Hameeda's Tryst with Destiny is the debut novel by Gautam Shah. Set in 1980s Afghanistan, this coming-of-age tale tells the story of Hameeda, a sixteen-year-old Pathan girl who, against all odds, discovers romantic love. Despite society working against her, she manages to pursue that love, with the help of her grandfather, Abdul Rahman Gafar Khan, who in his youth (in the 1940s Bombay) had pursued his own romantic interest against similar, but lesser, odds.

In a direct and forceful literary style, the author brings to life the everyday observations and interactions of Hameeda and her grandfather, with all the little nuances of life. Blending personal and political turmoil, readers will embark on a journey through a world where innocence, young love, longing, kindness, hate, violence, and evil coexist in an unsteady equilibrium that is both foreboding and frightening. In an intricate embroidery of events (present and past) the book will at once fascinate and engage, as the reader dives in and out of the emotions and anxieties experienced by both the granddaughter and the grandfather, as they navigate their way through their small universe that is being smothered by a cruel society. It is a compelling and fast-moving narrative of will, patience, and perseverance.

The story begins in the home of Abdul Rahman Gafar Khan and his sixteen-year-old granddaughter, Hameeda, who live in a town in Afghanistan during the 1980s. The soviet occupation is in its late stages, and the signs of a more malignant brand of repression are visible. The story begins with Hameeda's thoughts and observations in her little world, and interjects flashbacks to the grandfather's life back in Bombay during the 1940s. We then discover the stirrings of feelings in Hameeda’s young heart for a Pakistani doctor, Salim, who appears in her life by accident. What ensues is Hameeda’s faltering attempts to pursue what she barely understands to be love, the success of her efforts, their brief time of happiness together, and then, their separation.

The story continues with Hameeda's determined struggle to find Salim and secure her destiny. It is a fantastic goal, but her courage is sustained by her tenacity and by her blissful ignorance of the outside world and its evils. The story is also about the grandfather, who joins in Hameeda's struggle as protector and partner. His devotion to his granddaughter, combined with the memories of his own experience with romantic love as a young man in British India, are motivators that propel him forward in defiance of the outside world (of which he is indeed so painfully aware). Their difficult mission brings them hardship and tragedy, but they struggle on. So does the Pakistani doctor, who launches himself in his own parallel journey to find the girl who captured his heart. In the end, circumstances control their progress as the two lovers press on to defeat their preordained fate.

A story of innocence, longing, trauma, and determination...