- Muslim man in India.
The Indian, my First Interview as a Writer
”Are you calling from India?”, asked Mark, the guy interviewing me on Sunday. ”Actually”, I said hooked. ”I am calling from London.”
”But why do you ask?”
”You accent and your name”, he said. I was sweetly surprised. Somebody had actually called me what I was- without seeing me or knowing anything about me except in relation to my book ‘For the People, By the People‘. Not many call me Indian, I may be from a thousand different places but not India. I have this major identity crisis thanks to people who insist on me being from any place but India. Which troubles me or angers me depending on my mood and people’s insinuations. I am proud of my Indian roots as I am proud of the brown skin that Indians have, the food that we so painstakingly prepare (although not daily), the customs and the traditions, the charm of Bollywood and above all its diversity. It is a place where I can be myself and for those instances I can’t, I can at least put down my foot and insist. On being me.
Ofcourse its not always Incredible India as the advertisement would have you believe. There are problems with the governance, the political structure, problems such as corruption and an increasing population, mayhem and chaos, greed and the most troubling of it all- desperate poverty which is an everyday reality. But when you love, you accept the good and the bad. That is love at its best.
Mark, an accomplished writer with an ‘imagination that won’t quit’ is the author of ‘Maldene‘ . He asked me some interesting questions on a variety of subjects. We went from imagination and creating lively characters to getting inspired by real-life people and fitting
them into books to presenting the other sides of people and not necessarily dimension-ed portrayals and giving voices to the voiceless. The interview is live for you to listen to until Sunday, the 2nd December 2012, which is four days from now, after which you will have to register to hear it. You can listen to the interview here. Feel free to comment.
Oh yes I did ask him how did he figured out my origins. ”My yoga teacher is Indian and I know the accent well”, he laughed. Ofcourse Yoga, another quintessentially Indian thing. Like brown skin, elephants, Diversity, and it’s unique charm. 🙂
A Bookstore in Calcutta, India
writer act 
that was Indian are !.. proud to read about Indianess in you ….