Not Just For Laughs: A Light Take on the Serious Stuff
by Usman Ahmedani
‘I feel frightened myself going to the bazaar in case some mad weirdo arrives and shoots me for buying western food like chips or for wearing western clothes like socks. Honestly, what the Talibans have put us through!’ It was difficult to hear Moni Mohsin’s voice above the laughter at Sunday’s discussion between her and Farahad Zama about exploring ‘serious stuff’ through the medium of comedy.
Mohsin’s Tender Hooks is the diary of a spoilt and self-obsessed socialite living in Lahore, much like her previous bestseller, The Diary of a Social Butterfly, based on her columns from The Friday Times. While she had initially wanted to write about Pakistan’s plight in the vein of her earlier more sober novel The End of Innocence, she found it easier to satirise everyday life in the bubble of Pakistan’s elite class refracted through the first person viewpoint of her character.
Although both writers discuss similar subjects, such as arranged marriage – that staple of subcontinental life – the discussion explored how their approaches diverged. Mohsin has always written for an English-speaking Pakistani audience, who often recognise aspects of her characters in the society they keep (if not in themselves), while Zama targets a non-Indian audience, and so had to explain the context behind cultural traditions and phenomena such as the Naxalites to his readers to ensure his books’ accessibility.
The most interesting part of the discussion came at the end. In response to a question about English-language writing from Pakistan, Mohsin inveighed against what she suggested was largely a post-9/11 craze, not matched by a parallel interest in literature from vernacular languages. Yet even if the social butterflies of Lahore are too busy having their facials done to keep alive the legacy of Saadat Hasan Manto, I’m sure the audience at Rich Mix came away with a deeper understanding of satire’s age-old role on the subcontinent — as well as smiles on their faces.
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