In The Name of God
Author: Ravi Subramanian
Publisher: Penguin Random House, Rs 299
God is supposed to be the most powerful, but what if I tell you that there are 33,000 temples in Tamil Nadu and nobody knows what is in themIJ With no information and records, how safe are these ancient temples, Ravi Subramanian asks Ananya Borgohain
Popular award winning crime writer Ravi Subramanian who has been writing for a decade now released his latest book, In the Name of God, recently. As the debate over whether the vault B of the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala should be open or not has emerged this month, Subramanian’s thriller lends a fresh perspective to the world of India’s ancient temples. The author elaborates in an interview.
Please tell us a little about your book.
The Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala is known to be the richest temple in the world; it’s richer than the Vatican. It is said that $20 billion are hidden in the temple. Run by the Maharaja of Travancore, it is also the only temple that is under private control. My book draws inspiration from an amicus curiae report that was submitted to the Supreme Court regarding an investigation on missing gold from the temple. Two and half years back, I had read a news article about misdoings in the temple. At the same time, I was reading a novel called Flawless by Scott Andrew Selby and Greg Campbell. It was based on the diamond heist in Antwerp in 2003, which is also known as the heist of the century. The vault that was robbed was one of the most secure in the world. Yet, the diamonds remain unrecovered even today. It got me thinking how long it would take for gold to be pilfered or attempt a heist in the Padmanabhaswamy temple. There is also an antique smuggling racket in Tamil Nadu and once antique from the State was found in Australia! So I took bits of all of these and incorporated in my novel.
There is a controversy involving the old (Zaveri Bazaar) and new diamond markets in Mumbai. Then there is also the Wafi mall robbery in Dubai where two cars drove into the mall and stole jewellery worth millions. In my books, all of these events come together and then people start dying. For example, an autodriver’s body is found in the temple. This was also a true report but I have merged facts and fiction here. This is my only book that has a disclaimer urging readers to imagine what could have been, instead of what has.
Were you nervous that you were writing about real crimes that had happenedIJ The Padmanabhaswamy temple controversy, for example, was a really sensitive issue.
I would be lying if I said I was not worried about it but you will have to understand that my book is only set on the temple. It is not about the temple or its management. I got a message some time back from a man who said that he genuinely liked the book and that he had assisted Gopal Subramaniam draft the amicus curiae report to the Supreme Court.
I will also have to give you a little bit of a spoiler here. I have left the Maharaja of Travancore off the hook in the end. I guess if I had not, it might have been controversial. People do get offended seriously in general, but I knew that my conscience was clear.
What are your opinions about security in heritage temples in IndiaIJ
There are 33,000 temples in Tamil Nadu. Would you believe if I said that nobody knows what kind of assets any of those temples haveIJ Well, it’s true! We are not aware what these thousands of temples are worth. So if anyone steals anything from there, one would probably not even know because there are no records about these temples, many of which are from the ancient times.
There are 1,50,000 black and white photographs held with the French Institute of Pondicherry. These photographs show the temples’ sculptures, statues, architecture and so on. Now the institute is also digitising their records for security. It’s ironic because God is supposed to be so powerful but it is still scary that such important temples and their treasures are in oblivion.
What are the key elements for a thrillerIJ
Money, power, religion, and lust. These then lead to crime, betrayal, and so on.
What makes you think of such plotsIJ
I have become more curious after being involved with this genre. It makes you suspicious, ask interesting questions. My eagerness to imagine the ‘what-if’ helps me think of plots.
Do you also read a lot of thrillersIJ
Yes, I read the contemporary thrillers; writers such as James Patterson, David Baldacci, Ashwin Sanghi. I am not too fond of war dramas or old books. I read fewer classics. I like to be in touch with the contemporary reality. Many of us writers read each other’s works and also keep in touch. We have a WhatsApp group called Authors/Friends!
Did you like your contemporary Ashwin Sanghi’s collaboration with James Patterson, Private DelhiIJ
Well, it was certainly not Ashwin’s best but I have read the Private series. I liked Private India (by the same authors) better than Private Delhi. I have really liked Ashwin’s Krishna Key and Sialkot Saga.
What do you have to say about the readers of your genre in IndiaIJ
It’s really unfortunate. In fact, if you search on Amazon’s ‘Crime and Thriller’ page, on the top of the page, you will find a list of popular thriller writers. There will be around 12 names in that list of which, only two will be Indian — Ashwin Sanghi and I.
For the Indian thriller writers, the people will have to reach out to read them as well as the publishers to sign and promote them. They get minimal publicity. It is not like there are no good thriller writers in our country. Most journalists do not like Chetan Bhagat but I feel that the thriller genre in India needs a Chetan Bhagat too; someone who can write something simple but make it so vastly popular.
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