Anita Nair’s Idris: Keeper of the light gives fascinating insights into life in 17th century Malabar coast. The author spoke to Karan Bhardwaj about her inspirations, southern India and how historical fiction leads to social and political change
Did Idris: Keeper of the light finish off as what you set out to write or it shaped up during writingIJ
It is a historical fiction set in medieval Kerala and is different from all my previous books. I need to make a special mention about the character Idris after whom the novel is named. Originally, the novel that I had planned to write had a character like Idris but who had no real role to play in the story. However, when I conceived of this very tall black man with a blue and gold jewelled eye, his presence was so overwhelming that the book changed from what I had planned it to be. The year is 1659. Idris, a Somali trader, is in Malabar to attend the Zamorin’s Mamangam festivities. Everywhere he goes, his jewelled eye evokes a sense of wonder and incredulity. Then, by a strange twist of fate, Idris meets his nine-year-old son, Kandavar, born of a mysterious midnight tryst in this very land. Anxious to remain close to him for as long as possible, he joins the Nair household headed by Kandavar’s uncle, and is charged with a crucial task: of distracting the boy from his dream of becoming a Chaver, a warrior whose sole ambition is to assassinate the Zamorin, in a tradition whose beginnings have been lost in time. In an attempt to stave off the inevitable, Idris embarks with his son on a voyage that takes them from Malabar to Ceylon, and from Thoothukudi to the diamond mines of Golkonda, where he meets the queenly Thilothamma, as solitary a being as he is. The rest of the novel is about his tryst with destiny: Will make a home or walk into an uncertain futureIJ
Tell us more about the making of character Idris and his son Kandavar.
In many ways the relationship between Idris and Kandavar — father and son — happened quite organically. In the period the novel is set in, Nair boys seldom had a father figure. The uncle is usually the one the boys see as a role model. However, Kandavar sees in Idris the person he would like to be and Idris sees in Kandavar himself. Using this as my foundation I worked on the father and son relationship so it emerged naturally and with the typical camaraderie and conflicts that is part of any father and son bond.
Why did you set the story in 17th centuryIJ When you are describing the era, how much was it inspired by the realityIJ
The story of Idris originated from a Kerala folk ballad about the hours of Kandavar’s life just before he set out for the Mamangam which was in 1683. This was a man who went to battle thinking he would be victorious as his horoscope had said he would die at a later date. That was all I had to draw from. For the rest, I had to turn into a sleuth and find my way along. The most important lesson I learnt as I began looking at that period of Southern Indian history was that I had to unlearn everything I thought I knew. The foreign powers had just about started making serious inroads into India and the Indian way of life so we were still untouched by western beliefs and influences. So I drew up a chart of the period and went at it section by section trying to fact check every single detail I was going to include in my novel. In many ways, the writing of Idris was as much a voyage of discovery for me as it was for my characters.
The research involved was so time-consuming and arduous that as I inched along, I worried if this novel would ever get written. There is hardly anything written about southern India and so I had to scrounge for every single detail be it lifestyle, names, weights and measures, geographical details etc. I tried to read up everything that was written about the realm in that period; looked for artworks that originated from South India again from that period; sought nuggets of information wherever I could find it be it a register or a folk tale, and eventually distilled it all to base my narrative upon.
The book is being criticised for clichés of pearl fishing in Thoothukudi and diamond mining in the Krishna Basin and not delving more into the region and its history. Your comment.
Actually there have been just two, and it baffled me no end. For how any reviewer could refer to the pearl fishing in Thoothukudi and diamond mining in the Krishna Basin as a cliché amazed me. It isn’t as if I was writing about nautch girls, sati, a tiger hunt or a child marriage which have been written to death. I am quite certain that nothing has ever been written about the actual process of pearl fishing or diamond mining anywhere else before. In fact, this is what has made Idris so fascinating to many, readers and reviewers alike. Idris and his companion are neither historians nor conquerors. The history of the region have no special significance in their lives except to the extent of the impact it has on their travels and experiences. Hence to dwell on history would make the narrative contrived.
Frankly, it seemed to me that the said reviews were splitting hair rather than make any noteworthy point.
This novel will soon be published in Italian, Spanish, Dutch, French and Malayalam languages. Tell us about the state and demand of Indian literature in foreign languages.
I am not entirely sure about the demand for Indian literature (written in English) in foreign languages. However I have a strong readership there.
How does the southern region excite you, which primarily sets the base for most of your works.
I wish I could tell you why Kerala inspires me as it does. All I do know is it does. And again and again….It is maddening to know that whatever it is defies description… perhaps it is the sum total of the colours, the scents, the landscape, the people, their cussedness and humour, the petty politics and the larger than life ideals…just when you think you have understood some facet of Kerala, it contradicts itself. Perhaps that is what is so exciting for me as a writer.
What drives your fascination for historical fictionIJ
We all know about the adage: ‘those who forget history are condemned to repeat it’. But apart from that I found I was able to discuss some very serious issues that is relevant to our time but in a subtle way for this isn’t a polemic, after all.
To me historical fiction is a great medium to portray social ills without pointing a finger at specific instances. It shakes up the reader and makes him or her think and ponder rather than just complacently accept goings-on. To me that is the first giant leap to social and political change.
What is your writing regime likeIJ How do you structure thoughtsIJ
I have always been writing. As far as I can remember I always have had a note book and a pen in which I scribble my thoughts. Sometimes I think the desire to write stemmed from the fact that I am a voracious reader and inevitably I felt the need to be able to capture the stories in my head. Bedtime stories too were a part of my childhood. Depending on where I was these stories were told by my mother or grandmother.
There is no difference in the subjects that I choose to write about, be it poetry or prose. What happens is that every day there are several times when I chance upon a word, idea, picture, scene or even thought and think — here’s a story. But what ultimately gets written is an idea that is so powerful that it refuses to dislodge itself no matter what happens. I am a morning person and so work best from 7-11 am. I write long hand in a ruled large notebook. Afternoons are spent reading or researching.
What drives you as a writerIJ
I began writing at a very young age. It was not an intentional act, though there was a serious desire to publish. I always enjoyed writing. While working for an advertising agency, I wrote a short story and had a moment of epiphany. I had found my voice. It was a very uncertain and strange time in the sense that I had a full time career in advertising, a baby and home to look after and so I had to snatch time to be able to work on my first book. Also as I hadn’t even thought of what I was going to do with my stories once they were written, there was no pressure to write in any particular way. Yet I felt compelled to keep at it day after day. And importantly, as I was a closet writer, I had no way of evaluating whether what I was pouring my heart and soul into had any merit at all.
But with the publication of the first book all of it changed. The uncertainties became fewer and the insecurities began dwindling. As a writer, I hate to repeat myself in terms of theme. Hence the subject of my novels tend to be very different from each other. However there is one recurrent theme that is buried deep within the warp and weft of the narrative. Namely that in the relationship between individual and society, I have always stood up for individual happiness rather than societal acceptance. That, if there arises a conflict between individual happiness versus social acceptance, individuals ought to be strong enough to put their own beliefs first.
What has been your literary inspirationsIJ
My biggest source of inspiration has always been life. Everything we do, we say, how we live, whom we love and hate, why we go to war, what instigates violence, what inspires kindness — everything is a source of inspiration for me.
You are close to nature. Share your love for wildlife.
Nature is what makes me believe in God. Who we are, what we have, all of it became insignificant at this point when one sees nature at its full magnificence; a great truth is revealed. Man is nothing. Nature is everything. Our small human triumph is nothing. We will never get close to what nature can. However it saddens me and frustrates me that we exploit and ruin nature, especially wild life with no respect of life. Animals have as much rights to the planet as we do and we are driving them from their home and taking away their habitats for our own selfish reasons.