Daily Times

Shehr-e-Zaat (City of Self) is an interesting story consisting of 203 pages. The book is written by Pakistani writer Umera Ahmed. She is one of the popular Pakistani novelists who have won the hearts of the readers due to their impressing writing skills. In fact, Umera Ahmed’s most narrations are related to human behaviours and today’s lifestyles.

In a manner, the book Shehr-e- Zaat talks about the same thing. The book revolves around the story of a girl Falak Afgan who is the only child of her parents and belongs to a rich and a powerful family. Moreover, she’s really beautiful but very proud.

She meets Salam Anser at a friend’s wedding. He is a handsome man but belongs to a middle class family. His good looks makes Falak fall in love with him.

She meets Salam Anser at a friend’s wedding. He is a handsome man but belongs to a middle class family. His good looks make Falak fall in love with him

Her desire to bring him in her life fortunately was completed. Falak proposed Salam Anser and Salam Agrred with Falak. They married each other and had a happy life. But after spending three years of their marriage, Falak could find a change in her husband. Salam Anser starts to ignore Falak. He uses to come late at home and he takes less to Falak, this is what makes her worried. Falak could not bear the ignorance of her husband as she wanted to know the reason behind it .Anyhow Falak conformability comes up that her husband fell in love with another woman and had an affair to her. It was even more shocking for Falak that her husband fell in love with a woman with an ugly appearance who does not look beautiful at all. It was something to shocked Falak who with such an attractive appearance that can impress anyone and Madiya with an ugly appearance how her husband could fell in love to that woman and could leave Falak. Hence Falak learnt that beauty is nothing neither wealth is everything and in the hand of Allah everything is possible. It was the first time that Falak remembered Allah. She felt with regression that why she never remembers Allah and she was proud on her beauty and wealth. After realizing this she made herself busy with Allah by worshipping him and she starts living a simple where she forgot the wealth. Fortunately after one year her Husband left that woman and baked to Falak but this time Falak was not that proud girl but a decent and a simple girl.

I really loved the story of this book and enjoyed a lot reading it. The most impressive thing about the book is the main lesson behind it. It preaches that today’s lifestyles are adopted by the idea that is related to wealth and beauty where we have forgotten Allah and His power of making anything possible. The book suggests never to feel proud because of the wealth or beauty you have, because if they can be given to you they can be snatched as well. I suggest everyone to read this book as it has the power to change lives.

Shehr-e-Zaat is a novella by Pakistani fiction writer Umera Ahmed published in 2002. The story tells the obsession of ones, with worldly life forgetting its creator, a journey from self to subsistence.

The writer can be reached at mahgulhabib34@gmail.com

Published in Daily Times, March 23^rd 2019.