We Have To Be Fake To Be Normal In Society

TNIE sits down for an engaging chat with Saharu Nusaiba Kannanari, the author of Chronicle of An Hour and a Half, which recently won the Crossword Book Award

- KRISHNA P S

Saharu Nusaiba Kannanari, with his debut published work, has been garnering accolades across India and beyond. His novel, Chronicle of An Hour and a Half, made it to the final short list for the JCB Prize for Literature and subsequently won the coveted Crossword Book Award for Fiction in December.

The story is set in a small village in northern Kerala at the height of the monsoon. Narrated through multiple voices, it recounts events that unfold in 90 minutes. An affair, a multitude of characters caught in its web, and bystanders all converge on a tragic conclusion—a mob lynching, triggered by WhatsApp messages.

At the heart of the narrative, amid the rising tide of violence in misogynistic men, stand two women. Saharu's poetic, graphic, and melancholic prose refrains from casting a judgmental eye on any of his characters.

While praise continues to pour in, Saharu (short for Saharuddin), born and raised in the small town of Areekode in Malappuram, remains steadfast in his focus. His passion lies in writing and weaving tales that have remained untold. His next book, The Menon Investigation, is set for release mid-year, with another work nearing completion.

A keen observer of politics, religion, and human emotions, Saharu declares that "in fiction, we have to speak the truth". Excerpts:

Moral policing, misogyny, and the fragility of masculinity are some of the main themes in 'Chronicle of an Hour and a Half'. You've given almost all of these characters a voice. Can you tell me about your approach to writing these themes?

I am not someone profound. In fact, I consider writing my job, not a dream or passion. What I try to do is tell a story as realistically as possible. And realism is this: all of us are imperfect. In the novel (Chronicle...), the person who was murdered provoked the incident by beating up his friend. His moral policing on an individual level becomes, in another case, a cause for mass instigation.