Hamid Baig is an Indian novelist who has emerged to the scene of Indian English writing after publication and success of his debut novel Little Maryam. Though he is also one of those entrepreneur trying their hands at writing fiction, he is not anything like the lot. His very debut novel has shown the signs of a promising author at work – his art of constructing the plot and his overall vision as a novelist have certainly impressed the readers as well as the trend watchers in Indian fiction.
Based in Delhi and running a successful business, market research, Hamid Baig’s inclination towards fiction did not start out of the blue. He has been penning short stories and poems since the time he was a student in his early schooling days and it only came to him more and more. After thinking about it and finally completing the novel, Little Maryam, he published it and it struck the right chord among the readers and the response that he received was certainly more than expected by debutants.
An analysis of his fiction will surely tell the critical readers that Hamid is offering the readers what they want to read but on his own conditions. He is not merely playing to the taste of the market but rather working towards creating a market of his own taste and then offering them his fiction to be read and commented. For the time being, he will certainly be called a romance author because his debut novel is about the ‘second chance romance’ between two long-separated lovers, Saadiq and Maryam. However, there is much more in his writing and with the publication of other books by him, surely this romance author tag will be subdued and he will emerge as a versatile writer.
Based on his debut novel and his interactions in the media, one can surely say that the major strength of Hamid Baig as a novelist lies in his narrative build up and plot construction. Otherwise, without any shades of grey, it was rather unlikely that readers could have read his 298-page novel! There must be something remarkable in it and that is, according to us, the style of his narrative as well as his twisting plot. So, only a mature author can hold the readers with his fiction so long without even killing a hoot of their interest in the novel.
Though saying too much about a debutant will surely be unfair, we will only get to know more about the writing of Hamid Baig once he publishes another book by him. Till then, you can certainly enjoy his debut novel! Below is the link to a review of his novel and also on the same page, you can find the link to purchase his book: