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 Glimpses of Life in America
Product Details:
Author: Syed Arif Hussaini | ISBN: 969-407-313-8 | Format: Paperback | Pages: 266 | Weight: 0.87 lbs | Pub. Date: 2005 | Publisher: Royal Book Company
DESCRIPTION
"Like the subject of his book, Mr Arif Hussaini, abhors idleness. After years of service and earning a retirement he came to the United States and deserved a break. But spurning a life of somnolence he plunged into the world of reading and column- writing. The present book includes some of the sketches written by him.
Mr Hussaini has an eye for seeing things, a memory which soaks up information and a sense of humour that enlivens his observations. His portrayal of the superb panorama of life in America, with its strengths, oddities and contradictions, is informative and pleasing.
Mr Hussaini has an open mind and admires the qualities which made America so powerful, rich and vibrant. He is full of praise for the freedoms which are enshrined in the American constitution and are guarded by an independent judiciary. He applauds American inventiveness, mobility, respect for human dignity and friendliness. He says, “You do not call a spade a spade in this country as it would be too unfriendly...Even a lavatory is called a rest room...A traffic policeman would give you a big American smile and then hand you a traffic violation ticket...A jail is a correctional facility...a queer man is gay.” Then comes the punch line. 'The nice guys of this country’ he says, “were the last to set the slaves free and the first to drop the atomic bomb?’ He also accepts that “since becoming the sole super power its conduct in world affairs has been in some instances less than rational?’.
The chapters dealing with Palestine and Iraq offer a critique of the U.S policy in the region. Mr Hussaini also deals, in a balanced manner, with the dilemmas and perplexities of the South Asians living in a new milieu. He admits that the Americans practice what we preach. On the other hand, he frankly says, our market place is replete with shady deals, corruption, dishonesty, but many practitioners of such misdeeds in public life would be found meticulously observing religious rituals in their private lives! His brief advice on this complex issue is more illuminating than the lengthy effusions of many preachers. He wants that the immigrants should embrace the American values of honesty, truthfulness and hard work, and reject their aberrations in gender relations and family structures...A teen-age daughter of Pakistani-American parents had described herself as A.B.C.D-American Born Confused Desi. Mr Hussaini disdains such defeatism. He admires the immigrants who combine the market place ethics of America and the family values of Pakistan. Such people, he says, are the right kind of A.B.C.Ds- American Born, Clear-headed Desis." - Khalid Ali (Washington, USA), Retired Director- General External Publicity/ Additional Secretary, Pakistan
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