Iconic writer Ambai talks about her plunge into mystery writing, her inspirations, and love for Mumbai
Sudha Gupta, a Tamil woman sleuth has entered the fiction world of Mumbai with the book, 'A Meeting On Andheri Overbridge' published by Juggernaut Books. Her creator Ambai, talks about how she happened. Excerpts
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CS Laskhmi (Ambai)
What drew you to writing mystery stories?
I enjoy reading classic mystery stories. I have been thinking of writing mystery stories for a while; not crime thrillers exactly but more of the mysterious ways in which human beings act under emotional pressure or when forced by circumstances. The mystery stories I wanted to write were not ones where a criminal is finally identified but ones about human vulnerability, obsessions and love which take mysterious turns in life.
The stories are set in real Mumbai locations. Tell us a little about how the places inspire you?
I was born in Mumbai and my childhood was spent here. My family is in Mumbai and I came back here in 1978. I am very familiar with the Mumbai of late forties and early fifties. Although I lived in different cities till 1978, I was regularly visiting Mumbai and have been a witness to how the city has grown and changed. Despite all its drawbacks (not just the potholes on the roads in the rainy season) it is a city I feel comfortable in. And that is how I feel inspired to write stories situated in Mumbai.
Why and how did you create Sudha Gupta to tell your stories?
In most crime thrillers the detectives are men. Like Hercule Poirot of Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or Sam Spade of Dashiell Hammet. Since I was not into crime stories as such, I thought it may be interesting to create the character of a woman private detective who does routine detective work but occasionally works with an inspector friend. I felt that the city seen from her point of view would present a different perspective of life and living in Mumbai. Sudha Gupta has a Tamil background but is a Mumbaikar for all purposes.
Who are your writing inspirations? Any favourites in the mystery genre?
For writing, I cannot point out one writer or a group of writers as those who inspired me. For long, my reading was eclectic where I read the best and the worst with not much discernment and all this reading was in Tamil. I began reading English fiction much later in life. My father was a voracious reader and apart from classical and modern novelists he enjoyed reading detective stories. That is how I think I must have read Dashiell Hammet, Raymond Chandler, Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. Not just plain crime stories where the plot expertly leads the reader to the murderer but also the complexities of urban life that compel people to act in certain ways in certain times interest me.
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