THE NOTEBOOK BY Tahira Naqvi: summary

Tahira Naqvi

Salma's husband was standing on the door and it was the third time that he has to wait for her to open door. Salma opened door and said “I was in the kitchen” her husband was once again angry because of standing for some time at door while people were starting at him.

Salma went back to kitchen for preparing dinner for her husband. Few days ago her husband has brought a notebook for her, with shiny color and with the picture of red and yellow flowers against a green background. Her husband ordered her to write down daily accounts on it, every single paisa which she spends.

The first week Salma diligently set everything down, even the fifty paisa which she spent for her red cotton dupatta. Her husband also checked her notebook on daily basis.

One morning, when after she had put the vegetable amount on notebook. It was ten thirty her husband was not at home. She was sitting on the Charpai and looking outside the window, at the neighbor's wall, inspired by clouds; she wrote her name on notebook just after the amount of vegetable. Further she wrote the following lines which jumped into her head.

It is a heart, not a stone or a brick

Why then should it not well up with pain?

She also remembered her childhood when she used to write Takhti and even on pages she used to write poems. She most of time used to copy poems from magazines and hide them in her red suit, which she also wore at her marriage. She doesn’t know anything about those copied poems but right now note book is in her hand. But instead of writing accounts she is writing poems on it against the will of her husband.

At night when her husband asked her about notebook, and said that he hopes that she is writing everything honestly on notebook.

Now there is no magazine to copy poem from. She closed her eyes and started thinking. Suddenly a line came to her mind, than the second and at least a stanza. She note down it.

Of the restless heart, of the night of waiting,

Let us speak, you and I

Let your heart be unfriend, …

In next week she had another verse. While after washing her hair she was leaning angainst the front door and looking for Subziwala to buy fresh vegetable. She also thought when her husband pulled her shirt up and thrower himself on her, two more lines jumped in her mind. She wrote them on notebook.

That place of light, the starry heavens,

Of that world let us speak……

In two weeks she completed a ghazal. Having totally ignored by accounts, she was surprised when her husband ask her about accounts. At once she said it is in the next room. She went to bring it, while standing in veranda, having fear of husband, some further lines jumped into her mind.

I had longed for glowing radience

For a ray of light…..

“It’s lost” she replied. Her husband got angary and he spoke harshly to her about her carelessness about the notebook. He also slapped her.

She knows that why her husband used to beat her because she was not pregnant. She decided to visit the lady doctor at Mayo Hospital. The doctor told that everything is ok with her maybe there is something with her husband.

She came back to home and it was about twelve, she was writing her new couplets.

O drifting people of an unsettled world,

I will not share with you your dreams…

The door bell rang. It was her husband came back to home before time. She hides the notebook under pillow and opened the door. Her husband came in asked her to bring water for him. When she came back she found notebook in her husband's hand. He has most from it and he got angry. Her husband thrower notebook at her and called her “barren slut” when he came forward to beat her that she’s not barren slut but you are barren. If you beat me I’ll leave home, will never come back. He amused on her reaction. She collected the notebook's pages and went outside to the Subziwala and asked for fresh vegetables.

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