His first article came out in a national daily in 1980s. Saleh al Shaibani went on to write the column called Desert Classics in 1998 in a regional newspaper and in February it is going to be 20 years since he actively began to have a presence as a columnist but the passion for writing began much earlier. Getting personal — if you are going to meet Saleh make sure you don’t inspire him too much that you find yourself in his column. But then that is what makes his columns interesting. On a weekly basis Saleh has been writing regularly reflecting on his interactions, observing his surroundings and in addition to an element of him and his concerns too. The string between the heart and mind is the first column in the book. It is a conversation between him and a child trying to convince the child there is a string that is attached between the brain and the heart.
“I am a father of five kids. I also teach in college. So these interactions are important,” said Al Saleh. “My columns are about my childhood, my relationships with my friends, my parents, grandparents and teachers,” further added, Saleh. Young Saleh was just 10 years old when his mother had to go away to attending a wedding in another and he had to stay behind with his grandmother, “It was the first depression, I was feeling very lonely. I turned inward and to forget that my mother was away from me I began to create my own world. And I started to write at the age of 10. Writing helped to me to rely on myself rather than depending on others.” It was the real life experience that taught him to write. Saleh believes writers are born and not taught. But Saleh prefers to stay away from fiction, “I prefer to stay with realty and thus columns.”
“Writing has been a therapy. If there is a problem or a difficulty all I have to do is sit in front of the computer and type — write my mind and I feel good,” he pointed out. “When you write about yourself you bear yourself. Everyone knows what you are going through. So you need the courage.” The column, ‘The glitter between generations,’ is an example of how Saleh brings the connections between generations. Yet another column, ‘Ways of Women’, looks at how women may forgive but not forget. He makes you smile as you read because there is something that you can relate to because most of the time the columns are about people and invariably the characters can be someone you know or a member of your family or you yourself.
“It just happens — it is what I go through. At times it is about my kids, other times my students and even my wife. I do not tell them I am going to write about them but they definitely know once it is written and they can identify themselves,” reflected the author.
A quarter of the money raised from Saleh’s book will be given away to children who have special needs and disabilities.
For fifteen years Saleh was news correspondent for a news agency. He has also had his share of news reporting. There have been in total 600 columns but the total number of articles, columns and features are about 1,200. So what would he want next and what would he want to convey to the upcoming journalists? “We have journalists in Oman who are very good in Arabic, but I would like to see more journalists writing in English as well. The quest now is for Omani journalists who write in English. That is what I am doing now,” explained Saleh.
So at present he is a mentor for upcoming journalists and he would like to see more. And there would be more books from this writer who is sharp when it comes to news reporting but is passionate about highlighting the human story when it comes to his column.
Lakshmi Kothaneth
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