(Translated from Urdu by Alison Shaw and Mohammad Talib. This short story is a part of the web-exclusive series that complements our latest print quarterly 'Diaspora: Southasia Abroad'. See more fiction published by Himal Southasian.)
Chaudhuri Sahib loosened his tie for the fourth time and looked around at the guests who had started to come in. He checked his outfit: this was the first time in his life that he was wearing such expensive clothes and he was feeling a stranger to himself, but he held his head upright, proudly. He jerked his coat straight, brushed the imaginary dust from its sleeves and began thinking that, even if he were to give five pounds less to his wife for the weekly expenses, it would take twenty weeks to cover the cost of the suit alone, but he had also spent a lot of money on the shoes, shirt and tie. Oh God, so much money has been spent. Then he thought this is my investment: in this business, you may not get wealth or money, but you will have honour and respect; the family name will be illustrious. A light smile appeared on his lips and he went forward quickly to welcome Miss Simpson, who at that moment had come in the door. This Eid Milan party was going well, so he was for a moment surprised that the number of Pakistani guests was small, but then he remembered his own words, "What's the point of giving an Eid Milan party for Muslims? They know about Eid and they celebrate it themselves. On such occasions we should be inviting people who don't know anything about our religion. By organising such events, we can highlight the good aspects of our religion."
A slight bend appeared in Chaudhuri Sahib's tight neck. He remembered the moment when he had spoken these words to the members of his committee and they were very impressed. They unanimously agreed to entrust Chaudhuri Sahib with preparing the guest list. Chaudhuri Sahib chose the names with a great deal of thought and business acumen. Among the guests were local government officers, the local MP, social workers, community workers, the community relations officer and the editor and representatives of the local newspaper. By chance they turned out to be mostly women. Chaudhuri Sahib had met each one of them personally and given a verbal invitation as well as handed out written invitations. This was the first time that the local Muslim association had organised such an event, and most people thought that it would be good to meet with the local Muslim community and get a better understanding of its problems. Among the guests present, only the newspaper editor and the MP had send their apologies. All the rest had turned up.