The Blessed Curse

The Blessed Curse is a savage satire about men in power in an unnamed country that could be Pakistan. Fearing loss of their sexual potency, a closed circle of men in power, including the General, his advisor, and a Chief Minister, embark on fabulous journeys involving exotic erotica, magical herbs, spiritual pimps and virgin whores, and a divine bird--all this while searching for a potent all-destructive weapon that clearly stands for their lost potency. The novel displays the cynicism of the country's rulers in their corruption of its religion, politics, and the economy. The Blessed Curse gives us a metaphor for Pakistan's bizarre predicament in the global political arena.

The novel's style carries the tradition of Punjabi humour, which is often dark, colourful, and brutally frank. Inspired by fabulesque Urdu storytelling (such as Amir Hamza), The Blessed Curse is an irreverent blend of the real and the unreal, of farce and high seriousness.