SDP: Your First book The Immortals of Meluha of the Shiva Trilogy was a big hit and drew huge appreciation. Now that your second book, The Secret of Nagas, is about to release, are you nervous?

AMISH: Yeah, of course, I am nervous. Frankly, when we launched the book 1, I had no expectations. I had to go through quite a few rejections by most publishers. Finally, I published the book through my agent after two and half years and I did all the marketing myself and surprisingly it received a very good response. We sold a hundred thousand copies soon and then had another 25 thousand copies in print. The only nervousness I have now is because of the expectations of the fans of Book 1. I hope I don’t disappoint them. The only thing I can say is that if they like Book 2 (The secret of Nagas) it would be the blessing of Lord Shiva and if they don’t, it would be my inability to do justice to that blessing!

SDP: O.K. Tell us about the book 2 – The Secret of Nagas…

AMISH: I have started Book 2 exactly where I finished Book 1. The first thing the readers would discover is that was Sati killed. Was she kidnapped or was she rescued by Shiva? The story goes a long way forward from there. There would be many mysteries that Lord Shiva would stumble upon. He will find that a good part of Swadeep is not evil. He will also discover that Meluha itself is not what it seems like. He will find terrible secrets in Mayka, the city of birth. In Book 2, Shiva will find surprising alliances. He also will be shocked to be betrayed by many people he trusted in through Book 1. Of course, the book will have all the masala that people like. There will be war, love stories and the fast pace. Most importantly, in Book 2, Shiva will go a long way to find out his true destiny that is of the destroyer of evil. I have also tried to make statements on some modern maladies like honour killing and ill treatment to women in the story.

SDP: The backdrop of The Secret of the Nagas cover is of Kashi, so are we going to move from Meluha to Kashi?

Amish: Yes, a large part of the story is set in Swadeep, which is in the modern areas of Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan. The story ends in Pandav Forest, which is to the south of Narmada River but of course the major action takes place in Kashi and the Kashi one sees on the cover is a part of my imagination, with an amalgamation of many temples. According to me Kashi would have been like this some thousand years ago.

SDP: You have incorporated an intelligent mix of Geography, History, Mythology and Modern Science in the story. How much research is required for that kind of work? Have you done a lot of research or is it only a part of growing up?

Amish: Actually the spread of topics that have emerged in the story is quite broad. For me it would have been difficult to do that kind of research in just one year. And now the book 2 is coming just after another year so a lot of it is a part of growing up. The mythological part of it is something I have learnt from my family. My grandfather was a pundit in Banaras. Though I was an atheist till eight years back, I have always been surrounded by a lot of religious relatives, so mythology is something I have imbibed inadvertently. Despite being surrounded by many religious people, I grew up in a very liberal atmosphere. We never learnt nonsense like one religion is better than another. As far as the source of my historical knowledge is concerned, it is because I love reading dry historical books.

The technological part in the story is also a result of my voracious reading habit. My father is a scientist so I have learnt from him. For example the concept of somras is based on the theory of anti-oxidants. So, you can say that 25 years of research has gone into the book but yes, I haven’t done any specific research for the book. Having said that, I would like to add that research and reading is like buying ingredients for a meal and this does not ensure that you become a good cook. So, how these things are converted into a story is a blessing of Lord Shiva.

SDP: You have portrayed Shiva as someone who is made to be a lord due to his great powers and intelligence. At the same time, he also depicts human weaknesses like guilt and lust. Weren’t you afraid that you may offend some of the purists by doing so?

AMISH: Honestly, not at all. I knew from the bottom of my heart that if anyone wants to write a story like this, there was no better country than India. I think, at its core India is an extremely liberal country, at least till 200 years back. Right now we are in a process of rediscovering our liberalism. We have so many myths and we have lived with their differences. If you look at the theory of the Pillar of Light, You will know that Shiva is the Supreme God but the Creation myth says that the universe was created at the thought of Lord Vishnu so he is the supreme God. So both myths are in conflict with each other and which one is right? This has been around for centuries and India is comfortable with all of them. You follow the myth which you have been fed upon. At our core we Indians understand that every individual has the right to follow his/her own belief and hence there is no conflict. Honestly, I haven’t received any criticism but yes I do get debate issues and I welcome them.

SDP: Do you think Hindus are more liberal than on other religions?

AMISH: NO. I think all religions have liberalism and conservatism. My father used to tell me in my atheist days that beauty and ugliness is in everything. The choice is up to us what we want to see. The nice thing that happened to me while writing this book is that I have become a believer. I have become a devoted Shiv bhakt. I wear an aum namah shivay kada and a rudraksh mala. I do the jap of mahamrityunjay jap every morning but at the same time, I could see beauty in all other religions and learn from them. I believe everyone should get the freedom to interpret mythology the way they like and follow the same.

SDP: are you open to film and TV adaptations of your book?

Amish: yes, of course. Discussions are going on but it’s too early to talk about it.

SDP: What is the best complement you have received for the book 1?

Amish: There are two real good ones. One came from a 15 year old boy, who wrote, “Earlier I thought Shiva was only my grandma’s God but now after reading your book, I think Shiva is the dude of all Gods.” The second one came from a guy called Bashir from Kashmir. He wrote, “after reading your book, I am drawn to find out more about my own religion.” He wrote something which actually brought tears to my eyes. He said, “It is very sad to see what’s happening to the land where the Lord first kept his feet on when he came to the earth.”