Sairish Hussain – author.
On Saturday, the Friends of the Rydings welcomed author Sairish Hussain as their speaker.
Sairish’s talk invited lively comments and questions from the audience.
Her latest book, Hidden Fires, centres around the characters of Yusuf and his granddaughter Rubi. Yusuf, now an elderly man, is forced to recall memories of Partition and its impact on his life.
How can you live in the present, when you’re trying to bury the past?
Hidden Fires explores grief and loss, the power of family ties, and the long arm of history.
Sairish had grown up without knowledge of Partition and knew little of her own family members’ time living through this traumatic period of history. 2017 was the 70th anniversary of Partition. The renewed focus on this period of history sparked her interest and gave her the characters for her book.
Sairish described to us the political situation and the impact on the people, many of whom were displaced. She introduced us to the films and books that informed the research for her latest book. Her presentation sparked lively interest and questions from the audience.
Sairish had brought copies of her books and sales after her talk were brisk. Brighouse Library has copies of both novels – so readers of our pages can access her novels for free!
Thank you Sairish for you thought-provoking and fascinating talk.
