Author Manil Suri uses fiction to explore India

St. Paul, Minn. — Manil Suri has two careers. He teaches math at the University of Maryland, and he also writes fiction.

Born and raised in India, Suri burst onto the literary scene in early 2001 with his novel, "The Death of Vishnu." Now he's completed his second work, "The Age of Shiva."

"I took seven years to write this book," he says. "I actually did a calculation and it was something like 62.19 words a day."

"The Age of Shiva" tells the story of Meera, a young woman living in India during the turbulent times following the end of British colonial rule.

Suri told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr he began writing a story about a single character, but discovered he was really writing about the history of his homeland.