Andaleeb Wajid began writing because she was better at the arts than science. Look where that led her. Andaleeb — whose name, according to her, means “nightingale”, just launched her second novel, “Blinkers Off” at J.P. Nagar's Crossword. A short-story collection, “Curtains”, is her first major published work in which she has contributed four stories. “Kite Strings”, a “coming-of-age novel” is her first novel, and “Blinkers Off” is her second.
The story revolves around Noor, who is all set to make a documentary about a wedding. She is paired up with the “class hottie” and her boyfriend, Dennis. The plot takes us through Noor's experiences with her classmates and her feelings for Dennis and how she completes what she has set out to do. “The book makes for perfect time-pass. There are no morals or any lessons to be learnt,” says Andaleeb, though, her first novel, “Kite Runners” is more “serious”.
“‘Kite Runners' is a story of self-discovery. It is about a young adult, Mehnaz, finding herself. In some of my early works, I was trying to explore myself. It was an outlet for me when I was in my early 20s. Looking back now, it seems like a different person wrote it all.”
For Andaleeb, who holds a Masters degree in English Literature, writing has been “one of those things that I looked forward to since I was ten. I have always been writing and it is my way of having fun.” Are there autobiographical elements to her works? “I'm a Muslim, so I like writing about Muslims. But readers across different communities are able to identify with the angst of youth, which is not restricted to a community. My first novel reflects some of my experiences. But it is mostly fiction. Every author's first novel has some autobiographical elements. But after that, even if some personal experiences creep in, it happens subconsciously.”
Andaleeb's works cut across genres — she has written a series of short-stories for the children's supplement of a newspaper, her first work is an exploration of identity and her latest novel is a sort of a teenage drama. “My next novel, ‘My Brother's Wedding' has been accepted by Rupa. I'm currently working on my fifth book, ‘More Than Just Biriyani'. It was initially meant to be a book about food, but then it turned into a story about how food affects the lives of three women from three different generations.”
After three novels and a collection of short stories, Andaleeb believes that she still has a long way to go as an author. “I have two boys and I write only when I get time away from them. Sometimes I wish I had the freedom to go to an office and write. But that's not possible. Still, I'm happy with what I have and I try to make the best use of it.” Andaleeb thinks her writing is “simple and easy-to-read”.
“I don't set out to write a particular type of book. I have an idea and it just develops. I'm more of a storyteller than a writer. If people can learn something from my writing, that's great.”
Published - September 19, 2011 05:22 pm IST
