If you want to imagine how Bangalore was in the Eighties — without traffic snarls and great, gracious trees lining broad avenues, little bookshops in corners, you need to read Andaleeb Wajid’s latest novel, No Time for Goodbyes . Though it falls under the category of young adult fiction, the novel will speak to every generation, from those who grew up in the 80s to younger people interested in knowing what the Garden City was like back then.
“My mother was looking at some old photos and she said ‘I wish I could go back in time’. I thought, this could happen in my book as well,” says Andaleeb, ahead of the launch of the book, the first of a trilogy, at Oxford Bookstore, where she was in conversation with theatre personality and journalist, Prakash Belawadi.
“It is a novel about romance and time travel, set in 2012 and 1982, simultaneously. The main protagonist, 16-year-old Tamanna goes back to 1982 with the help of a photo. She falls in love with someone, then. We often tell our kids about the good old days. I wondered what it would be like to put a girl from the present into the past and see her react to situations,” says Andaleeb.
The moving back and forth between a Bangalore of “lush greenery”, “cool and fresh air” and “old-styled colonial bungalows” and that of a bustling metropolis is skilfully done by the author. For her research, Andaleeb spoke to a lot of people, including her family and relatives, who were young then.
“I asked them focused questions. I read up a bit, too. I have always lived in Bangalore, so it’s easy for me to write about it. I am a child of the Eighties and I had an outline of what the city was like in that period.”
At the launch, Prakash Belawadi spoke with nostalgia about the ‘80s, adding that “the names, spaces and feelings regarding Bangalore are completely authentic” in the book.
Andaleeb is a prolific writer. She has written four other novels: Kite Strings , Blinkers Off , My Brother’s Wedding and More Than Just Biryani . Writing comes naturally to her, words just flow from her pen, shaping unique plots and stories.
“When I was seven years old, I was sitting at my father’s desk, feeling very important. I remembered that moment many years later. Writing seemed a logical thing to do.”
When it comes to deciding what matters most to her, the story or characters, Andaleeb says: “For me, the story comes first. The characters come a little after that. I try to match both.” More Than Just Biryani , she says, is closest to her heart. The story spans three generations of women from one family.
“The protagonist’s father dies when she is young, and that changes her life completely. The same happened with me.”
No Time for Goodbyes is a Bloomsbury India publication and is priced at Rs. 250. The second novel in the Tamanna trilogy is Back in Time .
