Descent into Chaos

Ahmed Rashid’s new book is aptly titled Descent into Chaos. It is a scathing indictment of the inaction, decisions and powerplays by various quarters that have led Pakistan and Afghanistan into their current state of chaos. A must-read for those who have an interest in the War on Terror, the Taliban and Pakistan. A word of warning though, some of the material in the book has been repeated from Rashid’s earlier books, but serves as a good refresher if you have a memory as bad as mine.

i <3 pratchett

Terry Pratchett on Frost Over The World

A Poem for Monday

A Letter
-Anthony Hecht

I have been wondering
What you are thinking about, and by now suppose
It is certainly not me.
But the crocus is up, and the lark, and the blundering
Blood knows what it knows.
It talks to itself all night, like a sliding moonlit sea.

Of course, it is talking of you.
At dawn, where the ocean has netted its catch of lights,
The sun plants one lithe foot
On that spill of mirrors, but the blood goes worming through
Its warm Arabian nights,
Naming your pounding name again in the dark heart-root.

Who shall, of course, be nameless.
Anyway, I should want you to know I have done my best,
As I’m sure you have, too.
Others are bound to us, the gentle and blameless
Whose names are not confessed
In the ceaseless palaver. My dearest, the clear unquaried blue

Of those depths is all but blinding.
You may remember that once you brought my boys
Two little woolly birds.
Yesterday the older one asked for you upon finding
Your thrush among his toys.
And the tides welled about me, and I could find no words.

There is not much else to tell.
One tries one’s best to continue as before,
Doing some little good.
But I would have you know that all is not well
With a man dead set to ignore
The endless repetitions of his own murmurous blood.

Book of the Month.

I’ve been meaning to write about this book earlier, considered I skipped out of the office early to buy this book and proceeded to read it at record speed, but there would have to be electricity in order for me to use my beloved desktop computer.

Nevertheless, A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammad Hanif [who also penned the hilarious article 'Musharraf and the Drunk Uncle] is one of the funniest books I have read since Rushdie’s Shame. But where Rushdie lost some readers in convoluted names and plot lines, Hanif keeps it simple, effective, sarcastic, and most effective of all, never falls into the trap of cliches that authors from the Subcontinent tend to do. A must read for anyone who appreciates good fiction, and has an interest in the murky world of Pakistani politics.

The book is available at The Second Floor and Liberty Books in Karachi.

:(

On a personal note, I am extremely saddened to read that Terry Pratchett has Alzheimer’s. I was introduced to the Discworld series a few years ago and it has been a brilliant love affair with his work since then.

From Pratchett’s Guards Guards:

It was the usual Ankh-Morpork mob in times of crisis: half of them were here to complain, a quarter of them were here to watch the other half, and the remainder were here to rob, importune or sell hot dogs to the rest.

Book Recommendation of the Week!

Please buy this book if you’re a journalist, or associated with the world of media in any way, and even if you’re a blogger activist. The book is available at Liberty Books and on Amazon and is worth every cent. And if it makes you a better journalist or a writer, please send a donation to the charitable cause ‘Save Huma From Bankruptcy’.