At Bahawalpur in Pakistan, August 1988, when the supposedly impressive demonstration of M1 Abrams Battle tanks was a damp squib, little did General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq realize how close he was to his death. A string of events, comical and tragic, real and surreal lead to the assassination of the Pakistani Dictator. The brilliant fictional work, 'A case of exploding mangoes', a sort of roman a clef, by Mohammed Hanif offers interesting and fresh insights in this regards. The book is a first person account of fictional Pakistani Air Force Junior under officer Ali Shigri. It is also the tale of a General worried of his legacy after a brutal 11 year old rule. The portrayal of the General, stripped of flowery contexts of power, as a hen-pecked husband, a man perpetually afraid of everyone around him is hilarious and realistic.
I'm quite amused, with the chapter where the celebrated General wishes to provide relief urgently to widows on a short notice, and the informational minister had to arrange the window dressed widows from his own department - this is a damaging reality that's happening all around us, not just in Pakistan. As Lord Acton observed, Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Overall, the book is good, but it borders on being great too, with a punch of black comedy. I enjoyed the work. In an era of intolerance, works like these, enrich the freedom of speech and expression, and offer at the same time, an unbridled sense of enjoyment and thrill. For the power craved by the Generals and Politicians is trivial before the works of pen that entertains and enthralls the common man!
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