Arts

A story of a South Asian travelling from Pakistan to a foreign land, struggling to make his living, is a common theme of the contemporary world.

Focusing on a migrant and his search for identity and self in Wake Up Ali… Wake Up Now, writer Sumit Sharma Sameer shows the plight of migrants in a foreign land. Originally published as Prabas in Nepali language two years ago, the English translation of the book was launched recently. 

This is the writer’s first work of fiction. Speakers, including the writer, shared their views about the book and its theme during the event. Excerpts:

Sumit Sharma Sameer, writer

There are multiple reasons for writing this book. I had initially thought that I would make some money out of it, which has not been true so far, unfortunately.  I had also thought that writing could be an added dimension in my career but at the deepest level I think I wanted to communicate the stories of our time, stories that I feel are important and need to be told. 

I think the story has so many allies, the protagonist of the novel had to be ascertained and other powerful and important characters in this story needed to be established.

The protagonist Ali questions his existence, like most of us do, and converses about it. Hence it is our story. Migration has been a permanent feature since the advent of human civilization but its pace accelerated in our age and that acceleration brought the right opportunity to humankind but yet dismantled the very fabric of our lives.

I have always wanted to write something about this entire process of construction and destruction connecting South Asia into one thread that would help produce many other stories in future.

Gagan Thapa, general secretary, Nepali Congress

I always felt that Sumit was capable of writing non-fiction because he has that exposure, understanding, knowledge and depth but I never saw that he would write stories related with love and human emotions. I had no clue that he has such a deep interest in human emotions. 

This is a sociological fiction. This is about social structure, human relationship and individual’s relationship with the society. This is a story of migrants, a story of how the diaspora struggle in the modern age of the society, the conflict between migrants and natives, the opportunity cost. How one has to get disconnected with their loved ones to get connected to the larger world to grab opportunities. I could see through the characters how the whole process of globalisation brings people together on the one hand but, at the same time, makes them dysfunctional.

The protagonist tries to relate his life to the life an ant struggling to find his space, to find his identity in the larger cosmic design. There is an ongoing conflict between the material world and his spiritual thought process.

He is deeply concerned, moved and bothered by whether man could express the human sentiments as they are.

Saguna Shah, educator and founder of bOOkahOlics, writer

The book will have a wider readership across the border because of the translation. Translation is not an easy job. You are not just translating the sentences or words and phrases literally but you are going beyond and understanding the author’s psyche when you are translating his work. It’s a smooth read.

Though this novel consists of diaspora as a theme, the content goes far and beyond the concerns of migrant work, the status quo and the struggles in a foreign land. The novel explores the human psyche, the constraints of human relationship, the carnal desires of men and women alike. Many of us not only travel abroad for our dreams and desires but also out of compulsion like the character Ali. Our dreams and desires and compulsions they take us to the La La land and when we start working there we need to prove ourselves. No matter where we live we are always tied to our roots. The identity crisis and conflicts are powerfully presented in the novel.  

Buddhisagar, writer

The book can be read in a single sitting. The mid-life crisis is well reflected through the character Ali. This novel is able to reflect the life of people moving in a foreign land and reflects the struggles of a man’s challenges to establish himself in a foreign land, adapting to a new society, to a new culture, while speaking a new language. 

The novel gives us the message that one needs to travel to know his or her importance.

There is a belief that we can get everything we want in our life after going to a foreign land. But there is loneliness and desolation in people. They are chained by the circumstances. The novel touches the contemporary issues of migration in a foreign land.

Felicity Volk, Australian ambassador to Nepal, celebrity writer

I acknowledge the effort of Sushrut Acharya, the translator. The language proves the integrity of the artist. This story is relevant to so many Nepalis, studying, struggling, working and living lives abroad. It is a story of South Asian and other diaspora. It is a story of a stranger in a strange land. It is a story of each one of us. There is loss and grief and the novel shows the joy and enlightenment you want to achieve. It is a story of dislocation and separation and is a representative story of two different generations living under the same roof.

Atul K Thakur, author and columnist

It is a complete South Asian diasporic story. This is a story of all of us. Nepal has evolved as a market for books and publications. Various literature festivals have helped varieties of literature to flourish in the country and abroad.