مھاڳ
The confident and intimate tone of these travel accounts gives an added charm to them in addition to the fact that it reveals the personality of our author. Altaf who to a casual acquaintance may appear rather reserved, aloof and pre-occupied, in his books becomes a friend and a guide of his reader talking to him in the present tense all the time, in a tone that is friendly and familiar, sprinkled with his lively, natural and mellow humor.
Besides being interesting, Altaf’s books are highly informative. He gives exact geographical location of a particular place or country. You could almost pen your atlas and follow the route as he mentions the oceans, countries and ports that he passes and the cities that he visits. He mentions in details the people, their colour and their complexation, the colour and texture of their hair, their way of life, their historical, political, social and economic background, their educational and other institution, their language manners, custom and ceremonies. He even mentions the names of the famous shops of the cities that he visits. He tells us where the Nile is blue and where it is white; when, how and why was Suez Canal built, for what purpose it is used; how many ships pass through it daily and how much income is daily derived from the levy on each ship. He tells us that a large number of Pakistanis live in the Scandinavian Peninsula.
Altaf’s travel accounts serve as an incentive to the homely Sindhi youth. In fact, some young men have been so much inspired by them that they have taken to sea-faring life following in his wake.
Over and above all, gushes forth his deep and lasting love for his native land Sindh and for its simple, frank people. The sight of Nile and its gift Egypt takes him back to his beloved river Indus and its gift Sindh. In the midst of diverse cultures and nationalities, colorful scenes of adversity or dissimilarity sparks his mind and he is reminded of his people and his native land.
Without a word of praise or censure, Altaf increases our awareness of the good and the desirable and our abhorrence for what is evil and pernicious.
So, in the company of Altaf, while reading his books, like him we too are “Voyaging, Voyaging, Voyaging.”
Professor Amena Kahmisani
Department of English
University of Sind
(18.06. 1987).