ABSTRACT
To add invaluably to the understanding of Joginder Paul the writer, there are several particularly important interviews with him. Of these, one, with the two well-known Urdu scholar-critics, Sadique and Ateequllah, is presented here. The interview which begins on a personal and conversational note on a cold winter evening, soon warms up to make inroads into extremely detailed and specifically posed questions about the art and craft of Paul’s writings and probes his philosophy – both personal and as a writer. The back-and-forth conversation between the three participants focuses on several of Paul’s short stories, the continuous evolution they undergo in terms of the content, style, and treatment of the subjects, the texture of his fiction, the creative process, the primacy of creativity, questions of prolificity and oeuvre, the idea of how craft can mould experiences and how they are presented, and several other equally urgent matters that Paul handles sensitively and honestly as a writer. The conversation touches upon examples from world literature in order to explicate points raised in it.
