Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi
Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi (b. 1923) is the author of four books and has received the Hilal-i-Imtiaz and the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, two of the most coveted arts awards in Pakistan.
Mirages of the Mind
Fiction by Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi
Translated from the Urdu by Matt Reeck Aftab Ahmad
Basharat and his family are Indian Muslims who have relocated to Pakistan, but they remain deeply steeped in the nostalgia of pre-Partition life in India. Through Mirages of the Mind’s absurd anecdotes and unforgettable biographical sketches—which hide the deeper unease and sorrow of the family’s journey from Kanpur to Karachi—Basharat 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 postcolonial life in Pakistan, Mirages of the Mind forms an authentic portrait of life among South Asia’s Urdu speakers, rendered beautifully into English by Matt Reeck and Aftab Ahmad.…
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We are lucky indeed to be living in the Yousufi era!—Fareeha Bukhari, The Nation
Profoundly good-humored, genuinely wise, and very often laugh-out-loud funny.—Nick DiMartino, Shelf Awareness
