Mission to Kabul is a story of passion, trust, betrayal, love, political intrigue, and espionage, set against an authentic historical canvas accurately depicting life in 19th-century South Asia. Muslim custom dictated that the eldest son inherited the father's responsibility for the family. In this story, Mahmoud, the elder brother, steps into the younger one's love affair to protect him. As a consequence, Mahmoud is jailed and later forced to undertake a secret mission to Afghanistan, whose mountains are the pivot of great power intrigue.
On his trek through the mountains to return to India, he is attacked by the Waziri tribe, with surprising results. The story of Hamid, the younger brother, weaves in and out of Mahmoud's. It includes accounts of the life of women in purdah and various family and religious customs.
About the Author
H. Ronken Lynton lived and worked in India for more than twenty years. She is a former member of the Harvard Business School faculty. Two of her three biographies of Indians were of 19th-century Hyderabadis: The Days of the Beloved, an evocation of the times of Mahbub Ali Pasha, the sixth Nizam; and My Dear Nawab Saheb, an account of Sir Salar Jung, Mahbub's prime minister and regent, in his relations with the British.
|
"It should be read by anyone keen to know about diverse human cultures, whether students, travellers, diplomats, businessmen, journalists or read just for fun."
—Ziauddin Ahmed Shakeb
|