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The story "A Pact with the Sun" is written by Zakir Husain. It was originally written in Urdu as "Saeeda Ki Amma", which, in turn, was a retelling of a folktale. This story, along with several other retellings of folktales by Zakir Husain, are published under the famous banner called "The Magic Key Series". The series contains stories for children with illustrations provided by Pooja Pottenkulam. All of Zakir's stories for kids are translated into English by his grand-daughter Samina Mishra. Likewise, "Saeeda Ki Amma" was translated and published in English by Ms Mishra in \(2004\), under the title "Sunshine for Amma".
The story "A Pact with the Sun" revolves around Saeeda and her sick mother. It is a heart-warming story which explores the innocence, imagination, and the hopes of a young girl who moves the heaven to cure her mother.
Characters:
Sl. No. | Characters | Roles/Remarks |
Human Characters | ||
1. | Saeeda | Protagonist; a young girl who is determined (in her peculiar way) to cure her mother. |
2. | Saeeda's mother | Major character on whom the story revolves around. |
3. | Doctor (the specialist) | Has an important role because he helps in taking the story forward; the doctor is instrumental in curing Saeeda's mother. |
4. | Others | Includes the less important characters such as the physicians, relatives, and neighbours. |
| Non-human Characters | ||
5. | The little ray | Makes a promise with Saeeda and fights its way to keep it. |
6. | The sun | Father of the sunrays. |
7. | Siblings of the little ray | Minor characters; helps the little ray in keeping her promise with Saeeda. |
8. | Clouds | They are projected as a bunch of goons whom the sunrays had to beat to reach earth; plays an instrumental, though a minor, role in the story. |
The story "A Pact with the Sun" is a slightly modified version of the story "Sunshine for Amma". The original story contains specific details, such as the name of the doctor who cures Saeeda's mother. His name, as mentioned in the original, is Dr Ansari. Moreover, the regular physicians who initially treat the mother were called "hakim", retaining the Urdu word for the traditional physician. Saeeda's aunt also appears as a character in the original, although she has only a minor role to play.
A fun fact about the story is that Saeeda, who is its central character, is also the name of one of Zakir Husain's daughters.
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