Author Amish Tripathi says venturing in new spaces is what he is looking forward to. After his books top the charts, he wants to come out of his comfort zone and try time travel fiction.
“It has been 13 years and my books so far have been broadly in the same genre — ancient culture, philosophies and the stories of Lord Shiva and Lord Ram. My non-fiction books Idols: Unearthing the Power of Murti Puja and Dharma: Decoding the Epics for a Meaningful Life (2020) were also in the same zone,” shared the author on his visit to Lucknow.
Tripathi now wants to challenge himself as a writer. “It’s the love of the readers that Shiva trilogy is among the fastest-selling books ever while Ram Chandra series is second fastest. So, the true test will be if I switch to another genre. I have a story idea in mind which is set in the modern-day London and India based on time-travel and gaming. So, after my fifth book in the Ram Chandra Series, I will take this up. It will be like taking a different path and I will surely enjoy doing this, baaki dekhte hain how the audience receives it. I just take the name of Shiva and start writing...”
Tripathi is also working on the story of emperor Rajendra Chola. So, will it be like taking the film Ponniyin Selvan (PS1 and 2) franchise forward? “It’s too early (smiles) but he was one of the greatest emperors ever. Audience knows Ponniyin Selvan (through the film) now, but I read about him in 90s while living in Tamil Nadu. It (the film) was on Rajaraja Chola while I am writing on his son (Rajendra Chola).”
{{/usCountry}}Tripathi is also working on the story of emperor Rajendra Chola. So, will it be like taking the film Ponniyin Selvan (PS1 and 2) franchise forward? “It’s too early (smiles) but he was one of the greatest emperors ever. Audience knows Ponniyin Selvan (through the film) now, but I read about him in 90s while living in Tamil Nadu. It (the film) was on Rajaraja Chola while I am writing on his son (Rajendra Chola).”
{{/usCountry}}On coming to Lucknow, he says, “My father’s family is from Varanasi and Lucknow ki mehmaan nawazi is famous all over India so it’s always a delight to come to UP. More than that, frankly it’s good for business as well. Both my English and Hindi books have a good market here because people connect with my subjects well.”
Tripathi teamed with a co-author in the last two books. “In both Idols and Dharma my co-author was my elder sister Bhawna (Roy) didi. She is eight years older and is like a mother to me, so it’s a matter of comfort zone,” he adds.
The author was present with his sister during a book-reading session at Universal Booksellers.