IT'S the conspiratorial giggles of partners in crime. Or the best of friends. Or both. Whatever it is, Viji Krishnamoorthy and Shireen Zainudin, the editors (and writers) of the recently launched The Lockdown Chronicles, an anthology of 19 fictional works set against the backdrop of the pandemic, have every reason to be ecstatic.
After more than seven months of "labour", they're finally able to celebrate the birth of their much-awaited baby; or as Shireen jokingly puts it, "… if this book were a baby, it'd be a seven-month premature baby. We've laboured since May!"
The calm of the cafe where we've parked ourselves for this mid-morning meeting permeates with their rapturous laughter. They remind me of a ray of sunshine — despite both being clad in sombre black.
First thing first. How do you know each other? I blurt out, sensing through their comfortable camaraderie that the striking duo — one looking casual-chic draped in a loose blouse over a pair of shorts, and the other, attired in a smart black dress — must surely be long-time friends. To my surprise, my question is met with a pregnant pause.
It's the bobbed-haired Viji who's the first to answer. "You know what, we really don't know when and how we met!"
More laughter ensues before Shireen muses thoughtfully: "But we've known each other for a long time — maybe 17/18 years; at least for as long as I've been back in Malaysia. Our kids went to the same school but we knew each other before that. We have common friends. And we did yoga together at one point. I guess we were kind of orbiting each other!"
"I just think the stars were aligned!" exclaims Viji, her kindly eyes sparkling mischievously.
AN EPIPHANY
The idea for the book was triggered sometime in May, last year, not long after the first lockdown was lifted. The venue was Kenny Hill Bakers and it came over coffee and impassioned conversation. "Shireen said she'd had an epiphany!" exclaims the soft-spoken Viji, widening her eyes in mock drama.
Her voice laced with mirth, the elegant mother-of-two continues: "She told me that she'd had a dream; that we should write a book about everything that had happened during this period of time because it's prevalent and everyone has been through it. And since she was having a cup of coffee with me, she said I should do it with her!"
"And do you know what her reply was?" chips in Shireen, feigning disgust. "She said she wanted to think about it. Because she'd be busy helping her daughter set up her small business… ya da, ya da! I told her surely she's not going to be busy ALL the time!"
Throwing a quick glance at her friend, who's chuckling sheepishly beside her, Shireen continues: "After the initial ah oo, ah oo, she finally agreed and suggested that we did 19 voices to represent Covid-19. Her idea was for me to write one story and she, another. Then we decided to find 17 more voices from different sectors of Malaysian society to share their experiences percolated from this period."
The hours ticked and the discussion progressed; soon enough, the duo became convinced of the importance of this undertaking. "These stories needed to be documented because we're living through history, which God willing, will never happen again," says Viji, passionately.
Once the decision was made to collect a Malaysian experience of these strange, unsettling, and totally unprecedented times, the next step was to contemplate who they could invite on board this journey.
"We sat down and reflected about people who might have an interesting story, or an interesting perspective, or who wanted to write but never had the opportunity. Then we started throwing names around," remembers Shireen, brows furrowing at the recollection.
Continuing, she says: "There's a lady called Su Ming Than in the book who's with Hospis Malaysia. Her story offers a frontliner's perspective. Another friend wrote from the perspective of a river. It's quite amazing that we have 19 stories in there and none of the writers came back with a duplicate."
As Viji puts it, whilst it may have seemed that all of urban society was masking up and sanitising, juggling Zoom technology with seven-day sourdough starters, everyone was journeying uniquely and inwardly. The isolation that radiated through the country and beyond took on a wide spectrum of definitions.
The 50-something is swift to add that she's proud of the fact that the book is a truly made-in-Malaysia product. The 19 voices that they'd managed to assemble, shares Viji, belong to Malaysians. "A couple of them may not have been born here but Malaysia has become very much their home," she says.
The duo were adamant that their net would be cast beyond the affluent locales of Damansara or Bangsar. "We have writers from Sarawak, a Malaysian graduate, and a Syrian poet who's been living here and has published a book of poems before, and many others."
Expression earnest, the soft-spoken Pisces — and a self-confessed dreamer — tells me that some of the writers actually got back to them and confided that doing the book had given them the opportunity to dig deep, to search, to sit down and be quiet. "I think the lockdown has given a lot of people that space to find a voice," she adds, softly.
Nodding, Shireen, who'd been listening intently to Viji's words, chips in with her story. "For me, the first week or so of lockdown was really difficult. I cried practically every day. Things were bad because a day or two after the hard lockdown, in March 18, I slipped and fell on the staircase and fractured my foot."
Grimacing at the memory, the mother-of-two recalls: "I felt very isolated and helpless. It was just me and my daughter at home. My son was away at university. I have a partner but he lives in Sarawak. I couldn't even see my mum. It just felt so scary and weird."
Fortunately, after the first couple of weeks of feeling out of sorts, Shireen got back into her groove. A small smile playing on her lips, she shares: "I started cooking, baking and enjoying the peace. I was also helping out some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with distribution work and I began to see how difficult it was for other people. I learnt so much about my friends and the world we live in. I remember thinking, 'My God, there are so many stories here!'"
This book project took seven months to realise — from beginning to end. Did you guys ever get on each other's nerves at all during this period? I couldn't help asking, imagining how they must have been in each other's faces throughout this whole journey as they worked on their "baby".
"Nooo!" They reply in unison before Viji enthuses: "From start to finish, not once did we have any disagreements. It was great synergy. We both brought different things to the table. We've always had a deep respect for each other. We'd be tired but we had fun. This is why we said we'd happily do something like this again with each other. Perhaps a coffee table book next…"
Beaming, Shireen reminds Viji of their gratitude to their publishers, Media Masters, who were completely supportive of their craziness. "One of the challenges was definitely finding a publisher," reveals Shireen. "Those we approached liked our idea but couldn't take on the project due to lack of budget. Media Masters, who are based in Ipoh, didn't turn us away. They were happy to take a chance on us but told us to make sure we made money!"
Nodding, Viji's expression turns earnest as she speaks about how important it is for the public to keep buying books, to keep reading and telling our Malaysian stories. So many businesses, she says, have been threatened by closure. And the book industry is no exception.
"From writers, proofreaders and editors, to book-binders and our favourite bookshops, we've all felt the cold reach of Covid-19," says Viji, solemnly, adding: "By buying books, we can help to keep them in business."
VIJI'S STORY
Born in Ipoh to an Indian father and Chinese mother, Viji, who later made Kuala Lumpur home, was sent to a boarding school in Madras, India from the age of 10 to 16. Her formidable father, says Viji, chuckling good-naturedly, decided that she and her younger sister (who was eight) needed a bit of a "culture injection". This was also the period when there were so much uncertainties due to the change from English to Bahasa Melayu.
"It was awful la!" exclaims Viji, when asked to recollect her school days. "It wasn't a posh school or anything. The hygiene was so poor that every term without fail, I'd be the first one in the sick bay. I had illnesses I couldn't spell as a child! I used to come home and recover and then dad would say, back you go! We came home three times a year."
Continuing, she shares: "From a very young age, I did Indian classical dance. If dad had his way, he'd have sent me to an Indian dance school but my mother drew the line there. Thankfully, it didn't happen!"
At the age of 17, Viji left for England to further her studies. She eventually went on to pursue a degree in Economics, which was, she confides with a grin, "… a total waste of time and money! I hated it. And never used it ever!"
So why did you do it? I couldn't help asking. A pause ensues and she reflects the question. "Back then, you just did what you were told," comes her blithe reply. Her father, a teacher, had actually asked her to do Law. "When I said, errrkk, he said, 'okay then, Economics!' I actually wanted to do Marketing but he said 'no'. Essentially, he led the way," she says, matter-of-factly.
Her favourite subjects at school were English and English Literature, and Viji recalls having a love for the written word from a very young age. "I remember when the broadsheets were around, my mother (an art teacher), my sister and I used to cut out the comics and enjoyed doing the mysteries together," she shares, before adding: "I also used to journal and write stories quite a bit. I was a prolific letter writer too."
Despite being carted off to a boarding school from a young age, Viji speaks glowingly of her childhood years. Her father's strictness, she confides, was balanced by her mother's more nurturing touch.
Eyes lighting up at the memory, Viji shares: "We lived with our extended family so I had uncles, aunts, and cousins living together with us. It was a really fun childhood. My cousins and I used to put on productions like Cinderella for the adults and called ourselves Putra Production because we used to live on Jalan Putra! I remember my sister would always want to be Cinderella and I always had to be the wicked step mother la!"
SHIREEN'S STORY
This exotic-looking mother-of-two was born in Melaka but doesn't consider herself an Anak Melaka as she was only there for the first three months of her life. Her parents, both Johorians, moved the family to several places before settling down in Petaling Jaya when Shireen was six.
However, her first memory of home was when they lived in Klang for a couple of years. "I must have been around four," muses the lively brunette, before elaborating: "We lived up a small hill, in one of those old government houses that had a massive compound. I remember it overlooking the old palace. I had an idyllic childhood. I went to kindergarten that all my friends went to. The headmistress was English and she was my best friend's mum."
Just like Viji, Shireen, the third of four siblings also hails from a mixed home. Her late father, a civil servant before starting his own business in trading, was Malay, while mum, a housewife, is Chinese. "We grew up in a completely English-speaking household because mum's Malay wasn't great and dad didn't speak any Chinese!"
Books and reading were always a big thing on her dad's side more than her mum's, shares Shireen, who grew up on a diet of Enid Blyton books as a child and dreamt of building tree houses and going on adventures with her neighbourhood friends. Smiling fondly, she recalls: "I remember when I was old enough to buy dad presents, I always bought him books. He used to laugh at my choices but would nonetheless humour me."
Her sister, Hartini Zainudin, a prolific child rights activist and consultant for the Malaysian Red Crescent Society of Malaysia, adds Shireen proudly, was a voracious reader too growing up, and incidentally is also one of the writers in The Lockdown Chronicles.
The nature-loving Shireen shares that just like Viji, she left for England to do her A Levels before going on to pursue a Law degree. "I didn't really know what I wanted to do. But to be honest, I didn't dislike Law. I just didn't want to do Maths," she confides, chuckling heartily.
Shireen remembers that even during her school days, her teachers used to encourage her to pursue writing seriously. "I contributed essays for the school magazine — but that was about it," she says, with a slight shrug of her shoulders.
But her flair for writing would also surface when she was pursuing her Law degree. Chuckling, Shireen, who lists travelling as her other passion, shares: "I remember when I had to write my projects, they'd all be written like stories. I'd turn these very dry legal things into some story about villains and ta-da-da-da! When I told my tutor I wanted to take a year out before doing my Bar, he actually suggested that I should look into doing some writing."
FOR THE LOVE OF BOOKS
As our orders begin to arrive on the table, Viji turns to me excitedly and exclaims: "Do you know right now I have the primary stock of books, which are stored in my husband's home office? I kid you not, when you open the door and walk in, there's this amazing scent which takes me back to Dean's bookshop! Do you remember Dean's?"
My baffled expression is met with dismay. "That old, hole-in-the-wall bookshop in Batu Road? You don't remember?" Viji's attempts to jog my memory is met with another blank. Undeterred, she continues enthusiastically: "You had to walk right to the back of the shop to get to where all the books were. They'd be literally unpacked from these paper boxes and that smell… Oooh, if you want that smell, come to my house! I told my husband that someone really should bottle this scent!"
Suffice it to say, the ladies are utter book buffs. When asked her preferred genre, Shireen shares that she's never been a fan of mysteries or violence. "I prefer books on social issues and historical novels."
Adding, the convivial Sagitarius elaborates: "I like things with layers. Lately, I've been reading more Asian and Malaysian stuff. It's nice to be able to read things which I can relate to. My current book? I'm reading Obama's book!"
Turning to Viji, whose idea of "me" time entails a glass of wine, a good book and some nice candles, I learn that she's a fan of Indian and African authors. "Of late, I love books by the Italian novelist, Elena Ferrante," she shares. "The last book I read was Sue Monk Kidd's The Book of Longings, about what happened if Jesus had married. It's really interesting because it asks very pertinent questions. I actually keep a physical diary of what I've read and I rate them!"
SILVER LINING
A furtive glance at my watch reveals that we've been chatting for hours. The sudden appearance of Shireen's daughter, Julia, to remind her mother of her presence jolts us to seal what has been such a lovely afternoon of conversation.
"We've talked too much," exclaims Viji, before adding: "It's been such a delightful interview that we forgot the time!" Shireen concurs, bobbing her head enthusiastically. Can I throw one more question, I ask, and they nod happily in response.
What has been your silver lining during this pandemic?
Once again, Viji's the first to answer. "The quietness, the stillness of being. To be able to be in my space and find that you can blossom and grow even within that space. I don't think I've been busier… and in a good way. Creative ways."
Pausing to reflect, she adds: "I think there was a time I could have hugged a stranger on the street if I could. That's when you really realise how starved you are of physical contact, and that emotional connection. You end up appreciating people. The people that matter are all that matters."
"For me, life became quite fulfilling," replies Shireen, softly. "Initially I was panicked by that because I was so used to the chaos. I realised I actually liked this quiet. The alone time was special. I'm not a cook or a baker but I learnt how to be."
Continuing, she confides: "The biggest thing for me was discovering how I could live very happily on so little. The real world kind of intrudes on you and there's so many extraneous things that make you think you need to do this and that. But when it's just you, yourself and yours, you rediscover the joy of going back to basics."
As we prepare to part, Viji confides that she's fervently hoping that more corporate companies would consider supporting their book venture. After all, it's very much a by-product of Malaysians. Instead of giving away pens to their clients, why not gift something like this? "In a time when everyone thought there was little that could be done, something beautiful came out. It's time to champion Malaysian products," says the elegant author, voice soft but resolute.
THE LOCKDOWN CHRONICLES
Author: Various
Publisher: Media Master Publishing
Price: RM38.00 and available at major bookstores nationwide and BookXcess.