About the Book:
Educated, young, no-nonsense bearing, able administrator—these are the
qualities that won Sesha the loyalties of the people after three years of rule
as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. An allegation that he was the mastermind
behind the murder of 73 Kannadigas threatens to bring him down but he is
miraculously saved in the 11th hour.
Even before he can relish his victory, Sesha is slapped with the charge of sexually offending a young nurse. This time round, the case is strong and his supporters are uncertain. Worse, his teenage daughter calls him 'vile' and walks out of the house. While Mythili, his wife promises her full support, her secretive activities—undertaken with the help of a retired cop—is a cause of concern for Sesha.
Will Zarina, the human-rights activist, succeed in bringing him down? What about the insinuations of a celebrity lawyer that he is casteist and antiminorities? When the young nurse is found dead, the case becomes even more complex. Who is innocent? Who is guilty? And who is the mastermind?
Even before he can relish his victory, Sesha is slapped with the charge of sexually offending a young nurse. This time round, the case is strong and his supporters are uncertain. Worse, his teenage daughter calls him 'vile' and walks out of the house. While Mythili, his wife promises her full support, her secretive activities—undertaken with the help of a retired cop—is a cause of concern for Sesha.
Will Zarina, the human-rights activist, succeed in bringing him down? What about the insinuations of a celebrity lawyer that he is casteist and antiminorities? When the young nurse is found dead, the case becomes even more complex. Who is innocent? Who is guilty? And who is the mastermind?
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EXCERPT
Zarina sensed the opportunity and asked, “Do you mind if we help you?”
“How?” asked Ramanujam.
“I would like to buy an apartment and I can pay upfront.”
There was a momentary silence. It appeared Ramanujam had not expected
this.
Perhaps a win-win situation for both, she thought. “Do I take it that you’re
fine with selling the apartment to me?”
“Hmm…I’m afraid not.”
“What?”
“I’ve committed the remaining apartments to my friends.”
“If I may ask you…have you entered into an agreement with them?”
“No, but I would not like to go back on my commitment. They’re my
friends.”
“What is the price you’ve agreed with them? We can pay a higher price.”
“We haven’t yet agreed on a price.”
“Then what is your expectation? Let us see if we can beat that.”
Ramanujam shook his head.
“Can I talk to your friends and see if anyone is willing to…” She clammed
up, as Ramanujam’s facial expression was not encouraging. Frustrating. He
was blocking all her efforts to find a solution. She decided to voice her
concern. “There’s no agreement. You haven’t agreed on the price. They’re not
ready with the funds. And you still want to sell the apartments to them?”
He was taken aback by her raised voice. “See Ms Zarina, it’s my house. I
can sell it to anyone I want. It’s not your business to suggest how and to
whom I should sell.”
There was absolute silence, as Zarina and her parents did not know how to
respond.
He must have realised that his response was too harsh and he tried to
control the damage.
“They’re all my friends. We can always agree on these things later. What’s
important is that it’s going to be a small community of family and close
friends. We don’t want outsiders.”
Then it struck her. Shit! It was all there before her eyes: The vadakalai
thiruman on his forehead, his wife drawing the curtain to stop them viewing
his lunch, the ‘Vishnu only’ photo frames that lined the wall, his reference to
them as ‘outsiders’. Why did it not strike her earlier? Now she understood
Ramanujam’s hesitation to sell the apartment to them: Orthodoxy.
Conservatism. Religious fundamentalism. He did not want to sell because
they were Muslims. Still, she wanted to confirm. “Who are these friends to
whom you want to sell the apartments?”
Ramanujam did not understand the relevance of the question. Still he
answered, “They were my colleagues in Southern Railway.”
“Iyengars?”
“Hmm…yes.”
She smirked. “I expected this. So, you don’t want to sell to us because we
are Muslims.”
Ramanujam remained silent.
His silence confirmed her suspicion. She closed her eyes to suppress tears.
Rejection based on her religion. She was facing it for the second time in six
months. Earlier, someone had rejected her love for the same reason. Now, this
old man was refusing to sell one of his apartments to her. Earning money and
earning respect were two different things, it appeared. Being a member of a
minority community was, after all, not easy.
She got up from the sofa, signalling the end of the discussions.
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Tell us about the book you want to talk about
today.
Titled
“Surpanakha”, my debut novel deals with the travails of Sesha.
Sesha, who?
Educated,
young, no-nonsense bearing, able administrator—these are the qualities that won Sesha
the loyalties of the people after three years of rule as the Chief Minister of
Tamil Nadu. An allegation that he was the mastermind behind the murder of 73
Kannadigas threatens to bring him down but he is miraculously saved in the 11th
hour.
Even before
he can relish his victory, Sesha is slapped with the charge of sexually
offending a young nurse. This time round, the case is strong and his supporters
are uncertain. Worse, his teenage daughter calls him 'vile' and walks out of
the house. While Mythili, his wife promises her full support, her secretive
activities—undertaken with the help of a retired cop—is a cause of concern for Sesha.
Will Zarina,
the human-rights activist, succeed in bringing him down? What about the
insinuations of a celebrity lawyer that he is casteist and anti-minorities?
When the young nurse is found dead, the case becomes even more
complex. Who is innocent? Who is guilty? And who is the mastermind?
As you can
see, it is a political thriller. It deals with contemporary issues, which are
agitating the social and mainstream media today.
Give
us an insight into your main character.
The lead
character is an amazing woman called Mythili. A loving wife. Affectionate yet a
disciplinarian mom. Wife of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Mythili is an
amazing mix of childish enthusiasm and sober maturity. Sounds like a paradox?
Hear this. When the High Court acquits her husband Sesha in a hate crime case,
she pulls him out of a lecture in Anna University, gives the security guys the
slip and takes him out on a late-night romantic drive. But when a charge of
sexual harassment surfaces against Sesha, when her daughter calls Sesha vile
and walks out of the house, what does she do? Does it shake her unassailable
faith in her husband? It is her response to this challenge that sets her apart
from the heroines of contemporary novels.
What
genre are your books?
This is my first book. It is a political
thriller.
Did you self-publish or publish traditionally
and why?
I
self-published. Honestly, I didn’t have the patience to pass through the
labyrinth of traditional publishing. I sent the sample chapters to a couple of
publishing houses. After 3 months, they asked me to send the full manuscript
and said they would revert after another 3-4 months. I lost patience.
What do you consider the most important part of
a good story?
How long have you been writing?
I was
blogging on current affairs and media ethics for over a year. But there is a
limit to which one can analyze facts based on published material. It may not
always be possible to connect the dots. For that one has to either get into
investigative journalism and dig the facts or move into the realm of fiction. I
chose the 2nd option. This was about two years ago when crime against women debate
started dominating the media space.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Ha ha ha…neither.
What is your writing process?
I generally
write early in the morning. But that is more out of compulsion than as matter
of choice. I head the finance function of a $150 mill business group based in
East and Central Africa. It is quite a demanding job. My days are spent on the
job and my evenings are earmarked for family. All I am left with are early
mornings for writing.
Strong
filter coffee is an integral part of my writing process.
What part of the writing process is the hardest
for you?
In fact the
hardest process started after I completed the first draft. My first draft was
105,000 words. I gave the manuscript to a couple of beta readers and their near
unanimous response was ‘The book is interesting, but cut down the size.’ And
that was an unenviable job. Every word I had written appeared to be
significant. Every word I deleted cried for its continuance. And indecisive
period of 10 days. Finally I cut down around 15,000 words!
Then the
editor entered the scene and said, ‘Hariharan, move this scene up by 3
chapters. Push that scene down by 4 chapters.’ And that is a nightmare.
What advice would you give an author just
starting out?
This is my
first book. I don’t think I am competent to advise others. All I would like to
do is to wish them good luck.
What tips can you give on how to get through
writers block?
I took a
break when I ran out of ideas while writing the denouement. Writing an action
packed end would have been easier, but the story didn’t require one. A
denouement should have drama and believable surprises. Arguments should be
intelligent as to not just cover all the loose ends but also make the reader
feel why he could not deduce what the main character was concluding. The initial 3-4 drafts did not bring out the
drama I wanted. I went blank for a week.
What kind of music do you like to listen to
while you write?
Carnatic music. A mild flute by Ramani.
What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I read
books. I watch TV. I like to see the first 50-60 episodes of mega serials.
Thereafter I can’t stand the twists and turns to capture TRP. I watch movies.
Who is your favorite author?
Arun Shourie, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Rajiv
Malhotra, S L Byrappa…to name a few.
What is your favorite book?
Books by the aforesaid authors.
Who is your favorite character from a book?
Laxmi alias
Rasia in Avarana by S L Byrappa. There is a character in Surpanakha by the name
Janaki. She is a Brahmin girl and falls in love with a Muslim director who
comes to Srirangam for a shoot. She elopes with him. Her marriage turns out to
be a failure. At the time I was writing this part of Surpanakha, I read
Avarana. Janaki’s story was very similar to that of Laxmi alias Rasia, the lead
character of Avarana. Inspired by what Bhyrappa had written, I started writing
2-3 chapters on the travails of Janaki. Then a beta reader pointed out that
Janaki had a limited role in my novel. By bloating her character, I was
confusing the reader as to who the real lead character was.
Who is your favorite character from your own
book(s)?
Mythili for the reasons I have explained
a while ago.
Read anything good lately?
Heretic by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
Have you had anything else published?
This is my first book.
What's your next project?
My next book
which deals with an aspiring young girl who wants to pursue medicine, but the
reservation laws of the country would not allow her to do so. What does she
do—curse her fate and choose another discipline to pursue like her elder
brother did a few years earlier or fight back?
Is there anything else you’d like to
add?
This is a fairly comprehensive
interview. Thanks for the opportunity.
About the Author:
Hariharan Iyer is a
finance professional based in Dar es Salaam. Not content with just a
rewarding corporate job, he took to writing a couple of years back. He
blogged on media and current affairs for a year
at valadyviews.blogspot.com before hitting on the idea for this novel. An
idea so powerful that it convinced the accountant in him that he could put
together not just a balance sheet but an intriguing political thriller as
well. He has definite views on politics, NGOs and media ethics and has
tried to package them in the form of an interesting novel.
Hariharan lives with his
wife in Dar es Salaam while his two sons are pursuing their ambitions in
India.
Contact Hariharan:
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