195 292
I stared at thenightof the city
195
we are yet to make out his
aim in places, and have still
to discern the games he is
playing with certain words
in others. To produce
clear writing and achieve
our purpose, we had to
translate the sentences
into language that was
not so complex, deceitful
or ridden with secrets, to
change the words from
something with the reek
of a report by an evil soul
to one that smells of life;
to a story told in a clear
voice, its style, outlook
and viewpoint visible from
every angle. And in doing
so, as God is our witness,
our sole aim has been to
arrive at the truth.
Right from the beginning,
wewantedtotellastorythat
was an exact replica of the
events that metaphorically
started with the bizarre
and extraordinary birth
of Ghazalnus (‘Writer
of Ghazals’)
1
, and that
continues to the present
day and is still not at an
end.
The chapters pertaining to
the Baron of Imagination
are the work of a close
friend of his, who worked
for another wing of
the Party. He recorded
everything the Baron said
on small cassettes, thrown
in at random with the files.
Our intention in publishing
and exposing this story
is partly to inform the
world about this curious
tale, in which most of
the sad and dangerous
events take place after the
spring of 2004. It is also a
1 The ghazal is an ancient
rhyming poetic form with roots in
the pre-Islamic Middle East. It was
used most famously by classical
Persian and Arab poets, and popula-
rised in South Asia from around the
twelfth century. Ghazals often ex-
press the pain of loss and separation
as well as the beauty of love despite
the pain it brings.