When I was 12, my mother was drugged and gang-raped at a party, and fell apart completely thereafter. From there on, she became my responsibility. Her second husband, my foster-father, dumped us, the family turned against us, and it was basically me and my mom from there on. So, with a sick psychotic and alcoholic mother to support, I had to drop out of college at 16, and started working. My dreams of becoming a novelist (I'd already written three novels and published several poems and articles by then, and was already gaining a name, was interviewed on national TV, radio, and had a self-published book of poems, represented India at a book fair in Paris) went on hold, and I took a job as an advertising copywriter.
My mother died in 1990, when I was 26, and I immediately quit my ad job and went back to writing full-time. By then, I was married with one kid (I had a second child later in 93), to my childhood sweetheart whom I met at 16 and who's still with me, my wife Bithika.
From the very outset, I was hugely ambitious. I wanted not to change the world or win the Nobel Prize but to connect with as many people as possible emotionally, to write great sweeping epic sagas about Indian myth and legend—like the sagas and novels I read about western myth and legend—and to show the world what great ideas and stories we had to tell.
I meandered for a long time, struggling to deal with the detritus of my childhood, my mother's demolished life, my father's abandonment of us, my foster-father and my mother's family's neglect of us, and generally life was hard as hell. Financially, I was in a huge hole, and in a sense, have barely climbed out of that hole and begun to walk on my own feet financially. But finally I'm writing what I want to write, and reaching out to some people and telling some of those stories that have been in me for so long.
Vertigo was your first novel that received recognition throughout India. In it you write about a young man supporting his mother in similar circumstances as your own. Was that part of the chronicling as a means of survival, or was it more of a purging? Can you tell us a little about that novel and what it meant to you?
Article comments
1 - Mickey
Excellent interview !! Here's hoping things are better in Bombay....
2 - Mickey
This gentleman seems to be a budding Indian JK Rowling...
3 - Aaman
Great stuff, gypsyman - I've read Mr Banker's early novels as well - they were interesting, if derivative, yet different from the rest of the Indian English scene.
What about Byculla Boy - that was originally a 900-page manuscript that was published as a 250-page book. I hear he is re-publishing it.
4 - Aaman
Also, what news of the Mahabharata series he was working on? and the film work
5 - gypsyman
Stayed tuned for part two today! But he was extremly reluctant to talk about any forthcoming projects...refering people to his website and blog for more information as progects are developed.
But that being said, I did get him to talk about the "movie" which it turns out is not a movie...you'll see what I mean.
6 - Ashok K. Banker
Hi Aaman, all,
Those who know me also know that I much prefer answering questions directly, individually, rather than tomtomming things in an interview or through the mass media. I am indeed trying to re-edit my original manuscript of Byculla Boy and hope to republish it sometime in 2006. It is linked to my other novel Vertigo, which I was able to republish earlier this year and which is a personal favourite. The book and 'video essay' or docufeature Beautiful Ugly are also directly related to Vertigo and Byculla Boy.
I am already writing the Mahabharata and you should see the first book The Seeds of War in Indian bookstores by end 2006. To know more about my other projects, you're welcome to visit my website and blog, or to email me directly.
Best wishes
Ashok
7 - JOSEPHINE
MY DAUGHTER AND I READ YOUR BOOK, Prince Of Ayodhya ...AND ENJOYED IT SO VERY MUCH...LOOKING FORWARD TO READING THE OTHERS NOW THAT WE HAVE DISCOVERED YOU....MY GODSON LIVES IN KANPUR, INDIA AND I TRY TO READ AS MUCH ABOUT HIS COUNTRY AS POSSIBLE...THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR WONDERFUL STORY WITH US..SINCERELY...JOSEPHINE D.
8 - Ashok Banker
Hi Josephine,
Thanks for those wonderful heart-warming words. Always a pleasure to know I brought something new into the lives of total strangers!
If you wish, you could visit my official website and perhaps join in our Epic India group or simply browse through the forums. You'll find many interesting discussions on India and all things Indian there, including (but not only about) my books.
And I do hope you enjoy reading the rest of the series as much as you did the first book.
9 - Vijay Kurhade
any way to contact this author bu email
10 - gypsyman
Vijay
Unforntunately Ashok has had to stop responding to emails because he was receiving far to many annoying requests as well as harrassment. If you want to get in touch with him, you can visit his web site www.epicindia.com, where there is an area to leave comments. He will always respond.
There is also a forum on the site which he posts at regularly, and responds to posts addresed to him, or if you really want direct access you can also apply to join his yahoo group. There are links to all of these things at his web portal.
cheers
gypsyman
11 - NERISHA
DEAR MR BANKER
I HAVE READ 3 OF YOUR BOOKS, FIRST BEING DEMONS OF CHIRAKAUT, THEN SEIGE OF MITHILIA AND EVENUTALLY THE PRINCE OF AYODAYA -WHICH WAS ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING - YOUR STORY-TELLING IS WONDERFUL - CANNOT WAIT TO READ THE OTHER BOOKS I AM TRYING TO GET A FRIEND WHO WILL VISIT INDIA SOON TO PURCHASE ALL YOUR BOOKS SOON. ALSO READ SOME SECTIONS OF THE BOOKS TO MY CHILDREN - AGED 13 AND 7 - BOTH WERE IN AWE
WE LOOK FORWARD TO READING THE BALANCE OF YOUR BOOKS
REGARDS
NERISHA
DURBAN
SOUTH AFRICA
12 - pranav
mr banker yo are simply superb in ur writng and imagination skills
13 - shen nalwalla
would like to buy in bombay a copy of byculla boys .where do i find it?
14 - Ashok Banker
Nerisha, thank you for those kind words. It would have been nicer had you read the books in order, but thanks anyway!
Pranav, thank you so much. I hope to keep living up to your (high) expectations.
Shen, Byculla Boy is out of print and will not be republished again anytime in the foreseeable future. Even I don't have a copy of the book.
15 - Suchi Chatterjee
Hello Ashok
I just purchased a UK copy of one of your books the second part of the Ramayana not realizing it wasn't the real Mccoy, I bought it at a local bookstore in town in Brighton, UK and thought I would try and get the first part on line and that was when I read your review.
How can I get an Indian copy, the one that you recommend?
I really want to read it but I want the REAL thing not something that the author is saying isn't the real thing!
Hope you can help.
Regards
Suchi