The Cursed Jewels

An elegant time-consuming saga entails extraordinary persistence coupled with a ceaseless vigil on the characters not to let them stray. There are a few reasons when the author loses his/ her grip on his characters. One is his own stream of extrasensory perceptions that at times lure him to carry on with the unpredictable wind that undervalues the possible plot. And the second is a gracious favour that a writer does to his specific character(s) leaving the rest rambling in the endless valleys of fancy like a fallen leaf readily available for a jackboot to be crushed beyond repairs. Shifa Ajaz in her maiden novella The Cursed Jewels has put considerable willpower in adequately treating her characters and strength in managing the plot. This is an inspiring tale that every child would love to read for the apparent reason that it is jam-packed with childlike innocence, struggle and humorous narrative. Shifa is a gifted student of the 8th grade only but her writing skills and way of constructively engaging a reader is pleasing. Once can take it for granted that such a gifted child will keep us wondering `what next.' Shifa is a promising young writer of our Valley, and we earnestly hope her future endeavours are undoubtedly going to delight one and all. --- Mushtaque B. Barq