Annie liked the wobble of the
train, the way it shook her shoulders, as she sat reading her Dostoyevsky.
Rosie was sleeping and so was Daniel.
These were long days. Travelling across some of the most untravelled zones of
the world. Pakistan was an experience she cherished, she had a mix of people, some
so good she thought you could give your life for them, others so erudite (
quoting, Ghalib, Khusrau, Qayyam they were virtual encyclopaedias of Islamic
thought and literature ) and there were others Aristocrats proud of their
legacy with a large Diaspora living outside Pakistan – England, Dubai, Americas
even France, Spain, Portugal and Belgium they were all over and that too for
nearly 2 centuries – Annie loved Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar –
reminded her so much of her days in Calcutta.
Stiff, crowded, smell of food all
over, intellectual, fun loving and people and people and people – one could just
sit and watch people. Except Islamabad - that reminded her so much about cold
war and its menacing military mystiques - But her heart was more inclined to
find the soul of the muslim rebel, she wanted to know the mind, the motivation and
get to the root of the angst burning – what made them so dangerous ? so
suicidal ? so misanthropists?
That’s when she met Zahir.
Zahir was a son of a rich
Pakistani family that hailed from Baluchistan but settled in Sindh in Pakistani
Punjab. He was a research scholar on Islamic thought and literature, young,
impressionable but handsome when he had an argument.
Zahir was tall, very fair, thick
long black hair, sharp nose a prominent jaw, lean physic that he carried off
very casually. He knew the effect that he had on people but he preferred to
keep a very low profile.
Preferred debates and a solution to – what he called
the 5th war of the Roses .
Zahir, like Annie and Daneil and
Rossie , was a world wide traveller – had explored several cultures and was
well versed with English, Spanish, German and French. He could speak world
literature like others spoke about tea and coffee.
Annie knew that if ever she had
anyone who could get to understand her urge to understand the root of ‘muslim
angst’ ( a research project she had identified as a part of her new book ) then
it could be Zahir.
Annie, Daniel, Rossie had invited
Zahir to travel along with them to Istanbul. Since Zahir had other engagements
he promised meet them at the Istanbul University.
Where Daniel was also contracted
to perform and manage a fusion music symphony of Turkish sufi music artist and
the Royal Philharmonic band from UK – recreating the story of the Balkans.
They built Istanbul after all.
Zahir was excited and had queried
isn’t that forgotten history ? ever since Istanbul was seized by the Ottomans ?
Daniel in his own quite style
just smiled, looking at Annie.
No comments:
Post a Comment