The Broken Cup

by Muhammad Kamran Rifat

Mirsab falls in love with a girl he sees once in a café. From then on, he is obsessed with finding her. As luck would have it, he meets Nariman at the same café months later, only for destiny to snatch her away from him. He does not give up and desperately looks for her. Fate intervenes, and they come across each other at his best friend’s wedding. Against tradition and his mother’s pursuit to arrange a marriage for him, Mirsab marries Nariman.

Mirsab found the love of his life, and after five years of marriage, things aren't going as great as he'd hoped, and wakes up in a situation made for his worst nightmares.

Can he be forgiven for his short-comings? Will he be able to prove his love once and for all?

The Broken Cup is a celebration of love, Lahore, traditions and festivities."If you stand in one spot long enough, the whole world will pass by."

216 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2021

Reviews

[Noorie Hassan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Broken Cup by Kamran Rifat is a love story of two Lahoris; Mirsab and Nariman. Mirsab is a businessman and Nariman is a banker; they happen to see each other in a cafe called the Notebook which is their go-to place, especially on rainy/pleasant days. Fate unites Mirsab and Nariman together and they get married; despite the hardships. It’s a fast-paced story and doesn’t lose its essence throughout. The author has developed a spellbinding storyline and plot twist. The story is moving and the curiosity kept me turning pages to find out what will happen next. The author beautifully depicts the trends, traditions and cultures of Lahore; penning down the intricate details of the historical city in such a captivating way that it’s so easy to imagine oneself in the city, experiencing everything through one’s own eyes and living in the tale. The author addresses a very serious issue in this book that the typical societal norms and standards do not allow such issues to get highlighted or addressed. Mr. Kamran has curated the example of patriarchy and feminism in a very thoughtful and intelligent way. The ending is heartbreaking and unexpected (keeping the societal norms in mind, it’s so unusual to walk out of a toxic/hurtful relationship) Nariman is a very strong and dominant protagonist of the story and it’s so fascinating to read about such a character, that too, developed by a Pakistani author. The author did a great job at developing the characters. This book is amazing and deserves more recognition. There are just a few minor grammatical errors and missing words. Overall, a very thrilling and enjoyable read. Highly recommended!

[Namra]

"The broken cup" is a story of two people living their monotonous lives in the beautiful city of Lahore until one day they have an awkward encounter in a cafe named Notebook, and from then on, their lives intertwine, they fall for each other & get married. Unfortunately, their "happily-ever-after" doesn't last "ever after".

☕In this book we witness two beings having pretty individualistic personalities, become a family. We also witness them fall apart. The broken cup makes you realize the delicacy of relationships & the immense value of trust.

☕My favorite part was of course the wedding festivities! I really wanna attend a village themed Mehendi! (Someone invite me please 🥺). Aannd I wanna go to Lahore too! We had a full fledge Lahore trip planned that covid ruined 😔. Anyway, the wedding part was the best & it was right in the middle of the book, kinda connecting the beginning with the ending.

☕The ending was pretty unexpected! I actually thought it was a nightmare but it wasn't & I was like 'WOAH' 😳.

☕The writing style of the whole book is simple & engaging.

☕I really liked the name of the cafe (Notebook). I loved all the Desi, cultural vibes in the book.

☕I really like the bookmark & the book spine is my favorite color😍.

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🍁 Favourite Lines:

▪️'If you stand in one spot long enough, the whole world will pass.' Whoever said that was an idiot.

▪️You cannot turn back the hands of time, no matter how hard you cry.

[bookishbea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has a love story , and with love, there is passion, pain, patience, impatience, wait, heart ache and betrayal. Mirsab and Nariman, two people, two worlds, two universes collide and there are a lot of sparks.

💫 This book yet again proves that nothing is permanent in this world. There is no forever. People change and so their emotions, attachments and feelings change too. But what comes most shockingly is that, YOU change. Today you are not the person, you were yesterday.

💫Here are some of my favourite quotes from the book.

✨Sometimes you don't realise how your actions affect others.

✨There were always two sides to the coin, two possibilities of the situation, either a yes or a no. There cannot be a third answer, like maybe.

✨Love would remain love, with all the pain and wait.

✨Those who thought they had blocked love in their lives, are living in a fool's paradise.

✨Expect the unexpected. There's beauty and excitement in it.

✨One must make the other person realise his mistake, give them time and space for correction.

✨You cannot turn back the hands of time, no matter how hard you try.

[Maryam (fictional booktique) · Rating 5 out of 5]

~Trust is like a glass. Once you break it, it can never be same again. No matter how hard you cry and try. It takes ages to build or gain trust of someone but it takes seconds to vanish. Once it's gone, it's gone for forever.
~ You cannot turn back the hands of time, no matter how hard you cry.
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𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘉𝘙𝘖𝘒𝘌𝘕 𝘊𝘜𝘗, 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.

𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 :-
🍂The story starts over a cup of coffee on the rainy day of summer in the city of love, tradition and festives. Where Misrab saw a dimple girl Nairman in the "NOTEBOOK CAFÉ" . Well we can say, love at first sight.After that , misrab was curious to find her . Will Misrab and Nairman be able to meet each other or not. To know what happened, read the book🤧🥺.

The broken cup was an absolute, delight, and exceeding all the expectations. This book blew me away. It had everything that i love in a book . The characters were all beautiful and well developed. The story is evenly paced, giving the well turns & twists. It is very well written and embodies everything. I'm utterly surprised by the writing style. That's so damn good... The whole vibe of lahore, tradition, desi weddings are beyond beautiful , i love how writer beautify lahore in such soothing and beautiful way🥺 The ending was quite shocking that i didn't even expected 🤧🤧
After reading this book I really want to visit Lahore especially the NOTEBOOK CAFÉ. If it exists 👉🏻👈🏻
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Pulling out all the stars for this one 5/5⭐️
Highly recommended🤧
Thank you @kamran for the review copy. Looking forward to read more of your work🙌🏻
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Xoxo

[Tooba haque (free 🍉) · Rating 3 out of 5]

~love is not all about smiles, redness of blush, and the feeling of butterflies in the stomach.
the broken cup by kamran Rifat
*spoiler alert⚠️ broken cup metaphor for broken trust * I hope it doesn't tell a lot 👉🏻👈🏻
the coffee-table book starts on a romantic rainy day as Mirsab met Nariman in a coffee shop ( it was so dreamy OMG☕🌧️) and continues with Mirsab's heart skipping beat for dimple girl faithfully and keep falling as if practically performing newton's words 🤭 frankly speaking their path was intertwine like perfect braid ಠಿ_ಠಿ
^spoiling little
it can be said a story of many married couples and their uninvited exes who shamelessly intervene in someone's happy relationship or Its just how love reasoning theory works, as mirsab complaints, "Got weak and carried away" khair

I loved how beautifully and justly the writer talks about the wedding traditions in the subcontinent particularly Lahore, Pakistan. flowing in the story you feel like another invisible character who is living it up with them.
On a whole it is enchanting. Sharing different glimpses of life playing different roles at a similar time.
It's a story of friendship, love, faith in fate, and miracles.

[Khulood [IG:Khulogophile_reads] · Rating 4 out of 5]

"PR Books Review"
☕"The Broken Cup" is written by @kamranrifat. A beautiful story of two people named "Mirsab",a business man and "Nariman",a banker in the city "Lahore". As the title shows the story of these two people starts with a "cup of coffee" in the Cafe "Notebook" with a beautiful rainy day 🤎, The journey begins when Mirsab sees Nariman for the first time in the cafe and fells in love with her,with some awkward moment. how they met through their best friends "Hassam and Mariyah".
☕The author has shown the traditions and lifestyle and norms of Lahore, the idea of feminism as well as patriarchal society has been addressed as well, which has been seen in the ending, Pakistani wedding events are also beautifully discussed in the story.The book is all about fate tales, how fate is unpredictable in terms of everything. All of the characters are powerful in the story and author has used each character so well which is great thing.
☕Societal issue like toxic relationship is discussed which was a major and grab twist and turn in the story which was unexpectable while reading (shooked), fast paced story and very detailed one.
☕Nariman's character is dominant and I'd say the protagonist of the book that faced such events in her life and still how maturely and intelligently she handled and reacted to them.
☕The amazing thing of the book lies in it's ending 😉 how the story of "a cup" turns into "the broken cup", How Mirsab and Nariman met? when did happen to them? How the story took an awesome turn? To know all of these intriguing curiosities get your copy to know and enjoy it 🤎
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☕Thank you @kamranrifat for sending your book for an honest review.
☕Get your copy through @kamran or @auraqpublications

[Neha Talpur · Rating 4 out of 5]

"you cannot trun back the Hands of time, no matter how hard you cry."

The Broken Cup, a beautiful journey of Love.

Mirsab And Nariman, two strangers meet each other accidently in a Cafe "The Note book" at Lahore and thats where the journey of love started and countinued with little joyfull surprises till the unexpected twist.This story is full of surprises and to unfold these surprises, you have to read this book by yourself.

I loved the way how author had described the beauty of Lahore, its festivals, traditions, and lovely rainy weather. After reading this book I really want to visit Lahore especially the Note Book cafe. The Broken Cup taught that sometimes unexpected things can happen in unexpected ways you have to be patient and hopeful, trust and promises are like a cup of coffee, once they are broken they will never be the same again.

"Love - a flowing stream of water gliding in one single direction. If you tie up a knot to imprison and stagnate love, it'll stay in that self-created confinement until either the spell breaks or spillway is forced open, or the natural process of things causes it to flow again."

[Hafsa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautiful love story that started over a cup of coffee. Then events takes a sweet turn and a random meeting turns into a fate.
The story had the element of curiosity in it and I was thrilled to know what will happen next and will Nariman and Mirsab will be able to meet each other or not. I won't leave spoilers for you so go and read the book to find out. The whole vibe of lahore and its traditions and cultures and festivities were described beautifully. The ending was quite shocking and I didn't see it coming.
Overall it was a fast paced story and didn't leave its essence throughout the book.

[Imaan M.Hussain · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the start it was like a sweet rom/com which was good but the climax was best. It was not like something unexpected but it was so sudden that I didn't see THAT COMING.
ENDING WAS HEARTBROKEN BUT YEAH SOMETHING WHICH IS JUSTICEFUL.... AND REALLY APPRECIATE THE MATTER THAT DISCUSSED.... PEOPLE REALLY NEED SOME AWARENESS ABOUT IT!!!!!

[Humaira Ali Khan Lodhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

❞یہ جو لاہور سے محبت ہے یہ کسی اور سے محبت ہے
وہ کوئی اور تم نہیں شاید، ہاں کسی اور سے محبت ہے۔❝
❝This love for Lahore is love for someone else,
He's not you may be, yes I love someone else.❞

|| 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 ||

❁ It's the story of Mirsab and Nariman. Mirsab went to the cafe "Notebook" where he saw Nariman and fell for her (yeah, love at first sight). He started searching for her as a Chakor bird craves for the moon. Destiny showed mercy on him and they met at their best friends' wedding. They became friends then lovers and ended up as a married couple.

❁ They had been married for five years and living peacefully. Suddenly Nariman observed Mirsab's behavior became odd and she was sensed that something was off. She started snooping and found something that result in some major cracks in their foundation. 

|| 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 ​||

❍︎ The book talks about the antiquity of Lahore city. The author amazingly blends the old tradition with contemporary time. He captures the beauty of Lahore and Lahori traditional weddings perfectly. I especially love the Village theme Mehndi scenes.

❍︎ It's too rare to read a book that has a strong independent female character. If you think girls are just can be princesses, gossipy, or naive then this book gonna smashes all these stereotypes. Nariman's character is incredibly powerful and inspirational.

❍︎ This book has a strong message that love is bigger than anything but never beg or genuflect yourself for it. Because begging for it gives the power to others to use and walk all over you.