"It was a wonderful experience interacting with you and appreciate the way you have planned and executed the whole publication process within the agreed timelines.”
Subrat SaurabhAuthor of Kuch Woh Pal
REED GRASS is an account of a young destitute boy, born in a small village in British India. In an engaging and powerful narration, the author walks you through bridle-paths of farmland, narrow lanes of villages, country markets of peasants and into the life of village folk ridden with deprivation, grief and joy. He leads you through towns and cities, casting a lingering spell, as the young boy grows into a man, braving the drudgeries of his life. He experiences the travails of independence, heat of the Partition of India, and grows old, pursuing his aspirations only to discover that the erosion of human values and decay in mutual relationships, over time, has gripped the nation. It touches a new low in his own family of four sons and two daughters.
Reed Grass, a deeply moving saga of a Muslim family peopled with unforgettable characters, set in pre and post independent India will linger with you long after you have turned the last page.
Haris Zaman
Convener - INTACH
Javed Iqbal
The author born to a college teacher on the midnight of December 31, 1954, started the countdown of his life from the new year, 1955. The second of five children, his parents named him ‘Javed Iqbal’. He acquired a Master’s Degree in English Literature from the Aligarh Muslim University, UP, in 1979.
Soon after, he stumbled upon a group of students who were preparing for the Civil Service Examinations. Inspired by their ambitions, he too joined the group. Having failed two consecutive attempts to make it, he took up a job with ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited) on his 30th birthday, and served its Human Resource Department for thirty years.
Retiring from active service on December 31, 2014, Javed now lives in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, with his wife and two children.
