How To Write About Pakistan

Four authors – Mohsin Hamid, Mohammed Hanif, Daniyal Mueenuddin and Kamila Shamsie – in the same seering, satirical tone as Binyavanga Wainaina’s “How to Write About Africa” (originally published in Granta, 1992) have created their own advice on How to Write About Pakistan. Here’s the start of Hanif’s list:

1. Must have mangoes.
2. Must have maids who serve mangoes.
3. Maids must have affairs with man servants who should occasionally steal mangoes.
4. Masters must lecture on history of mangoes and forgive the thieving servant.
5. Calls to prayer must be rendered to capture the mood of a nation disappointed by the failing crop of mangoes.
6. The mango flavour must linger for a few paragraphs.

Read the rest on Granta.com