Haseen Tower

Shaukat Bhai, as everyone called him lived on the third floor of 'Haseen Tower" which contrary to its name was neither Haseeen nor a tower. It was a three-storied residential building, fifty square yards in the area, with a façade of bright pink paint, unpolished iron bars, patches of cement, and a bunch of tangled wires which seemed to have a mind of their own. About half a kilometer down this narrow lane of Nampally, Shaukat Bhai owned a small electronics repair shop called 'Hyderabad A.C Works'. Adjacent to the workshop was a mosque where he prayed five times a day and thanked Allah for the innumerable blessings he had.

Among his blessings was his workshop which ensured him a steady halal earning, his house which was his paradise on earth, and his five daughters on whom he doted. The last four had been a result of his wife's quest for a son and every time a distressed midwife announced the birth of a daughter Shaukat Bhai would smile and tell his wife and her fellow mourners that daughters were a blessing from Allah and a form of His 'rehmat' on His people. And when they become mothers paradise will lie beneath their feet.

Mehjabeen, Aafreen, Nazneen, Farheen, and finally Noor because they had run out of rhyming names. The speed at which they were growing up, at once amazed and saddened him. Wasn't it just yesterday that Mehjabeen was two years old, tugging at the helm of his kurta, calling him 'haukat bai'. In a blink, she had turned seventeen and in another blink, she would be twenty; ready to be married and packed off to some else home. But before that she will become an 'Aalima' a female scholar of Islamic studies. One of his daughters, probably ten-year-old Nazneen with a terrific memory, he will train to become a Hafizaa, a female memorizer of the Quran. Aafreen was already a writer and Shaukat Bhai constantly reminded her to use the power of her pen in the way of Allah. Farheen and Noor were still young but he wanted at least one of his daughters to be a doctor. He prayed that Allah grants him enough, to be able to finance their education.

 

He planned meticulously for them and he protected them furiously; from harms physical and psychological; from vices traditional and modern; from wolves that looked like wolves and from wolves that looked like sheep. It was the latter that scared him most. And it was precisely for that reason that the new tenants on the second floor of 'Haseen Tower' were causing Shaukat Bhai a great deal of discomfort.

 

Zaheer and Fatima who had come to occupy the second floor were newly married. The boy was fine. But it was the woman Fatima who if Shaukat Bhai had his way he would launch into outer space so that she could never be in the vicinity of his little angels again.

Fatima hardly ever cooked for every second day Shaukat Bhai saw Zaheer coming home with hotel meals packed in shiny silver foils. Then there were days when she argued incessantly with her husband as if no one had ever told her that wives were supposed to respect their husbands and not reply back. And to top it all she drove a car! If driving has been banned for women by the world's most important Islamic nation then there must be a sound Islamic reason for it. But what do women like her care about Islam anyways?

 

What bothered Shaukat Bhai most however was that as much as he was disgusted by this woman his girls admired her. 'Fatima baji had become the eighth member of his house and no conversation would be completed without 'Fatima Baji'. Fatima baji spoke excellent English and scolded people in English to leave them speechless. That was what she did to the LPG guys last week when they refused to take back the leaky cylinder. She knew to make twelve different varieties of Pizza. Her vanity box consisted of lipsticks that cost two thousand rupees and last for twelve hours and she had promised to lend her deep blue platform heels to Mehjabeen for Mansoor Bhai's walima.

 

'No! You are not going to take anything from her' Shaukat Bhai told Mehjabeen flatly and her face became long.

'Also I don't want you and sisters to go to her house all the time'

'Why?' this time it was Afreen for Mehjabeen was already sitting with a very long face

'She is not the kind of woman good girls should associate with!'

'But she is so nice Abbu!" Nazneen protested with such an expression as if her Abbu had just uttered blasphemy.

'Nice...hmm?? if one of you became as nice as her your Abbu will become restless in his grave. Understand that?'

'Abbuuuu' came a united voice of protest.

Then Mehjabeen spoke up: "Listen Abbu, first of all, I don't like to imagine you in a grave, and secondly what exactly is so bad about her that will make you restless in your grave? Haan?'

 

"She is a woman who unapologetically violates all the limits of a good Muslim woman!"

 Shaukat Bhai said that loudly and clearly not realizing that open windows did more than let in air and sunlight. They also allowed voices to travel out and reach places where they were not meant to reach. Especially if you lived in fifty square yard boxes kept atop each other, and the day happened to be a Sunday which deprived the speaker of the benefit of everyday din and commotion.

 

"How dare you say that I am not a good Muslim. How dare you. I demand an explanation now!" Fatima's very angry voice came from the second floor.

 

 Shaukat Bhai turned red. His wife Salma emerged from the kitchen with her mouth a gaping hole. The girls were so embarrassed that they wanted the earth to split and devour them but if that happened on their third floor they would have landed right in front of Fatima Baji. Mehjabeen, Aafreen, and Nazneen looked at each other clearly disgusted by their father. A stunned silence engulfed the house.

 

"Just because I don't follow your brand of Islam, you have acquired the right to slander me? Don't you know how big a sin slandering is? You upright Muslim!" Fatima was seething with anger.

 

Shaukat Bhai's wife whispered to him " Let me say we are sorry and bury the matter. No point arguing with neighbors"

But Shaukat Bhai couldn't turn a weakling in front of his daughters. Once he had called a spade a spade he had to stick by it. He was still planning the content of his response when the third round of firing commenced from below.

 

"You and your wife go around talking of my veil, my driving, my disagreements with my husband, my cooking habits, and whatnot. And despite that, I am trying to be as good a neighbor as possible. Do you not know the rights of a neighbor in Islam? Please go and do yourself a favor. Come out of your shells and learn Islam the religion which will liberate you from Islam the culture and then you will realize how narrow the realm of your thought and existence had been all this while." Fatima fumed. 

 Then she noisily shut the windows of her house and turned on the T.V set. She turned up the volume so much that Arnub Gowswami blared through 'Haseen Tower'.

 

On the third floor, Shaukat Bhai dismissed Fatima simply and easily "We don't need this kind of woman to teach us, Islam. Women who only know to argue and shout and disobey their husbands. No manners. Don't know what kind of upbringing she got!"

For three weeks from then, Shaukat Bhai and Fatima avoided each other like plague. And if by a quirk of fate they happened to pass each other on the narrow staircase, or crossed each other at the building entrance, the currents that flowed were enough to reduce Haseen tower to rubble. If the girls happened to come across Fatima, which they often did, they would say salaams without meeting Fatima's eyes and Fatima would reply politely.  

This is how life would have continued at Haseen tower if, on that fateful night, three-year-old Noor, Shaukat's that's the youngest daughter had not decided to impress her mother and sisters with her high jumps. She climbed on the bed head and negotiated the prospects of jumping four feet down to the floor. The prospects were good. She called out to her sisters who were doing their homework in the outer room, and to her mother who was preparing dinner in the kitchen. She regretted that her father was not at home to witness her feat.

But before anyone could give any serious thoughts to her calls her foot slipped from the three-inch wide frame of the header. For a moment her hands flapped in the air to regain the balance and in the next moment, she landed on the floor, but not before hitting her head against the open windowpane. Her shrill cry vibrated through the three floors of Haseen Tower. When her mother and sisters rushed to the room, they found her face covered in blood that was gushing from a slit on her forehead. Her mother promptly pressed her dupatta against the wound, but within seconds the dupatta was full of blood. The mother and sisters panicked. Afreen ran to seek help from the first floor and to her horror found the house locked. Nazneen called Shaukat Bhai on his mobile phone. When she told him how Noor was bleeding, and the first floor was locked, his heart leaped into his throat. He was twenty kilometers away from home and even if he grew wings he would not be able to reach as quickly as Noor needed him to reach. He did not know what to say to his daughter except to go and seek help from Fatima.

 Just then the door to their apartment opened and they saw Fatima standing there.

'What happened. Why is Noor crying so much?' she said as she walked to the inside room.

As soon as she saw Noor she picked her up, not caring about the blood staining her expensive dress. She ran downstairs to her house and grabbed the key to her car. Then Fatima, Noor, Salma, and Mehjabin, jumped into the car and rushed to the hospital two kilometers away, Fatima pleading and arguing with drivers on the way to get a quick pass.

By the time Shaukat Bhai arrived an hour later, Noor had been stitched up, cleaned, fed, and put to sleep. She had got nine stitches just below the hairline. Upon seeing Noor's swollen face Shaukat Bhai began to cry. 

The next morning Fatima's doorbell rang. She opened the door and saw Shaukat Bhai standing there with a tray of food.  

He said his Salaams and Fatima replied politely.

'Please come inside' Fatima's husband invited Shaukat Bhai inside the house.

'How is Noor' Fatima's husband asked as Fatima took the tray that Shaukat Bhai had wordlessly extended towards her.

'She is doing well. It will take a long time to heal'

'That’s right'

'I have come to thank you sister, though I can never thank you enough' he said addressing Fatima.

'Nothing to thank really. That was Noor's right on me as a neighbor' Fatima replied softly.

'I have come here also to seek another favor from you sister if its not too much of a trouble' Shaukat Bhai said again

'Sure! Please say'

'Can you train Mehjabin to drive a car?' Shaukat bhai did not look up as he said that.

So life has given Shaukat Bhai a crash course. One night course. Fatima was amused.

'No trouble for me. I will teach her if Zaheer says yes. What do you say Zaheer?'

'How can I say no to anything if you want to do it

'You can say no, I will not fight. Have you not noticed I don't fight and shout at you these days

Zaheer looked at her and smiled.

Shaukat Bhai smiled too.

Then Fatima brought the plates and insisted that Shakut Bhai eats breakfast with them.