Talkh Zindagi Ki Haqeeqat By Saira Malik

About this novelette

Talkh Zindagi Ki Haqeeqat by Saira Malik is a short Urdu social novel about a girl quietly hurt by the people closest to her. The writer says it is based on reality, and the title means the bitter truth of life.

Saira Malik opens with a plain promise: “Aaj ka novel haqeeqat par mabni hai.” In this story, she says, you will meet the truth that always tastes bitter. Harab has two sisters and a brother named Afnan, and in her family everyone gets whatever they need with ease. They all love each other very much, the writer tells us, except when it comes to Harab.

The siblings are Atrab, the eldest, then Wajdan, Harab and Ana. Harab does everyone’s work, yet this innocent girl is always the target of someone’s taunts. Whenever the poor girl says even a little in her own defence, everyone scolds her, and sometimes even her parents tell her off. There was a time when Harab used to pray for her own death, but when she learned that this is wrong, she began instead to tell all her sorrows to Allah alone.

Harab’s only real friend is Anbreen, who lives next door. Harab never shares her troubles with anyone; she bears everything alone and keeps to herself. Then one day the family announces that some people are coming to see Harab for a rishta. She is tired of it, because relatives come every day, eat, gossip and leave. The guests ask the usual questions: what does your daughter do, how educated is she, can she cook? Her mother praises her cooking and says she has done her BA. Then one of the guests says she is a little short, and asks for a photo to show the family. Hurt by being judged like an object, Harab speaks up: she is not a toy to be taken home and approved, and she does not want such a rishta. Saira Malik writes a simple, honest story about self-respect and the bitter side of family life.

عزت نفس سے بڑی کوئی دولت نہیں، چاہے زندگی کتنی ہی تلخ کیوں نہ ہو۔

Read Kabhi Masoom Kabhi Chanchal by Saira Malik, or browse more social and romantic stories on our latest Urdu novels page.