There’s something magical about the transportive power of a book, that is yet to be replaced – Saba Karim Khan

Saba Karim Khan is an author, award-winning documentary filmmaker and educator. Khan’s debut novel, ‘Skyfall’ was published by Bloomsbury. She is a columnist for Khaleej Times and her writings have appeared in distinguished newspapers including The Guardian, Gulf News, The National, Huff Post, DAWN, The Friday Times and Express Tribune. Khan’s doc-film, ‘Concrete Dreams: Some Roads Lead Home’, produced by the Doha Film Institute (DFI), won awards at film festivals in NYC, Paris, Berlin, Toronto, USA, Sweden and India. Before joining the academy, Saba worked as Country Marketing and Public Affairs Head at Citigroup.

Born in Karachi, she now lives in Abu Dhabi with her husband and two daughters. Her second book ‘Home #itscomplicated’ has been recently launched. In an exclusive interview, Saba Karim Khan talks about her work and her passion for writing. Read on…

You! Can you tell us a bit about your early life?

Saba Karim Khan: I grew up in Karachi, in a home filled with hand-written letters, ghazals and books (both in Urdu and English), where money was scarce but dreams were abundant. We had a lot of passports that expired without being stamped, but our parents taught us to travel and transport ourselves without going anywhere. My most vivid memories are of Saturdays spent at the British Council Library and of family conversations and human connection. My father was a professor of English Literature and his dream was to write and publish books. Somewhere, in those formative years, my own dreams became intimately bound with his, which set me on the path to becoming a storyteller and sowed the seeds for my first book, which was a novel, ‘Skyfall’.

You! When did you move to Abu Dhabi and why?

SKK: In 2015, my husband’s job brought us to Abu Dhabi. I was terrified of what I would do here without a job, but the place has really grown on me. Soon after moving, I started working at NYU (New York University), Abu Dhabi, and both our daughters were born here - that’ll always make this place filled with indelible memories for me.

You! How long you have been writing?

SKK: Gosh, hard to put a firm timestamp on it but for over a decade now. My first Op-Ed was probably published around 11 years ago, if I recall correctly. It was a mixed bag – non-fiction, fiction, even a bit of experimental poetry. However, things got serious when I thought about writing my first novel some years ago.

You! What inspired you to write your debut novel ‘Skyfall’?

SKK: I think there was one luminous moment that sparked the realisation within me, that storytelling is the label I identify with the most and that I want to pen a novel. I was sitting in a class at NYU, listening to a guest speaker talking to our students about mindfulness, about being immersed in the moment. He then asked everyone, “What’s your song. Take five minutes and scribble your song on a piece of paper and share it with the person sitting next to you”. In that moment something shifted within me, making me realise that storytelling is my song - I think that was the day the seeds of my debut novel, ‘Skyfall’ were sown.

‘Skyfall’ takes you across Lahore, Delhi and New York, spelling the journey of Rania who is a tour guide and singer from Heera Mandi, who decides that she isn’t going to downsize her dreams so that they fit her reality; instead, she outstrips her reality to make it fit her dreams.

You! Your second book, ‘Home #itscomplicated’ was recently launched at KLF in Karachi. How was the experience?

SKK: Surreal. We had a full house, a super engaged and diverse audience, (including students) and a wonderful book signing post the launch event. The discussion with the panellists - who are all contributors to the anthology - just flowed; everyone spoke with utmost warmth and straight from the heart. I think that sort of authenticity resonates with listeners. In huge part, I owe thanks to KLF (Karachi Literature Festival) and their team who placed their belief in the book and gave us so much leeway to launch ‘Home #itscomplicated’ in the way we had envisioned it.

You! What’s the theme of ‘Home #itscomplicated’ and how is the book structured?

SKK: ‘Home #itscomplicated’ rests on a single conviction: Pakistan - home to over 240 million people, 70-80 languages and fascinating natural diversity - cannot be reduced to a breaking news ticker or international headline.

This is an anthology featuring personal nonfiction pieces by a versatile slate of 24 distinguished Pakistani contributors: doctors, screenwriters, journalists, filmmakers, scientists, intelligence personnel, actors, academics, entrepreneurs, home-makers, students and authors. These voices don’t undermine the strife: hunger, terrifying normalisation of violence, rampant hypocrisies, and problems with privilege, judgmental tendencies and more. That’s mostly the front stage though, the part we hear about.

‘Home #itscomplicated’, simultaneously opens a window to the backstage, where we discover stories of love and wounded attachments, courage and quiet desperation, the pursuit of purpose and the skills essential to survive. Ultimately, we meet some of these survivors - stars born out of anarchy, who aren’t voiceless but as Arundhati Roy puts it, are ‘deliberately silenced’, or ‘preferably unheard’. It took me two years to finish my book.

You! Could you tell us a little bit about your path to publication?

SKK: My earliest realisation was that if you do have dreams to publish a book, a necessary first step is to write. So I wrote and wrote and then some more. When the first draft was ready, I shot a pitch to an agent whose list I found resonated with my own writing. He responded within a few minutes asking for the full manuscript. I call my agent a dream-maker; within some time and after rounds of heavy editing, he had landed a deal for ‘Skyfall’ with Bloomsbury.

You! How have the readers received your work so far?

SKK: I think the most rewarding part of being a storyteller is when your stories connect with strangers. I have experienced that with both ‘Skyfall’ and ‘Home #itscomplicated’.

You! How many documentary films have you made?

SKK: I’m just three films old. The first one was a documentary on street child footballers - ‘Concrete Dreams: Some Roads Lead Home’; the second one explores the lives of three Urdu rap artists from Karachi’s underground hip-hop scene in Gizri. The third one is an experimental short film, ‘Dealing in Desire’, based on a post-modern piece I’d written for a UK magazine, and it’s been made in collaboration with Sarmad Sultan Khoosat.

You! What does a typical day look like for you?

SKK: It’s multitasking in a jungle-gym, between NYU, school runs, gymnastics competitions, and passion projects such as the documentaries and writing books, moderating an occasional fireside chat, cooking dinner, reading to and answering endless questions from my two small girls.

You! What is the most important relationship lesson you have learnt so far?

SKK: To not simply be a ‘taker’ in a relationship and to always try and show up.

You! What is your favourite subject which is close to your heart?

SKK: Urdu literature, both poetry and prose. It has a subtext that is difficult to describe. You can convey the most profound emotions with the utmost lucidity.

You! What are your five favourite books?

SKK: ‘Charlotte’s Web’ (E.B. White), ‘Chauthi ka Jora’ (Ismat Chughtai), ‘Moth Smoke’ (Mohsin Hamid), ‘Rebecca’ (Daphne du Maurier), and ‘The Kite Runner’ (Khaled Hosseini).

You! What did you like to read when you were a little girl?

SKK: ‘Charlotte’s Web’ was a household favourite, my father would read it to us. Enid Blyton was almost impossible to put down. I also remember ‘The Chrysalids’, ‘Pippi Longstocking’ and ‘The Borrowers’ as a distinct part of my childhood.

You! What is your opinion on eBooks?

SKK: I am yet to convert but a lot of people around me seem to love the convenience and transportability they offer.

You! Are people still interested in reading and buying books?

SKK: If this year’s Karachi Literature Festival is anything to go by, then I’d say yes. There were people standing in lines to have their books signed. It debunked the myth in my head that Pakistanis don’t read. Sure, raising a reader in a world smitten by technology is much harder than before, but there’s something magical about the transportive power of a book, that is yet to be replaced.

You! Do you agree that writing is a strong tool to change mindset?

SKK: From Anne Frank’s diary that has been read by millions, to Saadat Hassan Manto’s literature that delves into the human cost of partition, there are storytellers who have inspired, persuaded, galvanised people during times of conflict and crises, without necessarily holding placards and screaming from rooftops.

You! Why do you write?

SKK: Writing offers me a way to make meaning, out of my life, out of the world around me, out of our emotions and all that makes us human.

You! What is your suggestion to aspiring writers?

SKK: Read. Write. Be vulnerable and allow your work to be read by trusted readers. Rewrite. Sometimes the idea of ‘writing’ can seem more appealing than the act itself. What I’ve come to realise, however, is that there is no shortcut to this. Putting pen to paper is an unavoidable step for any aspiring writer, no matter how many times that draft will have to be redone. In short, I’ll borrow from Mohsin Hamid and say, “Being a writer is not the point. Writing is.”

You! Have you thought of writing in Urdu?

SKK: Yes, I’ve written very little poetry in Urdu but I would love to experiment more with writing in my mother-tongue.

You! What are some of your favourite ways to relax and have fun?

SKK: Reading. Basketball. Listening to music and trying to play the piano. Being outdoors if the weather holds up and spending time with my two small girls.

You! Your philosophy of life:

SKK: I think the poem ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling captures most of it. But also, our father taught us that kindness is the currency, the religion, the temple, the philosophy. It never goes out of fashion and allows us to imagine the victory of light over darkness.

You! What books are currently on your bedside table?

SKK: ‘Letters to a Young Muslim’ by Omar Saif Ghobaish and ‘Empowering Young Leaders’ by Dr Gohar Khan.

You! Who are your favourite authors that inspired you a lot?

SKK: Ismat Chughtai, Gabriel García Márquez, Arundhati Roy, Louisa May Alcott, Franz Kafka, T.S. Eliot and Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

You! How do you keep a balance between family life and work?

SKK: This palpable struggle characterises most of my life - it’s constant, it’s tough and it’s real. There are always choices to be made between sports day and work meetings, piano recitals and teaching class. Asking for help is an anomaly. I guess I’m working with the mantra of quality over quantity when it comes to being a parent; but there’s no playbook and as a working mother, I am always second guessing myself. Guilt is a constant companion. Sometimes I think back to what my mother would say about offering a different kind of role model to my girls as a working mother - if I manage to do that, I think that would be half the battle won.