Ik Sham by NNM Novel

About this novelette

Ik Sham (Urdu: اک شام) by NNM is a short, complete Urdu novel about two sisters, one arranged engagement and four hearts that are quietly breaking behind smiles.

The story begins on Eid morning in a joint family home. The house is busier than usual and the smell of cooking fills every corner. Bari Ammi, Shamshad Begum, is making sheer khurma, Komal and Eman are getting ready, and Bare Abbu Tariq Sahib and Chacha Samad Sahib have just returned from Eid prayers. Komal rushes downstairs to say salaam – everyone knows that on Eid her salaam really means “where is my eidi?” After the sheer khurma, the plan is set: lunch out, a movie, then dinner. Hamza, the girls’ cousin, is there too, and he and Komal fight as usual, as they always have.

Then the mood changes. At breakfast Shamshad Begum notices Tariq Sahib looking worried. The reason is a proposal: Hamza’s family has asked for Eman, and the engagement is fixed for the fifteenth of next month. When Nosheen Begum, the girls’ mother, asks Eman if she has any objection, Eman stays silent, and that silence is taken as a yes.

ایک بہن کی منگنی، دوسری بہن کے آنسو — اور کوئی کچھ کہہ نہیں پاتا۔

But Eman isn’t happy, and neither is Komal. Komal hides from everyone and cries, because for all their bickering she loves Hamza and fears losing him – yet she can’t betray her own sister. When Ahad comes back from Lahore and hears the news, he locks himself in his room and cries into his pillow, though he can’t stop his tears. Later Eman comes down wearing a black dress Ahad once gave her on her birthday, and he can barely look at her. Ahad and Hamza are the same age and close friends who grew up together in the same house, so the situation is painful for everyone. Both sisters hide their feelings from each other and go on with the wedding preparations just to keep each other happy.

NNM tells this story simply and emotionally, about family pressure, unspoken love and the sacrifices people make for those they love. It’s a quick, heartfelt read.

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