Iqbal Ahmed is a writer from Kashmir who came to London in the 1990s. His work often reflects on London through the eyes of a migrant observer. Sorrows of the Moon: A Journey Through London was his first book.
Iqbal Ahmed
Sorrows of the Moon: A Journey Through London
Coldstream Publishers, 2004.
We all took a walk towards Regent's Park, passing the patina-coloured dome of the planetarium before we reached York Gate, leading to the outer circle of the park. The cream-coloured villas were intruded upon by a modern-looking concrete building..."The Royal College of Physicians". A lady wearing a sari emerged from the building. The lawns in front of the terraces had been mown by gardeners, giving the air a smell of freshly cut grass...Shireen chose a spot by a rose garden for all of us to sit down and spread out a blanket on the grass. She had also brought some snacks and savouries.
A picnic has been arranged as an opportunity for some 'oriental-style matchmaking...Mariam, who had never met Hassan before, cast furtive glances at him...Perhaps she knew that they were going to be left alone in due course. And sure enough, Abbas and Shireen announced that they wanted to go for a stroll around the park'. The author volunteers to join them. 'We walked towards the other side of the park. An armed policeman stood outside a villa in the park holding a gun close to his chest. I could see from a certain distance that an American flag was flying at an acute angle on top of the entrance of the villa'. Enquiring a few days later, Ahmed learns that the suitor had ruined his chances when he asked Mariam how much she earned.