PAKISTAN - HOW IT ALL CAME ABOUT & AND OTHER STORIES
Book Details
Author(s)Tariq Rafique
PublisherErlangen Press Ealing London
ISBN / ASINB00AR0JZOA
ISBN-13978B00AR0JZO2
Sales Rank2,080,669
MarketplaceUnited States 🇺🇸
Description
The first part of the INTRODUCTION is a gently satirical and humorous introduction to the creation of Pakistan which pokes fun at the white sahibs, dicey politicians, crafty generals that strut about on the stage before an audience of patient, indulgent voters who are perplexed at their antics, and occasionally upset. It covers the Ayub era and ends with a bang with General Zia-ul Haq.
The second part continues the saga until the present day but changes the tone somewhat to match the rather less pleasant, unkind and worrying developments in the country since the spread of the Afghan war and the U.S.Empire into Asia.
The STORIES that follow are occasionally very funny and deliciously jolly but always deeply sympathetic to the main characters therein and depict a cross section of people in Sind struggling to make a living under Ayub's rule, coping with corrupt judges, bent police, dishonest politicians and daily aggravations. Much of the detail of the stories is fascinating and of documentary interest with respect to the value of goods and services then as that period of Pakistani society has gone forever.
The opening story is set in a remote village in Sind at harvest time, when peasants gather together to clean and sift the cut crop and to surrender part of it to an absentee landlord. One of them has a poignant role to play in it.
The second narrates a feud between nomadic tribesmen which ends in a disaster for the two protagonists.
The third deals with the acquisitive ambitions of a Muhajir or refugee, that is one of a large muslim group who migrated into Pakistan from India at the time of partition, and his unsuccessful attempts to join the landed classes in Sind by acquiring land there in return for lands left behind in India.
The fourth story is the account of a hilarious encounter of a volatile but honest advocate with a lazy and corrupt judge and his equally idle staff.
The fifth story concludes the series with the adventures of a journalist covering the rise and fall of a popular politician, who bears a distinct resemblance to the late Zulfikar Bhutto, although each meets his end in a different way.
Although disappointingly the stories stop short with the end of the Ayub Era, the author has promised to add to the present list of tales, stories covering the period in Pakistan's history from the time of Zia-ul Haq to the rule of the present faceless ones who (to use the author's terminology) can neither Bat nor Bowl.
The author has appended a helpful glossary explaining pakistani terms and words.
The book ends with a reflective and very personal poem by the author of his time in the province of Sind and especially with the historic and now very popular town of Sehwan
It would greatly enhance the flavour and the sheer pleasure of the reader if suitable cartoons or illustrations could be added to many of the scenes described in the stories.
The book is an enjoyable read of about 270 pages but will delight those who have a discerning and kind eye for the foibles and frailties of humanity regardless of race, colour or creed.
Enjoy.
The second part continues the saga until the present day but changes the tone somewhat to match the rather less pleasant, unkind and worrying developments in the country since the spread of the Afghan war and the U.S.Empire into Asia.
The STORIES that follow are occasionally very funny and deliciously jolly but always deeply sympathetic to the main characters therein and depict a cross section of people in Sind struggling to make a living under Ayub's rule, coping with corrupt judges, bent police, dishonest politicians and daily aggravations. Much of the detail of the stories is fascinating and of documentary interest with respect to the value of goods and services then as that period of Pakistani society has gone forever.
The opening story is set in a remote village in Sind at harvest time, when peasants gather together to clean and sift the cut crop and to surrender part of it to an absentee landlord. One of them has a poignant role to play in it.
The second narrates a feud between nomadic tribesmen which ends in a disaster for the two protagonists.
The third deals with the acquisitive ambitions of a Muhajir or refugee, that is one of a large muslim group who migrated into Pakistan from India at the time of partition, and his unsuccessful attempts to join the landed classes in Sind by acquiring land there in return for lands left behind in India.
The fourth story is the account of a hilarious encounter of a volatile but honest advocate with a lazy and corrupt judge and his equally idle staff.
The fifth story concludes the series with the adventures of a journalist covering the rise and fall of a popular politician, who bears a distinct resemblance to the late Zulfikar Bhutto, although each meets his end in a different way.
Although disappointingly the stories stop short with the end of the Ayub Era, the author has promised to add to the present list of tales, stories covering the period in Pakistan's history from the time of Zia-ul Haq to the rule of the present faceless ones who (to use the author's terminology) can neither Bat nor Bowl.
The author has appended a helpful glossary explaining pakistani terms and words.
The book ends with a reflective and very personal poem by the author of his time in the province of Sind and especially with the historic and now very popular town of Sehwan
It would greatly enhance the flavour and the sheer pleasure of the reader if suitable cartoons or illustrations could be added to many of the scenes described in the stories.
The book is an enjoyable read of about 270 pages but will delight those who have a discerning and kind eye for the foibles and frailties of humanity regardless of race, colour or creed.
Enjoy.
