A vibrant and inspiring memoir

Islamabad : For its Literature programme of the month, the Asian Study Group organised a conversation with Lynette Viccaji, who has written a memoir of her life in Pakistan. The book, titled, ‘Made in Pakistan,’ has been described on the back cover as “A wonderfully vibrant, witty and moving memoir by an Anglo-Indian Pakistani Christian who has lived life to the fullest” by Shazaf Fatima Haider – author of ‘How It Happened.’

The programme began with head of the literature sub group, Michele Galopin introducing the author and reading a poem in the foreword, then saying a few words about the author and the book. Full credit to the group for digging out these gems and bringing them to the notice of ASG members and providing the convenience of acquiring them!

Sitting beside Lynette, another member of the sub group Dorothy Blane acted as moderator and began by asking the author to tell a little about herself before initiating the conversation. After this her questions led to Lynette reading short paragraphs/ incidents from the book and judging from these it was evident that the book is as described - she recounts her life experience in a light-hearted and humorous way, making the book an interesting read of times gone by; changing times, as well as how it is for a member of a minority community these days.

Other questions from the audience related basically to why she had not migrated to other countries like many of her contemporaries did when life as they knew it began to change after Zia ul Haq’s coming to power; had she faced any difficulties or discrimination at her work places; why had she decided to write a book and why she titled it ‘Made in Pakistan’ and so on. After explaining that she had begun to write a blog about daily life which proved very popular and encouraged by friends she had decided to write a book, the answers she gave were all in the positive and it was refreshing to hear her voice her opinion – for once it felt we could be optimistic about the future and our coming generations experiencing life, not quite like our generation did in the early days of Pakistan’s existence but better than it was during what are known as the ‘dark ages’ of the country! She came across as a friendly and pleasant personality. According to her, “Life is good. Pakistan is home. I could never think of living anywhere else.”

Lynette has been putting her BEd and Master’s degree in English Literature to use for over thirty years, principally as a literature teacher in Karachi and a writer. She married Ardeshir Viccaji in 1981; moved to Jhelum and Akora Khattak for a few years; has a son and two daughters (one of them the well-known pop star Zoe Viccaji) and is currently working on two further books.