  We present near-infrared spectroscopic and photometric observations of the
nova KT Eridani taken during the first 100 days following its discovery in 2009
November. The JHK spectra of the object have been taken from the Mount Abu
Infrared Observatory using the Near-Infrared Imager/Spectrometer. The spectra,
typical of the He/N class novae, show strong He I emission lines together with
H I and O I emission features. The H I, Pa-beta and Br-gamma spectral lines and
the He I line at 2.0581 micron show broad wings with a relatively narrow
central component. The broad wings extend to 1900 km/s while the central
component has FWHM of 2100 km/s. The V and near-infrared JHK light curves show
an additional small amplitude outburst near 40 days after optical maximum. The
distance to the nova d = 6.3 +/- 0.1 kpc is derived using the MMRD relation and
the estimated value of t2 = 5.7 +/- 0.3 days. The small value of t2 places KT
Eri in the class of very fast novae. Using the value of the distance to the
nova d, we estimate the height of the nova to be z = 3.3 +/- 0.1 kpc below the
galactic plane. We have also calculated the upper limit for the ejecta mass for
KT Eri to be in the range 2.4-7.4 x 10^(-5) Msun. Kinematic evidence is
presented from the shape of the line profiles for a possible bipolar flow. We
analyze the temporal evolution of the continuum and also discuss the
possibility of KT Eri being a recurrent nova.
