On Jul 4, 2:30=EF=BF=BDpm, "VognoDuut213" <ja...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD With great difficulty, Sharda replied,
"You=
become a Hindu." "I become
> a Hindu?" he asked in an astonished voice. Then he laughed. "How can I
> become a Hindu?" "And how can I become a Muslim?" she asked in a low
voic=
e.
> "Why can't you become a Muslim.I mean you love me. And then Islam is the
> best of religions. The Hindu religion is no religion. Hindus drink cow
> urine; they wor****p idols. I meant it is all right in its place, but it
> cannot compare with Islam. If you become a Muslim, everything will fall
i=
n
> place." Sharda's copper face had gone white. "You won't become a Hindu?"
> Mukhtar laughed, "Are you mad!" Sharda's face had blanched. "You should
> leave. They will be coming about now." She rose from the bed. Mukhtar
> couldn't understand. "But Sharda." "No, no, please leave, go quickly or
t=
hey
> will be here," she said in a cold, uncaring voice. Mukhtar's throat had
g=
one
> dry but with great difficulty he said, "We love each other, Sharda, why
a=
re
> you upset?" "Go, go away, our Hindu religion is very bad; you Muslims
are
> the good ones." There was hatred in her voice. She went into the other
ro=
om
> and shut the door.
>
> =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD Short Story
> =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD Two-Nation Theory*
> =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD Saadat Hasan Manto
> =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD (translated by Khalid Hasan)
>
> =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD The first time Mukhtar saw Sharda was from
=
his rooftop, where he had
> gone to grab a kite that had landed there. It was only a glimpse. She
liv=
ed
> in the house across the street, which was lower than theirs, and he had
s=
een
> her through the open window of the bathroom where she was wa****ng
herself=
,
> pouring water on her body from a pitcher. This was a surprise. Where had
> this girl materialized from, because no girl lived in that house. The
one=
s
> who used to had all been married off. The only female now left was Roop
> Kaur, with her flabby husband and their three boys.
>
> =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD Mukhtar picked up his kite and stole
anothe=
r look at the girl. She was
> beautiful. A shudder ran through him. The water drops on the golden down
=
of
> her body were ****mmering. Her complexion was light brown, but it had the
> glow of copper. The tiny droplets of water that sparkled on her skin
were
> making her body melt, drop by drop, or that was how it appeared to him.
H=
e
> was watching her through one of the eyeholes in the low brick wall built
=
on
> all four sides of the open roof. His eyes were glued to the body of this
> girl bathing herself. She was no more than sixteen and there were water
> drops on her small, round breasts, lovely to look at. But he did not
feel
> aroused. Her hair was not golden but light brown. Perhaps her hair had
> refused to go golden. Her body was full and supple but no lascivious
> thoughts came to him. When she poured water over herself, he felt as if
s=
he
> had removed her foamy covering with one calm, smooth move. When she was
> done, she dried herself with a towel, put on her clothes unhurriedly
and,
> placing both hands on the window sill, stood up. She blushed. Her eyes,
> Mukhtar felt, had taken a dip into a lake of shyness. She closed the
wind=
ow
> shut and, involuntarily, Mukhtar laughed.
>
> =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD Then she threw open the window and looked
t=
owards him angrily. Mukhtar
> spoke, "Please don't blame me but why were you bathing with the window
> =EF=BF=BDopen?" She said nothing, cast another angry look at him and
shut=
the
> window. Four days later, Roop Kaur came to their house, accompanied by
th=
at
> girl. Mukhtar's mother and sister were excellent knitters. Many girls
fro=
m
> the neighbourhood would come to them to learn how to knit and do crochet
> work. This girl was fond of learning how to crochet and that was why she
=
had
> come. Mukhtar stepped out of his room into the courtyard, smiled and
left=
..
> She drew herself together when she saw him. Mukhtar learnt that her name
=
was
> Sharda and she was Roop Kaur's cousin, daughter of her uncle. She lived
i=
n
> the small town of Chichoki Malyaan with her poor relatives, but Roop
Kaur
> had asked her to come live with her family. She had finished high school
=
and
> she was said to be very intelligent. It had taken her no time to learn
ho=
w
> to crochet.
>
> =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD Several days passed. By now Mukhtar knew
th=
at he had fallen in love
> with her. It had happened gradually, from the moment he had first seen
he=
r
> through that eyehole to this point where her thought never left his
heart
> for a moment. It occurred to Mukhtar several times that falling in love
w=
as
> wrong because Sharda was a Hindu. How could a Muslim dare fall in love
wi=
th
> a Hindu? But the fact was that he just could not bear the thought of not
> being in love with her. Sharda would sometimes talk to him but somewhat
> diffidently. The first thing that would come to her mind on seeing him
wo=
uld
> be the memory of the day he had seen her through that eyehole taking a
ba=
th
> ****d. One day, when Mukhtar's mother and sister had gone to offer
> condolences at a family friend's home, Sharda walked in, carrying the
sma=
ll
> bag she always did. It was about ten in the morning and Mukhtar was
> stretched on a cot in the courtyard reading a newspaper. "Where is
Behanj=
i?"
> she asked, referring to his sister. Mukhtar's hands began to tremble.
"Sh=
e
> has gone out." "And Mataji?" Sharda asked, which was what she called his
> mother. Mukhtar got down from the cot. "She.she has gone with her." "All
> right then," she said, looking worried. Joining her hands in a namaste,
s=
he
> was about to leave when Mukhtar said, "Sharda!" "Yes?" She looked like
> someone who had just received an electric shock. Mukhtar said, "Sit
down.
> They will be back very soon." "No, I am leaving," she replied but kept
> standing.
>
> =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD Picking up his courage, Mukhtar pulled her
=
towards him by the wrist
> and kissed her on the lips. It all happened so quickly that Sharda was
ta=
ken
> by surprise. By now both of them were trembling. "Please forgive me,"
was
> all that Mukhtar said. Sharda kept quiet but her copper complexion
turned
> red and her lips began to quiver as if they were complaining about
having
> been teased. Mukhtar made her sit on the cot and asked, "Why don't you
> speak, Sharda?" Under her dupatta, Sharda's heart was beating fast. She
d=
id
> not answer him. Mukhtar felt bothered by her silence. "Please say
somethi=
ng,
> Sharda. If what I have done has offended you, as God is my witness, I'll
> apologize. I would never have had the courage but I don't know what came
> over me. The fact is that I am in love with you." Sharda's lips moved as
=
if
> they were trying to form the word 'love'. Mukhtar began to talk
animatedl=
y,
> "I don't know if you understand the meaning of love. I don't know much
ab=
out
> it myself. All I know is that I love you. If you want, I can place my
lif=
e
> in your hands. Sharda, why don't you speak?"
>
> =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD Sharda's eyes became dreamy. Mukhtar began
=
to talk again, "I saw you
> that day through that eyehole. I saw you and that is a sight I will not
> forget till Judgment Day. Why are you so shy? My eyes never stole your
> beauty. They just beheld a splendid scene. If you can bring it back, I
wi=
ll
> kiss your feet." And he kissed one of her feet.
>
> =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD She trembled. Then she rose from the cot
an=
d said, her voice
> quivering, "What are you doing? In our religion." Mukhtar said
excitedly,
> "Forget religion. All is right in the religion of love." He wanted to
kis=
s
> her again but she leapt aside and, still smiling, she ran out. Mukhtar
> wanted to run up to the roof and jump from there into the courtyard and
> start dancing. Some time later, Mukhtar's mother and sister returned and
=
so
> did Sharda. Mukhtar slipped away, his eyes to the ground. He did not
want
> his secret to get out. The next day, he walked up to the rooftop. She
was
> standing by the window, combing her hair. "Sharda," Mukhtar called out.
S=
he
> was startled. The comb fell from her hand, landing in the street. "You
ar=
e
> so timid; look, your comb has fallen." "Why don't you buy me a new one
th=
en;
> this one has fallen into the gutter," Sharda said. "Now?" Mukhtar asked.
> "No, no, I was only joking." "I was also joking. Could I have left you
to
> buy a comb? Never." Sharda smiled, "How am I going to do my hair?"
Mukhta=
r
> slipped his finger through the eyehole from where he was watching her.
"U=
se
> my fingers."
>
> =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD Sharda laughed. Mukhtar felt that he could
=
happily spend his entire
> life under the shade of that laughter. "Sharda, by God, you laughed and
I=
am
> in ecstasy. I want to smash these curtains of clay that stand between
us.=
"
> Sharda laughed again. Mukhtar said, "No one else should hear you laugh,
n=
or
> even watch you when you do. Sharda, you must only laugh for me." "You
kno=
w
> how to talk," Sharda said. "Then give me a reward, just a look of love
fr=
om
> across there. I will save that look in my eyes and I'll keep it hidden."
=
He
> noticed someone's shadow behind her and he moved away. When he returned,
=
she
> was not at the window.
>
> =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD They came close in the days that followed
a=
nd whenever they got a
> chance they would talk the sweet nothings that lovers do. One day, Roop
K=
aur
> and her husband, Lala Kalu Mal, were out of the house. Mukhtar happened
t=
o
> be walking past when a pebble hit him. He looked up and saw Sharda. She
> motioned him to come up. They were completely alone and they talked
> intimately for a long time. Mukhtar said, "I apologize for what I did
tha=
t
> day. And I want to do the same thing today, but this time I won't
> =EF=BF=BDapologize." Then he placed his lips on Sharda's quivering lips.
=
"Say you
> are sorry," Sharda said naughtily. "No, those are not your lips, they
are
> mine. Am I wrong?" Sharda lowered her eyes, "Not only those lips, all of
=
me
> is yours too."
>
> =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD Mukhtar became grave. "Look, Sharda, we
are=
standing on the top of a
> volcano. I assure you - and you should believe it - that no woman will
ev=
er
> come into my life except you. I swear that I will remain yours for the
re=
st
> of my life. Do you also make the same promise?" Sharda raised her eyes.
"=
My
> love is true." Mukhtar threw his arms around her and squeezed her to his
> chest. "Live, but only for me, for my love. By God, Sharda, if you had
no=
t
> returned my love, I would have killed myself. I am so fortunate."
>
> =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD Sharda rested her head on Mukhtar's
> ...
>
> read more =EF=BF=BD
Understanding Muhammad: Ali Sina's book
http://www.faithfreedom.org/book.htm
|
