Like many other writers, Kishwar Desai found her calling in a circuitous manner. Having started her career as a print journalist, she spent a productive two decades in television before getting disenchanted with its obsession with celebrity.
In a discussion with writer and publisher Namita Gokhale at the 32nd session of Writers, etc., a series of conversations hosted by Alliance Francaise de Delhi, Kishwar recalled how her next job as an editor in a publishing house proved to be her way into writing. The first book she edited was a biography of Dilip Kumar by Lord Meghnad Desai, who she later married.
Talking about her first book “Darlingji: The True Love Story of Nargis & Sunil Dutt”, published in 2007, Kishwar said their story is a very good advertisement for secularism for India. The two actors belonged to different faiths, and continued to celebrate all festivals even after their marriage, when Nargis converted to Hinduism. Since these were two very private people, Desai had to do a lot of “detective work” to uncover their lives. The book was based on extensive interviews with family members as well as archival research.
Her next works — “Witness The Night”, “Origins of Love”, “The Sea Of Innocence” — were works of fiction, however. Explaining the change in trajectory from biography to crime fiction, the author said it was catalysed by anger. “In ‘Witness The Night’ I wanted to address a serious issue — female infanticide, a murder which I felt goes unpunished in this country...it was a novel I wanted to write when I was in television, but I didn’t have time to write it. So I sat down one day at my desk and I was amazed at my own anger; I just could not get up till I had finished the book.”
Spurred by the success of “Witness The Night” — it won the Costa first novel award, Kishwar decided to write a series of crime novels, unified by their protagonist Simran Singh, a fun-loving, middle-aged, whiskey swilling detective. The character was a conscious rejection of the expectation of middle-aged women to be austere and asexual, the author said.
The other two books in the series are woven around the issues of commercial surrogacy and rape in India. Talking about why she chose the mould of detective fiction to highlight gender issues, Kishwar said, “...The detective format is an important way of getting the reader engaged. I could write a big rambling book of literary fiction where I could discuss everything under the sun, but I want to stick to the issue at hand.” Distinguishing between the journalism of research and the journalism of allegation and counter-allegation that is now prevalent, the author said the former had left a deep impact on her writing.
Responding to a question about her latest novel, “The Sea of Innocence”, which a member of the audience complained didn’t convey the beauty of Goa (where it is set), Kishwar said it wasn’t the purpose of the book at all. Namita added that she appreciated the book better for subverting the stereotype of the idyllic paradise.
Kishwar is now working on a biography of Devika Rani. Another crime thriller featuring Simran Singh is also in the offing.
