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Travels in a Dervish Cloak
Spellbound by his grandmother s Anglo-Indian heritage and the exuberant annual visits of her friend the Begum, Isambard Wilkinson became enthralled by Pakistan as an intrepid teenager, eventually working there as a foreign correspondent during the War on Terror. Seeking the land behind the headlines, Bard sets out to discover the essence of a country convulsed by Islamist violence. What of the old, mystical Pakistan has survived and what has been destroyed? We meet charismatic tribal chieftains making their last stand, hereditary saints blessing prostitutes, gangster bosses in violent slums and ecstatic Muslim pilgrims. Navigating a minefield of coups, conspiracies, cock-ups and bombs, Bard is reluctant to judge, his ear alert to the telling phrase, his eye open to Pakistan s palimpsest of beliefs, languages and imperial legacies. His is a funny, hashish- and whisky-scented travel book from the frontline, full of open-hearted delight and a poignant lust for life. Like a cat with nine lives, Bard travels and parties his way to the remotest corners, never allowing his own fragile health to deter him.
264 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2018
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July 13, 2024
Isambard Wilkinson is an Irish/British journalist - one with Indian roots (grandmother) and ties to Pakistan. He also suffered from kidney failure and received a donor kidney, and his doctor advised against a trip to Pakistan: "Patients like you who take imuno-suppressive medication are more vulnerable to disease... and have died in such places."
So despite this, he took the position of the foreign correspondent in Pakistan for The Daily Telegraph, and set himself up in Islamabad for the period of 2006 to 2009. This book was written some time later, published in 2017. From his base in Islamabad he reported on events in Pakistan and Afghanistan. This was a period when Osama bin Laden was in hiding, and thought to be sheltered in Pakistan or Afghanistan, or both.
The books title was inspired by a line in a tract on Sufism written by the 11th century mystic Data sahib, Lahore’s patron saint, which said that all the mysteries of the universe could be found in a patched dervish cloak, “...containing as it does the earth, the sun and moon and all the stages of the path to truth”. Wilkinson is quoted in an interview as saying "Pakistan itself seemed to me like a patchwork of peoples living along the threads of rivers and in the folds of mountains, imagining the universe in myriad ways. I saw myself crossing the cloak, grappling with it, trying to understand it, sometimes getting lost in it."
With his trusty retainers (or often not that trusty), and often joined by his brother as a travelling companion, he moves about Pakistan and Afghanistan chasing stories or travelling for his own enjoyment, meeting people, making connections and experiencing the culture.
Form me the mix in this book is about right - travel, history, contemporary views and thoughts of the Pakistani people he is in contact with. This was a really enjoyable book with poignant moments, funny moments and the reader is exposed to a view of (reasonably) modern Pakistan.
For me 4.5 stars, rounded up.
There were a few quotes I hoped to add, but my memory didn't help retain the page numbers, so I could located on this one on P122, where Wilkinson is talking with his driver.
So despite this, he took the position of the foreign correspondent in Pakistan for The Daily Telegraph, and set himself up in Islamabad for the period of 2006 to 2009. This book was written some time later, published in 2017. From his base in Islamabad he reported on events in Pakistan and Afghanistan. This was a period when Osama bin Laden was in hiding, and thought to be sheltered in Pakistan or Afghanistan, or both.
The books title was inspired by a line in a tract on Sufism written by the 11th century mystic Data sahib, Lahore’s patron saint, which said that all the mysteries of the universe could be found in a patched dervish cloak, “...containing as it does the earth, the sun and moon and all the stages of the path to truth”. Wilkinson is quoted in an interview as saying "Pakistan itself seemed to me like a patchwork of peoples living along the threads of rivers and in the folds of mountains, imagining the universe in myriad ways. I saw myself crossing the cloak, grappling with it, trying to understand it, sometimes getting lost in it."
With his trusty retainers (or often not that trusty), and often joined by his brother as a travelling companion, he moves about Pakistan and Afghanistan chasing stories or travelling for his own enjoyment, meeting people, making connections and experiencing the culture.
Form me the mix in this book is about right - travel, history, contemporary views and thoughts of the Pakistani people he is in contact with. This was a really enjoyable book with poignant moments, funny moments and the reader is exposed to a view of (reasonably) modern Pakistan.
For me 4.5 stars, rounded up.
There were a few quotes I hoped to add, but my memory didn't help retain the page numbers, so I could located on this one on P122, where Wilkinson is talking with his driver.
'I once took my wife to a spring there,' he said... 'We saw a woman swimming in the pond. She was...' he cocked an eyebrow and turned two fingers one way, then the other, 'half woman, and half fish.'
'Ah,' I said, mistrusting my grasp of Urdu. 'You say,' I twisted two fingers one way, then the other, 'half woman, and half fish?'
'Yes sir.'
'She had a tail?'
'Yes sir.'
'And you say she had the head of a woman?'
'Yes sir.'
'What did she do?'
'She swam about.'
'What did you do?'
'We kept very quiet.'
'And then?'
'She disappeared.'
'Are you sure you saw this?'
'Absolutely Sir'
He looked sidelong at me with reproach at my incapacity for insight into local affairs. I marvelled that one who had seen a mermaid so far inland was permitted to be in charge of a mechanised vehicle.
September 6, 2017
Pakistan has had a turbulent history since the day it was created, the treatment of women is so insane men have had to kill their own daughters just to protect them from a worse fate. It is so shocking the things the people have had to go through and no end seems to be in sight. The people though can be some of the kindest and generous you'll ever meet, if you are spotted not eating anything you'll be invited to join a family and they will share what they have got. This is what I've taken from this amazing book, Isambard moves to Islamabad (I chuckled every time at the similar names), He has family connections to Pakistan and after suffering problems with his kidneys, against medical advice he gets a job and meets his life long dream of moving to the country.
Unlike a lot of travel books he visits all areas of the country, no matter how dangerous, in fact at times he does seem very reckless at times, always heading towards danger, going into areas occupied by Islamic militants and employing a driver who possibly sleeps whilst driving him about. As with India once you get away from the cities you'll come across some stunning places, "The Roof of the World" sounds amazing, one place I would consider visiting.
Islamabad meets some wonderful characters, the ones in their 90's are so entertaining. He visits some lovely sounding shrines, and writes what's on his mind no matter if it will get him in trouble.
Bonuses included are photos, a map and a moment of genius, a glossary at the beginning of the book, I loved that touch, much more convenient having it that location.
I read this as part of the armchair reading challenge.
My Blog review is here. https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2017...
Unlike a lot of travel books he visits all areas of the country, no matter how dangerous, in fact at times he does seem very reckless at times, always heading towards danger, going into areas occupied by Islamic militants and employing a driver who possibly sleeps whilst driving him about. As with India once you get away from the cities you'll come across some stunning places, "The Roof of the World" sounds amazing, one place I would consider visiting.
Islamabad meets some wonderful characters, the ones in their 90's are so entertaining. He visits some lovely sounding shrines, and writes what's on his mind no matter if it will get him in trouble.
Bonuses included are photos, a map and a moment of genius, a glossary at the beginning of the book, I loved that touch, much more convenient having it that location.
I read this as part of the armchair reading challenge.
My Blog review is here. https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2017...
November 27, 2021
Of all the books written about Pakistan, here is one that might have come the closest to capturing its baraka, or spirit, and which happens to also be a cracker of a read.
And what spirit! From cocaine-snorting billionaires riding horses nude into their own sex parties, to mullahs lecturing sex toy manufacturers on proper religious conduct, to zealous frontier warlords seeking to impose Taliban-style sharia on the country, to paranoid and shadowy members of the military deep state fanning the fires of jihad with one hand and fumbling to put them out with the other, to wild-eyed and hashish-addled mystics struggling keep an ancient, pre-Islamic tradition of syncretism alive in the face of an increasingly hostile and militant vision of Islam - here is Pakistan in all of its messy and maddening contradictions.
"Paganism flourished beneath a veneer of Islam."
A turbulent and dangerous country bursting with contradictions and ruled by even more turbulent and dangerous people who never seem too far away from violence, Wilkinson writes with tenderness and sympathy for his subject: the poor, suffering and colorful "masses...the powerless, impoverished majority" of Pakistan struggling to survive the twin oppressions of a parasitical military elite, and an unrelenting Islamism.
With endearing portraits of the colorful rogues and saints that make up Pakistani society, Wilkinson's words are liquor, flowing with an intoxicating headiness that pulls the reader into a world at once timeless and timely, and making them appreciate that even if Pakistan fails at everything else, it'll at least have succeeded in inspiring some great writing.
I found this to be a superior book to Declan Walsh's "The Nine Lives of Pakistan". An Irishman of Anglo-Indian descent who had long grown up listening to stories of British India and Pakistan from his mother and grandmother, Isambard Wilkinson leapt at the chance to work as a foreign correspondent in Pakistan for The Times, at a turbulent point in its history, as the country transitioned from military to civilian rule while being wracked by a growing Islamism spreading towards its prosperous hinterland from its Afghan frontier, despite (and in many cases, because of) the best efforts of its military and government.
Wilkinson bravely plunges into some of the most dangerous and obscure parts of the country to document "Old Pakistan" before it is erased by the guns and bombs of Islamism/Islamofascism. Cognizant of his own fragile health condition, his prose imparts an urgent fluency as it becomes clear that he’s racing against time in more ways than one. Hence, the book becomes more than just a book, but a testament to a life well-lived, lived fully and strenuously and boldly, despite its constraints and shortness. As a writer on a mission to discover and capture the soul of the country before it disappears, he is less given to New York Times-style romantic idealism, and is unsparing and critical in his analysis where needed. He doesn't hesitate to criticize the views of mullahs, Islamists and militarized conservatives, nor is he held back by the compulsions of appearing politically correct or avoiding charges of Islamophobia. He asks questions that others might be too afraid to ask: was Pakistan worth the ethnic cleansing of its Dharmic culture? Has it been sufficiently held to account for its erasure of its minorities? Worse, was its formation a mistake? What of its future?
Ranging from the hot plains of the Punjab and Sindh to the arid mountains of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to the hidden Himalayan heaven of Chitral, he contrasts the "alien orderliness" of Islamabad with the Wild West of the country's frontiers, and the besieged mystical traditions of coastal Sindh with the slow mummification of the country's fragile hill cultures into touristic parodies of themselves. He displays a willingness to step away from well-worn tropes and platitudes to beat an original path through his exploration of the country, while asking the same basic question: how can such a poorly-governed country with so many impossible internal contradictions possibly hope to survive? And for the sake of its people, should it?
Wilkinson's Pakistan is a heart-stopping picture of a turbulent, “insecure and impotent” country "defined only by its opposition to and apartness from India", and peopled by the mercurial and manic; a country where modernity and medievalism exist cheek-by-jowl and in constant conflict; where tribal leaders plot the deaths of their rivals over breakfast and are on the run from governments by evening; where undercurrents of violence seethe beneath the surface and are but one misunderstanding away from bursting out into the open; where the drug-addled wealthy host Saturnalian orgies featuring all manner of debauchery that would put the Romans to shame, while outside their doors the poor and the downtrodden listen to soft-spoken mullahs preaching revolutionary extremism - in short, a country akin to a powder keg sliding ever so inevitably towards a lit flame, and where emotions, and the ties of tribe, caste and religion are always on the boil.
A land wracked with intense inequality as a decadent, unaccountable and vampiric Punjab-based elite rules over the country with an iron fist, draining it of its financial lifeblood and leaving the rest of the country wracked with poverty, disease, ignorance, extremism and other delights of a flailing state; a sex-starved, sex-obsessed and sexually-repressed society struggling to burst out the grip of an increasingly puritanical and austere religious culture imposing itself upon them; an older, syncretic and heterodox spiritual culture resisting being overwritten by a harsher, more militant, austere and foreign-backed Islam on one side, and the forces of globalized modernity on the other - at times it felt like the book would explode under the intensity of its accumulated contradictions.
Those who want to understand the inner workings of the Pakistani military-civilian national security regime (or "the Heath Robinson contraption" as the author calls it) would do well to read this book. While not all-encompassing, it does provide frequent and sufficiently penetrative glimpses of the Pakistani deep state, the deeply insecure power centers that run the country, and helps shed light on their motivations (which, unfortunately, are not always rational). And remember, this is a country with nukes.
With prose flowing as clean and clear as the waters of the Indus, at times building up to a rapid torrent of a fast-paced thriller, while at others slowing down to a languorous pace to accommodate moments of calm reflection, he invites the reader to ask and answer their questions for themselves, and does so with elan. I’ve read a lot about Pakistan, the enfant terrible of Asia, and for a non-native, Wilkinson has achieved what many local writers have failed to: by writing one of the finest travelogues I've read about a country that continues to be notoriously hard to understand, let alone characterize. That Wilkinson has achieved both contemporary relevance and timeless appeal in a spellbinding read should be considered a literary event. The book has a lyrical, poetic quality to it. A semantic rise and swell that is itself a reward to experience. Along with his physical journey across the country is a secondary journey - a spiritual one, of the fruiting of the imagination and the quenching of the soul's wanderlust.
Most travelogues are simply well-written travelogues, but some manage to go above and beyond to capture an element of the very soul of the societies they describe, transporting the reader to a timeless place bursting with memorable moments and colourful characters that stride forth from the pages and into one's imagination. This is one of those books. For anyone hoping to understand the psychological makeup of contemporary Pakistan, this is the book you should read.
And what spirit! From cocaine-snorting billionaires riding horses nude into their own sex parties, to mullahs lecturing sex toy manufacturers on proper religious conduct, to zealous frontier warlords seeking to impose Taliban-style sharia on the country, to paranoid and shadowy members of the military deep state fanning the fires of jihad with one hand and fumbling to put them out with the other, to wild-eyed and hashish-addled mystics struggling keep an ancient, pre-Islamic tradition of syncretism alive in the face of an increasingly hostile and militant vision of Islam - here is Pakistan in all of its messy and maddening contradictions.
"Paganism flourished beneath a veneer of Islam."
A turbulent and dangerous country bursting with contradictions and ruled by even more turbulent and dangerous people who never seem too far away from violence, Wilkinson writes with tenderness and sympathy for his subject: the poor, suffering and colorful "masses...the powerless, impoverished majority" of Pakistan struggling to survive the twin oppressions of a parasitical military elite, and an unrelenting Islamism.
With endearing portraits of the colorful rogues and saints that make up Pakistani society, Wilkinson's words are liquor, flowing with an intoxicating headiness that pulls the reader into a world at once timeless and timely, and making them appreciate that even if Pakistan fails at everything else, it'll at least have succeeded in inspiring some great writing.
I found this to be a superior book to Declan Walsh's "The Nine Lives of Pakistan". An Irishman of Anglo-Indian descent who had long grown up listening to stories of British India and Pakistan from his mother and grandmother, Isambard Wilkinson leapt at the chance to work as a foreign correspondent in Pakistan for The Times, at a turbulent point in its history, as the country transitioned from military to civilian rule while being wracked by a growing Islamism spreading towards its prosperous hinterland from its Afghan frontier, despite (and in many cases, because of) the best efforts of its military and government.
Wilkinson bravely plunges into some of the most dangerous and obscure parts of the country to document "Old Pakistan" before it is erased by the guns and bombs of Islamism/Islamofascism. Cognizant of his own fragile health condition, his prose imparts an urgent fluency as it becomes clear that he’s racing against time in more ways than one. Hence, the book becomes more than just a book, but a testament to a life well-lived, lived fully and strenuously and boldly, despite its constraints and shortness. As a writer on a mission to discover and capture the soul of the country before it disappears, he is less given to New York Times-style romantic idealism, and is unsparing and critical in his analysis where needed. He doesn't hesitate to criticize the views of mullahs, Islamists and militarized conservatives, nor is he held back by the compulsions of appearing politically correct or avoiding charges of Islamophobia. He asks questions that others might be too afraid to ask: was Pakistan worth the ethnic cleansing of its Dharmic culture? Has it been sufficiently held to account for its erasure of its minorities? Worse, was its formation a mistake? What of its future?
Ranging from the hot plains of the Punjab and Sindh to the arid mountains of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to the hidden Himalayan heaven of Chitral, he contrasts the "alien orderliness" of Islamabad with the Wild West of the country's frontiers, and the besieged mystical traditions of coastal Sindh with the slow mummification of the country's fragile hill cultures into touristic parodies of themselves. He displays a willingness to step away from well-worn tropes and platitudes to beat an original path through his exploration of the country, while asking the same basic question: how can such a poorly-governed country with so many impossible internal contradictions possibly hope to survive? And for the sake of its people, should it?
Wilkinson's Pakistan is a heart-stopping picture of a turbulent, “insecure and impotent” country "defined only by its opposition to and apartness from India", and peopled by the mercurial and manic; a country where modernity and medievalism exist cheek-by-jowl and in constant conflict; where tribal leaders plot the deaths of their rivals over breakfast and are on the run from governments by evening; where undercurrents of violence seethe beneath the surface and are but one misunderstanding away from bursting out into the open; where the drug-addled wealthy host Saturnalian orgies featuring all manner of debauchery that would put the Romans to shame, while outside their doors the poor and the downtrodden listen to soft-spoken mullahs preaching revolutionary extremism - in short, a country akin to a powder keg sliding ever so inevitably towards a lit flame, and where emotions, and the ties of tribe, caste and religion are always on the boil.
A land wracked with intense inequality as a decadent, unaccountable and vampiric Punjab-based elite rules over the country with an iron fist, draining it of its financial lifeblood and leaving the rest of the country wracked with poverty, disease, ignorance, extremism and other delights of a flailing state; a sex-starved, sex-obsessed and sexually-repressed society struggling to burst out the grip of an increasingly puritanical and austere religious culture imposing itself upon them; an older, syncretic and heterodox spiritual culture resisting being overwritten by a harsher, more militant, austere and foreign-backed Islam on one side, and the forces of globalized modernity on the other - at times it felt like the book would explode under the intensity of its accumulated contradictions.
Those who want to understand the inner workings of the Pakistani military-civilian national security regime (or "the Heath Robinson contraption" as the author calls it) would do well to read this book. While not all-encompassing, it does provide frequent and sufficiently penetrative glimpses of the Pakistani deep state, the deeply insecure power centers that run the country, and helps shed light on their motivations (which, unfortunately, are not always rational). And remember, this is a country with nukes.
With prose flowing as clean and clear as the waters of the Indus, at times building up to a rapid torrent of a fast-paced thriller, while at others slowing down to a languorous pace to accommodate moments of calm reflection, he invites the reader to ask and answer their questions for themselves, and does so with elan. I’ve read a lot about Pakistan, the enfant terrible of Asia, and for a non-native, Wilkinson has achieved what many local writers have failed to: by writing one of the finest travelogues I've read about a country that continues to be notoriously hard to understand, let alone characterize. That Wilkinson has achieved both contemporary relevance and timeless appeal in a spellbinding read should be considered a literary event. The book has a lyrical, poetic quality to it. A semantic rise and swell that is itself a reward to experience. Along with his physical journey across the country is a secondary journey - a spiritual one, of the fruiting of the imagination and the quenching of the soul's wanderlust.
Most travelogues are simply well-written travelogues, but some manage to go above and beyond to capture an element of the very soul of the societies they describe, transporting the reader to a timeless place bursting with memorable moments and colourful characters that stride forth from the pages and into one's imagination. This is one of those books. For anyone hoping to understand the psychological makeup of contemporary Pakistan, this is the book you should read.
October 3, 2017
When you think of the Asian sub-continent, India is the country that immediately springs to mind. Formed in 1947 after partition from India Pakistan is the poor sibling when it comes to countries to visit. It is a country that Isambard Wilkinson was captivated by. His grandmother had a lot of Anglo-Indian heritage and she was regularly visited by a larger than life friend called Begum, who offered a beguiling glimpse of the country on her visits every year. The desire to visit the country grew in intensity and when the opportunity of being a foreign correspondent there presented itself Wilkinson jumped at the chance. His delicate health was one factor that could hold him back, but he wasn’t going to miss the chance.
Paganism flourished beneath a thin veneer of Islam
Pakistan is a country that is in a certain amount of turmoil. On one hand, you have a people that have a history that goes back hundreds and hundreds of years and even though it has been draped with Islam has still managed to maintain their mystical culture. The modern day country is currently suffering pressures from extremism and religious violence with a never-ending tirade of bombs, coups, assassinations and ethnic violence. It is something that Wilkinson is acutely aware of as he begins his stint as a reporter in the country, but first, he had to go and see Begum.
His route around the country would take him from the Punjab, up into the mountains to the saints and slaves of Sindh and to the very edge of Afghanistan and the infamous Khyber Pass. He meets with feudal overlords and saints, prostitutes and chieftains and petty officials as well as using his knowledge of the country to get to the very heart of the story. His brother joins him on this journey and is spent in an alcoholic blur, dancing or bumping along in the back of a truck. There are moments of relaxation in a hashish haze and some very close misses as the cold fingers of terrorism are never far from the where he stays.
My notes from the festival, made partly illegible by the sweat of the dance, to this day smell of perfumed water and petals
Against all medical advice, Wilkinson followed his heart and made the decision to head to Pakistan a decade ago, and I think he made the right call. A lot of travel writers are there to observe and pass through as a fly on the wall, but he wants to participate, share drinks, mix with people from all levels of society and immerse himself in the country and that is what makes this book quite special. He is not afraid to join in with the celebrations and criticise when appropriate, something that gets him in trouble occasionally. What he finds is quite enlightening too; it is still a young country that is still finding its own voice and identity, whilst being pressurised from outside influences from the Western and Islamic worlds, but there are still those villages that maintain the way of life as they have done for ages. The mono images in the centre of the book fit nicely, as they make you look at the subject matter rather than be dazzled by the colourful people. It is a fitting portrait that gets to the very essence of a complex country.
Paganism flourished beneath a thin veneer of Islam
Pakistan is a country that is in a certain amount of turmoil. On one hand, you have a people that have a history that goes back hundreds and hundreds of years and even though it has been draped with Islam has still managed to maintain their mystical culture. The modern day country is currently suffering pressures from extremism and religious violence with a never-ending tirade of bombs, coups, assassinations and ethnic violence. It is something that Wilkinson is acutely aware of as he begins his stint as a reporter in the country, but first, he had to go and see Begum.
His route around the country would take him from the Punjab, up into the mountains to the saints and slaves of Sindh and to the very edge of Afghanistan and the infamous Khyber Pass. He meets with feudal overlords and saints, prostitutes and chieftains and petty officials as well as using his knowledge of the country to get to the very heart of the story. His brother joins him on this journey and is spent in an alcoholic blur, dancing or bumping along in the back of a truck. There are moments of relaxation in a hashish haze and some very close misses as the cold fingers of terrorism are never far from the where he stays.
My notes from the festival, made partly illegible by the sweat of the dance, to this day smell of perfumed water and petals
Against all medical advice, Wilkinson followed his heart and made the decision to head to Pakistan a decade ago, and I think he made the right call. A lot of travel writers are there to observe and pass through as a fly on the wall, but he wants to participate, share drinks, mix with people from all levels of society and immerse himself in the country and that is what makes this book quite special. He is not afraid to join in with the celebrations and criticise when appropriate, something that gets him in trouble occasionally. What he finds is quite enlightening too; it is still a young country that is still finding its own voice and identity, whilst being pressurised from outside influences from the Western and Islamic worlds, but there are still those villages that maintain the way of life as they have done for ages. The mono images in the centre of the book fit nicely, as they make you look at the subject matter rather than be dazzled by the colourful people. It is a fitting portrait that gets to the very essence of a complex country.
December 15, 2017
Isambard has chosen to display Pakitan with his Sufi lens which I really enjoyed a lot. His various journies, interviews were nicely confabulated with his personal life to produce a great page-turner. Pakistan's ancient history, Raj's influence, its recent political context as well as the many lives of ordinary Pakistanis have made a rich 'curry' of a book.
October 14, 2017
I don’t often read travel books – but I’m glad I read this one. And soon, it was hard to avoid making comparisons with Eric Newby, Fitzroy Maclean and John Masters. But why bother? Bard Wilkinson, so different to them, I’d hazard a guess, and wise beyond his years, has his own distinctive style; perceptive, calm, compelling, great humanity and an engaging absence of ego.
One is immediately drawn into why this part of the world got into his blood during his youth – and remains there. Later, he returns as foreign correspondent for The Daily Telegraph. His brushwork describing sensory aspects such as sights, sounds and smells, is richly hued. Moreover, passages about places, Chitral in particular, a visually stunning part of northern Pakistan, and some of the characters he encounters, are both fascinating and enchanting. (The redoubtable Wilfred Thesiger wrote that an aspect of Chitral was ‘probably the finest view I had ever seen in my life’.) The author describes much that, to my surprise, still exists as I had seen it as a mere passer-by in 1970 – though tragically the relentless encroachment of toxic political and religious influences now threaten to extinguish the magic of its diversity and tolerance.
As foreign correspondent, he inevitably is witness to scenes that are savage, vivid and shocking. Nevertheless, he distances his cameos from hyperbole and melodrama. I think this is part of the author’s innate modesty and courage; there is no doubt that some of his experiences involved great risk. If you went looking for serious trouble in his bailiwick at the time, it wouldn’t take you long to find it. Well, it was often his job. And sometimes this also involved interviewing some quite nasty people.
Again, he characteristically skates over the dangers of a stint in Afghanistan which terminates in a military hospital in Camp Bastion, Helmand province, due to a daunting illness which had plagued him for years. (Whilst there, he witnessed an ungrateful Taliban patient running amok ‘trying to kill the first person at hand’.)
I was impressed by the author’s encyclopaedic knowledge of the region’s history, culture, traditions, and personalities – which, quite apart from anything else, makes this a must-read for those requiring invaluable insights in the region and some of its personalities.
I read this nicely crafted and poignant book with a mix of nostalgia, envy and respect, feeling rather sad to reach the final full-stop. It is surely delightful and enthralling reading for anyone interested in travel in a way rarely done today.
One is immediately drawn into why this part of the world got into his blood during his youth – and remains there. Later, he returns as foreign correspondent for The Daily Telegraph. His brushwork describing sensory aspects such as sights, sounds and smells, is richly hued. Moreover, passages about places, Chitral in particular, a visually stunning part of northern Pakistan, and some of the characters he encounters, are both fascinating and enchanting. (The redoubtable Wilfred Thesiger wrote that an aspect of Chitral was ‘probably the finest view I had ever seen in my life’.) The author describes much that, to my surprise, still exists as I had seen it as a mere passer-by in 1970 – though tragically the relentless encroachment of toxic political and religious influences now threaten to extinguish the magic of its diversity and tolerance.
As foreign correspondent, he inevitably is witness to scenes that are savage, vivid and shocking. Nevertheless, he distances his cameos from hyperbole and melodrama. I think this is part of the author’s innate modesty and courage; there is no doubt that some of his experiences involved great risk. If you went looking for serious trouble in his bailiwick at the time, it wouldn’t take you long to find it. Well, it was often his job. And sometimes this also involved interviewing some quite nasty people.
Again, he characteristically skates over the dangers of a stint in Afghanistan which terminates in a military hospital in Camp Bastion, Helmand province, due to a daunting illness which had plagued him for years. (Whilst there, he witnessed an ungrateful Taliban patient running amok ‘trying to kill the first person at hand’.)
I was impressed by the author’s encyclopaedic knowledge of the region’s history, culture, traditions, and personalities – which, quite apart from anything else, makes this a must-read for those requiring invaluable insights in the region and some of its personalities.
I read this nicely crafted and poignant book with a mix of nostalgia, envy and respect, feeling rather sad to reach the final full-stop. It is surely delightful and enthralling reading for anyone interested in travel in a way rarely done today.
Read
September 14, 2018English/Irish journalist with Pakistani roots returns to Pakistan hoping to rekindle the love for the country that he found when he visited as a boy. At the same time he must for journalistic purposes keep an eye on the political situation. The book covers events from 2007 to 2009. Wilkinson has a love of shrines most of which are located in the borderlands which are dangerous due to capricious tribal leaders, pickpockets and the Taliban. The life back in Islamabad is no better. He lives in a room inundated by either geckos or cockroaches, has a cook who rips him off and a driver that snoozes on the job. He does cover Benazir Bhutto's return to Pakistan. (He recounts an earlier meeting in a car with Bhutto talking while having her feet up on the dash painting her toenails). Musharref's troubles are covered but not in depth. Looming over all this is the author's medical condition-kidney failure. His travels would tax someone at peak health and he takes foolish chances venturing into areas where no medical care is available. Somehow he appears to enjoy it all yet to the neutral observer Pakistan is a disaster.
October 18, 2018
Struggled with this one and a relief to finish it. Not keen on the style of writing - just couldn’t get into it at all. Not a patch on other travel books. Finished the book feeling I hadn’t really learnt much at all about Pakistan. Really disappointing.
May 18, 2019
Decent book. It promised a lot, and delivered as much as it could. I especially loved the parts on Lahore, Islamabad, Sufism and the Begum. The rest...maybe not so much. Still, a satisfactory read.
December 30, 2025
I struggled to get through this one. While marketed as a travelogue of Pakistan, the book felt more like a personal health memoir than an insightful look at the country.
What didn't work for me:
Excessive focus on illness: A significant portion of the narrative is dedicated to the author’s chronic health struggles and medical details, which often overshadowed the travel aspect.
Niche descriptions: The book is dense with overly specific details about obscure shrines and long lists of "unknown" individuals that didn't feel relevant to a broader understanding of Pakistan.
Lack of insight: Despite the time spent in places like Lahore and the tribal areas, I didn't feel I learned much of substance about the nation's contemporary pulse or history.
If you’re looking for an objective or informative guide to Pakistan, this might not be it. It felt less like a journey through a country and more like a slow trek through the author’s personal ailments and social circle.
What didn't work for me:
Excessive focus on illness: A significant portion of the narrative is dedicated to the author’s chronic health struggles and medical details, which often overshadowed the travel aspect.
Niche descriptions: The book is dense with overly specific details about obscure shrines and long lists of "unknown" individuals that didn't feel relevant to a broader understanding of Pakistan.
Lack of insight: Despite the time spent in places like Lahore and the tribal areas, I didn't feel I learned much of substance about the nation's contemporary pulse or history.
If you’re looking for an objective or informative guide to Pakistan, this might not be it. It felt less like a journey through a country and more like a slow trek through the author’s personal ailments and social circle.
October 18, 2017
Much more than a travel book, beautifully written, full of colourful characters and vivid descriptions of exotic places, clear but not heavy on the historical and political background. An adventurous and sometimes dangerous quest to discover what goes on below the surface of a troubled part of the Asian sub-continent, and to tell what is not reported in the western media. Insightful, lively and engaging.
October 8, 2017
A heartfelt look at Pakistan, Travels in a Dervish Cloak explores the contradictions of the country: the spirituality and the militancy, political upheaval and household drama. A rollicking read, Bard mixes the personal and the political as he takes readers along for his topsy turvy time in the country.
November 6, 2022
2.75 rating
The writer Isambard Wilkinson takes a detailed adventure throughout Pakistan mostly writing on his experiences related to saints, feudal lords, Nawabs, Sufism history, tombs and ancient temples.
The first half of the novel was gripping as the writer had a background story of his grandmother's history and how it tied to his love to travel in Pakistan. The pace of the novel then goes deeper into his province to province travels and a just few well curated characters.
The place where this novel fell short for me was when it became a collection of travels that lacked interesting characters and somehow felt monotonous with its repetitive tone. Few conversations between the characters and absence of a solid story-line with an overwhelming amount of political history made it difficult to get good chunks as a takeaways.
But! The descriptions were captivating and some that stood out are here:
We approached Multan as the evening sky faded in a wash of nectarine above mango trees crested with gold-white blossom and cotton trees whose red flower-bombs thudded to earth. Sugar cane and cotton were being harvested; stalks lay discarded like fizzled matchsticks used to try to keep alive the setting sun.
Kebabs,kidneys, trotters and battered fish simmered in skillets of grease before being fished out, garnished with coriander, chillies and ginger and served in folds of naan or the pages of old telephone directories. Flat yeastless bread was stuffed with cheese. Artisans magicked treats into being by ladling streams of batter into oil. These golden jalebis emerged as complex patterns like mandarin script, before being coated in syrup.
The writer Isambard Wilkinson takes a detailed adventure throughout Pakistan mostly writing on his experiences related to saints, feudal lords, Nawabs, Sufism history, tombs and ancient temples.
The first half of the novel was gripping as the writer had a background story of his grandmother's history and how it tied to his love to travel in Pakistan. The pace of the novel then goes deeper into his province to province travels and a just few well curated characters.
The place where this novel fell short for me was when it became a collection of travels that lacked interesting characters and somehow felt monotonous with its repetitive tone. Few conversations between the characters and absence of a solid story-line with an overwhelming amount of political history made it difficult to get good chunks as a takeaways.
But! The descriptions were captivating and some that stood out are here:
We approached Multan as the evening sky faded in a wash of nectarine above mango trees crested with gold-white blossom and cotton trees whose red flower-bombs thudded to earth. Sugar cane and cotton were being harvested; stalks lay discarded like fizzled matchsticks used to try to keep alive the setting sun.
Kebabs,kidneys, trotters and battered fish simmered in skillets of grease before being fished out, garnished with coriander, chillies and ginger and served in folds of naan or the pages of old telephone directories. Flat yeastless bread was stuffed with cheese. Artisans magicked treats into being by ladling streams of batter into oil. These golden jalebis emerged as complex patterns like mandarin script, before being coated in syrup.
October 23, 2017
I don't often take the time to write reviews, but this is, without doubt, one of the best books I have read in a while. It reads like a beautifully-written novel, a real page-turner full of vivid sights, sounds, smells and the author's obvious love of language, yet the fact that it is a work of non-fiction makes it all the more impressive. Even if you have zero interest in Pakistan, it is still a fascinating journey through a disappearing world of extraordinary characters, nail-biting adventures and exotic locations, from meeting feudal warlords to the hilarious day-to-day shenanigans of Wilkinson's domestic staff. I learned more about Pakistan's struggles and realities from this book than I have in a decade of newspaper articles, and finished it feeling that I had travelled and discovered the country with my own eyes. As a newspaper correspondent with old family ties to Pakistan, Wilkinson is obviously well-connected within the country, meaning he can get to the heart of each region and topic in a way that others perhaps could not, and his love for the country shines through on every page. It is hard to categorise this book, as it contains equal measures of personal experience, history, travel, current affairs, social and religious commentary, humour and both the good and bad of Pakistani culture, a country at the crossroads of global change. I only wish it could have kept going as I was sorry to reach the end! A highly recommended debut book from a talented writer...Wilkinson is surely one author to watch.
February 11, 2019
#QOTD: Has it ever happened with you that a book gives you your next travel destination or adds a new place in your bucket list?
With me, it happens all the time. Thanks to the travel books I pick, I would love to go for a Kenyan Jungle Safari, Afghanistan’s Mazar-I-Sharif and very recently, @isambardwilkinson Travels in a Dervish Cloak has added Pakistan in my bucket list. 😊- 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼
Based on the stories he listened and incidents that he witnessed through his grandmother, Isambard decides to go to Pakistan and soak up in its beauty. But he chooses a time when every westerner knows what Pakistan is, and not in a good way. -
During his travel, he comes across servants who are weird and unique, always ready to empty his pockets, the season of mangoes which makes the air more sweeter, Tribal leaders who live like lions in caves & a country with booming political unrest.- 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼
What’s unique about this book is that it’s a travel cum political chronicle of Pakistan during the years following 2000. Isambard has managed to capture many of the events that changed the face of the country in a very concise manner. He made sure to do justice to the book by adding a cultural aspect to it.
It was a good read for me but I was expecting a bit more out of it on the cultural side. -
Verdict: Can pick it up if you feel like reading a short travel book. (3.5 ⭐️/5)
With me, it happens all the time. Thanks to the travel books I pick, I would love to go for a Kenyan Jungle Safari, Afghanistan’s Mazar-I-Sharif and very recently, @isambardwilkinson Travels in a Dervish Cloak has added Pakistan in my bucket list. 😊- 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼
Based on the stories he listened and incidents that he witnessed through his grandmother, Isambard decides to go to Pakistan and soak up in its beauty. But he chooses a time when every westerner knows what Pakistan is, and not in a good way. -
During his travel, he comes across servants who are weird and unique, always ready to empty his pockets, the season of mangoes which makes the air more sweeter, Tribal leaders who live like lions in caves & a country with booming political unrest.- 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼
What’s unique about this book is that it’s a travel cum political chronicle of Pakistan during the years following 2000. Isambard has managed to capture many of the events that changed the face of the country in a very concise manner. He made sure to do justice to the book by adding a cultural aspect to it.
It was a good read for me but I was expecting a bit more out of it on the cultural side. -
Verdict: Can pick it up if you feel like reading a short travel book. (3.5 ⭐️/5)
October 4, 2024
Wilkinson's love for the ancient land Pakistan shows through and through as he uncovers layers of many milenium of it's history travelling as he does amidst threat to his life not just from terrorists and blowing up mad men but living on dilaysis and then a donor kidney but succumbing to his first love-Pakistan .
This is one of the best travelogues of recent times and must be lapped up by those with interest in Pakistan .
He accomplished his mission to capture all the mad , bewitching , beloved parts of the country before they disappeared .
A Big Thank you to Isambard Wilkinson for writing this magnificent account for us who love the country of our forefathers but are barred from traveling being labeled of being from an enemy state. .
They do not travel anymore to write such great books and those with love of yore and history ought not to miss once these 'once a while book .''
Sample this towards the end "In a fitful sleep , I had a recurring dream ....I am planning a journey to some frontier place ...There is really no frontier .It hangs in folds ,like a coat on a peg ,or that Dervish cloak ,in which one could rummage but never find whatever it is you were searching for ....I have come a full circle .I would wake with a dread feeling that the whole journey had been a waste, that my search for origins and exoticisms had been futile ."
This is one of the best travelogues of recent times and must be lapped up by those with interest in Pakistan .
He accomplished his mission to capture all the mad , bewitching , beloved parts of the country before they disappeared .
A Big Thank you to Isambard Wilkinson for writing this magnificent account for us who love the country of our forefathers but are barred from traveling being labeled of being from an enemy state. .
They do not travel anymore to write such great books and those with love of yore and history ought not to miss once these 'once a while book .''
Sample this towards the end "In a fitful sleep , I had a recurring dream ....I am planning a journey to some frontier place ...There is really no frontier .It hangs in folds ,like a coat on a peg ,or that Dervish cloak ,in which one could rummage but never find whatever it is you were searching for ....I have come a full circle .I would wake with a dread feeling that the whole journey had been a waste, that my search for origins and exoticisms had been futile ."
September 8, 2020
On reading the first chapter, this book seemed like an invitation to catch a glimpse of a nostalgic forgotten world. I was thinking that "right now, I would give anything to travel the world and go on an adventure and experience the various aroma and delectable taste of distinct places in the world."So, I hung on to this book like mud.
But, as I proceeded further than the first chapter, I didn't like it much. The writing style got boring and I was wishing they had used a bigger font. There were so many Unnecessary details.
I was thinking of not finishing it but DNFing a book gives me anxiety. So, I read even though I didn't want to in the hopes that it gets interesting. I accept that I skipped so many paragraphs.
It didn't get interesting. Although I did like the part with this journalist woman Zeenat. Then, it got more boring. Many of you would find the book delightful but not me. It was kind of nice to read about the places and culture but the way it was described was boring. I gotta go back to my Fantasy Genre. Other Genres are not for me I guess or I have just not found "THE ONE" book of another genre.
I do appreciate the author 's efforts to write this book. He worked hard for this book. So I am giving it one extra star for that.
🌎 RATING: ⭐⭐⭐
But, as I proceeded further than the first chapter, I didn't like it much. The writing style got boring and I was wishing they had used a bigger font. There were so many Unnecessary details.
I was thinking of not finishing it but DNFing a book gives me anxiety. So, I read even though I didn't want to in the hopes that it gets interesting. I accept that I skipped so many paragraphs.
It didn't get interesting. Although I did like the part with this journalist woman Zeenat. Then, it got more boring. Many of you would find the book delightful but not me. It was kind of nice to read about the places and culture but the way it was described was boring. I gotta go back to my Fantasy Genre. Other Genres are not for me I guess or I have just not found "THE ONE" book of another genre.
I do appreciate the author 's efforts to write this book. He worked hard for this book. So I am giving it one extra star for that.
🌎 RATING: ⭐⭐⭐
December 24, 2018
I read somewhere it is a Christmas ritual in Iceland where people exchange books as gifts on Christmas Eve and indulge all night into reading. It's been a while longer I have been reading Travels in a Dervish Cloak (Adventures in Pakistan) by Isambard Wilkinson's finally a night before Christmas I've managed to finish off the last leg of Pakistan's journey with Mr Wilkinson.
🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 Isambard Wilkinson is an Anglo Indian journalist who is posted to Islamabad (capital of Pakistan) as a British newspaper correspondent. As he embarks on his journey from Lahore, Islamabad, Baluchistan, Peshawar, Multan, Sindh, he unravels some of the oldest traditions among Pakistani folk. 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
One of the thing which intrigued me the most is how Mr Wilkinson has talked about beautiful Sufi mystic practices that is till date evident in the country yet unheard of by majority, against a backdrop of p uhholitical insurgency and violence.
🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
This book has a lot of earthly sprit to it, perfectly displaying all the imperfections of Pakistan, a country still full of jovial and vibrant people, making one of the best debut of the year 2018. 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
#christmaspost
@bloomsburyindia
🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 Isambard Wilkinson is an Anglo Indian journalist who is posted to Islamabad (capital of Pakistan) as a British newspaper correspondent. As he embarks on his journey from Lahore, Islamabad, Baluchistan, Peshawar, Multan, Sindh, he unravels some of the oldest traditions among Pakistani folk. 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
One of the thing which intrigued me the most is how Mr Wilkinson has talked about beautiful Sufi mystic practices that is till date evident in the country yet unheard of by majority, against a backdrop of p uhholitical insurgency and violence.
🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
This book has a lot of earthly sprit to it, perfectly displaying all the imperfections of Pakistan, a country still full of jovial and vibrant people, making one of the best debut of the year 2018. 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
#christmaspost
@bloomsburyindia
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July 30, 2022Isambard spent few years in Pakistan, working as a journalist. In this book, he has shared his experiences of visiting different cities of Pakistan and meeting new people. Isambard is into Sufism and has portrayed Pakistan's life and culture in the same mystical way.
This book is full of colourful characters and a wonderful description of life in Pakistan. It contains so much: travel stories, personal experiences of Isambard, history of Pakistan and Sufism, current affairs, cultural and religious views and both the good and the bad sides of Pakistani society.
Travels in a Dervaish Cloak is a beautiful travelogue on Pakistan. It was fun to read about Pakistan from a foreigner's point of view and experiences. I am impressed by Isambard's knowledge of Pakistan's culture, traditions and Saints.
This book is full of colourful characters and a wonderful description of life in Pakistan. It contains so much: travel stories, personal experiences of Isambard, history of Pakistan and Sufism, current affairs, cultural and religious views and both the good and the bad sides of Pakistani society.
Travels in a Dervaish Cloak is a beautiful travelogue on Pakistan. It was fun to read about Pakistan from a foreigner's point of view and experiences. I am impressed by Isambard's knowledge of Pakistan's culture, traditions and Saints.
March 9, 2021
It was a very well written book which you cannot put down.
I think there were some “gora” going to Pakistan cliches like meeting the bondage leather good factory or mentioning parties in Karachi or depicting everything in a cloud of poverty.
Despite of that the writer has described so much history and present of Pakistan and different parts of it in a very creative way (through a lens of conquest of Sufism )
He did meet and seems to have had good access to very powerful ppl in Pakistan (based on his journalism background ofcourse)
From Dera Bugti to Khyber to Sevan I think he covered a lot of ground . Touched on culture and vulnerabilities of people in various region . What I love is comparison of growing extremism to his past experiences
Good read
I think there were some “gora” going to Pakistan cliches like meeting the bondage leather good factory or mentioning parties in Karachi or depicting everything in a cloud of poverty.
Despite of that the writer has described so much history and present of Pakistan and different parts of it in a very creative way (through a lens of conquest of Sufism )
He did meet and seems to have had good access to very powerful ppl in Pakistan (based on his journalism background ofcourse)
From Dera Bugti to Khyber to Sevan I think he covered a lot of ground . Touched on culture and vulnerabilities of people in various region . What I love is comparison of growing extremism to his past experiences
Good read
October 15, 2020
Rich and powerful
A glorious observation of real life in Pakistan with highs and lows of one who could only love this country with all its flaws and splendour. Hilariously funny and yet there is no hiding from the truth of a conflicted nation which has risen from Partition trying to navigate its way to some kind of peace that feels impossible with powers struggles, politics and bombs. The facts are hard to escape but they are beautifully interwoven with adventure and narrative that had me hooked.
A glorious observation of real life in Pakistan with highs and lows of one who could only love this country with all its flaws and splendour. Hilariously funny and yet there is no hiding from the truth of a conflicted nation which has risen from Partition trying to navigate its way to some kind of peace that feels impossible with powers struggles, politics and bombs. The facts are hard to escape but they are beautifully interwoven with adventure and narrative that had me hooked.
October 25, 2018
This travelogue is a labor of love and it shines bright. As someone who longs to visit this country that is forbidden to me as an Indian, this was a poignant, and at many times bittersweet read. Knowing that so much of all that’s to be seen and experienced in this beautiful country may now be beyond grasp.
Well worth a read.
I found some slight irritation in the sloppy editing of the Urdu/Hindi words and phrases which made me drop a star. Else this would have been five shining stars.
Well worth a read.
I found some slight irritation in the sloppy editing of the Urdu/Hindi words and phrases which made me drop a star. Else this would have been five shining stars.
April 8, 2020
It’s a well-written book but one that doesn’t really captivate or capture your attention. I’ve long been waiting for a good travel book on Pakistan, something on the lines of the City Of Djinns. This is not it.
It’s okay and is alright for episodic reading. The descriptions are good in parts. I do commend the writer for pushing himself to go on these adventures after a kidney transplant though. Good sport, indeed.
It’s okay and is alright for episodic reading. The descriptions are good in parts. I do commend the writer for pushing himself to go on these adventures after a kidney transplant though. Good sport, indeed.
October 10, 2023
This is a fascinating book. Wilkinson does a great job of drawing the reader into his experiences. If you don’t know much about Pakistan it is like being thrown into the deep end; for that reason it is not, perhaps, a book that provides a good official overview of the country. Rather it takes you down back alleys and into caves in a fantastical journey of folk religion, hashish, and armed tribal leaders.
March 23, 2024
The Economist recommended this as a book to understand Pakistan.
I won't say that. There are snippets (like when he met the Nawab of Baluchistan and when he goes hunting for various pirs and sufi saints) and politics intrude here and there, but the shocking amount of ink is spent on the writer's life in Pakistan as a privileged white guy reporter, his illness, his brother, his manservants, his high-society Pakistani hosts.
I won't say that. There are snippets (like when he met the Nawab of Baluchistan and when he goes hunting for various pirs and sufi saints) and politics intrude here and there, but the shocking amount of ink is spent on the writer's life in Pakistan as a privileged white guy reporter, his illness, his brother, his manservants, his high-society Pakistani hosts.
December 24, 2018
A riveting travelogue exploring the tension between "new" and "old" Pakistan specifically through the lens of Sufism's long (and threatened?) history in the subcontinent. The narrative's exuberance was tempered somewhat though by the author's rather unforgiving generalisations and tendency to testosterone-driven descriptive excess.
January 9, 2023
This is the account of an extraordinarily dangerous series of journeys by a foolish journalist with serio
us medical issues. Wilkinson writes with humor and perception giving vivid details of a Pakistan that no ordinary foreigner would ever see. This country is not on my bucketlist. I was delighted to read about.
us medical issues. Wilkinson writes with humor and perception giving vivid details of a Pakistan that no ordinary foreigner would ever see. This country is not on my bucketlist. I was delighted to read about.
January 17, 2025
This book was clearly written for a colonial and white audience. The way it characterises South Asians is distinctly off-putting to us. Nonetheless, it was an interesting, eye-opening read. Despite the lack of self-awareness that comes through in the tone, the author's love and extensive knowledge of Pakistan is self-evident and his dismay at its cultural decline is understandable.
December 21, 2017
To discover something of Pakistan as it once was before suicide bomb attacks, assassinations, kidnappings and civil unrest became the norm, read this book. Its intricate narrative and extraordinary cast of characters will mark you.
Reviewed on The BookBlast® Diary 2017
Reviewed on The BookBlast® Diary 2017
August 23, 2021
This is a wonderful book. Wilkinson explores Pakistan as a journalist but chooses to also take the less trodden path of seeking for Sufi saints and holy shrines, revealing a fascinating country in all its colours and contradictions.
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