Book Review: Manto Saheb Translated by Vibha Chauhan and Khalid Alvi

Manto Saheb is a multi-faceted biography of one of the greatest South Asian writers of the 20^th century. Who wondered that Manto who failed Urdu in his high school exam and later emerge as one of the finest writers of the century. This book brings stories about Saadat Hasan Manto, an essayist, scriptwriter and a master of writing short stories.

The stories written in this book include that of Manto’s family, friends and rivals. Some of the others include Ismat Chugtai, Upendranath Ashk, Balwant Gargi, Krishan  Chander, his daughter Nuzhat and nephew Hamid Jalal. The great cities of Bombay, Delhi and Lahore have been described by various writers. The accounts presented by the writers are those of quarrels, drinking sessions, rivalries, friendships, publishers, literary circles and film industry.

Manto is revealed as a complex man. Moreover he was very upset when he lost his one and a half year old son. He was as comfortable with his family as with the prostitutes he visited. Ismat Chugtai says: “The idea of class difference was a dominant one in Manto’s mind. When he brought down and shattered the idol worshipped by the world, Manto felt that he had done something truly courageous”.

Manto was a fierce critic of the works of other writers but he did not tolerate any criticism for his own work. For some stories he was declared as an obscene writer and had to face court trial. Sardar Gurbaksh Singh Preetladin a famous Punjabi writer refused to give evidence in the court in Manto’s favor. At his behavior Manto was amazed and said: “It is astonishing that there are such writers in Punjabi too. Only God can protect the fate of literature in this language”. Financial issues and non-stop drinking were issues which he faced on his death bed too. Manto said: “I have no faith in friendship, benevolence, or affection. The only thing I believe is in alcohol”. In addition to that he was a chain smoker and used to smoke 555 cigarettes.

He was a maverick of his times, a very sensitive human who explained the intricacies of society through his own lens, unadulterated. Manto died in 1955. Manto’s nephew Hamid Jalal concludes the book with his story about Manto. He believes that his uncle was not a hypocrite. He was what he was and that is why no aspect of his life remained hidden from the general public right till his death.

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Book Review: Twenty Weeks in America by Akhtar Hameed Khan

Written by Akhtar Hameed Khan from 3 Sept 1969 to 21 Jan 1970 this book is a dairy of day to day account of his time spent in Princeton USA. Originally written in Urdu this book is translated into English by Aquila Ismail.

Born on 15 July 1914 Akhtar Hameed Khan rose to one of the most prominent social scientist of the twentieth century. He rose to fame with the establishment of a Rural Development Academy in Comilla East Pakistan in 1960s and a rural development program in Karachi named Orangi Pilot Project in the 1980s.

Dr. Khan was invited to Princeton University to deliver a series of lectures in September 1969. There during his stay he recorded his experiences and observations. He also included various developments in American academia and also expressed his thoughts on various developing issues. In this book he mentions the books which he read during his stay. Dr. Khan frequently mentions Tolstoy and Buddha. Moreover Khan discusses human greed, life in general, miseries of the underprivileged and the American way of life.

The author in his spare time attends a Beatles concert, watches plays and attends university debates. In addition to that he comments on how the student movement in US is against the American atrocities in Vietnam. Khan visits churches and synagogues. He also briefly narrates his experiences inside these places of worship. Akhtar Hameed Khan attends many lectures by different professors at Princeton. In the US he also meets economic experts, government officials and officers from Pakistan. In addition to that he writes about the opinion divide among students in American institutions.

Throughout the book Dr. Khan mentions various couplets from different poets, both eastern and western poets. For one hundred and forty one days Dr. Khan stayed in the US and closely observed through his engagements the people and society of the United States of America.

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Book Review: End of the Past by Nadeem Farooq Paracha

End of the Past is an easy to read book based on eight chapters. In the first chapter the author throws some light on the history of Parachas. He says that Paracha are mainly Punjabi. They are found in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia and even in India.

After that Paracha discusses his early life in Karachi leading to his admission in Saint Patrick’s College Karachi. From 1971 to 1982 he was a student of Karachi Grammer School. Later due to his father’s instable financial position he could not go abroad like his many other friends did.

Throughout the book Paracha tells his own story and relates it with the different governments of the past. At other times Paracha brings in historical reference or links to give a more broad view to his arguments. He seems to be a big fan of ZA Bhutto and his daughter Benazir. In this book Paracha discloses about his personal experience of student politics. At college Paracha had formed a socialist union of students, contested elections and won as General Secretary. Later he was also attached with the student wing of PPP. Further he also explains about the conflicts between various leftist groups in Pakistan. He talks about alliances, fights, elections, guns and compromises during his student years.

Paracha has dedicated a separate chapter on the wine shops of Karachi. He mentions how easily alcohol was available. People would flock to the beaches and enjoy a drink. He tells his own story of how he got involved in hashish, liquor and women. He had various relations with different girls, until the last one which resulted in his marriage.

Furthermore Paracha discusses the birth of political parties like MQM, politics of IJT, Zia’s coup and divide in newspaper agencies along ideologies. In another chapter the author focuses on the film culture in Pakistan. He critiques some films and the starring roles of different actors. Moreover in the book Paracha talks about the class antagonism in Pakistan cricket team, the role of Tableeghi Jamat and the politics within Pakistan Cricket Team.

In the last chapter the author considers Ziaul Haq as the tyrant who retarded the political and social evolution of Pakistan. Paracha considers himself a social democrat o/ Muslim nationalist inspired by the likes of Jinnah. Jinnah is considered a pragmatic a pragmatic politician by the author. He believes that Jinnah should not be studied as an ideologue rather we should see him as a pragmatist who created Pakistan with sheer hardwork. Paracha believes that for a smooth future an end of the past has become really important.

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Book Review: Britain- Pawn or Power? by Marcus Aurelius (Walter Padley)

The opening chapter of this book starts with presenting the choices after the Second World War. To the author the conflict between USA and USSR seems very obvious.

The author believes that majority of British opinion is in favor of economic planning and political freedom. The author views the modern world as having numerous structural faults in society. Furthermore the author sees Europe with sufficient economic resources to stand as an independent power. Keeping that in mind, the author states that there is still time. During this time democratic socialism must organize its moral and political forces for the current challenges.

Britain cannot continue her traditional foreign policy, involving heavy military commitments all over the world. The British policy towards Europe was of maintenance of a divided continent. On the other hand for the socialist a united Europe has been a dream. In the political arena any new democracy for Europe cannot, like Athenian democracy, be based on slavery, whether German, African or Asiatic.

Chapter five of the book focuses solely on Germany and its role in Europe. Before the war she produced more than half that of Europe’s coal, half of pig iron and steel, and over half of Aluminum. The author says that for success of a constructive policy for Germany will depend on the European peoples, especially the democratic socialists.

And for a success of democratic socialism in Europe a clear break with imperialism is essential. In addition imperialism has provided profits to a tiny minority of the populations of Western Europe. Moreover in the book the role of the centralized power of the state is also briefly explained. He says that: ‘Co-ordination rather than administration, strategy rather than treaties should be the role of the centralized power of the state’.

In the concluding chapter the author stresses on the need of a socialist Union which would only promise the preservation of a human culture. Escaping arrogance and assuming moral leadership should be the chief aim of democratic socialist in the future.

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Book Review: Foreign Devils on the Silk Road by Peter Hopkirk

A very interesting book written about the Silk Road with particular emphasis on Central Asia, the author pays particular attention to the region of Chinese Turkestan. The first chapter traces the origin of the ancient Silk Road. The main arteries of the road are discussed and the nature of goods on the caravans.

Along the Silk Road travelled silk, gold, ivory and ideas. One of such ideas was Buddhism. It travelled from now what we call India to China. Oasis towns developed which served as center of art and learning. When the decline of such towns started the rich towns got swallowed by desert sand. Due to this legends were formed regarding lost cities filled with treasures. Expeditions through such deserts by travellers/treasure hunters were often fatal adventures. One of such deserts is the notorious Taklamakan desert which is frequently mentioned and discussed by Hopkirk.

In the early twentieth century a race began for hunting the buried treasures of Silk Road. This race was an international race. There developed a race for searching and digging adventures. Among the famous racers was Sven Hedin- a Swedish searcher, Aurel Stein- of Hungarian origin and Von Le Coq of German origin.

These gentlemen dug Chinese treasures which included paintings, manuscripts, and artifacts from temples, sculptors and frescos. All these precious objects were shifted to different countries and later to their respective museums.

Chapter fifteen’s title has been mentioned as ‘Spies along the Silk Road’. Throughout the chapter Japanese team has been discussed. The author provides links of the Japanese being spies, but the Europeans are considered travellers/treasure searchers. Further in the book the author believes that the Chinese view the treasure searchers as those who looted a very rich part of their ancient history. For such reasons the Chinese slammed the door on foreigners and Stein also had to discontinue his last expedition in Turkestan.

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Book Review: The Poems of Mao Tse-tung by Mao Zedong, Willis Barnstone (Translator)

This is a translation of Mao’s poems. The translator includes an introduction to Mao’s life and revolution. Early parts of his life have been discussed very briefly. His movement to Peking and later working with Kuomintang against the Japanese invading forces are also included. 

Mao developed guerilla armies by continuously engaging with the Japanese forces. This army later played a pivotal role in the civil war for the CCP. The author of this book views the Japanese as the ones who prepared the way for the Chinese Communism, much as Nazi Germany had done for the Soviet Communism in Eastern Europe.

Furthermore the second part of the book includes the poems in Chinese and their translation in English. Mao portrays his times of struggle, personal experiences during the long march and difficulties faced by his comrades in his poetry.

The notes on the poems tell us about the historical background/idea about each poem. For instance Kunlun Mountains, long march and the capture of Nanking have been described in his poetry. Mao has used the traditional style of Chinese poetry by including characters from Chinese mythology too.

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Book Review: With the Quaid-i-Azam During His Last Days by Lt.Colonel Ilahi Bakhsh, MD

This monograph is a first-hand account of the last days of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Written by a medical doctor, this book sheds light on the last two months of Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Life. This book is an outcome of the entries in the author’s personal diary.

The first edition of this book was published in 1949. With the Quaid-i-Azam during his last days is divided into three chapters. This includes his time at Ziarat, Quetta and Karachi. This book review here is for the 2011 edition published by Oxford University Press Karachi. The preface to the third edition of the book written by M. Nasir Ilahi specifies that the author was required to delete certain passages from the book as they were considered to be politically inappropriate and sensitive.

Jinnah was at Ziarat, later he was moves to Quetta so that the altitude does not affect his already fragile health. Afterwards he was moved to Karachi. When Quaid was being shifted from Quetta to Karachi an incident happened. After landing at Mauripur Aerodrome Quaid was put into an ambulance. From Aerodrome to Governor General’s house the distance was 9 to 10 miles. Ambulance had stopped working after about 4 miles due to some engine trouble. Another ambulance was arranged. At 6:10 A.M, almost two hours after landing at Mauripur Aerodorme Quaid reached his destination.

Earlier at Quetta the author had refused a person willing to meet Quaid. Mr. Amin stressed on Dr. Ilahi that a specific person was willing meet Quaid-i-Azam on urgent basis. The author asked his name from Mr Amin, but Mr Amin said he could not disclose it. Later in Karachi the author had found the identity of the visitor, after Quaid-i-Azam’s death. The author also does not disclose the name of the visitor in this book and leaves the reader perplexed.

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Book Review: The Luminous Life of Jackie Chan Edited by Shyam Dua

When I was in school I remember watching Jackie Chan’s amazing movies. After reading this book I get an idea about Jackie’s struggles in the movie world. He surely did not become a star overnight.

Jackie Chan’s real name is Chan Kong-Sang. Born to underprivileged parents in Hong Kong he gets admission at Peking Opera School. Here students are taught traditional Chinese arts of performing, singing, acting, acrobatics and martial arts. He moves to Australia with his parents.

As far as his career his concerned, Jackie performs as child actor and later as a stuntman. Only later does he get lead roles in movies. Later he takes charge of duties ranging from producing to directing films. Jackie makes his films both funny and exciting at the same time. He also owns a stuntman company.

According to the book in Hong Kong only the blockbuster Jurrasic Park has surpassed at the box office. This account of Jackie Chan also includes an interview of him. In the interview Jackie believes he is like a bank. He collects and saves all his fans. They never go away. One of the last chapters of the book includes one on filmography and the other one is reviews on few of his films.

Changes in Jackie Chan’s life, his inspiration, struggle and his massive influence on films has been portrayed in very simple words this short book.

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Book Review: Iqbal As I Knew Him by Doris Ahmed

This book is a first-hand account of a German lady who lives in Dr. Muhammad Iqbal’s house. She comes to his house after the death of his wife Sardar Begum. Doris looks after Allama Iqbal’s children and manages his house.

In the book the author mainly talks about Iqbal and the people around him. Doris discusses Iqbal’s daily routine, his clothes, servants, his house, children and his friends. The last five headings of the book are dedicated to Iqbal’s relatives. The author views Iqbal as a deeply religious person who leads a simple life. Nawab of Bhopal sends monthly stipend of Rs 500 to Iqbal. In addition to that Iqbal refrains from taking beef as it makes him ill. The reason Iqbal states is that his ancestors had been Hindu Brahmans.

 Iqbal cares a lot for his children Bano and Javed. He had married thrice. When Iqbal was on his deathbed he really missed Hakim Qarshi who was away in Hyderabad. He believed Qarshi could provide him comfort.

Furthermore the book includes about Javed’s growing up, going to Cambridge, coming back, getting married and having children. It also includes details about Bano and her children. There are about half a dozen pictures at the end of the book which includes author’s pictures with Iqbal’s family. This book reveals the relations of Allama Iqbal with his close friends and family.

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Book Review: Lahore in the Time of the Raj by Ian Talbot and Tahir Kamran

This is an amazing book which provides an account of the interesting colonial period in Lahore. It gives the reader an insight to Lahore’s importance in South Asia.

Various connections/ networks of Lahore with other important cities of United India have been explored in this book. This connection includes Calcutta, Delhi, Bombay and Karachi. It does not end there. Areas such as Afghanistan, Arabia, Europe and North America have also had relations with Lahore. These linkages had social, cultural and economic characteristics.

The second chapter on the Darvazas and Mohallas reveals how the life of the city was influenced. The tourists/ travellers who visited Lahore shaped many elements in the city. All this is explained in great detail. Some of the poets, wrestlers, cricketers, politicians and academicians are also discussed.

Furthermore the consumption of foreign goods in colonial Lahore has been elucidated in a separate chapter. Both the British and those well off Indians shaped a pattern of consumption in Lahore. The route of pilgrims who travelled to Hejaz via Lahore has also been highlighted in the book. Others who visited shrines in Lahore and other places in India have also been mentioned. Migration in Lahore, Lahore’s importance as a city in the independence movement is also discussed in great detail. Official statistics have also been quoted from credible estimates.

Moreover establishment of educational institutions in Lahore by the British are also cited. Various prominent graduates of Islamia College, Government College and FC College and Punjab University have been briefly mentioned in this book. Examples include KK Aziz, Allama Mashraqi and Allama Iqbal’s educational years in Lahore.

Anybody interested in history of subcontinent or history of Lahore must read this book!

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