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An Interview by LUCY WALTON INSPECTOR SINGH INVESTIGATES: A CURIOUS INDIAN CADAVER by Shamini Flint. Hachette Digital, 2012. English, pp 320. ASIN: B006CQQQQI. QUESTION: What can our readers expect from your new novel, "Inspector Singh Investigates: A Curious Indian Cadaver"? ANSWER: For once, Inspector Singh is not on the job when he goes to India. He’s actually been dragged to Mumbai to attend the wedding of his wife’s niece. Reconciled to the event by the possibility of good curries, he is horrified when the bride-to-be disappears and he is tasked with finding her before the wedding day. However, it isn’t long before the search turns into a murder investigation with Mrs. Singh’s relatives among the chief suspects. I particularly like this edition of Inspector Singh’s adventures because Mrs. Singh is elevated to sidekick after a bit part in earlier books. Her presence adds to Sikh Inspector's discomfiture and the overall humour in the book. Q: Where did your inspiration come from for this series of novels? A: Many of the stories that come out of Asia - whether written by Asians or others - are over-exoticised historical novels - as if Asia has to be exaggerated to be fascinating. I have to confess that it has always been my view that fewer people are born under unlucky stars or have stoic grandmothers than seems to be portrayed in Asian literature. Asia does have an absorbing history as a result of colonisation, war, mass immigration, etc., but it is the way these strands are playing out in contemporary society that is so compelling. I was convinced that a series of crime novels would be a great prism through which to observe present day Asian society. Q: Where did your inspiration come from for the Inspector Singh character? A: As a Malaysian of Indian/Sri Lankan origin, I was keen to have a policeman who was ethnically Indian in order to be able to tap my own family experience when it came to developing his character. Indeed, all I have to do is attend a family wedding and my relatives give me enough dialogue to fill three books. I picked a Sikh gentleman to be the protagonist Inspector because I wanted someone physically distinct, and the turban was a good place to start. Also, post 9/11, there have stories in the press about how the turban has become an issue for some of the Sikhs living in the West as they have been mistaken for Muslims and a few have even been subjected to hate crimes. I thought that was an interesting present-day twist to being a Sikh. Inspector Singh’s nonconformist character allows him to confront the conservative forces within Asian society (as well as deal with his wife who is, or would like to be, a pillar of the Sikh community). What he has in common with other fictional detectives, wherever they’re from whether East or West, is a devotion to the cause of justice. As he himself would say, ‘Pursuing justice is my only form of exercise.’ Q: When did you decide you wanted to write 'whodunnits'? A: As a Malaysian, I’m accustomed to seeing handbags snatched, homes broken into and politicians accused of everything from sodomy (still illegal) to murder. The policemen tasked with guarding us from the marauding hordes are splendid characters for fiction as well. We are all too familiar with being pulled over for allegedly speeding and asked, ‘Want to settle?’ It makes the traditional character of the stalwart copper pursuing justice at any cost all the more appealing. And as so many places, from Bostwana to Cambridge, have their own eccentric detectives, I felt Asia deserved its turn! Q: When did your writing career begin? A: Actually, I quit my job as a lawyer to become a stay-at-home mum. Unfortunately, it soon became evident that I was the worst stay-at-home mum in the history of the universe so I decided to find some part-time work to give myself an outlet. I tried teaching, started a business and eventually turned to writing. So, in effect, there were two transitions - lawyer to stay-at-home mum, and then stay-at-home mum to writer. I have to confess, the latter was easier than the former. Q: Why do you feel its important to publish books with cultural and environmental themes? A: My daughter was about two when I realised that children’s books in our market were still Western-centric, not much different from my own childhood. I believe it’s important for children to feel a sense of belonging; that’s the only way they will connect with people around them and feel responsibility for their own environment. A good first step, I hoped, would be to see their day to day lives reflected in the books read to them. So I began a series of children’s picture books, the ‘Sasha’ series, where the child heroine visits different places in Asia. I soon became completely carried away with the idea and have written a number of picture books and children’s novels with the same themes. Q: How do you go about writing a novel that involves an element of mystery? A: I draw a simple diagram, usually on the back of a serviette because I don’t want the plan to have any sense of permanence. Usually, the corpse is in the middle of the page and the potential killers all around. The main problem I have is that I don’t tend to identify the murderer up front. As I reach the end of the book, I usually take my husband out for dinner and ask him to choose whodunnit. (And then, because I’m quite a contrary creature, I usually pick someone else!) Q: What future projects do you have lined up? Will Inspector Singh be back to solve another crime? A: Definitely! I’m currently researching the sixth Inspector Singh novel which will be set in Beijing. Arriving in China for the first time can be a daunting experience, so I’m looking forward to discovering how Inspector Singh deals with his Chinese adventure! I’m also working on a couple of children’s novels. Q: Can you tell us about your writing process and your life as a writer? A: Strictly speaking, I’m still a stay-at-home parent so I try and write when the children are at school and then devote the rest of the day to shouting from the sidelines during soccer practice and wincing during piano lessons. However, the kids are very quick to notice when my attention is not on them because I’m wrestling with a particularly knotty plot problem. I find it really hard to disengage from a book while I’m writing it. [Courtesy: Female First] March 14, 2012 |