Barish Tham Gai By NNM

About this novelette

Barish Tham Gai (Urdu: بارش تھم گئی) by NNM is a short, complete Urdu novel where a student’s visit to a shrine turns dangerous. Her quiet trip crosses paths with an undercover police operation, and nothing about the day goes as she expected.

The novel begins with a striking image. A man sits among the beggars outside a dargah, wearing torn, patched clothes and a filthy shawl over his head, his face so covered in dirt that he looks as if he hasn’t bathed in months. Who he is, the writer doesn’t say yet.

Then we meet Haya, who has just finished her prayers and is still making dua when her mother, Shagufta Begum, walks in. Haya’s BSc result is coming out tomorrow and she is terrified. If only she had studied properly during the papers, her mother says, she wouldn’t be in this state. Just then the doorbell rings, and it’s Kiran, Haya’s friend since college days, who sat the same BSc exams. The two girls are close, but different: Kiran believes in hard work, while Haya trusts her duas even more than her studies.

رزلٹ کی فکر میں دعا مانگنے گئی دو سہیلیاں، اور مزار پر ایک خفیہ پولیس آپریشن۔

Kiran has come with a request: she wants to take Haya to the dargah to pray for their results. Shagufta Begum is hesitant – it gets very crowded there and it isn’t safe for two girls alone – but seeing Haya’s hopeful face, she agrees, telling them to come back quickly. Meanwhile, a police team is briefing its officer: they have information that kidnappers will try to smuggle children from the dargah today. The plan is to go in disguise and arrest the gang when the moment comes. The officer is DSP Zawar Shah, who declares that while he is around, “not even a bird can flap its wings in my area.” When Haya and Kiran reach the shrine, it is packed; they lay a chadar, pray, and go out to feed the faqeers – right where Zawar Shah and his men are waiting dressed as beggars.

NNM mixes faith, friendship and a touch of action, and the meeting at the dargah promises an interesting start for Haya and the proud DSP. It’s a quick, easy read.

You can read Barish Tham Gai online here or download the complete PDF for free. More by NNM: Ik Sham, Jafa and Mohobat Nhi Ishq Hai, or see all NNM novels.