Firstpost Salon as it happened: Amish talks about life, books and the ban culture in India

Sita wasn’t docile, says Amish

“Razia Sultan was not the only warrior queen,“says Amish. He says Indian myth has many warrior women, but “unfortunately that is not taught to us.”

Speaking of Sita he says, “Sita was not a warrior, but she was not docile.”

Dropped surname because I am against caste, says Amish

Speaking of why he dropped his surname, “Because I am against the caste system. None of my self-published books have my surname.”

US regressive in many ways, says Amish

Amish says no minority is treated as badly as African Americans. “In some things they are progressive, but in certain other fields they are extremely regressive.”

US regressive in many ways, says Amish

Amish says no minority is treated as badly as African Americans. “In some things they are progressive, but in certain other fields they are extremely regressive.”

Amish on why he doesn’t speak on politics

If he is a religious liberal why does he not speak of politics? “There are many people far wiser than me on politics, who comment every night at 9 pm. They know much better than me,” says Amish.

Q. Our gods are infamous about sex but your books shy away from the idea of sex. Amish as @sandipr says "turns slightly pink"#FirstpostSalon

— Firstpost (@firstpost) September 16, 2015

Freedom of expression a difficult thing to deal with, says Amish

Speaking of the Charlie Hebdo cartoon on Aylan Kurdi, Amish says,“I have not seen it. But freedom of expression is a difficult thing to deal with.

“It is a choice societies make, it is a difficult choice to make. There shouldn’t be different standards for different people,“he says.

Morals of some people could be improved, Amish on self-styled godmen

Now Amish is asked about religious gurus. He says, “Perhaps the best way to approach it is there are religions of living gurus, and there are religiomns that have traditions of books.”

“Religions with living gurus tend to adapt more quickly. The downside… the living gurus.. you have some people whose morals could be improved,“he says.

Artists themselves create controversies for publicity, says Amish

How has Amish avoided offending people with his work?

“In most artistic endeavours controversy is created by the artist themselves for publicity,“says Amish. 

“If you yourself avoid controversy, there will be none. I am the proof of the pudding,“he says.

Indian educated class does not have much knowledge of India’s ancient scientific achievements: Amish

Amish is of the opinion that the Indian educated class does not have much knowledge of India’s ancient scientific achievements. “They know a Hippocrates, but not Sushruta.

Nothing wrong w/ learning from the west, big fan of Shakespeare but must learn from our past. @authoramish on blind faith. #FirstpostSalon

— Firstpost (@firstpost) September 16, 2015

#FirstpostSalon @authoramish says there comes a day when a man realises his father is not an idiot but his son may think he is

— R Jagannathan (@TheJaggi) September 16, 2015

Amish on differentiating between mythology and fantasy

How does Amish differentiate between mythology and fantasy? “The best way to approach mythology is the greek etymology of the word myth – mythos. It means that which hides the truth.”

This he says is opposed to the usual belief that myth comes from the word ‘mythya’ which means untrue.

I am by nature rebellious, anti-elitist. And so is Shiva. There's a part of Shiva in all of us @authoramish on the Immortals of Meluha.

— Firstpost (@firstpost) September 16, 2015

Reinterpreting myths has been around for a long time, says Amish

Speaking of Indian mythology, Amish says “The tradition of rewriting and reinterpreting myths has been around for a long time.”

Amish himself has rewritten Indian myths in his books that has done very well with his readers.

The Greek, the Roman, the Hellenic systems were never like our educational system. They always question @authoramish at the #FirstpostSalon

— Firstpost (@firstpost) September 16, 2015

The roots of our education system is based on the Prussian system that the west has moved on from. Everyone follows the boss:@authoramish

— Firstpost (@firstpost) September 16, 2015

Against laws to enforce a certain a point of view, Amish on bans

Now Amish talk about freedom of expression and bans. He says, “An act of force, laws to enforce a certain a point of view, I am completely against.”

Indian culture gives freedom to question, says Amish

Speaking of Indian culture he says, “There is a hell of a lot to celebrate.”

“The freedom to question anything and everything it part of Indian culture, including god… there is no word for blasphemy in Sanskrit and that should be celebrated,” says Amish.

Religious extremists make good headlines, says Amish

“The extremists make for very good copy, that’s why the media loves them. They ensure some morbid facination which gets TRP. They are a tiny minority in India,” Amish says. 

“It is the nature of the media across the world. Why is Donald Trump so famous?” he asks. 

He says religious liberals need to find ways to do good for the country they love.

I was an aethist, says Amish

Speaking of his aeithist phase he says, “My wife, then girlfriend, would take me to temple. But I wouldn’t go in. I don’t know what the hell I was trying to prove.”

Amish comes from a deeply religious family. 

"I come from a very religious family I turned into an atheist in the 90's. I got put off by religion." @authoramish at the #FirstpostSalon

— Firstpost (@firstpost) September 16, 2015

Would Lord Shiv be frisked at airports?

Would Lord Shiva have been frisked at airports if he was present today? “I believe that Lord Shiva could be anywhere he wanted,“says Amish. 

This with the background of the decision that Robert Vadra will be taken off the ’no frisking’list. 

.@sandipr and @authoramish in conversation at the #FirstpostSalon. pic.twitter.com/Z1kfPRbSUZ

— Firstpost (@firstpost) September 16, 2015

.@authoramish in conversation with Firstpost's @TheJaggi before the #FirstpostSalon. Stay tuned for more! pic.twitter.com/meg9C88S1X

— Firstpost (@firstpost) September 16, 2015

Read an excerpt from The Oath of the Vayuputras 

Amish’s re-imagination of a mythological world in very realistic rational terms struck a chord with readers as did the action that leaped off the page. In this excerpt from the final book of the trilogy, The Oath of the Vayuputras, we can get a sense of the action sequences that have made the trilogy a thrilling read for legions of fans. Read an excerpt from the book

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Amish on life, books and writing on mythological heroes

Amish, the author of the Shiva trilogy is here for the third Firstpost Salon and he will be talking about everything ranging from his books, to mythology and life. 

In case you want to read excerpts from his books you can check out our Salon page here .