“The Immortals of Meluha” and “The Secret of the Nagas” are my dedications to Lord Shiva and it was he who helped me write these books. I think I just got lucky!
YouthKiAwaaz.com’s Shivangi Singh got a chance to interview best selling author Amish Tripathi whose first book was in the top charts within weeks of its launch, and the last part of Shiva Trilogy is just around the corner:
1. Your books are a premium cocktail of spirituality and religion. What prompted you to dig into history for this series while being an atheist yourself?
I come from a very religious family background. My grandfather was a priest and a teacher in Varanasi and my parents were intense Shiv-Bhakts. During my college days in 1990s, the growing communal violence turned me against religion and spirituality. My father constantly reminded me that it is the miscreants that misuse religion to propel violence.
In many ways, this is my return to spirituality. Through my books, I rediscovered my love for Lord Shiva and the latent spirituality in me.
2. You studied in one of the most esteemed educational institute in India. How, When and Why did you decide to get into writing?
Believe it or not, I had never been into writing. I had absolutely no creative bone in me. I firmly believe that writing chose me, instead of it being the other way round. “The Immortals of Meluha” and “The Secret of the Nagas” are my dedications to Lord Shiva and it was he who helped me write these books. I think I just got lucky!
3. Seeing that your books are critically acclaimed, what in your opinion makes a book an unparalleled best-seller? With the mushrooming of myriad wannabe-young authors who focus less on good language and substance, and more on getting their names into the best-seller lists, do you think writing has now become a dirty business?
There is no hard and fixed recipe for creating a best seller. In my case, many people believe it’s because of the philosophical content, some believe it’s because mythology attracts Indians while some others maintain that my books became a hit due to the marketing. There are many post facto explanations but you can’t pin-point anything singularly.
Writing can never be a dirty business. India is a democratic republic and true to its spirit every citizen has the right to Freedom of Speech. So, every Indian has the right to write anything (given that it’s not hate speech or inflammatory content) and similarly, every Indian reserves the right to read whatever they please.
4. What can the readers expect from the final peg of the Shiva Trilogy?
You really need to read the book to find out! The only thing that I can let out right now is that evil will be out of the equation. The book will be in stores most probably by December 2012.