1920s’ Bangalore comes alive in a new detective novel

The whodunnit by Harini Nagendra revolves around a 19-year-old female investigator

Dog and pony shows were a popular fixture in 1920s’ Bangalore, says Harini Nagendra. Hence, the author and ecologist decided to open the second instalment of her detective series with a chapter on the ‘ugliest dog’ contest.

Talking about ‘Murder Under a Red Moon — A Bangalore Detectives Mystery’, Harini says, “Details like this bring alive the era the story is set in and give an understanding of the people who lived during that time.”

Quirky personalities

Harini has given a lot of thought to making the character of her protagonist, Kaveri, believable. A teenage bride, always dressed in a sari, even when she goes swimming at the Century Club is enough to raise eyebrows. Then there’s her ability to drive — a Fiat that is wiped regularly with a piece of leather, no less, by her gardener. “A personality like this was probably unheard of in the 1920s. However, it would be plausible if she had the backing of a man. Which is why her husband, Ramu, who is a doctor, has been written to be supportive of everything she does,” Harini explains. While she solves a murder in the first instalment, in the new book, it’s a case of embezzlement.

Other quirky characters from the first book add colour and richness to this new release too. Friendly neighbour, Uma auntie, returns. As do Kaveri’s overbearing mother-in-law, Bhargavi, and genial cop, Ismail. Coffee Pudi Lakkamma, based on the real life coffee entrepreneur Coffee Pudi Sakamma, also plays a key role in the plot. “Not much is written about the women of that era. There’s recorded history, but I needed to learn about personalities, which is when my mom and aunts helped. I drew inspiration from their stories,” she states.

Words and phrases typical of Bengaluru also make it to the book. For instance, when Kaveri meets a godman, his hairy hands remind her of kamblihula, a hairy insect.

Vadas and coffee

We also get a glimpse of the food of that period. At the dog show, Kaveri quenches her thirst with lemon sherbet. Then, when she is hungry, she spots a server with Maddur vadas, described as ‘a new recipe from a small railway town called Maddur’. Later on, she tucks into the vadas and ‘milky coffee’ along with Bhargavi, and two other women. ‘Conversation halted for a few moments as the women munched their way through the vadas. The fried circles of dough melted in Kaveri’s mouth, the crisp semolina on the outside a delicious contrast with the soft filling of roasted cashew nut, crunchy slivers of coconut and fried curry leaves,’ reads a paragraph in the book.

Whole nine yards

The fashion of the time features too. Miss Roberts, the sister of Ramu’s supervisor, wears a grey silk frock with a high neck and long sleeves, with the hem falling a few inches below her knees. Kaveri is also curious about a woman dressed in a purple silk sari with a maroon crochet lace border at the dog show.

Other old Bangalore mainstays like Barton and Sons, Bowring Institute and Sampangi Lake (which covered Kanteerava Stadium and part of Cubbon park back in the day) make appearances. “Really, it was an extension of my ecological research. I looked into archival documents and read interesting documents on women’s suffrage and referred to old maps of the city. I also studied numerous old photographs to see what the city looked like,” shares Harini, talking about the amount of research that went into the book.