Thora sa Asmaan

Thora sa Asmaan

Infidelities, betrayal, intrigue, selfishness along with altruism are the recurring themes of this extensive novel. It is a story of people whose lives were an outcome of their ethics and moral values rather their circumstances. There is a medley of settings and characters that live separate lives in different worlds but intertwine at a point in the end. Haroon kamal is a foreign return handsome boy who belongs to a materialistic family that believes in earning money by hook or by crook. He meets Shaista his cousin at a wedding. Shaista a pretty girl who belongs to a religious family is unhappy with her parents’ conservative views. She gets attracted to Haroon’s charismatic personality and accepts his marriage proposal without her family’s consent. Due to shaista’s parents’ disapproval they have a court marriage and try to hide it for as long as possible. Shaista gets furious when she finds out that she is expecting and makes every effort to convince her parents, who are compelled to get her married off hastily and vow to never forgive her for her mistake. Shaista has to abandon her first born because of her unannounced civil marriage. Despite her pleading and begging, Haroon refuses to accept the child and she is ultimately forced to choose Haroon instead of the child. She tries to find her son later by contacting the orphanage but doesn’t succeed. Fatima is an ugly girl with a disability and a bitter tongue. Her family wants to get her married at any cost. She is sick of her environment and leaves her family after a scuffle. Her life takes a totally new turn when she adopts a child from an orphanage. A pair of abandoned twins is added to her family who had been left in a garbage bin. Mansur is a rich man based abroad. He has a stable family with 4 daughters and a son. He loves his eldest daughter Amber dearly and thinks she is his lucky charm. Amber is an extremely beautiful girl. She is generous, kind and doesn’t believe in class difference. She doesn’t approve superficial standards of categorizing and judging people according to their financial status. She and her younger sister are married to their cousins Talha and Osama but have not started their married lives due to their incomplete education and are still staying with their parents. Their uncle Masud has eyes on their property and Mansur’s status is the basic foundation in their marriages. Haroon by this time is a middle aged man still adamant on his old ways. He spots Amber in a party, only to be disappointed to find her married. Rakshi the apparent antagonist of the story is Amber‘s friend. She belongs to a dysfunctional family where her father has abandoned her mother Saiqa for not giving birth to a son. He refuses to support or take their responsibility leaving her helpless. Saiqa an uneducated beautiful woman is unable to support her family and is forced to find other available means to earn, which aren’t morally approved. Rakshi has been brought up in an exploitative environment in which survival of the fittest is the rule of thumb. The murder of her sister further endorses her evil beliefs and she vows to acquire a better social position by hook or crook, in order to survive in this cruel world. She takes advantage of Amber‘s kindness. Amber’s mother Muneeza doesn’t like her friendship with Rakhshi because of her background. Amber tries to make Rakhshi’s life easy and asks first her husband Talha and then Mansur to do something for her. In the mean while Muneeza gets holds of Rakhshi and insults her badly. Rakhshi endures this insult but doesn’t forget it. Haroon uses Rakhshi to manipulate Mansur and succeeds unfortunately. Rakhshi has her own scores to settle and she gets back at Muneeza by trapping Mansur into dating and finally marrying her. Mansur’s marriage to Rakhshi gets revealed at an inappropriate time before Amber and sibgha have been formally departed to their in-laws. This shocking news shatters Mansur’s family life. Muneeza being an impatient and unwise woman that she was, attempts to again degrade and humiliate Rakshi in public. This goes against her and Mansur divorces her under Rakhshi’s influence. Amber tries to defend her mother and gets kicked out of the house along with her. Life becomes a nightmare for Amber. She tries hard to clean the mess but it keeps on getting worse. Mansur disowns his entire family accept his son and they are forced to live on their own. Sibgha and Amber both get divorced since they lost the basic incentive; their father’s wealth. Amber is unable to endure this upheaval and loses her composure. She is admitted to a clinic. Haroon the master planner of this chaos makes his move by visiting her and paying her bills etc. He influences Muneeza who is not smart enough to gauge his real intentions. Sibgha is the only one who can foresee Haroon’s intention. Despite her displeasure, Haroon is able to lure Amber who at this point has become emotionally vulnerable and gets entrapped by his affection and show of wealth. Haroon’s son Assad shocks him by choosing Amber to marry. Haroon opposes the idea and deals with Assad with an iron fist. His daughter Nayab gets attached to Samar who is Fatima’s other adopted son. In the meanwhile Shaista has been busy looking for her abandoned son. Mansur is devastated when he catches Rakhshi with her boyfriend. Rakhshi retaliates by throwing him out of the house and getting a divorce by force. Amber goes missing after a scuffle with Muneeza. Her dead body is later recovered in a duffle bag in rotten state. After initial inquiry the trail leads to Haroon. He denies the charges and puts the blame on Mansur. Mansur is unable to handle the guilt and loses the balance of mind. Shaista finally succeeds in finding her lost son Shaheer. Instead of being thankful she accuses Fatima of kidnapping her child from the clinic where he was born. Shaheer gets really upset and ultimately goes with shaista who does not have Haroon’s consent for this. At this point it is revealed that Samar and sani are also Haroon’s illegitimate children. Nayab cannot handle the truth and kills herself. Shaheer finally comes back to Fatima after seeing the dark side of his real parents. Samar suffers a nervous breakdown but comes out of it with the support of his family. Haroon gets sentenced while Mansur ends up in a mental asylum. Fatima and Mansur’s families start their lives all over again with courage and hope