Ashok K. Banker needs no introduction. He is an acclaimed author of mixed-race and mixed-cultural
background. His writing spans crime thrillers, essays, literary criticism,
fiction and mythological retellings. Epic India Library is his brain child and through
this he plans to retell all the major myths, legends and itihasa of the Indian
subcontinent in an interlinked cycle of over 70 volumes. The Ramayana series,
Krishna Coriolis and the Mahabharata series are part of this library.
An
author par excellence, here is a peak into his personality through this
e-interview.
- What was the main inspiration behind starting to write?
What story you really wanted to tell the world through your writing?
I began reading at a very young age and by the age of 7 was reading
voraciously. I particularly loved encyclopedias and dictionaries and always
carried a dictionary to school to read during short break and lunch break. I
won’t go into my family
background here as it has been covered extensively in several hundred
interviews over the decades, but to sum up, writing and reading were my way of
coping with the essential chaos and violence of my circumstances. By the age
of 9, I had read my way through most of the essential mythological and
religious literature of all major religions and knew that I wanted to be an
author and write books related to the epics. The rest of my life was spent
studying, researching and preparing myself for the task. The only story I
truly wanted to tell the world was the Story of India. The greatest untold
story in world literature.
- Please tell us about your Epic India Library and why did
you feel the need to start the same?
The
bookshelves of the world are filled with countless retellings, editions,
popular as well as scholarly works on the mythology, culture, history and
folklore of other nations and continents. Yet the great epics of the
sub-continent, which are undoubtedly among the greatest stories in world
literature are almost completely absent from those bookshelves. Even if you
explain this lacuna on racism and western bias against eastern civilizations,
you always have to note that Indian writers themselves have rarely bothered to
retell or relate the tales of their own culture. Our authors are mostly
interested in writing stories about their own sexuality, addictions, coming of
age, marriages and relationships, work and career, with an almost visible
absence in this area of itihasa and epics. By the time I was in my 30s, I had
read literally thousands of books without ever finding any good retellings of
our epics that appealed to me. I realized that I was yearning to read Indian
stories and if I wanted such books, the only option was to go back to the
source and study them again myself. So I began reading the epics and puranas.
I realized that almost none of these stories had been done justice to in any
book or collection. So I began writing, just to see how they might be retold
in a way that I, as a reader, would enjoy reading them. What began as a
writing experiment turned into the first project, the Ramayana Series. Before
I was finished with it, I decided that I wanted to continue to retell ALL the
major myths, legends and itihasa of the Indian sub-continent. When complete,
that collection of over 100 books will constitute what I call the Epic India
Library.
- In the times when social media sites are on the rise and
an individual's popularity is gauged by the followers and readers of one's
sites and links, why and how did you decide to stay away from the same?
Every person has their own way of achieving success and seeking
what they want in life and each way is valid. To me, the writing is the most
rewarding part. My family is very important to me. I’ve always believed that the books we end up loving the most are
those we discover accidentally, in the back of a dusty shelf or in the most
unexpected way. I’m not
interested in being a celebrity, or being talked-about or promoting myself as
a “brand” (which is the most absurd and insulting
thing a writer can do, in my opinion). I love to write and love my family and
whatever numbers my books sell are entirely due to readers wanting to read
them and taking the time and effort to find them. I don’t believe in
marketing, advertising, publicity or promotion. I’d rather have 1.6 million
readers (as I currently do, as of end-2012) in 57 countries and 12 languages
who have found my 32 books (so far) and come to love them on their own rather
than ten times that number through aggressive promotion and marketing. I’m
happy with whatever the universe chooses to give me and accept it. I choose to
spend all my time doing what I love without compromises or social networking.
I actively avoid networking, maintaining connections, socializing, attending
lit fests and events. If your books are good, nothing else matters. If the
books are crap, then you need social networking desperately. As a great mind
once said: “Fame is the last resort of desperate failures.” Those whose work
isn’t good enough to speak for itself need to shout the loudest!
- How do you strike a balance between the various themes
that you write on - mythology, crime thrillers, essays and other forms of
writing?
I don’t strike a
balance. That’s the beauty of
it. I serve the story’s needs.
Ashok Banker is irrelevant. My point of view is irrelevant. I am a non-Hindu
of mixed-race, nationality and culture who grew up with zero understanding or
exposure to Hindu religion, culture, languages, etc. Yet recently a major
Hindu university wished to felicitate me for ‘reviving Hindu mythology’ through my Ramayana Series! The university dean went to the extent
of referring to me as a “guru” and wanting me to attend their annual
event as the Chief Guest to confer the degrees. I refused politely because it’s awkward to explain that not only am I
not a Hindu, I am completely non-religious and don’t follow any culture, celebrate any festivals, including my own
birthday, and don’t subscribe
to any belief systems or cultural stereotypes. I don’t even vote or have any political interests! So when I write a
series or story, I surrender completely to it. I am merely a tool of the
story. I serve its needs, adapting my style, my idiom, my vocabulary, my
syntax, even the structure of language to suit that particular kind of story
and content. That’s why you’ll find that a novel like Vertigo is
completely different from the Ramayana Series, which in turn is different from
my Mahabharata Series, or Gods of War, or Blood Red Sari, and so on. The
stories all exist in their own right. I am only the means by which they come
to the page.
- What inspires you and interests you the most in
mythology and why do you feel the need to retell epics?
Oddly enough, I have zero interest in mythology. I don’t read it, have never watched mythological
serials. As a kid, I used to be the only child in my neighborhood (probably in
all India) who went out to play when everybody was home watching Mahabharata
or Ramayana. I actively dislike those phony mythological costumes and dialogue
and fake style of storytelling. Those are not our epics, please! They’re just Bollywood corruptions of the
original stories. What attracts me powerfully are these incredible records of
ancient times, these great powerful tales of another bygone era, written in
such lyrical Sanskrit shlokas, describing incredible, rich cultural detail and
narratives. If I am able to convey even a fraction of the power and beauty of
those ancient Vedic works through my very flawed and mediocre adaptations, I
am happy. As I said, it’s not
about me. I don’t seek
anything except to serve the story and all the joy and pleasure I feel is in
achieving that to some small extent.
- In your retelling of the epics, the mythological heroes
are depicted as ordinary humans doing extraordinary actions. Was it
difficult to think beyond the aura that gets ingrained in our minds
related to these heroes?
Well, I
have the advantage of not being Hindu, not being religious, not having these
ideas or perceptions ingrained in my mind from childhood. I read the epics and
adapt them as they demand. I have no preconceptions or agenda in mind.
Therefore I also don’t have the hang-ups and issues that most Hindus have
about their own gods and epics, thankfully! I’m constantly amazed at how
Hindus are so vehement in their views about what Rama did or didn’t do, how
Krishna behaved, etc, as if these issues are most important than problems in
their own lives. But that’s a prerogative they have, since it’s their religion
and their god. Not mine. I’m just a storyteller and nowhere in the Ramayana or
Mahabharata is there any confusion about such matters. They are just great
epics brilliantly narrated by those great ancient minds.
- Your Mahabharata series is a long series of 18 books. Do
you think the readers' attention can be captured for that long? How did
you divide the saga into 18 parts?
That’s the length
of the story. It is the world’s
largest epic after all. 18 because Vyasa’s Mahabharata runs into 18 parvas and I’m sticking with his excellent structure. I don’t know whether or not readers will read
the whole series but that’s
not for me to say or decide, that’s up to the readers. My job ends with the writing of the books. As
a reader, all I can say is that if a story is good, you never want it to end
no matter how long the book or series may be. If the story isn’t good, even two pages is too long!
- What is planned after the Mahabharata series? Do you
plan to retell Bhagwat, Upanishads and Vedas too?
The Krishna Coriolis, based on the Harivamsha and Shrimad
Bhagwatham, was begun in 2004 and completed in 2009. I only offer a series for
publication when I have finished writing it completely. TEN KINGS is based on
a true historical incident described in the Rig Veda. The Upanishads are
extracts from the Vedas, not a separate work and are not epics or stories so I
am not planning to work on them. My Mahabharata Series is almost complete – as I said, the publication comes long
after I finish writing, often as much as ten to 12 years later. To know about
my other series and books, do visit my ebookstore, akbebooks.com and view the
titles there as there are too many to list here.
- What is your take on - why more and more authors are
going back to mythology to derive stories from, whether to refine,
redefine, retell, to find contemporary relevance or to highlight unique
perspectives?
The tradition of brahmins retelling mythological tales is a part of
Hindu India. As far as I’m
aware, all the authors you are referring to are Hindu brahmins, so they’re continuing that religious tradition. My
interest lies in non-Hindus and as far as I know, I am the only one working in
this field. I would love to read a Muslim Ramayana or a fiercely feminist
Mahabharata or a Mahaharata retold from a caste point of view. I think we need
to address these glaring injustices and imbalances in our itihasa and only
non-brahmin and non-Hindu writers, especially women writers, can do justice to
them. The brahmin Hindu retellings are good for brahmin Hindus to read but I
would want a more modern and open-minded retelling.
- What all research do you do before starting to pen down
your stories?
I don’t believe in
researching a specific book for a few months. I believe in devoting one’s entire life to studying that body of
literature, mythology, itihasa, history. The process of research is lifelong
and continuous. I don’t stop
researching just because a book is finished. Research can only give you
information and at best, knowledge. Good storytelling comes from having read
or noticed something 30 years ago and finally understanding a connection
today. Research is for newspaper articles that end up in the trash. Retelling
mythology requires a lifestyle change and a completely new way of thinking and
living.
Thank
you for your questions. Thank you for reading.
Ashok
Kumar Banker
10
December 2012
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