Saints of Sind by Peter Mayne
Sufism is the one area I never had a great deal of opportunity to study whilst in university. It’s one (of many) areas of religious belief and practice that seems to dwell within the realms of magic and mystery; an element of the unknown always slightly out of reach. I was, therefore, delighted with the opportunity to read and review Saints of Sind by the English travel writer, Peter Mayne, who, in his travels to Pakistan’s Indus Valley, grants us all an insight into this practice of discovering the ‘ultimate truth’.
What follows is a mixture of encounters from varying degrees in the Muslim and Sufi hierarchy (as Islam does not contain a caste system, per se), where great poverty entwines with great wealth, and each character is somehow even more eccentric than the last. However, where each situation arises, the characters in this dialogue are treated with the same curiosity as the Pir’s Mayne is seeking out; in fact, it is the servants who serve these Pir’s who seem to be the most spiritual, not seeking any reward, but seemingly existing for the benefit of their fellow man.
Partly anthropological, Saints of Sind sees the author attempt to imbibe the essence of the dervish, albeit with mixed results; sometimes being treated with seeming hostility and indifference, and other times welcomed widely, it shows that even within the same cultures and traditions, there exists a great divide, and with such unexpected results, the author is sometimes left wondering how to understand the situation. However, this is one of the delights of the book, as such unexpected turns are indeed what makes Saints of Sind different from other travelogues on similar subjects.
Overall, I found Saints of Sind a highly enjoyable account of one man trying to immerse himself within a religious culture which is often alien to outsiders. Often humorous and often unexpected, Saints of Sind is a very honest and refreshing account of Sufism and the Dervish way.
- Saints of Sind by Peter Mayne is published by Eland Books (£14.99). To order a copy, go to www.travelbooks.co.uk
