Urdu Novel
by Nemra Ahmad
Review by Mominah Ambreen (Student Ambassador of Read Pakistan)
Introduction
Every other human being on the face of this Earth is struggling, struggling with their own
troubles and dealing with problems on their own. Some are strong and some pretend to be
strong, some are accompanied by kind hearts while some are shoved off by their own loved
ones. Struggles, problems, difficulties, conflicts is what life is all about. Jannat kay Pattay by
Nemrah Ahmed is a novel of its own kind that pays attention to the battles that every person
fights and the darkness that every one wants to get through. Beautifully pictured in the streets
of Turkey and taking the readers to the ancient places of Constantinople, this story is about a
young girl named Haya Suleman and an intimidating guy who serves as a spy in the intelligence agency named Maj. Jihan Sikandar Ahmed.
Characters
Jannat kay Pattay is all about growth, learning, being strong and being able to battle with all the challenges that life throws at you. Haya Suleman has been depicted as a very strong and
empowered character who finds it insulting to advertise her problems to people. She knows
how to guard herself strongly. Her life has been pictured as a journey from having herself
considered as being independent of Islamic teachings to have been largely impacted by a single verse of the Holy Quran that changes her whole perspective of life. She remains powerful and strong yet she surrenders her desires and wishes only before THE ALMIGHTY. She feels more empowered in doing so.
On the other hand, Maj. Jihan is portrayed as an undaunted character who is resolute and
fearless in his own way. You might consider him the most smartest guy on the face of Earth. He knows what he has to do and does not welcome interference from anyone. His arrogance is
empowering, his attitude is positive and his life is a tale of unheard battles and unvoiced
struggles. There are literally so many shades of this character that I can’t disclose because don’t want to spoil it for the non-readers. This particular character has evolved from low self esteem and less supportive environment to be a man of high spirits and have a lucid understanding of life. He also has a command on the understanding of the Holy Quran so in a nutshell Jihan Sikandar is undoubtedly a complete hero for most of the girls.
Story Plot
The story revolves around Jihan, Haya and many other equally significant characters that add
life to the mysterious, thrilling and somewhat a fiction theme of the novel. Haya travels to
Turkey to pursue her studies where she meets Maj. Jihan who is her husband apparently. They
both have romcom relationship and either of them is not ready to express their love. The main
theme of this story is PARDAH; Jannat kay Pattay that signifies the story of Adam and Eve when they covered themselves with the leaves of Heaven after committing a mistake. It also pays tribute to the unsung heroes; the intelligence officers who live and die secretly, no one knows them yet they play an undercover significant role to protect our motherland. More over the story builds intriguingly and has lots of riddles, the plot is a mystery and all the different
characters are linked together in one chapter finally leaving the readers to have feel as if
they’ve been played. It has a magical vibe to it!
Another captivating thing is the that the plot is set in Turkey and the readers would
immediately fall in love with the country without even visiting it because that’s the kind of
power the writer has in her pen. I bet you would want to visit Turkey once you are done reading
it.
Conclusion
This novel has the power to make you fall in love with each and every character due to their
empowering personality and impactful dialogues that help you get through tough phases. It
also develops you spiritually and lets you rebuild the lost contact with THE ALMIGHTY. The
dialogues are to die for (you might find yourself quoting most of the dialogues as life hacks!)
Jannat k Pattay is a book that I suggest every one should read. It not only gives you an insight
about so many things that we either neglect or take for granted but also builds you emotionally
strong and even mentally smart.