From Canada, about Coorg

One always writes what one knows best the first time, says Toronto-based Indian origin novelist Sarita Mandanna. And her novel, Tiger Hills, is indeed being hailed by the British press as a staggering debut achievement.

The book is a nostalgic tale of love and karmic destiny set amid the picturesque green slopes and the colourful ethnic culture of her native Coorg in Karnataka.

'Five years ago, when I began to write the novel, I knew it had to be Coorg. I was madly in love with the place where I spent several childhood years. The birth of the book was organic,' Mandanna told IANS in an interview here.

'The scenes were inside my head for a long time. The characters would crop up and render the story a life of its own. I felt that I was just a medium telling a tale.'

Full report here Sify