Anita Nair-A writer

 

  

 

Anita Nair, a writer born at Mundakottakurissi, near Shornur in kerala, working as a creative director for an ad agency, benguluru,Working here she wrote her first book in ’97 a collection of short stories called Satyr of the Subway, she sold it to Har-Anand Press. The book won her a fellowship from the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. In the same year she also wrote a book called “Malabar Mind”.

“Malabar Mind” her debut collection of poems, the real and corporeal, landscapes and mindscapes are explored with a rare fluid ease. From the quirky symbol of toddy shops in Malabar - a full bottle of toddy crowned with a red hibiscus - to the stressed drone of television newscasters during war time; from the apathy of non-stick frying pans to the quiet content of cows chewing cud, Anita Nair rakes through the everyday, seizing an unusual moment. And then she turns them into metaphors that cast a glow, suffusing ordinary things with extraordinary dimensions, capturing the strength and resilience of life…

Cryptic couplets on love, an epigram on how to cope with failure, demanding extended poems about youth and sensual existence; humor, irony, lust, hope, hurt, anguish; beaches, crows, bus journeys, hospitals, just about every aspect of the human existence finds a place in this collection of poems written over a decade.

In 2000  “The Better Man” was published by Penguin India, and was the first book by an Indian author to be published by Picador USA. 

synopsis:

The Locale: The Better Man is set in contemporary India in a little fictitious village called Kaikurussi in the northern part of Kerala . This region was once known as Malabar during the British regime. After Independence, Malabar as a state/region ceased to exist.

Though Malabar has no geographical boundaries, no presence on a map of India, it still exists as a state of mind: laid-back, slow, to live and let live. So much so, the northern Malabaris treat the enterprising and hard-working southerners with a disdain bordering on contempt. A person from Malabar is so entrenched in the past that thinking of the morrow is almost impossible. And yet, there is a discontent that is almost palpable.

Perhaps this is the reason why the region that was once Malabar saw the growth of Naxalites [extremists who combined Marxism with violence against all organized systems]; still has the highest recorded number of lunatics and suicides in India and has fundamentalist political groups thriving side by side with communist strongholds.

Kaikurussi the village is in a little hollow surrounded by several hills. It has nothing there that would make any one come looking for it. It is neither the birthplace of a Mahatma nor a movement. No miracles have ever happened there. In fact, nothing of significance ever happens there to any one. [ So when something does happen to a person, he is revered to the point of worship.]

There is not even a road running through Kaikurussi or a river flowing alongside it. All Kaikurussi has to define its topography are fields, wells, a mountain and distant hills.

The Plot: An elderly bachelor and a retired government employee, Mukundan is forced by circumstances to return to Kaikurussi, the village he was born in. A village that he fled when he was eighteen. And now back in his ancestral house, he finds himself unable to cope. He is haunted by a sense of failure. For having abandoned his mother. For not measuring up to his still alive and domineering father Achuthan Nair's expectations. For having gone through life without really living it....

And then there is the village itself. Mukundan realizes that he has no role to play in the village. In fact, he discovers that what should have been his rightful place had been usurped by an upstart Power House Ramakrishnan.

In the first few weeks of his exile, he meets up with a wayward genius. Bhasi or One-screw-loose-Bhasi as he is known is a house painter and a practitioner of a mongrel system of medicine he has evolved by combining several kinds of healing processes - herbal cures, principles of Homeopathy..... Bhasi is deeply disturbed by Mukundan's anguish and decides to mend the cracks in Mukundan's much battered psyche. He cajoles, manipulates and shapes Mukundan's transformation.

But the superficiality of the change is revealed soon. Power House Ramakrishnan on a cruel whim decides to build a community hall in the village. And chooses Bhasi's piece of land as the site to build on. When Bhasi refuses to sell his land, Power House Ramakrishnan threatens to break his business and run him out of the village. As the richest and most powerful man of the village Power House Ramakrishnan was capable of doing just that and Bhasi knows this as well. So he turns to Mukundan to intervene on his behalf.

Mukundan sets out to save Bhasi's home but is completely swayed by Power House Ramakrishnan. The latter knowing how recognition-hungry Mukundan is and how easily he would succumb to flattery uses that as his weapon to sweep over Mukundan's objections and has him actually agreeing to become a part of the community hall committee.

Mukundan betrays Bhasi his friend and alienates Anjana, the woman he is in love with. [ Anjana is still married to another man and would therefore be considered an unsuitable love by the community hall committee.] Mukundan however does not perceive it as betrayal and stubbornly clings to the belief that what he has done is right.

But it takes the death of Achuthan Nair, his father to make him realize how empty his life was and would continue to be without either Bhasi or Anjana. He is stricken by both remorse and guilt. And the realization that he was no better than his father whom he had despised all his life. With this comes the real transformation.

Mukundan decides to make amends. And how he goes about it is an indicator to how much Mukundan has changed.

From a fastidious and colorless man lacking in courage to take even the slightest of risks, Mounding becomes a man capable of finding love and happiness. A man who discovers the varied vibrant hues of life. A man who emerges from the shadow of his father's personality to become a better man.

[ In many ways the essence of the book is: change is always possible; hope never dies; and happiness can be found. You just have to look for it and when you find it, take chances even if by doing so, the rest of the world might turn against you. ]

In 2001 “ladies Coupé “ 

Synopsis:

The story of a woman's search for strength and independence.

Meet Akhilandeshwari, Akhila for short: forty-five and single, an income-tax clerk, and a woman who has never been allowed to live her own life - always the daughter, the sister, the aunt, the provider.

Until the day she gets herself a one-way ticket to the seaside town of Kanyakumari, gloriously alone for the first time in her life and determined to break free of all that her conservative Tamil brahmin life has bound her to.

In the intimate atmosphere of the ladies coupé which she shares with five other women, Akhila gets to know her fellow travellers:

Janaki, pampered wife and confused mother;

Margaret Shanti, a chemistry teacher married to the poetry of elements and an insensitive tyrant too self-absorbed to recognize her needs;

Prabha Devi, the perfect daughter and wife, transformed for life by a glimpse of a swimming pool;

Fourteen-year-old Sheela, with her ability to perceive what others cannot;

And Marikolanthu, whose innocence was destroyed by one night of lust.

As she listens to the women's stories, Akhila is drawn into the most private moments of their lives, seeking in them a solution to the question that has been with her all her life: Can a woman stay single and be happy, or does a woman need a man to feel complete?

In 2003 a novel called “Where the rain is born”, this was edited by her.

In 2004 “Puffin Book of World Myths and Legends”

All the people on earth get together to push the sky up with giant poles because it is too low and they keep bumping their heads against it. The crafty snake gets to know god's secret message to man and becomes immortal by shedding its skin. An emperor's sorrow bursts forth as flames and lava and turns Mount Fuji into a volcano.

These are just some of the fantastic and magical myths and legends from all over the world-Africa to Japan and Thailand to Alaska-that have been brought together in this exquisite collection. Charming and simple, yet profound in their wisdom, the stories encompass a diverse range. Some recount unforgettable tales of love and adventure, of dutiful sons and scheming gods, of enchanted lands and giant serpents. Others tell us how the world was created, why the sun and the moon never meet each other though they live in the same sky, how clouds appeared to save mankind from the sun's scorching rays, and why living creatures shed tears when they are in pain.

Retold here by best-selling author Anita Nair, these timeless stories come alive with a freshness and exuberance that is sure to delight and captivate.

In 2005 “Mistress“

Synopsis:

A searing new novel of art and adultery from the best-selling author of Ladies Coupe

When travel writer Christopher Stewart arrives at a riverside resort in Kerala to meet Koman, Radha's uncle and a famous kathakali dancer, he enters a world of masks and repressed emotions. From their first meeting, both Radha and her uncle are drawn to the enigmatic young man with his cello and his incessant questions about the past. The triangle quickly excludes Shyam, Radha's husband, who can only watch helplessly as she embraces Chris with a passion that he has never been able to draw from her. Also playing the role of observer-participant is Koman; his life story, as it unfolds, captures all the nuances and contradictions of the relationships being made--and unmade--in front of his eyes.

A brilliant blend of imaginative story-telling and deeply moving explorations into the search for meaning in art and life, Mistress is a literary tour de force from one of India's most exciting writers.

In 2006 “Adventures of Nonu, the Skating Squirrel “ - Rupa & Co -Children's story by Anita Nair

The Squirrel family must move to a new neighbourhood, and Nonus not happy. But soon he discovers that his new home can be fun. With his new friend Nicole, and his brand new skateboard, Nonu is all set to have many adventures.

Nonus vibrant world, brought to life by bestselling novelist Anita Nair and accompanied by Vinita Chands striking illustrations, will enthral children of all ages.

In 2007  “Living Next Door To Alise “- Children’s Novel by Anita Nair

Life will never be the same for Siddharth when he starts living next door to Alise.

Nine-year old Siddharth is the despair of his parents. He does not want to run around or climb trees, and he is terrified of ants. Siddharth prefers books to friends and is the target of his teacher's gimlet eyes in school because he asks too many questions. Then one day, when he is sent out to the garden to try and play, he finally makes friends with the fast-talking, quick-thinking, ultra-intelligent baby elephant, Alise.

Together the two friends set out on a series of exploits. From the day Alise decides to go to school wearing a checked tablecloth and ends up causing mayhem to the night they attend a party and get into such trouble that they run away to the forest, there is never a dull moment in Siddarth's life. But the friends don't stop at just having fun. The Bearded Bandit has spread terror among the elephants in the forest and someone has to stop him!

A rollicking story of friendship and bravery, Living Next Door to Alise will have you laughing out loud and waiting for a friend like Alise to move in next door!

In 2008 “Goodnight & God Bless “- A Novel

A sparkling collection of literary essays, each one a bedtime rumination, Goodnight and God Bless is about books, writers, book events, mice, mothers, airport hotels, the wind and other such unexpectedly thought-provoking subjects, snugly interwoven with a warmly personal and anecdotal history of the author and her assorted family members.

Spanning a literary career of a decade, this wise and witty book offers an ironic take on nearly everything, drawing from the experiences of the author as a woman, mother, daughter, wife and writer. Peppered with deliciously amusing quotes, footnotes and other erudite diversions, mostly unnecessary and unabashedly trivia, this is the perfect book to keep by your bedside, to dip and delve into anytime.

She lives in Bangalore and has her own website