Description

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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.

About the Author

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Sarmad Sehbai is a playwright and director whose plays have been produced on television and in theatres throughout Pakistan. His tele-film Fankar Gali (Stand by Street, 1991) and documentary Moghuls of the Road (1999) have been variously screened in London, Moscow and Oslo. Bachon Ka Park (Children's Park, 1989), his play on political prisoners, won the Pakistan Television Best Play Award. His dramatic adaptations of Saadat Hussan Manto, the most celebrated short story writer of Pakistan, have been televised on Pakistan Television and GEO TV. Three of his drama serials have been aired by leading channels of Pakistan (GEO TV 2007 and 2016) and Hum TV (2008). He has published two collections of plays and four collections of poetry in Urdu language. He lives in Connecticut, USA.