Jeffrey Archer of India

Updated on: Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Amish Tripathi, bestselling author of The Immortals of Meluha, the first installment of the Shiva Trilogy, launched his second offering, The Secret of the Nagas, at Starmark, South City Mall, in association with Westland, recently in town. Actor and producer, Arindam Sil, was there to launch the book, while Rimi B Chatterjee, writer and academic, steered a discussion over the author, his inspiration and his works.

“I am deeply passionate about history, had it been a lucrative career, I would have taken it up. Coming from a quintessentially argumentative Indian family and growing up in a liberal atmosphere, procurement of knowledge was always a part of life. But I was a sports guy and then a hyperactive banker, writing came to me as divine inspiration,” said Tripathi. He added, “I approached the story with the humility of a witness rather than the arrogance of a writer. It was all due the blessings of Lord Shiva.”

The book launch was preceded by an innovative trailer of the book, which Gautam Jatia, CEO of Starmark, termed as ‘a novel way to launch a book’. During the better part of the evening, the author indulged in a question and answer session with the select gathering of enthusiastic readers. “Amish is involved at every stage of the book, from the writing process to the marketing procedure,” commented, Biswa Bandhu Mukherjee, representative of Westland.

Termed as the ‘Jeffrey Archer of India’, by Arindam Sil, an avowed fan of the books, Tripathi engaged the audience in an informative and enjoyable session. He talked about the genesis of his philosophy, the ‘divine inspiration’ behind his creations, his writing process and much more from history to mythology to contemporary issues of India.

Tripathi’s works are a mix of mythology, fantasy and philosophy, and steeped in history. Rimi B Chatterjee, commented, “It is tricky to use mythological characters. But in his works, you can relate to them because he has portrayed them as mortals embarking on fantastic adventures rather than gods or heroes.”

“This kind of book is best written in India, the beauty of India is that we localise our myths. The concept that a man can discover a God within and become one with Him is the premise of the book. The adventure is the icing on the cake. Writing has changed me. And I am a staunch believer of Lord Shiva now,” signed off Tripathi.

Jeffrey Archer of India

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