Shweta Taneja’s angry young tantrik detective, Anantya Tantrist, is still the only thing that stands between life as we know it and the forces of darkness. In the third book in the series, The Rakta Queen , Anantya has to battle formidable enemies without and within.
“Initially, my plan was to explore Anantya’s past as sub-plots in five occult cases, through five different novels,” says Shweta. “However, when I started to write them, the personal sub-plot moved must faster than I had planned. I allowed the three books to move at that breathtaking pace, for I’m an impatient reader. However, Anantya’s occult adventures and personal issues are not over as you find out at the end of The Rakta Queen .”
Commenting that she never thought of the Anantya Tantrist books as a finite series, Shweta says, “All the novels are stand-alone adventures. The first three happen to be loosely connected. Anantya is an occult detective based in Delhi. She is going to keep taking cases, and work on trying to keep the madness in her supernatural world at bay. You will see some of these stories in the future — not necessarily as novels though.
“Currently, I’m exploring other mediums for Anantya. I’ve already scripted one of her cases in a comic format, which will soon be published in a comic anthology on occult. In this upcoming comic, Anantya is reimagined visually by Bangalore-based comic artist Devaki Neogi.”
Shweta, says her favourite part of the series is the humour. “As a writer, I have thoroughly enjoyed building humour in each scene, each chapter of the series — be it situational, through dialogues or as little character quirks. There are so many instances in all three books that I find absolutely side-splitting.”
In Cult of Chaos , Anantya gets out of a pub, drunk like hell, and finds herself face to face with a three-headed monstrous cobra. Of course, her first reaction is to puke on the poor beast. Then there are characters who make me laugh. Barby, who we meet in The Rakta Queen , is one such. She is such a bundle of positive energy and a hilarious contrast to the cranky, cynical Anantya.
“I actually laugh out loud every time I think of one of these situations, getting me some rather curious looks if I happen to work out of a café or as it happened once, at a hospital.”
In The Rakta Queen , Anantya lands up in heaven, which rather disconcertingly is two-dimensional. “In my mind, Amravati, the city of daevas is a psychedelic unchanging, still space. It reminded me of a photograph, a 2D projection of life, a slice of life, happy, captured, unchanging, still. And so I turned it into a 2D cartoon where all goes according to the joyful plan and there’s constant unfailing celebration. This unchanging world is a different kind of a hell. No wonder the daevas are desperate to escape it.”
An important scene in The Rakta Queen is set on the Mount of Garbage poignantly described as full of discarded aspirations. “As a writer, it was interesting for me to place the most important scene in the novel in a dump yard. Our garbage reflects who we are, our wasteful ways and our aspirations. India is so full of garbage, that pile of middle class fascination with the materialistic. For me, it shows both aspiration and a kind of quiet desperation.
“ The Mount of Garbage is inspired from an actual dump yard at the outskirts of Delhi. It is a vast mountain, reserved for all the trash that Delhi generates daily. In the novel, the same mount becomes the place where the true dark queen and her purpose is revealed. The same discarded space, a space that’s waste for humans, becomes a space for hope and aspiration for the supernatural. This contrast of one person’s discarded hopes and another species hopes lends a special thematic touch to the scene. I’m glad it worked out that way.”
The river goddess in the book is bogged down by bureaucracy — you need biometrics and aadhaar number to see her. “The river goddess, and we won’t name her here, has gone bonkers. Humans have abused her, polluted her waters, taken her for granted and destroyed her. Of course she will be extremely paranoid. And what do you do when you are suspicious of someone? You beef up the security to make sure no one can assassinate you or destroy you further.
“For me, speculative fiction has always been and will be a reflection of what is happening in our society, who we are becoming, how we are acting to others, our hidden desires, and our pettiness. The river goddess, and who she has become, is a reflection of the times we live in right now, politically and socially, where we hire strangers to guard us from poor people and need a number to get treated in the hospital emergency.”
Since Anantya’s world is a reflection, albeit a twisted one of our world, Tantri-Con, Drip Kart, Rapdeal and Whatsthat come as no surprise. “The scenes with these names, deliberately play with elements from our life—e-commerce websites that have become part of our life, social media sites and how we can’t even eat without taking a photograph of the food and posting it somewhere.
“The Tantri-Con is completely inspired by my visits and love for comic-cons in India and elsewhere.”
If the tantriks were living in Delhi and wanted to assimilate with the human population, won’t they just think of a tantrik convention and start a cosplay contest? I had such a marvelous time building this into the novel.
Shweta says the secret of Anantya’s colourful swear words “will be revealed one late night, just when the stars misalign, at a party, to a complete stranger. Or maybe a frumpy cat who can predict the monsoons.”
Though Anantya is mainly Dehli-based, Shweta says, “She has already been to the south. Multiple times, as she tells me. Mostly it has been as a underground hire for the corporate world to steal secrets from a new tantrik startup-around-the-block.”
At the end of The Rakta Queen, Anantya is head-over-heels with Zhari, the half-male, half-female healer. “I didn’t know Zhari till I finished the second draft of The Rakta Queen . She has developed as such a formidable companion for Anantya. And I can’t wait to explore her more in future. However, I don’t know if it’s love, or if it will last. With Anantya, anything is difficult to predict. She’s not a settler. And neither is Zhari.”
Shweta, who is now in Europe says, “Bangalore is such a comfortable, beautiful, intelligent city. I have a whole life here, fantastic friends, great food and a thriving career. However, there has always been a gypsy in me, a deep desire as a writer to travel, live elsewhere, experience new cultures, new societies, and bring it all back home. I will be back soon enough.”
On the difficulty of conjuring up Anantya’s colourful world so far away from home, Shweta says, “Well, sometimes it can get difficult as Anantya is not really a internet person and I can’t keep her attention for more than a few minutes at a stretch to ask what happened in her latest case.”
“I’m currently exploring telepathic technologies so I can connect with her directly without relying on Internet or telecom companies. I’ve even joined a startup in Zurich with that aim in mind. The aim is to use this new technology to squeeze some more stories out of her, cash them fast and well, become a millionaire and retire back in India.”
From the books we learn that Anantya is 23, likes culottes and has curly hair. Shweta adds, “Whenever I think of her, I think movement. The way her fingers and arms are etched with slashes and slits as she performs yet another mantra or fights yet another monster. She’s all action and grit. I would like the readers to tell me how they imagine her. I have a few artist friends who have drawn her as a character and I’m always amazed how all of these drawings are so different from my imagination, yet so right.”
On Anantya’s screen outing, Shweta says, “I am happy to reveal that an international producer has optioned Anantya Tantrist screen adaptation rights and are currently developing it. They are excited about it as it is a unique fantasy world built upon Indian myths.”
“As someone who is quite attached to Anantya, I am thrilled that this opportunity has come by. It would be great to see Anantya's adaptations into other mediums as well (something that I am already working on).”
