Over her novels, Anita Nair?s finely delineated characters have got etched into our memories, especially the women. Meera and JAK, both caught up by unexpected disaster, add to that canon. Nair returns three years after her previous novel, Lessons in Forgetting, with a first book set in her place of residence for the past two decades, Bangalore, and in the fictional seaside town in Minjikapuram in Tamil Nadu. Though centered around the imperious and seemingly unchanging cantonment area?modern life, often discordant?has seeped into this novel. That was intentional, she says, as it was to write the better part of this novel in present tense, and structure it to parallel an impending cyclone. Suman Tarafdar caught up with her to understand the storm connections. Excerpts:

This is an ambitious, layered novel. It?s also dark. Was it easy to visualise the two protagonists?

I finished with Mistress, which completely tired me out. So I wanted to do this light, breezy novel. That was in October 2006. But I soon realised that it would not be me, that light books were not my genre. Instead, I decided to look at what at that time was important to me. I started looking at the two characters, Meera, whose life is built around predictability, and JAK. Everything he has done is whimsical. Nevertheless, both their lives are touched by disaster. Both have broken up with their partners; they have become stagnant. This is all working down to the structure of the cyclone. For me, it was a coming together of many ideas, things that I wanted to do. The trick for me was to be able to do all of this without making it dense.

What led to your choosing a cyclone as a metaphor?

I knew I needed two distinct characters. For Meera, I knew the kind of life she led. For JAK, I groped a bit. Then this cyclone thing landed in my lap. My friend, working on a film for National Geographic, happened to mention it, and it fit. A cyclone starts with the placid sea. There is a perfectly blue sea, calm, and then some clouds start gathering. I tried to replicate, starting with a perfectly calm world?beautiful people stepping out of their beautiful homes, leading wonderful lives. But you know it?s like glass. Any moment, one thing could go wrong and it could shatter.

How was the experience of writing this novel?

For me, this was the hardest book to write. The pace, intensity and experiences were all packed in the present time. For me, it happened in my mind as I was writing . After I wrote a difficult scene, it would leave me completely shell-shocked. The sorrow would stay with me for quite some time. Unlike in books such as Ladies Coupe, it was written so there was a certain amount of distance between the writer and the characters. For this book, I had to see some things for myself, for instance bed sores. As a writer, it is important that I work these layers in and hope that a few discerning writers will recognise those finer points and enjoy them as such.

Did you bring any of your experiences to light in this novel?

As a woman and as a writer, the immediate assumption is that when a woman is of a certain age, it is autobiographical. I had to make sure there was nothing that anyone could draw parallel with me! Meera is a legendary hostess, and I haven?t had people in my house for six years, as I am petrified of having guests!

Structure and devices, including mythology, play an important role. How crucial are they?

Page 3 is a deliberate literary device. People who look at the pictures from the outside think these people lead perfectly charmed lives, untouched by tragedy. Also, going back to my metaphor, the cyclone, I wanted to use it as a tool. Things are happening and could explode at any time. It gives Meera a context immediately. Her life had a smugness of contentment, that life couldn?t change, life couldn?t be better. Then suddenly, her life just falls apart.

The setting depends on the novel. If it is a contemporary novel, as this one, then the writing has to reflect changes that are really happening.

Also, I know Indian mythology very well. In Indian mythology, you start off as a good god, and then you do something stupid, and you have to pay back. In Greek mythology, the gods are human, but elevated. This allows them heavenly powers. In this book, too, I was talking about the upper strata, so I wanted their lives to reflect that.

What are you working on next?

I am working on a historical novel set in medieval Kerala. I am also working on a translation of a Malayalam novel. I keep writing poetry, but I haven?t published anything for a long time. Maybe, next year.