Shankar Kashyap has always been interested in history and was keen on writing a book dealing with life in pre-historic India. “However, I was not very confident about my writing.
“My first foray into writing happened when I decided to document a false case foisted on me by colleagues. I decided to chronicle my battle for justice in my book, A Kangaroo Court : Triumph of Mediocrity that revealed the high levels of corruption at top levels of the medical regulatory authority in India. It was self published and a huge success. The success of the book gave me confidence to start working on new ideas.”
Despite his hectic schedule as an orthopaedic surgeon, Kashyap went on to write two books, Harappa: The Lure of Soma and The Fall Of Shruppak that dealt with various facets of life in the Indus Valley civilization.
He recently launched Dasharajna, The Battle Of The Ten Kings, the third book in the Harappa series.
Kashyap says, “I loved to read and was very keen on history. However, I have always felt that most historical writing in India, even by renowned historians such as Romila Thapar and Bipin Chandra are very academic in nature. I wanted to make history accessible and interesting for common people.
“I have been researching the Harappa civilization for the last 20 years. I have enjoyed writing a series of books based on this theme. Not much has been written about the Indus valley civilization. I wanted to change that.”
He points out, “The first book showcased life in the cities of Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Lothal and Dholavira and the war between the Vedic Aryans and the Avestans from Afghanistan. The Fall of Shuruppak deals with maritime trade and cultural links with the Sumerians, while the Dasharajna is a retelling of the battle between King Sudas of Puru and a confederacy of ten kings. It based on tales from the seventh book of Rig Veda. I have used the characters and episodes in the Rig Veda and placed them in Harappan civilization. I have used the archaeological and literary evidence to build the stories.”
The UK based Kashyap spends a couple of hours reading everyday and takes an hour out for writing. “I think it is very important for authors to keep reading. I have written many research papers and do not find writing for long hours a chore. I write down all my ideas and then spend many hours editing and working on it. My favourite authors are Alexander Dumas, PG Woodhouse, Agatha Christie and Christian Jaque.”
