She thinks pen is a mightier tool than any powerful sword. Dynamic and talented, Nabila Jamshed, 22, comes across as any other girl her age. But deep down, you discover something more substantial. The international edition of her debut novel, Wish Upon a Time: The Legendary Scimitar, was recently unveiled by Roman Books.
True to its fantasy-fiction genre, the book promises unlimited fun. The storyline unfurls nuggets of myths, fairytales, supernatural elements, apparitions, warriors with sabres, winged creatures, et al. It takes readers into the world of Eyelash, a typical 15-year-old girl who is a bit more concerned with the unknown than with the known and is always ready to believe in something unbelievable. But what lies beyond the make-believe realm of otherworldly occurrences, bizarre beasts and grotesque gnomes, is a fibre of reality. Targeted at the young-adult segment, stings of terrorism and jibes of politics are an extra bonus in the novel. A stickler for spreading world peace “with the power of ideas and imagination and in the process, translating the same into actions,” Nabila admits that she had always wanted to write a creative piece laced with the parameters of a mystical fantasy. “The USP of this tome is that it starts conversing with any given reader, irrespective of his/her age-bracket. It is not generation specific and ambles across all societies and time periods. One good advantage of trying my hand at this literary type is that it did offer me ample scope and space to toy with certain real issues and braid the same with a tinge of mystery into the plotline,” she says.
Armed with a clutch of newspaper articles and experiments with poetry to her credit, Nabila keeps the nail-biting suspense and intrigue alive to the last page. “The phrase ‘Wish Upon A Time’ is certainly a twist of the ubiquitous ‘Once upon a time’ starting line of every saga,” she says. “While scimitar has a symbolical connotation. It is actually a sword vested with special occult powers,” she says. From the uncharted horizons to spanning across diverse continents, countries, snowscapes, landscapes, water-bodies and vast expansive tracts, the compelling tale cascades down with a cache of characters, clash of ideologies, a series of feuds and smithereens of interpretations to find its own course towards culmination. She weaves a dreamland “much like the Atlantis or Oz or something similar to what’s been depicted in Lewis Carroll’s widely celebrated children’s bedtime story, Alice In Wonderland,” she says. Nabila’s mind frequently flashbacks to the Elizabethan era during the dramatist-bard Shakespeare’s reign in the literary arcade. “It was intended to catch the zeitgeist — spirit and flavour — of the 16th century Europe, especially that of England,” she says.
“In this strife-torn world, every flame of an idea finds its illuminated image elsewhere, at different places and amidst remotely connected struggles. They are echoed all over and have parallels in the real world. It’s unique in addressing the issues of politics and terrorism directly and about the everyday existence of adolescent teenagers, who take centrestage to build a global village with green peace as its principle premise,” opines Nabila. The peace-initiative message is clearly reflective of the currently ongoing “Aman ki Asha” campaign to strengthen the bilateral ties between India and Pakistan. “In my dictionary, heroes are not always born of grim courage or superhuman efforts: Sometimes they come from just having the right idea, living in the moment and seizing the day,” she says.
Having written columns on a string of subjects ranging from politics, war to cricket, Nabila also served as an interpreter to translate verses of noted Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz into English. The collection of her translations was published in two separate anthologies. Having been feted with a host of laurels, Nabila sits pretty as the recipient of the prestigious Goldman Sachs Global Leaders Award for Academic Excellence.
Counting on intellectual and ideological tenets in place of physical valour to quell violence, Nabila takes a different look at the impregnated theme of her composed material. “The compilation embodies an epical dimension, evoking a carnival of adventures and escapades. And because of its delightful visual treat, the readers may find themselves entrapped inside a Bollywoodesque frame,” she says.
Nabila raises a toast to India’s new-age fiction writers. The contemporary crop, she says, has fresh feel and innovative approach. “The youngistaan is a melting pot of much potential. I am proud of the quality of popular fiction,” she says. Her own favourites are P.G. Wodehouse, Dan Brown and Salman Rushdie.
Beating stress with world music that she occasionally tunes into, Nabila has a keen affinity for English blues and soft ballads.
Blessed with a keen sense of aesthetics, she acknowledges herself as “an artist who paints with ink on the paper.”.
“Make your creation your mouthpiece. Talk through your art and leave the rest to your audience to assimilate and adjudge,” comes a word of advice from this political science graduate of Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University.
If you are game for a blend of myth and magic, you must sample this one.