The Baloch society has witnessed some heart-touching love stories which can even make the coldest of people cry. One of those admirable love stories is that of Hani and Shay Mureed. Shay Mureed was the son of Shay Mubarak and Hani was the only daughter of Meer Deenar. Both of them were cousins and also ‘Naam Gept’ (families of a boy and a girl betroth them in their childhood) of each other. ‘Shay’ is a religious codename which is given as a suffix to religious people, especially in Muslims. Shay Mureed belonged to Rind tribe. It is said that one day Meer Chakar Rind (king of Rind tribe at that time) was coming back from hunting with his companions when he felt thirsty. They came to Meer Deenar’s house to satiate their thirst. Coincidentally, at that time only Hani was present at the house. She felt pity for the visitors. She gave them a ‘Taas’ (a big and wide Balochi glass) of water and put some pieces of ‘Pishuks’ (dust) in the water so that they should not hurriedly drink it as they were too thirsty. Meer Chakar was impressed by her intelligence. When Shay Mureed came back after 30 years, he was not recognised by anyone except for Hani. With the first eye contact with Mureed, Hani realised that it was him for whom she had been waiting for more than 30 years Chakar was aware that Hani was committed to Shay Mureed. So one day he called a gathering in which people were told to keep ‘qouls’ (Promises) and fulfill them. Oblivious to Meer Chakar’s conniving tactic, Mureed made a promise saying “After Thursday’s morning prayer, whoever wants anything from me which is in my possession, I will give”. Chakar used this as an opportunity to get what he had been waiting for. He sent some people to Mureed on Thursday who asked Hani from Shay Mureed. Shay was shocked at the turn of events and felt compelled to honour his word. Engulfed in a state of helplessness, he let Hani go with Chakar. Baloch are men of their words. They capitulate if it requires them to stand by their word. In a state of dejection, he found refuge in the Khana-e-Kaaba where he spent almost 30 years of his life and in the meantime, Chakar married Hani. When Shay Mureed came back after 30 years, he was not recognised by anyone except for Hani. With the first eye contact with Mureed, Hani realised that it was him for whom she had been waiting for more than 30 years. For confirming him as Shay Mureed, the people of the society organised a contest of “Teer kamani” in which Shay was a champion. So, all tried their attempts with the only ‘kamaan’ of Shay but all in vain until Mureed came and won the contest. With the exception of Shay, no one else had a prowess of archery or knew the usage of his ‘Kamaan’. As a result, he was identified as Shay. The doubts in the minds of the members of the society suddenly changed into a belief. After the revelation, Hani requested Chakar to divorce her and let her go to Shay Mureed. Chakar gave her 3 coins as alimony and Hani went to Shay Mureed. The surprising fact is that Hani, who spent almost 30 years with Chakar as his wife, was still a virgin. She never consummated her marriage. After her divorce, Hani and Shay Mureed disappeared from the village and never came back. Though it is not clear that whether they married or not, their ever-lasting love story will always remain in the hearts of every single Baloch child; young or elderly men. It is also believed that after all these years their presence can still be felt in the air and they will never die. Published in Daily Times, May 8th 2018.