Continuing the saga of the legendary courtesan Amrapali which started with “The Legend of Amrapali”, a historical fiction, Anurag Anand has now brought forth the sequel “Birth of the Bastard Prince” (Rupa). Admitting candidly that this was always on the cards the author says while working on the plot of the former his “marketing brain was busy with its own machinations on the sidelines”. Elaborating he states: “I wanted to present the story of the enigmatic courtesan in a simple yet entertaining manner so as to reach out to maximum number of readers possible. Since I knew that for occasional readers there is no bigger hindrance than a book that threatens to double up as a dumbbell –– all thick and heavy –– from the very onset I had decided to tell the story in two parts.”
While the prequel focuses on the early years of the Amrapali, from an infant found abandoned under a mango tree to her being crowned the Nagarvadhu of the kingdom of Vaishali, the present novel deals with her love affair with Bimbisara, emperor of Magadh, the battle between Vaishali and Magadh and the final calling of the Amrapali. A capsule in the prologue of “The Birth of...” is provided for those who have not read the first story. Explaining the need for this, the author says, “The summary was essential to make the book a stand-alone read, and this was in congruence with my initial objective of reaching out to as many readers as I could.” He adds, “also there was the practical consideration that both the books have been published by different publication houses and I didn’t want the readers to suffer”.
Anurag who, at present, is employed with a beverage major in Gurgaon believes that his interaction with people from diverse backgrounds who spoke, thought, acted and reacted differently in his student days and corporate career gave him a deep understanding of human psychology. “It is a reservoir I unabashedly draw from to shape my stories,” he comments.
The author started his writing journey with self-help genre and later realising that he had several stories bustling inside him moved to fiction though he confesses that this was “aided of course by the knowledge that that is where the moolah rested”. Anurag found historical fiction a different cup of tea since he had to equip himself with the historical and cultural context of the period he was dealing with. “Each time I sat down to write, I had to virtually transport my thoughts back to that era,” says the writer. He finds Indian history rich and intriguing but also significant as according to him “it not only helps us remain connected to our past, but also restores our societal and cultural values in the present context”.
Though the story of Amrapali has been part of the folklore for thousands of years, according to Anurag the only accessible works around her life are a couple of books in Hindi and their on-screen adaptations. Moulding the protagonist as a strong-willed woman of today, he imbibed her with the attributes of compassion, love, inner-strength, resolve and grit to fight for what was rightfully hers.
Besides the research for the prequel, for “Birth of the...” the author was required to do groundwork on Bimbisara’s life and the war between Vaishali and Magadh. He visited the ruins of ancient Vaishali in Bihar and describes it as “the most enchanting experience”.
Anurag says, “It is never easy to arrive at the right mix of facts and fiction so as to not tamper with the basic fabric of the story and yet fill in all the gaping fissures to put together a story that manages to hold the interest of its readers till the very end.” Expounding his approach he adds after laying out all the historically available facts and layering them with the commonly held beliefs and anecdotes he uses his poetic license to bridge the gaps and create a flow. “
Amrapali’s life is reflective of the present status of women in India. The writer says, “Women in the country have been on the receiving end of oppression for time immemorial and even today, despite many activists and organisations taking to the streets”. He feels that the evil is far from being vanquished and comments: “Her story teaches us an important lesson that the fight against oppression needs to begin with the oppressed. If the women of today, instead of taking on the role of a hapless victim, decide to stand up for what they believe is theirs, there is no power on earth that can keep them from it.”
A production house has approached him to make a television series on the sequel. The author is not averse to big-screen adaptation of the novel. As of now he is busy penning a mature love story set in the present times. “It is targeted at readers who want to graduate from campus romance novels and are looking for stories that are more real and relatable.”
