A cup of lemon tea and vegan cookies on a Saturday evening with your favourite author is something no book lover would give a miss. And if the author happens to be city-based novelist Anjum Hasan, then it’s worth every minute.
At a book reading event at the Paradigm Shift in the city recently, Anjum talks about the three people in her novel Lunatic In My Head with a small audience. What made the event special was the personal touch she added to the atmosphere as she discussed the novel and the characters in it intimately.
With the novel based in her home town of Shillong, the writer transported the listeners to the chilly climate of the beautiful capital of Meghalaya bringing the story alive. Inspired by the scenic landscape of Shillong, she expresses her longing for her home through the book.
Anjum adds that in this context, writing is the only way that she could express any feeling. The narrative revolves around the circumstances in the lives of three characters, Sophie Das, - an eight-year-old child, Aman Moondy - an IAS aspirant and Firdaus Ansari - an English teacher who is expecting her first child.
The book, in an attempt to heighten the excitement of readers, has chapters titled after the moods of the characters as the story flows. Lunatic In My Head has gained popularity among readers for its simple and thoughtful writing.
Lunatic In My Head , Anjum’s debut novel, was short-listed for the Crossword Book Award 2007 and shot her to fame. She has also won several awards for her works, including the Sahitya Akademi 2006 for her debut collection of poems Street On The Hill .
Moving on to current trends, Anjum shares insight on Indian women writers. She sadly points out the poor display given to books of Indian authors when compared to that given to books by western writers.
“Today, most young readers prefer western authors to Indian. I feel happy that writer Chetan Bhagat has changed that attitude. To me, we have really succeeded when a person reads his book and is inspired to read more works by Indian authors,” she beams.