Eid Saeed By Usama Rehman Mani

About this afsana

Eid Saeed (Urdu: عیدِ سعید) by Usama Rehman Mani is a short Urdu Eid story about an elderly mother and her two quarrelling sons. Her last wish is to see them together again before Eid, and the story follows whether they can let go of their anger in time.

The story opens with Jameela Khatoon sitting near her son Shujaat Ali, who is massaging oil into her head. “Beta, Eid is coming,” she says. “Ji, Amma Jaan… so?” he asks. Life is passing, she tells him, and there’s no telling when it will end – she has just one wish: to see her two sons together again before she goes. Her voice breaks as she says it. Shujaat stops and, half-protesting, tells her he understands, but what is his fault? How many times has he asked his brother Wajahat? Two kanals of land were supposed to be divided equally, yet Wajahat gave him only half a kanal. He has gone to his brother’s house so many times, but it’s useless. “Now you tell me what I should do,” he says, standing up and walking away.

The writer then explains the family’s history. Jameela Ahmed is an elderly widow with two sons, Shujaat and Wajahat. Three years ago, her husband, Ahmad Ali, passed away, and since then she has been weighed down by grief and fear that her own days are numbered. Before his death, Mian Ahmad Ali left most of his property to a charitable trust and kept only two kanals of land for his family. Everyone objected to that decision, but no one could change it.

زمین کے ایک ٹکڑے نے دو بھائیوں کو دور کر دیا — کیا عید انہیں ملا پائے گی؟

Out of those two kanals, Wajahat unfairly took one and a half for himself, leaving his brother only half a kanal. Shujaat had expected fairness from his elder brother, and when he learned the truth he began visiting his house to claim his right – but Wajahat kept putting him off with excuses. The bitterness grew until the brothers stopped meeting altogether. At first Amma visited each son’s house in turn, but over time even that ended, and she was left confined to one son’s home. Shujaat lives with his family in his father’s house in the village, while Wajahat lives about seven kilometres away near the city, for the sake of his children Waqar and Aleeza’s education. Neither is wealthy; both run small grocery shops, which is why that half kanal matters so much.

A gentle, moral story about family, fairness and forgiveness, perfect for the spirit of Eid.

You can read Eid Saeed online here or download the complete PDF for free. You may also like Nikki Eid Da Tohfa by Sajeela Nisar and Dard Ka Daman, or browse more Urdu afsanay.