And The Mystery Was Unfolded

And The Mystery  Was Unfolded

By: Tariq Ahmad TariqBehrampora Rafiabad

Aatif had just joined his duties at Ghaziabad Office of his company. He was altogether different from others in both his look and outlook. He wore simple dresses, and had orthodox outlook. His M.D was ,however, taking  keen interest in him, and was giving him ample opportunities to show his talent. God knows ,what motivated the M.D to ask him once to prepare a presentation on his behalf to be presented before the board of directors .Aatif prepared the presentation and delivered in his own simple way. He could not get any clue whether the board got impressed or not. It was, however, clear now that the boss started believing in his talent all the more.

Aatif performed his duties honestly. He would greet everybody, hug everybody, and extend smile to everybody. He kept going, totally devoid of the fact what his colleagues thought about him .His colleagues would hardly notice his individual craftsmanship where he had carved out a good name for him. The best point of Aatif was that he would enjoy his work and keep invariably good humor.

The majority of the staffers of the company would come to the office in their own cars. Aatif had his bicycle. He would receive very less number of phone calls. He had some good friends working in other companies, but they would contact him occasionally. when Aatif felt bored, he would dial the number of some friend. They would lavishly spend their time with him on phone.

Aatif would never boss the job, and let others potter under his directions He had so many junior colleagues, and a good number of seniors .He believed that the juniors be treated with love, and the seniors be given due regard.

Aatif could very soon realize that his juniors had started giving him good regard. He was, however, confused about the behavior of young Farhan. Farhan , at times, would give him great regards ,and talk to him with  a  smiling face; but the next day Farhan would frown upon him, much to his discomfort. Aatif had great regards for Farhan. He knew that Farhan had great prospects waiting. He had seen in Farhan, an enterprising worker with innovative  approach. He would be always ready to take challenges . Aatif didn’t want to lose Farhan. He knew Farhan alone can have a good feel of his talent .So he did always wait the opportunity to bring his presentations in his notice. Farhan’s friends knew that Farhan was maintaining distance from Aatif, so they ,sometimes, descended  to kidding Aatif.

        “Come on Aatif, Tell us why Farhan avoids colliding you in the way.”
Farhan’s friends could ask this question to Farhan  as well, but they always wanted Aatif to answer. The simpleton Aatif would simply utter,  “The problem lies with me. I don’t know how to talk to the people of different temperaments. I confess I am a conservative type of guy.”

Aatif , however, got noticed by a senior officer .He had been secretly studying his behavior pattern and attitude. One day he approached Aatif saying,  “Aatif Sir! Some presentations are needed. Would you please prepare them for me.”  Aatif had this much of understanding that this officer had never  before shown keenness toward his presentations, yet he nodded his head in affirmation. He was over- joyed to be called Aatif Sir by his senior officer. It took Aatif ,at least ,three days to prepare the presentation. Tassaduq sir, as was the name of the officer, came to him each day asking whether the presentation was completed. He would, in the meanwhile, ask different questions to his junior Aatif. After three days, Aatif was happy as he had prepared a great presentation. He thought after Tassaduq Sir, had finished listening to it, he would appreciate his talent whole heartedly , and would thank him. Aatif carried his presentation with him  ,and found Tassaduq Sir waiting him at his table. Aatif hurried to the table and said, “sorry Sir,I am a little late. This is the presentation for you.” Tassaduq sir received it and showed no unusual response. He didn’t even thank Aatif. Instead he said, “Aatif sir, another presentation shall be ready within three days.” .Aatif ,who had now hung his head, nodded in affirmation.

The story kept going like this and Aatif wrote many presentation and Tassaduq sir didn’t even care what was written in them. Tassaduq  would respect Aatif very much. He would often ask him about his health, relations, problems, and would offer him every  type of help. This caring on part of Tassaduq  made Aatif feel good about Tassaduq. Aatif ,however, was desperately waiting somebody to acknowledge his distinction in creative writing which was still a distant dream for him.

Aatif would sometimes think that the circumstances in the company were hostile to his inherent  talent. He had, however ,a ray of hope left. He had seen Farhan going his way, and having enterprising vision. Farhan had a great quality of keeping himself busy like a bee. When Farhan talked , Aatif would feel he spoke out pearls. Now in  desperation, Aatif started thinking about Farhan. Aatif longed that Farhan should ,at least, read his presentations and watch him deliver at the next presentation. He was not blindly cherishing Farhan’s attention .In fact Farhan had lavishly praised Aatif when he had given his first presentation in the company .Aatif could not solve the mistry why Farhan kept away from him. He had shared this concern with three close associates of Farhan with the hope they would help the duo come closer. For unknown reasons these people did not ferry the message. Aatif shared this concern with Tassaduq  sir thinking that he was the closest of all to Farhan, but he did never show any response. Aatif started having introspect of his behavior, attitude, and style of talking, but could not really find out anything wrong which could have possibly offended Farhan. He thought that he would write a letter to Farhan and would clear his heart for him, and determined that he could not afford to be a mystery for Farhan too long.
One day Tassaduq  felt done with Aatif. Aatif had now realized that Tassaduq  would never appreciate his work, yet he would respect Tassaduq  invariably .How long the reluctant partners could have shared  the compartment. Tassaduq  was sure to get off on the next station.Aatif took it as ill-omen that Tassaduq failed to acknowledge his talent .Tassaduq  went off and the conservative man Aatif was again shown the dark lane which his bicycle was fit for. The poor man was shaken to the core.
As a last resort, Aatif wrote a detailed letter to Farhan and asked him the reason why he did polish him into one of his bad wishers. He wrote..

Mr Farhan
Sir,
I respect you and want you to attain higher wrung of success. You are a talented boy. Your dedication, commitment ,and love for work has made you into a special case for the company. Your curiosity to work, and your supportive attitude in group activities are appreciated by the board of directors .I personally feel very much inspired with you, though It will hardly matter for you.

Sir, my burning desire is that you would come to watch me delivering at the next presentation session to be called on a short notice. Your acknowledgement means a lot for me.

Sincerely yours
Aatif

Aatif presumed that Farhan had now finished reading this write-up, and would come to him anytime with a cute smile, and exclaim, “Sir, I knew you would do it someday. Fie with misunderstanding! ”  ,and Aatif would reply, “I am sorry Farhan, somewhere unintentionally I have hurt you.”

Aatif Knew that his reader was none but a Farhan of his own kind. Aatif’s confession of erring somewhere could prove a talisman to repair every relation.
None is so powerful that he could afford to live in isolation. we all need good relations to add colour to our life .Let we all be Aatifs and our Friends Farhans. Let’s be candid enough to acknowledge others enterprising skills, then hope that our efforts will be recognized.

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And The Mystery Was Unfolded -2

Aatif,after having Ferried his message to Farhan, kept busy with his work at his  office.He was not too much ambitious about Farhan’s response.He had only desired to clear his breast for Farhan. Sometimes things go our way,and same happened with Aatif.One afternoon when he was just preparing to leave for home from his office , a  thread of messages was created by Zaira.

Zaira:    Thank you for the letter. Taking out time to write a personal letter  speaks a lot about the efforts you put in into maintaining cordial relations with people around you. Really appreciated.

My presentations are my catharsis ,and believe me the comments or likes or dislikes have a very little bearing on me. I don’t consider myself as a youth icon yet and therefore it is really ok if I am shown the mirror. I purposely quit all the presentation sessions not because I have some illusion of grandeur but very much because I was getting an information overload which was not being processed by me sincerely. Moreover I really got intimidated by the class and knowledge of all the people present in these sessions  and I thought of myself as someone very unworthy of participating in such quality sessions. I have no literary background as I am an hardworking lawyer who loves her job but I do find solace in preparing presentations  and like to be somehow associated with it. It is a kind of food for my soul. That should answer your query about my absence.

As far as the story is concerned then I need to ask you one question which you must answer sincerely. Who was in your mind while writing this story?Then I will share my opinion firstly on purely the craft of the story and then depending on your answer I shall tell you what made Farhan what he is.

Aatif:     It is impersonal .There was no specific person in my imagination .I simply found an idea and wetted my hands. That is it.

Zaira:    I really don’t see an honest answer here. But anyways, I found the craft of the story weak. It is a narrative by the writer. The writer is doing all the job, explaining everything, building characters, preaching at the end. Short story is not a moral preaching thing. You should let readers take meanings or morals out of it. Moreover there were no dialogues which could build the characters but the writer did it. The climax didn’t resolve the tension that was built in the story. Somewhere the story got tangled in between a biographic account and a fictional genre. Short stories usually magnify (usually single) instances or   events which otherwise go unnoticed. A short story writer sees that which others miss. Well I have typical classical and traditional approach towards analyzing a short story. If you might ask a critic who evaluates on modern or postmodern benchmarks then he might have an entirely different opinion than mine. Having said that, this is just the beginning. You have a great vocabulary, decent grammar and refined taste for literature at your disposal and these altogether make a perfect material for a great short story writer.

Aatif:   Thanks for your valuable comments. Actually I am not from literary background either. A student of Economics does have his feeble say in literature.I felt that I should write what I felt happening around me, so I didn't see what should make my plot impressive. The truth I told is the basis for this. Anyway thanks.The day i clashed with you on feminist view was my first day in discussion motivated me to writing.

zaira:      So I shall again put my question to you. I know you are Aatif   but    WHO IS FARHAN?

Aatif:     Farhan of this story is a symbolic character. He is someone who did ever share a platform with Aatif, impressed him, and kept silently aside.Being a writer in making, I suppose some people get aligned with me. Out of this small  "some", a few are viewed pioneering a path for me, and others neglecting me intentionally.I don't want friends for wrong reasons as is the practice of seemingly 'Big Names' in our community.I am a less known person. I always want to gift myself  sincere, talented, and selfless friends.Those who can explain Aatif  how far is too far for him.

Supposing you "Zaira"  is my Farhan. How can I make it into a story. You are not known to me. You have never observed me delivering. I know none of your friends .lets suppose I know Sadiya Sheikh as having met her once in a program at the city center. I suppose you know  Haji Uncle who treats me as his son. Does it make a big deal? Again do I suppose saying , "Yes, You are Farhan",then read the content of my write-up afresh and see whether Aatif looks for virtuous relations or harbors any evil intention.Yes,I want to have Farhan closely watching my literary activities. If you are satisfied with this role for Aatif, I shall be obliged.

The conclusion which I have drawn from the story is company policy motivation. I have written this write-up for the company’s annual publication   of whom I have been chosen Editor.Hope you will reply, and will now throw light on the point,"Why shouldn't Farhan behave that way?"

Zaira:    I believe you don’t know me in person. You don’t know my whereabouts. I would read your write-ups with great regard once,but lately some of the members of your  organization told me that Aatif doesn’t have good opinion about Zaira. I was astonished how could Aatif be so cheap a stuff. He doesn’t know me. How could he form a cheap opinion about a girl whom he doesn’t know. i don’t know whether the story which I was told was a manipulated one or not. There was no authenticity in place, but  the things which Zaira heard was enough to think the way she thinks now. Aatif ,if you had some opinion built about me you should have told me straight away; but, you spiced your gossips with my mention. Not good. Now it is Ok, No regrets I suppose the things have been manipulated. Now it is ok.

Aatif  :   Thanks for the reply. It is enough for me that at least you spoke out a few words finally. Let me tell you the truth. I have met, only once,  Saadiya Sheikh at a function where we both had to read out papers . I didn't know Sadiya till then. During lunch break Sadiya came to me and introduced herself. When I started introducing myself, she told that she knew me. She added that Haji Unclei had discussed me with them at company headquarters. Thus Aatif was not unknown to them. I simply added that I was very much impressed with Zaira's presentations. We could not pull the conversation beyond this because she had an emergency call then.

I don’t write too much; but whatever i write i want to show that to the quality readers. I rate your name with great honour in that context. Shall I hope that you will keep encouraging me for bettering my efforts?

 I don't know why people add salt to the otherwise candid expressions. I can't impress upon you my innocence because you don't know me in person. I am usually a tight lipped person. I started writing things very recently. You will not believe but it is true that the days i was made to confront with you  on the  page was my first day afresh. Thank God I received positive feedbacks for my efforts. May be my little bit familiarity would have bred contempt. Anyway whatever has been ferried to you, I regret, and sorry for that. I discussed nothing of you with Saadiya. Haji Uncle is like my father. I feel shy before him to talk. The third party if any, I don't subscribe to.  Hope you believe.

Zaira:    No issues .Now the air has got cleared. I am starting afresh. I would be happier that whatever you opine about me, that should come to me through you. And yes, to avoid any ambiguity, it didn’t come to me through Saadiya, because we are not friends but acquaintances, but through other people who are very much a part of these organizations.  Anyways. I wish you great luck and  I believe that you are somebody, who with his skill set, can give a tough fight to contemporaries. You shall be a great addition to our sky. In sha Allah

Aatif:   Thanks. But I feel very much hurt why should people spoil my image. I hold many people as my favorites, but they should play foul, It is very unfortunate. Yes, Due to some indiscipline some of the members of our organization were expelled, It could be the handiwork of them. I suppose Haji.., or somebody else.

Zaira:    No. Haji Uncle  always speaks good about you. It is not him either.

Aatif:    Yes. Whenever somebody poisons your ears against me, you better write to me, or phone. I know very less of politics. There is a long story behind the scene why should people defame me.

Zaira:    It shouldn’t matter now who it is. Its rather important  that we be authentic in our dealings. We shall keep our integrity intact.  I don’t nurse grudges. That is why i talked to you upfront.

Aatif:    Actually Haji Uncle has sympathy with the split away group. He didn't talk to me yesterday at our function. I asked him, and he simply told that he had some grudges. Now ,Do you believe that, at least i have not spoken anything ill about you.

Zaira:    I take your words and believe them to be true.

Aatif:     Thanks. I will always be true to my word. Beside I need your guidance.

Yes, Is my Farhan back,  Now on The previous track?

Zaira:    The admiration and learning shall be mutual inshallah. It’ ll b a learning experience for me too.

Aatif was now very happy for having Farhan back.He had toiled a lot to see him patting him.Yes,Farhan was none other than Zaira.Aatif knew that if his emotions were pure they would gift him his Zaira back.Aatif ,after this reconciliation kept sending his presentations to Zaira and would wait for a nod to present them and publish them .He was very emotional about Zaira.He wanted to keep with her,and discuss with her every presentation. He wanted to see Zaira present at his every presentation. In the audience of thousands he wanted to see the feedback of Zaira alone.Zaira was his ultimate inspiration.How much he wished that Zaira should know his feelings for her!

Aatif was not only shy but he was coward to the core. He always kept thinking about Zaira but did never dare to tell it to Zaira.He thought of Zaira being quick tempered and feared she might never return if she was offended. This fear helped  Aatif grow  very timid. Aatif did never tell Zaira that She was dear to him not only for being appreciative for his presentations,but she had been dwelling in all the compartments of his heart right from their first confrontation.This sweet feeling helped Aatif keep motivated for writing,and in his write-ups Zaira started breathing all the more.

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