This is a dramatic story of family intrigue, religious passion and romance written by a Pakistan-born, Britain-educated and settled, award-winning novelist, scriptwriter and author of short fiction.
Set against the backdrop of Sind province, Zarri Bano, the protagonist is a twenty-eight-year-old beautiful daughter of a wealthy Muslim landowner, Habib Khan. At the village fair she is seen by Sikandar who immediately decides to marry her and none else. Zarri Bano has a younger sister Ruby and a brother Jafar.
When tycoon Sikander comes to see her officially at her home, he is surprised to see her address him directly. The thought that ‘she is too unconventional for my liking’ crosses his mind. After the meeting Zarri Bano’s father Habib is somehow put off by Sikander’s haughty behaviour as he tells his wife, “I am the head of the family and will decide what is good for my Zarri Bano. I don’t like this man, Shahzada.” When his wife protests, he says firmly, “You forget, Shahzada, in our clan, destinies are made and dictated by us. I will decide if this man is to be my daughter’s destiny or not.”
At her mother’s behest, Zarri Bano goes to stay for three days at Sikander’s house in Karachi and both she and Sikander decide to get married. Meanwhile news of her brother Jafar’s sudden death in a freak riding accident reaches her. She is shocked and rushes home with Sikander escorting her. The next three days are a nightmare not only for Habib, his family and relatives, but for all the neighbouring villages. A shroud of gloom hangs over every household. Everybody unreservedly and respectfully pays homage to Habib’s grief. A feudal landlord with immense wealth, his family descended from the highest of castes, Habib Khan blessed with three children — Zarri, Ruby and Jafar is now left without an heir.
As is the custom in the family, on the loss of his heir, Habib Khan declares Zarri Bano, his eldest child, as the heiress, the Holy Woman. Normally it is passed on to the first male heir of a sibling. If Ruby were to have a son, he could have become the heir. She becomes a scholar of Islam and a religious tutor for hundreds of young women in the town and province — a female symbol of purity and ibadat (worship) in the purest form.
Meanwhile Habib’s wife comes to hate her husband as she feels highly disturbed to find her beautiful daughter deprived of a normal family life. In a fit of anger she blames her husband for “sacrificing our beautiful daughter.” She accuses him, ranting, “You love her too much. She is your treasure, your possession and you couldn’t stomach the thought of another man…” before she is made to shut up.
Zarri Bano’s young sister Ruby is married off to a very reluctant Sikander and they have a son. The whole family including Habib and his wife go on a pilgrimage where Ruby and her father Habib die in a stampede. Ultimately after many ups and downs, Zarri Bano gets married to Sikander.
—MG
(Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11, Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi-110 017.)
