by Syed Abdul Majid Quadri (Author)
Born at the time of the British Raj in central India, the author's childhood memories of growing up in a Muslim community in the holy Hindu city of Ujjain have been the inspiration for Indian Tapestry. Living in harmony with their Hindu neighbors, the daily lives of the residents of Mirzawari sparkle with the excitement of weddings, arranged by go-betweens, within the constraints of war-time rationing. The transport is provided by tonga drivers, their hashish smoking sessions inducing a hazy glow to their daily activities. Next to the criminals' den lies Arithewaley, the Lawyers' Den, where the days are enlivened with charpoy chatter for the women, and the evenings with poetry readings and chess, held separately for the sexes but inexorably drawing people together. The parallel world of ghosts and genies is interwoven with normal daily routines, and Muslim and Hindu festivals are equally celebrated throughout the year. The lives and loves of four friends draw Indian Tapestry to its close at the time of the partition and founding of Pakistan.
Author Biography
Syed Abdul Majid Quadri was born in Ujjain, Central India in 1935. When he was 14, civil war broke out in India, forcing him to flee Ujjain, leaving his family and friends and breaking off his education at Maharajwada High School. Three years later he was reunited with his family in Karachi, Pakistan. They had lost their home and all of their possessions. He passed his matriculation examination from the Panjab University, Lahore in 1953, and obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Karachi University in 1958. After working for an American firm in Iran for a year, he travelled from Tehran to London via Istanbul and Paris by coach, train, the Orient Express, and boat. He is now retired and resides in Derby, England with his wife Ann, and his memories of a bygone era. Indian Tapestry is his first book.