Farahad Zama photo

Farahad Zama

Farahad Zama was born in Vizag on the Eastern coast of India in 1966. After obtaining a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Engineering at Kharagpur, near Kolkata, he moved to Mumbai to work for an investment bank. An arranged marriage to a Vizag girl soon followed. His career took him to New York, Zurich and Luxembourg and finally brought him to London for six months. Sixteen years later, Farahad is still in South London with his Vizag girl and two Croydon-born boys.

Farahad works in the City and writes on his commute and at weekends. The Marriage Bureau for Rich People is his first novel. He is delighted with its success – it was a Richard & Judy and Daily Mail book of the month, short listed for Best New Writer of the Year at the British Book Awards, Best Published Fiction at the Muslim Writers Awards and Melissa Nathan Awards for Comedy and Romance. The book is being translated into eight languages.

Zama's second and third novels, The Many Conditions of Love,and The Wedding Wallah, continues the story of Mr. Ali's "Marriage Bureau."


“English was such a strange language - expressive in so may way, but so bland in others.”
Farahad Zama
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“Computers are good, but only while they are working. Otherwise, they are no more use than a paperweight”
Farahad Zama
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“Even after so many years of marriage, there were things she didn't know about her husband's life!”
Farahad Zama
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“You can take an Indian out of the caste system, but you cannot take the caste system out of an Indian.”
Farahad Zama
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“It's pointless giving advice to people who will not listen. It only reduces the value of your words.”
Farahad Zama
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“What kind of Muslim are you?Are you a once-a-lifetime, once-a-year, once-a-week, once-a-day man?”
Farahad Zama
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“If a man spent so much time studying rekigious matters and philosophy, how would he have any time left over to experience real life? ~mr.Ali~”
Farahad Zama
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“A woman's work is never done”
Farahad Zama
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“Some things in a marriage just should not be tested.”
Farahad Zama
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“That's the mistake people make - always searching for the perfect match, when they would be just as happy if they settled for somebody reasonably good.”
Farahad Zama
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“Mengapa harus memicu percekcokan dengan mengubah keyakinan? Aku lahir sebagai Muslim dan aku bahagia tetap menjadi Muslim.”
Farahad Zama
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“Banyak orang yang menilai bahwa anak-anak perempuan mereka akan bahagia jika bersuamikan pejabat kaya atau insyinyur software dari California. Itu keliru. Kau membutuhkan pria berkpribadian baik yang akan menghormati istrinya.”
Farahad Zama
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“Itulah kesalahan manusia, selalu mencari pasangan yang sempurna, padahal mereka bisa bahagia jika berdampingan dengan orang yang cukup baik dan bijaksana.”
Farahad Zama
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“Ingat, ketika Allah menciptakan makhluk hidup, baik manusia maupun hewan, Dia juga menciptakan pasangannya pada saat bersamaan.”
Farahad Zama
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“Wanita tanpa ibu mertua adalah menantu yang sangat beruntung.”
Farahad Zama
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“Ayat mana dalam Alquran yang mengatakan kita hanya perlu ke masjid pada hari Jumat?”
Farahad Zama
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“At least if it is an arranged marriage, you can fault your parents, otherwise you will have only yourself to blame. And, believe me, it is always harder to bear something if you cannot blame somebody else for it. -Mr. Ali-”
Farahad Zama
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“Should we only look ourselves?' Rehman said finally. 'Aren't humans better than animals who think only of their own hunger and thirst and feed just their own children?”
Farahad Zama
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“Into each life, a little rain will fall. But everyone must suffer the sun burning down too.”
Farahad Zama
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“Life is a game of snakes and ladders, sir. You are steadily progressing accros the board, rolling sixes on the dice and thinking you are going to win - suddenly you land on a long snake and slide several rows down, far away from the destination again. -Mr. Ali-”
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“If you don’t even leave the house for fear of the journey, how will you ever reach your destination? -Rehman-”
Farahad Zama
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“I've always thought that men are more romantic than woman.”
Farahad Zama
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“You can have the whole world looking out for you, Pari, but it is not a substitute for that one special person to share your life with.”
Farahad Zama
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“Not all marriages are made in heaven. Some, probably most, are constructed here on earth for any number of reason.”
Farahad Zama
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“Marriages are made in heaven. When Allah made a creature, He also made the creature's mate”
Farahad Zama
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“Romance isn't just about pink balloons and heart-shaped cards. It is something much deeper. He put a hand to his heart. Here, where it matters, men are more caring. Ask any young woman what kind of man she wants to marry and the answer will be prince or a millionaire. Ask the same questions of a hundred men, and very few will say that they want a princess or a rich girl. The want somebody beautiful and kind”
Farahad Zama
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“There is no point in getting rich if we lose our soul along the way.”
Farahad Zama
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“People keep looking for the perfect one, but perfection is an attribute of God alone.”
Farahad Zama
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“There is no such thing as a perfect match. There are only somewhat good and somewhat bad matches. A couple are like two pebbles that are next to each other on a beach. They will have rough edges and rub each other the wrong way initially. But as they spend time together and the waves pound them, the edges rub off and they will seem made for each other.”
Farahad Zama
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“Oh, Vasu. People always talk; you have to learn to ignore them.”
Farahad Zama
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“Some people are like that - always searching fro something better, never satisfied.,Makes you wonder if they ever get a good night's sleep. They must toss and turn, dreaming about a softer mattress or a plumper pillow.”
Farahad Zama
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“We struggle so much for money, power and love, but the world doesn't care. It just goes round and round in its own circle”
Farahad Zama
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“Abba, you may not like it, but what I'm doing is important. If you don't agree, then I'm sorry. I can't do anything about it.”
Farahad Zama
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“Percayalah sayang, perempuan selalu butuh sepatu baru”
Farahad Zama
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“Ironically, girls who don't think so much about their family and are a little bit self-centred are not only happier themselves but also maintain good relationships with their families.”
Farahad Zama
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“..because human beings cannot remain grateful for long, you know.”
Farahad Zama
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