May 11, 2006	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 12, 1427

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LAHORE, May 10: Dressed in his summer crisp white shirt and trousers, M.J. Akbar looked quite untouched by the searing temperature outside the comfortable hotel environment. Sitting in the lobby of the hotel where he is staying, he talked with such motivated spirit about his latest book ‘Blood Brothers’ that its contents started coming to life in the listener’s mind.

“This is the first time I’m doing a book launch in Pakistan and if you read the book you’ll realise why I’ve chosen Lahore as the city for its launch in Pakistan. It forms an integral part of my narrative,” explained the journalist-author.

Blood Brothers is M. J. Akbar’s sixth foray into book writing and going by the reviews in India, other than being translated into six different languages, it has already claimed a place on the bestsellers’ list in Akbar’s home country. “It has received tremendous response from the people. Without sounding too cliched I’ll say this is one book which is close to my heart because of the passion involved in writing it. It’s about my identity as an Indian Muslim, about my parents, my grandfather and what being a Muslim means in India,” he elaborated.

Writing in an autobiographical narrative, M. J. Akbar has no hesitation in conceding that Blood Brothers is a mixed account of history interlaced with fiction to make it interesting.

“Though the events and characters in the book are based on reality, I’ve used the colourful fictional element to capture the reader’s interest. Reality and truth can be very monotonous. I had to use my craft as a writer to expand reality in a way which would not compromise its factual contents.”

Covering a period of three generations, M. J. Akbar starts off with Prayaag, his grandfather, who converted to Islam of his own free will and became Rahmatullah. “It’s in Telinipara, a small jute-mill town north of Kolkata, where the family saga began. My grandfather was barely 11 and on the verge of starvation when he was given shelter and food by a Muslim family. Since the couple had no children of their own, they adopted him,” narrated M. J. Akbar.

“There wasn’t any forced conversion. My grandfather did it out of love for the people who cared for him like they would for their own son. I’ve written this book keeping in mind the people of the subcontinent and how they’ve existed despite upheavals to create the social history of this region.”

Akbar is one of the best known journalists of India; he has gained international recognition for the crispness of style arising from accepting facts rather than nurturing politically convenient bitterness perpetuated by the manipulated history of the subcontinent. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Asian Age, a multi-edition national daily, and The Deccan Chronicle, besides being a Dawn columnist.

M. J. Akbar has already won critical acclaim for The Shade of Swords: Jihad and the Conflict between Islam and Christianity, Jawaharlal Nehru’s biography Nehru: The Making of a Nation, Kashmir: Behind the Vale, The Siege Within, Riot After Riot and a collection of his articles compiled under the title of Byline.

The formal launch of Blood Brothers will take place today (Thursday) at the Alhamra Hall III on The Mall at 5pm.