With the forthcoming release of the second book in his series on lord Rama, banker-turned-writer Amish Tripathi says, ‘My books are a very small contribution to a very rich, proud and vibrant heritage and to the innate coolness of lord Shiva.’ Unnati joshi reports
Who would believe that one of the Indian bestsellers happened over a drawing room conversationIJ
“It all began with a family discussion on the topic ‘What is evil’. I seemed to have a lot of thoughts on it and my family told me to write those thoughts down. So what started off as a pure philosophic thesis eventually took the shape of the Shiva Trilogy,” said Amish.
A graduate from IIM-Kolkata, Amish Tripathi worked for 14 years in the financial services industry before turning to writing. Amish’s unique combination of crackling story-telling, religious symbolism and profound philosophies have made him an overnight publishing phenomenon.
Given the title of ‘India’s first literary popstar’ by world-renowned film director Shekhar Kapur, Amish said, “Writing was never on my mind. I didn’t think I was creative. Also, I come from a middle class background where academics was always given top priority. My parents ensured that all of us got the best possible education. I graduated in Mathematics and post finishing B school, I threw myself into the world of Banking and Finance. Had that journey continued I would have aimed for the top job there. So no, writing was never there in my plans at all.”
“If you look into our ancient past, that is the way our stories were written, where philosophies were told in the form of simple stories that people could relate to and understand. I am following our tradition. There are issues that I feel strongly about or philosophies that I have clear views on. I try to convey those through my stories,” he further added.
When asked if he wanted to change Shiva’s perception, he promptly said, “Who am I to change the perceptions of lord Shiva. My books are only a very small contribution to a very rich, proud and vibrant heritage and to the innate coolness of lord Shiva.”
After the Shiva trilogy, it was lord Rama’s turn. What triggered him to do thatIJ
“The trigger was an incident which happened at a litFest in Mumbai, a few years ago, where someone came up to me and said some really crude and hurtful things on lord Ram. In the Indian way, we are encouraged to question everything and everyone, including God. But the kind of words that were used in that conversation upset me a great deal. I was so upset that I decided to write on lord Ram for my next book series.
While writing a book I do not do any research as it distracts me from the writing process. The research is done when I am not writing. I read 4-8 books a month. I already knew much of the stories on the subject. I am fortunate to have been born into a family where my grandfather was a Sanskrit scholar. My parents are very religious too,” Amish explained.
Karan Johar has acquired the rights to adapt the Shiva Trilogy into a film.When asked if he is planning any movie on his book, “That will happen in due course. As of now my focus is totally on the Ram Chandra Series. The second book in this series is due next year,” he concluded.