Ten vignettes


Ten Vignettes from a Restless Subcontinent

By Faraz Parvez
Professor Dr. (Retired) Arshad Afzal
Former Faculty Member, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, KSA

The vignette is a brief flame of a story — it flares, dazzles, and fades before you can name the colour of its light. In the lanes of the Subcontinent, where the past lingers like the scent of old rain and the future hums like wires above crowded bazaars, a thousand stories breathe in every street corner.

Today, dear reader, I bring you ten of them. They may be fleeting, but each holds the weight of a novel.

1. The Man at the Railway Bench

He wore a white kurta, his beard soaked from the drizzle. The train had left hours ago, yet he sat unmoving.
When asked, he said, “I’m waiting for the 1972 express. My wife is on it.”
The station master did not tell him that train had been discontinued decades ago.

2. Mangoes in Winter

Shazia opened her fridge in Karachi and gasped — mangoes, fresh and golden, lay there.
A note read: “From the tree we planted together, in our village. Yours forever, Rashid.”
She had buried Rashid twelve years ago.

3. The Tea That Never Cooled

At a Lahore dhaba, a boy noticed that one teacup, served to the same seat every evening, never went cold — though no one sat there. The owner smiled when asked.
“The sahib who drank it… promised to return. I keep it warm.”

4. Rickshaw Ride to Nowhere

In Delhi, Anwar picked up a passenger in a blue sari. She asked him to drive without stopping.
After two hours, she vanished at a traffic light. His backseat was wet — not with rain, but river water.

5. The Forgotten Song

In Dhaka, a street musician sang a tune no one knew. An old man stopped, trembling.
“That song,” he whispered, “was the last thing my mother sang before she disappeared in 1947.”

6. The Beggar’s Pen

Outside a mosque in Rawalpindi, a beggar gave pens instead of asking for coins.
One day, a young girl wrote her scholarship essay with one of those pens — and won. She came back to thank him.
The beggar was gone.

7. The Photograph in the Rain

In Srinagar, a boy found an old photograph in the rain — a man and woman holding hands by Dal Lake.
On the back: “We will meet again, even if the lake freezes.”
It had frozen that winter.

8. Kites Over Peshawar

A child’s kite drifted over the city’s rooftops and vanished. That night, in Kabul, another child found it at her window. The string was still warm.

9. The Library Without Walls

In Multan, an old man lent books from a pushcart. Each borrower returned with a new story of their own life changing — marriages, reconciliations, miracles.
No one knew what was inside the books.

10. The Call at Midnight

A woman in Lahore answered the phone. A voice said, “I am calling from 1985. You don’t know me yet, but you will.”
Then the line went dead — leaving her heart racing for years.

Dear Reader,
These are not just vignettes; they are whispers of the Subcontinent’s pulse. Brief, yet eternal. Carry them with you as you walk your own streets — you never know when a stranger’s story might become your own.

🌐 Read more, dream more, wander more on: farazparvez1.blogspot.com


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The rise and fall of imran Khan niazi... A satirical essay

Image
  The Rise and Fall of Imran Khan Niazi: From The Establishment’s Golden Boy to The Fallen Messiah Written by Faraz Parvez Pen Name of Professor Dr. Arshad Afzal Former Faculty Member, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, KSA There are few figures in contemporary politics as paradoxical as Imran Khan Niazi. A man whose political career reads like a tragicomedy, a cricketing hero who tried to bowl out corruption but ended up hitting his own wickets. Once the beloved poster boy of the establishment, now the self-styled revolutionary with a martyr complex—his journey is the stuff of a Shakespearean farce, with generous doses of slapstick and irony. The Saviour Who Needed Saving Once upon a time, Imran Khan was the chosen one . The establishment cradled him like a newborn prince, whispering sweet nothings of ‘Naya Pakistan’ into his ears. He was the hero with an Oxford degree, a World Cup trophy, and a playboy past that magically transformed into Islamic piety overnight. The masses, ...
Read more

The Bollywood storytelling

Image
  The Bollywood Storytelling: An Evaluation from 2000 AD By Dr. Arshad Afzal (Faraz Parvez – Pen Name) Former Faculty Member, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, KSA Introduction: The Changing Face of Bollywood Narratives The Bollywood film industry has undergone a dramatic shift in storytelling since the dawn of the 21st century. The transition from formulaic love stories and melodramatic family dramas to more nuanced, socially relevant, and experimental narratives is striking. With globalization, streaming platforms, and an evolving audience, Bollywood has redefined its storytelling approach. This article examines Bollywood’s cinematic journey from 2000 AD, analyzing its themes, creative shifts, and impact on global cinema. The Early 2000s: The Age of Blockbuster Romance and Family Drama The early 2000s were dominated by grand, family-oriented dramas and larger-than-life romances. Films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) and Devdas (2002) thrived on opulence, traditional v...
Read more

The dying whispers of bhera haveli

Image
  Title: “The Dying Whispers of Bhera Haveli” Theme: In a forgotten corner of Punjab, where time stopped and shadows moved without reason, a cursed haveli holds a horrifying secret. What happens when someone hears the whispers that should have stayed buried? By Faraz Parvez Professor Dr. (Retired) Arshad Afzal Retired Faculty Member, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, KSA (Pseudonym of Professor Dr. Arshad Afzal) The Dying Whispers of Bhera Haveli Based on chilling oral tales from the subcontinent's dust-ridden ruins... In the neglected outskirts of Bhera , an ancient town once glorious in its Mughal past, there stands a crumbling haveli, twisted like a half-dead serpent among the eucalyptus and sheesham trees. The villagers call it “Khooni Haveli”—The Mansion of Blood. No one lives there. No one dares to enter. Except Tariq. He was a small-time real estate broker from Faisalabad. He dealt in disputed lands and run-down buildings, flipping ghost stories into desperate...
Read more