Pakistani author Mira Sethi insists that though some of the characters in her debut book are probably feminists, the writing definitely cannot be termed “A feminist’s take”. Excerpts from an interview with Medha Dutta Yadav.
Do these stories come from a personal space?
They come from a personal space in the way all literature is a collision of the imagination with one’s lived experience. I’m interested in the local flavour, the street aspect of cities, and tones and styles of speaking and living. I’m interested in bringing Pakistan with a lowercase ‘p’ to life, as opposed to the Pakistan you read about in newspapers.
Tell our readers about the journey of a ‘books editor’ to an ‘actor’.
I was an assistant books editor at the Wall Street Journal for two-and-a-half years. I learned a lot about commissioning, editing, and telling stories while I was there, but editing book reviews was not what I wanted to do with my life. I moved to Pakistan in 2012 and became an actor—something I’d always wanted to do! Storytelling, via words or via moving images, is powerful. I am very lucky to do what I love.
You have peppered the writing with Urdu words and daily-use native words. Did you not feel the need to explain?
The book is not a journal article. It takes two seconds to Google a word. In fiction, ‘explanation’ is the death of mood, mystery, tone, character (which, distilled, becomes plot). The challenge of writing in English—when the sensibility underlying the words may belong to a different langauge or culture—is to get at the heart of the insight, or emotion, encased in English.
Do you feel a certain kind of pressure to present your country ‘the right way’?
The instinct to write fiction does not arise from “How can I best become a mouthpiece of the Deep State?”—so, no. My stories are about the intersection of class, sexuality and power—some are probing taboo subjects and themes. I am delighted to see readers engaging with the work.
SHORT TAKES
One book that you swear by?
The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
Acting or writing?
Both
What do you never leave home without?
My phone
A skill you picked up during the pandemic?
The joy of being alone