Writer Awais Khan on how his debut novel 'In The Company of Strangers' is a labour of love

Sometimes - as opposed to the select few who have a clear vision of what they want to achieve professionally right from a young age - you stumble upon your life's ambition quite by chance, or even as a result of evolving due to your surroundings. The latter is what transpired in writer Awais Khan's life, when as a college student in Canada, the possibility of taking on writing as a full-fledged career formed in his mind.

He said, "It surprises people when I tell them that I don't have a literary background. I did my Bachelors and Masters in Economics, Psychology and Business Management - subjects I felt would be considered acceptable for a person from Pakistan to study. After all, we're all expected to become doctors, engineers, lawyers or businessmen (if we are lucky enough to have a business waiting for us back at home)."

Awais, whose debut novel In The Company of Strangers was published last year in the UK by the Book Guild and in South Asia by Simon & Schuster, said though he was always interested in reading, the idea to write took root when he attended college in Canada.

"I remember I was always interested in reading. As a kid, my first stop would always be a bookshop whenever my parents took me out for shopping. That love for reading continues to this day. However, it wasn't until I was in college in Canada that I realised that writing was a proper industry in the West, complete with publishers and advances and whatnot.

"The idea to write something someday took root then, but I was so busy with my studies that I pushed it aside. Once I was done with my studies and back in Pakistan, I discovered that I really wanted to write. It was 2012 and the idea for In the Company of Strangers had just occurred to me. I took the plunge and took the Faber Academy Online Novel Writing Course. It was the best decision of my life, and there was no looking back after that. That course really opened my eyes to what writing was all about and really inspired me to start and finish writing my book. It also inspired me to establish my own creative writing institution in Pakistan (The Writing Institute)."

'To be human is to be flawed'

In The Company of Strangers is a moving tale of love and loss and human frailties set amidst starkly contrasting sections of society in Pakistan. The protagonist Mona - a rich but disillusioned housewife - finds the course of her life altered drastically one day when she attends a fashion event where she first crosses paths with Ali, a young model battling his own personal demons.

We asked Awais about the significance of the title In The Company of Strangers.

"In essence, the title reflects the lives of the elite in Pakistan. It is widely known that friendships in these circles are often fake and that gossip circulates like wildfire. You have to only murmur a secret to a so-called 'friend' for it to become common knowledge the next day, if not the next hour. Therefore, despite having tons of friends and social acquaintances, most people are ultimately in the company of strangers. This was particularly true for Mona, my protagonist."

As we come to know the lead characters, we're also acquainted with their flaws and their weaknesses. How easy or difficult was it as a writer to bring out these qualities in his characters and did he think readers will be able to relate to them?

"In my opinion, to be human is to be flawed. Nobody is perfect. The first step to being a writer is to be an observer. Belonging to a certain section of society in Lahore, I had the opportunity to observe the elite very closely for many years before I could attempt to build characters that would resonate with readers. It was easy enough to look behind the veneer of wealth and see the hidden fears and insecurities. People are not as good at hiding their feelings and emotions as they think they are.

"In my opinion, it is essential for characters to be believable, and that is what endears them to readers and helps them relate to them. For example, a reader would believe a talking silver spoon as a character if the spoon was vain about its shiny surface or if it had a crush on the neighbouring fork. It isn't necessary to be hung up on being realistic. It is infusing unique behavioural traits and motivation in your characters that make them believable, and ultimately, relatable. Without hidden flaws, desires and a drive to move forward, characters would just wander around aimlessly."

'Much of my writing was informed by real life'

Lahore forms the backdrop for In The Company of Strangers, and through the initial chapters one becomes aware of the divide between the different sections of society - upper, middle and lower - and how the characters who belong to these various sections have opposing perspectives on life. The very well-settled and affluent Mona mourns the loss of dreams and being carefree, while former model Ali wonders how rich people can be sad (when he notices her expressions at and after the fashion event). Awais spoke about how important it was to bring out these contrasts in perspectives and how he was inspired by real life.

"Much of my writing was informed by what I saw in real life. When I was writing In the Company of Strangers, I felt uniquely positioned to document the struggles and aspirations of people from different segments of society. A city like Lahore afforded me a unique opportunity to view life from every rung of the ladder. It is a common belief in the West that Pakistan simply comprises of a bunch of shantytowns and poverty-stricken people. While it is true that poverty is rampant in Pakistan, it is also true that an alternate side exists as well, one that has never really been explored before. I found it interesting to see that one person's deepest desire was considered a given in another person's life. For example, Ali yearned to have enough money to look after his family properly.

"He counted every rupee he earned and kept tabs on his bank account. On the other hand, people like Mona were least bothered about money which enabled them to engage in existential crises. In a country like Pakistan, even having an existential crisis means you're privileged. Most of the people don't even have time to stop and breathe, let alone go over their lives for things they could have done right. For most, staying alive is a daily struggle that takes up all of their time. For all his financial troubles, even Ali was to some extent privileged, but that's the thing about life. We are so caught up in our own problems that we don't pause to think about what another person might be going through. For Mona's friends, the question of what to wear for the next party trumped the seriousness of a major terrorist attack on the city!"

The ending of In The Company of Strangers is tragic and yet offers a sense of hope. What would he like readers to take away from his novel?

"When I was writing this novel, my intention was to explore a broad range of human emotions. If readers think that the ending is tragic, but still makes sense, I'm glad. While happily-ever-afters are great, they don't necessarily apply in every story. However, that doesn't mean that one can't offer a bit of hope for the reader to take comfort in. We spend so much of our time pursuing that one thing in life that we feel would make us happy to the point that we become blind to what we already have.

"Sometimes, we think it's the only thing that could ever bring us happiness. More often than not, we don't get that thing, and even if we do, we can't hold on to it for as long as we would like. I wanted to show that even if we don't achieve something we have been struggling and aspiring for, it's not the end of the world. In other words, life goes on."

Write from the heart

Awais believes writers should be 'true to themselves' when asked if he thinks authors in the spotlight should have an increased sense of social responsibility.

"One could argue that given what's going on in the world, writers have a social responsibility to write about things that are important or need to be brought to the forefront. In fact, there are many intrepid writers out there who are doing a very commendable job writing about social issues and raising awareness about them with the common public. However, I also feel that it is important for writers to be true to themselves. If your heart is not into writing a novel about a pertinent social issue, don't write it. Let another writer do it. Chances are, they will do a better job at it than you. In order for your writing to find a connection with readers, it is essential that it comes from your heart. Write the story you've been spending all your waking hours thinking about. Write the story you know nobody can write better than you."

Awais concluded our chat by speaking of his special connection with the UAE. "I travel quite frequently to the UK and UAE. In fact, I last visited Dubai in October 2019 (a few months before the pandemic). I had the opportunity to be part of the Talking Books radio show on Dubai Eye and I also did some talks on creative writing at the American and Canadian universities in Dubai. In addition to that, Hananah Zaheer and Allison Williams at the Dubai Literary Salon hosted a wonderful event for me where I got a chance to talk about my book. I even met up with Tamreez Inam and Flora Rees at the Emirates Literature Festival. It was quite a whirlwind trip."