Cauvery Madhavan - Novelist connecting Ireland & India
Cauvery Madhavan adds Indian spices to this serving of Irish Stew as we trace her journey from Chennai, India to Sligo, Ireland, to County Kildare, and travel back with her to India to explore Irish stories there through her epic novel The Tainted.
We talk of race and color in India and Ireland, the Anglo-Indians who were often more Irish than Anglo, the bonds Indian students forged with Irish revolutionaries, the dearth of spices in Sligo, the political scene in India today, how she and her family view their blended nationalities, and which flag they’d plant on the top of Mt. Everest.
Arriving in Ireland on Valentine's Day over three decades ago, Cauvery says that despite the Irish weather, she's been in love with the country ever since.
The episode wraps with a fusion of Indian/Irish music in the form of the classic “Carolan's Favorite Jig,” performed by the noted veena virtuoso Nirmala Rajasekar from Cauvery’s hometown of Chennai.
Cauvery Madhavan’s links:
Website: https://www.cauverymadhavan.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CauveryMadhavan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madhavancauvery/
Her publisher: https://www.hoperoadpublishing.com/authors/cauvery-madhavan
Nirmala Rajasekar’s links:
Website: https://www.nirmalarajasekar.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nirmalarajasekarveena/
00:00 - Intro
03:03 - Cauvery, Yeats and Colonialism
07:28 - Early Irish Encounters
09:43 - First Irish Impressions
11:05 - Absorbing Irish Culture
13:10 - Adapting to Hiberno English
14:36 - Cauvery's Irish-Indian Identity
17:44 - The Tainted Origin Story
23:01 - Colliding National Identities in India
27:35 - Skin Color in India
31:47 - Explaining India in Ireland
36:00 - The Irish of India
38:15 - Music and Imagery in the Tainted
42:11 - Musical Interlude with Nirmala Rajasekar
44:08 - Indian Food Challenges in 1980s Ireland
46:34 - Indian And Irish Independence Movements
49:50 - Colonial Rule: Ireland and India
52:23 - Bigotry in The Tainted and Present Day
56:57 - Cauvery's Next Projects
58:45 - The Election of Leo Varadkar
01:00:32 - Cauvery on the Global Irish Nation
01:02:34 - Cauvery's Seamus Plug
01:05:27 - John and Martin Recap
01:08:59 - Nirmala Rakasekar: Full Track
01:14:55 - Credits
Author
Cauvery Madhavan was born in India and moved to Ireland thirty-three years ago, arriving on Valentines Day and, despite the Irish weather, has been in love with the country ever since. Cauvery is the author of three books of fiction – Paddy Indian, The Uncoupling and
The Tainted. She writes opinion pieces for the Irish Times and wrote a Saturday column for the Evening Herald for seven years. She has also contributed to the Sunday Tribune, The Phoenix and Travel Extra. She is currently working on her fourth novel. She lives with her husband and three children in County Kildare