Ashwin Sanghi was enjoying a delicious cup of tea from a roadside vendor when inspiration for his latest book, The Vault of Vishnu , (Westland) struck.
“The vendor kept saying ‘ cheeni maar ke ’ meaning he had been generous with the sugar,” says Ashwin of the book that was launched at the 2020 Jaipur Literature Festival. “It struck me then that we call sugar cheeni , which means ‘from China’. Later on, I found out that the first Chinese immigrant to Bengal in the late 18th Century was someone called Tong Achew who had established a sugarcane plantation and a sugar refinery. The region where he started the refinery was called Achipur thereafter. Hence the term ‘ cheeni ’ for sugar.
“I also found that when the Chinese traveller Xuanzang visited India 11 centuries earlier, he had been excited to discover sugar and candies and took some back for the emperor. This meant that sugar had travelled from India to China and back again. I wondered how many such ideas went back and forth. These are two great civilizations and the exchange between them would have been substantial.”
The Vault of Vishnu , like all of Ashwin’s books is a heady mix of history, myth, science and thrills. The book, which will be launched in Bengaluru, is extensively researched. “As is my usual pattern, I invested almost a year in my research — reading books, articles and papers that would enable me to build the historical narrative around this ancient relationship.”
Ashwin visited China for the final part of his research. “I had never been to China before and it felt slightly intimidating. My itinerary was not determined by tourist cities but by specific locations that were part of my book’s narrative, places such as the Terracotta Army, the Wild Goose Pagoda, the White Horse Temple and the Shaolin Temple. The research was more difficult because of the China dimension. Ask me to weave a story around an Indian idea and the process is almost automatic. An alien culture is far more challenging.”
Fascinating fact
Of interesting nuggets of information Ashwin came across in his research, the Mumbai-based author says, “I was studying the Silk Road. One of the most famous spots along that route was Samarkand, which boasted of the cleverest merchants. As I did my reading, I came across a passage that said that when the traders of Samokien gave birth to a son, they put honey on his lips and placed glue in his palms. It was to ensure that when he grew up, he would speak only sweet words while grasping coins in his hand as if they were glued there. I found that very similar to the thinking of traders from Jewish or Marwari backgrounds.”
Saying he loves research in those areas that have overlaps, the 51-year-old says, “I am the overlap guy — between history and mythology; between spirituality and science; between past and present; between geography and politics… ”
Feminine principle
Like all Ashwin’s novels, The Vault of Shiva also has strong female characters from Pam Khurana, the young investigator from DRDO tasked with finding the secret of the Chinese soldiers’ superhuman strength to Jaya Roy, the veteran RAW agent and Anu Rao. “You know my fascination for Shakti. I have always believed that darkness is not the opposite of light but the absence of it. Shiva is not the opposite of Shakti but the absence of it. Male energy is the absence of female energy. The Rozabal Line had Martha-Swakilki-Alissa, Chanakya’s Chant had Chandini, The Krishna Key had Priya and Radhika... each of my novels has always had strong female leads. This one is no different.”
All the six novels in Ashwin’s Bharat Series have ‘Bharat’ as a common thread but not a common character.
“I want to build a character that will be common across a new series — as of now a closely guarded secret. The Bharat Series will always have different characters. The reason for that is the storylines will be different — one may require a scientist as the protagonist while another may need an academic or detective. Given that the Bharat Series is one in which I wish to write a book every two years until I die, I wish to keep my flexibility.”
- The Rozabal Line (2008) The historical thriller looks at the theory of Jesus settling down in Kashmir
- Chanakya’s Chant (2010) A look at the strategist Chanakya and his rebirth two and a half millennia later
- The Krishna Key (2012) A serial killer, who believes himself to be Kalki and a history professor who needs to clear his name of murder collide
- The Sialkot Saga (2016) Two very different men are connected by an ancient secret in this thriller set in world of business
- Keepers of the Kalachakra (2018) String theory, quantum mechanics and the beginning of time among other concepts are peppered across the pages
With the many web series available on streaming platforms, there is every chance of the books having a screen avatar. “Currently The Sialkot Saga is with Hansal Mehta for an OTT adaptation. The Krishna Key is with Eros Entertainment for a movie adaptation. The Rozabal Line is with a third entity for a mini-series. I am sure that the remaining books will also get optioned or acquired soon. But remember one thing. Any adaptations of Bharat Series is always challenging owing to the scale and scope of these stories. Hence, patience is key.” The Vault of Vishnu alternates between the present and Xuanzang’s journey to India between 627 and 645 CE.
“It was the final journey among the three most important travellers (Bodhidharma and Faxian). Xuanzang’s journey was documented extensively by his biographer. Writing about that particular journey was far easier than the other two.”
Almost 80% of the journey is true, says Ashwin. “I have made deviations at places to suit the fictional narrative. Xuanzang talks about a third statue at Bamiyan but he does not actually visit it. He only makes a mental note to visit it on his return tour but does not end up crossing Bamiyan on his return.”
Xuanzang’s journey has extensive footnotes mentioning the old and new names of the places he visited. “I was worried that the footnotes would distract but the consensus between editor and publisher and me was that the footnotes added the required information for the places in the travelogue without interrupting the first-person narrative. Actually, one could read the entire story without referring to the footnotes at all. The footnotes are for avid history buffs who would like to have that additional information.”
