Faiqa Mansab has been writing for some time, and has had her work published in a number of magazines. In 2017 she released ‘This House of Clay and Water‘, as her debut as a novelist. She is a teaches Creative Writing, has an Mphil degree in English Literature and part of the visiting faculty in Kinnaird College.
‘This House of Clay and Water‘
The novel follows three characters from different backgrounds in Lahore. It is an exploration of Pakistani class, culture and the social and spiritual limitations experienced in life.
Set in Lahore, This House of Clay and Water explores the lives of two women. Nida, intelligent and lonely, has married into an affluent political family and is desperately searching for some meaning in her existence; and impulsive, lovely Sasha, from the ordinary middle-class, whose longing for designer labels and upmarket places is so frantic that she willingly consorts with rich men who can provide them. Nida and Sasha meet at the famous Daata Sahib dargah and connect-their need to understand why their worlds feel so alien and empty, bringing them together.
On her frequent visits to the dargah, Nida meets the gentle, flute-playing hijra Bhanggi, who sits under a bargadh tree and yearns for acceptance and affection, but is invariably shunned. A friendship-fragile, tentative and tender-develops between the two, both exiles within their own lives; but it flies in the face of all convention and cannot be allowed.
The Interview:
Thank you for being with us today, how are you?
I’m delighted to be here with you.
How has it been since you published ‘This House of Clay and Water’?
It’s been wonderful. I feel very grateful that it has been so well received. It was long-listed for the German Consulate Peace Prize and the Getz-Pharma Fiction Prize.
What was the most emotional part of this journey?
All of it. Writing it was a long journey and then the whole process of looking for an agent. I was very lucky to find Mita Kapur who got me a fantastic deal with Penguin Random House India. Seeing your book as a book, in a bookshop, in other people’s TBR piles, getting strangers’ messages about how much they loved the book, all of this is just so wonderful. I’m very grateful that it has been such an amazingly rewarding journey.
Lahore is a huge character in the novel. What is it about the city that inspires you?
I grew up in Lahore. It’s a beautiful city with a long history. A city is made up of so many different things. People being the most obvious, but also cultural changes over time, and cultural nuances. Historical narratives that are ever changing and often multiple. Architecture and art fascinate me. Lahore has both in abundance.
Isn’t it interesting how all the people in the novel come together? What draws them together?
I’d like to say Fate. But obviously it was me. I was writing Sasha’s story separately and one day I knew she had to meet Nida. They were so different and yet so alike. There was no way that they could meet except the Dargah and because that place is the raison d’etre of the story, I wrote the chapter and everything just fell into place. Stories have an energy of their own. They guide you when you’re writing them. Sometimes you finish a novel and realize something is missing and you have to start over. That has happened to me too, with the second novel I was writing. I’ve gained some distance from it now, and I will have to rewrite the whole thing. It’s a challenging job but I love it.
What do you think should someone aspire for in life, when nothing is in their control?
Very little is in our control, and yet we strive every day of our lives for something more. I have learned with time that taking action is the most important thing we can do. Think, plan and then do what is necessary, even if you think that it will be useless, or it will end in failure, or worse that nothing will happen. Even then, do what you can towards gaining your goal. Even if it is slow, it is the beginning of the journey towards your goal. Take responsibility for your actions and know that there comes a time when you’ve done all you could, and when that time comes, sit back and pray if you believe in God, or just sit back and wait, patiently.
Never give up on your dreams, because if you do, what are you living for? Always get up when you fall, and you will fall often. Nothing lasts forever, neither happiness, nor pain. Good things happen because bad things do too and the universe is all about parings, balance and order. Believe in yourself, especially when no one else will.
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Maheen Ahmed – Writing to make culture.
@lahore_la_notte_
