The quiet pull of the Pune police procedural

The quiet pull of the Pune police procedural

From Books and Authors by Hindustan Times - HT Smartcast

March 12, 2026 · 48 min

About this episode

Salil Desai discusses the intricacies of writing murder mysteries set in Pune and the importance of understanding the motivations behind crimes.

"The way I look at it, whydunnit is actually more important than whodunnit. There are only so many permutations and combinations you can think of in terms of whodunnit. It's finite whereas whydunnit is extremely important because what drives the person? I read a lot of news and I really wonder about the depths to which people can fall"- Salil Desai, author, 206 Bones; An Inspector Saralkar Mystery talks to Manjula Narayan about writing successful murder mysteries set in Pune, the biting wit of his main character, using parallel tracks in storytelling and the exacting nature of crime fiction fans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Manjula Narayan

Guest: Salil Desai

Topics covered

  • Pune police procedural
  • murder mysteries
  • crime fiction
  • storytelling
  • character development

Keywords

  • whydunnit
  • whodunnit
  • crime fiction fans
  • parallel storytelling

Mentioned in this episode

Products: 206 Bones, An Inspector Saralkar Mystery

Books & works: 206 Bones, An Inspector Saralkar Mystery

Places: Pune

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