KT staffer's debut novel chosen for Emirates LitFest 2023

Books are a mirror of the soul” — as Virginia Woolf quoted in her book 'Between the Acts'.

This is precisely what Muhammad Ali Bandial, reporter at Khaleej Times, has depicted in his deeply personal debut work of fiction which traces the faultlines of a father-son bond that goes awry. Keeping up with the theme of the famed Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2023 — ‘Old Friends’, Bandial’s book I Dream of Rain captures the meaningful but complex relationship between two generations. It is also a poignant tale of love, betrayal, and finding the path back to forgiveness.

Bandial grew up in military cantonments in remote areas of Pakistan, assimilating the varied cultures and practices of the five provinces of Pakistan. He worked for more than a decade as a federal government officer before switching to the private sector. He currently works as a reporter at Khaleej Times.

At the ‘Author Reveal’ for the 2023 Emirates LitFest in November, Bandial was selected as one of the speakers for the LitFest Launchpad, an initiative to promote UAE-based writers. He is one of the four authors whose debut work has been selected for the event next year.

The famed Emirates LitFest is one of the most prestigious events in the literary world and the biggest in the Arab world. Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, every year, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature brings together people from four corners of the world to Dubai to entertain, captivate and inspire us. These extraordinary writers bring new ideas and different perspectives, promoting dialogue, sharing their works, their thoughts, and their words, building bridges across cultures.

About the novel

The story starts with the main protagonist receiving a phone call, but even before he picks up the receiver, he knows that something bad has happened.

Bandial talks of his own experience: “In 2006, my father had a serious accident and I received news of the event via a phone call in exactly the same way. I had a premonition about something bad happening when the bell rang, and I guess writers are wired weirdly, because, while a part of me was processing the news, another part had separated from my body and was analysing the whole situation from above, noting the feelings and emotions and storing them away for later. And this phantom limb of emotions that warns us of danger to our loved ones even when we are miles apart, forms the basis of the story that I wrote 15 years later,” said Bandial.

The undercurrent of the book deals with forgiveness and finding closure, says Bandial. “Betrayals are like cancer; they keep eating you up from inside even though on the outside, you may seem healthy and functioning. The book deals with the question of whether mistakes made with the best of intentions are forgiveable, and sheds light on the effect of carrying hurt and resentment like a constant burden on your shoulders. “Also, by giving people a second chance and allowing the air of forgiveness to flow between us and them, and understanding how to filter the dark, damp, and gloomy basement where we hide our resentment, we enable ourselves to break free of the invisible shackles that limit and stunt our development.”

The motivation

Bandial finished the entire book during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown in Dubai when, ‘besides eating and watching TV, there wasn't much else to do, besides introspecting on life and our relationships’. “Being away from family and having to hear about loved ones being sick and worrying about them opened up a lot of past emotions and feelings and made me realise how much those bonds mattered. So, writing the book was a therapeutic process for me, and through the emotions of my fictional character, I was able to distillate the bond between my father and myself, and also maybe, in my own way, let others know that there is nothing big enough to come between bonds of love. That sometimes the longest distance between two hearts can be covered with forgiveness in mind. In the backdrop of the pandemic, the overarching message of the book is that there is no place for resentment in our hearts,” he said.

Speaking about his current work in progress, Bandial said that his second book will be out next year. He is also working on his third book, he revealed.