The Golden Pigeon

‘Pigeons are more powerful than eagles. They can fly faster, they have more endurance, greater stamina, they have vision as strong as that of an eagle, but they can never be the kings and masters,’ Babur said, as if he was weighing my options. ‘Eagles are hunters and pigeons are romantic lovers. What would you like to be, my dear Shiraz?’ On a cold, foggy morning in March 1950, the beautiful Hina Kauser gathers up the folds of her burqa, picks up one of her twin sons, and runs back to her home in old Delhi like she’s possessed by a jinn. She cannot leave for Lahore with her husband, Azizuddin Khan, because she is the daughter of Qudsia Begum, the great granddaughter of the last Mughal emperor. Hina and Qudsia must uphold the traditions of their great ancestors. Oblivious, Azizuddin boards the train to Pakistan with their other son. Like the twin nations born of the same womb, Shiraz and Aijaz grow up in Ballimaran and Lahore – separated by a destiny beyond their control.In the story of these brothers, where the real and the magical rub shoulders, Emperor Babur is a key character, now more poet than conqueror. Still searching for his lost Hindustan, dreaming of a reunited India, Babur’s spirit hovers over the pages. By turn philosophical and ruminative, erotic and unabashedly ribald, The Golden Pigeon is a subtle appraisal of the forces that divide communities and nations. This story will sweep you up in its grand scale and carry you to the last page with unflagging momentum.