JOIN USBanker-turned-author Amish Tripathi, who recently participated at the Tata Lit Live Festival for a panel discussion, believes that such literature festivals play an important role in terms of offering a platform to get authors and readers together.
He says, “It is a medium to take literature out of the elitist enclaves that literature had been imprisoned into in the recent past. Also, inspiration strikes many authors at these festivals as they meet many readers and other authors.”
He informs that the idea of choosing the subject for his second book series Ram Chandra came at a similar festival he attended. It is the retelling of Lord Ram's tale and is linked to his earlier series Shiva Trilogy. The first book of the series called Scion of Ikshvaku was released last year and was well received by readers.
The festival saw 120 speakers from across the globe attending the event and sharing more about their cultures, literature and debating on emerging trends and issues, old authors and epics. Tripathi says that it is “extremely” important for authors to know about different cultures and know other opinions as the exposure helps expands one’s mind and thinking.
Tripathi, whose debut book series Shiva Trilogy became the fastest selling books series in Indian history, has been associated with Tata Lit Live Festival from quite some time now. “The eclectic mix of national and international writers the platform brings onto one platform is what I find appealing about this event,” says Tripathi.
Talking about his upcoming book, Tripathi says, “I am writing the second book of the series Ram Chandra, which will be releasing in 2017. The series will probably consist of five books. “I am also bringing out my very first non-fiction book in 2017,” adds the author.