(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) t is not easy being in your 20s in many cultures even today, without feeling that pressure to conform, to get married and raise a family.
the world according to bahja, published in arabic and english, is centred on its protagonist – bahja – a 31 year old single omani woman. she is like any average omani woman of today who is past the conventional 'marriageable age' and is still single, says rasha. 'during my 20s, i was going through the phase of life where everyone around puts pressure on getting married. suddenly, everyone is so interested in your singleness. married friends also kept giving me tips the whole time about what to do to get a man. it was such a depressing time in my life and i wondered what happened to my carefree, loving, intelligent friends…why there was this sudden change in them. colleagues at work would warn that my biological clock was ticking and that i needed to do something about it. all this was a learning experience and i thought of focusing my book around it,' says the author. 'in my book, therefore, i am trying to discuss that women should not fall in love or marry for the sake of it, but should wait for the right person and time, when they believe they are ready for marriage and not cave in to social pressures,' explains the writer. 'i'm trying to talk about the idea of change coming from within. if you want to be happy, start with yourself, do not depend upon others to make you happy. there is no magic wand to create happiness for you. accept your situation or try to make things better…there are so many ways to feel happy.' rasha says she was a bit anxious when the arabic version was published as the female protagonist could have been perceived as bold. but readers liked it and said it was a character that they related to and identified with. rasha says that bahja is not rebellious but questions societal norms. 'i thought my book wouldn't appeal to men as it revolves around a female protagonist but i was very surprised when i got a phone call from a man who had read my book and wanted to meet me. he said that he was in love with the book and really liked the character of bahja. he said there was a humanistic approach to the story.' rasha says she does not identify much with her heroine, and asserts that neither she nor her protagonist are feminists. rasha's second focal point is literature. 'one of the plays i have always been fascinated with is macbeth. i can't think of anything as beautiful.' before writing the book, rasha did a research on students to assess their level of awareness of shakespeare. she found that most of them had never heard of the playwright. 'out of 20, 19 haven't had heard of shakespeare. i thought this was a nice way of teaching people about the great author.' rasha believes that literature has the effect of being an agent of change. 'the omani society is changing and this kind of situation, where there are increasing number of unmarried women, is being accepted. women are also becoming more independent, broad minded and exercising their power to choose.' the author laments the decline of the reading culture in the sultanate. 'it's really sad that no one is reading these days, specially the youngsters. there are readers but very few. i would like to get back the libraries. i still believe in the power of the paper – i do not like the kindle. i was advised to bring out my book as an e-book, but i said, 'no! this is my baby and i want to touch it and feel it!' parents need to encourage their children to read, because people who read grew up watching their parents and elders read.' the writer's love for reading goes back to the childhood days when everyone in her family used to read. 'the house was full of english and arabic classics, which i grew up on.' she says she is 'not very confident of writing in arabic. english is easier to express in'. the world according to bahja was first written in english, but first published in arabic in 2016, translated by the author's aunt reem dawood. rasha says she was highly satisfied with the arabic version and that nothing was lost in translation. the book was released in english in january this year. the novel will be available at wh smith outlets from january 29 onwards. 'it is a book that is suitable for all ages - for both women and men. the language was deliberately kept simple so that it can reach out to everyone, including in arabic, particularly as arabic can get very complicated. it is a story that everyone can relate to.' rasha, who works as a freelance trainer of soft skills, had studied medical engineering in glasgow. but she changed her career when she realised that 'hospitals were too depressing'. on her future plans, the writer admits that she needs a long break before writing the next book. 'but it will be something completely different from this book. it won't be bahja part two!'