

The first volume in the Ram Chandra Series, Scion of Ikshvaku, for which Westland Books paid an advance of $1 million, releases on June 22. His Shiva trilogy-The Immortals of Meluha (2010), The Secret of the Nagas (2011) and The Oath of the Vayuputras (2013)-have sold about 2.5 million copies. I believe the more religious you are, the more liberal you are," says the 40-year-old, who quit his job as national head (marketing and product management) of IDBI Federal Life Insurance in 2011 to give all his time to writing books. He does a mahamrityunjaya puja every day and visits a Shiva temple every Monday. There is a kada on his hand that says Aum Nama Shivaya.


Amish Tripathi lounges on the veranda of the Mumbai Cricket Association club as the monsoon glides down the maidan.
