  rise to such a noisy crescendo he collapsed  onto the ground  pressing his ears hus elbows resting on his  folded knees 

Someone laughed  and kept on laughing  mockingly,  thus was nobody else's but his own  rebuking laugh  mocking  humiliating   himself 

Are you mad 

Asked the couple  walking past the bench  looking at him in sheer surprise 

hadsa

..that  morning at breakfast table  both amna and dilvar picked up an argument,  children had left for their schools  and before  going to the factory they sat facing each other,  amna was supposed to leave  by eight thirty to reach  her children  s school,  parent teacher  meeting was to start at nine  , reading early  was advantageous because the teachers were  cool and fresh early morning  hours  , they  were ready  to explain and talk in detail 

The reason of argument between them was their children's  school 

Monthly   school fees was rising high,  his  suggestion was to  remove their two children from this over expensive school to get them admission in tge school where his other three children were studying,  where tgeir all expenses including commuting  tuitions  and extras were less than half of what this school was charging  but sge didn't want her two children to go to the school where  the other three were  students 

from previous

...he  was prepared for the classes,   the happening in the canteen  had spread , every other student around had been told about it,  the classrooms  buzzed with gossiping  till the end!  Farha was as usual present in the lawn  outside  , speaking to her for a few minutes  he left for his hostel 

That night after dinner  all the friends emerged from the dining hall  to go to their rooms,  the same  boys were  seen standing in the  corridor,  he recognized them all in the first glance,  this time they were ten in number and  he  carried a pistol, he decided  come whatever may he will  at least give them a thorough smashing  even if he was injured himself  , he didn't care for the consequences,  for  some unknown reason he felt  humiliated,   insult  mixed with rage,    he had to avenge   what was forcibly imposed upon him to make sure they never again would take him for granted 

He stood directly  in the middle of the corridor,  some of his friends had come out from the dining hall,  he was ready for action  mentally,  he started moving purposely towards the group of attackers , when he reached them the same boy   flicked before him  , the same boy farha had slapped yesterday 

jungle

....the local annual fair was an event,  he stood  before a factory  watching the  scene presented  out there,  it was the final day of the event and  as if the whole place  and people of the area had poured into the fair,  the sun was slowly  moving towards the western horizon  yet crowds were following crowds in waves , somewhere  on the speaker  film songs were  playing loudly  adding to the fun element to the decorations of the  ground  in the fair ,  strange and  unusual  voices would  ruse sharply  attracting the crowds,  from somewhere  drum beats  filled the  air  from some other corners  shehnai was heard  playing  folk  in between  irregular gaps random  snake charmers been pipe would  melodiously   draw attention,  the  noise was mesmerizing,  each  one  was seemingly enjoying  the event  and had an  exciting experience of fulfillment 

muskuraein

...a fierce verbal battle  was heating up the family atmosphere,  the husband  said something  that changed the heated argument to calmness,  he suddenly  screamed just because she was so beautiful sge ought not to take advantage 9f it

The smiling wife  ended the argument serving biscuits with tea 

.

.teacher,  if you pray sincerely  your prayers are answered 

Student,  nit at all or you would be my wife 

..

In primary school days it was earthquake 

During matric  it was floods 

college time experience was dengue 

On the job corona

from previous

... the scene outdoors was amazingly  attractive,  she was  pulled  towards the sea   by herself,  there was a cobbled path leading to the shore from the house,  walking on it she reached the sand , here the waves were in their wickedest form  fiercely active , the  deafening  noise was not reaching  the house,  all her   natural fears were dropped off,  she became careless of the dangers  , all she could focus on was the scene directly  presented before her,  the  dance of the whales,  dozens of whales  were dancing  on the surface waves  lost in their own  enchanting moments  enraptured,  it was a mesmerizing  visual 

She probably could have  entered the sea herself  when her magical spell was broken by a soft sound she  was certain  the sweet melody belonged to a bagpipe  with that  her memory  of Samuel and his bagpipe were refreshed 

mushkil faisla

....it was their first day in that house,  far very far from the noisy  city life  on the  sea side  bigger than they  needed,  consisting of five bedrooms,  lounge  sitting room  and besides much more  and theirs was a family of two just she and her husband Richard 

Richard was a reputed surgeon of town,  he had risen rapidly,   this  modern  attractive  house was Richard  s choice,  he always wanted a family life  separated from the hustle bustle  and noise ,a  comfortable peaceful atmosphere  , his desire  of a  fulfilling family life,  that was the main reason they had moved out from the  smaller house in the city to this rather massive house,  Richard  enjoyed partying with friends  therefore this was just the right   choice,  parties  meant picnics outdoors,  parties will be later but right now she was discussing her first day in the house on the seas shore

Whole day was spent  arranging the house,  by the end of the day both were  absolutely  exhausted,  they had their dinner early  and intending to have a good night sound sleep they reached their beds

It was past midnight when her eyes flew open,  sge was woken by the sound of rainfalling outside,  she sat upright,  Richard was fast asleep  unaware of anything,  he looked so sweet and innocent in his  sleep,  nit wanting to disturb him  and to check out all the windows and doors  she got out of her bed