BENGALURU: Ashwin Sanghi, one of the leading Indian authors of English fiction talks about his latest book, The Sialkot Saga, set in North-east Pakistan, his writing experience and how he got the nickname ‘Indian Dan Brown’. Excerpts from the interview:
What is your book The Sialkot Saga about?
It is about two rival businessmen who share a secret, told over sixty odd years since independence.
You book states ‘When it’s question of money, everybody is of the same religion’. Is money above all?
I don’t mean money is above all. It is human nature. When it comes to money, you don’t think which religion you belong to. For some, religion matters and for others, money is above faith, above religion.
Why businessmen?
I wanted to write on business for a long time but the other books got in the way -- The Rozabal Line is a theological mystery, Chanakya’s Chant is a political mystery and The Krishna Key is a mythological mystery. The fourth is this business mystery, which was on hold for three years.
I started my career as a businessman. My family is into business. I have seen the dealings in close quarters, from a very young age. I started writing 12 years ago.
So, how did writing happen?
I was not a writer. I had no degree in literature. I did BA Economics and then MBA in Finance, both useful for my literary career. My grandfather was an avid reader and would give me a book every week. Reading was educating, though I didn’t understand it then. In 2002 or 2003, I went to Kashmir to the tomb, where Jesus Christ is said to have been buried. I was fascinated by the story and spent a year simply reading and talking it. I must’ve read about 40 to 50 books when I thought I can write about it. That’s how my first book, Rozabal, happened.
Almost all your works have references to the history and mythology. Why?
The historical narratives recorded by humans are just a few thousands years old. What about the period of time where there was no history? It is not the history or mythology that fascinate me but the overlap of history and mythology.
History and mythology can be sensitive. How do you manage?
Everything is sensitive. If you approach the subject with respect, it will definitely show in your writing. If your aim to create any sensation, that will show too. (Though) there needs to be little more openness and liberty to tell your story. Everyone has the fundamental right to opinion.
Who are your favourite authors and books?
It is difficult to say. My all time favourite would be Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahamsa Yogananda and Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie. My style is influenced tremendously by my favourite authors such as Sidney Sheldon, Jeffrey Archer, Dan Brown and Arthur Hailey.
People call you Dan Brown of India...
The reason for the comparison is my first book Roazabal which explores the possibility of Jesus Christ having lived in Kashmir. It has similarity with the Dan Vinci Code which talks about the possibility of Jesus’s bloodline survived. But Dan Brown is one of the all time great authors. I pick the nuances and literary elements from such authors. I am no Indian Dan Brown. I am simply Ashwin Sanghi.
