In an Antique Land: History in the Guise of a Traveler's Tale

Ghosh opens this section in December of 1988, when he had decided to visit Lataifa again. After a series of delays in his travel, Ghosh eventually managed to get to Shaikh Musa’s house, who greeted him excitedly. Once Ghosh was inside, Shaikh Musa’s wife said that it was unfortunate he happened to arrive during a power outage. The house now had electricity and Shaikh Musa confirmed that “Everything’s changed in all these years that you’ve been away” (115).

As they were catching up, Shaikh Musa pointed to a framed photo of Hasan on the wall. This was next to a photo of Shaikh Musa himself, with both in uniform and looking similar. Shaikh Musa talked about the mourning ceremony for his son and then retrieved the Quran that Ghosh had bought for him in Cairo. It was after this, Shaikh Musa noted, that Ghosh had gone to live in Nashawy.

Ghosh says that even after he had moved from Lataifa to Nashawy, during his first visit, he had often returned to ask Shaikh Musa questions. Shaikh Musa had known many people from Nashawy, though he visited them less as he got older. Shaikh Musa would tell him stories about his youth in the town, while Ghosh would give him updates on what had happened since.