The audience was predominantly young, many of them in a bookstore for the first time. Many had carried a bagful of books hoping to get it autographed by their favourite author, Ashwin Sanghi, minutes before he made his way to the bookstore for an interactive session with author and owner of Easy Lib Vani Mahesh about his latest novel, The Sialkot Saga at Bookworm. Ashwin has written bestsellers such as The Rozabal Line , Chanakya’s Chant and Krishna Key , based on history, mythology and incorporating a thriller element.
To a question on what made a businessman become an author, Ashwin replied, “My mother used to say I am a good liar. In my stories, I try to make lies look very close to the truth.”
Ashwin said, “The idea came when I was tallying spreadsheets at work. This novel deals with the story of two businessmen and traces their journey in India from 1947 to 2010. It is a long book and I have included elements of history and mythology in it.” To a question posed by Vani on his writing style, Ashwin says, “I think the starting paragraph, the last paragraph and the last line of each section is the most important. The beginning must get the reader hooked, the end of the section must leave some suspense so that the reader continues reading and the last paragraph must have the answers to the mystery.”
One of the toughest parts of writing the book was getting the time frame right. “Most of the novel is set in contemporary India. I had to make sure my characters were doing things that most people their age were involved in at that juncture. I researched a lot. I conducted multiple interviews and read many books. To give you an example, a Mafia shootout in Mumbai was set in the rooftop restaurant at the Ambassador hotel. I had learnt about this restaurant in a conversation with my dad. I felt a need to provide a background to what was happening in India at the time to provide a tapestry to the story.” Describing himself as a work in progress, Ashwin points out, “I see myself like a carpenter, who gets better with each plank he works with. A bulk of my time working on a new book goes into research.”
Does the use of modern terms in his books, that are set in ancient times create issues? “Not really. I am sure my characters were not speaking English either. My attempt is to bring out the attitudes and thinking of the people into print, the language is completely incidental.”
