Pher Wohi Ishq by Hafsa Malik

About this novel

Pher Wohi Ishq (Urdu: پھر وہی عشق) by Hafsa Malik is a complete Urdu romance that begins with a chance meeting at an office party. Nobody wanted to attend the party, but a sudden collision stops two strangers in their tracks.

The novel begins with a phone that won’t stop ringing. Imshal has ignored the number several times, but when it rings for the fourth time she finally answers in irritation. It’s her friend Anfa, and Imshal tells her plainly that she already said she isn’t coming to the party – so why force her? Anfa won’t take no for an answer, and a few minutes later Imshal is getting ready in black. She isn’t very fair, the writer tells us, but her wheatish complexion and sharp features make her look anything but ordinary.

At the party Anfa teases her for all the nakhre, and Imshal admits she only came because Anfa insisted. Then someone takes the mic and explains why everyone has been called: the staff work hard every day, so from now on there will be a refreshment party every month, and attendance is compulsory. Anfa jokes about the stiff seniors, Imshal reminds her that everyone has their own personality, and the two friends bicker in the easy way of close colleagues.

ایک ٹکر، ایک لمحہ، اور دو آنکھیں جو ایک دوسرے میں کھو گئیں۔

Then Anfa accidentally spills a cold drink on Imshal’s clothes. Annoyed, Imshal heads to the washroom, so busy looking at the stain that she walks straight into someone and almost falls – until a pair of arms catches her. For a moment their eyes meet and neither moves, as if they were lost in each other. Only the ringing of his phone breaks the spell, and he walks out of the crowd to take the call, leaving Imshal behind.

Hafsa Malik keeps the opening light and filmy, with friendship, office life and that classic first-meeting moment. The title – “that same love again” – hints that this isn’t the last time these two will cross paths, and perhaps not the first either.

You can read Pher Wohi Ishq online here or download the complete PDF for free. More by Hafsa Malik: Anokhi Mohabbat and Khuwabo Ka Shehzada, or see all Hafsa Malik novels.