JOIN USBorn in Mumbai on October 18, 1974, Amish Tripathi grew up near Rourkela, Odisha. An alumnus of St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Amish is known for his Shiva Trilogy comprising The Immortals of Meluha, The Secret of the Nagas and The Oath of the Vayuputras.
His latest, Scion of Ikshvaku, is the first in a series on Lord Ram. Popularly known as ‘India’s First Literary Popstar’, Amish has been ranked by Forbes India among the top 100 celebrities in India thrice in a row, in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
What is the last thing you read that made you laugh out loud?
Calvin & Hobbes cartoon!
Where do you write best?
I write mostly at home. I’ve got one of the rooms in my house converted into a study.
Who would you choose to play you in a film about your life?
I don’t think a movie should be made about my life.
How do you relax?
I read. I listen to music. I spend time with my family.
What would you change about yourself?
My addiction to cream biscuits. Especially considering we have a history of diabetes in our family!
What book do you wish you had written?
I don’t wish that I’d written books that I’ve read and liked. I simply admire the writer.
How would you earn your living if you had to give up writing?
Banking. I was already doing that!
When did you know you were going to be a writer?
When I wrote The Immortals of Meluha. I’d written no fiction before that. So I had never dreamt that I would be a writer. I graduated in Maths. I was certainly not a creative guy. Before I began writing, I read a few self-help books on writing, but that didn’t help. I write best when I do it instinctively, letting my thoughts flow.
Your books are all about gods. Do you believe they exist?
Of course, yes. I believe Lord Shiva and Lord Ram exist. I believe all our gods existed. But, that’s my belief. I am not forcing it on anyone else. What you believe is up to you.
Do you have a writing routine?
I write in the mornings normally. I’m an early to bed, early to rise kind of person. I wake up around 5.30 am, read my newspapers, do my workout followed by puja, and then start writing at 9 am. I listen to music while writing. And I eat a lot of cream biscuits while writing.
Your favourite genre?
I read non-fiction primarily.
Any reading recommendations?
Dr B R Ambedkar’s Pakistan or The Partition of India and Who were the Shudras? Also, his papers on Economics are fantastic. According to me, Dr Ambedkar was by far the finest thinker of all our founding fathers. I strongly recommend all of Dr Ambedkar’s writings to all thinking individuals.