Forced to flee her hometown at the age of twenty, not because of danger, but by a storm of gossip, fear, and shame, Rosa seeks refuge across continents. Seven years later, with education and self-discovery, Rosa returns to her coastal village in Mangalore, hoping to see a wave of change among her village folk, but is disappointed. Yet, she is determined to find the purpose of life in the backwaters she left behind. This is the plot of the new novel, Smoke on the Backwaters by Leslie Carvalho.
Leslie made his debut in the Indian film industry with his award-winning film, The Outhouse (1997), which won the inaugural Gollapudi Srinivas Award. After taking a break from mainstream cinema, Leslie has now returned with another female-centric narrative by bringing life to his two-decades-old idea on paper with his debut novel, Smoke on the Backwaters (Anglo-Ink; `400). Commenting on this transition, he says, “Cinema is visual. But even while writing a novel, it has to be visualised. So there are similarities, but at the same time, there are differences too.”
Leslie plans to translate the novel to German as a part of the novel is set in Germany. He is also working on a collection of short stories and is keen on making a Tamil film revolving around the relationship between an eldest daughter and her father.
In a conversation with CE ahead of the book’s launch on Wednesday, Leslie shared his experience, personal connection, and his move from cinema to literature.
Excerpts follow
What is the main theme of Smoke on the Backwaters?
It’s a coming-of-age story, yet it’s much more than that. It’s about how people are treated and how one small incident changes the entire view of life for the protagonist.
Who is your target audience, and what can they expect from the novel?
I would like for everybody to read it because I think there’s something in it for everybody. Something that we’ve all experienced, or we might experience or are experiencing in our present-day life. The message is to move on in life despite the odds. My film, The Outhouse, carries the same message. Life is short, you can’t regret the past.
How do you set your novel apart from any other female perspective novels?
In some novels, you have the whole yard. Like the years span from childhood to the end. But in mine, her whole childhood is in the narrative, how she’s grown up, how she’s raised, and how it is affecting her life. She’s 27, so there’s still a whole lot of life ahead of her. She sacrificed so much to be back in the same place. You may ask: but why does she have to come back when she’s been through so much trouble and trauma there? But she loves the place so much. And she says, if I can do something good for my own people instead of doing it for somebody else, I might as well do it for my own people.
Did your personal experiences influence your decision to write a female-centric novel?
The novel is partly fictional and partly from the experiences of my sources. I grew up in a house with my mother and four sisters. I went to a co-educational school and college. Even in a cultural exchange program, there were many females around. Women have a deeper perspective on everything. Most of the women I know and have spoken to have strong personalities. So, I’d say there’s an emotional connection for me to write a female protagonist.
What were the challenges you faced during the production of this novel?
Literature is not much different from cinema. Cinema is a collaborative effort of many. In this (literature), you’re all there by yourself, and it can go on for years, and you can be lonely and desperate. But they’re two different processes, and I enjoy both. Though I had the idea for two decades, only over the last three years, I could sit down and finish it.