It’s 1921, Bangalore, India, and nineteen-year-old Kaveri Murthy has become known locally as a detective after she successfully uncovered the killer of a disreputable man who preyed on vulnerable women; a scar on her neck is an unfortunate souvenir. Her doctor husband, Ramu, is supportive of her various pursuits, efforts to expand her education, and even getting a driver’s license.
It’s August, 1921. A stranger from Majjigepura, the village of buttermilk, arrives well after dark at the address of Mrs. Kaveri Murthy, the mathematician and lady detective he hopes to meet. But, it is Sunday, and he doesn’t wish to interrupt Mrs. Murthy and her doctor husband who appear to be entertaining. He seeks out the well-kept shed behind the house where above the door he notices a sign: The Bangalore Detectives Club.
When I started writing The Bangalore Detectives Club, my debut historical mystery set in 1920s colonial India, I didn’t know the plot, victim, or murderer. I knew one thing though, right from the start. I was going to write a book with food and recipes.
INDIA. The name alone brings up ideas of exotic animals, women in colorful saris and men on elephants. Ever since I read any of Kipling’s books, I was hooked. Then I got there. It was nothing like I had imagined. A billion and a half people means that everything and every place is crowded. We didn’t even try using the metro system as each car was literally packed full. The line for the bus snaked around the block and even walking meant avoiding the children who lived in the cardboard boxes packed on the sidewalk tight up against the buildings, that were home to whole villages.
“How much do you want to pay?” the receptionist asked.
How much do I want to pay? No one had ever asked me before. I wish they had because I would not be staying in cheap hotels if I had a choice.
May I see the room first?
Tara Hamilton has written another volume from her heart. The first was Cook, Grow, Love where she unfolded a legacy of sharing love through food that ultimately led her to become a chef and a farmer as well as a “farmacist,” and local food advocate in the Fresno area.
One of the most difficult places we visited was India. And yet it was probably the most interesting. One thing for sure was that we never got tired of it and the sights. The contrast between the extreme poverty and disease, and the bustle of modern civilization is beyond words.
