Pakistan’s ‘social butterfly’ Moni Mohsin is back with her third book in the series; bringing avid followers up to speed with the goings-on up to December 2013. Though technically a non-resident Pakistani, the columnist-turned-author is, as always, clued into the various strands of discourse that contribute to the increasingly mind-boggling narrative, with Pakistan again in the midst of a political see-saw. Beneath the surface of the frivolous chatter of the butterfly and her friends in a desi-version of English — complete with wrong usages and flawed spellings — lies a telling statement of Pakistan. In an e-mail interview after the launch of The Return of the Butterfly , the U.K.-based satirist says the ‘social butterfly’ has a “good dollop of myself”. And, true to the butterfly-like qualities of her protagonist, she is non-committal on whether the series is “to be continued”. Excerpts:
Will the “social butterfly” return with another book?
I’m exploring a very different subject right now. So my next book is not going to be a part of the Butterfly series. But after that, who knows?
When you first began writing the column ‘The Diary of a Social Butterfly’, did you see a book in it?
No. Not in my wildest dreams.
Since the jottings of the butterfly reflect on the realities of Pakistan, who is the Butterfly. Janoo seems to be your brother-in-law Najam Sethi but who is the Butterfly?
The Butterfly is a composite character based on many different people — both men and women — that I know in Pakistan. She is also a good dollop of myself. You think Janoo is my brother-in-law? Really? How very interesting! I must tell him. I don’t know if he’ll be flattered or annoyed.
Everything about the social butterfly appears real except her bad English. It somehow does not gel with her ‘bagground’, considering that she is from the Convent of Jesus & Mary and Kinnaird College and is also khandani type to boot. Why?
Actually I know lots of women and men of ‘good bagground’ in Lahore who have attended the most prestigious educational institutions in the city without actually getting an education. I can’t tell you the number of society people I know in Pakistan who never read a book.
Their Urdu is fine but their English is dodgy. And these are precisely the people who I regularly hear using phrases like ‘safe heavens’ and ‘thanks God’, and who confuse the words nausea for nostalgia and desert for dessert.
I can’t believe you don’t have them in India too.
Aren’t you apprehensive that the liberal use of references that are very sub-continental and the desi English will restrict your reach to Indians, Pakistanis and possibly the diaspora? While writing as the social butterfly, how do you ensure that your satire has a wider appeal?
Tender Hooks and The Diary of a Social Butterfly were both published in the U.K. Tender Hooks was even read over BBC Radio 4.
In the U.K., thanks to TV and radio programmes like Goodness Gracious Me and Citizen Khan and films like East Is East , the British public is already well versed in the peculiarities of our spoken English.
As for the more difficult Urdu phrases, like bhooka-nanga , I translate to ‘hungry-nakeds’ and khaata-peetas become the ‘affording types’. But generally I find that readers in the west have become much more adventurous in their choices and are willing to tackle books written in a variety of voices and linguistic styles.
For instance, The Wake , one of the novels on the current Booker long list is written in the ‘English’ spoken in 1066.
Given how things are in Pakistan and the shrinking space for free expression, do you find yourself holding back while writing about sensitive issues; particularly religion?
The only topic I am careful about is religion. Everything else is fair game.
Why is it that women get short-changed in your books? Isn’t there an element of stereotyping because the men come out looking more reasonable? Your books make it seem as if the high-class women of Pakistan do nothing else but dress up and party.
I beg to differ! The women in my books are not all airheads. There is a woman in Tender Hooks who is a self-made, celebrated businesswoman. Mulloo becomes a successful caterer. Sana, Jonker’s love interest, is an independent working woman (she runs a travel agency), as is her mother who is the head mistress at a local school. Even the Butterfly's mother-in-law, The Old Bag, farms her own land. And aside from Jonkers, Janoo and Kulchoo, most of the other men (Tony bhai, Akbar and the husbands of her other society friends) are complete bozos.
Does it bother you that your books are often seen as ‘chick-lit’ — particularly because of the jackets and the socialite protagonist — while in effect you pack in a lot of satire?
Satire always runs the risk of being misunderstood. I hope my readers will not judge my books by their covers.
You don’t live in Pakistan. So, how is it that you seem to have a finger on the pulse, picking up the nuances of Pakistani polity and society?
I go back home three or four times a year. I keep in touch via social media and watch Pakistani TV and read all the newspapers and talk regularly to my friends and family who pass on all the gossip, news and trends.
What makes Pakistan tick against the odds that just seem to be stacking up?
It’s a big country with a huge population. So even if we have a fringe of crazy extremists and corrupt ruling elite, there are a lot of people who are hardworking law-abiding citizens who want to do the best by themselves and their society. It is they who keep things ticking over.
