Mein Gunhagar Tehra By Hamna Tanveer

About this novel

Main Gunahgar Thehra by Hamna Tanveer is a bold Urdu novel about a careless, arrogant young man and his life of clubs. He leaves a trail of broken promises, and the novel follows the long road a sinner must walk before he can change.

The novel opens with the lyrics of a popular song about longing and restless nights, setting the mood for the first scene: a famous club where everyone is dancing to loud music. In the middle of the dance floor is Waiz, the hero of the story, and Hamna Tanveer describes him in detail: grey trousers, a white shirt with a black jacket, hair cut short at the sides and set with gel, fair skin, a stylish beard and a moustache he twirls with pride.

The writer makes it clear from the start that Waiz is not a good man at this point in his life. He moves from one girl to the next, lies easily and treats people’s feelings as a game. The next morning, sunlight falls on him as he lies sprawled on a bed, and his phone rings. It is Jeeni, angry and asking where he is, because she has been searching the whole department for him. Waiz yawns and lies without a second thought, and the girl beside him, Saba, smiles at how easily he does it. He tells Jeeni he will be there soon and hangs up.

The title says it all: “main gunahgar thehra,” I turned out to be the sinner. The opening pages show the kind of life Waiz is living, and the novel sets him up for a fall that may force him to face his mistakes, his conscience and his Rab. It is a mature, dramatic read about sin, consequences and the possibility of redemption, written for adult readers.

گناہ کا راستہ جتنا آسان لگے، واپسی کا سفر اتنا ہی مشکل ہوتا ہے۔

Read more by Hamna Tanveer: Mere Maula, Tawaif and Ye Ishq, or see all Hamna Tanveer novels.