An unravelling night with author ZP Dala
AUTHOR, poet and playwright Zainub Priya Dala’s debut fiction novel What about Meera? is to be turned into a film.
About 40 writers, publishers and literary fanatics were invited to #Hashtag Books in Reservoir Hills for a celebratory dinner and an intimate discussion with Dala.
The Great Gatsby was the theme for the evening and most were dressed to the nines. Dinner was not the only indulgence as fine art was also on offer.
Dr Kanada Narahari, an ayurvedic doctor, author and sitarist from Bangladesh, strummed healing melodies and sang in Hindi.
Apart from personal interaction, Dala roused many with the recital of one of her beautiful ghazals.
Affectionately called ZP, she is a freelance writer born in Tongaat who studied physiotherapy and psychology, then worked as a physiotherapist for seven years at Wentworth and King George V hospitals.
“I was spending more time talking to people than treating them. Then I began to realise talking was treating them,” she said.
Her writing career began to flourish after she moved to Dublin, Ireland. She was encouraged by other writers to expand her work, with the backing of a literary promotion society.
What about Meera? is a tale about a South African woman, Meera Narain, who goes to Dublin to escape a destructive marriage and build a future.
Meera is employed at a school for autistic children and eventually falls in love with the parent of a child enrolled at the school.
The stain of her first failed marriage and a complicated affair induces the tragic reality of her childhood to unfold. She becomes an alcoholic in a land where she came to seek happiness.
Bibliophile Sanil Singh said: “The book is complex work that peels away layers of society to reveal its underbelly. It shows the human spirit is indestructible. Often movies don’t do justice to a good novel, but doing justice to the message will depend on a good scriptwriter and bold director.”
Of the varied responses to the book, Dala said: “Some were violently against it while others loved it – for the different style and magical realism.”
Criticism was that it was too obscure for people to understand, she said.
Anivesh Singh of #Hashtag Books said: “She showed her genius in her craft, in a debut novel. It’s not a superficial work and can be appreciated on many levels.
“It forces you into some uncomfortable places and raises awkward, sometimes painful questions. The amazing aspect of the novel is how it resonates in different ways with readers.”
Asked about the challenges writers faced, Dala replied: “To me, if I write something, it is gone – you don’t own it. An actor can see how people respond, but you never know what people are thinking reading your book far way.”
Dala’s Architecture of Loss last year made the Top 50 New
York Public Library List and Afridiaspora named it one of the Top 20 novels to look out for.
She won the Bethune and Sons’ annual short story competition in Texas, was runner-up in the
2012 Witness true stories of
KZN competition and a finalist in Elle Magazine’s short story competition. Her work has also been published in the Sentinel Literary Journal, Nigeria.
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