Zubrzycki decided to study Indian history after visiting Pakistan in 1977. PHOTO: PUBLICITY
John Zubrzycki’s latest work, The Mysterious Mr Jacob: Diamond Merchant, Magician and Spy was launched at the Lahore Literature Festival (LLF) this year. It has been recognised as one of the best books on India published in 2013 by The Wall Street Journal and scores of Indian newspapers.
His second book revolves around a historical character, Alexandar Jacob, and as the book title suggests, the protagonist is a diamond merchant, magician and spy. So you have all these three fascinating aspects of his character. He lived in an interesting time in the 19th century, heyday of the British Raj. He mixed with viceroys, maharajas, the underworld, jewelers and diamond merchants, antique dealers. He also dabbled in magic. The book offers insight into the personality of Jacob, who remains an obscure figure from the late 19th century British Raj.
His first book The Last Nizam: An Indian Prince in the Australian Outback was a best-seller in Australia and India. He is currently studying for a doctorate at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, focusing on how Indian magic spread to the West.
“I first came to Pakistan in 1977 and I was between school and university. I spent three months here and when I went back, I decided that I wanted to study Indian history and Hindi which I did,” said Zubrzycki.
The Indian sub-continent fascinates him. “I discovered that the sub-continent to be a culturally-rich source of stories, both contemporary and historical, and anywhere else in the world, you wouldn’t find so many fascinating and untold stories,” he said, adding that the beauty of it was that some of these stories have been recorded in English.
“I’m interested in the history of the region and what interests me the most is the characters of the people who created that history or have been influenced by that history. For me, the most fun part is to find an interesting character, someone who I can bring to life and do it in an entertaining way and inform people of the people who lived in these places,” he further said.
When asked what prompted the shift from being a journalist to a historical non-fiction writer, Zubrzycki told: “Journalism is not the profession it used to be, at least in Australia. I’ve been a journalist for about three decades and my interest has been in international affairs. These days, everything is going online and becoming much shorter and much quicker. There is less analysis or opportunity to do feature and in-depth reporting.”
The writer, who has been visiting Pakistan back and forth, came to the country to report on the aftermath of the 9/11 in 2001. “I love Pakistan and the people. It’s tragic to see the negative changes that have come about as a result of years of political instability and army rule, coupled with the rise in militancy,” said Zubrzycki.
Returning to Pakistan after nearly 14 years, he was surprised at how little had changed in terms of the development, the infrastructure. He said: “The civil society seems to be fighting back quite strongly and that’s a good thing so I just hope that continues. Pakistan has tremendous potential and talented people.”
An avid reader of South Asian fiction and non-fiction, he said he enjoyed reading writers such as Ayesha Jalal and Ahmed Rashid. “I love the works of Mohammed Hanif, Mohsin Hamid, Kamila Shamsie which happen to be among the most exciting writing from this part of the world,” he said, adding that he returned from the LLF with a huge pile of books.
Writing a book is an exhausting process, he added, it requires long hours in isolation. Being a journalist, he further said, he had the training to do the investigative, detective work that went into writing historical books. “A good journalist is a good investigative reporter — that is not only for crime, it could be writing about people’s lives or politics,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 4th, 2015.
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