The Man and the myth: Amish Tripathi

The one man who is synonymous with Indian fiction and mythology is Amish Tripathi. At the Young Changemakers conclave, held at the American Consulate grounds on the 1st of February the author of the best­selling Shiva Trilogy, was one of the key speakers. Two members from the DNA Shadow Editorial Board –Lakshmi Pillai and Snehal Khandekar­ had the opportunity to exclusively interview him.

Here are the details of the interview:

Why Shiva?

The Immortals of Meluha began as a philosophical thesis about the nature of evil…

Why Shiva specifically? You have Lord Vishnu who has taken avatars several times to combat evil…

Lord Vishnu propagates good but the role of Mahadev is to destroy evil. Since the series is a philosophical thesis about the nature of evil, you have Shiva as the protagonist. Unlike Lord Vishnu, Mahadev doesn’t take an avatar; he acts as an outsider who has to battle evil. Lord Vishnu and Mahadev are both crucial and they work in partnership so you can’t mix the two as they are not interchangeable. Because of the Shiva Trilogy, reinventions of myths have become an interesting part of Indian Literature.

How important is Indian subjects to revive the interest of Indians towards native literature, to battle cultural amnesia?

Re­telling of myths were always popular. In fact, regional re­telling of myths were very popular. E.g., the Marathi classic Mrityunjay. Re­telling of myths however went out of fashion during the last 100 years. Today it's popular again. The fact that it is popular today reflects the confidence we have in our culture which had earlier declined due to colonial past. Then again, earlier, narrating the myths as they were, were more popular. Today, it's re­invention. That’s what I’ve done; I’ve simply re­invented.

Besides the book as an entity in itself, what are the other extrinsic factors that contribute to a book’s success?

Every book has to be marketed well. Another factor that also plays a vital part is timing; does the existing market require this book? Is this book suited to the market and to its consumers? Luckily, for me everything worked well. It's about being at the right place at the right time. So there’s marketing, there’s timing and most importantly, content.

Do you write books because you like writing, and write for yourself or as a duty towards society?

I don’t think it would be right to assume that I’m some great person who writes as a duty towards society. I never planned to be a writer in the first place. God blessed with a story and I wrote it.

You’re next story will also revolve around mythology. So, say, 25 years later, if you decide to work on a totally different genre, poles apart from mythology, aren’t you afraid that the resulting work might not be well received as you might get typecast as a mythological writer?

I write, like I said, when God blesses me with a story. I never planned on being a writer. I was a banker. So if a book of mine doesn’t do well, I always have the option to return to banking.

We wouldn’t want you to return to banking! How’s your life as a banker different from your life as a writer?

It's very different…

Which do you prefer?

The life as an author. I don’t have any regrets about having been a banker. I have come from a middle class family and I do not have my dad’s money to fall back on. The life of a banker that the first had was important for me to secure my life. Today as an author, I’m happier.

The film rights to your book have been purchased. How can a film adaptation do justice to the book from which its story is derived?

The film can never be exactly like the book. But if it manages to capture the essence of the book, then it’s enough. The movie, Life of Pi, wasn’t exactly like the book but it managed to capture the essence of the cook and hence can be called a successful film adaptation of the book.

What would be your favourite film adaptation of a book?

Gone with the wind.

Who is your favourite author?

My favourite author differs from time to time since I am a voracious reader. Based on the books I’ve read of late, my favourite books would be Minhaz Merchant’s New Clash of Civilizations and Devdutt Pattanaik’s Sita.

The hero of the series­ Shiva­ is portrayed as a flawed one: he drinks, he is aggressive and impulsive. However the heroine is quite perfect: she is elegant, beautiful, wields weapons to defend herself and composed. Does it take a perfect woman to qualify as a heroine?

That was how the image and character of Sati came along with the story. My heroines are not really portrayed as perfect; Anandmayi, for instance, is not perfect.