Brief biography of mohsin hamid was born in Pakistan, but he spent much of his

Once inside Nadia’s house, Saeed puts food in the oven so that it’ll stay warm. They then go onto the balcony, where Nadia asks him if he’s going to takeoff the robe she dropped down to him. He says he’ll take his off if she does the same, so they both slip out of the robes, only to discover that they’re both wearing sweaters and jeans. For the first time ever, Saeed looks at
Nadia without her robe on, trying hard not to let his eyes wander below her face. They then sit down and Nadia opens her hand to reveal the shrooms. Have you ever done psychedelic mushrooms she asks.
Once more, Nadia and Saeed turn not only to each other for an
emotional escape from the distressing violence taking hold of their
city, but also to recreational drugs. As they do so, they enjoy opening
up to one another for the first time—indeed, when Nadia takes off
her robe to reveal her plainclothes, the new couple reaches
something of a landmark, since they’ve clearly grown close enough
that Nadia feels comfortable allowing Saeed to move beyond the
boundary she normally places between herself and the world (of
course, this is the figurative boundary represented by her religious
robes).
They take the mushrooms, but after awhile, Saeed still feels nothing and determines he must be immune to their effects.
Because of this belief, he finds himself unprepared when suddenly a feeling of awe washes over him as he regards the small lemon tree on Nadia’s balcony. Floored by the thought of the tree’s roots in the clay pot and the unity of the pot and plant with the balcony and, thus, with the very earth the building stands upon, he feels that the tree itself is reaching up in a gesture so beautiful he can’t help but be filled with love, and reminded of his parents, for whom he suddenly feels such gratitude, and a desire for peace, that peace should come for them all, for everyone, for everything, for we are so fragile, and so beautiful, and surely conflicts could be healed if others had experiences like this.”
Hamid emphasizes the notion of connection and unity as Saeed
marvels at the mysterious ways in which the world is held together.
Mapping out how the lemon tree is physically connected to its pot
and therefore everything the pot touches, he extrapolates this vision
of unity so that it includes all of humanity, eventually resolving that
“peace” should come from the idea that all humans are fragile and
related. The fact that Saeed thinks about peace in this moment
reveals just how prominently violence and division factor into his
everyday life, for even in his attempt to escape or transcend his
circumstances through the use of recreational drugs, he still can’t
help but think about the turmoil plaguing his city.
Thinking this way, Saeed turns his attention to Nadia and sees that she’s looking back at him. Her eyes, he thinks, are like great worlds unto themselves. When Saeed partially returns to himself several hours later, he and Nadia hold hands while facing each other. Looking into one another’s faces, they lean in and kiss. In doing so, they realize morning has come and that they’re kissing in broad daylight, so they go back inside where,
finally, they eat the food Saeed brought all those hours ago.

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