Eventually the filmmakers ran out of things to “talk about”. “After Naseem, my last film, I didn’t feel the urge to talk about anything with that much intensity. At least not through the cinematic medium,” claims Mirza. So, he did what he always wanted to do-travel. Not only across India, but also across Central Asian countries and Turkey. “To visit these places and explore their histories was a rewarding experience. Not only did I gather stories and ideas through my journeys across these places, but I also managed to collect emotions,” he says. A lot of these experiences find their way into the book, which Mirza claims is a “literary installation”. “I don’t know how else to describe the book. It’s a memoir, a collection of short stories and also a travelogue,” Mirza claims.

So why didn’t he express himself individually through these different literary genres? “The book is a reflection of my state of mind. This is how I think. It reflects my thought process,” he states. The danger of such a text ending up as disjointed ramblings did confront Mirza but he chose to listen to his heart. “My wife, after reading the book did feel that it’s a bit disjointed and lacked cohesion, but she also liked it for the same reason,” he confesses.