Of Myriad
Paths looks like a fantastic collection of poems to help people through
hard times. How long did it take you to write it?
Thank you for your
compliments. I wrote those poems over the past 3 years. It took me about 18
months to write those poems and another 12 months to edit them and finally
about 6 months to shape them in a book format.
As a full-time
doctor, I couldn’t do it faster even though I had wanted to.
What will
readers get out of your book?
There is enough in
this book for everyone to relate to. The book touches upon a variety of human
conditions that we as humans are at risk of or facing already. The challenges
range from trauma, old age, addiction, accidents, isolation, human traffic, hate,
poverty and racism. The book raises awareness and brings empathy in people to
create a sense of shared destiny and common humanity. The characters are strong
and one would think of late autumn leaves clinging to the rare branches in
spite of all odds against their survival.
What inspired
you when writing Of Myriad Paths?
The poems are all
based on real cases I have come across personally in my practice of medicine or
my travels across the world. I have tried my best to give depth and dimension
to the characters. My poems have been complemented by the beautiful
illustrations by my illustrator. If you open the book, you will not let it down
until you’ve seen the portraits of all these hard and resolute characters.
When did you
decide to become a writer?
I have been writing
poems from a very early age in Urdu/Hindi language since my mother was a poet
and lyricist as well as a vocalist. I began experimenting in writing in the English
language in my late teens and early 20s. I am most happy when I am writing so
it was not a career decision for me. I am a doctor for my patients and that
will never change. At the same time writing gives me a sense of deep
satisfaction and opportunity to share that meaning with people.
When writing Of
Myriad Paths did anything stand out as particularly challenging?
The biggest
challenge was for me to capture the pace of drama in these poems. Poetry has
rules that one needs to follow even though the field has evolved over time, it
is challenging. The poetry in Urdu that I was accustomed to writing in, has
several different sets of rules. Nonetheless, it came out beautifully in the
end. The other challenge was to get the illustrations to depict the right
emotions so they evoke expected feelings from the readers. I think my
illustrator Antonija Marinic understood my directions well and did a fabulous
job.
What do you like
to do when not writing?
Like I said
earlier, my work as a doctor is quite consuming for me and any time left
between writing and doctoring is due to my daughters, my wife and my aging
parents. My poem ‘headphones’ is based on the dementia symptoms of my mother.
Where can
readers learn more about you and your books?
I do write blogs on
goodreads.com under Saal’s corner in my author’s page
You can visit me on
facebook author’s page
You can also visit
me at Amazon Author Central
You can get my book
at kindle store ebooks or paperback at
And of course my
email exclusive for my readers is:
Are you planning
on writing any more books?
Absolutely! Stay
tuned for more. Although I must warn the readers that the genre may change. For
the foreseeable future I will continue to write poetry.