Plot Summary
Kis Jahan Ka Zarr Liya is about a man Farooq Ahmed who marries Maliha billionaire heiress for money. He cheats his wife to extract loads of money for his personal account and starts to slow poison her to become the owner of everything.
And, he is successful in doing that, almost.
Maliha finds out and writes all her belongings to him, demands a divorce and leaves him. We never see her again, nor does Farooq, the narrator.
He marries his love and ex fiancé Shahla. They have kids, the business blossoms and he establishes 7 more factories and buys several bungalows but he can’t seem to sell off Maliha’s old factory and bungalow. He has emotional attachment with those.
As it turns out, he fell in love with Maliha after she left him.
Review
Read the plot summary again. The story isn’t new. It happens in several stories where a poor guy/girl marries for money and doesn’t hesitate from doing evil things to become the sole owner. This story is no different.
What stands it apart is the narrative. Umera’s narration grips you by the throat and drags you till the end. You hate Farooq and yet feel the pain Farooq is going through.
I also like the subtle message that she has woven into the narrative. Farooq was destined to do well in business. He didn’t have to wrong Maliha or anyone to succeed. Learn from it, kids. In order to be successful, you have to put in hard work and honesty. Don’t step on someone to get ahead.
Parting Thoughts
I have a checklist to review old stories that I have read throughout my life. This is one of them. There is another reason. Umera has announced that her next novel will be based on this short story.
Really? Can’t wait.
That’s the review. Have you read this book? How did you like it? I will meet you in another review.
Shabana Mukhtar
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