JAIPUR: One of the standout sessions at the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) 2026 on Wednesday featured Ashwin Sanghi, who spoke about his latest thriller, The Ayodhya Alliance.
In a lively conversation with author and former journalist Shunali Khullar Shroff, Sanghi, who is among India's highest selling English fiction authors, reflected on his body of gripping adventure thrillers and explored the rich cultural and historical landscapes that shape his writing.
Widely regarded as one of India’s foremost writers of historical fiction, Ashwin Sanghi once again delves into his signature narrative terrain in The Ayodhya Alliance, seamlessly blending mythology, history, science, and geopolitics. In this gripping thriller, he envisions a world where an ancient, long-forgotten technology—concealed within the sacred landscape of Ayodhya—possesses the potential to alter the course of human destiny.
During the well-attended session, Sanghi revealed that at the heart of the novel are two unlikely allies: Aditya Pillai, a sharp-minded Indian industrialist, and Somi Kim, a brilliant South Korean technocrat. Their journey takes them far beyond borders and belief systems, tracing a mysterious thread that links Ayodhya to Kailash, Rome, Thailand, and Korea. What begins as a search for ancient knowledge, soon spirals into a global conspiracy that blurs the lines between faith, power, and modern ambition.
Speaking at the JLF session sponsored by The New Indian Express and moderated by Shroff, Sanghi revealed that his novels are as much shaped by lived experience as by research. He recalled an incident that captured the essence of discovery and surprise that runs through his latest book. While traveling, he asked his driver to stop at a temple in Kolkata. The modest structure revealed little at first glance. Outside, a child stood holding a plate with a coconut, flowers, and other offerings. Inside, Sanghi was startled to learn that the shrine was dedicated not to a deity from ancient scriptures but to Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan. The unexpected encounter, he said, felt like an adventure in itself.
Such moments, Sanghi explained, feed directly into his storytelling. They remind him that the extraordinary often hides in plain sight, waiting to be noticed. This sensibility, Sanghi claimed, gives The Ayodhya Alliance its distinctive voice - one that seamlessly weaves mythology with cutting-edge science, historical memory with contemporary geopolitics.
The session held at the Charbagh venue within the Hotel Clarks Amer in Jaipur was primarily focussed on The Ayodhya Alliance which is a part of the highly-acclaimed ‘Bharat Series’ of historical fiction. In Sanghi’s fictional universe, the past is never truly buried. Instead, it quietly shapes the present, waiting for the right seekers to unlock its power.