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An author whose every work asks a question

Anita Nair

Novelist Anita Nair was in Coimbatore recently to attend a seminar on `Voices of the marginalized'.

She has written poetry, novels, stories for children and travelogues.

She speaks to Pankaja Srinivasan about her work.

Anita Nair says she is no firebrand feminist, and though she may not set out deliberately to write about the marginalized or the downtrodden, every work of hers inevitably asks a question.

"In Ladies Coupe, five women, total strangers to each other, pour their hearts out about their relationships, their lives, etc. in the blessed anonymity of a railway compartment.

And at the end of it all, the question that comes up is, `Can a woman stay single and happy or does she need another person (a man perhaps) to make her feel complete?'

It speaks of the women's search for identity.

Anita Nair admits that at times certain inhibitions do hold her back.

"Sometimes the `woman' in me takes me over and I behave or conform to certain yardsticks the society expects me to adhere to," she says, speaking about her experience as a writer.

And adds, " Of course, I am often asked about the references I make to sex in my novels!

"People ask if I am not worried that my mother may be reading what I write. I am quite sure no one would think of asking a male writer these things."

Anita Nair has written quite a bit, but she says, "Every time I begin to write something, I treat it like the first time. I try not to bring the baggage of my earlier work to it."

She also writes children's stories (Living next door to Alise, Adventures of Nonu the Skating Squirrel).

"I do enjoy writing these stories, but it is more of an effort because I have to be conscious of what I am writing, the language I am using and, of course, the young readers."

Writing poetry can happen without notice any time. "I write my poems anywhere, in trains, cars, buses, on paper napkins... "

And, how does she plan her day of writing?

"I write long hand and I just fill my fountain pen every morning and write till the ink runs out!" says Anita Nair.

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