It’s been a blast. Kolkata is an incredible city, packed with history, nostalgia and desire. The 8 week residency gave me the opportunity to write a new series of crime novellas, all set in Kolkata of course, and stretching over a period of 60 years. I also found the time to explore Kolkata at night, particularly its eastern regions, far from them city centre. My exhibition, Destroy Everything Beautiful, shown alongside the work of fellow artists
Sophie Cousinié and Aditi Aggarwal, is the result of these explorations. Everyone I met along the way was gracious and generous.
For my final residency event, Laure Siegel tattooed the word NOIR onto my leg while I read my short story Three Eyes, Some Killings.
A big thanks to the Goethe Insititut/Max Mueller Bhavan, especially Sharmistha Shanker and Frieso Maecker. The crime novellas will be published as Kolkata Noir by Crime Wave Press next year.
I am also indebted to fellow writer Aurko Maitra who offered me access to some of the city’s least salubrious and most fascinating corners.
No doubt, I will be back. But more importantly, I will cherish the freedom and time the residency provided me, to engage with one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
