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Khaleej Times staffer launches his debut novel
Muhammad Ali Bandial's ‘I Dream of Rain’ has also been selected for Emirates Literature Festival 2023
Supplied photos
The book launch ceremony of ‘I Dream of Rain’ by Muhammad Ali Bandial was held at the residence of the Ambassador of Pakistan to UAE, Faisal Tirmizi, in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
The Pakistani author is a Khaleej Times reporter and a former civil servant. His debut novel has been selected for Emirates Literature Festival 2023.
Speaking on the occasion, Tirmizi appreciated the author for his creative writing and said that Pakistani authors have contributed to rich literature in their own language, as well as other languages.
“It is heartening to note that English literature is also being produced by Pakistani authors and is being appreciated all over the world. While we are strong in our national and regional language literature, English language ensures a wider reach” he said.
The book is Bandial’s debut novel and an ode to his father. The story captures the meaningful but complex relationship between two generations deriving much sentiment from the author’s own life growing up in Pakistan.
Speaking during the occasion, Bandial said, “We’re all obviously close to our mothers, and being a father myself, we get the short end of the stick… we're almost always sort of ignored. I just wanted to let my dad know that this is for him.”
Bandial added that readers from Pakistan can expect lots of nostalgia about their country in the 90s and early 2000s. While all readers will enjoy the representation of the “true and authentic Pakistan that we know.”
“I would hope that people would relate to from wherever they are from,” he added.
Honourary guests at the evening included Japanese Ambassador Akio Isomata; Singaporean Ambassador Vaswani; Austrian Ambassador Dr. Etienne Berchtold; Sri Lankan Ambassador Udaya Indrarathna; Chinese Counsellor Li Xiaodong and Indonesian Counsellor Ahrul Tsani Fathurahman as well as officials from Khaleej Times.
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