Amish Tripathi is one of the first names that come to mind when we talk about Indian mythology. His writing is simple, and accessible and his storytelling creative. Amish’s first trilogy, ‘The Immortals of Meluha’, ‘The Secret of Nagas’, and ‘The Oath Of Vayupatras’, became instant hits, selling millions of copies. His writing was appreciated for its blend with modernity. He later started the Ram Chandra series, of which four books have been published. The latest one, ‘The War of Lanka‘, has recently been released. YKA got a chance to interview the author and host a giveaway with the book.
We told our 137,000-strong community that we are interviewing Amish, and they sent us their questions to ask him. This interview is technically an interview with Amish conducted by the YKA community.?
Here are the excerpts from the interview. They have been edited for precision.
Simran Pavecha (SP): Amish, Sahil Pradhan asks that with many vernacular and local versions of the Ramayana, how do you find your source of stories from? Do you pick up interesting facets from the different versions, or do you stick to a singular one for clarity?
Amish Tripathi (AP): No, in fact, I’ve actually read many versions of the Ramayana. I’ve heard many more. And then, essentially, the story ends up triangulating from many different versions. So, for example, the battle shown at the beginning of in Ikshvaku between Lord Dashrath and Ravan is actually inspired by the Anand Ramayana, which is also credited to to Valmiki. Sita Ma as a warrior, is inspired by Arpit Ramayana. Some parts are Valmiki Ramayana. So it’s a combination of various things. Some by Ramcharit Manas, some by Kapal Ramayana, and some by my own imagination.
SP: What makes you pick a certain aspect of a particular story? Is it something that your ideologies relate to?
AT: I am an instinctive writer, so it’s not that I plan you know which part to pick and which part not to pick. There are things which I have said repeatedly, I genuinely believe the stories are the blessing of Lord Shiva because I can’t explain where it comes from. In a way, it’s almost like he picks it. So it just comes to me naturally. My task is that I research as much as I can, I should read as much as I can, should listen as much as I can, and absorb as many versions as I can, and then it somehow comes together in a story the way Lord Shiva wills it.
SP: The second question is from Abhineet Nayyar. He asks, and I quote, ‘The complete set of your writings relies on the idea of alternate histories. So, in an environment like today’s when there’s a tendency to maybe adhere to one history, how can your readers learn from your books?“
AT: Uh, actually, if you see today’s day, there is, or at least I believe, that Indians are comfortable with multiple truths. It is a rich tradition in India, and I am talking about the Indian masses, not necessarily the elites because many of the heated debates you are talking about happen at the elite level.
People are comfortable with multiple truths as long as you present your version with respect. If you write with disrespect, then obviously controversies will happen. But if you don’t, then you can present your version, and it’s ok; people accept it.
I am living proof of that theory. I have written ten books in 12 years. They have sold some 6 million copies. From what my publishers tell me Shiva trilogy is our fastest-selling ever, and the Ram Chandra series is our second fastest-selling ever. But have you heard any controversy around me? If you present with respect, people accept, which means you can write it the way it comes to you, as long as you write with respect.
SP: Aditya Anand wants to ask this – Often, your stories are rooted in the past but offer a take on recent incidents, be it the Delhi Case, Jalikattu, Sabarimala and now the Surgical Strike. Why do you think that the learnings and decisions that the characters of the past arrive at in your books can be drawn parallel to the modern complexities?
AT: It’s a good question. Look, many of these stories Indians have kept alive for thousands and thousands of years. We are the only pre-bronze age culture that is still alive. We used to listen to stories that were told 10,000 years ago. It shows that the stories are kept alive in the present moment because they also speak to the present. In that way, these stories are timeless. You know it’s not just the stories. It’s the philosophies told through those stories which make them timeless. The core philosophy may be the same, but it’s addressing some questions in today’s day, so you know it becomes more relevant and understandable if it comes as connected to a specific issue rather than an esoteric issue that you may not feel anything about.
For example, in the traditional Indian debate in law and justice – which side do you pick? Usually, law and justice should work in consonance, but there are times when law and justice are not on the same side. Then what should you do? Should you, like Lord Ram said, follow the law no matter what because if you break the law for justice, for what you think is justice, then you have vigilantism and chaos? Or should you follow Lord Bharat’s approach, which is that the law’s purpose is to serve justice? If the law is not serving justice, then you should break the law to serve justice. Now there are two different approaches. I don’t know what the right answer is, and these debates have happened very often, but if you link it to a present case like the Delhi case, then it becomes more understandable. I guess that’s why it comes to me that way.
SP: Okay. I wanted to ask somewhat of a follow-up question here, and this is something that I personally wanted to ask you. There is this whole segment in the War of Lanka where there is a flashback scene of Vishvamitra and Vashishtha, and they’re talking about heavier terms like a social contract, inclusivity, role of the state, excellence. There is this whole segment dedicated to the difference between elites and masses; the elite and the counter-elite. Reading all of that, I wanted to ask you your thoughts on merit in India.
AT: Good question. Ideally, as lord Krishna said in the Bhagavad Gita, your status should be based on your qualities and your attributes, should not be based on your birth. But then, how does one implement that in practice? Does your birth make a difference to the qualities you are possessed with? I was born, for example, into a very humble family. We didn’t have that many blessings from Goddess Laxmi, but we had a lot of blessings from Goddess Saraswati. My parents are obsessed with education. My grandparents, my grandfather on my father’s side and my grandmother on my mother’s side, were teachers. That has impacted me in my career, so how do I take my birth away from that?
But, the counterpoint is that if someone benefits in some way from birth, that same person can have some limitations also, from that same birth. You can’t do anything about that birth, now it’s happened na, what do you want to do? So there is no clear-cut answer to that.
I explore the concept of MIKA, which is in a well-established form in the Shiva Trilogy. In the Ramchandra series, the theory is being discussed. MIKA is a system where all newborn babies are brought up, and equal education is given to them by the state. Based on their knowledge and skills, they are branded as caste. For example, a Brahmin’s son or daughter can become a Shudra or Vaishya. The parents will adopt 21-year grown-up children from Mika according to their caste. They don’t have any identity for their own baby but for their future and family. They will adopt from Mika according to their chosen tribe.
MIKA system was in parts drawn from some lessons in Yog Vashishtha, some from Plato’s republic. I can’t say I have ever seen or read, a historical text of a MIKA system being implemented anywhere. So, it is imaginary of course. The theory has been discussed. Still, it hasn’t really been put into practice. So is MIKA the best way? Then, your birth certainly doesn’t matter only your attributes and quality. But is that system practical to implement? It was implemented in Meluha, still.
I don’t know what the answer is. I discuss various aspects of it, like what choices society should make. There are choices we have made as a society to put an affirmative action programme and a positive discrimination program. In the history of humanity, that’s more than what, say, Americans have done. Europe has done practically nothing for Roma. They’re the most oppressed group in Europe. They are treated like gipsies; very badly. Europeans go around talking a good game around the world about the Roma but they do very little. We have done at least something, far more than what they have. The problem is there is no clear answer to all this. I don’t know what the correct choice for society is. I just explain various aspects.
Now, the YKA community has a bunch of rapid-fire questions, especially on writing. We are a writing platform, and a lot of writers wanted some advice or tips, so they’d love to hear from you.
SP: Ishika Satwika Singh asked that for someone who has just started writing and wants to make it a career, what advice would you give them?
AT: The one thing I must say is that writing books is a very high-risk, high-return kind of game. It’s a bit like wanting to become a Bollywood actor. You might see a few people, a handful of people earning more than they ever thought possible. The vast majority earn very little, not even enough to pay the bills at the end of the month. A Bollywood career is frankly like writing books.
I am lucky that I am earning more money than I ever dreamt possible through my books, but I don’t know how long this will last. My subsequent books could start flopping. I’m lucky that even War Of Lanka is doing well.
Anyone who wants to take up a writing career – be aware of this. If your purpose is fame and money, there are other much easier routes. But if your purpose is to give voice to your soul, then there is no field like writing, So be clear about what the purpose is.
There is a corollary to this, which I must clarify because you must pay your bills at the end of the month. Unless the bank of mummy and daddy has left a good inheritance for you, you need to earn money to pay the bills, so then you must have a job on the side. If the job is linked to writing in some way, then you at least get practice with your job. If you are doing a copywriter job at an ad agency, or a journalist job, they help you with money to pay the bills, but it also helps you practice the art of writing.
SP: DivineFoodSales asked what gave you the confidence to self-publish your first book?
AT: Confidence and stupidity are two sides of the same coin. You can be sure whether you are confident or stupid only in hindsight, depending on the result. So I just wanted to try it out. I didn’t want to surrender. I decided I would back myself, and I will try. The worst-case scenario was it would not work, and I invested my own money. I was in a banking job, earning enough from my salary. We tried it, and I was lucky that it worked out.
SP: Sukanya Das asks whether you think writing is a dying art. How do you motivate young people to take up the pen?
AT: I hope it’s not dying. I won’t have a job then. In some ways, writing in India is the best of times, and in some ways, its the worst of times. Best of times, as in, 20 years ago, you know a bestseller meant maybe 5 or 10 thousand copies in sales. Today, a bestseller means 50 thousand copies in sales. There are a few who sell in the lakhs. And two of us, Chetan Bhagat and I, sell in the millions. This wouldn’t have been possible 20 years ago.
Having said that, it is, in a way, the worst of times as well because there has been an impact, both in India and abroad, on online sales. Online was supposed to be the democratizing tool. Ironically, it ended up being a concentration tool. The top 15-20 authors are selling more in the west, and the long tail, where you just sell 50 books or something, they are also selling. But the average hit author, which would be 50 or a 100 thousand copies in the west, they are really dying out. Will that play out in India as well? The average seller author actually gets discovered through bookstores. Your app is not good for browsing, right? There is a challenge in that as well. Let’s see how things play out.
SP: Rigya asks what do you do when you face writer’s block?
AT: I have faced writer’s block only once, but that was because I was undergoing some real personal tragedies. At that time, I was in a very bad state mentally. I have never had it. I have had 10 books in 12 years, and each of the books is relatively long: 400-500 pages. They are quite intense. They have a lot of research work in there. They are, in a way, period pieces. I couldn’t have written so much if I had faced writer’s block, frankly.
SP: I think I will connect this with one of the very first things you said about how writing comes to you.
AT: Correct.
SP: DivineFoodSales asks who’s your favourite author outside of India?
AT: Uh, I genuinely believe that if you have only one favourite author, you haven’t read enough, so you could read more. So normally I answer this question based on the books I’ve read in the recent past.
I liked Niel Ferguson’s ‘Empire. Niel is a guy who someone like me wouldn’t like because he actually defends the British Raj. He is a brilliant historian though. And I always like to read the works of people whose viewpoints I might disagree with. I think that’s what helps you grow. You shouldn’t only read those whose views you agree with. I really enjoyed his Empire a lot because whatever his biases may be, there is no doubt that he is a brilliant scholar.
SP: Do you maybe also want to give me a fiction name?
AT: I mostly read non-fiction. I don’t usually read too much fiction. 90% of my reading is non-fiction.
SP: Ishika Satwika Singh asks what are you currently reading?
SP: I just finished Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations.
SP: Lovely. Rigya asks who some Indian authors that are under-read, in your opinion, are.
AT: Hmm. There are so many. Let me tell you the names of some regional language authors whose translated works I have read in either Hindi or English. Much of our literary culture is so English-obsessed that we miss out on many of these gems. I would suggest SL Bhairappa’s Parwa and, in fact, all of SL Bhairappa Ji’s books. He is a legend in Kannada literature, but sadly, many outside Karnataka haven’t heard of him. His translated world is available in English and Hindi. He should be read.
Narendra Kohli ji sadly passed away recently. In the Hindi literary world, everyone would have heard of him, but outside of that, not many have. It is the dominance of English, sadly. I would also suggest Shivaji Sawant, a Marathi writer who also passed away. Brilliant, brilliant writer. You know there are real gems in our regional language literature.
SP: Shivaji Sawant is the one who wrote Mritunjay, right?
AT: Yes, yes. Oh, good, you know that stuff. It’s so beautiful. So there are real gems in our regional language which sadly are not as well publicized at the national scale because of the dominance of English.
You can find Amish’s new book on Amazon here. To share your review of the book or your thoughts on Amish’s take on mythology, head here and click on ‘Start Writing’.