Visiting writer mulls book on Oman

Smitten by Oman, an Indian writer is jotting down her notes to author a book on her maiden visit that made her feel home away from home.

Fehmida Zakeer, an independent writer with bylines in several publications including The Bangalore Review, The Hindu, Al Jazeera, Reader’s Digest, Himal South Asian, National Geographic, is on a visit to meet her relatives and acquaintances scattered across the Sultanate of Oman.

“Oman is simply awesome! I cannot help but praise the friendly approach of the people here who consider expatriates and even visitors as their own people and take care of them. We received respect and care from the smiling faces at the airport as soon as we landed here,” an excited Fehmida told the Observer.

“It is a beautiful country and the authorities are taking good care of the environment. For me, every place is an inspiration and I’m more awestruck after visiting the sink hole and the pebble beach, dolphin watching and the like before we moved to Salalah,” she listed her reasons to author a book on the country, adding that “I enjoy the place a lot and am so excited to see more of Oman and its diverse nature, culture, and above all, the people’s care and hospitality”.

Fehmida’s stories have come out in anthologies such as ‘Pangea: An Anthology of Stories from Around the World,’ ‘Ripples Short Stories by Indian Women Writers,’ ‘Happy Birthday to Me.’ Her short story was placed first in the Himal South-Asian short story competition 2013 and another was chosen by the National Library Board of Singapore for the 2013 edition of its READ Singapore anthology.

Born in Thalassery in the Indian state of Kerala and brought up in Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu state, Fehmida has travelled extensively across India before she began to write for the Indian newspaper New Indian Express. Her articles and essays on health, culture and travel have also appeared in other dailies.

Her translation of the celebrated Malayalam writer, BM Zuhara's memoir was published by Sage-Yoda Press in 2022 titled ‘The Dreams of a Mappila Girl,’ which received rave reviews.

“It was a collaborative effort on translating the popular work of a celebrated author, BM Zuhara. She was very particular about the nuances of the region and she did not want to lose the very essence of the jargon prevalent in Malabar area. Hence, we have adhered to some of the words, which are at the verge of extinction, and were given as glossary with the book,” she adds.