RBI officer and author R. Giridharan spoke about the research and fieldwork behind his debut book ‘Right Under our Nose’, choosing a tier-2 city as the backdrop and a male and a female detective teaming up as equals to nab the murderer.
Q. What influenced you to write ‘Right Under our Nose’? What sort of research went into it?
A. It is a Howdunnit and Whodunnit novel. I believe any reader will wonder about the manner in which murders are committed. I strongly believe that Indian murder mysteries don’t offer the Howdunnit thrill as say an Agatha Christie novel would. ‘Right Under our Nose’ (published by Rupa Publications) is an attempt to rectify that undesirable piece of history. It is also probably the only story where a male and a female detective pair up as equals. It is set up in a tier-2 Indian city Nagpur. I wanted to popularise my two pet themes: imagination can trump technology any day and the answer to every question is right under our nose but we look everywhere else.
This book involved a lot of research and fieldwork. I spent three days with a snake charmer. I visited many morgues to see dead bodies. I spoke to many toxicologists and read up books on toxicology. Doing fieldwork required: travelling to different places, availability of key people and getting them to talk.
Q. How did your job help you in shaping up and adding nuances to the book?
A. I get to meet a lot of people during the office work and interactions keep happening. They become the bread and butter for descriptions. Various mannerisms of different characters can be gleaned from office interactions. Descriptiona of events also become more realistic as you are describing the events as they actually happen. I admit that the plot has nothing to do with the office or job. My job took me to Manegaonkar, the man who tirelessly typed and re-typed various versions of my manuscript as I wrote by hand. Dr Anjali Goel, the bank’s designated medical consultant, helped me with a lot of medical details which is a crucial element in the story. I commentate on All India Radio. I have covered Test Matches, ODI’s, T-20s, and World Cup matches as well. On television, I come as an expert panellist. I also give voice-overs for advertisements and short promos. I was always a sports lover but had limitations as an athlete. I was an umpire (state level) for a decade before donning the commentator’s hat. The mateship in these assignments inspires me to write as most of the people in these fields are creative and risk-takers.
Q. What made you decide upon keeping Nagpur as a backdrop and incorporating characters from all over the country in your novel?
A. I wanted to write about a tier-2 Indian city. Most Indian books are either about metropolitan Mumbai and Delhi, small hamlets, picturesque hill stations or even IT hubs like Bengaluru so tier-2 cities are neglected. The choice was between Nagpur and Jaipur, but I chose Nagpur probably because it was slightly bigger and more cosmopolitan than Jaipur. I brought characters from all over the country which is more realistic of Nagpur. I didn’t want to get into the trap of regionalism and the pan Indian feel is entirely different, it is like our sports teams.
Q. How enjoyable was it to flesh out a murderer who is always one step ahead of Vijay and Padmini?
A. It was both enjoyable and challenging. I had to make the antagonist powerful. The antagonist must be envied, feared, loathed, and hated. People should get ghoulish because of antagonist’s eventual defeat. The character was deadly, diabolical, ruthless, cocky, and in your face. A never say die antagonist, who seems too slippery, kept the readers engaged till the end. The antagonist helped Vijay and Padmini shine even more. It was someone like ‘Jackal’ in the day of the Jackal.
Q. Did creating romance as a sub-plot help in making ‘Right Under our Nose’ more engaging? What was the reason behind adding a dose of romance in your work?
A. It is not a necessity but certainly adds zing and zest to the story. A romantic plot moving alongside the main plot is spicy. It also gives more depth to the characters. After all, a detective is also a human being so the human aspect of the character comes out better with romantic involvement as romance has its own twists, turns, and tests. It also helps readers to identify with the characters a bit more. In this novel, I ensured Padmini is equal to Vijay as a detective and has as much space as him. I also wanted to show the positive side of romance at risk where each partner motivates the other and also acts as an ideal foil.
Q. What do you hope readers take away from this book?
A. I hope they appreciated these things:
1. A howdunit and whodunit in a typical Indian context can rival foreign ones.
2. I plan to write a sequel so I hope they liked the characters.
3. They got to discover some enlightening things about snake training, snake venom and more
4. The fact that all answers lie ‘right under your nose’
5. Imagination can trump big bucks and technology
Q. In your opinion what is the reason behind the enduring appeal of the murder mystery novels?
A. Such novels challenge the readers’ intellect and imagination. There is also a context between the detective and the murderer. Unexpected twists and turns keep the reader engrossed and murder mysteries often involve a complex web of human relationships. So, it has everything that an individual wants.