Book Review: My Feudal Lord (1991)

The Islamic Republic of Pure Land has a bitter history of feudalism amongst the chieftains and the headmen stretching for decades. The woman’s pride and dignity have been dependent on the word of mouth fouling or polluting her for the hunger and lust of the tribe’s godfathers. The traditional silence of women on beatings, torture, and harassment is still a freedom’s wail. But there was a time in Pakistan, this silence was never whispered to the outsiders and diggers until one lady opened her mouth to the world and faced the consequences for speaking the truth – Tehmina Durrani.

Tehmina Durrani belongs to an influential family. Her great-grandfather, Mohammad Hayat Khan, served the government of British India and played an important role in establishing MAO College at Aligarh under the guidance of his close friend Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. Her grandfather, Liaqat Hayat Khan, also served British India who was once minister of Patiala and after independence; he became Pakistan’s ambassador to France. Her father, Shakirullah Durrani, was a huge name in banking who worked in PICIC, ICP, and later on, held notable positions in PIA as managing director in 1969 and governor of State Bank of Pakistan in 1971.

Tehmina’s name and rank stabled more when she married Ghulam Mustafa Khar, the Lion of Punjab. Mustafa Khar is one of Punjab’s most powerful politicians, who was among the founding members of Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party. Their marriage had a disastrous impact on her personal life which led to shaping a controversy-bound book ‘My Feudal Lord’. The book was a European best-seller and made her name among one of the most successful Pakistani authors.

‘My Feudal Lord’ would sound like a soap opera with some spices of melodrama but the reader will fall behind the centuries-old gate of the haunting dungeons while notching the details. A reader unknown to Ms. Durrani may highly predict the insider of an almost 400-page storybook but the style of narration is propelling enough to harvest a forbidden fruit of the evil seed. The book brings out the hatred for the feudal and shows the true colors of the offensive decisions made on the throne by ruling over women by playing foul games.

The book is divided into three parts consisting of 18 chapters.

• The first part is her introduction, her first marriage with Anees and falling in love with Khar resulting in divorce with the former and marriage with the latter.
• The second part details the married life of Durrani and Khar in political exile, her sufferings and beatings, her support for Khar in the political movement, and sister Adila’s involvement.
• The final part is the final phase of their married life with many emotional fluctuations and turnarounds making the reader think about the most possible ending.

One thing should never be forgotten while reading, this book is mainly the story of Durrani and Khar narrated by Durrani. This is half the narration of what we come to know from her. Khar never wrote a book nor do I think will be interested to speak about this topic ever. Durrani was actually Khar’s sixth wife with an age difference of at least 15.

Another major aspect of the book is that by reading it, the reader will clearly understand the persona and psychology of Tehmina Durrani. It is her story but more than that she opens her world and invites common people to let them know who she is? what does she think? what is her take on male domination in Muslim society? what is the role of a person who has a dual role of a husband and a politician at the same time?. The book is more like a conversation between a mental patient and a psychiatrist where the former is Ms. Durrani and the latter is you the reader.

Many times you would even come to understand that she wasn’t wise enough to understand Khar’s art of deception. She easily fell prey in his cage and lost her mind. Ms. Durrani did break traditional silence by writing the book, but with the tale, she should have presented her short analysis summarized from her life as what exactly went wrong. Reading about her life will raise many questions e.g.,

• Are all feudal lords omen to their women?
• Is love really blind enough to fall into prey that easily?
• Do parents contribute to their daughter’s marital misery?
• Is defending your awful husband for the sake of children a wise decision to keep your marriage and protect your family image from falling?
• Which decision was the worst? Leaving the first husband or marrying Khar?

I honestly believe, there should have been one particular chapter of her analysis where she would summarize and provide answers to the most complicated questions arose from her life, like the few I raised above. Those details would definitely hit on the eastern and western societies and their readers.

Ms. Durrani is indeed a brave individual who suffered the pain all those years and kept the marriage that long. This book is highly recommended to those readers who want to place the woman’s rank and acknowledge her role in society. This revolutionary book is a moral victory over a complex society. May you stay strong with high spirits, Amen.

Book Review: The Dancing Girls of Lahore (2006)

The title says it all. British author Louise Brown tours you to one of the shadows of the great Badshahi Masjid, the Diamond Market of Lahore which has a rich history of songs, dances, seductions, pleasures, fake and broken promises; and being a source of pleasuring men for centuries since the Mughal-era. It was once a land where the trained courtesans used to conquer the hearts of emperors.

The Dancing Girls of Lahore is a story of Maha, a classical dancer whose virginity was sold to an Arab Sheikh when she was only 12, but her existence cornered in the Walled City. Her fate is gashed with the timeline the author pens in each of the eight chapters, highlighting her struggles in raising money and children. 

I am confounded shall I pay my compliments for mustering the author’s courage, bestowed in her for shaping a book blazing her analysis, research, and token of her lifetime in a historic sex market of Lahore or shall I appreciate the writer’s courtesy towards the humans of an entirely different world to whom she spent every inch of monotone…

It is quite a lantern of outcry from the details of a dark frame with hopeless life stories coming from an author who herself is a mother of three young children (by 2000). So I find super-naturally an extraordinary writing from a mother who forwards us a tale of a sex-selling mother Maha and her children i.e., soon-to-be sex workers in early teenhood.

The delicacy of the book lies in the anecdotes, descriptions of customers and various individuals, street foods and religious festivals, and history diggings over national and religious significance. Another impressive factor of reading this account is defining/detailing of the characters. Not only the leading characters have been pedals of bicycles, but also the minor individuals who carry less prominence were folded with some amount of paras.

Reading the book has the comfort of fragmenting the pages by the headings which will ease the readers to read summarized details. Louise also covers the sorry state of transgender/shemale prostitutes in the bazaar. Also the use of Punjabi and Urdu words forward more output towards the meanings for comprehension and adding swear words ignite the sketches of emotions which is quite hilarious at some moments. Enjoyable parts are where Maha always turns ferocious and begins swearing. The author has made a careful observation of Maha.

Overall, The Dancing Girls of Lahore is a book presenting a terrible insider of a low-morale social life of the poor in the city of hearts but simultaneously a marvelous read of a summarized four-year timeline in a red-light district which guarantees interest towards the author’s explanations and research. It is a heartbreaking story that most importantly focuses on the lives of women residing there and confronting the horrors and cries. A ravishing sorrow…

Book Review: Moth Smoke (2000)

Mohsin Hamid

Let me be frank and perfectly honest that I am not a novel reader. But I began reading novels since Mira Nair revealed her intentions to make a movie on a novel written by a Pakistani writer. When I read the title of the book, it blew my mind. When I read its synopsis, it crew my find. My first novel-reading was Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist. And I realized it was a perfect choice to begin novel-reading.

Now I have read the second novel, also written by the same author, with the impression that the writing will again be cardinal. Moth Smoke was Mohsin Hamid’s first book and was published back in 2000. The amazing feature of the writing truly is the expression of words one can sing the reality and stink the brutality. He will mesmerize you with the way he reviews nature, the lifestyle of Lahore, and the beauty of femininity. The way things began flowing from a smashing scene to a melo-rhythmic scene is very dramatic and hectic.

Set in the late 90s of Lahore during the times of Indo-Pak nuclear tests, a drug-addicted guy loses his job and enters into a love affair with his best friend’s wife. Life is screwed up, financially he is getting low, starving from his job, and getting more hungry for sex. It is a tremendous attempt of explaining human psychology and the way when things go wrong and misery propels you to commit wrong.

The best part is the impression you get from the writer being his first manuscript, how nurtured his pen grows to talk his story. The vocabulary of words and picking the lines to dramatize the scene and bring his nostalgia at any moment is very lively, choosy, and natural.

Creativity is astounding as the core characters are Mughal-era-tically named. Then the explanation of each character is beyond reality. Things work at ease for Mohsin, as the 245-pages book is an easy read and comprehensive divided into 17 chapters. Tumultuous applause for the writer!!

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Book Review: The Cricketer, The Celebrity, The Politician (2009)

Right-Arm… Over The Wicket… Off Cutter… Bowled!!!!!!!!

The batsman was yet to understand when did the ball release from his hand and when it reached the stumps, all he realized was off the gloves, bat pressed in the wet armpit and there was the pavilion.

Off you go… Better luck next time… Give my love to your sister…

Shall I say, cricket playboy? Shall I say every dream girl’s HBK?

When he was bowling with a breathtaking run-up, he looked like Tony Montana firing ‘Say Hello To My Little Friend‘.

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INTRODUCTION

Born in Lahore and settled in Mianwali. Blood of a Pathan and rooting from the Niazis and the Burkis. Descendant of Pir Roshan and ex-son-in-law of Goldsmiths. Alumni of Oxford and Chancellor of Bradford. The winner of the World Cup and builder of the groundbreaking cancer hospital. Two sons from Jemima and a daughter from Sita. Imran Khan is the Cricketer, the Celebrity, the Politician and that’s the book I just finished reading.

This book was written and published in 2009 by arguably one of the finest biographers, Christopher Sandford, who also wrote biographies of many great legends like ‘Primitive Tool‘ on Mick Jagger in 1993, ‘Edge of Darkness‘ on Eric Clapton in 1994, ‘Kurt Cobain‘ in 1995, ‘Loving the Alien‘ on David Bowie in 1996, ‘Satisfaction‘ on Keith Richards in 2003 and ‘Polanski‘ on Roman Polanski in 2007 in the past couple of decades.

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REVIEW

Published by Harper Collins, comprised of 402 pages and 10 very interesting chapters, Sandford’s pen proved no ink miscarriage or bleaking malfunction as the man in the limelight was properly life-summarized. The book is like an exclusive documentary or the making of a legend. While reading the pages, you are sensing some footage playing in your clouds of imagination.

Sandford put three years of his efforts to shape this book from 2006 to 2008. During these years, he conducted many interviews with many personalities linked/associated with Imran’s life and careers like Mike Brearley, Geoff Boycott, Javed Miandad, Pervez Musharraf, and Jemima Khan-Goldsmith. He also collected the cricketing sources from different cricket administrations, Cricinfo, and county clubs. Many of the incidents and quotations have been picked from various books including Imran Khan’s The Autobiography, All-Round View, and Indus Journey, plus various books written on/by Botham, Miandad, Atherton, Sobers, and Parvez Musharraf. The author also conducted his three most prominent interviews with Imran Khan in 2008.

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CHAPTERS

Sandford depicts his deep research towards Pakistan cricket and the first two chapters will give you an idea of how good he is in describing the gear-shifting of Pakistan cricket from the 50s to the 60s. In these chapters, enter the central character and his family tree and relatives are penned in detail.

Even the smallest account/incident means a lot for the readers to know the iconic leader as he once bribed a policeman in his teen-hood and enjoyed ammi’s scolding. While his cricket-level moves with his education from Quaid-e-Azam Trophy to the county cricket, the political environment in the surrounding proceeds like East Pakistan partition to Bangladesh and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto regime.

The third chapter is his account of his university-level and county cricket, the beginning of his international cricket career, and his life in England. The fourth chapter depicts life in Sussex county, the political crisis of the late 1970s, and furthermore tours including the 1979 World Cup. And the chapters proceed on and on.

The readers will exhume with the excitement of enjoying reading about his high-profile affairs with many ladies that prominently include painter Emma Sergeant, fashion guru Susannah Constantine and former German VJ of MTV Europe Kristiane Backer. The controversial case of Imran’s affair with Sita White is sensitively not protracted as I was expecting. But he is never bothered to call her ‘Drama Queen’.

The 1992 World Cup story is the one that will bring that josh-e-junoon page by page as a magnificent comeback is enthralling when you read it match by match. In all cricketing tours Imran participated in, with obvious picking, it is the great West Indian team to whom defeating was Imran’s biggest challenge.

Imran’s philanthropy in the book is adverted towards the foundation of integrity and prosperity with the qualities Imran has been assembled. The building of Pakistan’s first Cancer Hospital is one of the achievements by Imran, the inspiration came after the death of his mother, Mrs. Shaukat Khanum, who succumbed to cancer in 1985. For the purpose of laying the foundation and shaping it into functioning, Sandford has penned sporadically Imran’s effort of fundraising from campaigns, shows, parties, exhibition games, and earnings from his playing career.

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TWO BIOGRAPHIES AND THE DECLARATION

I had read Javed Miandad’s Cutting Edge where he reflected on his cricketing career and dirty games played behind the scenes. So after reading that book, it was easy for me to now understand Imran’s take on all this. The difference was literature; Miandad’s story flows like a river but the details of this book are more broader.

Any reader like me will find a wide range of description of Imran’s relationship with Javed Miandad. On many occasion, Miandad’s book Cutting Edge has been used as an instance where indirectly the (mis)understanding between the two is reflected and perhaps becomes debatable. Most alarmingly, when it comes to the strangest decision of Imran’s captaincy of declaring the inning when Miandad on the crease was only twenty runs shy of a triple century. The arguments don’t match and I feel scratching my head after knowing Imran’s reason for the declaration. This infamous incident is mentioned in the third chapter on page 90.

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RISE OF A POLITICIAN

How can the biography of Imran’s life be without the biggest happening since his cricketing career? The entry of Jemima Goldsmith and launching of his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Pakistan Movement for Justice). From here, when more than half of the book has been read, the most critical writing pledges. Sandford surpasses the expectation of translating Imran’s most critical and beyond challenging life into a mind-frame of footages.

Many many aspects are surrendered to throw in Imran’s way like rivalries with politicians Altaf Hussain and Nawaz Sharif, General Musharraf’s imposing of martial law and beginning of his dictatorial regime, a disturbed marriage with Jemima, libel case against Ian Botham and Allan Lamb, and failure in general elections.

Politics has no bound from here. In the book, he majorly targets former President Pervez Musharraf and his government for being a US ally, and destroying Pakistan’s welfare for many incidents. Cricket fixtures continue to echo in all this. Sandford does increase the volume of Imran over major incidents that occurred in Pakistan cricket like the 2003 World Cup, India’s 2004 tour of Pakistan, and the Hair-Inzamam controversy.

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CLOSING REMARKS

The book from all aspects is a complete Imran Khan book. The first impression of the reader surely comes as a sports biography but the title is enough to convince you that this is the ultimate book where Imran plays three different roles, not only as a cricketer but also as a celebrity and politician.

This book is recommended to those who are seeking for an ultimate biography of Imran Khan. You must remember that you will not be able to read a single word about Imran’s political uprise that began from 2011 after a massive gathering in Lahore because the book was published in 2009. 

But you will be drown in the thickness of recount and probably some details you have never experienced to read. 

The book is absolutely frank about his good deeds and wrong-doings. This biography is absolute and worth reading for all Imran lovers and loonies. The reader will be moved while moving toward different phases of his life. Visualize the footage of the great iconic legend while speaking its pages. 

Book Review: Cutting Edge (2003)

Javed Miandad!!!!! Himself, a franchise, in Pakistan cricket. His batting legacy was like word of mouth and the name was widespread since his dream test debut against New Zealand in 1976. Overall, in his 25-years cricketing career, he played over 800 games, scored over 40,000 runs, crossed 50-mark 333 times, out of which he reached his three-figures mark on 93 occasions and almost 500 catches….

Till this date (8.8.13), Miandad is 13th in most test runs in career with 8832 runs. Has 6 double-hundreds in tests the most by any Pakistani player and 5th overall. His biggest achievement in his cricketing career is 1992 World Cup. That was the 5th edition of World Cup played in Australia and New Zealand for the first time in colorful kits. This was Miandad’s 5th attempt for the title where he was 2nd top-scorer in the whole tournament few runs behind Martin Crowe of New Zealand. To an utmost bizarre, Miandad was shockingly not selected in the world cup squad due to a minor injury which wasn’t even threatening.  He was finally recalled after huge batting failure in warm-up games and the rest is history.

Miandad was the first player ever to reach 1000-runs mark in World Cup career and play six world cups. His test batting average never came down below 50 since his 1st test inning till the end which is quite a rare and unique test record which most probably no test batsman has ever accomplished in history. Till this date (8.8.13) he is the youngest test player to score a double-century for 35 years as no one has ever reached the mark in his teen-age. For 26 years, he is still holding record of most fifties in ODIs in cosecutive innings (9).

His autobiography ‘Cutting Edge’ was published in 2003, forwarded by the great Tony Grieg and co-authored by famous columnist of Cricinfo, Saad Shafqat. His memories knew no bound when he begins from the background where he belongs and speaks about his father who was majorly responsible for Karachi cricket by contributing a lot to KCCA (Karachi City Cricket Association). On father’s advice, he plays for Habib Bank and becomes the soul of their batting line. His batting phenomenon is witnessed by one of Pakistan cricket’s finest administrator, Abdul Hafeez Kardar, and predict him “Find of the Decade”.

‘Cutting Edge’ is comprised of 23 chapters but being a reader, I am terribly surprised to notice that only one chapter belongs to his memorable knock in Sharjah, but two chapters are acclimatizing account about his anger towards Imran’s inning declaration at his personal best score of 280 not out. This is Hyderabad test against India where Miandad is avoided to reach triple hundred or further break the-then test cricket record of highest individual score in test inning by Sir Gary Sobers which was 365 not out against Pakistan.

There are 3 different chapters dedicated to England, Australia and West Indies. English one is about his playing experience on English surface and more about his county career in Sussex and Glamorgan. Australia and West Indies one each separately speaks about their counters with Pakistan. Another chapter ‘The Player’s Revolt’ is about the differences Miandad faced with other players when he was captain. Infact at many a place in book, it is shameful for me to read how a cricketer loses his sportsmanship to fall greedy for captaincy and play politics in the dressing room. Miandad actually complains and reveals the backbiting (or you may say back-barking) and disorganized mismanagement under Pakistan Cricket Board. The color of nature and volume of his speaking tone over such matter is exactly how Shoaib Akhtar explained in his “Controversially Yours”.

Many cricket fans have been cornered towards the issue that lied between Imran Khan and Javed Miandad, many of them smelled some rift between them. Indeed there were some personal differences, but there is significantly one chapter dedicated to Imran and his leadership which is worth. On numerous places in book, the reading falls quite flat where the details are more of a match review and statistics. One deliberately will begin hunting to read something which is rare and unknown to him ahead of match reviews which do exist on websites and would make it boring.

Few of cricket fans do not know that Miandad had an interesting episode of his love marriage with his wife, Tahira, which after reading, you will find it quite filmy and quite different from the existing traditions of marriage in Pakistan. But this is sadly penned of couple of pages and I strictly believe should have been a whole chapter on it. The reader will surely realize could have been a worth-reading mostly for youngsters, had Miandad dedicated his love for his wife and wrote his marriage in details a separate chapter.

I must also clear a very important reminder as many many readers like me will found a major surprise of not reading a single word about his son’s marriage with daughter of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Like I said before, the book was published in 2003 as the marriage happened couple of years later.

As a reader, I don’t found the book as extreme superlative of autobiographic writing. Infact I will rate my previous cricket book reading Shoaib Akhtar’s Controversially Yours far better than this. But after all, a Miandad-story in Pakistan cricket should be of prestige as his book will be worth reading for cricket-crazy generations in any corner of library of your heart. 

Book Review: The Boy In The River (2012)

In the name of Blood. With an extreme sign of no mercy. Speaking blague over Bible and hunting (or you may say haunting) a human flesh to heal others. An implausible ritual tracing from Africa and landing in Europe.

The boy in the river! Hmmm the title itself is the junkyard of a confound investigation. Exactly 10 days after 9/11, a mutilated torso is found floating beside Tower Bridge in London. The body is unidentified with no traces and no witnesses. Scotland Yard jumps in and the murder squad works on this brutal murder. The investigation team seeks the help of the author Dr. Richard Hoskins who is a young professor of Theology with a profound understanding of African tribal ritual and religion at Bath Spa University.

Being involved and case studying the murder, the author corners back to his grief-ing past when he traveled to Congo attaching his newly married life with Sue to the existence of politically disturbed rigid environment from 1986-1992 when he was in his 20s.

In those times, Congo was ruled by the corrupted dictator with a leopard skin toque, Mobutu Sese Seko. Under him, Congo suffered a kleptocratic era during his 32-year presidency. The country was economically disturbed with extremely high inflation and human rights violation. 

Life of newly married Hoskins and Sue laid under the tribal areas and villages that supported Mobutu. Slowly with the passage of time, the couple adjusted and learned their Lingala language and culture. But they also confronted their tribal rituals and religions which later on turned in their life to be a dramatic heartbreaking account.

It took years to solve the murder mystery. But step-by-step, with years of investigation gesticulating, they come to understand a nexus from Africa to Europe about the tribal rituals followed by many thousands of Africans on both the continents. 

The major plus of reading this book is by literally reading a murder mystery, you actually come to know Africa’s traditions that involve crime. The book speaks about Muti, a Zulu word used for traditional medicine widely known in Southern Africa but the disaster to the nature of Muti is that it is known as a medicine murder and deals in Muti Killings which commands a human sacrifice or spilling of blood in order to excise body parts for incorporation as ingredients into medicine and concoctions used in witchcraft. 

Dr. Hoskin also explains Kindoki. Kindoki is a powerful belief of being black magic or witchcraft by evil spirits which abandons child and ritually abuse them beyond the limit. Nganga is a spiritual healer dealing in Kindoki in West Africa, especially in Congo. There is another specific term ‘Yoruba‘ which Hoskins doubted to be involved in the murder. Yoruba is a religion followed by people from Southwest Nigeria and Southern Benin in West Africa that deals in spiritual practices. 

It really surprises me that people migrating from Africa to other continents to develop a better life mostly stuck to their blague traditions and still follow the practices which cost lives of their own kins. Hoskins brings the practices into the realistic limelight to show how for many years or decades, the African children were getting abused and murdered. Quite a shocking account!

 

Book Review: The Laundrymen (1995)

I work all night, I work all day, to pay the bills I have to pay – Ain’t it sad
And still there never seems to be a single penny left for me – That’s too bad
In my dreams I have a plan
If I got me a wealthy man
I wouldn’t have to work at all, I’d fool around and have a ball…

Money, money, money.. Must be funny
In the rich man’s world
Money, money, money.. Always sunny
In the rich man’s world
Aha-ahaaa
All the things I could do
If I had a little money
It’s a rich man’s world

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Yes Yes you were so true in your wisdom Frida!! Money is indeed so funny in a rich man’s world. Whereas for the poor, it is a gateway to coronate all evils as Mark Twain once said:

‘The lack of money is the root of all evil’

Anyway, it took me almost 11 non-serious months to seriously squander my thrustful desire of reading a thought-provoking book “The Laundrymen“. It is written by international bestselling American author, Jeffery Robinson, who famously wrote an acclaimed biography of former Saudi Oil Minister, Ahmed Zaki Yamani. 

Written in 1995, the 16-chapters and 300-pages book is the inside story of the dirty world of money laundering. It reveals many a secret and undresses various politicians, lawyers, bankers, bureaucrats, and tycoons who chessed the money transaction and accoladed their efforts. Robinson also pens how the underworld under-whirls the money and hides the true nature of money.

The book starts with the Watergate scandal and ends with Agha Hasan Abedi‘s BCCI. Between the two unfairy tales lie many controversial moments when money was washed and business was done peculiarly. There are Borodianskys, there are Shakarchis, there are Schaffers. The games were played in the 20th century and laws were made/changed by the peacekeepers. The book also deals with the bloodiest of drug trafficking organized ravishingly in South America, especially in Colombia. So when I say black money of Colombia, then expect the stories of crime daddies like Pablo Escobar and the Orejuelas.

The book is too good in sketching Swiss Secrecy Laws and the nexus of Swiss accounts to criminology. A few historic scandals like the Iran-Contra affair in Ronald Reagan‘s era and the de-functioning of Roberto Calvi‘s Banco Ambrosiano are worth reading.

Robinson wrote it in 1995 but the truth is that history has no age or period. This remarkable masterpiece insists on the fate of illness to prolong a vanquished desire for money-making. The blood circulation of dirty money will abide you to gimmick the filth under a subtle way whereas the trojan game of “Catch Me If You Can” will limit to those who will graduate as ‘Laundryman’.

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