At the launch of his latest novel ‘The War of Lanka’ Amish Tripathi wielded his knowledge as deftly as Lord Rama wielded the bow bestowed on him by Lord Maheswara — matching words with the experts in the room, debating matters of mythology with scholars, and correcting the wannabe challengers. They are all amateurs compared to Amish, so they came to listen, learn and be amazed.
Amish Tripathi, Indian author and diplomat, best known for his Shiva Trilogy and Ram Chandra Series, has an exceptionally interesting manner of writing, looking at Indian mythology from many different points of view. He even wrote a whole novel from the point of view of Sita. Amish’s books have sold over 6 million copies in the Indian subcontinent since 2010. He is also Minister (Culture & Education) at the High Commission of India in the UK and Director of the Nehru Centre, London. Excerpts from an interview:
Q. Amish, I must ask you is – Did you choose this career, or did it choose you?
I think it goes without saying it had to choose me. I did not grow up thinking – I must be a writer. So, the writing career chose me. I used to work in Finance. MBA from IIM-Calcutta, and then Banking for 14 years. But this did not motivate or invigorate me. I started writing my books while still holding down a career in finance. I started writing for myself, as history really interested me; and I wrote my first two books while still working in finance. To my surprise they really took off. After my second book, I resigned when my royalty cheque outweighed my salary.
Then I was negotiating from a position of strength, as my book was the biggest hit of the year.
Q. What was the most difficult aspect of starting this career that was so different from finance?
Writing itself was tough. I had never written fiction before. I was a voracious reader but had not written anything. I read some self-help books about writing but they were useless. So, I just wrote from the heart.
Then the toughest part was getting my first book published. I was told it was a guaranteed flop. (I got rejected so many times, I stopped counting.) The subject was not popular in those days, at least in English-language publishing. I was told that there are too many philosophy discussions in the book and that I had to dumb it down for the youth. I refused to make any changes. So, I had to self-publish. That first book, ‘Immortals of Meluha,’ took off in the first week. Then the publishers who rejected me came back to bid for it.
Q. Would you say, you actually were very lucky, apart from being hugely talented, as your book took off right from the start?
Yes, you could say that I was lucky; but the Universe has a way of balancing out good luck in other areas of life. Career-wise, I have had good fortune. Personally though, I have had challenging times. I lost people very close to me. I am very family-oriented and to lose people is painful.
Q. Has it impacted how you write and what you write?
Artistes are emotional beings. What you experience does impact your art.
Q. What is the most enjoyable about what you do?
I do what I love and get paid for it. There is no greater privilege.
Q. What do you dislike about your career and fame?
I have been in the public space for about 12 years. This can be a challenge at times, if one is basically a private person. But my career entails that I must be in the public space to promote my books. I like to keep my personal life out of the news.
Q. Being a public figure, you surely understand the interest people have in you that also extends to your personal life?
Some people in the public space are comfortable sharing their lives. But there are some like me who are not comfortable sharing. People have a right to know about your work, and have opinions on it. However, people do not have a right to know your private life. Having said that, in this social media dominated age, privacy seems to be going down as a need. It’s up to each person to decide. It just doesn’t work for me.
Q. If you think back to the last year, what has been the most challenging for you?
Time. For my next trick I would like to create time. I am not only an author, I am also a diplomat. I am Minister for Culture at the Indian High Commission in London and Director of the Nehru Centre, but the government has now expanded my portfolio and I am also now the Minister Education at the High Commission. So, there is a full-time job, and I also need to find time to write and promote my books.
Q. If someone is in a job that doesn’t motivate them, and is thinking, ‘I have this passion... I too would like to write a book’, what would your advice be?
There is no harm in doing something you love. But do it with your eyes open. If you are writing thinking this will be the path to money and fame, then I would not recommend it. There are much easier ways to earn money and easier ways to find fame as well, especially in today’s day and age.
Writing has to be something which is almost like a calling. It’s the voice of your soul and you want to communicate that. It’s a high-risk, high-returns game. So only do it if you are passionate about it. Do it without expecting any returns.
