The debut novel ‘From Pashas To Pokemon’ from acclaimed screenwriter and filmmaker Maaria Sayed is out now. FROM PASHAS TO POKEMON AVAILABLE HERE This book is both an insightful as well as an amusing coming of age story. A story about a girl who is essentially coming to terms with growing up and learning to understand herself and accept and love herself as she discovers, it is a hard journey for a woman, whilst studying in London.
While the transition to novel marks a new chapter for Sayed, an accomplished filmmaker, the themes of ‘From Pashas To Pokemon’ follow in the vein of Maaria’s film work. Beginning as a writer for networks including Discovery Channel, Fox, and National Geographic, Maaria’s work has continued into shorts and a feature film project selected at Cine Qua Non Lab. Her films explore the transformation and the spiritual and sexual liberation of women from background.
“I believe in mixing things. A combination of our roots, our childhood and new age treatments. We are all a mix of genetics, environment and we also constantly need to adapt to changes that take place in and around us.”
This debut fiction novel focuses on Aisha. At 25, Aisha has seen more than many people do in a lifetime and has understood one thing, no matter who you are and where you are from, there are things that you can study and others that you can actually learn from and grow. Lively tales from family history and everyday life in a Mahammad Ali Road colony in Mumbai form the background of Aisha’s internal journey. Childhood memories mingle with her experiences in London and are woven into a sharp commentary on the transformations in India over 20 years as she ponders her place in this ever-changing world. Narrated with a distinct humour and a throbbing heart, rooted in Urdu sensibility, the debut novel of Maaria Sayed is the story of a family caught in the shift to the new millennium, a touching story of love and compromised values, of West and East, of childhood and adulthood.
Aisha moved to London to study Journalism and lived in Old street. Her grandfather was a man who lived during the British Rule in India and thus Aisha has grown up around a complex mix of opinions, one of which includes her grandfather’s strongly anti-colonial stand. However, given the liberalization that happened in the 90’s, Aisha’s growing years were a combination of British and American influences too and thus she did not really form any opinion. London was the place Aisha went to as a young woman, fell in love, learned about the complexities of politics, emotions and identity and reevaluating her relationship with herself and everything around her. Thus in many ways it wasn’t a love-hate relationship but a complex one that brought Aisha closer to herself.
‘From Pashas To Pokeman’ was mostly written pre pandemic around 2018. Except the last chapter. It was ready with the publisher and the foreword too was read, Sayed then went through a personal tragedy within her family and decided to drop the book. She felt she was not ready. Then the pandemic happened and the world changed. In 2022 she met Gulzar – one of the biggest literary figures in India and Slum Dog Millionaire lyricist – who wrote the foreword.
“I am often asked if it is my story and I say a resounding no! However, when you grow up as a Muslim girl you realize that everyone around you decides who you are before you have the right to determine your own identity. So here is the coming-of-age story of a girl who grows into an identity that is all soul and falls deeply in love with herself and her motherland. I wanted to keep the aspect of a girl being totally rooted and totally flighty at the same time…I think we need to mix with ideas and people that are different from us. Being open minded, that is probably why I love Aisha, my protagonist! She learns, she absorbs, she reflects, she chooses but ultimately, she embraces it all. She breaks walls and does not build them!” Maaria Sayed
As Maaria says, ‘Timing is everything in life!’
FROM PASHAS TO POKEMON AVAILABLE HERE
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Feature Image by Dariusz Sankowski from Pixabay
