A Person of Pakistani Origins by Ziauddin Sardar
What does it mean to be a Pakistani? What do people see when they think they see a Pakistani? Can a Pakistani be more than one thing? In A Person of Pakistani Origins, Ziauddin Sardar, who does not have an authentic birth certificate to prove his origins, seeks to discover what makes a Pakistani and whether it is something one wants or ought to be. He reflects on his culture and heritage through the stories of the Pakistanis in his life. These are tales of dueling poets, fake thrillers, an uncle who has the ability to disappear and reappear miles away without even breaking a sweat, a traditional bookish auntie who harbors feminist desires, and a culture deeply entangled in Bollywood films. Nothing is as it seems, and assumptions made serve only as lessons for tomorrow. Deep contemplation, generously coasted with humor, takes you on a journey into multifaceted ethos of Pakistani culture, the beauty of Urdu language, as well as the humble insanity that is the everyday life of a person of Pakistani origins. Readers are prompted to embark on reflections on where they come from and who they have become.
'An adroit genealogical inquiry, a wise meditation on the confusions and compulsions that make up an individual. . Sardar’s captivating narrative constitutes a rebellion against the geographical truth of a country created by dissection.'
'This is a British cultural critic's impassioned reflection on identity, his own and Pakistan's, against the backdrop of the country's tumultuous 71-year-old history.'
'An engrossing read [that] offers insights about what it meant to be growing up in altogether different worlds.' -- New Age Islam
'In the twenty-first century, migration, faith, and identity are disrupting nations and dividing peoples around the globe. Ziauddin Sardar uses his own life to understand and illustrate the complexities and profundities of these forces with unbearable lightness and also emotion, honesty, beauty and wit. Sardar’s birthplace, Pakistan, causes him much aggravation, but the nation’s heartbeat echoes his own, and he is made by its long civilisation. And still deeply affected by its story. He is cosmopolitan and thoroughly grounded. This wonderful book balances the two sides with panache and integrity. It’s the way we must all learn to live.' -- Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, author of 'Exotic England: The Making of a Curious Nation'
'Ziauddin Sardar’s journey is emblematic for our age of tragically hardening borders. A compassionately critical thinker about faith and nationality, Sardar was born in Pakistan and made his life in London, becoming an acclaimed scholar and writer. He reminds us that we now live in a world in which passports, visas and identities can be switched in a single second from "Exempted" to "Cancelled".' -- Ruth Padel, Professor of Poetry at King’s College London, author of 'On Migration', 'Tigers in Red Weather' and 'Emerald'
'Where so often Pakistan and Pakistanis are presented in a one-dimensional way through the prism of the latest crisis or bad news story, A Person of Pakistani Origins provides a complex, inter-generational, humorous, and deeply personal account of the many ways to be a British Pakistani.' -- Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, author of 'The Enemy Within: A Tale of Muslim Britain'
'This is a British cultural critic's impassioned reflection on identity, his own and Pakistan's, against the backdrop of the country's tumultuous 71-year-old history.'
'An engrossing read [that] offers insights about what it meant to be growing up in altogether different worlds.' -- New Age Islam
'In the twenty-first century, migration, faith, and identity are disrupting nations and dividing peoples around the globe. Ziauddin Sardar uses his own life to understand and illustrate the complexities and profundities of these forces with unbearable lightness and also emotion, honesty, beauty and wit. Sardar’s birthplace, Pakistan, causes him much aggravation, but the nation’s heartbeat echoes his own, and he is made by its long civilisation. And still deeply affected by its story. He is cosmopolitan and thoroughly grounded. This wonderful book balances the two sides with panache and integrity. It’s the way we must all learn to live.' -- Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, author of 'Exotic England: The Making of a Curious Nation'
'Ziauddin Sardar’s journey is emblematic for our age of tragically hardening borders. A compassionately critical thinker about faith and nationality, Sardar was born in Pakistan and made his life in London, becoming an acclaimed scholar and writer. He reminds us that we now live in a world in which passports, visas and identities can be switched in a single second from "Exempted" to "Cancelled".' -- Ruth Padel, Professor of Poetry at King’s College London, author of 'On Migration', 'Tigers in Red Weather' and 'Emerald'
'Where so often Pakistan and Pakistanis are presented in a one-dimensional way through the prism of the latest crisis or bad news story, A Person of Pakistani Origins provides a complex, inter-generational, humorous, and deeply personal account of the many ways to be a British Pakistani.' -- Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, author of 'The Enemy Within: A Tale of Muslim Britain'
Ziauddin Sardar is an award-winning, internationally renowned writer, futurist and cultural critic. A former columnist on the New Statesman, he has also served as a Commissioner on the Equality and Human Rights Commission. He is the author of many books, including Desperately Seeking Paradise: Journeys of a Sceptical Muslim (Granta); Reading the Qur'an (Hurst); and Mecca: The Sacred City (Bloomsbury). He is editor of the influential quarterly, Critical Muslim.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781849049870 |
| ISBN 10 | 1849049874 |
| Title | A Person of Pakistani Origins |
| Author | Ziauddin Sardar |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd |
| Year published | 2018-07-12 |
| Number of pages | 256 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |