A Universe in Multiverse!(Nazir Jahangir) Khushamad, a police Inspector, laid his head back and closed his eyes. High above him a fairy, clad in snow white thin linen, with two curved shiny wings covering her arms, sliced the sky. The fairy circled overhead, lazily flapping her wings. Then he pictured faint shades of night darkening the sky and watched the whole universe being enveloped in darkness. Suddenly the glittering fairy vanished. He opened his eyes, but before he could make out any proper meaning about these images, his phone began ringing. He picked up the receiver. Somebody was briefing him about the presence of Maga Tonter, a dreaded dacoit, hiding somewhere. He instantly rose from his chair, reached to his peaked cap hung on the wall peg and went over to his vehicle. He took a heavy contingent of police personnel along with him in a tow of vehicles and rushed to the spot.

The police party, headed by Inspector Khushamad, laid siege around the house, where Maga Tonter was believed hiding. Khushamad made the announcement through a speaker asking Maga Tonter to surrender. When Maga Tonter smelled that he was caught unawares and all exit routes were sealed and he had no chance to escape; he preferred to fight than surrender, so fired gun shots at the police party, mainly targeting Khushamad. But his shots missed and Khushamd escaped unhurt.

In the ensuing gun battle, Khushamd sneaked into the house where Maga Tonter hid. On seeing him there well on his side, Maga Tonter attacked Khushamad. But in this scuffle Khushamad gripped his wrists and overpowered him. He handcuffed Maga Tonter and took him away. In the brawl, both got minor injuries.

There was jubilation in the police department, especially the police station where Maga Tonter was lodged, as they celebrated the success of the operation greatly. Khushamad was praised and acclaimed for his bravery and plan. Maga Tonter was a dreaded dacoit and criminal, wanted for heinous crimes carrying twenty thousand dollars reward on his head. He had succeeded in evading his arrest for the past ten years and police had always failed to reach him.

The operation was not an easy task and the pretty hectic day made Khushamad weary and tired. He wanted to relax and rest for a while. So he went for a stroll. His steps involuntarily took him to that spot where he had previously, on the way to joining his present posting, encountered a beautiful girl.

After covering a long distance, he at last reached the countryside, where a dense forest started. It was the same spot where he had encountered that fascinating beauty. That lady would frequently flash through his mind and catch him in thoughts. He didn’t know who that girl was, but he found it difficult to take his mind from thoughts of her. He would frequently visit that place, hoping she might be sighted and he could get a glimpse of her. He had at times succeeded in his efforts, but never got a chance to talk to her, although on a few occasions he tried.

It was a beautiful place. Snow draped mountains, verdant meadows, gigantic pines; it all looked like paradise on earth. It was a marvelous scenic landscape, which could send anyone into ecstasies. There was a stretch with multiple terraces and ridges about three miles long and nearly a mile wide accommodating the small hamlet, dotted with gujar huts. A great river flowed along the valley and added to its scenic beauty. There was an abundance of maize and potato crop in the surrounding areas. The fruit trees were loaded with apples, pears and other hill fruits.

The distance turned out to be a real tough march for Khushamad. He rested himself on a big stone and became lost in the scenic beauty of the place. He used to indulge in fantasies about marrying that girl, so in that moment too he got absorbed in his thoughts and building up hopes. His thoughts were broken when he was startled by the soft steps of a beautiful girl approaching towards a ridge which lead to a mountainous path. She seemed visibly sunk in gloom. Her eyes moistened and she looked weakened. Her name was Sana. She didn’t pay any attention towards Khushamad and stepped forward. Khushamad coughed to attract her attention. But it didn’t yield the desired result. He coughed again: this time louder. Sana stopped and lifted her head, turned to Khushamad and saw him frown. Khushamad stood up and advanced towards Sana and said:

“I love you!"

"Who’re you?” Sana grunted. Khushamad tried to cheer her up and bended a little in a welcome gesture. “What do you want from me?” she added.

“I was hoping, you might welcome me!”

“How am I supposed to welcome you?” Sana responded in an insipid style. She was in no mood to continue any dialogue process.

“I want your help!”

“Help yourself. I’m in a hurry”. She turned to the other side as she trod ahead, but Khushamad stood in front of her and barred her way.

He said to her, “You have to listen to me today! I’ve waited for a long time!”

This act of Khushamad angered Sana and she thundered, “Behave like a gentleman, Inspector Khushamad! I’ve been noticing your frequent visits to this spot and your pursuing me. I’m not the kind of girl you can trap. And I’m sure you understand what I mean! So move out of my way."

On hearing his name from the mouth of Sana, Khushamad was stunned and his senses numbed. This amazement made him dumb struck. In the meantime, Sana made her way and went on the other side of the hill, out of sight.

That night Khushamad could not sleep well. Images of Sana flashed over and over again through his memory and his mind held on to the preceding encounter, overlapping all his other thoughts.

The next day, Khushamad took leave from his office and drove straight to that place where he usually expected Sana. He remained there from dawn to dusk waiting for a glimpse of her.

All day waiting made him weary and tired and he eased himself up out of the hollow stone, which was naturally shaped like a chair due to its cavity, and laid on the bank of the river. His joints creaking, he started slowly, musingly up the hill. The pristine loveliness and scenic beauty of the valley did not catch his attention that day. He walked through the green meadow laced by a gurgling stream till he reached a stunningly beautiful calm lake reflecting like a mirror at the foot of the snow capped mountain, where he saw flowers of many hues and scents. He was desperately waiting for Sana.

He moved ahead. The path went down and down, becoming narrower and darker. He wanted to hike that rough road. So he marched through the blanket of trees covering the path, filtering the light and dark, stretching itself. Khushamad stopped. He thought that if he moved further on the same track, he might lose the way and then there might be no going back. He turned round and went back.

When he was just about to ride his vehicle, to his surprise, he spotted Sana in shadow, moving towards the Gujar dhokas (huts) spread over the sloping hills. He cried impatiently, “Hi! Just a moment please!” Sana halted. She turned towards Khushamad and smiled. But that smile was bereft of any warmth. He went fleet-footedly towards her direction and when he reached nearer to her, their shadows lengthened in the evening sun.

“I love you!” he repeated his past words.

Sana was silent.

“I love you, and love you heartily” Khushamad said again, he seemed emotionally charged.

Sana sobbed.

Unknown to Khushamad, Sana had been frequenting the same place in hopes to see him yet again. She knew he was pursuing her and she welcomed it. She had learned from a local who he was, so she knew that he was well respected and had a good position of honor with the means to care for her properly. Khushamad was also very handsome, and his timid and hopeful pursuit of her over many months had endeared him to her heart. She had been hoping and waiting in silence for him to finally approach her, since it was not proper for a young woman to show her interest in a man. All this time she had waited, and now her beloved had chosen the most inopportune moment possible to express his love for her!

“I want your response!” Khushamad asked.

“I too love you”, Sana said in a voice choked with emotion.

Khushamad hugged her uncontrollably. “That’s what I craved for! That’s what I longed for!” He cried. Khushamad was excited.

She wriggled herself out from the arms of Khushamad which had held her tightly.

“Our union is impossible. I can never be by your side. So please leave me alone and stop pursuing me”, her eyes moistened.

“But why?” Khushamad howled.

“Yes, I’m telling you truthfully, our coming together is a pleasant dream that can never come true”.

“May I know the reason?”

“I cannot”.

“But you have to!”

“It’ll shatter you!”

“I don’t care, but you have to tell me your constraints which make you to push me away”.

“Better not to force me”.

“I can’t live without you, so you have to”.

“You don’t even know my name! You don’t know my background! You don’t know who I am!”

“I’ll never ask you about your background and personal life. I want you only! I can’t sustain without you!”

“I tell you that it’s better for you to live with your idea than thinking of marriage. There are some realities which can turn your love into utter hate, if I took the lid off”.

“You can test it right now!”

“Since you’re adamant that I should tell you all that I didn’t wish to, then let me tell you that my name is Sana. I’m the daughter of Maga Tonter, who is a dreaded dacoit in the eyes of your law!” she said in a hoarse voice.

Khushamad felt as if dozens of mighty bells rang simultaneously with their full pitch. For a few moments he lost the power of speech. Then the fit passed and he looked for Sana. She had vanished. Khushamad stared around him in panic – where had she gone? “Sana! Sana!” he cried desperately, but in vain.


On that night too, Khushamad could not sleep. Sana came to his mind again and again. It was not a casual love or flirtation, Khushamad had lodged Sana in the premises of his heart. Sana was not an ordinary beauty. Khushamad had come across so many fascinating beauties, but Sana was an exception. Khushamad had never seen such a charming lady, who was so extra-ordinary among the proverbial maidens of that valley. Sana’s face was luminous, wavy and enchanting. She was tall and well figured. Her beauty was awesome. She would walk gracefully. She looked like a natural rose blush.

Although every woman likes to be attractive, there are also dangers in putting too much stock in good looks; and this inner warning had alerted Sana to cover herself in veil, so she would move in veil. 'The world of appearances is really shallow!' She would often think.


When dawn broke, Khushamad drove straight to the village where he believed the home of Sana would be. After great difficulty and making a thorough search, he at last succeeded in locating the hut of Sana.

Khushamad knocked on the door. When Sana saw Khushamad, it gave her quite a shock, his appearing like that. At first, she was reluctant to leave the house. However, with her second thought she decided for the meeting.

“Asalam-u-Alikum” Khushamad greeted her purely in an Islamic way.

“Wa-Alikum-u-Salam” Sana responded in the same manner.

The conversation stuttered to a sudden halt for a moment before hesitantly starting again.

“I have come to a decision” Khushamad broke the silence.

Sana didn’t look up. This shyness is inherent in Eastern women and Sana too carried it. The deep blackness of her eyes gave no hint as to her thoughts.

“There could never be a more beautiful you!” Khushamad resorted to poetry.
He continued:
“People, who watch you closely, find,
children, young and old, animals and birds,
being drawn into your love.”

Sana gazed deep down into his grieved eyes.

He continued his poem:
“I want to know if you can sit with pain
Mine or your own,
Without moving to hide it or fade it.
I want to know if you can be with joy
Mine or your own.
If you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill
You to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us.
I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty;
And if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure
Yours and mine.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair
Weary and bruised to the bone.
I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me
And not shriek back.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away”.


Khushamad turned sentimental and wildly hugged Sana. Sana made no effort to relieve herself from the arms of Khushamad which held her tight.

“I love you! I propose marriage to you!” Khushamad poured out his heart.

“Knowing that…!”

Khushamad interrupted before Sana could complete the sentence, “Yes, knowing that you are the daughter of Maga Tonter”.

“But you are pushing your life into troubles and putting your career in jeopardy!”

“The criminal is your father, not you”.

“People do not accept that! They will make your life hell, if they come to know your wife is the daughter of a dreaded criminal”.

“I don’t care for such people whose vision is so narrow”.

“You are at the moment overwhelmed by emotions, and after marriage when you will face the realities, you will push me away!’

“I am a true Muslim. This is sufficient guarantee to my word. I will never betray you, I’ll never desert you, I pledge my word. I will lay my life, whenever necessary, for your safeguard”.

“So, you know ……….” She paused and then continued, “You have to ask my father for my hand in marriage. Father’s consent is necessary for a nomadic maiden”.

Khushamad’s mind went into a whirl. He paused, lifted his head, gazed in the skies and then turned to Sana, “Okay”, he took a deep sigh.

“This will be my first and last request to you” she said delightfully.

“But you will have to wait for some time. Maga Tonter is under police remand. After he is shifted to jail, I will come here and pick you up for meeting your father in the jail”.


Khushamad returned to the town.


Then both of them did not meet till the police remand ended and Maga Tonter was taken to central jail. It was a gap of one month almost.

One fine morning Khushamad drove to Sana’s hut and took her to central jail for meeting her father.

Maga Tonter became very happy seeing his daughter there, but soon turned gloomy.

“What happened baba, you seem not happy finding me here?”

“That’s not the case my child!”

“So, what made you gloomy?”

“My child! It was not good of you coming to me”.

“But why baba? I love you. You are my father”.

“That’s why I feel sad! It was better not to expose yourself. My kinship will only bring miseries and troubles for you. I always wished your anonymity, my child, because of these issues!”

“Baba, I came here for a purpose, and am sure that it will ease you out of your tension!”

“You tell me frankly, my child”.

“Baba, a noble gentleman has asked me for my hand in marriage. I told him it cannot mature without the blessings of my father”.

“If it is really true, then you’ll see me moving smilingly towards the gallows. But my child, there’re reasons which make me apprehensive. Does that man know your entire basis?”

“Yeah!”

“Then my child, I see myself the most fortunate man on the planet, and would wish to embrace that brave soul who aspires for this bond!”

Sana was overjoyed to hear approval from her father, so she choked and said “Baba that young man is with me!”

“Allah is great!” He was excited. “I want to see him, my child!” He seemed visibly curious.

“He’s here baba, Inspector Khushamad!” Sana replied hurriedly.

As soon as Maga Tonter heard the name of Khushamad, he suddenly flew into a terrible rage. He instantly hit Sana and said, “You hurt me a lot!” After taking a breath, he added, “I was not expecting this decision from you”, pointing towards Khushamad he said hatefully, “I hate this man”. “Promise that you will never meet him again!” He stretched his hand towards Sana, wishing from her to hold it as a gesture of pledge.

On the other hand, Khushamad too drew out his hand and asked Sana, “You have to decide your fortunes here and now! Either hold the hand of crime or clasp a hand of security. Both options are open to you. Light and darkness! It lies now on you which way you want to move!”

Sana’s mind went into a whirl. Where to move, she felt terribly confused. Her mind and sensations were at war within her. Her mind was telling her to go towards Khushamad, but her feelings were insisting to move towards Maga Tonter! Her thought process continued for a while, and then she decided what way to go, what to opt! A mysterious shine emerged in her eyes as if she was divinely inspired. She looked very lovingly and tenderly towards Khushamad, but moved right to her father, held his hand tightly, inclined her head and put her cheeks on the outer surface of his hand, and wept bitterly. Khushamad gazed at her with wonder.


Many days ago, autumn had cast its shadows and summer said goodbyes and vanished. Every season has its own magnificence. Every term is lovely. It is the dance of nature, so every step moves on the rhythm of the orchestration. It all is tuned divinely, so every flavor manifests beauty. Seasonal rhythms make colors fade in and fade out. One time we observe blooming and glowing and next time withering and gloom. This is life. Darkness offers meaning to light and light accords sense to darkness. Everything is known by its contrariety. While to see oneself in the mirror, the person needs to place oneself opposite to it. Spring passes over to summer, autumn passes over to winter; so the cycle goes on. This is the phenomenon of the universe; or what we call multiverse. Life is the pivot and dance its manifestation.


Khushamad skipped over the personal file of Maga Tonter in his office. He then unintentionally looked towards the window sighting the lawns of the police station. Trees, which had changed their color, caught his view. He rose on his feet and moved to the window, lost in the autumnal view. The sky was grayish blue, the wind danced in the trees, releasing leaves from them, the leaves were changed to red and gold color.

All of a sudden, the bell of his landline telephone rang. He picked up the receiver nonchalantly, but abruptly he became alert and worried. “What!?” he cried out. “Maga Tonter escaped... But how? ……Oh, God! ………. While taking him to court for proceedings!? Cordon off the whole area immediately! I’m coming”, he gave the directions, then hurriedly picked up his peak cap from the wall peg and raced down the stairs.

Darkness enveloped the whole area. Police laid siege, all the exit routes of the locale were sealed and searches carried out. It was mostly a forest region, so bushes were all around. Vigilant police personnel watchfully hunted for Maga Tonter. Khushamad personally monitored the operation. Suddenly, he became alert. He observed some furtive movements near a bush. He was sure of that being Maga Tonter there. He brandished his pistol and shouted, “Hands up Maga Tonter!” Maga Tonter attempted to flee, so Khushamad shouted and cautioned Maga Tonter, “Don’t try to run away. We’re smarter than you!” Maga Tonter ignored this warning and carried on running. So, Khushamad fired upon him. The bullet hit Maga Tonter’s skull and he felt down.

As a result of that bullet shot, Maga Tonter lost his memory and was declared with ‘long term memory loss’ by the specialists. Doctors tried their best to bring back his memory, but could not.

So, finally Maga Tonter was sent to central jail. Legal proceedings started. But the defensive council raised the issue of whether a person who was not conscious of his past doings deserved the punishment or not; and would imposition of penalty upon such an accused meet the ends of justice?

The public prosecutor was of the view that Maga Tonter should be awarded a death sentence, and wished that had there been any more rigorous punishment than the death penalty, he would recommend that for Maga Tonter, as a deterrence to other dreaded criminals. While justifying his suggestion for capital punishment to the accused, he requested the Lordship that all the evidences had been placed before the court of law, and statements of witnesses recorded, which made it amply clear that Tonter was a dangerous criminal who committed heinous crimes. He said, it would meet the ends of justice if Tonter was awarded the death penalty. He added, Tonter killed innocent people, raped women, looted property, and caused insecurity among the people.

On the other hand, defense council argued that the spirit and aim behind punishing a criminal was actually an admonition to his conscience, while the elemental body becomes only a source to that punishment. Since conscience is not tangible, so elemental body of a criminal is made the basis to torture the consciousness; it is the very consciousness that had made the evil designs. He was of the opinion that the court of law makes a criminal conscious of the fact that his criminal activity is weighed in the scales of justice and a fair judgment is rendered. That’s what a blindfolded woman holding a pair of scales symbolizes! He added that since Tonter had lost his past memory and he was no more conscious of his past doings, so punishment to him was tantamount to injustice!

The public prosecutor objected and called the observations of defense council ridiculous. However, the judge overruled his objection and defense council continued his arguments. He said that the accused, which was also present in the court room, had entirely changed after he lost his memory and his behavior had been excellent. Police records, which had been presented to the honorable court as well, revealed that it was on his persuasion that many professional criminals renounced their criminal life and became thoroughly gentlemen. Police records envisaged that while there was a riot and trouble in jail premises and captives began to flee, it was Tonter who prevented their escape. Now, if a man with such a good behavior and marvelous character was punished, it would mean the purpose of justice is not served. Because, that punishment was to be borne by the conscience, and the new consciousness is humble, sweet and humane. The defense council strongly advocated the release of Tonter.

On replying to the apprehensions of the public prosecutor that in case of release there seemed no guarantee that Toner’s old consciousness and criminal instinct might not return, and the honorable court should not take such a risk which could pave way for possible troubles, the defense council maintained that there was no law or provision in any constitution of any country which allows punishment of a man in anticipation of his future activity.

After a few days, the judge gave his verdict. In his judgment, the judge subscribed to the views of defense council that the purpose of punishment to a wrong is to make the doer conscious about the fact that in a lawful and civilized society wrongs are not tolerated but punished. Since criminal Tonter has died with the death of his past memory, and a law abiding gentleman has emerged from a fresh mind and memory, so if today’s Tonter is punished for dead Tonter’s deeds, it would not meet the ends of justice. Hence, the court has arrived at the conclusion that Maga Tonter should be released henceforth on parole.

When Maga Tonter was taken to his home by his daughter Sana, the dialogues of the public prosecutor remained constantly lurking and echoing in his mind. These phrases emerged again and again in his mind: “My lord! Maga Tonter is a dreaded criminal. He killed innocent people, raped women, looted property, and caused insecurity among the people. Tonter is a dangerous criminal who committed heinous crimes and it would meet the ends of justice if he were awarded the death penalty”.

When arriving at their home, Sana exited from the vehicle, but she found her father motionless. Maga Tonter had collapsed and was no more.

Sana screamed!

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