If one were to think of the background of the writer that came up with Bengaluru’s latest detective novel, “philosopher” might not be the first assumption – but it is one of many words that describe Sundar Sarukkai. Having previously held positions such as professor of philosophy at the National Institute of Advanced Studies and founder-director of the Manipal Centre for Philosophy and Humanities, Sarukkai’s writing covers a diverse range, from detective fiction in his latest novel Water Days to the self-explanatory Philosophy For Children, to name a few of his works.
Water Days itself takes place in a snapshot of 1990s Bengaluru, a time between the sleepy old city that older residents speak fondly of, and the fast-paced metropolis of today. This book formed the topic of a talk by Sarukkai at The Bangalore Room in Indiranagar last Sunday, September 28, hosted by author Roopa Pai.
On the subject of writing and language itself, Sarukkai says, “Many writers felt that writing in English was not authentic in the sense that English did not have the capacity to capture something. But is there something called a Kannada story? An English story? We typically understand Indian English writing as about people who speak English. But I wrote about Mathikere – the people, the roads, the houses, the cows – what language do they speak in?”
Water Days, a novel by Sundar Sarukkai
The book may be in English, but Sarukkai takes, as might be expected, a rather philosophical approach to the very concept of language itself. As he puts it, the “mother tongue” of a city is perhaps not a language at all. He paints a portrait of Mathikere (the setting of the events in the book) with a certain fluidity, reflecting the many different groups that make up such neighbourhoods. Bengaluru is, after all, a city of crossroads and borders.
Other aspects of the book are lifted from Sarukkai’s own experiences – his memories of the book’s setting, Mathikere; his fascination with the concept of running a grocery store; and even his love for a snack such as the humble puff. On his everyman protagonist, Raghavendra, Sarukkai says, “He desires to own a grocery store. In a sense, it was mine as well. It has got a great fascination where various people come and talk to you, and you transact and engage with them.”
Musing on the changes the city went through in the period the book is set in, Sarukkai said, “So much has changed in Bengaluru without anybody having a say in it or a conscious thought. Who is going to decide if an IT company is coming here…..you just live, people come and people go.”