Some time between the two World Wars, Syed Mujtaba Ali set out on ship

from India to travel to Europe. Leaving Sri Lanka behind, sailing in the Arabian

Sea and then along the coast of Africa, he crossed the Horn of Africa, until the

ship reached Suez Port. Along the way, Ali collected a bunch of stories-about

his new young friends Paul and Percy, who became his loyal acolytes; and the

eccentric Abul Asfia Noor Uddin Muhammad Abdul Karim Siddiqi, who carried

toffees, a gold cigarette case, and other sundry items in his capacious overcoat

pocket and who had the answer to all problems though he barely spoke a word

ever.

As the ship makes its way, Mujtaba Ali tells stories of the island of Socrota with

its pirates in search of treasure. He dives into history and recounts how the

giraffe went to China via India from Africa. And when the friends get off at

Suez, in order to see the pyramids of Giza, he provides a deeply entertaining

and perceptive description of Egypt-from its taxi drivers and café owners, to

pharaohs and tomb hunters.

Erudite but light-hearted, brimming with laughter and with many moments of

tenderness, Tales of a Voyager is a gem of a travelogue from the author who wrote

the immensely popular travel account of Afghanistan, In a Land Far from Home

(Deshe Bideshe).

’Syed Mujtaba Ali knows how to perform magic through his writing!

One moment his humour and wit will make you break out in roaring

laughter and the next you find yourself buried in deep thought being

touched by the poignance in his satire.’-Dhaka Tribune