"But that was before I realised what my writing was all about and where I stood in terms of worth," added Nair, whose latest novel "Mistress" is climbing the estseller list.

On handing over a precious manuscript, a work so intensely personal, to an editor for the purpose of publishing, she said: "There comes a stage in a novel when as a writer you know you have done your best. And then you hand it over to an editor."

"An editor's role is important. Sometimes I go in for literary excesses, which I later cut out. I am like a flasher, I'm telling the editor, 'hey I can do this too'," she told writer-painter Manju Kak who engaged her in conversation.

"Poetry, however, is about my own emotions and I would not want them edited at all."

When Kak asked about idealism in art, Nair said: "I have seen artistes who have peaked early. You get the sense that they have sold out and that they regret their decision to do so. They are sometimes hugely successful, but you can see that they are unhappy."

Nair was working as the creative director of an advertising agency in Bangalore when she wrote her first book, a collection of short stories called "Satyr of the Subway". The book, which won her a fellowship from the Virginia Centre for Creative Arts, was followed by her second book "The Better Man" (Penguin).

On the amount of research on Kathakali she did for "Mistress", she said it was only when her son was grown up enough to be left alone that she travelled out.

Her third book, "Ladies Coupe", has been translated into more than 25 languages around the world. She has also written "The Puffin Book of World Myths and Legends".

Started in 2003, the "Words of Women" programme has so far featured Mahasweta Devi, Indira Goswami, Githa Hariharan, Mridula Garg, Manjula Padmanabhan, Mrinal Pande, Mitra Phukan, Kamila Shamsie, Kunzang Choden, Bulbul Sharma, Manju Dalmia, C.S. Lakshmi (Ambai), Namita Gokhale, Paro Anand, Shauna Singh Baldwin, Shobhaa De and Arupa Kalita Patangia.