New Delhi, Feb 7 (Inditop.com) Pakistan is a very complex place because of the diverse happenings the country sees on a day-to-day basis – terror attacks, peace rallies and cultural events, says Lahore-based bestselling author Mohsin Hamid.
“Pakistan is a complex place. One on hand, you are fired incessantly with news about Lashkar and other terror groups both in the country and in Kashmir, while on the other hand, you have unique rights movement that is rallying for peace. Nearly half the population is under 22 years of age and there is a vibrant music scene and culture,” Hamid told Inditop in an interview.
“I am learning to appreciate it once again – factor in nearly 170 million people (the estimated population of Pakistan) with their points of views,” said the writer of the books “Moth Smoke” and “The Reluctant Fundamentalist”.
“I am back to Lahore, the city which I left at 18. I returned last year after the birth of my daughter (Dina)… I am happy to be back because living in Pakistan now is very interesting. Everyone has an opinion and to live there, you must have an opinion too. It exposes me to parallel trains of thoughts,” said Hamid, who was in India as part of a India-Pakistan peace initiative ‘Aman Ki Aasha’.
Both his “Moth Smoke” and “The Reluctant Fundamentalist”, which tell gripping stories about urban angst in Pakistan and the young diaspora in the US, are being made into movies by Bollywood actor Rahul Bose and Mira Nair, respectively.
Lahore, felt Hamid, had “changed since he left it to study in Princeton University and Harvard in the 1980s”.
“Lahore is a city of eight million people now. It has more tall buildings, wider roads and the pace of life is faster. It has all the issues of a big city,” the 39-year-old said.
Lahore has always been central to Hamid’s Books. “My first book, ‘Moth Smoke’ was on Lahore and the protagonist of ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’, Chengiz, is from Lahore. I am working on my third novel – which will address issues that arise out of the trip that I made to India and the ones I intend to make,” Hamid said.
“Moth Smoke” is a story of a marijuana-smoking ex-banker in post-nuclear-test Lahore who falls in love with his best friend’s wife and takes to heroin to battle depression.
“The Reluctant Fundamentalist” is about a Pakistani man who decides to leave his flying job in the US as a corporate executive after a failed love affair and the 9/11 strikes, his relationship with the US sours.
“Both the books are being made into movies. Bollywood actor Rahul Bose has opted to make a movie out of ‘Moth Smoke’. He is working on the script. I have not collaborated on it. Mira Nair is adapting ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ into a movie. We are collaborating on the script,” Hamid said.
According to him, “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” addresses three major issues.
“It tries to define fundamentalism. I think fundamentalist is one who says the core belief I have is the absolute truth… A fundamentalist is not always religious,” Hamid said.
The author conducted “extreme research” for “Moth Smoke”.
“I researched the pot-smoking types. ‘Moth Smoke’ was written in the 90s – the Lahore of the 1990s. Even after I left for America, I used to return home on holidays. But writers dream freely – while the first novel was set in Lahore, the next book straddled two continents. It was because the ideas were contagious – along with the moods,” said Hamid, who took seven years on an average to write each book.
Terrorism for Hamid has no religion.
“Most people being affected by terror in my country are Pakistanis and those killing them are Pakistanis. In the 1940s, before partition, my grandfather was stabbed by fundamentalists – whatever that word means – at the Lawrence Garden in Lahore.
“He was walking with three Hindus friends when this guy stabbed my grandfather and screamed ‘Die! Hindu die!’. The assassin thought my grandfather was a Hindu. As my grandfather lay in hospital, he said is this what I am going to die for? For being a Hindu? My grandfather, however, lived. This whole thing about terrorism is the same everywhere,” Hamid said.
