My Inspiration. . . My Muse by Manjiri Prabhu

The Cosmic Clues Author Manjiri Prabhu tells us about her inspiration behind the beloved Nidhi in the book...

Often in life, people inspire you to write about other people. Or incidents trigger a story.  . .But in my case, a cat inspired me to use a CAT in a story!

I have worked in a Children’s Television Studio for a long time, producing and directing educational films for telecast. I was tired of repeating the subjects and the constraints which tied me to boredom and prevented me from trying my hand at something exciting and unique.

It was around the same time, one morning, that my colleagues and I discovered a thin, starved cat under a pile of unused files. She was so under-nourished and could barely walk, that we fed her milk. She was surprisingly friendly and instantly clung to us like we were her long-lost relatives. I moved her to my office where she settled right-royally on a cushion, licking herself clean and adjusting to a new life within seconds. From that day onwards, she adopted us!

Rambha, as we named her, was a beautiful golden cat and as she gained strength and weight, she became the cynosure of my world. I began making a film on her, shooting her in varied moods and in different actions and angles and in different situations. What emerged was a strong story of a cat finding a home. The film took a grip on me and I wanted to capture beautiful Rambha in as many hours as I could on camera. I over-rode the office objections, retaliated strongly to anyone who threatened to drive her away from the office, dug out all animal laws and justified her existence at the office. On her part, she was extremely co-operative, never dirtied the rooms, sensed my moods and cuddled up to me for comfort and her sole demand was to be petted and fed. Rambha gave a new meaning to my life as a TV Producer,
opening a new chapter of creative indulgence and satisfaction at the Television Studio. 

And it was then, while I was toying with the idea of writing a mystery series that it suddenly struck me. Rambha had to play another role. That of a cat who brings on new hope and a new case in the life of detective Sonia Samarth in ‘The Cosmic Clues’. And that is how Rambha, my Muse and Inspiration became Nidhi the cat in The Cosmic Clues.

Attaching Rambha's photo. . .

~ Manjiri Prabhu