Love detective fiction? Kalpana Swaminathan's new novel is a gripping and adventurous one

The thriller novel features landmarks in the Kala Ghoda neighbourhood, and sheds light on how the present SoBo location is different from the 1890 set-up. Pic courtesy/Wikimedia Commons

Kalpana Swaminathan's new novel, The Kala Ghoda Affair, is a joyous adventure through Mumbai (then Bombay) of the 1890s and of the present times. She returns with her 60-year-old, sharp-eyed detective, Lalli, who has been quarantined because her previous case had driven her wrestling with COVID-19. When a new case of a black sapphire that went missing 125 years ago arrives at her doorstep, it sends her on a new quest which she finds no reason to dismiss.

Swaminathan's book comes alive through her wild characters. We are led by Sita, Lalli's niece and the narrator of the story, as we navigate through colourful conversations and Sita's little insights into this world. There is no denying that Lalli is one of the most arresting detectives that Indian fiction has gifted us. When we caught up with Swaminathan, she told us, "Lalli came about 20 years ago. At the time, it seemed right to have a detective who was in her 60s. I wanted her to be the person who is completely free of everything. Also, if you look at India's power base, historically, it has always been women over 60 [shaking things up]. They have ruled. Now that I'm about 's age, I often think, ‘What was I thinking?'" She laughs, commenting how life is still a mess at 60, but there are certainly different strengths that one draws from.

Watson's Hotel was a luxury hotel

Swaminathan adds, reflecting on her journey with the homicide solving detective, "There is a biblical quote that says, ‘In the midst of life, there is death', what I love about Lalli is that she does just the opposite. In the midst of death, she finds life." To Swaminathan, there is a kind of comfort in crowds, a space where, ironically, one also finds very private moments. And so, Lalli too was born one day like that, on a bus ride.

The Kala Ghoda Affair - Swaminathan's ninth in the Lalli mysteries - much as the name suggests, takes us through some of the landmark places around town. However, the way Swaminathan weaves them into the narrative is a lesson in the true craft of writing location in fiction. She often draws a map of the old and the new to paint an accurate picture of the realities of then and now for the reader. For instance, there is a poignant moment when we are taken to the Esplanade Mansion, earlier known as the great Watson's Hotel, and find the narrator standing before it, trying to take in what it has become in the present day.

It boasted of a unique cast iron frame. File pics

"Watson's Hotel's famous cast iron skeleton, which was assembled on site in the late 1860s, was now swathed in tarpaulin and slung about with netting…" And an art exhibition in the narrative had further taken its decay and turned it into an object of display. "I stayed a little longer, staring at the building in a sudden misery that appalled me," remarks Sita. Swaminathan shares how when the city was waking up from the pandemic, she felt it was the right time for her, too, to get to know this part of the city all over again.

Kalpana Swaminathan. Pic courtesy/Speaking Tiger

This exploration which now sits within the genre of detective fiction sets the book apart and is a clever choice by Swaminathan. "It's a lovely thing to write," she reveals about detective stories, though that is not the only genre she writes in. What's fascinating about it, she adds, is that at the heart of it is a puzzle. "The fun of detective fiction is the trigger, i.e., the crime of the story. It jolts the characters out of their normal complacency." What one finally takes back from Swaminathan's novel, however, is never just the puzzle, but also the music of her words, that have pieced it all together before you know it.

The Kala Ghoda Affair
By Kalpana Swaminathan
Publisher Speaking Tiger
Available Leading bookstores and e-stores
Cost: Rs 499