Interview with author Ameen Merchant

CL: How did you do your research for this novel?

AM: I am not a musician, nor do I play any musical instrument. So the music part of the book took many months to research. I read up everything about the veena and South Indian classical (Carnatic) music. I spent months in India interviewing musicians and scholars.  I also read surveys and articles on the subject of Status of Indian Women, and the new role of women in the (huge) Indian middle class. I read all the news stories on “dowry deaths” in the last decade. I haunted the music and mythology sites on the Internet for years. I still do.

CL: Would you consider the book's themes to be feminist? Why or why not?

AM: I am glad you asked me this question because it is something I’ve been very cautious with in the novel. Yes, it would be fair to say that the themes of The Silent Raga do have a certain feminist over/undertone.  But I’d also like to stress, and I am sure many of your readers will agree, that there are “feminisms.”  An understanding of Anglo-American feminism might not work when put to practice in other geographies; it might even prove to be counterproductive. Hence, before we apply the term “feminism” to the thematic impulses of a work, we have to consider the specifics of culture, economics and class as they relate to women in a particular society. For example, Mrs. Samanta’s understanding of her place and identity would have nothing in common with Gayatri Chitti’s. Zubeida’s philosophy might have a few connecting points with Nalini Miss’s, but even in those instances, the class and exposure divide would be immense. In other words, the feminist “consciousness” of the characters in The Silent Raga is, and can only be rooted in Sripuram, Madras and Bombay. Not Vancouver, London and New York.

CL: How representative is this story of the lives of Indian women both in India and in countries such as Canada?

AM: Only representative Indian women from India and the South Asian diaspora can answer this question. I’ll say this much: I have done everything not to misrepresent them or their lives.

CL: If you were organizing a book club discussion of your novel, what are some questions you would like to see discussed?

AM: a. Are you Mallika or Janaki? Or are you Gayatri Chitti? Why do you identify with a certain character?
b. How do the women in the book negotiate their caste/class status?
c. Although the novel is culture specific, what were the points of cultural connection for you?
d. The novel is divided into first person and third person narratives. Which narrative voice worked for you, and why?
e. Have you been to India? How do you feel about India as a country after reading The Silent Raga? Will you plan a trip?
f. Appa, Asgar, Ted Pope: Have you met them?

CL: What are some authors and books you're inspired by?

AM: When I first arrived in Canada, I walked to a secondhand bookstore on Dunbar in Vancouver. There was a cart of books for $2 at the entrance to the store. I asked the storeowner, “Are there any good Canadian novels in this pile?” He came out and picked three books for me: Margaret Atwood’s Bodily Harm, Timothy Findley’s The Wars, and Alice Munro’s The Moons of Jupiter. The best Can-Lit immersion I’ve ever had – and all for $6!

Salman Rushdie and Rohinton Mistry are always a joy to read. As a TA, I taught Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient. Every time I revisit these novels I discover something new in them.  When I was in India, I read everything written by Anita Desai, V.S. Naipaul and Nayantara Sahgal. I am always eager for a new work by Richard Ford, Toni Morrison and Peter Carey.

CL: Can you describe your writing process?

AM: I have to know everything in detail – emotional/contextual/expositional – about a particular moment in the narrative, before I attempt to write it out. My working/writing hours are from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m., five days a week.

CL: Can you give us a sneak peek into any future projects?

AM: I am working on a novel set during the last decade of the Indian Independence movement (1937-1947). It ‘s about a dancers’ commune, and this time there is a fine Canadian protagonist!

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