A NEW CHAPTER BROUGHT TO LIFE BY AMISH TRIPATHI

A NEW CHAPTER BROUGHT TO LIFE BY AMISH TRIPATHI

The Theater, Indian Habitat Centre saw a gathering of intellectuals and avid readers for a chapter launch from bestselling author Amish Tripathi’s upcoming book, ‘Scion of Ikshvaku’. It was a live chapter reading event, where Amish was accompanied by actress/politician Gul Panag. Present at the event were also Mr. Sameer Kumar, associate, Amazon India Kindle and Mr. Gautam Padmanabhan, CEO, Westland Ltd.

From left to right: Sameer Kumar, Gul Panag, Amish tripathi and Gautam Padmanabhan holding the first chapter in the kindle

Releasing on the 22nd June, the first book of the Ram Chandra series, ‘Scion of Ikhsvaku’ is Amish’s interpretation of Lord Rama’s tale. The logic behind the title: scion means a noble descendant and Lord Ikshvaku was the founder of the Suryavansh while Lord Rama was the Suryavanshi king who reigned 50 years after the former and hence, Lord Rama is the ‘Scion of Ikshvaku’.

About the book:

Scion of Ikshvaku traces the story of Ram Chandra, the son of Dashrath and the founder of what is known as Ram Rajya, the perfect empire. The series, a fictional interpretation based on the many versions of the Ramayana, promises to be a fast-paced adventure melded with historical theories and Amish’s powerful imagination.

The first look of the book

To honour the author and Kindle’s association with the book, Mr. Kumar said, “The arrangement with Amish is very special. We are exclusive on kindle and on Amazon.in for the book. We’ve been in India for two years and Amish’s book has been one constant bestseller with us. Our goal is to reach out to as many people in tier 1 and 2 cities and books like Amish’s help us get there. His books connect with our dna, which revolves around passion for reading and to create such books. So it’s not just the author that benefits from the platform, it’s a two way process.”

Mr. Sameer Kumar speaking of their association with the author

Speaking on the occasion was also Mr. Padmanabhan who put light on the author’s success. He said, “We all know Amish as a great storyteller but behind the facade is a deep thinker who has evolved his own ideas on spirituality, philosophy and history through his extensive readings and study of various texts, given the focussed man that he is. He is completely immersed while writing a story but once the writing is over; he puts on his marketing hat and gets completely involved in promotions. He has changed the way books are marketed in India. I suspect there’s a potential film maker hidden in him as he has a director’s eye for details, however small.

Gautam Padmanabhan, CEO, Westland Ltd. addressing the public

A voracious reader herself, Gul Panag told us what hooked her to the books Amish previously wrote, she said, “The easiest way to explain why I like his books is that makes the supernatural look natural. A lot of mystery surrounds our mythology, history and culture, which in his books, are explained very strategically and scientifically, which for me, is the biggest take away. I vaguely knew bits and pieces of the stories before that Amish explained in his books and when he writes, it’s so beautifully woven that you can’t challenge the logic of it. I would not be overreaching if I said that he should actually become a historical consultant. To tell people the stuff that in itself is scientifically inexplicable is truly an art and that’s the beauty in all his work.”

Gul Panag and author Amish Tripathi in a conversation

We spoke to the man behind the successful work himself and asked him about any work other than mythology that he might consider working on. He replied, “I have enough story ideas in mind to keep myself busy for the next twenty years which are all based on mythology. If they keep selling, I’ll keep writing otherwise I’ll go back to banking, my earlier profession. I do have other story ideas in my mind, some of them are film script ideas others are non-fiction, but I don’t know if I’ll ever take them up.”We also asked him about the kind of audience he caters to when he writes. To this he said, “I don’t think of the audience honestly. While writing I don’t think of critics or publishers. I write what feels right to me and that’s probably the best way to do anything creative. I start thinking about the audience once the book is complete.

About the author:

Amish Tripathi, who sold over 2 million copies of the Shiva Trilogy series; ‘Immortals of Meluha’, ‘The secret of the Nagas’ and ‘the oath of the Vayuputras’, has progressed on a yet another mythological series, Ram Chandra, the first being ‘Scion of Ikshvaku’ of the total five (or six, so he says).

The writer who weaves beauty in words; Mr. Amish Tripathi

He is an argumentative Indian in the best sense, he likes to challenge you and be challenged. A great team builder, Amish likes to work with the same set of people that have been with him right from the start. Be it Anuj Bahri, his agent, Westland Ltd., who are also his current publishers or the creative and PR agencies, retailers, etc. all have become a part of his amazing journey. He is also popularly known as ‘India’s first literary popstar’.

All readers looking forward to the book can download the first chapter and have a sneak peek. It’s a free download available on kindle and those who don’t have the kindle; you can download the kindle app from any device and have the rich reading experience. The book releases on 22nd June, till then have a happy reading!

Picture Credits: Hitaishi Chaudhary, One World News.