“Afghanistan is not a country in our sense : It is an attitude, a collection of ethnic groups with powerful shared customs and a feeling of being Afghan in some general way but with no willingness to sacrifice local or ethnic interests to higher national goals”
This is the best quote from the book written by Tony Thomson, majorly a travelogue than a book by itself. His passion in 1971 to travel from London to India and re-discover himself from an aimless life and career, made him journey through Austria, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and finally India. And this entire journey in a pre-used Volkswagon alongwith a couple of female counterparts who share the same passion, though for a different reason. During the journey he experienced different lands with equally different people, cultures, historic monuments, landscapes, food habits, dressing, climatic conditions and ofcourse living patterns. Primarily, the author seemed to have taken more interest and love towards Afghanistan more than any other country he visited. Reason behind which he visited the country again in 2009 nearly after 38 years of his first visit. He seems to have been spell bound by the way this country, popularly known as ‘Graveyard of Empires’ withstood the onslaught of many invasions and widespread looting but never succumbed to any of the World’s greatest invaders, even Alexander the Great. I loved the way the transformation of Afghanistan from way back in 1971 to 2009 was clearly elicited explaining each and every aspect about the country’s culture, politics and economy.
Pros : A fine travelogue for a passionate traveler who loves to travel long distances, enduring the hardships of tiresome journey by road. One can find some astonishing facts recorded from ground zero about the historical aspects across Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan. Getting to know the minutest details about every place one visits in his/her journey and recording them for future generations is one of the best and most important quality of a good travel writer. Loved the way some humor was included inbetween to lighten the mood of the reader. The author could also sync his love story and marriage inbetween this travelogue which added flavor to the reading. The title well suits the book wherein Love and Afghanistan is the main course and rest are starters with desserts !
Cons: The hard facts of criticism when it came to India and its lifestyle was a little objectionable as I don’t think India was so bad as it was described here. The author’s knowledge about the Indian subcontinent and its rich heritage dating back to Indus Valley Civilization seems to be limited and it reflects only on the few places he visited in a hurry. The author’s sudden return back to Cleveland for his cousin’s marriage during his first visit could have blocked his further insights into the better parts of the sub-continent’s historic glory.
My rating is 2.5 out of 5
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