Main Bint e Jameela (Sumaira Hameed)- Story Review by Shoby

Main Bint e Jameela (Sumaira Hameed)- Story Review by Shoby

Lights, Fun, Entertainment, Glitz, Glamour, Happiness, Laughter, Fashion, Power, Wealth, Status and STOP... Most of us belong to the class of people who have seen just these beautiful things in our lives. No, I don't mean to say that we all don't have problems. We all do have problems, in fact at times, we just complaint our CREATOR ALLAH- The ALMIGHTY that were we the only beings on the whole planet left for the sake of all ( ? ) this. And this does not ends here. We even go on to become presumptuous enough that it looks like life has been nothing but a living hell for us. But have you really tasted a living hell... NO... ALHAMDO LILLAH... Once again say, ALHAMDO LILLAH, No we have not and May we all continue to live in our little heavens. This life is a gift and you realise this fact seldom. Actually only once in a blue moon, when you get to hear stories just like this one. And believe it or not, these stories are very much part of our fake fad-oriented fabricated hypocrite society as much as we all are. Sumaira Hameed unveils the darkness in the tale.

I am still wondering what was the purpose of her birth. But much before her arrival in this not so heavens sort of world, why was even her mother born. To call these two persons unlucky is something that the phrase "Unlucky" would have mind for sure. They were miserable. Sorry much more than miserable. Their lives (if there was any) was like a darkest greyish tragedy. They were born to die. No, not like the literal dying. They were born to die daily as if the only thing that was established for them was to suffer. Suffer more and more until they lose themselves and deny calling themselves as even lowest of the beings. They were only big burning wounds that  would have never healed. Not in this world at least.

Before reading this one, to me the most poorest character I have ever read in my life was the destitute poor Pip (in his earlier age) from Charles Dickens "Great Expectations" but I am pretty confident that if little Pip had the opportunity to meet Jameela or her mother (Deena), he would have thanked GOD trillions of time for sending him to a much more better place than where he was.

I am not at all going to tell you what happened in the story, because I just wish all of you to read it at least for once. Not because this is a Sumaira Hameed's gem or not because I liked it with all of its arduous brutality & ugliness. Just because I want all of us (including my very own self) to remind that ALLAH PAK is The MOST KIND and HE has sent us in real paradise. Yes my dears, we all live in our paradise but alas we all continue to search for something else. We cherish the paradise of others without considering what we have * the other does not.

Right from the word "go", this story has written B L A C K all over it. Can you believe that the writer who gave us superb romances like Borshay, Yaaram and even recently released classic Ishq Amad o O Mann can write something in this style with sheer darkness. No doubt, she has once again proved to be the master of story telling by sharing this ultimate piece of shabbiest plague of our society.

The narrative of this story is so strong that you literally feel like crying while reading this right from the very first sentence. See how perfectly she expresses what we all are all about:

Dekha, hum sab zindagi hi nahi, maut ke sath bhi munafiq hotey hain...

Regardless of where we live and what we do, we should not mind that we all consider ourselves as pseudo-gods and thumbs up for Sumaira for saying: In basty walon ko parnida baani ka bhi bohat shoq tha... Qaid ker ke rakhney ke shoqeen they... Aaqa banney ki zabardast khuahish pai jati thi in mein.

Charlie Chaplin said, "to truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain, and play with it!"... And no one can deny the fact that when someone crosses the limits of absorbing pain, he no longer feels the same pain. If we talk about Jameela, she was a clear winner in this department. After enduring tons of grieves, she has found the way of smoking out these pains up above the air and converting them into humour. Humour that is sufficient for you to cry even more.

Na janey kon hinduon ka lota ler ker bhaag gaya tha ya unhain bhagaana bhool gaya tha. 

Main baqayda Mrs. Khaga ban gai...

Mujhey mubarak ho, main dulhan ban gai...  

Zaheen or mukammal bewa... 

Marhoom do chaar baar mastaa ker mujh per bhi girey they.

Brillaint... Superb... 

To be honest, we all like the stories with great entertainment quotient and it is harder for us to swallow this type of grey shadowed tale of cruelty and disgust at its prime but it is true that these tales do exist and once again I have to say that these tales are very much part of us. We just need to come out of our cosy houses and witness what is happening around us. Our surroundings are full of these stories and believe it or not, we all are one way or another a major culprit for the same.

The behavior of Jameela or Deena can never be called as normal. But I cant say it is abnormal as well, considering the fact the (so-called) life they were given to live (read bear), they were meant to become what they really became. 

ALLAH PAK says in QURAN Pak, "There is nothing for man except what he strives for..." (Surah Najm, Ayat 39). And destiny is indeed in our own hands. We are surely the product of our own deeds & decisions. Sumaira has categorically shown us two different attitudes, which went on to procure two altogether different personalities. One was "Deena" who left herself in the hands of injustice & kept herself silent. Ultimately she became a mere rolling stone. On the other hand, "Jameela" had the courage to be vocal. She started off by defeating her fear for grand-mother and continued the struggle, until the very last.

Let me talk a bit about Sumaira Hameed's linguistic approach. She has penned the dialogues for Borshay and made us go in the dreamland of Irish valleys. She has written dialogues for Yashfeen and we have seen ourselves wandering here & there in the ancient Turkey. She has penned superlatives for Aliyaan & Amraha and we have travelled marvellously all through Manchester & Lahore through her words. And here she is building words & phrases in three different dialects. From extreme filthy Punjabi pro-con to the lingo of typical migrants, meanwhile keeping the very simple Urdu all over. What an exceptional beautiful blend. Hats Off.

I can seriously continue to write more & more in praise of this 25 page social dilemma but I know your time is crucial and I want you to spend more of this extremely crucial time in reading Bint e Jameela, much more than I want you to read me.

Ms. Sumaira Hameed's thoughts on my review writing...

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