Origin of stories remains a mystery for me: Pak author

Pakistani author Aamer Hussein, whose stories weave a tapestry of situations in life, says it's still a mystery for him where from exactly a story idea and the characters come.
"37 Bridges and Other Stories" is a new collection from one of the leading exponents of the short story, blending modern art with soap opera, traditional tales with contemporary realities and humour with wisdom.
From the experimental "The Tree at the Limit" to the mellow, almost mythical "The Swan's Wife," and to the rambling conversations of two Karachi veterans lunching by the sea while their city rains down on them in "Two Old Friends," these tales examine belonging and displacement, homes and would-be homes.

Five stories, including the diptych "Knotted Tongue," originally written in Urdu by the author and translated into English to explore new voices and visions are also included in the book, published by HarperCollins India.
"Where exactly a story and its inhabitants come from remains a mystery to me: what makes me choose a subject for a story? Often it's a real incident, as in the title story of my collection when the narrator is taken to the Bridge of Locks in Paris; or a particular visual image or set of images, as in 'The Tree at the Limit;' it could be a phrase I overhear, or even a book I read or a story I'm told," he says.

"Many of my characters come from life, but they're never real portraits, just as the narrators who sometimes resemble me are never exact self-portrayals. Then there are quite a few who are entirely imaginary...," Hussein told PTI in an email interview.

He says "a longing to move outwards, away from stultifying circumstances, rid themselves of external burdens" is a trait his characters have in common.
"It's a trait that readers point out may also lead to the wanderlust many of my characters."
Hussein began publishing fiction in the 1980s in journals and anthologies. His first collection of stories, "Mirror to the Sun," appeared in 1993, which was followed by "This Other Salt," "Turquoise," "Cactus Town" and "Insomnia."

He has also published a novella "Another Gulmohar Tree" (2009) and a novel "The Cloud Messenger" (2011).