It’s only a myth that the people of Laghman province are the smartest Afghans. In reality, the famous Laghmani intellect comes from its rugged terrain, bereft of the cultivable land that employs most Afghans; instead of spending their days tilling fields, says Asad Danish, Laghmanis read.

Asad, who doesn’t know his exact age, was born in Laghman, between the Afghan capital Kabul and the Pakistani border, further east, in the late 1960s. His father was an Islamic scholar, who was fond of religious and non-religious texts alike. Among his father’s modest library were volumes by Shakespeare and Victor Hugo. There was also a bible.

• Tags: Afghanistan, Andrew Quilty, Issue 20