"A representation of very human uncertainties about faith and meaning in life": In Conversation with Fairoz Ahmad

Every time a new book is published, the author is invited to have a conversation with us. I am pleased to present a delightful conversation I had with Fairoz Ahmad, author of Interpreter of Winds. —Izza Haziqah

IZZA

In Interpreter of Winds, we meet a variety of unconventional characters who share their stories with us. I was wondering if we could discuss when you first started thinking about these stories, and whether there was one story that you particularly wanted to tell?

 FAIROZ

The first story I wrote was “The Smell of Jasmine After the Rain”. The last story I wrote was the titular story. In “Jasmine”, I wanted to explore as deeply as I could, the mythology of the keris and the social context in which such myths would have been taken seriously. But as I wrote the early drafts, the story took on a different meaning for me and I became interested in Pak Guntur's character. I began exploring the idea of an anti-hero–an old man struggling to solve a murder in the midst of social change and burdened by the weight of history. To me, this story is also a metaphor about generational change.

IZZA

When I read Pak Guntur’s story, I notice his occasional struggle to verbally express himself in front of people around him, such as his wife or his son, Sunir. Recently, I’ve noticed that more voice is accorded to the youth and their dissatisfaction with the traditional, so Pak Guntur’s voice provided a fresh perspective to the conversation on generational change and preservation of tradition. Would you say the same for yourself and the material you read, and how they inspire the characters in Interpreter?

 FAIROZ

When Pak Guntur is seemingly not able to verbally express himself to his wife and son, what is actually happening is not that he is struggling but two things: first, people who know each other very well sometimes need not finish their sentences–the meaning can be inferred by the other. Second, it is to faithfully reflect the classical Javanese tradition of conflict avoidance and not saying difficult things directly. In rare moments of the story when Pak Guntur is direct and blunt, apologies are quickly made.

I was partially inspired by the Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men, adapted from the novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy, in capturing the feel of an elderly person grappling with a senseless act of violence in a world that is changing.

IZZA 

It’s great how you captured that element of Javanese tradition in the story. Aside from receiving the help of others, did you feel that any sort of travelling was necessary before integrating such Javanese elements and symbolism throughout the whole book?

FAIROZ

I run a non-profit in Jogjakarta, so I have travelled to Indonesia very frequently in the last few years. As some of my staff are Javanese, I have become familiar with aspects of the culture. I also drew a significant part of my understanding from research that included books and academic journals.

 IZZA

Out of the four stories, my favourite is “Interpreter of Winds”, and I am fond of the dog whose uncertainty and desire to discover more about himself are traits I can resonate with. I found it fascinating that you told the story from the animals’ perspectives. Could you share more on the experience of exploring such voices?

FAIROZ

Yes, that seems to be everyone's favourite story! 

My intention was to write the story like a fable, with the animals as metaphors. As you rightfully say, the dog is a representation of the very human uncertainties about faith and meaning in life. By getting the two animals to go on a journey, glimpses of the dog's doubts and questions are uncovered along the way. I believe that this technique of having characters go on a journey is one way to address the bigger issues the story wants to discuss. We also see this technique in the journeys Pak Guntur take. I feel that as the writer brings his characters on a journey, the writer too learns more about the nuances of the ideas he wants to portray in the process of crafting the story. 

IZZA

As you went along that journey with your characters, were there any characters that resonated with you the most? What were some of the difficulties you faced as you crafted their personalities and development?

FAIROZ

Actually, there is a hidden character in the story–it is the desert itself. The difficulty is to move the image of the typical desert away from the reader's mind of being just vast stretches of sand or a place that is arid, to a place of magic and mystery. I wanted to make the desert come alive. I did a deep dive into the literature on deserts, and combined facts, academic analysis and mythology into the eventual depiction of the desert. I wanted the conversations between the dog and camel, and the stories told by them to take place in this context.

IZZA 

I find that the context and setting of the desert really does accentuate the magical realism of your book. To most readers, the desert is primarily foreign, so having it presented as a character in the way you described fills the reader with recognition and awe.

Finally, congratulations once again for your first collection of short stories! Any parting words?

FAIROZ 

One of my key motivations while writing these stories was the idea that literature is important in bridging gaps of understanding between cultures. The act of reading can help build empathy as it makes the reader try to take the perspective of the characters in the story.

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About Interpreter of Winds:

Often an unnoticed caress on our faces, winds are voiceless and formless. How do we interpret them? What mysteries can we find in the whispers of winds? From a Dutch occupied Java where a witch was murdered, a dog who desires to be a Muslim, to a day in which all sense of music is lost, the mundane is aflame with the uncanny.

In these stories, Fairoz Ahmad invites you to take a closer look at ordinary objects, as they take on a life of their own and spin gossamer threads. This book is a celebration of the little charms and enchantments of our universes amidst struggles and eventual helplessness.

About Fairoz Ahmad:

Fairoz Ahmad is the co-founder of the award-winning social enterprise, Chapter W (W referring to women). The organization, based in Jogjakarta, works at the intersection of Women.Tech.Social Impact. In addition to leading Chapter W, Fairoz also lectures on research methods, community development and sociology at Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore. Fairoz is an alumni of the US State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP), the premier exchange programme for emerging leaders in the social sector.

For his contributions to the community, Fairoz was awarded the National University of Singapore's Outstanding Young Alumni award in 2017. In 2018, Fairoz graduated from the University of Oxford with a Master of Public Policy degree (Distinction), under a Chevening-Oxford scholarship.