man-o-salwa / من و سلویٰ

by Umera Ahmed

Man-o-Salwa (English: Manna and Quail) revolves around the blessings and influence of ethics and morals on people's lives. It is a story about the curses of poverty that lead to extreme kinds of materialism, how poverty defaces human emotions and turns blood relations into insecure parasites. Zainab, Shiraz, Karam Ali and Zarri are from extremely poor families and as they struggle to make both ends meet, they are caught in a never ending conflict between their emotional relationships and their obligations.
It was published in episodic form in Khawateen Digest November 2006-November 2007.

Genres: Fiction, Novels

784 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2006

About the author

Umera Ahmed is one of the most widely-read and popular Urdu fiction novelist and screenplay writer of this era.
She completed her Masters in English Literature from Murray College, Sialkot. Later she became an English language lecturer for the students of O and A levels at Army Public College, Sialkot. However she left the job a few years back in order to devote her full attention to writing.
She began her writing career in 1998 at a quite young age. Her initial stories were published in monthly urdu digests and later came out in the form of books. She has written about 16 books , comprising of complete novels and compilations of short stories. However it was her novel "Peer-e-Kaamil (S.A.W.W)" which became her identity.

Reviews

[Aneela ♒the_mystique_reader♒ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh! the heart-wrenching story of Zainab and her revenge!

This novel is more than a love story or a tale of heartbroken lover.

Its a moral story about a poor man who earned halal for his family and taught the same to them.

Its about the difference between halal and haram.
Being patient and leading a halal life may make you suffer but the agonies of plotting revenge and the haram life will doom you to hell alive where you can neither die nor live.

The only negative is that it was too lengthy.

[Sana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a very long and complicated story. In my opinion it was more complicated that it could be. It was a great novel in many aspects but it has some flaws as well. No, just hang on, I love it, but you should not overlook the flaws, even if they are minor. It is one of the lessons the story has to offer.

First, as I said it was unnecessarily complicated and dramatic. Secondly, the characters acted unnaturally and obtusely. Thirdly, I don't think it was an instance of Umera Ahmed's best pieces of writing. Her style of writing is much better in Amarbail, Peer-e-Kamil and some of her other short stories. I cannot classify it as a good or a bad quality that all the characters and situations were representing various types of extremes while neglecting the grey areas.

I am finding it very difficult to review this book because I liked it despite the flaws and the things I liked are fairly hard to be put into words. Also it is about some very serious social problems, so I cannot describe it casually.

It is a story of the curses of poverty and the path of sin it leads to but at the same time it is also a portrayal of the strength of character with which one can steer away from this path to that of the purity of soul. Zainab, Shiraz, Karam Ali and Zarri having born in almost similar families with regard to financial status, come to lead very different lives, all by virtue of their choices, most of which were emotion-driven.

The most conflicted character was Zainab, who was at one time the most obedient, loving and caring and religious daughter of a pious man who had always stuck to Rizq-e-Halal despite the temptations of bribes he had as a clerk in income tax department. Zainab has always lived under the shelter of her father's love and was engaged to the man she loved. One flaw in her personality was that she was emotional to the point of foolishness. She loved Shiraz with such passion that she continued to ignore the much apparent flaws in his character. He spoke ill of her father and his "Rizq-e-Halal mania", he accepted favors from her but never reciprocated or even bothered to share anything with her and unlike her, he was not at all religious. Had she been any wiser or a little less blind in her love for him, it would not be hard to see his materialistic thinking. Another thing that I found incongruous was the freedom that Zainab and Shiraz enjoyed, which is not common in Pakistani lower class and especially religious families. So predictably, Shiraz abandons her in a most ignominious way. At one point, it has been categorically declared that Zainab was not a fool, which is an absolutely bogus claim in my opinion. She suffers from a great emotion upheaval and realizing that poverty was the reason of her misery, she is caught up in a compulsive desire to earn as much money as she could and in the shortest time possible, so that she could place herself in a position to avenge herself and to escape the very reason that was the cause of her disgrace. Ironically, she chooses to disgrace herself even further.Her story is the picturesque version of the famous saying:

"Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."

Shiraz abandons Zainab to marry into a very rich family. The behavior of his family among their new relatives is thoroughly disgusting. What I fail to understand is how could Shiraz, who was supposedly an intelligent person, be blind enough to think that a rich and powerful man wanted so desperately for him to marry his daughter for no apparent reason. He made a complete fool of himself throughout the book and strangely he never felt as miserable as a person should have felt in his situation. He practically gave away the control over his life in exchange for money and social status, one of the frightening consequences of having experienced extreme poverty and never wanting to leave room for any possibility of returning to that life, if once escaped.

Karam Ali was by far the most adventurous of the lot but the difference was that unlike Zainab and Shiraz, his ventures were mostly involuntary. He was the eldest among his siblings in a family that had practically no bread earner. So the responsibility of earning fell upon his very young shoulders. His problem was that he was indeed very dutiful and protective of his family. He took upon himself much more than was his share of responsibility and thinking that his family's peace of mind was also to be taken care of, he chose to face every obstacle alone instead of sharing his problems. Consequently, his family starts to deem him as the person responsible for all their needs and desires even after all his siblings are married and settled in their businesses. I think it was in his nature to be uncommunicative but he was great character. While Umera showed that Zainab and Shiraz fell prey to the curse of "Rizq-e-Haram", she maintained in the form of Karam Ali that it was not impossible to stay on the right path. Karam Ali was extremely poor and like Shiraz, he also shouldered the responsibility of earning livelihood for his family and was in an even worse financial condition than Shiraz but unlike him, he never considered the possibility of doing it through unlawful means. He was similar to Zainab in being emotional and having experienced betrayal from his loved ones but unlike her, he never compromised the purity of his soul or the idea of revenge never found a way into his head.

The character of Zarri is a blend of ignorance, emotional weakness and a desire to escape the clutches of poverty, which is common in all the characters. To describe her in the best possible way, I would say that she wanted to have her cake and eat it as well. She wanted to marry Jamal, who was an obviously unreliable, irresponsible and violent person and at the same time she wanted to remain under the financial shelter that her husband had provided. And the choice she finally made left her unhappy, dishonored and a subject of violence.

Man o Salwa is a very rich story including life in the slums of Pakistan, the ruthlessness of Arabian Sheikhs, the miserable and artificial lives of peoples whose needs take them away from their relations and the wretchedness of the people of film industry behind the facade of glamour. In this story, you fill find characters that you love, hate and feel sorry for. Their behaviors and actions will be sometimes outrageous, sometimes lame and unreasonable and sometimes too soft. It is a story of people who try to escape poverty but what it makes clear beyond doubt is that Rizq-e-Haram is not the way out. What you can get lawfully is the Man o Salwa for you and it is what you should be thankful for and content with.
All in all, It was an unforgettable and hard-to-put-down novel.

[Hina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished it a while back.

And then I sat and cried.

After Salar Sikandar if I truly felt something for any character(s) it's Zainab Zia. Zaini. And Karam Ali.

Speechless.

Umera Ahmed is a genius! I might come back and edit this review but right now.. it's just .. I can't.

[Fizah(Books tales by me) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual Rating 4.75
A bitter but realistic depiction of our society.

[Shabana Mukhtar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it.
All these years, I would see the name Mann o Salwa in the list, my sister would tell me that we all have read it, and I trust her words.
This one, I had not.
I started reading it yesterday, as I could not sleep. Once I started, I couldn't sleep. Not much of a difference, I know.
For almost 300 pages, I was not able to follow the story. I am all for character building and complexity, but it was a little overdone, in my opinion.
There was new characters being introduced on every page (a little exaggeration here). I was not able to follow their relation with each other. That's commendable and disturbing at the same time. I wanted to stop around noon (around 250 pages). However, I was committed to read it. The commitment paid off, thankfully.
Let's start.
It is a dark story. Really dark. The spontaneity of a few lines, in one or two places may make you smile, but that's all you get. Rest of it is grave.

There are a lot of characters. The story focuses on their dark sides, naturally. There were only two or three good people. Actually only two. The revenge, the drame, the power, the poverty, the rejection, all of this is heart breaking. You know where the story is going. You can't stop yourself from reading it further. That's good writing. What else do you expect from Umaira?
Why not give stars?
1) the complexity and confusion about all the characters
2) way too dark
3) felt repetitive at times (apart from the sections that are written with that intention)
4) hate to say it, it reminded me too much of her other work.
a) The bond between Karam Ali and Zainab, reminded me of Iman, Umeed, aur Mohabbat.
b) the CSS and beauracracy, is done in so many of her stories already. So has revenge. Remember Abhi To Maat Baaqi Hai?
c) horrible blood sucking relatives. The characters were on the extreme ends - too good or too bad. What about normal people?
d) would have loved it if it was not as lengthy
Verdict: A good read. On Goodreads :-)

[Sidra · Rating 4 out of 5]

To rate this book is a very difficult task and to tell whether it was good or bad is even harder. Man o Salwa is a story of struggle between taking the right path or falling prey and embarking on the wrong path. The struggle between Rizq-e-Halal (lawful earnings) and Rizq-e-Haraam (unlawful earnings) is a part of our daily life. Umera Ahmed did her best effort to portray this subject as beautifully as she could yet I would say that this is not one of her best works. An overdose of drama, prolonged plot and unrealistic situations were the main flaws. Anyhow, the plot was strong and definitely worth reading.

[Fatima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haraam is a nightmare in disguise of a daydream.
Halal always saves you, though apparently if it doesn't seem like happening.

[B••k£dMōmīnā · Rating 3 out of 5]

Urdu Bingo 2025 (13) : Book Which has a TV Adaptation

2.8 🌟

جب اچھی لگنے لگی تھی تب ختم ہو گئی
اور کہانی بھی۔۔۔ زینی کی زندگی بھی

ٹھیک ہے آپ رئیلیٹی دکھانا چاہتی ہیں لیکن امید بھی کوئی چیز ہوتی ہے۔۔
عمیرہ احمد کی تحاریر کو پڑھنے میں نے اسلئے ہی گریز شروع کر دیا تھا کہ یہ ہمیشہ مجھے ڈپریشن میں ڈال دیتی ہیں۔۔

میں سوچ رہی تھی کہ اگر اینڈنگ ایسی نا ہوتی تو کیسی ہوتی وہ تو خیر سمجھ نہیں آیا مجھے لیکن اتنا سمجھ آیا کہ
کرم علی بہر حال ایک اچھی لائف ڈیزرو کرتا تھا۔۔اور انسان کو ویسا بلکل نہیں ہونا چاہیے جیسا وہ تھا۔

(میں یہ ڈرامہ دیکھنا چاہوں گی مینلی زینی کے لیے)

[Shehzar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Umera ahmed sleep with your eyes open, because I might be coming for the 'hisaab' of the emotions and time I invested in this book.
I was loving the book, the dialogues and everything for THIS ending?
Umera on her Facebook page in a Q&A session has written :
'Main nahi jaanti MOS ki happy ending kese ho sakti thi. Kia main larkyon ko ye msg deti kay kabeera gunahon kay baad bhi aik millionaire unkay intizar me apni unconditional mohabbat liye betha ho ga? You have no idea how its happy ending would have affected so many girls negatively. '
Girl, the message that you gave here is that even when you leave a sin, and repent and ask for forgiveness, you won't be forgiven and you will face the worst things possible, and that would affect not just girls, but everyone who would read this book more negatively than a happy ending would have.
Hadith k mutabiq tauba ki 3 sharatein hain:
Us gunah ko chor diya jaey
Us par nadamat ho
Aenda na karnay ka ehad ho
Zaini did all three. She should have had a happy ending, with her tauba being accepted, especially after that conversation between her and her father in her childhood about how Allah forgives when you close your eyes and ask for forgiveness again and again.
When you showed the consequences of bad decisions with Zari, WHY was it necessary to show it with Zaini too? Why did Karam have to suffer after all that he endured?

I might have rated it higher had I not seen the writer's reasoning behind this ending. Still giving it a 3,inatead of 2 because of how interesting, thought provoking it was, along with really good dialogues.

[Zubaa Abdulkhaliq · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strangely enough, I didn't get a book hangover after reading this novel!
Maybe because I told myself from the beginning that I can't afford a book hangover this time after reading one more book by Umera Ahmed😋😋
This novel reminded me of Alif at some points and of Beckett's work at some other.
A well-written novel which has the potential to captivate the reader till the end.
What I didn't like much was the future glimpses at the beginning. They create a kind of confusion and unnecessary suspense. Plus, they're repeated at the end. This brought up my memories while reading Aks a long time ago, Umera used the same techniques and I still remember how lost I got by the end of Aks.😪😞😞
The only thing I can say about the main characters, Zeni and Karam Ali, that they were too unlucky at the end. I hate people suiciding even in fiction but Zeni's suicide seemed essential to end the story in an unforgettable, dramatic and tragic way!

[Palwasha Here · Rating 5 out of 5]

"یعنی محبت ختم ہو گئی؟"
"نہیں محبت ختم نہیں ہوئی توقع ختم ہو گئی۔"

اس ناول کے تین مرکزی کردار ہیں۔ زینب، کرم علی اور شیراز۔ زینب اور شیراز دونوں نا صرف کزن ہیں بلکہ ان کی باقاعدہ منگنی ہو چکی ہے۔ دونوں ایک دوسرے کی محبت میں مبتلا ہیں۔ گھر چونکہ ایک ہی محلے میں ہیں زینب اکثر کچھ اچھا بنا کر شیراز لوگوں کے ہاں لے جاتی ہیں۔ آغاز سے ہی زینب کی شخصیت کا ایک خاکہ ابھر کر سامنے آتا ہے۔ تحجد گزار، ایثار پسند، ٹوٹ کر چاہنے والی مخلص، با کردار لڑکی۔ اس کے والد ایک کلرک ہیں۔ اس پورے ناول میں ایک رشتے کے اثرات نمایاں دکھائی دیے اور وہ تھا باپ بیٹی کا رشتہ۔ ضیاء صاحب اور زینب کی آپس میں ناصرف بہت دوستی ہے دونوں ہر طرح سے ایک دوسرے کا خیال رکھتے ہیں۔ ضیاء صاحب سے ساری زندگی رزق حلال کمایا بھی اور اولاد کو اسی کی تلقین کی۔ مجھے یہ سب بہت اچھا لگا۔ ناصرف زینب بلکہ اس کے بہن بھائیوں کی شخصیات اور ان کی زندگی کی کہانی بھی ساتھ ساتھ آگے بڑھتی گئی۔
دوسرا کردار ہے شیراز۔ شیراز نے یہ منگنی فرمائش کر کے کروائی۔ زینب خاندان کی سب سے حسین لڑکی ہے اور اسے اس بات پہ فخر ہے کہ وہ اس کی ہمسفر، ہمقدم بنے گی۔ شیراز کے والد میٹر ریڈر ہیں لیکن انہوں نے کبھی حلال حرام کی تمیز نہیں رکھی۔ شیراز بے حد ذہین ہے اس میں زندگی میں آگے بڑھنے کی لگن ہے۔ وہ زندگی کی اس ریس میں سب سے آگے نکلنے کی خواہش رکھتا ہے۔
کرم علی کا کردار جب متعارف کرایا گیا تو میں تھوڑی کنفیوز ہوئی کہ یہ کیا؟ میرا ذہن تو محض زینب اور شیراز میں اٹکا ہوا تھا۔ لیکن کرم علی کو بچپن سے متعارف کرایا گیا۔ کم عمری کی محنت، بچپن کی محبت، اور ایک پیارکا طلب گار دل۔ کرم علی ایک بہت پیاری شخصیت کا مالک لگا۔ اس کی کہانی ورق در ورق دلچسپ ترین ہوتی گئی۔
مجھے جس چیز نے بہت فیسینیٹ کیا وہ اس ناول کی پیچیدگی، تہہ در تہہ چلتی کہانیاں تھیں۔ یہ پڑھتے ہوئے مجھے شدت سے احساس ہوا کہ یہ کوئی بہت ہی ذہین انسان لکھ سکتا ہے۔ ان کرداروں کے علاوہ بھی کچھ کردار، ان کے مزاج اور ان کی کہانی متعارف کرائی جاتی ہے اور پھر کچھ یوں کڑی سے کڑی ملتی ہے کہ ایک مکمل تصویر ابھر کر سامنے آتی ہے۔ بہترین کوالٹی کا ناول ہے۔ آپ سے بہت سے سوال کرے گا اور آپ کو بہت کچھ سکھائے گا۔ انسان اور اس کا اللہ سے تعلق یہ بھی اس کا خاص موضوع ہے لیکن زیادہ تفصیل میں جا کر نہیں۔ بہت ہی غیر محسوس انداز میں ہمیں یہ باور کرایا گیا ہے کہ اس تعلق کی اہمیت کیا ہے، سیدھے رستے پہ چلنا یا اسے ترک کر دینے کا فیصلہ کرنا دراصل کسے اور کس حد تک نقصان پہنچاتا ہے؟ اور بھی بہت کچھ۔

ِوہ کیا سمجھتا ہے کہ میری طرف پشت کر کے کھڑا ہو جائے تو میں اسے پہچان نہیں پاؤں گی؟

کئی مناظر ایسے تھے جو میں نے سانس روکے پڑھے۔ کئی نے میری سانس ہی روک دی۔

ِکون کہتا ہے قیامت صرف قیامت والے دن ہی آتی ہے؟

ان سبھی کرداروں سے میں بہت اٹیچ ہوئی۔ کئی ڈائیلاگ اور کئی سین میرے بہت پسندیدہ رہے۔ کچھ مناظر تو اتنے سنسنی خیز تھے یا اتنے شدت بھرے جذبات سے بھر پور تھے کہ پڑھنے والا ڈوب کر رہ جاتا ہے اور بار بار ایک ہی منظر کو پڑھنے کو جی چاہتا ہے۔

لیمونیڈ
ہاہ۔۔۔
آپ کے بارے میں سب کچھ جانتا ہوں بس آپ کو نہیں جانتا۔

[Snovia Saleem · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story tells how rizq-e-halal and rizq-e-haram affects our life. The story builds up many characters the most noteable ones are Zainab Zia, Karam Ali, Sheraz Akbar and Zarri.
Character building is superb, message is conveyed through many ways.
Lots of twists and trials keeps you hung up with story. Love, deception, drama, suspense, intensity and revenge all in this novel.
Only downside is its exaggerated and unnecessarily lengthy.

[Noha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a heart wrenching story..exaggerated as stories should be but great. The only downside to it is that it will squeeze your heart out and you will be compelled to cry multiple times while reading it. At least I did.

[Saira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m heartbroken 💔

[Faqir Hussain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good work by Umera Ahmed. A must read.

[Khalil Ullah]

All i got to say about this novel is that its full of negativity. The only thing i found interesting is glimpse of insight author gives about showbiz and bureaucracy. Other than that there isnt much to be appreciated. I found it against the human instincts and laws of nature. There were only a couple of characters who had a posotive role till end. one is Karam and 2nd zaini's father. about karam;how is it possible that a person who is so good to people around him,his family and friends gets this type of response in the end. I dont know what author was thinking when she ended Zaini's role with a suicide. first author makes her repent for her bad deeds. she leaves everything behind and then she loses hope. Some of readers might say that "hey see its just a novel and it happens like this".But a novel shouldnt spread dispair. This novel is telling us that all acts of kindness,loyalty,respect,repentance are useless and their is no hope at all.
I just hated it for how it was ended.

[Shabnam Saleem · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most touching and beautiful books I have read from an amazing writer.

[Saad Ali Babar · Rating 5 out of 5]

such an impressive writer Umera Ahmed is. Very good book, uncovering social realities...

[Asma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my God!! I PUT MY LIFE ON HOLD TO READ THIS BOOK AND WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT!!! The ending 😭😭

[Abiha Samar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very great lesson demonstrated through this novel.It deals the very sensitive topic of halal and haram rizq and how in our daily life we often forget about these difference, how we justify our wrongs like that of shiraz's family.
Although it's main theme was halal way of income.The novel also dealt with some other minor topics like "apne asl se bhagne wala ruswa hi hota hai" and "insan ki muhabbat khawar hi karti hai". and most importantly importance of patience and how haste makes waste. it also brillantly shows the struggles of life from both men and women perspective through characters of Zaini and Karam and explain how both genders are being exploited. No one is free.
It is story of zaini,a simple and beautiful woman who is madly in love with her fiance,She supports him while he is preparing for css but as soon as he becomes a 17 grade officer,he leaves her for another woman who is daughter of an influenced officer. Zaini is heartbroken and in state of disbelief after her called off engagement.She forgets her fathers lesson and becomes a model,leaving behind her modesty , values etc
Second important lead is karam ali,A man with pure heart who is always exploited by people he love for money.No one truly cares about him and his search for true love.
It is beautiful story penned by umera but one thing i never liked about umerah writing is that she complicates the story with too much unnecessary details and names. It is hard to move with story remembering each character and their relation with each other. Even though man salwa is a lesson able and amazing story but it was hard for me to continue reading sometimes because of those extra details. It is way more lengthy than needed to be.
i am quite not happy with ending as well,it just seemed like forced ending.Ziani has repented but showing that she committed suicide gives lesson of hopelessness and furthermore karam did deserve a good life, it really doesn't make sense. I dont really mind sad ending but they should make sense. My favourite characters was rabia,zainab sister.it looks like she the only one who got values from her daughter and she was firm on them

[Ahsan Iftikhar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mano Salwa By Umera Ahmed

" جو چیز اللّٰہ نہ رے زینی اسے نہیں مانگنا چاہیے ، ورنہ انسان بڑا خوار ہوتا ہے "

" مجھے بہت دکھ ہوتا ہے جب کوئی بھی شخص نیکی سے برائی کی طرف جاتا ہے یہ کہانی بھی کچھ ایسی ہی ہے

🌟 یہ کہانی ہے زینب (زینی ) کی اور کرم علی کی بھی۔ زینی کے والد انکم ٹیکس میں ک��رک ہیں اور دونوں باپ بیٹی تہجد گزار بھی ہیں لیکن زینی تہجد گزار تھی بس زندگی کے ایک حصے تک ۔۔۔

🌟 ہمیں زندگی میں کبھی بھی جلد بازی نہیں کرنی چاہیے یہ بات آپ کو اس ناول میں پتہ چل جائے گی کہ اک غلطی سے کیسے عزت خاک میں مل جاتی ہے ساری عمر کی کمائی عزت۔۔۔

🌟 دولت کا نشہ انسان کو کیسے اندھا کر دیتا ہے شاید انسان کو اس سے نفرت ہو بھی جائے تو اس سے پیچھا نہیں چھڑا سکتا کرم علی کی داستان بھی کچھ ایسی ہی ہے کہ کیسے وہ اک غریب گھرانے سے اٹھ کے کینیڈا میں پہنچتا ہے لیکن انسان " جس کے " پیچھے بھاگتا ہے انسان " اس سے " کیسے بھاگتا ہے یہ آپ کو کرم علی بتائے گا

🌟 کرم علی کی کہانی میں جو پہلو ہیں اس کے گھر والوں کے اس کی منگیتر کے ، اس کی بیوی کے وہ سچ ہی ہیں آپ یقین مانیں یا نہ مانیں حقیقت تلخ ہے لیکن ایسی ہی ہے

🌟 شیراز کا زینی کی زندگی میں آنا شاید زینی کی بدقسمتی تھی یا شاید ایسے ہی لکھا تھا لیکن زینی اگر صبر کر لیتی تو شاید اسے وہ سب مل جاتا جس سے اسے عزت ملتی ۔۔۔

🌟 اللّٰہ ہمیں جہاں رکھے ہمیں وہیں خوش رہنا سیکھنا چاہیے کہ بعد میں ساری عمر کا پچھتاوا نہ ہو ۔۔۔یہ Review بہت مشکل لگ رہا ہے کیونکہ میں کچھ بتانا بھی نہیں چاہ رہا اور بتائے بغیر Review دینا مشکل بھی ہے یہ ناول میرے دل کے بہت قریب ہے میرے خیال سے آپ سب کو یہ ناول ضرور پڑھنا چاہیے

🌟 عمیرہ احمد نے جس طرح سے شوبز اور دولت کو بیان کیا ہے وہ واقعی قابل تعریف ہے زندگی پارسائی سے گناہ کی طرف کیسے جاتی ہے غلطی کس کی ہوتی ہے ہمیں کیا کرنا چاہیے ان کا جواب آپ کو من و سلویٰ میں مل جائے گا
ہمیں من و سلویٰ پر ہی خوش رہنا چاہیے
" ضرورت ، عزت سے بڑھ کر نہیں ہوتی "

بس اتنا ہی
احسن افتخار

امید ہے آپ مجھے جانتے ہونگے

[Adiba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoiler Alert :


Man o salwa (Manna & Quail), the story was absolutely amazing as I can say. It's Umera Ahmed's work and she never lets us down.
Giving 4 star due to some reasons, story was unnecessarily stretched, and in my opinion the ending could be better and justified too, but it contains unnecessary tragic and traumatic ending.
Zaini's and Karam's life journey was like a roller coster, specially Karam's life. They both deserved a better ending.
Karam Ali is one of my fav character, he was not totally pure, there were some grey moments was also there, but still his faith, humbleness, and to be on the right path on each and every moment was amazing.
Zarri's character was also stretched and she was younger but not innocent at all, such a greedy and weird character.
The bond between Zaya and Zaini was speechless. Literally at the end they both and Karam's scene make readers cry.
so yeah its a worth read, you can go through it.

[Amir Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would appreciate the craft of Miss Umera, how beautifully she wrote the story.
You’ll find LOVE, deception, drama, suspense, intensity and REVENGE.
Story revolves around people who struggled in poverty but they all took drastic steps and chose Haram Rizq over Man o salwa. Story that intrigued from first till end.
Zindagi ma apki ENTRY jaise marzi ho likn apki EXIT shandar hone chaiye. TRAUMATIC, TRAGIC AND UNFORGETTABLE
I honestly loved the character of Zia, only one character which was good with Karam but rest all grey. I enjoyed the adventurous journey of Karam Ali and Zaini. I was mesmerized by Zaini’s revenge to Shiraz. Characters were somehow very complex, I really didn’t got why Zaini took step to get into industry, just for revenge was very unrealistic as she was most obedient but writer somehow succeed to justify character’s actions. It really enjoyed reading. 4/5

[Lubaba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Umera Ahmed, a prolific writer was, in my opinion, having some of her best writing days when she penned this masterpiece.

Peer-e-Kamil her previous work is a novel that is loved and adored by almost anyone and everyone who can get their hands on it.

But, with Mann o Salwa, Umera Ahmed gave the readers a chance to develop a love-hate relationship.

I remember starting the novel at 11 p.m. and then I couldn’t sleep the whole night. I just could not put it down. That is the kind of strength of the plot of this book.
read the full review at
https://www.pinatamagazine.com/magazi...

[Saira Ishaq · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is dark, story is complicated. And although the start is quite confusing because new characters are being introduced after every few pages, when you think about it, the writer has put in SO much effort into it because it seamed flawlessly. Considering how fast-paced the rest of the book was, the ending, even though very well-written, seemed a bit boring and slow to me. Nonetheless, a brilliant and meaningful story!

[Nafeesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a good story, you will absolutely love some characters and hate others. Although most of us can't relate to them because no one belong to middle class in this novel. Story is good but a bit slow, sometimes you feel that it's just just to increase the length and I absolutely hated the ending. How and why would zaini's self righteous father would lead her to suicide? Novel shouldn't have ended that way, it just nulls all of zaini's character development after she left showbiz.

[Mudassar Atta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another beautiful novel by Umera Ahmed.
Story revolves around life events of three characters and the choices they made and the consequences they faced.
The book shows harsh realities and dark side of society.
Dialogues are strong, situations and scenes are beautiful (except few that appear too dramatic). Thrill and suspense in story makes you keep reading till end.
Although, in my opinion, ending should be different.
Overall, it's a good read.

[Roha Mumtaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me, this novel had an even more tragic ending than Amarbail. Umera Ahmed did an exceptional job crafting Zainab’s character, hats off to her!

She never fails to meet my expectations with her storytelling. Days have passed, yet I still find myself thinking about the story, replaying it in my mind.

I absolutely loved it! The unexpected ending left a lasting impact, making this another solid 5-star read for me. And I don't know why that was the underrated book of hers on bookstagram :)

[Sami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Umera Ahmad is the emerging and popular writer in Urdu literature / now she is considered as notable Urdu novelistThe writer holds a great repute owing to a vast readership especially in the youth of Pakistan. freebooksmania provides the download link of all her novel in PDF format .
Get Yourself a Copy

[Maryam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited to finally read an Umera Ahmed novel, but I was quite disappointed. The book was unnecessarily long and drawn out. And I felt the end was also unnecessarily tragic. The ending would've left an impact even if Zainy and Karam ended up together, her death was just put in to have a "wow" factor.