To Murtaza Bhutto's Fatushki!

To Murtaza Bhutto’s Fatushki,

Quoting Khushwant Singh, SONGS OF BLOOD AND SWORD is “Written in impeccably beautiful prose...gutsy”. It is! And you, Fatima Bhutto, are a colossal writer. Of course, you don’t need a word for that from someone as ordinary as I am but your Papa, I am sure, would have been extremely proud of your work. You are prolific and that is no surprise. After all, genes are to be inherited!  I think someday we will have a legend of how a wicked master of black magic cursed the Bhuttos of Larkana under an evil spell. Pray! Why would one of the best political dynasties’ of the world be doomed! Acumen, one is in awe of; destiny, one dismays.
Written in plain English (one hardly needs a dictionary) SONGS OF BLOOD AND SWORD grasps a reader’s mind and soul and it is difficult to take a break. Just so you know, I kept reading while eating ;-). As a novelist you unquestionably know how to ‘touch a heart and hold it too.’

Thank you for publicizing the letters your Grandpa wrote to your Father. I think they are incredibly inspirational and are also the high point of the book. Zulfikar Bhutto indeed had sharp intellect.  The directives he gave to his children regarding their education and the ways of going around the world are also exceptional. ‘There is no last phase in Education’is the truth no one should forget. Did I tell you I am a Kashmiri? Now I did ;) My father often tells me how he and his best friend Prof. Shaban, cried like little children when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was executed in 1979 and on their way back to my ancestral home they tore my Grandma’s black burqa in to shreds and then hoisted a black flag on the topmost edge of the roof of that house. They mourned for days and so did many Bhutto loyalist, I believe.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the quintessential romantic sojourn of your Father with Della. I wish they had a happy ending ;(

Your book is a standard memoir of a daughter who immensely loved her father. However, it is always easy to admire the brighter side of the personality of a dear one ; and it is necessary to mention here that while applauding your Father for his right choices, you have with the same poise talked about the wrong ones, mostly governed by emotions, Mir Murtaza Bhutto made. It takes a lot of courage to put it all in black and white and you have been valiant and candid about it all. Congratulations!

Fatima, I and my father almost share the same kind of relationship as did you and your Papa. I can safely say my Father is  my Jugular Vein (Funny, how the phrase keeps dancing between Kashmiris and Pakistanis ;) ) and I know you will believe me if I tell you I cried profusely while reading page no. 413 and page no. 414. With a lump in my throat I prayed and still wish that 20 September 1996 never came in your life but it did. I salute you for having had the courage to face such an irreparable loss.

Given the state of affairs within Bhutto family, I understand why your Wadi didn’t find much space in your book. Fair enough! As a daughter of Mir Murtaza Bhutto you have an adequate amount of rationale to hate Benazir Bhutto but as your duty as a novelist,  I think your portrayal of BB in an extremely negative frame is a bit unfair. Benazir Bhutto was anything but ordinary and I wish you were as honest in depicting her picture as you have been in the characterisation of other Bhuttos.No doubt your Wadi Bua bungled up from time to time, the worst mistake being her marriage to Mr. 10% or is it Mr. 50% now, I am sure her book shelves had more than just Mills and Boons.

On your breast lay

The deep scar of your enemy

But you standing cypress did not fall

It is your way to die.

In you nestle songs of blood and sword

In you the migrating birds

In you the anthem of victory

Your eyes have never been so bright.

(the poem features in the book.)

Yours truly.