K.Srilata, Associate Professor of English at IIT, Madras is a poet, writer and translator. Alumni of Stella Maris College, Srilata did her Masters and doctorate in English from Central University, Hyderabad. This mother of two who regularly contributes to The Hindu’s Literary Review, has been a writer-in-residence at Sangam House, Pondicherry and at the University of Stirling, Scotland.

Srilata’s debut novel, ‘Table for Four,’ long listed for the Man Asian Literary Prize, 2009 was released recently along with her book of poems, ‘Arriving Shortly.’

Excerpts from an interview with Mythily Ramachandran:

How long did you take to write the book?
It took around four years, though it is slim and does not look like a product of so many years. Being my first novel, I took time drafting and re-writing. Besides, with a full time job and two school going children I found it difficult to write regularly. I wrote during vacations and week-ends.

How did the idea come up?
For me the setting and the character of Maya came early and then Prithvi followed. During my stay at Santa Cruz as a Fulbright Scholar, I had to deal with a cranky woman professor, who had sub-let a room in her house. She was eccentric and made it quite horrible for me. That experience stayed with me. But Prithvi is unlike her. Although it has been twelve years since I left Santa Cruz, the new environment left a deep impact. Other characters evolved with the story.

What were the challenges of writing a novel?
Structuring was the main challenge. Since I was moving from poetry to fiction, to suddenly get into novel form was difficult compared to a short story. I learnt as I wrote.

You have fleshed out your characters with traits that set them apart. Were they inspired from real life?
Not completely. Yes, bits and pieces from life around us and snippets of experience. But not based on anyone in particular. A lot of it came out of my imagination. These characters became distinct individuals as I wrote. I began to understand their minds!

Giving a personality to the table Nikolai enhanced the story. What made you bring in an inanimate thing to the plot?
The inanimate has an important function in this story. It is a quiet listener, the object that listens to Maya’s unvoiced story. It has to be inanimate because Maya will not and does not tell her story to fellow humans. 

Which character is closest to your heart?
I think I am fond of Maya. It’s a consciousness that I understand better than the others, although they are all imaginary.

Did you face writer’s block?
Yes, there were many difficult periods: periods of drought, of sheer lack of time and many responsibilities relating to work and family.  I just took it - as Michael says to Maya - one step at a time! In a sense, I tried to create a space inside my head for the story so even when I didn’t have the time, I kept it, protected it inside my head. 

What’s next?
I am translating my mother’s book, Vattathul. My mother, Vatsala is a Tamil writer, who started with poems. Vattathul is her only book. It won the Tirupur Sangam award. I am also writing my second novel, a comic campus story.

Did being long-listed help find your publisher?
Actually the publisher trusted my story before it was on the Man Asian Long list. After it was long listed, I took my work seriously.

Tells us about your passion for writing?
I have been writing poetry since my childhood days. My first book of poems was published twelve years ago. I was always inclined to write being fond of the language.

Your favourite writers?
Limericks by Edward Lear and Lewis Caroll. In school I used to read ‘Alice in Wonderland’ over and over again. I enjoy reading literature in translation, the works of Ashok Mitran, Indira, and Ambai. Also the works of Japanese writer Murakami. For my work as a teacher, I read a lot. Recently I finished Su Tong’s book.

BOOK REVIEW- TABLE FOR FOUR ‘Table for Four,’ Srilata’s debut novel revolves around four house-mates in Santa Cruz, California and their last meal together.

The reclusive landlord of No.14, Bay Street, Prithvi, who prefers spending most of his time in his room upstairs, has invited his three tenants, Sandra, Maya and Derek, (university students), for dinner. Maya and Sandra arrive on time. But, Derek is unable to make it. Over dinner, Prithvi coaxes them into a game of sharing their life stories.

Setting the ball rolling is Sandra, the Anglo Indian English literature student from Madras. Sandra noted for her stylish sense of dressing and her tidy room had one obsession though. As she looks back on her life that began in an orphanage with her twin sister Solana, Maya understands Sandra’s obsession with Orkut.

Prithvi uncle’s life’s journey, reveals a daughter, Mira, whom he loved but betrayed, subsequently driving her away from him into a life of recklessness.

As for Maya, she finds it difficult to unburden her story on the dinner table, unable to come out of the maze that surrounds her past. But readers are privy to the skeletons in her closet, which do tumble out towards the end of the book.

What about Derek’s past life as a photo-journalist in the Afghan war? Who is the young man in the photograph that won him an award? Only Maya knows about Derek’s past.

The plot of the book is simple and written in an easy style that makes it racy and engrossing. Building her characters, making them distinct with quirky details,(like Prithvi uncle communicating with his tenants through post it notes, Sandra’s addiction to Orkut and Maya’s fear of the sea), Srilatha scores in painting images in the reader’s mind. Poignant is Sandra’s tale of separation from her twin, so is her description of Melosa, the spastic child with ‘speaking eyes liquid and full of meaning.’ Even Nikolai the tortoise shaped dining table finds a distinct personality, referred to as ‘our wise man in residence,’ by Prithvi.

And as she gradually leads readers into the recesses of Maya’s mind, you are not prepared for the mystery ahead.

This tale of confronting one’s secrets and the catharsis of the mind is an interesting read.

Published by Penguin Books India it is priced Rs. 250.