This is a short account of how I happened to discover a gem in a bookstore. I know this piece could never fully express my admiration for Anita Nair or do justice to what her writing has meant to me, but this is the least I could do to put some of that appreciation into words.
About the Author
Anita Nair is an Indian English author. Over the last decade and a half, she has written consistently across various genres, including nonfiction, poetry, short fiction and children’s fiction. Her first book was a collection of short stories, Satyr of the Subway, which won her a fellowship from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She subsequently left her job as the creative director of an advertising firm. Her readership extends across the globe and is not limited to India. Her second book was the first book by an Indian author to be published by Picador USA. Her novel Idris: Keeper of the Light was shortlisted for The Hindu Prize in 2014.
I was walking through Landmark, the bookstore in Spencer Plaza Chennai, browsing through the Indian writers section, when a name suddenly caught my attention: Anita Nair. It was the first time I had come across this author. I was not a voracious reader back then, and I would not claim to be one even now. What caught my attention first was the fact that Anita Nair is my mother’s name, including the initial. To my surprise, I later discovered that she even shares my mother’s birth date.
I took the book from the rack and noticed that both the title and the cover were immediately appealing. I read the synopsis, and the story seemed unusual and interesting. That book was Lessons in Forgetting, the first of her works that I read. At the time, I had no idea how much I would come to appreciate this writer and her work.
People often ask me what makes her writing so special. Perhaps the simplest answer is to ask them to read her books and decide for themselves. I sometimes think part of my connection with her writing comes from its South Indian setting and sensibility. There is something familiar in it that makes the stories easier for me to relate to than the works of authors such as Jeffrey Archer or some other foreign writers. I can admire their storytelling while still feeling that their worlds are somewhat removed from my own experience.
It has been four years since I first discovered her work. Anita Nair has a distinct writing style. She keeps her readers engaged by using native words and expressions that add character to her stories and make us curious about the worlds she creates. Her command of the English language is remarkable. More importantly, she has a particular ability to blend everyday reality with fiction in a way that makes her characters feel familiar. We may recognize people we know in them, or recognize situations that we have encountered ourselves. Because of this, her fiction often feels remarkably real.
That is something I look for when I read. I have always preferred stories that are grounded in reality rather than fantasy. As I have mentioned in one of my previous posts while talking about my taste in films, I like to spend, or rather invest, my time in books when I feel that I will come away from them with something meaningful. Anita Nair’s books have consistently given me that feeling.
I remember searching the internet extensively for the film Lessons in Forgetting, which was released in 2012. Eventually, I managed to watch it on Doordarshan in 2014. Over time, my interest in Anita Nair’s work grew beyond her novels. I became interested in her interviews, articles, blogs, essays and views on literature and life. I even found myself paying attention to her personal style, the way she speaks and the way she approaches different subjects. Perhaps that is what people mean when they use the word fandom.
I had never been particularly devoted to the work of any one author before discovering Anita Nair. My roommate still finds it amusing that I have watched so many of her interviews and read her novels, nonfiction, translated works, articles and pieces written about her in magazines and newspapers. I was especially happy when I came across a short biography of her in The Week that discussed her student life. It was interesting to discover yet more similarities between our lives.
It is difficult to choose favorites from her body of work, but if I had to pick one, I would choose Mistress (2005). The Better Man (2000) and Ladies Coupe (2001) have also received considerable recognition and have been translated into 21 languages, which reflects the wide readership her work has reached.
Mistress is one of the works that left the strongest impression on me. I was particularly drawn to the way Anita Nair uses Kathakali as a framework for telling the story and structures the novel around the Navarasas. As someone who has always been interested in Kathakali, I found the book especially fascinating. It also introduced me to aspects of the history, origins and meanings associated with Kathakali characters that I had not previously understood.
She spent five years writing the novel and spent time with Kathakali teachers and practitioners, immersing herself in the art form, its history and its traditions before bringing them into the novel. I found that level of dedication to the subject deeply admirable. It showed how seriously she approached both her research and her craft.
I have recommended Anita Nair’s books to many friends and acquaintances, and it has always been satisfying when they come back and tell me that they enjoyed discovering her work. I also hope that fictions such as hers can help introduce more people to traditional art forms such as Kathakali and Pulluvan Pattu, which deserve greater attention and appreciation.
For me, discovering Anita Nair was one of those fortunate accidents that can happen in a bookstore. I simply happened to notice a familiar name on a shelf, picked up a book and started reading. What followed was a lasting appreciation for her writing.
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