Pakistan
She Persisted Selling Books at The Last Word
This is an excerpt from an early draft of this chapter.
Pakistan: known to Americans as Osama bin Laden’s last hide-out. I visited in 2010 with a colleague keen on meeting the Kalash, a unique religious and ethnic minority in the Hindu Kush mountain range along the Afghan border, a region now garnering attention as a flashpoint on the frontlines of climate change. Our trek to visit the Kalash began in Lahore, the home of my college friend, attorney, and environmental activist Ahmad “Rafay” Alam, whose wife, Aysha Raja, opened the bookstore, The Last Word, in Lahore in 2007.
Image: Shahi Mosque, Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Context
Lahore is Pakistan’s second largest city, a bustling and historic metropolis of over eleven million people, and a center of culture and education. Still, from the confiscation of alcohol upon arrival to the attire of some people to the multiple, simultaneous calls to prayer echoing five times per day, there is little doubt in the mind of a visitor that one is in an Islamic republic. This sense is reinforced if one enters Pakistan from India at an entry point near Lahore and witnesses the passionate displays of national pride at the daily closing of the Wagah border crossing.
The several years preceding our visit in 2010 were a less than safe and stable time. Parts of the country had been under militant control, and terror attacks, including in Islamabad and Lahore, had claimed thousands of lives. In 2009 alone, over 2,500 attacks resulted in over 3,000 deaths in Pakistan. During our visit in 2010, a political party aligned with religious militants held a very open and public political march in Lahore’s center. Given this context, even in cosmopolitan and progressive Lahore, owning and holding events in a bookstore with secular and progressive literature, including foreign titles from the West, seemed like a risky activity, especially for a new mother.
Aysha decides she wants The Last Word
When I asked Aysha what motivated her to open a bookstore, she explained, “I couldn't find any books I wanted to read and resented having to leave town to stock up on books.” This frustration, coupled with the fact that she was a new mother and her multinational employer was unwilling to offer her a flexible schedule or workplace childcare facilities, helped convince Aysha that the time was right for her to satisfy her own needs, and those of others in the community, for everything that a bookstore can offer a community.
Although she had enough of her own funds to get started and could avoid taking loans, Aysha recalled that there were, “a lot of people in the book business deterring me from joining,” and some went so far as to describe her idea as a “doomed enterprise.”
While not explicit, some of the discouragement and the adversity that Aysha encountered could well have been rooted in bias against her as a woman entrepreneur.
What was it like when you were starting?
Aysha recalled a period of time in her first location during which she was threatened and bullied by “a landlord who had his own business on the same premises which didn't do too well.” Aysha described that, “at one point I was physically assaulted before I was able to get a restraining order of sorts. He still never quite left me alone until my lease was up.”
Why didn’t a bookstore with Western titles provoke a reaction from militant extremists?
The answer lies partly in the means through which Aysha attracted new clientele. New customers learned about The Last Word through word-of-mouth. When asked if she was ever concerned about a risk of attracting a protest or attack, Aysha replied: “at one point, when I did an event on blasphemy, yes.” But overall, because of their reliance on word-of-mouth promotion, the bookstore “didn't attract dangerous types.”
A surprising insight (for outsiders, at least): some fundamentalists turned out to be fans.
The most surprising insight about society in Lahore emerged when we continued discussing the topic of fear in a context in which ideological disagreements can turn violent. Aysha explains:
“As for fundamentalists, I have many customers who appear conservative. They wear beards and shalwar kurta but they're never irked by me. Also there are full veil women who have been very appreciative of our efforts.”
A community finds pride in their bookstore.
In other words, I asked, do some very religious people in Pakistan appreciate a bookstore with literature (and therefore ideas) that may be secular or progressive and clearly not associated with Islam? “Yeah, I have one bearded and capped fellow who regularly brings his daughter to our story time. Loves it,” Aysha said, adding that “by and large the community is very appreciative and protective of the business. For some, it's a source of pride for the city.”
What was Aysha’s toughest obstacle, and how did she overcome it?
As it turns out, Aysha’s toughest hurdle was not related to protests by fundamentalists or attacks by militants, but to fairly generic dishonesty. And she overcame this hurdle thanks to the loyalty and support of the community described immediately above.
As Aysha explained: “Exactly a year ago I was evicted from my second premises. As luck would have it, my new landlord (actually a middleman, since he was subletting to me) absconded without paying the landowner.
The entire community went out of their way to buy books from my house. The community made sure I had enough for security. Some who knew the landowner, who resided in Karachi, gave references and a guarantee that we were good people who were just caught in the middle of a horrible fraud. We managed to re-enter a contract with the building owner in Karachi (who is also a woman) and have been happily conducting business.”
There are a few take-away lessons. One would be that, even with a contract in place, sometimes people break their word. As illustrated in other stories, when the rule-of-law or honesty or an enforceable agreement are absent, it seems that reputation and—most importantly—relationships are key to the ability to continue functioning.
If that was the toughest obstacle, and what was your toughest decision?
A crisis like the one described above may clarify what must be done, while tough decision points may arise when there is a lack of a clear emergency. As Aysha describes: “The Last Word has been around for more than ten years and the toughest decision for me was three years ago when I closed down the ‘concessions.’ Concessions were more like wall displays at other places of business and for value addition. So I didn't pay rent. I closed them to open what I call the ‘flagship’ store, which frankly is the only shop.” Moving back to a single store model has meant “putting in more hours and the risk was greater now.” Aysha explains that “raising the stakes has been the toughest decision I made, but what made the risk worth it was that I had established a loyal clientele and reputation, so word of mouth spread fast.”
What lessons would you pass on to your daughter (or any businessperson)?
Aysha’s wisdom for aspiring entrepreneurs is to preserve their personal lives away from work: “It is hard, but try to put some space between yourself and your business. With such extreme highs and lows, it really messes with your mental health and sense of self-worth.” Specifically, Aysha takes the following steps: “I no longer go into work every day but have an office at home which is a more tranquil space. All this is as an effort to turn down some of the pressure that can take a toll on your daily life and relationships.” She quickly added: “I do, however, read to kids on a weekly basis and I would not miss that for the world.”
The Last Word’s books and events can be further explored at its website:
Postscript
I mentioned at the start of this chapter that my time in Lahore was part of a longer trip, the purpose of which was to visit the Kalash. Our hosts believed that my traveling companion and I were the first Americans to traverse what had very recently been Taliban-held territory from 2007-2009. We stayed in Rumbur, one of the three valleys where a few thousand Kalash live traditional lives.
The Kalash had no advance notice that we, the only tourists, would be arriving, so we’re quite sure that what we experienced was not an orchestrated charade to create photo opportunities for visitors. Based on everything we saw, the Kalash valleys truly are a pocket of preserved culture and lifestyles. The valley appeared unpolluted and idyllic, to the extent fruit can be gathered from under trees and eaten. Our gracious hosts showed us their religious sites and decided to fete the occasion with wine of their own making and music performed on improvised instruments. Our only regret was not budgeting more time to stay and learn about this unique culture in the mountains leading up to the Himalayan range.
Take-Away Lessons That Could Help in Other Situations
(1) “Scratching your own itch”—in other words, identifying a way to satisfy your own needs—may lead to a service that others will value, cherish, and support.
(2) Do not underestimate the number or the commitment of people that may value and support your product or service, even in a market that outsiders may over-generalize as being unsupportive or even hostile.
(3) Word-of-mouth is the best means to attract, retain, and grow a loyal and supportive following, including in a context where a specific subset of a larger population are the intended clientele or audience.
(4) When contracts and rule-of-law fail and people are dishonest—or, more generally, in a time of any hardship—reputation and relationships can sustain a person or an enterprise.
(5) Sometimes concentrating efforts on one location may reap greater rewards than a more diffuse presence.
(6) Carving-out a portion of time for one’s own health and time with family—whether we call this work-life balance or work-life harmony—is recommended as essential for maintaining peace-of-mind and happiness.