For Nadya A. R., writing is a manifestation of her truth, a piece of unadulterated conviction. “It doesn’t necessarily have to resonate with you as your truth but for me, my writing emerges from my truth, as a writer, and as a person. It is me. The unbroken, the unfinished, the uncertain, the unafraid,” she says.

In a world that is fast losing its soul to commercialization, there remain a few who, guided by the overpowering sound of conviction, fail to hear the clink of coins. The realization visited me as a welcome guest after I connected with Nadya over a long-distance phone call.

“Writing for me comes from a very deep place within. It has to be congruent with myself. I have to really believe in the story that I am writing as my story and my evolution. I can only write about the people that I can root for,” Nadya tells me.

That should explain why the storyline and the protagonist of her second novel, Invisible Ties, resonates so much with her own personality and life. It is the story of “painfully shy” Noor Kamal who, owing to an adverse turn of events, goes from Karachi to Singapore and finds succor in psychotherapy.

Nadya herself was born in Pakistan, has lived both in Lahore and Karachi. She was a business graduate but decided to change her profession as she felt like that wasn’t her calling.

She started working as a specialist teacher and learning mentor and did her Postgraduate studies in dealing with social, emotional and behavioral difficulties from England. She then moved to Singapore with her husband Abbas Rahimtoola, where she pursued a Masters in Contemporary Therapeutic Counselling and explored the relevance of secure base and attachment theory.

That was like a moment of epiphany for Nadya as she discovered her purpose in life; writing.

Here are excerpts from a chat that I recently had with her:

The similarities between you and the protagonist of Invisible Ties are uncanny. Please elaborate on the ‘invisible ties’ shared by you and Noor.

Five years ago when I had just finished my dissertation on “secure attachments”, I started thinking about it from a cultural point of view. Thus I conceived Noor, the protagonist of Invisible Ties, with an insecure childhood.

In the story, Noor moves from Pakistan, which was highly volatile in the 1990s (the setting of Invisible Ties), to Singapore, a very safe and secure country. But does that provide Noor with any succor? You know what matters is the place deep within us, what has to change is what’s within us.

Is Invisible Ties your story?

No, it’s not my story. Yes, I have woven it into my stories. You can say that while it is very much my story a lot of it is not my story.

You are now working on your third novel, Sanctuary. While your first novel Kolachi Dreams was like a kaleidoscope of contemporary Pakistan, Invisible Ties explored an entirely different theme. What should we expect from your third novel?

When I started working on Sanctuary somebody asked me ‘are you going to do an Invisible Ties again? I said no! Like I told you, writing for me has to have a purpose and should come from within. I am older and wiser now than I was when I wrote Invisible Ties. I have faced a lot of personal tragedies. I need something different to transcribe my soul. My third novel is going to be something more like an adventure. Set across different places it is going to be a journey way different from my previous novels. It is going to cover issues that I feel very strongly about but haven’t addressed yet.

Your thematic versatility is admirable! Can you give me a sneak peek into your writing process?

I work on a system. I have to plan what happens. I have a synopsis in my head. I take notes in my journals which are an amalgamation of all the experiences and research work that I have done for the story. It’s like I embark on two journeys. First I research, collect everything, and once it’s done, then begins the journey of putting it together.

Is it safe to say that the writer and counselor in you coincide and coexist?

You are so right. That is absolutely true. Most people, when they start learning therapy, they have the goal of helping others and so did I. But for me, it was also about self-discovery. I learned that I need to help myself before I help others. I had to find out what did I thrive on and I did. I found out that it was writing. My quest for my identity made me realize that I am here for a purpose. Self-realization, that’s where the honesty in writing comes from.

I have worked with children with learning disabilities and people who have suffered emotionally and physically. I have dealt with a lot of post-trauma cases and it has indeed enriched my life.

I feel that your hybridity has enriched your writing and life as well.

It has helped me grow. I discovered so many things outside my comfort zone. It has anyway become a globalized world today. I believe going beyond your cultural boundaries helps you empathise with people who are not like you. I, for instance, have made so many Indian friends, irrespective of the political ties between our countries and how the media portrays it. They are always in my dua.

Speaking about the political ties between the two countries, what is it that disturbs you about the situation?

I totally disapprove of the politics of hate. Nationalism shouldn’t be about hating others; it should be about loving oneself. For six months now I have been struggling to obtain an India Visa for my medical issues. I have a valid reason to visit the country, I have furnished my medical certificates and yet there is no response.

The political situation between the two countries is destroying so many things. I have visited India before and lived in Dehradun for two months around 12 years ago. I can still recollect the experience and the feeling of love that I was showered in, in India. I am bad with names yet I still remember all the names and people that I came across, such was the warmth that we shared. Tulsi, Raj, Shammi, Shikha, I remember them all. I have been an ambassador for India all this while and yet all of this keep happening.

I wanted to promote my book Invisible Ties on different platforms in Pakistan, and sometimes people would ask me downright why did I publish with an Indian publisher. And that is quite sad, as literature is meant to transcend boundaries.

I mean don’t we all enjoy Indian movies in Pakistan and don’t you all enjoy our TV shows? They are all full of the message of peace and love for each other and that is all that we need to entertain right now. Why are we dividing people? Love should have no boundaries, art should have no boundaries.

Pained by Nadya’s words, I sigh and my eyes wander to the clock as I realize that it has almost been an hour without either of us realising it. I have bonded well with her. We both want to help people, we are both writers and we both cherish Urdu poetry, “especially Ghalib” as Nadya says.

I am India and she is Pakistan, two comrade souls churned in the vicious play of politics. We are connected, yet divided, there always is a wall but (I borrow from Frost):

     “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,

       That wants it down.”

First published on Jun 26, 2018.