Detractors and excited young fans attended the launch of Bina Shah’s fifth book

KARACHI: As sunlight streamed in from the windows of the Maharani hall, the older women in attendance were outnumbered by young students, who notebooks in hand, were eagerly waiting to hear from their literary idols. O’ Level students whispered with anticipation, “I love her books. I can’t wait to FINALLY see her.”

The strong scent of lavender powder was overwhelmed by Chanel No 5 as the women airkissed. “Oh I wouldn’t miss Bina beti’s launch for the world,” squealed one in a crisp, creme and gold khaddi sari.

The audience fixed its eyes on Shah as she sat on stage with Claire Chambers, who wore a brilliant orange Banarsi kurta with a scarf. “Fruitful literary friendship…unchartered waters…,” Aamer Hussein spoke in praise of Shah.

A familiar voice was heard. “Slum Child is the story of a Christian girl,” a woman spoke. “I just finished the book last night and was amazed at how compassionately it contrasted the reality of slum life and rich mansions all in one slumming mesh.” Bina Shah took the microphone to introduce the owner of the voice - noted author Bapsi Sidhwa, who sent a recording for Shah as she was unable to attend the launch.

Shah told the audience that she wrote the book four years before the release of the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.

Shah used a child’s voice, a young Christian girl named Laila, because she felt that children were blatantly honest and there was no better person to comment on pressing issues like poverty, gender biases and stereotypes.

“It’s like sticking these every day biases in your face. You’ll find everyone you don’t want to see in my book: the child beggars scattered at every traffic signal, minority groups like Christians who ‘pollute’ a glass of water making it undrinkable, disabled children - I’ve put it all there - shoving it in your face,” she said.

Critics of her book surfaced during the discussion when a young student asked, “Do you think it’s a fair representation if you are talking about a child who lives in the slums when you have never had those experiences firsthand?”

Nineteen-year-old Komal Waqar Ali voiced a similar opinion. “It’s like she excoriates poverty. I mean, if I want to know about the poor I’ll watch Geo,” she joked. However, Ali agreed that as an author, Shah was entitled to write about whatever she wanted and her perception could not be disregarded. “Just because she is more privileged than the class she writes about in this book doesn’t mean she isn’t touching upon key issues that blacken our society today,” she added. Dr Graeme Cane and educator Shaista Bano said they couldn’t relate to Shah as a representative of Pakistani society because of her dialect and the time she has spent in the US. “No doubt, she is a great speaker and knows what she is saying but her accent took away all the credibility and the language in her extract seemed almost predictable,” said Dr Cane.

But Shah’s younger fans were not taken in by the critique. “I bought a copy of her book and want her to sign it,” exclaimed a 16-year-old. “She makes us see things that we ignore and there’s no turning away here,” added another 18-year-old.

Chambers noted two features that stood out in Shah’s book: the male gaze or the use of eyes to project the thoughts of different characters, and spectators in the form of ghosts haunting the city. “I like eyes, they’re pretty,” joked Shah, adding, “Eyes are an important point of connection, not only between two people, but humanity.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 6^th, 2011.