Bengaluru-based author, Anita Nair, is going places. And she is taking Bengaluru with her. She was recently featured in France’s Le Monde lifestyle magazine where she chronicled our city with beautifully woven French words. Shivajinagar, Cox Town, Frazer Town, Thoms Bakery, Cantonment Station and Bengaluru’s favourite Koshy’s Restaurant made it onto the magazine.

“I have lived in Bengaluru for 22 years. My life has been limited to a diameter of 11 km. When I shifted houses, I shifted just 6 km away. I love my area,” she says. Having lived in the North East area of Bengaluru for so long, Nair didn’t have much of a problem zeroing in on the landmarks she would write about.

She was given a brief by Le Monde to write about her favourite places and how they represent Bengaluru. “I could have written about Ulsoor Lake or bookshops, but I chose to write about areas that retained their original characteristics ever since I moved here,” she says. “Colonial bungalows, their neo-Gothic canopies, the profusion of silver oak trees, the wind a little harsh… everything was combined to address Bengaluru’s old-world charm,” she writes, about her first visit to the Cantonment Station area. She goes on about the roadside market in Cox Town, the lively buzz at Koshy’s, the unbelievable coffee and puff pastry at Thom’s bakery and the hustle and bustle of Shivajinagar.

Nair has had her books translated extensively in Europe. This is not the first time she is being featured in an international publication. She has made herself known in Spain and Italy as well through El Pais and La Repubblica. Her latest detective fiction Cut Like Wound, is a hit among Parisians. The story involves a police officer investigating a series of murders in Shivajinagar, the heart of Bengaluru.

About her love for the city, Nair says, “When you say IT capital, what you expect is a sense of anonymity. But Bengaluru is anything but that. To me, Bengaluru is still a small town. It feels good to know so many people around the city. It gives me a sense of belonging.”

Nair is currently working on a historical novel that encompasses large sections of South India. In this novel, she brings in a bit about her home town, Kerala and other coastal areas like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Lifestyle> Books/Art / DC / by Swati Chatrapathu / July 16th, 2013