Kerala has a goodwill ambassador in ace novelist Amish Tripathi.
“Oh, I love this place where development is futuristic and the tourism industry, a model for the entire country,” reckons the garrulous author who wrote a chunk of the second volume of his Shiva trilogy, The secret of the Nagas, while on a sojourn to Munnar.
That was in 2009. But his love for Kerala dates back to a time when he would frequent Kochi for the board meetings of IDBI Federal Life Insurance as a senior executive. He’s been to different parts of the State and appreciates the way it has transformed over the years.
The admiration spills over to literature as well.
“I finished reading M.T. Vasudevan Nair’s Bhima: Lone Warrior just about two weeks ago. I thoroughly enjoyed it,” Mr. Tripathi told The Hindu in a tête-à-tête after throwing open DC Explore, a multi-category store from the DC Books stable at Convent Junction on Wednesday.
Latest book
Later in the day, he also launched his latest book, Scion of Ikshvaku, which forms part of his Ram Chandra series.
Primarily a reader of non-fiction — he’s currently with The Simpsons and their Mathematical Secrets — Mr. Tripathi devours books suggested by friends and family. Among Indian authors, Amitav Ghosh is his favourite. “The Ibis trilogy was simply awesome,” he says.
Despite humanising Hindu gods, he has never been under attack.
“A good 95 per cent of the controversies in India are manufactured. Often authors themselves create controversies with an eye on the sales chart. As for my works, there has been no objection, as there never was a need for a controversy. I’ve never been disrespectful towards Hindu icons and mythological characters. Truth to tell, I’ve not done anything new. That humans can become gods is an ancient Indian concept.”
An atheist
Born to deeply-religious parents, Mr. Tripathi was an atheist while writing the initial volumes of the Shiva series, but now he’s an ardent Shiva devotee. “In the traditional Indian way, there’s nothing wrong in being an atheist,” he says, citing the Charvakas.
A vast majority of ordinary people in India are deeply religious and deeply liberal; they are secularists in the traditional fashion, he observes.
The Ram Chandra series will run into a few volumes which will be followed by a series stemming from The Mahabharata.
“There are many more stories on my mind and I’ve left enough clues in the trilogy to the books I would write 25 years down the line,” he grins.
Oppression of women
For him, the biggest problem facing the country right now is oppression of women which he thinks is a more serious issue than caste or religious intolerance.
S. Anandan
