The mind of a writer
Harshini VAKKALANKA
Musharraf Ali Farooqui said the idea for his latest book, ‘Between
Clay and Dust’, was born when he explored the relationship between a
wrestler, power and control.
It took 10 years for Musharraf Ali Farooqui, to write his latest
novel “Between Clay and Dust”, one of the first novels to be published
by Aleph Publications.
The book revolves around a pehlwan and a courtesan who are faced with
difficult choices when their world collapses.
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Musharraf Ali Farooqui believes India
and Pakistan have a common culture and a long-shared common
history |
“The idea was born when I started exploring the notion of the
relationship between a wrestler and the power and control he must
exercise at all times”, said Farooqui who was in town to promote the
book. “I began reading up about pehlwans and then I began to see the
characters, their lives and relationships.”
The story is set during Partition. “After Partition, the princely
states stopped patronising the arts, including wrestling. Naturally, it
affected courtesans. In the novel, when this happens, both characters
are past their primes and find that their sustenance has suddenly
disappeared. In that situation, they begin to question the meaning of
their lives and existence.” The book explores the similarity of choices
that these characters face and the motivating forces behind their final
choices. “Those who are young can afford to make mistakes and survive.
Their choices do not threaten their existence. But there are no second
choices for the old. And finally in the book, we see that all rules are
man made, they can always be changed.”
Farooqui worked on several drafts, over the years until he was
finally satisfied with the result. This is Farooqui's third novel. He
has also worked on story collections like “The Amazing Moustaches of
Moochhander the Iron Man & Other Stories.”His previous novel, “The Story
of a Widow” was shortlisted for the DSP Prize for South Asian
Literature. “I'm still sampling as a writer. I have a wide variety of
interests and I read a number of books in different genres. I like to
write about different things.”
But the common thread connecting all his works is the narrative. “I
like to focus on storytelling, so I concentrate on writing a good story.
In fact, what I like about literature is its exploration of human
relationships.”
His next book,“A Heroine After Time”, titled after Mikhail
Lermontov's “A Hero of our time” (the book has a role to play), also
combines the elements of storytelling and human relationships.
“This book brings together characters from across the world. They are
all disparate people who share a common outlook. They come together to
do something wonderful, yet none of the characters meet. It is a story
about books and the love of books.”
Musharraf is also commended for his translations of Urdu works
“Hoshruba”, “The Adventures of Amir Hamza”, contemporary Urdu poet Afzal
Ahmed Syed's selected poetry “Rococo and Other Worlds” and Syed Muhammad
Ashraf's “The Beast”.
He is also currently working on an online Urdu thesaurus. “Some of
the most wonderful contemporary writing can be found in Urdu literature.
But it is not hyped by publishers who sometimes focus on English writing
because of perceived notions.”
Farooqui believes that some of Urdu's greatest writers are Indians
and even though Urdu literature may not be as popular in India,
technology can bridge the gap.
“India and Pakistan have a common culture and a long-shared common
history. Indians can understand Urdu and Pakistanis can understand
Hindi. We don't need a script to understand each other. So new
technology like audio books can help breach the barriers.”
- The Hindu
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