In talk with Zeenat Iqbal Hakimjee a famous story writter and a story teller.
To develop an interest in youth for reading physical books which has been snatched away by the soft copy available on internet
Q: When did you discover that you can write?
Answer: My father being a journalist the atmosphere in our household prevailed about writing. Since he was fluent in English it rubbed off on me too. I also used to be very fond of reading books since I was a little girl and I read a lot of Enid Blyton books. Hence I was able to write essays and complete other exercises given in our English textbooks. Later on in my life after my marriage my father who at that time used to write for leading circulations in Karachi , saw a need for me to succeed in life and since he and my mother had left no stone unturned for me to secure an education. One day he gave me a couple of titles and he said I should write articles on them. One such title was,™ The problems of young parents.™ And since I was a young parent at that time I related to the article and managed to write about it. He sent the article to ˜The Muslim,™ newspaper run by Mr. Agha Pooya and it was published. I met with success and that was the stepping stone to my writing of future articles.
Q: In your opinion why the youth today is away from books and how can we bring them back to reading?
Answer: To develop an interest in youth for reading physical books which has been snatched away by the soft copy available on internet the revival of physical books for reading should be inculcated by visits to book melas and an introduction to books by leading authors. Some parents have a habit of reading bedtime stories to their children which in turn makes them like reading. If there™s an interesting series you read one book and don™t feel like leaving it.
Q: What are your favorite topics to write on?
Answer: Topics that I have connected with in my day to day life and then add it to fiction or topics that I can get reference material for and then I spin it into a yarn with imagination.
Q: Can you describe your approach to writing?
Answer: I think it has to do with your writing meeting with success. If you achieve success you are inspired to write further.
Q: How do you remain innovative in your writing?
Answer: Always try to be original. Sometimes when you™re on a holiday your holiday destination becomes a ˜haven topic,™ for your article or a real life incident.
Q: Does writing energize or exhaust you?
Answer: It energizes me because I™m interested in writing.
Q: Do you think someone could be a writer if they don™t feel emotions strongly?
Answer: Well just let™s put it this way that someone could be a better writer if they felt emotions strongly.
Q: At the end, is there any message for the youth from our platform?
Answer: From my experience I can tell that in our country there™s a lot of respect for seniors from juniors, the parallel of which is not found anywhere else in the world. Do keep it up.
