Interview with Arefa Tehsin

'There was nothing wrong in it,' Dada Bhai said, his head bent towards the cold, unyielding floor.

'Sir?' asked Tapan, who had followed him out, just as he had ushered him in personally.

'A boy and girl loved each other. There was nothing wrong in what Sanaz did. Love. That is what is halal for me.'

Valmiki would not be contained, she knew, whenever the news reached him. He would rage within. Waste away in the cavity of his chest. She needed to bundle up all her nerve and pack it inside her. Convey to him soundlessly that he was fortunate to be loved for two years. Two years! An eternity for someone who had not got two whole hours of it in her life. 

'A whiff of rosewater is enough...'

On Makar Sankranti when the kites soar high, Sanaz' wings are brutally clipped. She is found dead in her room and what follows is a trail of questions hiding violence in their midst; of corrosive human behaviour. The ugliness and degenerate behaviour of the many a characters described in The Witch in the Peepul Tree is difficult to side step and compels the reader to ponder, if there is any redemption. There is, but in small measure. 

It comes in the form of Dada Bhai, Sanaz's father. Dada Bhai is a visionary, a gentleman-hunter, who is about to lose his livelihood in the newly minted independent country. The story is set in 1950s Udaipur, Rajasthan. The hometown of the author, Arefa Tehsin, who borrows from her family history, to create the character of Dada Bhai. 

The novel, The Witch in the Peepul Tree, unfolds over one day. But the background takes us into early years of Independence, when feudal, royals, nouveau rich, depressed, oppressed classes jostle with each other, to find their space under the sun. When we ask Arefa, how was it to go back in to time? She replies, "I was captivated. A period novel requires a lot of research. Fortunately, I had my family – my uncles, aunts, my father and a few family friends to provide that information. 

I, especially, picked the brains of my uncle Riaz Tehsin who was a visionary, educationist, humanitarian, veteran of folk arts and culture and an institution in himself. He was a repository of knowledge of that era. Those conversations with everyone were quite rewarding and have left me richer." 

The discussion, the seed of the story was germinated during the first Covid lockdown. When the outside chatter had died down, Arefa was ' ridiculously happy'. She and her husband, Aditya, live in rustic cottage in a small island colony (in Colombo) in the much loved company of snakes, monitor lizards, porcupines, mongooses, ducks, an occasional crocodile or fishing cat and other denizens of the lake island.  

"Writing totally suits my solitary nature. And the lockdown suited it even more. While Aditya would peacefully work in the garden or read, I would be transported to the 1950 Udaipur. I have chronic insomnia. Following a peaceful routine gave me back my sleep. Being marooned in the cottage was the ideal time for me to write my first novel for grown-ups.," she says. Arefa has written several novels for kids and teens, drawing them into the nature, to explore their surroundings. The Witch in the Peepul Tree is her first book for adults.

 Arefa's works are often populated with several characters, each with a mind and purpose of his/her own. Do the characters ever go astray, we ask her.

"The characters in my books have a mind of their own and always follow their own path. I end up following them every time."

Nature has always been her muse and gives her hope.  Arefa quotes Anne Frank ...'Where there’s hope, there’s life.' I am always full of hope and do not believe that we are living in a dark tunnel. There are difficulties and challenges in every era. The human history is filled with examples of overcoming the greatest of trials.

Much like Dada Bhai, Parijat and Rao Sahib. A whiff of rose water is enough to be someone's panacea. 

Name: The Witch in the Peepul Tree

Author: Arefa Tehsin

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 323

Price: Rs 399