Sleuth & Sexy

India’s latest female superhero, Anantya Tantrist, is a cheeky badass who is all set to pioneer a fanboy literary revolution. We chat with her creator and author of The Matsya Curse, Shweta Taneja, about character origins and the science of tantric detection.

- Meher Bajwa

We desperately needed a sexy female Indian superhero, so thank you! What’s your favourite thing about Anantya Tantrist?

Let me start with a little confession. I gleefully created Anantya for myself. I’ve grown up on a healthy dose of badass characters like John Constantine or Harry Dresden in novels. I craved for a female version of them all based in Indian myths and folklore. A 20-something, who can do blood magic and solve supernatural crimes that no one else can while encountering creatures of the night, and then head to a bar at the end for a soma-on-the-rocks and some casual pick-me-up-sex. Anantya Tantrist, a tantric detective based in Delhi is exactly that. She’s a mix of Bollywoodesque brashness with the crime-solving nose of Sherlock Holmes, and I’ve enjoyed every bit of being with her.