Turbulence and Tranquillity
Contents: Acknowledgements. Preface. I. My life and times: 1. Memories of the forties: the turbulent years (1940-47). 2. Coming to Dhaka: the early days (1947-48). 3. The Dhaka college years (1948-50). 4. The Dhaka University years (1950-54). 5. The London years (1955-56): a few anecdotes. 6. Joining the civil service: the early years (1958-60). 7. Working in Tangail: a sub-divisional officer's account. 8. Working in Chandpur: a sub-divisional officer's account. 9. Living on the Fairy Hills: the Chittagong story (1962-63). 10. Policemen for a week. 11. Sojourn in Williamstown: a joy forever. 12. Garai Nadir Pare: a district officer's story. 13. Beginning of the end of Pakistan: a civil servant's account (1968-69). 14. The last days of Pakistan: recollections of a civil servant. 15. Seven agonising months: Brussels (1970-71). 16. Coming to Washington : reminiscences of the seventies. 17. Working in McNamara's Bank: Washington (1972-76). 18. Thirteen months of sunshine: living in Zambia (1977-80). 19. Yugoslavia under Tito and beyond. 20. The lunch that never ends: 1973 and counting. 21. Storm in a teacup at the mall. 22. Old friends are the best friends. 23. Cruise in the Carribean. 24. Loch Lomond: A thing of beauty and a joy forever. 25. In the Lake District: beauty, bliss and solitude. II. Personalities and events: 26. The language and cultural movements (1948-1952) and 21 February. 27. Conversations with two leaders. 28. Tajuddin Ahmad: a wise man of few words. 29. Justice Malik Rustam Kayani: a man of courage. 30. A great Indian patriot: Subhas Chandra Bose. 31. Great ideas, simple solutions. 32. A look at the political stances of Jinnah and Sheikh Mujib. 33. First Indian War of Independence: The Sepoy Mutiny (1857-58). 34. Last Timurid Emperor: Bahadur Shah Zafar's tragic end. 35. Magic of the Taj and Shah Jahan's Mogul Grandeur. 36. Abul Barkat: a simple man and a hero. 37. The Moguls and the Ahom Raj. III. Impressions, sentiments, and relationships: 38. Looking up to one's father. 39. Raising three sons. 40. The rediscovery of childhood: life with grandchildren. 41. On growing old. 42. Taking the credit. 43. O Amar Desher Mati: the story of Krishna Sen. 44. Dhaka Ghure Elam. 45. Ishtiaq, as I Knew Him. 46. Dr. A.M.M. Khan: our beloved Chacha. 47. Remembering Enayetullah.
"The book is an autobiographical account of the author's journey through life beginning with the pre-partition years of India. The author's ambivalence about what really happened at that time and why, is reflected in the book along with stories of his youthful days in Bengal and of the school years in the social and political context of the country. The communal divide of India, the political negotiations and the terrible conflicts at the time of the independence of India and Pakistan are briefly captured. Coming to East Pakistan was not without a silver lining. The short lived enthusiasm for Pakistan gave way to discontent and apathy due to neglect of East Pakistan by Pakistan's rulers. A new nationalism in East Pakistan soon emerged based more on Bengali ethnicity, language and culture. It was the beginning of a fairly long search for identity of the people of East Pakistan and a struggle to assert their rightful place in Pakistan.
Drawn on a broad canvas are his experiences as a student activist, a participant in many of the cultural and political movements of the time and later as a socially conscious civil servant. He also covers the brief period of his assignment in the Pakistan Embassy in Belgium in 1970-71 and refers to the Bangladesh struggle following the events of March 25, 1971.
Reflecting on the issues and events of the time, the author gives accounts of his meetings and conversations with some national leaders, which throw interesting light on their political perceptions, character and personalities. In other cases, he narrates personal experiences, leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions. The author's work in Africa and Europe as a staff member of the World Bank also features.
The author's contemporaries will relate to many events narrated by the author from their own experiences. For the later generations, the book provides rich and varied material to trigger their interest in further reading and research, which would lead to a better understanding of the history and politics of the Indian sub-continent from the forties to the mid-seventies." (jacket)
