I’ve always wanted to write a story about a tough woman cop. I feel quite overcome by the true stories of the winners of the annual bravery awards, and valour medals and sacrifice in the line of duty. I guess I’m a bit of an idealist and Niki embodies my ideal of a woman police officer,” says Swati Kaushal, creator of Niki Marwah, the superintendent of police at the fictitious town of Sonargam. Drop Dead, the next novel in the Niki Marwah series was released recently to a great response. The author describes her protagonist thus, “She’s an officer and a lady. But I also like my characters to be very human, and real, and have a sense of humour and fun. I don’t see why courageous people have to be prudes; why they can’t also have fun, or enjoy simple pleasures like everyone else. Which is why Niki also has a personal life that involves food, fashion and yes, sex!”
The plot revolves around the murder of Rakesh Mehta, a millionaire and the CEO of Indigo Books and suspicion falls on the senior employees who have gathered in the town for a meeting convened by Rakesh.
“I love a challenge! When you write a murder mystery, you do have to know before you start, who died, and how, and why, and who did it. And who didn’t. And keeping everyone guessing is the best part,” she says.
After completing her economic honours at Lady Shri Ram College for Women, New Delhi, she graduated from IIM Calcutta with an MBA. She next stepped into Nestlé and went on to work with Nokia Mobile Phones. She goes on to explain, “I left the full-time fast-paced corporate world because I really believe kids need parents, and I wanted to be there for my children. That’s when I picked up on my other passion; writing. I published Piece of Cake in 2004, A Girl Like Me in 2008 and now Drop Dead.” The author who is currently working on the next Niki Marwah mystery reveals that the best part of being a novelist is the fact that she can give free rein to imagination and make a gift of it to readers in the shape of a novel!
— kaviya@newindianexpress.com