From being a pen-pusher in the corporate sector, Amish Tripathi has indeed come a long way, taking the literary world by storm with his first book. As his Shiva trilogy finally comes to a much-awaited end, the author speaks to us about his journey, how Shiva might soon make a splash in a Hollywood flick, and why he needs to move on after Meluha. Excerpts:
From Immortals of Meluha to the Nagas and now the Vayuputras... How has the journey been?
It's been an unbelievable, almost surreal journey. The Immortals of Meluha was the first piece of fiction that I wrote. Becoming an author was not a scenario in any of my childhood fantasies. I was more of a sports enthusiast when I was young; boxing and gymnastics were my passion. Yes, I was always a voracious reader, being particularly drawn towards history and mythology. However, being academically inclined, I chose to graduate in Science rather than History or English Literature, and then went on to do my MBA, as it seemed a practical life-choice to make. And yet, here I am, actually making my living from writing. It's all because of Lord Shiva's blessings. It's a dream. Don't wake me up!
From the first book, till now, how have you evolved as an author?
Now that I am a full-time writer, I find that I can read as much as I like, visit new places, do extensive research, meet interesting people. I am not constrained by time and I think that reflects in my writing now. Perhaps this is the reason why my third book is 600 pages long! More importantly, I have evolved as a human being. I understand how lucky I am in terms of the family, friends and partners who surround me. Also, in the process of writing my books, I have rediscovered faith and spirituality. I am happy. Isn't that what truly matters?
Be it the book cover or marketing strategy, Meluha has been a first in many ways. What can we expect now?
Having been rejected by every publisher, one of the happy by-products of my first book, Meluha, was when I finally selfpublished it along with my agent (Anuj Bahri). Then I had complete control over marketing. There was nobody from the publishing industry telling me that 'this is the way it has always been done in publishing', which meant that we could try new and innovative marketing ideas. Due to my background (one of the departments I managed in my last job was Marketing), I had access to some really smart marketing people, none of whom were related to the publishing industry at that time. These people gave me some great advice and I, in turn, was smart enough to listen to them! In terms of the marketing strategy for the third book, The Oath of the Vayuputras, you're going to have to wait and see. But we have some pretty good ideas up our sleeves! The cover of the book has already been launched. I hope you like it.
So many characters, so many sub plots, yet all strung together so ably. Is that writing strategy or the magic of Amish?
I wish I could take credit for it and say that I plotted the entire story with a brilliant writing strategy. But it's not true. I did try to control the story at one point of time; it didn't work. My wife then told me this wonderful line: don't approach the story with the arrogance of a creator, approach it instead with the humility of a witness. That's how I write. I'm only a witness to Lord Shiva's magic.
Shiva is a mortal in your book. As the trilogy ends, is it an end of him as well?
I can't give away plot points of the 3rd book! My publisher will kill me if I do that! But yes, Lord Shiva is a mortal in my fictional series. He is a human being, like you and me. And the end will be fitting to that.
Will all the loose ends be tied in Vayuputras? Do we lose someone we love?
Nearly all the loose ends will be tied up in The Oath of the Vayuputras. For example, in this book, Shiva will finally meet the Chiefs of the Vasudevs (the tribe left behind by Lord Ram) and the Vayuputras (the tribe left behind by Lord Rudra) in their hidden cities of Ujjain and Pariha. Some loose ends will be left deliberately open for the readers to interpret. As for losing someone we love? The Shiva Trilogy chronicles a battle against Evil. And Evil does not go quietly into the night; instead, it puts up a strong fight against Good. So yes, people will die in Vayuputras. But then, all of us will die at some point or the other, won't we? It's not the fact of death itself, but the manner of our death which truly matters.
A host of new authors have come up following the success of Meluha. Some writing nonsense, some doing good work. How do you see this trend?
I have read some of the mythology-based books that have emerged. Yes, some of them could do with improvement. But there are also many books that are fantastic. And the way I see it, we live in a free country. So everybody has the right to write whatever they want to; just as we have the right to read whatever we want to.
Conan Doyle had to bring Sherlock Holmes back even after killing him. Do you think Amish will again have to write about the immortals, simply because of the millions of fans?
Good Lord! You're comparing my experience to that of a God amongst writers! I don't think I deserve to be spoken of in the same breath as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. As far as the Shiva Trilogy is concerned, it will end with this last book. I have many other story ideas in my mind, all based on mythology and history. But I don't think I will be returning to another Shiva story after this. Having said that, it doesn't mean that Lord Shiva will leave me when the trilogy is over.
Karan Johar has bought the rights. Hollywood has shown interest too. As the creator, who do you think can get under the skin of Shiva, both in Holly and Bolly?
True Karan Johar has bought the Indian language rights for The Immortals of Meluha. And yes, a conversation is on with some Hollywood producers as well. But as far as the actor to play Shiva is concerned, I don't think I should comment on it. Of course, I have my favourites and I've communicated that to Karan. I'm also aware of Karan's choices. But I think it's only fair that the producer of the movie announces the name of the actor who will play Shiva. And I'm sure that Karan will do so at an appropriate time.
Meluha has made some staggering sales figures, we hear?
Yes, God's been kind. Meluha and Nagas have hit nearly a million copies in print now. And Meluha has been released in 5 languages (English, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and Telugu), while Nagas has been released in 2 languages (English and Hindi). We will have more language versions releasing soon.
Among the three titles, if we ask Amish to pick his favourite character, except Shiva, which one will it be?
How can you stop me from picking Shiva! But if I have to look beyond Shiva, I think my favourite character would be Sati, the Meluhan princess and Shiva's wife. She is a strong, just and independent woman, whose moral compass is always robust. She fights her own battles. Sati is one woman who any man would admire.
What will Amish do now?
Once The Oath of the Vayuputras is launched, I'm going to take a two-month break and spend all my time with my family! They've been very patient with me over the last one year and I need to make it up to them. After that, I'll start working on my next book series. There are various story ideas, all in the space of mythology and history. But I haven't decided which one of them I'll write. Let's see where life takes me.
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