Papio: Pakistan's reality through deception

I had some years ago forsaken the pleasure of reading fiction, only because I could not find the time. So when I received a copy of Papio, a novel by Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit Haqqani, my first inclination was to give it away as a gift, but another friend who had read the book said, "It is well worth reading, it is not exactly a work of fiction but it is satire at its best and what is more the High Commissioner's prose is comparable with the best of novelists". 

That was how I came to reading the book, which was indeed a voyage of discovery. Mr. Haqqani practises a delightful deception on his readers. And I am not complaining. The first few pages reminded me of Grimm's Fairy Tales or Aesop's fables, which all of us had read as children but I soon found that it was wrong to compare. 

This is why I say that the author has practised deception on us. It is not fantasy; it is real in many respects. 

The story, in the beginning seemed quite bizarre — and I told myself that the author seemed to have a fantastic imagination — certainly not one generally associated with mundane diplomacy or diplomats. But then it suddenly dawned on me that what he was writing about was not surreal but, as stated earlier, real life. 

I recognized some of the charlatans, the scoundrels, who are a bane on our society and the lovable 'rogues' — the crafty 'comis-kaakas', who treat the gullible politician to his staple diet, flattery and money, and reap rich rewards — they are all there. 

Mr. Haqqani is a sensitive person who weaves the drama of everyday life in a village in South Asia into the story, including superstition and belief in 'God-men', which is particularly popular with politicians on the subcontinent. (I must confess however that I did not think that God-men and astrologers existed in 'Islamic' Pakistan but I now know they do). 

Mr. Haqqani lets his imagination run riot and takes us on a dreamlike journey. The supernatural happenings are indeed quite bizarre. He captures every human emotion from fear, hate, envy, and hope to lust, infatuation and love. The book is also not without humour; it is quite hilarious at times, for many a good laugh has been packed into it, tongue in cheek of course. 

But the observations of the perceptive author on the political process in particular, in the form of some pithy 'quotable quotes', are worth reading. His characters are not new to us; there are those who entertain irrational beliefs and are unbelievably naive; then there are the cunning scoundrels who exploit the naive and then, one makes the acquaintance of the Advisor to the Ruler. 

I, a former government official, saw in him a special character, the Public Servant whose speciality is survival. In this book, Hazeer Hazoor (I am certain that these names mean something — like the names which our own Sooty Banda used, in the golden days of journalism in this country) the great 'fixer', the man who makes himself indispensable to the head of state, is a reincarnation of our own Sir Oliver and yet another, now retired, exponent of the great art, rolled into one. 

The story line is most unusual. I shall not relate the story for that would spoil its enjoyment for the reader but I would refer to some aspects of the story. 

It is a super satire, it's about people, their leaders, politicians their ambitions and their failings. The story begins with a man charged with rape moving out of his village to another and establishing himself as a holy man — an absolute scoundrel, our readers would have encountered many of his type in this country. 

Then we take a trip into the supernatural and encounter a 'Hanuman' and a monster born to the wife of the holy man. Have we not heard of children being born with strange features, including teeth! Well this one has hair not only on his head but also on his chin! The book is named Papio, after the lovable talking monkey. He is well worth making the acquaintance of. 

Then there are wheeler-dealers, and cruel landlords-the Zamindari, and the exploitation they indulged in, the like of whom we have not had in this country, aspiring to be political leaders (the 'born to rule' types known to us too). There is also a religious fanatic — the book would not be complete without him. Mr. Haqqani transforms the mullah into a caricature. 

Then there is Kulsoom (not the wife of Navaz Shariff of course), the righteous one who stands for justice and fairplay and against all the indignities perpetrated on the poor and the weak. Perhaps the only character we in Lanka are not acquainted with is the Army General who takes over the country. A familiar figure in Pakistan of course. 

Though we have not encountered such a General, there are certain commonalties with our rulers. Though they come in with the best of intentions, power corrupts and infects the politician. The sheer arrogance which makes him consider himself the chosen one — the source of all good (but with time, the people perceive him as the source of all evil too). 

Mr. Haqqani refers to the manner in which all military dictators seek to "transmute themselves from autocrats to democrats through the alchemy of elections". 

We also see how the all-powerful politician is also equally insecure and would put his faith in a charlatan who he believes would protect him and help him achieve his ambition to remain in power forever. The extent to which they would go to secure the blessings of these so-called God-men, is not new to us either. Despite their exposed naiveté we yet trust them to rule us — this I suppose is why it is said that we get the government we deserve. The end of the story is indeed quite dramatic and almost out of a movie set — it must be read to be believed. 

In closing this attempted review I have two questions for the author, firstly how was it that this book, which pokes fun at Generals who are rulers, at God-men, at Mullahs, at Pakistani society and at semi-sacred institutions, come to be published in Pakistan? My second question is, how have you survived in this day and age? This fact certainly speaks well for much maligned Pakistan. Its liberal attitude to what has undoubtedly been written without malice should be commended. 

From human resources to human talents

We have, for many years, used the expression "Human Resources". Many books have been written on the subject. In this book the author contends that the term "Human Resource" is misleading and dangerous, because he is of the view that people are not resources and resent being treated as such. 

His contention is that people have resources, which are talents such as intelligence, skills, attitudes and emotions.

The book discusses the issues involved in identifying human talents and strategies to manage such human talents for the benefit of the individual and the workplace. He proposes that a new expression be used in management. This will no doubt provoke a great deal of interest among human resource managers and students alike.

The author, Jayadeva de Silva, has many years of experience in human resources management and management training, and has had the opportunity to study various aspects of human relations and social psychology affecting the expectations of modern day employees. He has used his experience to present his case and makes an in-depth comparative study of 'Human Talent Management' and 'Human Resources Management' under three headings — basic assumptions; role of the leader; and leadership. The book contains a chapter outlining how to identify management talent in individuals. There is a checklist of management skills that may be used by managers for their personal development because management development is essentially a process of self-development.

The book is a collection of papers, many of which have been published previously at different times during the author's career. As such, the author deals with other concepts in management as well. The book contains a critical review of the present state of human resources management function and has provided a comprehensive glossary of technical terms that will be of immense benefit to the reader. The author has provided in a concise manner, some important points on human relations, which are important for human talent management. He emphasises quality and customer care as important aspects, which fall within the scope of human relations. He has also made an exhaustive analysis of the all-important problem of absenteeism and makes recommendations to reduce and control the problem.

The chapter on military lessons for business managers is well compiled. It compares business to a battlefield and deals with the subject of strategic planning which is equally applicable in war and business.

This book should be in the private collection of all managers irrespective of their functional specialities. It will help students of management appreciate an interesting paradigm shift in management thinking. 

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