Thalassa Ali is a writer who has penned a trilogy based on the fictional journey of a 19th century British woman Mariana Givens, whose life is intricately woven with the walled city of Lahore in Pakistan, the city of Kabul in Afghanistan, Sufism, and everything else that goes with the domain.

Thalassa’s own story is equally interesting.  The daughter of archeologist parents, Thalassa grew up with no connections to Pakistan, but a strong affinity to Sufism, which (unbeknownst to her) started when she was a child and manifested itself in all its glory during her time at the Harvard University.  She later went on to marry a Pakistani gentleman, and spend many years of her life living and working in Pakistan, even after the death of her husband.

Thalassa  is now back to her original home, New England, and continues to be strongly connected to her second home, Pakistan, where she recently released the last book of her trilogy.  In an exclusive Rendezvous with The Saturday Post, Thalassa talks about her books, Sufism, Pakistan, life after 9/11, and more...

Thalassa Ali

1. Let’s start with your most prominent claim to fame, i.e. the trilogy of books starting with A Singular Hostage and recently culminating with Companions of Paradise. Would you like to describe these books in your own words for our readers?

The Paradise Trilogy (‘A Singular Hostage’ ‘A Beggar at the Gate’ and ‘Companions of Paradise’) is a trio of adventure stories set in 19th century Lahore and Kabul. The main character is a young Englishwoman who rescues a neglected baby hostage from Maharajah Ranjit Singh, setting off a series of adventures that end on the last page of “Companions of Paradise.”

2. There are a lot of references to Sufism in your books...

Yes. The baby that Mariana rescues belongs to a powerful family of Muslim mystics who live in Lahore walled city. It’s her involvement with them that drives all the action. Each of the books is also an allegory with mystic meaning, although not everyone notices that aspect. Some people read just for the adventure of it all, which is fine

3. How real are the mysterious things that happen in your books? Are they genuine Sufi practices?

They are genuine. Over 20 years ago, I embraced Islam at the hands of a Sufi Shaikh. For the next 7 years until his death, I followed the Path rigorously, performing Zikr before dawn, etc. During those years I learned a lot about the hidden practices that appear in my books. But they are not meant to intrude upon the story. They are part of the fabric of that family’s life. The mystics in my books are practical people, whose common sense is an important driver of the story.

4. You were recently in Pakistan promoting the latest publication Companions of Paradise – how have these books been received there and how are they doing in the US?

I’ve always been delighted at the wonderful reception my books have received in Pakistan. It’s not only that they are bestsellers; it’s also that people appreciate the careful research that went into them. It was very important for me to be as accurate as possible when describing 19th Century walled-city life in Lahore, especially among a family of Sufis. The books have done fine in the US and in the UK!

5. You were married to a Pakistani gentleman. Is that your main connection to the sub-continent and its history or did your archaeologist parents forge some of those ties as well?

Although my mother was British, my family had no ties to Pakistan before I came to Karachi. My parents visited as often as they could. In those days the trunk call system was quite shaky— whole telephone calls consisted of me shouting What?’ So I wrote long letters that often went missing. No wonder my parents came! They loved my husband Bobby. Everyone did – he was extremely charismatic. In fact my mother once told my father that if she’d been 30 years younger, she would have married him herself!

6. How parallel is the story of your central character, Mariana Givens, to your own experience of marrying a Pakistani and living in Pakistan?

Mariana’s experience is much more exciting than mine! Also, although she and I were both exposed to mystical Islam at about the age of 21, in the books, she was surrounded by teachers, but in reality, I was not. Sufism was almost a taboo subject in Pakistan in the 60s and early 70s, so not much happened with me for a very long time. But 30 years of belonging to an extended Pakistani family made it easy for me to write about Mariana’s daily experience in Shaikh Waliullah’s zenana.

7. After your husband passed away, you stayed on in Pakistan to manage his business, and clearly, you remain connected with the country even now. To what do you attribute the continued affinity – is it a family bond or did you also acquire a taste for the Pakistani society itself?

It has to do with the heart. I believe that a place, will either touch one’s heart or it won’t. A foreigner married to a Pakistani once told me after nearly 50 years of living in Pakistan that she didn’t really like it, that she had always longed to live in her own country. That was not my experience at all. I feel that I owe Pakistan a great debt for teaching me to be a friend and a family member. New Englanders are so independent that we don’t have deep experience with intimacy and relationships. In Pakistan, those are the most important parts of life. That was the lesson I learned, and I treasure it. Also, the great benefit of having two countries is that your point of view about life broadens hugely. I could never go back to being someone from only one place.

8. How would you describe the experience of living and working in Pakistan?

I’d describe it as real. In the US, many of us are insulated from the reality of poverty, illness and frustration, but these things are in your face in Pakistan. We are given endless opportunities to be charitable, and also to be grateful. When my sweeper didn’t show up for a couple of days, I’d drive over to his quarter and honk my horn until someone came and told me the problem. Usually he was sick, so they’d put him into the back seat of my car, and I’d take him to the doctor. I felt that I was part of things; that I had a role to play.

In the US, most things work: the lights turn on, 911 sends the fire department and the ambulance, a lot of everyday business is done over the phone. When I lived and worked in Pakistan, nothing could be done without relationships. When my daughter had a burst appendix after my husband died, 6 people took us to the surgeon. By the time she opened her eyes, there were 14 people in her room. For me, that’s real. That’s everything.

9. What made you return to the US and adopt stock brokerage as a career; and how does writing fit into it all?

My husband Bobby died in 1972, a few months after the 1971 war with India. At that time Pakistan was going through political changes. By 1974, many of my friends were leaving the country, due to those changes and also to the sudden surge of oil dollars coming to the Gulf. I knew then that I must go back to Boston with my children. I can’t express how lonely I was then. The brokerage business actually fitted into my new life as a widow, because I was in an office full of people. Doing business in Pakistan had taught me I wasn’t afraid of money, and that I didn’t want to work in a hierarchy. As a broker I had my own mini-business within my firm. That and the fact that I didn’t mind selling made it work for me. But the writing was something else; it came from within. I felt a real longing to write about Pakistan and what it meant to me, but not as autobiography. I’m not someone who reads autobiography, so I couldn’t write one. I wanted to write from the heart about something with real meaning, that would have elements of the 1001 Nights and the Sufi allegories packaged as ‘fairy stories’ that I had read as a child. If I hadn’t had that dream, I doubt that I would have embarked on the long project of writing a trilogy. I don’t think of myself as someone who was born to be a writer.

10. You converted to Islam in 1984. Would you like to share anything about the inspiration to convert?

It came from my childhood. I was asthmatic as a child, so I read a lot of books. I loved ‘fairy stories’, but I learned later that the ones I loved best were really Sufi allegories, stories of mystic meaning. I didn’t know what they were, of course, but they set my imagination on fire. Later, when I fell in love with Sufi philosophy and poetry at Harvard University, I understood what I had been reading. It was then that I made up my mind to embrace Islam at the hands of a Sufi shaikh. But God has His own timing. I did not meet my murshid for another 21 years.

11. How do you feel as a Muslim in the post 9/11 American society? What do you think are the biggest issues confronting the Muslim community today and what do you think we can do about them?

I’ve been fortunate in that I have been attacked only twice, and they were only verbal attacks. But I’m frustrated by the casual bigotry that I see in the media. The biggest issue is misinformation about who we are. As individuals we keep trying to explain the true beauty of Islam, but hasn’t done much good. I believe we must take to the streets against militant, extremist Islam. We should to march in great numbers in all the cities of the US, front of the TV cameras, waving signs that say ‘No More Extremist Islam!’ We must show America who we are, and that we’re willing to fight together against right-wing religious fanatics. That’s the way to win hearts and minds.

12. As a person with strong connections to Pakistan, do you have any observations about how Pakistanis as a people can dispel some of the negative stereotypes that have come to be associated with them?

Pakistanis are at the center of the storm, despite the fact that they were nowhere to be seen on 911. Again, I believe demonstrations are the way to go. Processions were taken out a few weeks ago in several Pakistani cities by a coalition of women’s groups. To me, that’s the way to show bigots, and extremist mullahs that we’re ‘mad as hell, and we’re not taking it any more’.

13. Finally in your years of experience what are the biggest personal and professional qualities that you consider to be critical for success in one’s professional life?

The older I get, the less I know! Of course a clear sense of honor is essential to us all, but I also think tenacity is an underestimated trait. All our greatest goals are difficult to reach and require tremendous effort and perseverance. I would say that if you are to win only one battle, make sure it’s the last one.