Varanasi-born and Mumbai- based author Amish Tripathi has transformed the way a generation of young India engages with mythology through his bestselling books. He began his career as a banker before taking the plunge into writing in 2004. His debut novel, ‘The Immortals of Meluha,’ was rejected by more than 20 publishers, who believed young readers had little interest in mythology. Undeterred, Tripathi self-published the book in 2010. Within two weeks of its release, it topped the national bestseller charts, marking the beginning of one of the biggest success stories in Indian publishing.
Amish Tripathi was the guest of honour at the 10th edition of the Mysuru Literature Festival (MLF)-2026, organised by Mysuru Literary Forum Charitable Trust and Mysuru Book Clubs Charitable Trust at Hotel Southern Star in city.
In an interview with Star of Mysore, he spoke about writing, mythology, faith, history, family values and his latest children’s book. Excerpts:
Star of Mysore (SOM): What stories do you think Indian authors are still afraid to tell?
Amish Tripathi: No, I don’t think Indian authors are afraid. There’s a wide variety of stories and books from different regions, different languages and different ideologies. That’s wonderful to see.
If there’s one thing most of us Indians are never short of, it’s opinions. Put 10 Indians in a room and you’ll get 11 opinions. That’s the way we are and that’s the way we should be.
SOM: So, is there only one correct version? And if there is, then how do you decide which one that is?
Amish Tripathi: In the Indian way, we’ve always had the approach of ‘Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanti’, truth is one. But the wise speak of it in many ways. Traditionally, there has never been an approach that says, “My truth is the truth and you have to convert to my truth or you’ll be killed.” That’s not the Indian way. The Indian way has always embraced multiple approaches and mutual respect for different explorations of the truth, whether religious or scientific.
SOM: As a writer, how do you decide where faith ends and fiction begins?
Amish Tripathi: I don’t think they compete with each other. I think faith is the foundation upon which you write good stories. I’m no one to tell people what they should do, but I always suggest this: If you want to write in the space of our ‘Itihasas’ and ‘Puranas,’ it’s a good idea to actually worship the gods and goddesses you write about, because then your story comes from a different place.
You can choose not to have faith, that’s completely your personal choice, but this is my opinion. I have faith in all the gods and goddesses I write about. I actually worship the gods I write on.
SOM: A lot of us grew up listening to stories from our parents & grandparents. Do you think books can ever replace that kind of storytelling?
Amish Tripathi: Books can never replace what parents can do. It’s one of the misfortunes of India that the joint family structure has almost completely broken down. Now, increasingly, even the nuclear family structure is breaking down in some parts of our cities.
I fear we shouldn’t go down that path. We’ve already seen the consequences of this kind of breakdown of the family in the West, there is ennui, loneliness, even deaths linked to loneliness. We shouldn’t walk down that path. Family is important. It’s much more important than mere stories. Families must be preserved.
SOM: Can you tell us a little about the children’s book that you’re writing?
Amish Tripathi: The book is called ‘Dhruva Tara and the Great Indian History Quiz.’ It’s an adventure story about two 11-year-olds who are rivals but are forced to work together as a team for a national history quiz. Through their journey, they also learn about the decolonised version of Indian history in a fun way. I loved history as a subject when I was growing up, but there were two problems with how it was taught to us.
One, it still had a colonised lens. They were pretty much the British Raj-era history books that had just been slightly updated after 1947. They hadn’t actually been decolonised and that’s unfortunate because most of our children learn that colonial interpretation of history. For example, the silly idea that the British created India. No, India existed long before the British came. The first issue, therefore, is decolonisation.
The second is that our history textbooks were, sadly, really boring. A fantastic subject was made dull and children couldn’t wait to stop studying history after Class 10 or when they moved on to higher studies. I’m trying to address that through this series of seven books, the first of which is ‘Dhruva Tara and the Great Indian History Quiz.’
SOM: For somebody who’s just getting interested in mythology, which book would you recommend they start with?
Amish Tripathi: Easy question, The ‘Immortals of Meluha’ (Laughs). Or you could start with ‘Ram: Scion of Ikshvaku.’ It’s your choice. I’ve given you two options.
SOM: At the rate at which you write books, do you have any plans to write one on the tradition and heritage of Mysuru?
Amish Tripathi: That’s an interesting question. Perhaps I should do something on it. I’ll think about it. Good suggestion.
SOM: If you could leave the people of Mysuru with just one thought after today’s conversation, what would it be?
Amish Tripathi: Actually, the only thought I have is what a beautiful city this is. My wife, Shivani, has fallen in love with Mysuru. It’s green and the architecture is so beautiful. In fact, the architecture is much more Indian. In many of our bigger cities, architecture has become unnecessarily Westernised, with glass-walled buildings that make no sense in India’s hot climate. The architecture in Mysuru follows our own traditions and is suited to our climate, making it climate-friendly as well.
The roads, pavements, cleanliness and civic sense. Mysuru is a hidden gem of India. I discovered that and so did my wife.
By Team SOM
This post was published on July 7, 2026 7:30 pm