We discover a streak of defiance in otherwise upper-crust Mohsin Hamid as he talks about his latest book, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
The Guy has been in and out of Pakistan all his life, but right from the way he pronounces Lahore (Lahau…r) like a life-long local to the optimism he displays for his native country, Mohsin Hamid is no reluctant nationalist.
Even the anonymity he cloaks the location of his latest book, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, in, is done for the satisfaction of describing Pakistan for himself. ?It?s just like de-branding. Anybody can say this is an iPhone. But if you say this is a piece of steel and glass, it?s rectangular, I spend a lot of time with it, I?m scared of it getting stolen, you are adding a personal dimension. I think it?s important to write about this part of the world not as some exotic places, but as universal cities. Why can?t Lahore be a model for a global city, why only London or New York? So if we take the name away, people globally can identify with it, thinking, ?Hey, it?s a lot like my city?. Because not only are the underbellies of most cities the same, their overbellies are not too different either. It?s a far bigger leap to move from a small village with no electricity to Lahore than it is to move from Lahore to London. So I was looking for a more universal human theme instead of pinpointing some peculiar, exotic place.?
So is it possible to get filthy rich the right way in Pakistan, and not how the protagonist in his book does? ?Of course, Pakistan is full of entrepreneurs. Very few people have regular jobs. The state does not do much for you. People are forced to survive and they do so by running their own businesses. My wife runs a delicatessen, my mother crafts saris, my friends run furniture shops, schools, Internet start-ups…Many of the fastest growing small companies are based in Pakistan. Most of what is true for the Indian economy is true also for Pakistan.?
Not that bad, huh? ?Not bad? It?s very good,? he insists. ?One has to visit to see for oneself. It?s just like India?good in some parts and bad in others.?
But he concedes it can be a brutal society and for the poor, life is utterly miserable. And yes, these are troubled times for the country, but the people have learnt to survive with optimism as their strongest ally. Just like our author here! Anyway, he confesses he has always been in love with Lahore, which is why he keeps returning to the city.
Returning to the book, as I complement Hamid on the lean size of his books, he takes me by surprise when he reveals he has spent seven years each on his three books. ?Most of it was spent in cutting them down to size. It?s sort of an anti-elite gesture,? he says. Not to mention that smaller books attract more readers, being so much less intimidating or frightening.
And when I share that I can actually not write long pieces at all, getting stuck after 200 words, he says wryly, ?So this is going to be a 200-word interview. Aap pehle bata deti. Hum photoshoot mein zyada time laga lete. After all, if you will write only 200 words, the rest of the space would have to be filled with photographs.? Not to worry, as this is a respectable 570 words!
How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
Mohsin Hamid
Penguin
Rs499
Pp 228