Minnette was an extraordinary woman: Author Shiromi Pinto
Author Shiromi Pinto says the legendary architect achieved success at a time when women were expected to be meek, pliant and void of ambition
This novel isn’t plot-driven. It’s a book about ideas — architectural, political and social. It’s also a book about relationships, and I think, that, plus the politics, is what gives the book its narrative drive,” says Shiromi Pinto about her latest book, Plastic Emotions. The novel explores the love story between two prominent architects of the 20th century — Sri Lankan architect, Minnette de Silva and French modernist, Le Corbusier. But more than that, the novel is very telling of how Silva battled the odds against misogynistic societal perceptions. Excerpts from an interview.
How did the idea of the book come to you? What drew you to Minnette’s story?
I came to know of Minnette’s story through a friend who worked for her decades ago. He told me fascinating stories about this Sri Lankan woman who hobnobbed with Le Corbusier, Picasso, Mulk Raj Anand, Sarojini Naidu — who were key figures of the 20th century. Once I began to do my own research on her, I realised that the most satisfying way for me to explore her story was through the medium of a novel. She was an extraordinary woman who achieved incredible things at a time when women were expected to be meek, pliant and void of ambition. She was none of those things. She was an iconoclast.
What was the research process like?
Research for Plastic Emotions was a painstaking process. I spent years in libraries — the British Library and the (now defunct) British Newspaper Library. I had to really get to know these characters and their contexts, which meant spending time with their writings, as well. Minnette’s fantastic autobiography, The Life and Work of an Asian Woman Architect, was an essential source, as were her letters to Le Corbusier, held at the Fondation Le Corbusier in Paris, France. I read some of Corbusier’s letters, too, plus his notebooks and other writings.
Do you feel that Minnette de Silva has received the kind of appreciation and notability she deserves in Sri Lanka? Or the subcontinent in general?
Sadly, Minnette’s contribution to architecture has gone largely unnoticed. Many of her buildings have been demolished, with no consideration for the cultural value they bring. Even one of her greatest accomplishments, the Kandy Arts Centre, has gone unattributed. As Gillian Darley wrote in a recent article, the plaque on the building names her brother and father but leaves the architect herself unnamed. What a shameful omission, that speaks volumes of the sexism Minnette had to contend within life as well as death.
How has the research process changed you?
Through my research, I grew to know Minnette and Corb. It was an intimate process, in which I gradually became enamoured of both people. Ultimately, it was a strange act of falling in love that was necessary for me to write their stories convincingly.
navneet.vyasan@htlive.com
