Personal Narrative of a Visit to Ghuzni, Kabul and Afghanistan: And of a Residence at the Court of D

A journey from Punjab to Kabul captures political intrigue, landscapes, and cultural rituals vividly.

This book is the record of a journey which the author embarked in 1936 from Punjab to Kabul. It was a time of great political ferment.

The political climate of the region had changed since the time when Alexander Burns had travelled here for the British. Dost Mohammad of Afghanistan and Ranjit Singh of Punjab were trying to play each other to gain further influence in that region. Crossing the plains of the Punjab, the territory of Waziriristan and the plains of the Suleiman Kul, Vigne reached Ghazni and then proceeded to Kabul via Killah and Maidan. All along the way he kept notes of all that he saw, heard and experienced. It contains descriptions of the landscape, snippets of the local history, the habits, customs and rituals of the people, the descriptions of courts, political intrigues and skirmishes, etc. This book was first published in 1840.