A story between the port cities of Bombay and Karachi and Lake Zurich, interwoven with the involvement of Swiss companies in the colonisation of India, the violent partition of the Indian subcontinent and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Above all, it is the story of the woman through whose hand I received my ancestors' blessing.
‘Niwala’ can be read in the book »I still have questions - stories from our grandparents«, published in 2024 by Wolfram Schneider-Lastin at Rotpunktverlag (ISBN 978-3-03973-039-1).
Book review in Literaturblatt.
22 January 2025: Public reading (in the German language) with Wolfram Schneider-Lastin, Esther Banz and Waseem Hussain. Unity-Schweiz, Königweg 1A, 3006 Bern. Get your tickets here.
21 December 2024: Public reading (in the German language) with Esther Banz and Waseem Hussain. Lesecafé & Kulturbar BSINTI, Dorfstrasse 9, 8784 Braunwald.
26 November 2024: Reading and storytelling (in the German language) with Esther Banz and Waseem Hussain from the book ‘Fragen hätte ich noch' at book and bistro'Chez Nous', Röschibachstrasse 79, 8037 Zürich.
»I read the story to my wife last Sunday. We were both moved by the evocative narrative - and at the same time learned so much new information: about the author, his family and the culture that shaped him. And about the history of this country, born out of unspeakable suffering. Thank you and congratulations on this wonderful piece!«
B. & S. A., Baden
»Waseem Hussain is a political writer who always combines the personal with the general.«
M. D., Basel
»Poignant, interesting, educational - and really very well written. Thank you for this insight.«
F. V., Winterthur
»An excellently written story of great relevance.«
B. K., Cologne
»What a great story! More of this, please!«
S. F., Schwyz
»His Nani called him 'my dear grandson of many questions' - and yet he regrets how little he knows about her life: her childhood in British India, her escape with her young family to equally young Pakistan, the secrets of her cooking. I would love to ask my Polish-Jewish Bobbe similar questions, if only I could.«
M. G., Zurich
»And then you will find the story of Zainab in this book. Wonderfully told by Waseem Hussain. It is also the story of his grandmother's country, which he only knew from holidays when he was young. As an adult, he brought his 'Nanistan' closer to the readers of the WOZ and the Tages-Anzeiger, among others. Was it the many unanswered questions that made Waseem a journalist? He will certainly tell us at one of the readings.«
E. B., Zurich
»The author paints a loving picture of family cohesion, tradition and history, especially through the character of Nani, whose lived wisdom and quiet strength are impressively expressed. The narrative moves effortlessly between storytelling and reflection, interweaving past and present and illuminating the impact of politics and history on individual lives.«
C. G., Munich
»I am particularly struck by the way in which the foreign and the familiar flow together, and how, despite the apparent alienation, the sense of belonging becomes stronger and stronger. The text creates a narrative bridge between the cultures and is characterised by a subtle, profound language.«
C. A., New Delhi
»With poetic precision and quiet power, you recount the most formative experiences of your childhood between different cultures and traditions. The pace of the narrative unfolds like a dance between East and West, between North and South. The sentences are densely woven so that the quiet voice of memory oscillates between family rituals and historical events.«
A. F., Islamabad
»Between moments of affection, colonialism, migration and the search for identity are woven into the narrative structure and become part of the emotional landscape. A text that not only touches, but also gives a sense of the depth of cultural and historical roots.«
M. S., Lucerne