Mansi, A Rare Man in His Own Way. Tayeb Saleh

myself under suspicion.

      That was why I lost my temper and hurled abuse at Mansi as much as my disposition allowed me. But he did not take me seriously and regarded the whole matter as a joke and mischief. As usual, he had embarrassed a huge, sophisticated administrative system. Payment orders would be sent from us to the administration unit for review and audit. From there they would pass on to the administrative unit of foreign broadcasting service and on to the central administrative organ. Mansi, may God bestow His mercy on his soul, worked in the broadcasting monitoring unit under the name of Michael, and with us under the name of Bastawrous. At the same time, he worked as English language teacher in a high school under the name of Joseph. For almost three years, that situation continued undiscovered despite a succession of administrators and auditors – until the matter was discovered by mere chance. In recalling this story, what interested him most was that he had been teaching the British their own language.

      How could he do these jobs simultaneously? Using his bubble, he would shuttle back and forth between places far apart. At one point he would be seen in Caversham, an hour’s drive from London, before suddenly popping up on the extreme north of the city, and then with us at Bush House. No wonder all the department executives denied any knowledge: they truly were not aware – but at the same time they were aware. And I cannot say for sure whether I adopted a contradictory story in order to protect Mansi or because it occurred to me that I had been aware.

      It took me considerable time and effort to redress my mistake. And I never managed to regain that favourable stature I had enjoyed, as that incident continued to blemish my annual appraisal reports for quite a long time. Mansi, on the other hand, came out of it unscathed. He had managed to get to the Director of External Broadcasting, the number two man in the BBC, second only to the Director General. He forced his way into Mr Tangye Lean’s office without prior appointment. The moment he introduced himself, the man let out a loud guffaw. As Mansi told us later, the man said to him, between giggles: “So, you are the man who put the Arabic Service in big trouble!”

      Tangye Lean was one of the ‘great’ men – the calibre of Mr Waterfield. He was by no means a strict bureaucrat, but rather tolerant and farsighted. He was an enlightened person who had spent part of his life in Egypt. And he was a prominent author: he wrote an important book, entitled The Napoleonists: A study in political disaffection, 1760–1960, about the Britons who had swum against the nationalist current in Britain and sided with Napoleon in his struggle against England. He had strong connections with writers and artists: his brother, David Lean, was the renowned director of Lawrence of Arabia. He must have been impressed by Mansi, for they soon became close friends and he invited Mansi to his home and introduced him to his family. Shortly after that, Mansi was reinstated in his position at Caversham, and the Arabic Service was instructed to lift the ban off him.