Rizan

By Rameez Gilani

Love, drama, politics and truth come alive in their various hues in this story of a young man who tackles life’s roller coaster journey with determination and conviction, led by the power of his dreams.
The tale chronicles a young boy’s journey into adulthood as he tries to make the distant adversary planets come in line, destroys his rivals, overcomes falsehood, and finally wins his love.
This is the narrative of a young man who is on an adventure to find the truth. Experience his intense struggle through endless endeavours and contradictions and perhaps even find your own truth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Notion Press
• Release date: Mar 25, 2014
• ISBN: 9789383808922

Book preview

returns

Heaven

1963

On a full moo n night, when the needles perpendi-cularised to 9 p.m., he was born. A baby with the deepest blue eyes resembling the biggest of oceans, glowing wet skin, brown hair which could only resemble the English. He was crying since the time of his arrival, with his small hands feeling the air trying to touch and scratch an atom. With pearls of tears rolling down his cheeks, he announced his presence to the whole world.

He was immediately given the name Rizan followed by the cognomen Jilan, which was inherited from his father, grandfather and forefathers, who had been rich not in materialism but stood as the spiritual landmarks and torchbearers for the rest of the country, which happened to be aesthetic and immensely beautiful to such an extent that even heaven could have been nothing but a mere copy.

The rivers, mountains and greenery were beyond description; the ordinary human adjectives felt handicapped in front of it. Perhaps for want of a better description people called it Kashmir or heaven on earth. He was the child of nature whose journey had commenced.

His father was a hard working labourer, an illiterate who could barely afford two meals a day. Poverty had hit him hard and frustrated his soul. He was waiting earnestly for Rizan to grow up and support him. But at the moment, Rizan was too small to be able to do any of that and was qualified only for kindergarten. He was admitted in the nearby government run school that charged a small fee. But one that was big enough to bite his father’s pockets.

Rizan was cute, naughty and extremely smart for his age. His kindergarten years passed in a jiffy as Rizan was busy playing, having fun and making friends. Gradually, he grew up, passed out of school and joined college. As Rizan reached puberty and became a young boy, he perceived this as a huge transition from childhood to adulthood. I can now express an opinion and people would actually give it a listen. I am expected to travel miles alone without the fear of getting lost. I can take decisions on my own.

Rizan was looking for the goal unknown to him. Getting great grades at school and college wasn’t his only dream as his father advised him to have an extended vision without restrictions and boundaries. This made him a dreamer, a unique dreamer who believed in seizing the opportunity in times of adversity. True faith displaces the mountains; this kept him optimistic. He still remembered his father’s advice: "Beta, never be afraid of failures; they teach you what success cannot."This advice made him a master of confronting his fears of failures, as a result of which he never had to face many.

Rizan and his friend Azfar met in the college and eventually became good friends. Once they, along with a few more friends, decided to go for a swim since college had turned boring. Before this, they decided to eat something at the college canteen.

So they proceeded towards the canteen. Each one ordered something different. Rizan ordered ParleG biscuits with chai, while a few others ordered pakodas with chutney and chai. They were chatting, laughing, and having fun pulling each other’s legs.

That’s when time took a pause as Rizan just happened to come across her standing at the table waiting for her friends to arrive. She was wearing a dark pink Salwar kameez with cream stripes, that artistic round face as though Hussain had painted her in the air, with a smile that could probably cure the insane, eyes wide open reflecting the moon light even during the day, and lips that could put a red rose to shame.

She could hypnotise you into believing that the world was still beautiful. She had the habit of pushing her blonde hair behind her ear so that it didn’t obstruct her eyes to mesmerise the hell out of you, she was delicate and fragile like a flower. The culmination of her beauty stood that powerful that it could drag a priest into hell.

His friends saw Rizan and the girl as well. Rizan had lost his heart in less than a second. He claimed it was love at first sight. Questions arose in him. Had she looked at him too? Should he go ahead and approach her? Would she like it or not? But at the moment even her name was unknown. His thoughts were interrupted with his friends finishing up and planning to leave for swimming. Maybe they found her just another beautiful face among many others in the campus. They didn’t want to stop another minute for her, unlike Rizan who was ready to spend the rest of his life just staring at her.

Anyways, he had to opt out of swimming, as Rizan suddenly remembered his father would be home early that day. His father was an angry old man and he couldn’t take any chances with him. His friends were disappointed but he promised them, ‘Yaarpagahkalkith ha gasovzaroor’, meaning that he would go swimming with them another day soon. They left the canteen. Rizan too had to leave, hoping he would meet her soon again. As he took the bus back home, he couldn’t think of anything else but her and her unforgettable face. Thoughts of her were constantly stinging his young heart and threatening to bombard his poor brain. He smiled like he had gone crazy.

When he reached home, he entered his room directly. His dear mother was cooking something for dinner; his father had arrived already. Rizan had left his room a mess but his mother had tidied it up. He removed a few books from his chair and sat on it thinking about her. His concentration was completely on her. To divert his attention a little, he took out his political science book and started reading. He knew he would fail miserably in this attempt to study but was still making an effort. He tried hard to concentrate but he realised in a while that he did nothing except think about her. He closed the book and put it back on his chair when his mother began calling him for dinner.

How is it that you haven’t even washed your face? Are you fine?his father asked him. Father, exams are coming up. So, I had to start studying immediately after getting back, he replied. His father accepted whatever Rizan said. Perhaps Rizan’s grades always made him believe that he studied very hard, the man had no concept of intelligence indeed.

Rizan got back to his room and tried to get some sleep. But before that he thought of a plan that would help him talk to her the next day.

Next morning, Rizan woke up earlier than ever. It was still dark but in his excitement he pushed his quilt away and rushed to the washroom. He put on his best clothes, the ones he had bought for the recent Id festival. As he looked out of the window, he could barely see anything; maybe even the stones were asleep. He saw the sun too was yet to get off its own bed, and his very own morning alarm, the rooster, was still snoring in slumber. Maybe that day, it was his turn to wake them all up. What do I do now? My parents are still in deep sleep, college doesn’t open for another three hours at least. Well, why don’t I note down everything I think I should speak to her, he thought and started writing down whatever had to be said and done. It took him two and half hours to scribble his thoughts on a bright white sheet of paper.

By that time, his parents had woken up, the sun had risen from the east, and the rooster had stopped annoying everyone with its loud wake-up call. He left for college immediately. When he got to college, only a handful of people could be seen. The gate-keeper looked a little uneasy seeing him so early. His face had a strange expression that suggested that he wanted to say something but at the same resisted saying anything at all. Rizan just passed by him.

The buses, two-wheelers and four-wheelers slowly started rolling in through the front gate. Rizan decided to wait at the gate so that as soon as his girl arrived, he would catch hold of her and start a conversation, pouring out whatever he had prepared since last night.

Cars came and buses left, dropping off students like packages delivered by courier companies. He stood there waiting, taking in all the dust that flew into the air as tyres screeched on to the road. But she could not be seen anywhere. Maybe she has not come to college. She may have taken ill, the canteen food needs a quality check indeed.These thoughts started bothering him. As they threatened to slow down his heartbeat, the last bus