It is raining crime novels in Bengaluru and Usha Kathir’s Tracking Purnima (Jaico Books, Rs 325) is the newest kid on the block. The first of a series, Tracking Purnima tells the story of intrepid reporter, Aditi Sridhar, who goes digging into the life of Purnima, an actor-singer from the days of yore. As expected, Aditi opens a veritable can of worms — with shady characters, impersonations, frauds, rag pickers, paedophiles and murder. In the midst of all detecting, Aditi has to negotiate her mother’s well-meaning efforts to get her married, the city’s notorious traffic, and her career.
It is only right that we chat by Puttenhalli Lake as Usha has had quite a lot to do with rescuing, resurrecting, and nurturing the lake. “My father was a conservator of forests in Kerala and we grew up caring about the environment,” Usha says explaining her lake conservation work.
“I have always been interested in crime,” exclaims Usha, who is in her late 50s. “I wrote a crime novel in the late 80s and even pitched it to Faber and Faber. They wrote back indicating their interest. But I felt the novel wasn’t good enough.”
Tracking Purnima is Usha’s sixth book. Her earlier works include Get Published (2001) Amrita , (2004), Corpse Kesavan & Other Stories , (2008), Selected Poems of Subramania Bharati and Panchali’s Pledge , (both in 2012). On whether she finds switching genres difficult, the mother of two says, “Not really. I get absorbed in the work in hand irrespective of genre. What I cannot do is work on two different literary forms at the same time.”
Usha says she doesn’t prefer any particular genre. “The idea dictates the genre and I don't force it into another form. If there is one genre that truly needs a special quality from its creator, it is poetry. Writing good poetry is difficult and it is also a wonderful training in acquiring precision, and clarity in expression.”
Saying she always wanted to write a series, Usha says: “I thought about which profession will allow my protagonist access to all walks of society. A journalist was the answer.”
Aditi works for the Deccan Daily and her colleagues include her best friend and photographer Reshmi, her boss, JV, and veteran crime reporter, Shankar. Usha says she chose to name the paper Deccan Daily to anchor it in Bengaluru.
Insisting the city lends itself to a crime novel, Usha says: “Bengaluru is a city growing in a hurry. The steadily widening chasm between the old and new is making the city seethe below the surface with social tensions leading to plenty of crimes for Aditi and Reshmi to bust.”
Underlying the need for attention to detail, Usha says: “Plotting and credibility are important. For research I have a library of books on forensic sciences, I also spoke with experts and journalists. I visited the places I have written about including the Nandi Teertha temple in Malleshwaram.”
Tracking Purnima is based on real incident. “A wealthy woman died in a palatial house and rag pickers found the body. They got greedy and cooked up a scheme to open her lockers and steal her jewellery.”
While the book is crime novel, Tracking Purnima also dwells on multiple themes including the insecurities of the elderly. “There are parallels in the book — Vasantha and Purnima, Aditi and Reshmi, Ravi and Suresh, the light-fingered brothers…”
For a crime novel, the book is quite anaemic. “That is intentional. There is suspense without the bloodshed. I believe all violence need not be explicit. What is not said is sometimes as important as what is said.”
A die hard Bangalorean, Usha says she would like to discover Bengaluru, “One halli at a time. I would love to showcase the city in the books. Setting brings the story to life for the readers. It makes them connect better with the characters and the story more real.”
