His childhood memories of Bangalore are that of a quiet place, living in an independent house in Cox Town with trees and plants around, playing on the clean and green lawns at Cubbon Park and frequenting Maxis and Meccah, the popular circulating libraries in the city. And visiting Higginbotham's on M.G. Road.
“We had more outdoor activities — swimming classes, playing tennis and of course the culture of borrowing and lending books among friends,” says the young author Ahmed Faiyaz. This Bangalorean, a chartered accountant with KPMG shifted gears to do MBA and is now a strategic consultant with the health authority of the Government of Dubai.
He turns author with “Love, Life & all that Jazz…” (Sanbun Publishers, Rs. 150). “My passion lies in writing. My parents, avid readers initiated me into the habit of reading. From the age of four or five, I have read one book every week,” smiles Ahmed, who now lives in Dubai.
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His protagonists, a bunch of youngsters studying in Mumbai, set out to follow their passion and do things they believe in. Vikram, from a big industrialist family breaks away from it to start a small investment company of his own.
Sameer, who has a successful job in the U.K. after his MBA there, is caught in a dilemma over job or family and his long-distance relationship with Tania back in Mumbai (a third person comes into her life causing friction to the relationship) and there is Tanveer, the bread winner of his family who finds himself in a demanding job. His relationship with Tanaz, a Parsi ruffles feathers back home.
A coming-of-age novel set in a contemporary society, it deals with the choices the characters make between love, relationships and career. “There is still reluctance from parents to accept inter-caste and inter-religious relationships, in this case a Muslim-Parsi one. This adds to the stress of young people and they end up taking wrong decisions,” the author says. There are elements of fun, laughter and funny situations. “It's a light-hearted read and I have stayed true to myself,” he insists.
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Written in a breezy style, the work of fiction targeted at people in the 25 to 35 age group is inspired by life and Charles Dickens' “Great Expectations”. “The book is about passion and I want it to inspire people. While growing up, we aspire to do many things and change the world. When you start working, you are more bothered about paying bills, appraisals and traffic woes.”
Through the journey of the characters over a period of seven to eight years -- the author attempts to tell the story of life, how it changes people and its aftermath on relationships and career. Writings of Franz Kafka, Haruki Murakami, and Roald Dahl's short stories transport Ahmed to another world.
“I am an avid reader of Amitav Ghosh, R.K. Narayan and Ruskin Bond too. I met Ruskin Bond in Mussoorie and am completely awed by him. It was a wonderful experience,” Ahmed gushes. “ People like Barack Obama inspire me by their journey to the top and untiring initiatives to fix the loopholes in the heath care system and Dr. Manmohan Singh for continued efforts to live a simple life.”
About straddling the worlds of auditing, consulting and writing, he says it is like living two lives. “As a consultant, I bring my skills to the table, blending my experiences and capabilities. As a writer, it is very individualistic, your book is your baby and you live with it.”
Though the idea was in his head for three years, he wrote it only last year. “I made my characters less dramatic, more realistic and inspiring.” Ahmed says writing is quite consuming and exhausting “You start living the characters, seeing and writing things in their voices.”
A collection of short stories and a second book “Another Chance”, a novella in a three-part series are already underway.
Mention Bangalore and the affable author is all smiles. He calls the city home and visits every month. “My mom still teaches here. Traffic and pollution have increased for the worse,” he rues.
But he cherishes the old Bangalore attitude of “live and let live and the easy going and calm society. The calmness seems to be evaporating, the answer to which lies within us. Our needs and demands have changed, there is growing affluence, commercialism and materialism, but true happiness lies in believing in ourselves. People here are still nice and the city still holds a lot of opportunities,” acknowledges Ahmed.
Ahmed released the book at Crossword, Residency Road, recently.