Mirages of the Mind [Paperback]

Basharat and his family are Indian Muslims who have relocated to Pakistan, but who remain deeply steeped in the nostalgia of pre-Partition life in India. Through Mirages of the Minds absurd anecdotes and unforgettable biographical sketcheswhich hide the deeper unease and sorrow of the familys journey from Kanpur to KarachiBasharet emerges as a wise fool, and the host of this unique sketch comedy. From humorous scenes in colonial north India, to the heartbreak and homesickness of post-colonial life in Pakistan, Mirages of the Mind forms an authentic portrait of life among South Asias Urdu speakers, rendered beautifully into English by Matt Reeck and Aftab Ahmad.A hilarious and nostalgic account of twentieth-century Muslim life on the Indian subcontinent Profoundly good-humored, genuinely wise, and very often laugh-out-loud funny....Yousufi has opinions on the moral conduct of dogs, the joys of ailing, flying kites from rooftops, and why Jewish prophets all rode donkeys. He brings to life a world where machine-guns are taken to weddings and where poor women dye their dung-covered floors to look like carpets. Whether hes talking about a stolen lumber shipment or a horse that bolts at the sight of funerals, Yousufis witty storytelling is deftly captured in this English translation, which survives in spite of a desperate need for footnotes and a glossary, providing a lighthearted (if frequently unguided) plunge into one of the treasures of contemporary Pakistani culture. Rarely have I encountered a book which made me laugh so freely, and was such a pleasure to read aloud. Humor can be the hardest element to successfully bring into a new language and the translators carry over the singularly elastic wit of Yousufi with considerable aplomb.