Spices of Brick Lane

Emdad Rahman interviews Forid Afzal Uddin

New Author Forid Uddin Afzal was born in a village in Sylhet, Bangladesh 1975 and came to England with my family in 1987. “I started school in year 9 and found it very difficult to study as I didn’t speak English,” he said.

“But I was determined to go forward in life, so went to college and took my GCSEs again, going onto achieve a BSc and MSc in Business IT.

“While at London Guildhall University, I worked part-time in Indian restaurants. For most of my life here in England, I lived in Upton Park, Newham,” he added.

“I currently work in the IT field, in Tower Hamlets and I earn exceptionally good money. To be honest, I never thought that I would earn this much money ever. I also have a business partnership and I am in the process of buying more businesses. “
Spices of Brick Lane is about Bangladeshi culture and everything that encompasses the rich culture that Forid has observed over the past 20 years. “I based it on Brick Lane as it has our stamp on it, an area where most Bengali people live.

“The novel shows how the life of a family changed over a number of years, starting from 1950. I try to highlight the problems the community had to deal with regarding different social issues. “
I ask Forid as to what motivated him to write the book? “I felt that I had a story to tell, and I wanted to get it out. I wanted to see if I could achieve something different and something that I could be proud of.

“Furthermore, I wanted to make use of my spare time rather than eating and sleeping. I also felt that I had different dimensional ideas that I could execute and the only way one can do that is by putting it on paper.

“The other thing is that when I write I have the opportunity to make the characters say what I want them to say, which I may not be able to do in a real life situation due to political correctness.”

Forid researched aspects of the book on the internet and reference books. “There were many reliable websites that I used and I was able to find out so much more about the history of Bangladesh,” he added. “I also asked my friends if I wasn’t sure about any issues.”

Forid added that the book had been well received by the Bangladeshi community – “One thing I can say is that a large number of the Sylheti community is very happy that I insulted Monica Ali for what she said in her book."

“Is Sabbir Ali the dream for Bangladeshis aspire to?” I ask.

“No, I won’t say he is the dream for Bangladeshis to aspire to, however, I would say that one can learn from Sabbir’s hard work that if we works hard then there is hope that we can progress in life a lot. But, I would like young Bangladeshis to aspire to my story because when I first arrived in England no one thought I would get this far.”

I pressed Forid as to why he had not addressed the slave like conditions and pay for Bangladeshi UK restaurant workers. “To be honest, I haven’t worked in the Bangladeshi restaurant scene for too long,” he said.

“I only worked part-time when I was at university and the owner I worked for was a very decent person and spoke with respect and treated me well. I personally think the pay is very good and also allows people to get low income benefits from the government if they need to.

“Anyway, thanks for bringing this to my attention, I will try to write about this in my next book."

Forid can see Spices of Brick Lane being turned into a movie – “ I can see that happening, if not, once I have made a bit of money I would probably look to turn it into a movie. I would also like to make another movie that Sabbir creates in the book called Ligerman. I think if could turn Ligerman into a movie, it would be a smash hit.

“To be honest, I can play Sabbir or I could ask my old boss to play him. Actually, Aamir Khan would the best option.

“I think about my audience when I write. I tried to balance my argument when two characters were discussing an issue. If you look at Sabbir’s and Peter’s discussion in the book you’ll understand.” Forid hopes a movie project will materialise within the next two years.

Forid, who cites Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam as role models sees himself as very different to Monica Ali and her acclaimed Brick Lane novel. He is keen to distance himself from any comparison; “Monica Ali’s book is mostly lies and false facts. I believe I have not included any lies about anyone. I have taken real issues and put these into different characters. Also, I am a Sylheti and I live locally and I have good knowledge of what is going on around here.”
Forid advises budding writers to never give up. “If one fails once then one must try many times. I believe everyone has a story in them so get scribbling and see what happens.”
Family dynamics, moving to new places and forging relationships are things most people can relate to in one form or another. In this engaging new novel, Forid weaves a tale that combines these elements with themes of culture, immigration, politics, religion, racism and more, to create a unique but relatable tale with a colorful cast of true-to-life characters.

Forid offers a synopsis; “Sabbir is a Bangladesh native who moved to London’s Brick Lane, where he owns and operates a successful Indian restaurant. He engages in spirited conversations with the regulars who eat there, and the resulting dialogue is a provocative collection of insights on political and social issues.

“Although he enjoys running the restaurant, Sabbir has a hidden agenda when it comes to the large amounts of money brought in by his business. He seeks revenge back in Bangladesh and makes several visits back there to exact it.

“Meanwhile, a relationship is budding between two university students, Foriz and Shabana. Although they are in love with one another, Shabana’s parents disapprove of the union and arrange for their daughter to move back to Bangladesh and marry the man of their choice.”

Will Foriz and Shabana be able to overcome the constraints of an arranged marriage? Will Sabbir finally defend his honor and find retribution?

Forid is now working on his next book, titled “Beautiful Bastard.” It has “more psychology, twists and turns,” promises Forid.

Spices of Brick Lane is available for purchase at all major online bookshops, Amazon, Borders, and Waterstone. It is also available at Eastside bookshop on Brick Lane.