Trafika Europe 9/10 - UK in Europe

I stared at thenightof the city

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.

195