Gaal Pe Us Ka Till Ka Nishan He By Isha Gill

About this novelette

Gaal Pe Us Ke Til Ka Nishan Hai (Urdu: گال پہ اسکے تل کا نشاں ہے) by Isha Gill is a short Urdu romantic comedy about Farhad, a lovable good-for-nothing. His father has given up on him, and he spends his days on the rooftop trying to catch the attention of the girl next door.

The story opens with Farhad lying with his eyes closed, humming along to a romantic song about a girl with a beauty spot on her cheek, when his father’s voice cuts in: “Farhad! You useless fellow, come out here!” The song stops mid-line and the speaker goes silent as Farhad switches it off and heads out.

In the courtyard, Abba Huzoor – Zaid Sahib – is seated on his chair with his walking stick. “Razia Begum, what kind of child have you given birth to? Is this a son, or a curse?” In plain words, he is calling Farhad useless and good for nothing. Farhad has heard these words so often since childhood that he knows them by heart, but his father keeps repeating them anyway. Razia Begum has to hear about her son’s misdeeds daily from Zaid Sahib. “Every day the neighbours come with complaints about you,” his father thunders. “All day long you sit around thinking up one mischief after another.” Farhad glares at eleven-year-old Momin, assuming he’s the one who complained – though Momin insists he hasn’t said a thing – and then innocently adds that today Farhad Bhai latched the door of Surayya Khala’s house from outside and ran away.

ابا کی ڈانٹ، محلے کی شکایتیں، اور چھت پر چھپا ایک رقعہ۔

Farhad swears he did nothing, but his father doesn’t believe a word. “Get out of the house and find some work!” With his mother calling him to eat, Farhad heads off – to the rooftop, of course. Momin tells their mother that the roof is Farhad’s only real interest, because from there he can see Shireen Baji next door. Up on the roof, Farhad hides behind the wall, rolls up a note and throws it toward the neighbouring courtyard, where a girl is teaching some children, and then peeks over to watch her open it.

Isha Gill writes with playful mohalla humour, a classic rooftop romance and plenty of father-son comedy.

You can read Gaal Pe Us Ke Til Ka Nishan Hai online here or download the complete PDF for free. More by Isha Gill: Rocket Ki Maina, Ishq Nasheen and Kar Meri Chahat Qubool, or see all Isha Gill novels.