The Paradise of Food, an English translation of Nemat Khana, was my introduction to Khalid Jawed’s craft. Savoured slow, page by page, peppered with the raw and often distasteful flavours of human psyche and character. The volume of the book clouded my expectation of his newly translated work, The Book of Death (Ekada), originally Maut Ki Kitab. In comparison, it is a thinner book but Jawed points out that it is more dense than Nemat Khana and was published much before The Paradise of Food, which earned him the JCB Prize for literature in 2022.
“It might be thinner in volume in comparison to The Paradise of Food which was around 400 pages, while this is 100, but in terms of its narrative, it is darker and denser. The narrative is very condensed; it’s not a short story but a novella, and this is more about the internal world than about the external world, which was the case with The Paradise of Food. Also, there were more characters and situations, while here it is about the suffering of one man,” said the Udru novelist who wrote the story in 20 days.
The Book of Death, translated by A. Naseeb Khan, is a book-within-a-book and takes the reader to a man suffering from schizophrenia, an illness that affects the brain and is marred by hallucinations and delusions. Jawed doesn’t mull words on the pages and rather takes the reader straight to his protagonist’s world in Girgita Til Mas, an old city known for a mental asylum, uncovered recently. He delves deep into the psyche of a disturbed man and brings out a rare perspective.
Death remains restricted to the title, though there is a foreboding sense of strong grief throughout.
The novel has been published in many languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, French and very soon in Bengali.
Jawed is influenced by Indian philosophy, and one can find it in the introductory pages of the book with reference to a Hindi alphabet.
“There should be no gap between the writer and his creative output. No matter how many metaphors there are, or how many figurative speeches there are, all of them should burn to ashes. Both will be harmonised with each other. They should be understood within each other,” explains Jawed, referring to his influence of Indian philosophy and a conversation between Arjuna and Krishna in the Mahabharata.
Jawed, professor at Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi, uses new metaphors to convey the feelings of his protagonist. And these new metaphors sharpen his prose, adding more clarity.
Jawed has written 15 books so far, including Aakhri Dawat, Arsalan aur Behzad, Tafreeh Ki Eik Dopahar, EK Khanjar Paani Mein, Bure Mausam Mein and others. He uses the power of fiction to give shape to his stories that incline towards philosophy.
“Fiction is made up of two things — experience and imagination. If you don’t have imagination, you can’t make fiction. Whatever has happened today, it will be in the news tomorrow. But what hasn’t happened yet, there is a possibility of it happening. That’s why I call fiction a bigger truth, a greater truth. What we imagine could happen in future. Yesterday’s imagination is today’s science,” stressed Jawed, a dystopian novelist, declaring that if a reader is looking for entertainment or escape, then he is not the author for them.
Jawed’s readership is not fans of regular fiction or non-fiction, but serious bibliophiles who can read about the morbidity of life and understand it. He tells us that writing is not a pleasant act for him.
“I don’t get pleasure when I am writing; it is painful for me. Also, I am not writing to entertain anyone. I write for serious readers who will become a part of my world, and who will not think what will happen next, as I am not writing a thriller or noir,” Jawed makes us note.
Talking about his writing process, which is overwhelming for him, he said: “For me, writing is not a routine. If I don’t write, I don’t write for six months or a year. And when I’m in the mood to write, I get anxiety, and that internal pressure is triggered by something which I can’t stop. So, for instance, The Book of Death was triggered by a very strange feeling. I remember it was the month of February in 2011 and I was in the Jamia University campus, and it started to rain. There was a strong wind and leaves were falling off the tree. I had a cup of tea in my hand and one of the leaves fell on my feet and that triggered a strange, sad, heartbreaking sound. I came home and wrote it. Also, once you start writing, a page or one paragraph, then you’re in control of your writing.” The book has won two awards from the Delhi Urdu Academy and Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy.