Indian Shiva Trilogy Author Amish Tripathi : Life of a Banker-Author
Amish Tripathi is the author of the Shiva Trilogy and the Ram Chandra series & is India’s first literary pop star. Tripathi’s novels have sold over 5.5 million copies in India since 2010.
Author Amish Tripathi : The Man Who Redefined Indian Mythology
Amish Tripathi, India’s first literary pop star, is the author of the Shiva Trilogy and the Ram Chandra series. He is the one who has changed people’s perceptions of Indian mythology and brought it to the public’s attention in various ways. His genre is generally historical or mythological fiction, and his novels have sold over 5.5 million copies in India since 2010. His major works include the Shiva Trilogy, Ram Chandra series, Immortal India, Indic Chronicles, and Dharma. He is also currently serving as a diplomat at the Nehru Centre, London.
Amish Tripathi - Childhood and Education
Childhood Tripathi was born on 18th October 1974 in a pious middle-class house in Mumbai and grew up in Rourkela, Odisha. His grandfather served as a Pandit and also taught at Banaras Hindu University. He was a curious reader since his childhood and took a lot of interest in Hindu mythologies. Apart from mythology, he enjoyed reading history and wanted to become a historian.
Education He had to give up on his dream due to the financial conditions of his family and instead chose to do something that was much more financially supporting. Amish Tripathi went to Cathedral & John Cannon Schools. Tripathi completed his graduation in Science from St. Xavier’s college and pursued an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.
Amish Tripathi: Career
Banking career - After studying science, Tripathi became inspired to become a scientist or an industrialist and had no idea that he would become a writer. After his graduation, Tripathi worked in finance as a marketing and product manager at many firms, like Standard Chartered, Development Banks of Singapore, and IDBI Federal Life Insurance. He was on the senior management committee of IDBI and was the national head of marketing, product development, and service quality.
First Book - Tripathi published his first novel, The Immortals of Meluha, in February 2010. This novel is the first part of the Shiva Trilogy. According to the author, his inspiration behind writing this book was a debate that he and his family happened to come across on television. The dispute was about how Indian and Persian mythology was incompatible, and he was driven to figure out what was wicked. The thesis of Amish Tripathi was soon adopted as an interesting story of Lord Shiva, and it took Tripathi 5 years to complete the novel.
Full-Time Author - After a fantastic review of the first novel, Tripathi ended up writing the second part of the Shiva Trilogy, The Secret of the Nagas, and got it published in August 2011. This paved his way to becoming a full-time and best-selling author.
Commercial Success - To complete the Shiva Trilogy, he wrote the last part of the series, The Oath of the Vayuputras, and got it released in February 2013. The Shiva trilogy became a huge success and was the most rapidly sold book in Indian history. The trilogy got translated into 14 languages, and Dharma productions had recently bought the film rights for The Immortals of Meluha.
The Ram Chandra Series - Following the phenomenal Shiva trilogy, Amish Tripathi created the Ram Chandra series, which served as a precursor to the Shiva trilogy. The series proved to be a bigger success than the previous one, and one of the books also won the crossword book’s “Best Popular Award”. The first book in the series, The Scion of Ikshvaku, was released in June 2015, and the second book, Sita: Warrior of Mithila, was released in May 2017. The third book in the Ram Chandra series was Raavan: The Enemy of Aryavarta and was released in July 2019.
First Non-Fiction Novel - Tripathi’s first nonfiction novel was released in August 2017 and was named Immortal India. After this book, he published his first historical fiction and the first book in the Indic Chronicles, The Legend of Suheldev: The King Who Saved India, in June 2020. In December 2020, he also published Dharma: Decoding the Epics for a Meaningful Life.
Amish Tripathi - Career Other Than Books
Nehru Center Director In 2019, the government of India appointed Amish Tripathi as the director of the Nehru Centre, London, in a diplomatic role.
Producer In September 2020, Tripathi declared that he would be a producer for the adaptation of his novel, The Legend of Suheldev: The King Who Saved India, under the banner of Immortal Studios, with Wakaoo films and Casa Media.
Amish Tripathi: Awards and Honors
Tripathi was listed among the Top-50 Most Powerful People by India Today in 2019.
He received an Honorary Doctorate from Jharkhand Rai University for his outstanding contribution to Art & Literature in 2019.
Tripathi was awarded the Hello Hall of Fame Awards for Literary Excellence in 2019.
He got the Jashn-e-youngest Award in 2018.
In 2018, he was given the Ustad Bismillah Khan Award for his contribution to Indian culture.
He received the Kalinga International Literary Award.
In 2017, he was honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Indian Institute of Management - Calcutta.
He got the Raymond Crossword Popular Fiction Award for his book Scion of Ikshvaku in 2016.
Tripathi married Preeti Vyas, a marketer, publisher, distributor, agent, and retailer, and used to look after every minute detail of Amish’s books. The couple was married for 20 long years before they applied for a divorce in 2019. In February 2020, the divorce was formalized by the court, and Tripathi announced it on Twitter. “Preeti has earned my respect as a beautiful mother to our boy and a terrific friend. Our relationship’s nature may have altered, but the respect and decency at its heart have not. “
Amish Tripathi – Banker to Best Selling Author
It is hard to determine your fate from your choices and dreams, and this is what happens with Amish Tripathi. Being a banker for 14 years and then, out of nowhere, finding his passion for writing was a true miracle. Tripathi kept his private life a secret for most of his life and was strong enough to accept the flaws of his life in front of the world. He has been an inspiration to all writers that anything is possible if you do it with determination and will.
Aashi Jain
I've completed my graduation and will be pursuing a master's degree in a couple of months. I've developed an immense interest in the field of content writing and gained experience by interning with companies. I am an ambitious person and look forward to living an independent life.