At A Tailoring Shop At Night Poem by Prem Nizar Hameed

As I visited to a tailoring shop at night,
a ladies tailor was busy with her works;

I requested her for my urgent stitching works,
soon the tailor approached me
with her measuring tape and asked:
"Churidhar and Pyjama"

I stepped back from her tape and said:
"No"

"Top and Pants, or Midi"

"No. nothing that kind of…"

She wondered and stood standstill for a while
And resumed her talking:
"I have so much workload for Onam that
Sometimes I mistakenly stitch my tension
Instead of dress material"

"Oh such a tensed workload you have! "

" Yes, so please tell me the type of dress
You would like to sew now"

"Dreams and Memories,
I want to stitch my tattered
Dreams and memories"

"W H A T….? "
This time she stepped back and held by
the sewing machine for not falling down

"Yes mam, my dreams and memories
With some embroidery works on my broken love"

Then only she started observing my body stained
Here and there with cement and concrete mixer!
After a few second of pin drop silence,
She asked me in low voice:
"Are you working at any building construction site? "

"No. How did you assume that? "

"Observing the cement marks on your body"

"No. I just came out from a stone wall"

She stared at me and whispered:
"Stone wall? Who… are… you…? "

"I am Anarkali"

"Anar… ka…li….? The same one….? "

"Yes, the same one who was executed
By live entombment, sealed within the stone walls,
For having loved, for having been loved"

The tailor soon fainted on the BGM of
Pyaar kiya toh darna kya, pyaar kiya…
(Why fear if you are in love, you are in love)