IITian pens sequel to popular book
By Suneetha

A techie writing fiction is not a rarity these days, but to IIT Kharagpur alumnus Farahad Zama it’s a habit. This London based techie’s debut book ‘A Marriage Bureau for Rich People’ made waves in 2008, and he followed suit with a sequel in 2009. Vizag born Zama, who has an M. Tech from IIT, started his career in programming and is now an IT Director, is back with more books.

Techgoss had interviewed Zama twice, once in 2008 and then in 2009. Zama’s protagonist, the unpretentious small-town marriage bureau administrator Mr.Ali and his young assistant Aruna had become such favourites with readers that the first book was translated into half a dozen European languages. Zama’s third in the Ali series, The Wedding Wallah has now been released in India and he tells us that Mr.Ali has been captured in a fourth book already, expected to be released next year.

Techgoss (TG): So Mr.Ali returns, this time with a new angle. How deep-rooted is this character in your mind, that you are able to bring out three books in three years from basically the same set of characters?
Farahad Zama (FZ): The principal characters - Mr and Mrs Ali, Aruna, Rehman and to a lesser extent, Pari - are all like real people to me. I feel as if I've known them for a long time. Writing a new book is a matter of finding new situations for them to react in. Having said that, the characters do evolve slightly. Mrs Ali has grown more substantial with each book. Pari is really coming into her own. And in each book, I want to create at least one minor character who'll stick in the readers' minds. In the first book, it was the sales executive who couldn't do romance, in the second, it was the tragic cotton farmer Mr Naidu, and in the Wedding Wallah, it could be either Dilawar or his mother - take your pick.

(TG): Did you have to do any research for this book? It seems to touch a lot of contemporary issues.
(FZ): I didn't do as much research as I should have! Yes, the book touches issues like bonded labour, the leftist Naxalite movement and gay rights. But I think it is still at its heart a warm romance and a good-hearted look at human nature. I want my readers to come out of reading my books with two different emotions - I enjoyed that, and I didn't know that. Readers' responses tell me that so far I seem to have succeeded.

(TG): Was the third book your idea or has there been a pressure from readers/publishers for more of Mr.Ali?
(FZ): The third book was the easiest to write so far. I got the whole story in my mind in a flash and it was a matter of getting it down to paper. There were many, many days on which I was writing 2000 words, which, for me, is a lot. My normal average is around 300 to 400 words.

(TG): How has this third edition of Mr.Ali been accepted?
(FZ): It's too early to tell. It has been nominated for the Muslim Writers Awards this year as well, which is nice.

(TG): Comparing the three books, which has been the most successful? Which one is your favourite?
(FZ): The first book was the most successful, especially in the UK, because it was picked up by Richard & Judy and the Daily Mail as their book of the month. The Marriage Bureau for Rich People will always have a special place for me as my debut novel. But for a writer, what he/she feels about his books is coloured, I think, by how the writing process went and in that respect, The Wedding Wallah is definitely my favourite. I also feel that I've grown as a writer over the three books and I don't think I could have written The Wedding Wallah three years ago.

(TG): Has the reception to the book been different in India /abroad?
(FZ): The Wedding Wallah has had a good press in India. Talking about Naxalites is okay while gay rights are still fairly taboo, while in the West; it is the other way round.

(TG): Have you had techies coming in with responses?
(FZ): Not really. May be this interview will change that!

(TG): The book leaves a few stories at loose end, is there a fourth one in the pipeline?
(FZ): Yes, the fourth book is called Mrs Ali's Road to Happiness and I am currently proof-reading it. So it's almost all done... It's more intimate and tells the story of how various people want to take the adopted son Vasu, away from Pari because he is a Hindu boy and she is a Muslim woman. Will Rehman get back with Usha or will he prefer Pari? You'll need to read the book to find out.

(TG): Please tell us about your current location, your current job and any relevant personal detail that your reader will like to know (that has changed since our first story)
(FZ): I am still based in London, though I am answering these questions in Vizag as I am here on holiday. I am still an IT director for an investment bank, trying to write on my commute.

(TG): You said you were in Pune in Oct; would you care to tell us why? Is it anything connected with your books?
(FZ): I was in Pune in October for my day job in the bank. It was too short a notice to arrange any book readings, but I'll be visiting Pune again soon and I hope something can be arranged next time. Pune reminds me a lot of Vizag - the mountains, the feel of a small town that's overgrown its roots and so on. Pune doesn't have a beach, however, but it has over 100,000 IT jobs and more horrendous traffic.