Slam Dunk

It appears HM Naqvi inadvertently started a fashion trend at the recently concluded Jaipur literature festival. The Pakistani author’s style of wearing his sweatshirts zipped low to reveal a bare chest caught the fancy of many a young man,and a surprising number of bare chests were spotted thereafter. He wore the attention with ease,just as he treats the acclaim for his debut novel Home Boy,with humility and humour. “I would say about 16 % of the book is autobiographical. I just know it’s not 15% or 17% of the experiences that I have drawn out in the book,” says Naqvi,35.

Written in a language that is strongly associated with hip-hop and slam poetry,Home Boy (HarperCollins,Rs 399) tells the story of three young Pakistani men in New York City. But post 9/11,they cannot be carefree “Metrostanis” any longer,they’re caught in an America that is suspicious and unwelcoming. “I call it the post-post 9/11 book. It is a coming-of-age novel,an immigrant tale,a South Asian novel and an American novel as well,” says Naqvi. “After college,I started writing and ended up living on $ 2.50 a day. I decided that I needed a job,” says Naqvi who landed his first job at the World Bank but still kept writing. The years between 2000 and 2003 were spent in getting married,relocating from Karachi to the US. “One has to redefine the South Asian immigrant novel. When you’re telling your story in America,does it make more sense to always write about the smell of tamarind wafting in? Because that smell has gone stale now,” says Naqvi .

In Jaipur,Naqvi also revealed how he was bitten by the slam poetry bug in 1991. “I spotted a place called the 15 Minutes Club in DC. I walked into a poetry slam and I thought that was just the greatest thing ever,” says Naqvi . He watched the night’s performance and returned the following evening with his own verses. He won the slam and entering the nationals in 1994. “When I began writing so many years ago all my short stories were set in Pakistan. I’d like to go back to that,” says Naqvi . Will we smell tamarind in the pages this time? With Naqvi ,no chance.