Rah e Noor- Novel Review by Shoby

Rah e Noor- Novel Review by Shahbaz Ali Naqvi (Shoby)

Say, "O you who are Jews, if you claim that you are allies of Allah, excluding the [other] people, then wish for death, if you should be truthful."

(Sura Jummah- Ayat Number 6)

Whenever I recite this thought provoking Ayat e Mubarka from Sura Jummah, I always wonder what the #death has in it, that ALLAH PAK has categorically challenged Jews to wish for it, in case they think themselves as allies of ALLAH and truthful.

Now check this line from Rah e Noor. Zindagi ki mehraab per likhi tehreer ka pehla lafz maut hai. Maut jor hai, tor nahi. Yes, this is the universal truth. Death, in reality, is simply a transition process, which teleport you from one universe (read jahaan) to another. So, what it takes to wish for death. The equation is quite simple. You wish for death and when it comes to you, you will get to know the truth of everything. The truth of your belief system and deeds. If they are proved to be valid, you will be rewarded by ALLAH PAK, otherwise, believe me dears, we are the one on the losing side and this loss is forever and no one knows what the term FOREVER means.

Coming towards Rah e Noor, Sumaira Hameed has chosen another interesting topic and this time she has come up with a win-win story. Rah e Noor is the story of three characters, who are all set to commit suicide, after-all what the hell is left in this not-so-friendly world. But the story takes you to a never seen before journey, which concludes on a very motivating note. Obviously, I wont tell you the whole story, as I don't want to be spoiler. You should read it to know what happens afterwards.

I feel, when life deprives you of every thing that you love & care, you are left with three emotions. Anger, Hate and Regret. Anger makes you weak, hate stimulates you to seek revenge and regret leaves you with frustration. Now take this phenomenon, what would someone do if he is on the verge of seeking revenge but is weak from inside and has nothing but frustration in his pocket. The result would be a big zero. So, what should one do, when life bereaves you of every damn thing that you cherish. It is the make or break scenario. I believe, all these three feelings (i.e. anger, hate & regret) are energies. If someone channelize them and make the positive & productive use of these energies, he will comes out as a survivor, and he will emerge as a real life hero. This is what we call a success story and the world is full of these success stories, out of which this Rah e Noor is one amazing affair.

The novel begins in a signature Sumaira Hameed's style and it reminded me of the start of her earlier offerings, Jog Aas and Wali. The novel briskly changes the mood and a bit of sadness gathers around you, when you get to know that the protagonists have started their journey towards the ultimate end (i.e. death) but with the passage of time, you feel, it is not a noir written by Sumaira, rather, it is a slice of life, coming of age emotional roller coaster ride that evolves the characters very smartly.  I love the way how Sumaira changes gears from a mental hospital to Khewra mine and from full of life Pehelwan-land in Gujranwala to serene, calm & composed environment of land of Sufis, Multan and the story concludes in sub-urbs of lively Chakwal.

To tell you honestly, there are few movies & books, that you never want to be ended. You enjoy the proceedings so purely that you just want to continue the journey and never wish its ending to be happen in a near soon. To me, I place Imtiaz Ali's Highway, Sir Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Bajirao Mastani, ABC's TV Series Once Upon A Time, Showtime's TV Series Penny Dreadful and Ritupuarno Ghosh's Raincoat in this category. Yes, Rah e Noor, without any exaggeration, successfully manages its secured position in the same genre. This road trip tale is one, that I never want to be ended.

Being a poet, I believe, the most difficult thing is to sum up all you want to say in few words. Those poets are considered as greats who have shown their command in writing couplets in Small Behars. Similarly, novels like Borshay, Main Bint e Jameela, Rab ul Bashar and now this Rah e Noor can easily be converted into mega novels with more than one episodes but hats off to Sumaira by summarizing the whole story in only few pages and that too without compromising on the quality.

One unique thing that Sumaira has explored in this novel is the romance with the figure three (3). If you watch it closely, you will see the repetition of figure three (3) in many places in the novel. Check this, it is a story of three characters Haadi, Talal, Ibrahim (which basically is further originated from their three distinctive stories). Then comes, three (3) parts (pehar) of night. When they come out from the mine, they get to see three (3) Roshni... Zindagi ki Saans ki alamat, Bachey... Aik naya jahan abad honey ki alamat, Aasman... ALLAH PAK ki behisaab Rehmat ki Alamat. A small boy outside mine gives them three products, Shaheen, Safaid Phool, Khanjar. Three (3) moves (dao) of life. Pehla dao... Iman... ALLAH PAK ki adalat mein muqadma, Doosra... Sabar, Teesra... Raza... ALLAH PAK ki Raza pe Raazi. And last but not the least, Pehla Chakar... ALLAH PAK ne zindagi ko pasand kiya, Doosra Chakar... Zameen kahin nakhlistan hai kahin sehra... Insan ki zindagi, Teesra Chakar... Her shey her amal ki qaza hai... Zindagi ki nahi...

Talking about Sumaira's another strenght, the dialogue writing, here once again, she shines with the glory. See, how beautifully she uses the sweet Punjabi dilect, Ik Maan Meri O Piyari... Is Maa naal meri yaari.. Mera dil tey meri hayati... Main maa tu jind wari. It reminded me of the Gulzar sb's symbolical approach, when read Sumaira's words in the Para Gliding scene, Acha to uper se zameen aisi dikhai deti hai... Pehley maloom hota to woh safaid badlon mein aik ghar bana leta... Ghar ki khirkiyan khol ker roz aisa nazara kerta... The one statement that stunned me, Insan ke jism mein itni taqat hai to rooh mein kitni ho gi??? Kiyo ke Rooh jism se afzal hai... And this one has written Sumaira Hameed all over it, putting negative-positive in one phenomenon under same situation, Inhain Bhaa ki zabardastiyan achi lagney lagi thi... Inhain Bhaa ki zabardastiyan zehar lagney lagi thi... And this beautiful food for thought Kabhi dawa mein shifa hui hai??? Yeh to ikhtyar waley ke kamaal ka kamaal hai...

It is a fortay of Sumaira that she keenly observes the environment and minute details of her subject matter, due to which her writings stand out from the rest. The way she has used the native language of pehalwaans in Gujranwala is amazing. From their Kushtis and counting style, to the statement,  Zindagi jeetney ke liye 360 dao aney chahiye... Warna sirf Aik (1)... Insan ko jeena ana chahiye... Mar to sab ne jana hi hai, she was all pitch perfect.

Overall, This novel is an epic road trip tale, that acts as an amazing motivation, that makes you count what we have, instead of what we have not. It has a message written loud & clear on it, Live the life, as it is the best blessing of ALLAH PAK. Don't take it for-granted.

Jab aap mout ki taraf safar shuru ker rahey hotey hain magar zindagi aap baahen khol ke aap ka istaqbaal kerti hai...

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Main Jinnah Ka Waris Hoon- Review by Shoby

Main Jinnah Ka Waris Hoon- Review by Shahbaz Ali Naqvi

“You will have to make up for the smallness of your size by your courage and selfless devotion to duty, for it is not life that matters, but the courage, fortitude and determination you bring to it.”

Hazrat Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah (ra)

Leadership... A distinctive quality that makes one stand outside of the flock. Leaders are those who don’t care for anything not even themselves, when it comes to the betterment of their followers (read the nation). They say, nations make leaders but I am off the view that it is an entirely a wrong statement. Nations can never make a leader, however leaders are born to convert a scattered group of individuals, having mutually conflicting interests into a nation. This is why nations follow a faithful leader blindly because he is the one, who serves as the anatomy of the nation.

To me, MJKWH is all about a loud cry, emerging out of sheer pain. Pain for author's love for the motherland. It speaks out in loud volumes in favour of what our so called political messiahs were supposed to do in the history (or at least now, considering the last chance) and what have been they up to in the last 70 odd years. While reading MJKWH written by Mr. Mahmood Zafar Iqbal Hashmi, one question raised by the author was triggering in my mind after every second minute, we have excellent role models from NABI AKRAM RASOOL ULLAH MUHAMMAD MUSTAFA (saww) to Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah (ra), but even then, we have not been able to find out a single real successor of Quaid... Someone who could have managed to get all of us out of these ever increasing dilemmas... Why???

I feel MJKWH is a fairytale, that emerged from the inner part of writer's heart and that looks like the biggest long lasting wish & desire of not only the writer but all of us. No, it is not a wannabe story of a child, plagued with child labour, who went on to achieve the triumph. I consider this novel to be an epic exploration of most sincere replies against the questions that we have been asking to each other for more than several decades. It is about how Waris, younger child of a poor family, becomes the luck charm of a nation, courtesy his will & desire to take up the challenge to complete the uphill task of rescuing the nation from all the bads, they have been facing for decades.

Now, let’s explore the dynamics of story writing technique used in the narrative by Mr. Mahmood in MJKWH. It is quite interesting to see that two distinctive speeches are used parallel in the novel. A direct speech, where the protagonist is shown addressing to the nation for the last time as PM and simultaneously a story runs in flashback telling the tale of this child becoming the premier. If the overall speech of PM is drawing a beautiful painting of emotions & practices that laid him & his team to achieve what one assumes to be practically impossible, then on the other hand, the episode of Waris, running parallel with the speech, depicts a very sensitive yet loud story of hard work, struggle, sacrifice & devotion. Waris is literally a prime example of the phrase GOD helps those who help themselves.

This novel speaks volumes about the sheer hands-on knowledge & experience that Mr. Mahmood possess. See, how beautifully he has discussed almost each & every problem that we, as a nation are facing right now and the best thing about this book was, not only he highlighted the problem statements but unlike all these on-air political programs, he came up with some real solid solutions to the problems. I loved the way, how he inter-connected different solutions, in order to form each of them a great team player in overall problem solving arena.

From child labour to the extremism and law & order situation, from agriculture to medical, from sports to art & infrastructure, from financial stability to economic reforms, from international relations with other countries to resolving Kashmir dispute, from land reforms to administrative endeavours, Mr. Mahmood has explored almost every problem written on the wall. This is an indeed a fine piece of literature that can definitely serve as a remedy for the issues, we have been facing since decades.

Another beauty of the novel is the writer's take on characters. Considering it being a lengthy novel, Mr. Mahmood has been successful in arranging all the things in best possible proportions, while using minimal characters. In fact, there are only 5 to 6 pertinent characters in the whole novel, who make the story runs smooth.

The novel overall focuses on Waris, a working child, who went on to become PM. Nabeela, a sister plus adviser, whose task is to provide Waris with much needed guidance & motivation, whenever he needed them. Barrister Shamsa, a lady with golden heart, who helps Waris by every possible means, to polish this deteriorating gem. Barrister Samiullah, a successful lawyer, a practical person, who doesn't look like a warm-hearted person but in actual, he was all heart. Professor Asif, a die-hard overseas Pakistani, a true lover of Allama Iqbal, Adeena, the love interest of Waris, with a slightly different perspective, unlike the so-called female leads of our novels. Story also saw a few other characters like mother of Waris, Rahul, a uni-fellow & best buddy of Waris and Ustad Dilshad. Talking about the character sketches of all of them, I must say that writer did full justice to each & every one of these characters. I loved the way, how Mr. Mahmood has shown the coming of age, as far as Undeena's character is concerned. It was such a breather to see that writer has shown the primary objective of Waris, as the first love and NOT the girl. Hats Off...

There is no debate if I say that Mr. Mahmood has come up with a very strong concept of a character, who is inspired by two grandest personalities of our historical legacy. Waris, truly inspired from Quaid e Azam and Allama Iqbal was just at its prime best, whenever he was shown talking with respect to these real super heroes. But I feel, writer should have focused a bit more on the sayings & practices of Quaid e Azam and similarly discussed some more revolutionary poetry of Allama Iqbal, in order to further enlighten our generation with the true image of what one has to do, in order to become a real Shaheen of Iqbal, a real successor of Quaid e Azam.

Mr. Mahmood was at his writing best, when he gave a comparative analysis of two very diverse societies. Western world and Pakistan. He also gave us a picture of old & new Pakistan, which was revamped after a struggle of 15 plus years. I feel, prime objective of Mr. Mahmood was to deliver a top-notch presentation about the winning qualities of a leader. He, obviously highlighted many issues, from child labor to terrorism, but he was also pointing us the best possible ways to get out of these issues. Writer. being an OD professional, used his vast experience & understanding, to give us an insight about how to discover a leader within us. Now, it is up to us, whether we can find one or not.

Although I truly believe that this novel is written with all the heart & warmth that one feels for the dear country but still at times, I felt, things were a bit exaggerated in the proceedings. For instance, some issues that writer has depicted to be resolved so easily within 15 years are literally not a cup of tea for anyone. I am not one of those who think one should not even try to touch "impossibles". Yes, I am one of those who are strong believers of the saying that IMPOSSIBLE itself says, I M Possible but still certain elements like land reforms, Kashmir dispute, relations with India & Afghanistan, Kala-Bagh Dam and others are some real tough asks. If someone like Waris appears from anywhere in our country, who can break all the barriers to achieve whatever is necessary to make Pakistan one of the biggest economies and an Islamic welfare state, I would be more than delighted. But, who, when, and how are the big Qs.

Somewhere in the read, it is pertinent that you find your eyes moist and in my case, it was the curtain part of this novel. One line that gave me sheer goose bumps from the whole was, Is Pak Sar'zameen ko KARBALA mein dhalney waley or usey us ke basiyon ke lahoo se tarr kerney waley zeyada ter yazeed or shimr isi mulk ke baasi hain...

You may put a point that few of the things mentioned in the novel are completely out of question, especially when we talk about the dreams coming true in the form of economic stability, Kashmir dispute resolution, and others but believe me, this writing is a clear evidence of how optimistic is the writer, when it comes to the future of Pakistan. We should not focus on what we have not been able to do till date and what can never be achieved in the life. This novel gives a lifetime learning of one man can literally change the course of history and we have seen such persons in the real time historical arena. The only thing required is the will & passion to achieve, what everyone expects to be not achievable at any cost.

I believe these few lines are not at all sufficient to explain all the aspects of the novel and a complete book or at least a research article can be written, where we can discuss all the 10 chapters of MJKWH. But still leaving you with a hope that we all learn from what Mr. Mahmood was trying to say, without being preachy at all. Don't wait for someone to come & rescue us. Stay strong and stand up on your feet, if you really have the will to do something for the country. And believe what I always say. You are born to fly and believe sky is never a limit.

In the end, I would request Mr. Mahmood to come up with a sequel to MJKWH, in order to further explain the unanswered phenomena with respect to the development plan, he has presented in the 10 chapters. I am a firm supporter of the concept that epics should neither be re-made nor should be their sequels or prequels are written. But in this case, I feel, we all need further motivation and in terms of practical steps to be taken, further guidance to really become a true successor of Quaid e Azam (ra).

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Haalim (Episode 11)- Review by Shoby

Haalim (Episode 11)- Review by Shahbaz Ali Naqvi (Shoby)

Daniel: Stop… just stop the pain.

Regina: How?

Daniel: Just… let me go.

Regina: No. No, I won’t lose you again. Without you, I’m lost. Daniel, come back to me.

Daniel: Can’t. Can’t.

Regina: But I love you.

Daniel: Then love again.

Once Upon A Time *Season 2

Once upon a time, there was a princess, who was forced to leave her kingdom and live in a place multiples times ahead from where she actually belonged. Time, the most unprecedented factor played with her again and she was returned to her origin, only to make her realize that she was not born to be here at the first place. However, she carried on her struggle to get away with the things and remain successful in returning back to the place where she lived for the most of the part of her life. But time, the deadliest player, has never been so kind to her, so how can you expect she would have lived happily ever after. And as they say in Once Upon A Time, Your happy ending may not be what you expect. That is what will make it so special.

Do you know, what is the worst dilemma in the life of we the human creed? Fantasy, turning into reality... Do you know why is it so? Because once fantasy turns into reality or wishes come true, they came into life against some heavy price. Price that we don't afford to pay. Remember Barry Allen wanted to have just one chance to go back in time and save his mother. He was fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to get not once but twice the chance of saving her. BUT... At the first time, he decided to leave the past as it is and then he regretted, why he lost the opportunity. On the second attempt, he saved his mother and due to this one action, the course of history & future were altered and another timeline was created with events, still demanding him to regret upon his decision. So, regret is what finally, humans have to feel. The summary of this whole time traveling episode of Haalim is same. Fantasy... (Zehan mein bani kahaniyon) ko pura nahi hona chahiye... Warna woh tragedy ban jati hain... 

Our Haalim (i.e. Taliya Murad aka Princess Tasha) is all regret at the end of the episode. And the regret this time has come up with sadness. The forward time traveling has come up with lofty price in the form of a much needed twist in the plot. As expected, Fateh has lost the memories of four months spent in Malaka. 

Or us ko dua mein manga kero

Jis ke milney ka dukh bara ho ga

(Main Bekhayali Mein Sang Tere- Shahbaz Ali Naqvi)

(And I feel, this twist was written all over the walls and you may have guessed it pretty earlier when Fateh had the keys to open the door. As a matter of fact, whoever opens the door arrives the next destination with no memories of recent past) :-)

To me, the best part of Waqt Ke Us Paar, was the intelligently carved picturesque of events, that made me feel like watching a fantasy adventure in 3-D. The way Nemrah Ahmed projected the scenes esp, the entry in the island, Adam's confrontation with the bodyguard & combat with the dragon and last but not the least, their departure from the island with Princess Tasha on the deck of the ship, all of these events were described with utmost authenticity. Tasha on the deck reminded me of Captain Hook. Adam's fight with the dragon reminded me of Prince Charming's fight with the dragon. (Once Upon A Time, Season Two & One). I must say, Nemrah is one of the best writers we have in our Urdu literature universe, when it comes to giving us lively pictures through her words.

Well, I have to admire Nemrah once again. Read this beauty. Shaam dhal gai to badhara mehal ke dar o deewar ne sargoshiyon mein aik doosrey ko teh'khaney ka ehwaal sunaya... Khirkiyaan ehtajajan zara kharkeen or darwazon ne apney patt jhallaey magar oonchey satoon behissi se qaid'khaney ka manzar naama suntey rahey... See, how aesthetically wonderful is the way, she use to plays with the words. Symbolical approach at its prime best.

Nemrah never shys away from giving some deep lessons that are mandatory to be learnt in order to live the life with courage & bravery.  As Tasha say, Sarey bhao tao jang se pehley ke hotey hain... Lakin jab aik dafa larai shuru ho jaey to dushman pe tars khana kamzori hoti hai... But story doesn't end here. Don't forget Adam's reply, Medaan e jang mein na dushman pe tars khatey hain na dost ki taraf se ankhen band kertey hain...

Have you ever wondered, what pokes these writers to deep dive into the realm of thoughts and bring at the surface some pearls that we read as words. Their hidden treasure that never allow them to seek rest, i.e. The Writing skills. Artists, no matter to which field that belong, have to focus on the internal self and come up with their art. If they don't do so, they will remain impatient, provided if they are genuine artists. Same goes for writers and Nemrah throws some light on it. Tehreer mein jaan bachaney ki taqat hoti hai...

Apparently, Malaka Island episode is over with our three travelers traveling back to the future in the 21st century KL after so much happenings but I feel, every end is a sign of a new beginning and in this case, I firmly believe that story will definitely move from KL to Malaka once again. These last two episodes were sleek, stylish & pacey and they have driven the story of Haalim to new heights . I expect some serious updates in next coming episodes. It would be really interesting to see how Taliya & Adam will cope up with the newly emerged situation now. Last but not the least, the title of this 11th episode (i.e. Waqt Ke Us Paar) reminded me of Sir Ishtiaq Ahmed's titles which he used to give to his Inspector Jamshed & Kamran Mirza's stories. Don't you recall the same. Do tell me in comments.

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Haalim (Episode 10)- Review by Shoby

Haalim (Episode 10)- Review by Shahbaz Ali Naqvi (Shoby)

Dr. King Schultz: Well, Broomhilda was a princess. She was a daughter of Wotan. Anyways, her father is really mad at her.

Django: What she do?

Dr. King Schultz: I can't exactly remember. She disobeys him in some way. So he puts her on top of the mountain.

Django: Broomhilda's on a mountain?

Dr. King Schultz: It's a German legend, there's always going to be a mountain in there somewhere. And he puts a fire-breathing dragon there to guard the mountain. And he surrounds her in a circle of hellfire. And there, Broomhilda shall remain. Unless a hero arises brave enough to save her.

Django: Does a fella arise?

Dr. King Schultz: Yes, Django, as a matter of fact, he does. A fella named Siegfried.

Django: Does Siegfried save her?

Dr. King Schultz: [Nods] Quiet spectacularly so. He scales the mountain, because he's not afraid of it. He slays the dragon, because he's not afraid of him. And he walks through hellfire... because Broomhilda's worth it.

Django: I know how he feel.

Django Unchained (2012)

Slowly & steadily Nemrah Ahmed is paving ways to get the story back to the track from where it all started. The first hint is off course the dream. Thanks GOD the dream sequence has been updated. This time, it has featured a modern corporate office environment in 21^st century. The dream symbolically refers to two things apparently. First, obviously the ever increasing authority of Taliya and second, what I assume, fully grown influence of Taliya on Fateh's decisions in the life to come and I feel this is something which we shall see in upcoming episodes.

They say, it is a world where survival is assured only for the fittest and just like how they fight in the ring, it is every man for himself. The phenomenon is quite literally proving true here as Yan Su Fu has orchestrated a sort of indigestible plan of rescuing her own maternal life. Fact of the matter is who likes to be deprived of the power, authority, title & above all, his/ her respective strong position and what if it is as strong as a crown.

The episode Sanam Taraash comes with couple of twists, which were much needed to retain the story alive. Yes, you guessed it right. Under critical circumstances, Fateh ties knot with Taliya (more of a paper marriage contract only). Well the story does not ends here, the icing on the cake is the cupid has strike Adam with his deadly lethal weapon. Itni si baat thi or Adam ka dil khaali ho gaya... Ker lo gal. Nevertheless, the moment Taliya prepares herself as a bride for wedding ritual is perfectly written. Although only two or three very short lines penned by Ms. Nemrah but undoubtedly these few sentences were more than enough to leave a huge emotional impact on the readers.

It was quite evident that Fateh is the most self-centered person on the planet and yes he had to be practical by every mean. This sentence further strengthens our belief. Mohabbat sirf fairy tale mein hoti hain Adam... Is ko asal zindagi mein nahi dhoondey...

The much celebrated statue of Wang Li is also implanted in the episode and once again it is carved by none other than Taliya. However the reason why she made it was quite engaging. Last but not the least, apparently the much talked about treasure for which Taliya has crossed the worlds, has been unfolded finally. It is not the gold or jewels as many of us have been imagining. Rather it’s the antiques. And what a plan structured by the cat burglar. To bury the things and discover them in the future. And this is why she was creating the statue in order to get access to Wang Li's house. Tasha’s poem was also a landmark. Bravo.

Just like last few episodes this one was also having a good dose of public awareness messages. This time Nemrah focused on inflation & self-esteem. Talking about inflation first, Taliya projects the results of her Root Cause Analysis on increasing trend of inflation in the state of Malacca, keeping in view the statements of Fateh once given in a talk show. And the matter in the court stands resolved by accepting the foreign aid from Chinese kingship in the form of Foreign Debts... Beautiful explanation by Nemrah about how the corrupt politicians and their so called tajarbey'kaar teams are the real reason of drastic conditions of drowning economies in Third World countries.

I feel, "Jia" is also gaining a good volume of fame (obviously not as popular as our very favorite #FoodlyEverAfter) as almost all of the brave heart sort of renditions by Fateh have been given here. This time it was no different. Fateh talks about Self Esteem and how it effects one's personality & his behavioral patterns. However I would like to add just one point here so that readers may not get distracted by the illustration.

There is a very thin line between self-esteem & ego. Interesting thing is, the word Ego also means self. Someone, who always talk about self, who make fun of someone else with comparing to his own self, whereas Self-esteem is standing up for yourself when someone makes fun of you for your liberty, beliefs or something else.

Coming back towards Haalim, I would like to mention one thing which I am regularly missing from last two episodes and I am sure many of the readers are also missing the same. I feel Nemrah is not giving the due share of space to the beautiful teachings from Islamic & Quranic stories for which she is famous. I hope she will surely come up with something like what she used to write as we are all missing the much needed dose of golden quotes.

Once again, Nemrah has never left the opportunity to bring impressive slapstick one-liners. At times, we feel Adam hails from our very own society as he has an amazing comic timing. Bara hi koi seincedaan baap hai aap ka... and Yaani mere ander waqai cell daltey hain... were the most entertaining sit-coms in this episode.

Readers, I have an important thing to discuss here and it is the concept of parallel universes or multiverse. Many of my readers are asking me questions that how come Taliya has grown whereas all other things remained constant as she time traveled twice (forth & back) and lived a good number of years in future. So here is my take.

Actually this concept of time travel is associated with parallel worlds and borrowed from different international fiction, movies & seasons. They say, more than one world or universe exists simultaneously but no one can cross over due to certain constraints. However, by incident (may be surpassing Einstein’s' Equation of Energy), if someone travels through the times, he reaches another world or may be the same world but in a different time period.

The best examples for this are seasons Fringe & The Flash. The key element in time travel is that when you cross over the time lines, you arrive in a world parallel to the one of yours. However, this time travel does not come without any impact. It is like, when you cheat with the thin fabric of time, it alters the course of history, thus arranges to make new timelines. So in one way or another history & future has an impact of this time travel. And I feel, our dreamers are here for the very same reason. Taliya wants to change the course of her future, whereas Fateh desires to alter the course of history. It is also discussed in Metaphysics by various scientists esp. Stephen Hawking in today's era. I hope this elaboration has proved to be fruitful for those who were a bit confused.

Summing up today's discussion, let me conclude all this by giving you a hint of what to expect in upcoming episodes. Worry not readers, nothing is going to happen to Taliya Muraad, what-so-ever Fateh predicts (read tells to Raja Muraad). The time is soon to arrive when the three of these time travelers will return back to the future from where they belong. Interesting thing would be their synchronization in the 21st century, as the things have now changed quite rapidly.

Leaving you till the next episode with the below statement which reminds me of my childhood story "Sher Aya"

Kiya sari umr jhoot bhoolney ki yehi saza hoti hai ke jab indagi ka sab se bara sach bolna chaho to koi yaqeen hi na kerey...

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Husnul Muab Or Concludes... Novel Analysis by Shoby

Husnul Muab Or Concludes... Novel Analysis by Shahbaz Ali Naqvi (Shoby)

By Al-Asr. Indeed, mankind is in loss. Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience. (Sura Al-Asr)

And I say, we the human creed is seriously in loss. Do you know why, because either many of us do not Believe and for many others in case we believe, we don't believe it wholeheartedly on embracing truth & patience, leave aside the aspect of advising it to others.

Husnu Muaab Or, a Saira Raza novel gained my attraction initially just because of its very unique title. And when I started reading the pilot episode, it instantly took me into a trance as I fastened my seat belts & got ready to read a magnum of treat in the form of this written endeavour. To me, this thirteen episodic novel is more of a spiritual endowment theory than a mere social assignment.

To give you the gist of the story, it primarily revolves around the lives of our protagonists Husnul Muab and Musa B. It is about how their fortunes unites & apart them with certain tricks & twists along while battling out with the stories of many other characters who contribute to make the mega plot. As per my habit, I obviously am not going to tell you the story, as I want you to experience the thrill by reading it yourself. :-) 

First of all let us examine the most important characters of the novel. Although it had a plethora of characters but all of them are well justified considering the canvas of the subject matter. Starting with Musa B (aka Sami Uddin), he is the heart of the story. An international signing sensation, a rockstar, heartthrob of thousands of fans, a style icon who unfortunately started the very first day of his life with a regret of having (self-confessed) worst parents and went on to live each & every day of the remaining life with the same regret. His parents have stories of their own, and although they never tried to justified how they lead their lives but indeed they were not to blamed, in the totally. After all, we as a Muslim believe that every child is born on the phenomenon of Fitrat: state of intrinsic goodness.

Lets now talk about Husnul Muaab, an enthralling combo of beauty & mind. Her brought up was of a highly respected religious family and she had the knowledge in tons of volumes but due to what we may call the rigidness of some of the family member's attitude, she got diverted from the path as she was all set to fly high with new horizons to explore. After all, who cares whats good & bad. What matters the most is the self satisfaction. Manasa Rao says, “A question that always haunts me. Why can’t people just be real? It’s easier being real than pretend being real. Give yourself a chance.”

Sheher'Zaad, an ageing celebrity who needed the support of an established artist (Musa B) to be in the game. Showbiz is said to be a fad event in celeb's lifeline and she was almost out of the game, just when Musa B entered into her life. From nowhere she grew love for Musa B out of this friendship and later on played a vamp and did every written task to separate Musa B & Husnul's pair.

Then comes another very interesting character Mehru (aka Merry), an off spring of a Muslim (by birth) father & a Muslim (converted from Christianity) mother. You noticed, I hereby unintentionally drew a line between the religious school of thought of her parents and this is the same thing which people associated closely to her have done all through her grooming days and this paradox floating around dual gods made her live a confused life which ultimately lead her to bear no religion.

I don't want to make the review more lengthy so I am just cutting of the character anatomy here, however I must mention some other important characters which were pertinent in growing up the story. Khadja, Haleema, Scarlet, Badruddin, Abdul Mubeen, Ram Nath (in a strong cameo) and this list is literally a never ending thing, however not even a single of these characters was placed by the writer in the heart of the plot to make things look exaggerated. 

Coming towards the narrative part of the story, I would give 10 on 10 to Ms. Saira for the utmost perfection in her execution. You may find no or very little loopholes in the script. She was crystal clear about the idea she conceived and she went on to project it quite impressively. The circumstances she built for the pertinent incidents in the story were truly make-belief. Although it was quite evident that Husnul's prayers (to marry Musa B) would be answered positively but I was wondering how will she manage to look it realistic on papers and let me say, she did a very commendable job in this perspective.

Saira presented in front of us diverse atmospheres in the story. From glitz & glamour of entertainment industry to the orthodox religious mentality, from a church attached Christian family to to a balance Islamic following school of thought family, she was spot on in the projection of many different envelops that wrapped up the story nicely.

It would not be false if I say that we, the humans are selfish & above all hypocritical in nature. We assume we are the best and the version of any particular entity we have is the best one available. We overlook the other party's side of the picture and being judgemental, we are always in a hurry to announce someone as doomed.

Let us confess many of us are in the pride of being righteous ones but in fact, it is not true. How can we be a true Muslim, if other Muslims (or even other creations of ALLAH) are not saved from our hands or tongues. People like Mehru & Maria have to go through a tragedy which no one else can understand. They are being stereotyped and we as a society totally disowns them. This whole episode was beautifully materialised by Saira in this novel.

Talking about my favourite scenes, I still cant get over the frame where lost Mus B is finally discovered and then abused by Ram Nath. It brought tears to my eyes literally. Specially these lines:

Us ne kaha, kaisey Muslim ho? Apney NABI (saww) ke barey mein kuch jantey nahi. Mujh se pooch lo kisis bhi devi devta ke barey mein. Tum kaisey Muslim ho. Tumhain k,uch pata hi nahi.

Woh mujh se UN (saww) ke Father (asws) or Mother (sa) ke Naam pooch raha tha. Mujhey nahi maloom they. Main un ke Bachon ke Naam bhi nahi janta tha.

Naam to tumhain bataeney parhey ge... Woh meri charpai ke gird chakar laganey laga.

"Mujhey maloom hi nahi tha. Bohat zor deney per IMAM HUSSAIN (asws) ka Naam bataya to us ne naya sawal ker diya...

Acha to WOHI HUSSAIN (asws) Jis ka tum logon ne pani band ker diya tha... Yaar kaisey log ho tum... Wesey pani kiyo band kiya tha..."

Mujhey jawab nahi aya...

This one specific scene gave me goosebumps. Hats off Saira on penning this one.

Apart from this, music concert scene where Husnul Muab noticed Musa B for the first time was also impressive. Maria's wedding with Fayaz was also a notable scene. Another scene that managed to gain my attention was the rift & fight sequence which took place at Mufti Abdul Rehman's home. When Scarlet & Samiudin goes to meet Musa B and he finally agrees to meet them was emotional at its core.

Saira's research in the subject matter was also very authentic. She properly used Ayat e Mubarka from QURAN PAK & some verses from Bible wherever she found appropriate & necessary. Her dialogues were pitch perfect and went smoothly with the characters for which they were written. One thing I must highlight here that she intentionally avoided the cheesy so-called romanticism in this novel & the dialogues, whereas she was having all the liberty to showcase this in the form of Husnul Muaab and Sheher'Zaad's characters.

The most beautiful part of this story is the way Saira depicted multiple shades of different characters. It is said that every person has more than one personality and he discovers (or presents) his face according to the need of the times. Similarly, all the pertinent characters went through a transformation and Saira was very convincing in this display of transformation. We have seen multiple shades of personalities pertaining to Husnul Muaab, Musa B, Mehru and others in the novel.

I loved the ending parts, where she ended the story with a new ray of hope, a bright light, a new beginning by telling that Husnul Muaab Or is not only the story of Husnul. In fact, Mehru completes the pending phrase. Thankfully, Saira didn't made the finale cheesy by making all love wins. If she would have shown Husnul Muab & Musa B once again united, it would have been a unrealistic & unjustified affair.

On the whole, I would rate this novel as a very good read. The author emerged as victorious in telling what she wanted to tell. Do tell me, how you found Husnul Muaab Or...

PS: Please don't forget to provide your valuable feedback in the below comments section.

Rah Noor Dashauq (Sumaira Hameed)- Novel Review by Shoby

Rah Noor Dashauq (Sumaira Hameed)- Novel Review by Shahbaz Ali Naqvi (Shoby)

Disclaimer:

This is the property of critic Shahbaz Ali Naqvi (Shoby) and blog Shobywood. Reproduction of any of its part without written approval of the owner is subject to punishment, as per prevailing law.

Gary Vaynerchuk said, "The chef that grew up with the grandma who cooks tends to always beat the chef that went to the culinary institute. It's in the blood." And our dear poor village girl Deena was the one same being. Rah Noor Dashauq is a success story about how a female village caterer went on to achieve the prime of her triumph with the blessings of ALLAH PAK, courtesy the art of cookery that was bestowed to her. Jaisey maa ko aulaad, kesan ko beej, ankh ko noor, aisey us ne masalon ko naam se nahi, khawaas se jaan liya tha... My regular readers, please don't get bored of my this one sentence. Sumaira Hameed manages well to surprise us all again with a story that is never ever tried earlier in our Urdu digest industry, as she has once again chosen a field of life that has never been explored may be in any mainstream media leave alone digests in Pakistan.

Deena, a village girl who has a passion to take her father's occupation (catering) to the next level by becoming a professional chef starts of her journey by catering in small functions, after demise of her father. Maut ke kaaley namak ne seedhey saadey zaiyqey nigal liye... The novels highlights  all the downs & downs (as she has not tasted even the minimal sugar of ups in the life till the very end) of Deena. It is an interesting tale about how she managed to take admission in a culinary institute and later on got expelled on drugs charges. She didn't lose hopes and started job as a helper of professional chefs but once again got struck badly by the fate. No matter what... Zindagi aap ko medaan mein sab se akhir mein hi le ja ker khara kiyo na ker dey... Kharey ho jaey... Buss girey nahi... Her lose-lose situation continued and she tried to stand up after every damn hit of the luck till the time she gave up. However destiny had some other plans for her and she was born to fly high, as she had a mystery ingredient which other's recipes lack. Sab masaalon mein sab se mehnga... Dunya ke bazaar mein sab se sasta juz... Aansoo... To know, how she managed to step in the game again, read the novel, as I don't want to be spoiler now. KHUDA ke ilawa kon hai, jo lain se pehley dain teh na karey...

Let me tell you, attempting this endeavor in a mainstream commercial digest writing is not an easy task to do and if I say, only Sumaira has the power to take this challenge, it wont be false. I remember, when R Balki announced Cheeni-Kum with a male chef as a protagonist, public & even some critics thrashed the idea but later on, it went on to be a huge success, not only critical but also commercial.

The best thing about this story was Sumaira's research on the subject matter. If you look closely at the things, you will be surprised to see that she had to undergo an extensive research on several entirely different environments. From the desi life of a Punjabi village & the things associated with a traditional caterer (read nayee) to the extra glittering life of a high class culinary institute and then lively atmosphere of central Lahore (Bhaati Gate & adjacent areas) including an old traditional haveli & its 25 odd inhabitant. You will be stunned to read the use of daigs along with the culinary terms she used all through the proceedings that really enhanced the overall taste of the story.  Ten on ten for this. 

This novel is a sparkling star as far as the dialogues are concerned. I don't know, how many times I have literally screamed in joy and vocally said WAH, while reading her dialogues. Barkat asmaan se insano ki niyyat per uterti hai... (Beshak... Subhan ALLAH)...

One thing about  Sumaira Hameed's writing is, she has a natural tendency to align her dialogues with the primary theme of the subject. For instance, here we are reading something based on cookery and Sumaira gives us a delightful aroma of the same in every second or third dialogue. Yahan ke log pather dil hain or main pather ko zaeyqa daar nahi bana sakti... Too good.

As every other struggling star's story, this one was full of pain & grief but Sumaira pulled some excellent slapstick one-liners that forced me to laugh. "Forun le jao per faut ker ke to na le ke jao na..." Her dialogue "Her cheez ki aik qeemat hoti hai... Huner ki bhi..." reminded me of one of the most extensively used dialogue in the series Once Upon A Time, "Every magic comes with a price..."

Sumaira has given all of us a universal lesson. No matter what field we belong to, if we consider ourselves as a true artist, we should always follow this simple & straight rule of thumb. Jean-Louis Barrault (A French Actor/ Director) said, A classic is like a hidden treasure. Its core is buried under so many layers of varnish that it can be reached only by patience and infiltration and in Rah Noor Dashauq Sumaira says, "Jo shakhs ujlat ka shikaar ho... Besabra ho or jaldbaaz ho.. Woh koi takhleeq kesey ker sakta hai...". True indeed.

Overall, this novel is a beautiful take on a wannabe chef's life including all the professional jealousy that a naturally talented person has to face in this world of fake & fad. It enlightens us with her struggle to make a carrier out of dust with a pertinent message written all over it. Takhleeq kisi bhi sinf ki ho, shafaaf dil per uterti hai... Kamiyabi kisi bhi darjety ki ho, musalsal jadojehad se milti hai...

PS: Don't forget to provide your valuable feedback on the review in the below comment box.

Raqsam (Aymal Raza)- Novel Analysis by Shoby

Raqsam (Aymal Raza)- Novel Analysis by Shahbaz Ali Naqvi (Shoby)

Shuru shuru mein jab khawab toot'tey hain to bohat bechaini hoti hai... Phir adat ho jati hai... Tootney or bechain rehney ki...

Her mother became habitual of absorbing pain and it was looking like if the same was destined for her too but at the end of the day, sun was all set to shower her shines on her. It is curtains on Aymal Raza's Raqsam and Manaal binte Surayya stands out victorious.

This three episodic novel is once again an excellent tragedy written by Aymal and I must say, Aymal knows the recipe of writing a perfect tragedy. Although she introduced many characters in the novel but to me, Raqsam was all about these powerful characters, Manaal, Sikander, Doris and Ajram, having Manaal stealing the limelight. Let us explore these characters first.

Raqsam's plot revolves around Manaal and this character has every trait of Taveez e Hub's Bianca. You will feel the same rage, anger, a wish to take revenge and a heart that lasts for love but the game time plays with both of them is almost the same. Ignoring the phenomenon they both went rhough, one can easily replace these two characters and the reaction would be surprisingly same. 

Manaal was deprived of love and she was all revenge on account of this. But when she realised that in the course of having a revenge based saga, she is going nowhere, she just left everything, even herself. Gerard Way said, “Sometimes you have to kind of die inside in order to rise from your own ashes and believe in yourself and love yourself to become a new person.” She almost did the same.

They say, we the humans are not wrong all the time, rather time makes us do silly wrong things. Sikander is a perfect example of this. He was never meant to make Suraya's life hell but this happens when someone craves for love which is not meant for him/ her. Suraya's wish ruined her. Not only her but her children too along with many others in long lasting canvas.

When I was studying character of Doris, I was constantly thinking that even if I don't take it as a standalone character specifically designed for this novel, this is a pure reflection of what we human beings are in reality. The pseudo-gods, as we perceive ourselves. We all, in one way or another feel ourselves as highest & best of all others. We don't allow anyone to fee free in our presence and we never give space to anyone.. We wish to obtain each & everything and we don't bother if something gets hurt or destroyed in the course of this. We just have to feed our own selves. I liked the much needed transition of this character in the end though.

Coming towards Ajram's character, it was complex. At one hand, he is that one happy-go-lucky chap, a blue eyed who can steal the heart of anyone and on anther hand, he was all set to deceit someone without having a second thought. May be this is also another grey aspect of human psyche. A bit disappointment was the treatment with this characters in the end. I feel, this one character could have been handled much better in the final half, considering how it was introduced with a bang in the second half.

Aymal has written a smooth plot this time with a much expected finale but the actual juice of the story lies in the heart of the script. Its all about karma and she has shown the very real of it in these sequences. Whatever has happened to each of these characters was a part of karma but we should not leave it to karma only. Wayne Dyer said, "How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours." Food for thought!

Fortune makes us check diverse taste of life. There are moments when we laugh out loud and moments when we cry our hearts full. One should not only focus on the negative vibes that encircles him, instead he should keep on looking for those beautiful tiny moments that can have a miraculous effect on the life. Try to find life in moments but don't allow any moment to overshadow the whole life.

Dialogues of Raqsam were more than good, with finale part having the most of it. Aymal is a powerful writer when it comes to pen some high volume drama and this time was no difference. Right from the beginning till the very last, Aymal has put up a tremendous show in this regard. Much appreciation for this.

Just like my previous review (of episode 2) I would once again like to mention the most beautiful aspect of this novel. To me, these three parts were handled by Aymal with utmost authority, considering the way how she totally changed the mode from tragedy to romance and from melodrama to tragedy again. 10 on 10 for Aymal on this.

Overall, Raqsam is a good read with some very powerful dialogues penned by the author.

Raqsam (Aymal Raza)- Episode 2 Review by Shoby

Raqsam (Aymal Raza)- Episode 2 Review by Shoby

Brody: You alright?

Carrie: Are you?

(Starts raining)

Brody: Dont leave me like this... All alone... In the rain...

Carrie: You will be fine...

#Homeland #Season1

Remember the first emotional meeting of Brody and Carrie in Homeland? While reading how Ajram came close to Minaal reminded me of that and obviously I am taking too much leverage in saying this.

Minaal meets Ajram and this guy knows every known trick in the books to lure the audience. No matter how talkative you are, there is one damn person in the world who possess the power to make you silent. A silence that speaks much louder than noise. Pakistan mein sab isey kehtey they ke is ki zaban qainchi ki tarha chalti hai... Ajram ki to kai so qainchiyon ki tarha chal rahi thi. 

Some people believe it to be their utmost duty to make you realise that you are still one step behind them in the game. Minaal gets a project of interior decor and the night of the celebrations turned into yet another evening of sorrow when she saw Doris walking on the ramp, making Sikander proud.  It was her night and she was there to get the credit of every great thing but the things are changed. Sikander was also present there and obviously he was also happy to see Minaal's success but taste of the victory has turned sour as Doris has stolen the scene with a big wicked smile on her face. Meanwhile it can be clearly seen that somewhere within herself, ice is melting for Minaal binte Surayya.

So Minaal is melting not only for her father but also for Ajram. He is marking quite a visible stamp on her. Pyara hona bohat acha lagta hai, khas tor per tab jab kisi ko laga jaey... Love has the tendency to modify you. It literally can. Same is happening to our grief struck enraged girl. She has finally found a buddy.

Now lets us pause here for a while and discuss Ajram. This happy go lucky, all goes well nice charming uni fellow likes street dancing and therefore he is learning dance from the instructor Saint. I feel his character is something like that of Aman from Kal Ho Na Ho. The more he provides the fun element to the story, the more it looks like that he is going to reveal a deadly disastrous news soon. 

On the street festival, Ajram gifts her a traditional Greek Garland. On that very night, Sikander confesses all the bad, he has done with Surayya and her children. They are coming nearer. She is becoming happier. And then all of the sudden everything got changed. 

Us ki aankhen weeran ho gai... Sara sheher weeran ho gaya. Seems like Ajram is deliberately avoiding her for unknown reasons citing various lame excuse of being abroad for a short film and then came the biggest twist in the story. Ajram asks her for a dinner and there she found him, not as her boy friend, but as the (proclaimed) fiance of none other than Doris.

Hats off to Aymal for switching gears and going back-forth by making some real interesting twists in the plot. First she managed so well to divert the focus of the readers from a revenge filled Minaal-Sikander saga to a little warm Minaal- Ajram love story and then just with a mere click, she turned the tables once again and beautifully shifted the focus to the same old siblings hate/-revenge drama. Apparently Doris has acquired the very best (in fact the only) of what Minaal had.

From the story-line, I am getting a feel that this one seems to be getting unzipped in a nice smooth manner. Aymal is this time effortlessly telling us a tale in simplest of the manners. She is not trying to do anything extra and just focusing on producing a fairly fluent narrative. I am  predicting a happily living ever after sort of finale with a touch of family drama at the end. Let's wait and watch what is coming next in Raqsam.

Haalim (Nemrah Ahmed)- Episode 1 Review by Shoby

Haalim (Nemrah Ahmed)- Episode 1 Review by Shoby

Grace Van Pelt: [watching Jane perform a magic trick with his straw] How'd you do that? 

Patrick Jane: Telekinesis. 

Kimball Cho: He blew on it. 

Patrick Jane: That is another way to do it.

"The Mentalist"

Welcome to Kuala Lumpur (KL)- The capital of scenic Malaysia. Kuala is the point where two rivers join together and Lumpur means "mud", so Kuala Lumpur literally means "muddy confluence". The time has arrived to dive deep somewhere into the "Conflulence of Muddy Water".

She is a pitch perfect con-artist. He is the future president of Malaysia. Nothing unifies them except the one same trait. They both are dreamers, clairvoyant. Oscar Wilde said, "A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world". No one knows the dawn both of them have to see before the world watches it.

Nemrah Ahmed, this time tells us a story of two "almost" meta-humans (something like Cisco of The Flash). They can foresee whats coming next and they can interpret what they have dreamt off. Well obviously, their predictions does not always come true and sometimes they misinterpret but most of the times they stand winners. 

Taliya Binte Muraad is a mystery damsel and so does the charismatic Fateh bin Ramzel. Both of them are the passengers of two diverse journeys but GOD knows better, a day will come when one mutual destiny will unite them. Wait for the Fate, I say...

Taliya makes a perfect team of scam artists along with Danti and together they have achieved quite a success in the business. Haalim, the novel starts off with the lucrative execution of 11th job of Taliya (aka Haalim) as she categorically deceives the likes of Muliya and Anwer. After the successful completion of the job, it goes on to declare that (disguised) Haalim is ready for one last heist, the grand finale of all, the very last expedition that can turn the lives of these two 360 degrees. 

Just like near to the anti-climax of a crime drama, Taliya wants to settle down after this one last quest. She wants to earn a big bounty and live peacefully for the rest of the life but Plan kiya gaya gunaah kabhi akhri gunaah nahi ban sakta. Once you are in the business, you need to be there till the very end. There is no quitting here.

On the other hand, the other dreamer Fateh bin Ramzel is a poised politician with a vision of A Better Malaysia. He is hypnotic and a loved by masses. He has class, elegance, wit and every written trait of a larger than life personality. So we can say that apparently, instead of one, we have two "Haalim" (dreamers) to start of with.

What is the game plan for Haalim as a last swindle. She wants to steal a key available in the form of a set of bracelet and a coin. This will give her the earning for a lifetime and no points for guessing that both of these products are available at Fateh's place. So plan is pretty much simple. Its time for Taliya to enter his house and steal the things. The things like how and when are still to be responded by Haalim.

First episode of #Haalim is over and canvas is set for a high voltage thriller. Nemrah has taken a different route this time. Story seems to be highly inspired from several TV mystery thrillers. It is not wrong to say that this type of story is not yet attempted in mainstream digest writing in Pakistan. Script looks juicy and undoubtedly has an ocean to explore with a touch of mystery and politics involved in the epicentre of it.

Considering the fact that this was just a pilot episode of the novel, Nemrah has put on quite a remarkable effort in engaging the reader with the proceedings. The best thing about the first episode was its being pacey and interesting. Although she has chosen quite a complex premises this time, but she has done exceptionally well to keep the things real simple & digest-able for every reader. Somewhere I feel, the dialogues were somewhat lacking the real Nemrah's throw power. Hope to see the same old hard hitting Nemrah back soon.

Nemrah is no doubt a trend setter and she is one of those who know how to make a benchmark and how to surpass it in order to create a new one. People are still in awe of Namal and it would require more of a hard work to get over the Namal fever. I feel second episode is crucial as it will establish the actual point standing of Haalim.

Mohabbat Mann Mehram by Sumaira Hameed... Available Now

Mohabbat Mann Mehram by Sumaira Hameed... Available Now

They say, this might be the last century of books and whenever they say this, I get more of the craving to read more, something better, unorthodox. When it comes to the word unorthodox, no one can deny the fact that currently Sumaira Hameed is one of only few who have the tendency to go  an extra mile to give the reader an appetite which serves as a seven course meal.

Without any further ado, let me disclose the Breaking News... The wait is over. as Sumaira Hameed is back in the business and this time she is coming up with an unmatched socio-romantic saga titled as "Mohabbat Mann Mehram".

You must be wondering whats inside the novel... So expect the volcano of emotions and get ready to dive deep in the river of phrases that can sprinkle the magic of not read before dialogues. Here is the tile page of the book. Visit Sumaira Hameed's official Facebook page for more details.

Place your order for the book here:

Well, this book features a surprise, which I am not going to reveal for the big thing... You will love it I bet.

Complete review on the novel will be shared soon at the blog. Till then, I suggest you to purchase your copy NOW and do share your feedback.

Birha Bahag Ki Meena (Sumaira Hameed)- Novel Review by Shoby

Birha Bahag Ki Meena (Sumaira Hameed)- Novel Review by Shoby

K. Asif 's Mughal e Azam, Kamal Amrohi's Pakeezah and Sir Sanjay Lella Bhansali's, Devdas, Saanwariya & Bajirao Mastani. To me, if anything deserves to be called as a cinematic gem, it is just these movies. To me, they are the ones who have really achieved the cult status in terms of film making in the history of Indian film industry. The films have really changed the way how the films were being made..

Let me halt the discussion on other three movies for some other time and let us focus on the 20th Film-Fare winner Pakeezah. Aap ke paon bohat haseen hain... Inhain zameen per na utaiye ga, meley ho jaey ge. Whenever I watch the movie, it gives me chills, the real goose bumps. I can never forget the sequence where Salim renames Sahibjaan as Pakeezah and she runs away having millions of different thoughts in her mind. If Mohey Panghat is one of my most favourite choreographed song then Thaarey Rahiyo is also in the same list. 

So whenever I watched Pakeezah, to me it acted as one of the most brilliantly executed tragedy in Bollywood courtesy an awesome screenplay, a realistic art direction, some not seen before choreography, serene lyrics, grand musical arrangements and above all out of this world bravura performances by the leading cast especially Meena Kumari.

No, this review is definitely not on Pakeezah, however this brief introduction was mandatory to acquaint you about what Pakeezah is to me as a film and once again Sumaira Hameed has come up with an idea which no one else as yet has dared to explore in the digest history of Pakistan.

Writing a biography of a famous personality is not an easy task to do. And the bigger challenge arises when you are writing the larger than life character of someone who actually lived in the world and that too in a novel form. It may needs an entire long book to encompass the life of this celebrated actress. I must say that Ms. Sumaira is the bravest of hearts who took the challenge of penning the Tragedy Queen of Bollywood Meena Kumari's life within a few pages.

Birha Bahag ki Meena is a story that girdled the life time journey from Munna to Meena Kumari. The poor girl who was born in a family of struggling artists. Whose mother & sisters were all struggling actresses and father was a gem of a musician who was in search of that one big opportunity. And her father was all set to leave her on the doorstep of a orphanage. Jurm, wajood mein ana...

Mahjabeen (Munna) who lost her childhood inn the darkness of poverty started acting in smaller roles in her childhood. She was not allowed to play as other children of her age do, so she started collecting stones on the sets of the films and considered them her companion.

She never wanted to act but fortune has written something else for her. With the passage of time she started proving her acting prowess but again she never wanted to be the big thing in glitz & glamour world. She was a pure artist, the one who treats the work as the most sacred thing. Main ne to kabhi amar honey ke khawab nahi dekhey... Bus mera fun buland ho jaey... 

And then she fell in love with a well known writer Kamal Amrohi, who when praised her beauty, she became The Beauty in real sense. Woh khamoshi se geet ho gai... Tum ne "us" ko "un" ker ke usey mehram ker diya... Ah... Serene

I feel Sumaira Hameed took a great volume of risk in choosing this topic as if even a minor of hte things goes wrong, you simply loose the path but how should I praise the beauty of her writing. She never made us feel like we are reading life story of a celebrated actress who has won multiple awards.

While reading Birha Bahaj ki Meena, you carry on your journey with the character of Munna and you seriously start feeling the same as she (the actual Mahjabeen) would have felt while going through the whole. She used to write a diary and interesting part is, you will find the mood of diary quotes getting changed with the change in her life times.

The writing of Sumaira is at its peak when she makes you stand in front of those two love birds who ultimately parted the ways. I honestly felt like watching a class theatrical act or a Bollywood tragedy especially while reading the dialogues like Titli ke paron ko hathon mein masal ker tum kehtey ho main bad'chalan hoon... Tumhari mohabbat zehar ban ker meri rooh mein mein dor rahi hai or tum kehtey ho main ghattiya hoon...

Sumaira this time made us visit the inside of Bollywood Film nagri. As they say, all that glitter is not gold proves really correct here. I felt myself wandering on the sets of Pakeezah with living characters talking all around me. I felt like I was very much part of the same time who saw the making of this epic for 16 long years. Kamal Amrohi once said that he  he hoped to create a film which would be worthy of her as an actress, and worthy of the love he felt for her as a woman, whereas Meena Kumari regarded the film as Kamal Amrohi's tribute to her.

Birha Bahag ki Meena is not here to tell you what was right or wrong. It is not preachy and never tries to crack your mind about who does what wrong. I looked to it as a salute to love, a homage to passion, a respect to the world's most sensitive relationship. I am pretty sure that if anyone would have tell the story of Meena Kumari with utmost delicacy & authority, it was none other than Sumaira Hameed.

Sumaira's dialogues in this novel are absolutely stunning. Her use of Hindi dialect in this story made the happenings looks even more real. Let me tell you, that I consider Saanwarya as a painting in motion. And here I am announcing one more thing, Birha Bahag ki Meena, to me, is a poetry in prose. 

Meena lost her life for the sadness of love and Sumaira has woven the actual emotional thread that made Mahjabeen, the Meena Kumari, the tragedy queen of Indian film industry.