Bengaluru Writer Uses Humor to Expose Social Inequalities

A security guard sneaking biscuits to a street dog sparked something beautiful in Aruna Nambiar's imagination.

The Bengaluru writer transformed that quiet act of compassion into "Lucy," one of 13 stories in her new collection "Aiyyo, What Will the Neighbours Say?" What makes it special? She tells it from the dog's perspective, capturing a relationship most people would walk right past.

Nambiar has always been a collector of moments. A family on vacation became "Happier Journeys." An enterprising little girl at a store inspired "Manic Monday." Even a newspaper obituary and courtroom television coverage found their way into her stories, filed away in her mind until the right time to write them.

Her path to published author wasn't straightforward. The engineering graduate and former banker used to write during her Mumbai train commutes, but life pushed writing aside for years. When she quit her banking job after moving abroad in the early 2000s, she finally gave herself permission to try again.

She started with financial articles, then moved to fiction around 2005. Working as an editor for various publishers taught her to sharpen her own writing, even without a literature background. Her first novel arrived in 2013, followed by two more exploring ageing and women who refuse to fit society's expectations.

Why This Inspires

Nambiar discovered that humor could tackle serious subjects without losing their weight. Books like "Angela's Ashes" showed her that lightness and depth aren't enemies. "Humour steals up on you quite gently but can expose social inequalities and hypocrisies with great effect," she explains.

Her stories work like gentle mirrors, reflecting the ironies of contemporary Indian life without preaching. A security guard's kindness to a stray dog reveals more about humanity than a hundred serious essays could. The title itself pokes fun at the neighborhood gossip culture while celebrating those brave enough to live authentically.

Now she's building another folder of ideas, unsure whether they'll become a novel or more short stories. She's learned that different forms require different muscles, but her mission stays the same: using tongue-in-cheek contemporary stories rooted in Indian culture to show us ourselves more clearly.

Sometimes the smallest observations carry the biggest truths, especially when shared with warmth and a knowing smile.