By  Jigar Ganatra

The art of storytelling has been in the world for decades. In today?s dynamic world of literature, there are many eminent writers who have mastered this art of storytelling, excelled, made a mark and tasted success. One among them is Amish Tripathi, an IIM graduate, who gave up his fourteen-year-old career in financial services to focus on writing.

His journey as an author started with The Immortals of Meluha, a bestseller, which created a record as the top seller within a week of its launch. And since then, there?s been no looking back for Tripathi. His passion for history, mythology and philosophy clearly reflects in his work.

In a conversation with Indiantelevision.com?s Jigar Ganatra, this ?Eisenhower Fellow? shares his ideas and views as a renowned author and an established entrepreneur.

Excerpts from the conversation:

Tell us about your journey as a writer and choosing ?mythology? as the subject?

As a child, I was never creative. My interest was mostly into sports and I had never thought about writing. My parents and I were always passionate about books and we all have been voracious readers for a long time now. With time, I started to pen down my thoughts, which were appreciated and that is how the journey as a writer began.

As far as mythology is concerned, as a family, we?ve always been proud of our rich history and culture. My grandfather was a pandit, he taught me a lot about the subject. Besides that, my habit of reading has helped a lot. Mythology is an interesting subject and I enjoy sharing my views about it.

Are you trying to modernise and simplify mythology for the audience?

The concept of reinterpreting and modernising mythology has been present for thousands of years. I believe the essence of the story is vital and not the way of storytelling. So, yes, I?m just following the same tradition, culture and the process, thereby modernising and simplifying those stories for the audience today. I?m following the same concept, expressing my thoughts and making it available to my readers.

How important is it to inculcate mythology in today?s education? 

I?m not anti-western, but there is a lot we can learn from our ancient literature. I know Indian history and mythology is not extensively taught in the country, and that could be a flaw in the education system. It is strange that in India, we learn about Shakespeare or world literature more than educating ourselves about the rich Indian heritage, be it mythology, science or historical achievements that our ancestors have accomplished. Educating our children and ourselves about our own history is the need of the hour and I think it is time that the education system is redefined and improved.

Tell us more about Amish as an entrepreneur and now a brand.

The skills have come from education and my professional experience. I believe that every writer is an entrepreneur. It has been the literary scene for many years now. For example ? the great author Charles Dickens used to market his literary work.

Books are my product and once I have written them, I can?t change the product. The best way to make it available for the audience is marketing. My team and I work on different strategies and promote the book. I?m glad that my team has great expertise in branding and promotions. 

Would you like to see your work adapted as a movie or a digital series?

Yes, absolutely. In fact, I?m happy to announce that all the books from the ?Shiva Trilogy? are being made into a movie by Dharma Productions. I have got offers for the movie adaptation of my first book from the Ram Chandra series, but I?m not ready for that yet.

On the digital front, I believe these are early days and it is a new space for me to venture into. It is going to be a big part of the future and it does seem promising. Further, it is very interesting and there are many perks associated with it. In the years to come and with improving technology, it would have a strong presence, vast reach and better connectivity. I am certain that it will have a strong strategic impact and it is something all of us, from the creative world, will have to keep in mind.

How did you plan to link music and your work?

It was a clearly a marketing move, which happened due to a combination of two factors. Firstly, the credit goes to my management team. I have great advisors whom I have worked with. They give me great ideas and strategies to promote my books. Secondly, I think the budget and the scale, which we set for marketing and promotional activities, allows me to invest in music. We all decided on the idea and loved it, hence it happened. It is produced by a team of experienced musicians and I?m closely associated in the making. 

Do you have a library for the next two decades?

I have various project ideas in my mind and all are based on mythology. I want to tell my readers and followers that there are clues for my future work in the Shiva Trilogy. If my readers come back to Shiva trilogy, after reading any of my series, they would find the clues for my next work. An era or a civilisation that lasted for thousands of years is what links all my books and allows me to have such a vast library. This entire mythological universe is very interesting and clearly set in my mind.

Would you want to write books that address social issues?

I love fiction and I believe in conveying a message through storytelling. This art has been followed for many years and also makes it easy and interesting for the readers to follow the message. With regards to social issues, I may write in the future but there?s nothing in the pipeline.

Can you share some interesting reviews that you have received about your books?

I have received a lot of reviews from the books, which have been translated in foreign languages. I have noticed a mixed bunch of readers, both who believe in the mythology and those who don?t. But there have been instances where the readers are amused about the characters and have fallen in love with them, especially Shiva. It is interesting to know their opinion about it. All I can say is that I?m glad that the books and the art are being appreciated globally.

What advice would you give to budding writers?

I believe that the writers today are fortunate as they have the right to speak their mind. We are thankfully in a country where an individual can voice their thought. So, it would be nice to see the upcoming writers share their views, have a firm opinion about the subject and let their work speak.

Amish?s last book, Scion of Ikshvaku was released on 22 June, 2015. He is currently working on his second book from the Ram Chandra series. More information about his work can be found on www.authoramish.com

With 25 years of experience in advertising, founder member of Chlorophyll brand and communication consultancy Anand Halve has penned a book on "Planning for power Advertising ". How relevant is the subject material of this book, when the rules of advertising are being rewritten in a jiffy and much more, Anand shared, in conversation with Correspondent Nidhi Jain.

*Book different from other advertising books
Formatting and focus were two different things that made me write this book. Most of the books of yesteryears are outdated and they need to be refreshed. What we have is mainly from the US and UK market and are not applicable in the Indian context.

*Is it based on the experience you gathered or the outlook you have for the future
Today, in India there are more than 1,500 management schools. They are in dire need of knowledge on the constantly changing market landscape. Result: this book.

*Is it an extension of your talent or just a labour of love
Today when it comes to advertising, children are important decision makers, which didn't relevantly exist sometime back. The fundamentals remain intact, only examples change regularly. Anything which is learnt and taught needs to be revised after two years. For instance, today's most important subjects are sponsoring and events. To be a teacher, we have to become students to learn new trends.

*Book's inside
My book needs to be read sequentially i.e., step by step. The first couple of chapters are very important since it emphasises on the Indian market.

*Who can relate
Specialised businessmen, writers, economists.

*Research done
Two types -- firstly, theory should be visualized practically and secondly, by observing human emotions.

*Any other writing projects
A second edition of the same book with insertion of topics related to children and radio and also about observing new age Ads, plus observing and understanding human psychology.

*Your preference--fiction/non fiction
Business books and Hindustani and Urdu poetry.

*Favourite author
Woody Allen, Jack Welch.

About the Author - Dr. Nalini Rajan is associate professor at the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai. Her key academic areas are key issues; deprivation; identity politics; democratic practices and institutions. The other two books penned by her are Mass Media, New Technology, and Culture and Secularism, Democracy, Justice.

The GenX journalists of today (including me) have had it much easier in life. Neither do we have to scan through bulky newspaper archives for a past report nor do we have to visit libraries for research work. All it takes is to enter a "key word" on the internet search page and in a blink you have hundreds of pages on the topic you've been looking for.

Why I mention this is because Dr. Nalini Rajan's Practising Journalism - Values, Constraints, Implications throws light on the journalism days gone by starting from the days of the British Raj and the kind of conditions that journalists and the publishing industry used to work in. At the same time, it also dwells on the days to come. An interesting collection of factual accounts from various editors and journalists highlighting the dos and don'ts of journalism is how this book can be best described as.

If you want a crash course in the history of the Indian press and the trials and tribulations it underwent from the times of the Colonial rule, till date; then this is the book to read. Rajan gives us a more-than-brief introduction to the content of the book, which tells us in a jiffy what to expect in the 400 page tome. As Rajan puts it, the history of journalism is not linear but consists of a series of criss-crossing loops.

This book, which has been divided into four parts, has contributions from stalwarts like B R P Bhaskar, N Ram, Harivansh, Dilip D'Souza, Mukund Padmanabhan, Valerie Kaye, Darryl D'Monte, Pamela Philipose, V Geetha, Nirmal Shekar, Devinder Sharma, Kalpana Sharma, Lawrence Liang, S Anand, MH Lakdawala, Praveen Swami, Shyam Tekwani, Bindu Bhaskar, Robert Brown, Robin Jeffrey, S Gautham, KP Jayashakar and Anjali Monteiro, Mahalakshmi Jayaram, Steven S Ross, Ashish Sen and Anjali Kamat.

While it is a comprehensive account of what the Indian press was / is all about, it does at times become more of a platform for contributing editors to tom-tom about their newspapers. One such example is a chapter by Harivansh where he glorifies Prabhat Khabar and tells us how it emerged a winner without bending the norms and succumbing to various external pressures.

It also dwells on topics like the growth of the regional and 'national' media in India, investigative journalism, sting operations, Page 3 journalism, online journalism, rural and urban reporting, agricultural reporting, sports journalism, sensationalism in reporting and the new age journalist.

Overall, it's an interesting and comprehensive piece of reading, which tries to touch upon every important aspect of journalism with illustrative articles.

By Hetal Adesara

By: Raman Kumar
Partner, Director - Tracinema

I spent the early years of my life in Amritsar. As a child, my uncle, who was a Sanskrit scholar, left a deep impression on me. He had a huge collection of books and, in fact, he used to seek inspiration from books. Under his influence, I grew up to be a voracious reader.

As a child, I would visit all the bookstalls in Amritsar to find the right books to read. Sometimes, I would walk for a few kilometres or even for a few hours in search of the right books.

I grew up reading short stories, fiction and magazines. I have fond memories of reading my favourite Hindi magazine Parag. Since it was not easily available anywhere in Amritsar, I used to walk to the local railway station every month to grab it.

During my college days, I grew fond of a Hindi magazine called Sarika. Slowly, I graduated to poetry and as I got involved in the theatre scene I moved on to authors like Anton Chekhov. So, reading became a daily habit. After coming to Mumbai, I continued to read while commuting. Till date, I always carry a book and read whenever I can.
Earlier on, I could finish reading a book in three to four days as there were no other distractions like DVDs and television. But, now due to lack of time, I take a long time to finish a book.

My favourite books
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is my all-time favourite book. The character Heathcliff has stayed with me forever. I would say, it's not just a pretty love story but a tale of madness and revenge. I would love to make a film based on it one day.

An English novel,The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks has also inspired me immensely. Shekhar, Ek Jeevani by Ajneya is my favourite novel in Hindi as at different stages, it portrays the philosophy of life.

Some other authors who have caught my fancy are Amrita Pritam, Surendra Prakash, Rajendersingh Bedi and Narendra Maurya. I am also passionate about Hindi and Urdu poetry, which celebrates love, compassion and human equality. Kaifi Azmi, Nida Fazli and Rajesh Reddy from the new lot are my preferred poets. I also love ghazals by Gulzar.

Books that do not hold me
Self help and spiritual books do not hold me. The only self help book which I managed to finish was Who Moved My Cheese? An amazing way to deal with change in your work and life by Spencer Johnson. I like to read literature published by Osho Rajneesh whom I consider as one of the best scholars of this century. In fact, I subscribe to the Osho magazine and read it regularly.

Apart from this, I have a large collection of books at home but it's not really organised as a proper library. I have a person who delivers Hindi books to me at home. I also get a monthly catalogue to choose from all the new books in the market.

Currently, I am reading...
I've just finished reading Pukhtan, a collection of poems by Gulzar. Just started on with short stories titled Nine O Nine by Nandita Puri which is very good. I am a lot into reading short stories and fiction. Two of my films Saath Saath and Parbat Ke Us Paar have also been inspired by short stories published in magazines.

Browsing and E-reading.
I am also into E-reading. I think the concept of e-books is a wonderful concept. Recently I had ordered a book from firstandsecond.com, an interesting online book store. Also, another interesting concept is that of audio books which I've discovered on a site called audible.com.