KARACHI, April 23: A Georgian Saga: From the Caucasus to the Indus, written by Meherafroze Mirza Habib, was launched at a city hotel on Friday. Speaker Syed Muzaffar Ali Shah, Iqbal Akhund and Javed Jabbar were the main speakers.

The book provides an insight into the lives of Mirza Khusro Beg, a scion of a princely family of Georgia, and Fareedun whose father was a nobleman from the ancient ruling tribe of Saqqez. Both were from the Caucasus and were very young when somehow, uprooted from their homeland, were brought to the deserts of Sindh — “from the cool and green pastures to the barren and burning patch of land —. thousands of miles away.

The author, in search of her roots, extensively researched into her family papers and books and authored the book, — a journey in remembrance — as a speaker remarked.

Born in Karachi, Meherafroze Mirza Habib comes from the illustrious family of Mirza Kalich Beg, a renowned literary figure and author of around 500 books while she is known for her contribution to several NGOs for the uplift of underprivileged women and children.

Iqbal Akhund referred to the circumstances which brought Mirza Khusro Beg and Fareedun to the court of Karam Ali Shah, the then ruler of Sindh. The book also throws light on Georgian history and the troubled scene in Georgia in those times. The arrival of the British in Sindh and their interaction with the Mirs is recorded as the family history proceeds and continues until the 20th century.

The speakers lauded the author for her incisive researches and for the tremendous efforts she put in to compile the family history. Syed Muzaffer Ali Shah emphasised the

need of more such books and urged intellectuals to play

their role to promote reading habits. — Hasan Abidi