Author Amish Talks About His Latest Book, The Chola Tigers, Its Audiobook Version, And More

Indian stories based on our glorious history are something to look out for. It includes the fictional ones. Acclaimed author Amish has been doing that through his books on mythology and history. His fiction and non-fiction books have garnered praise and fan-following.

His Shiva Trilogy and Ram Chandra Series catapulted him into literary stardom in India and outside. Apart from his books, his shows on Hindu mythology and Indian history have made people become more aware of their country.  

His latest offering, The Chola Tigers, is not just a book, but also in audiobook format on Audible. He speaks to The Free Press Journal about his latest book, its audiobook journey, association with Audible, and more.

Excerpts from the Interview:

Firstly, what is The Chola Tigers all about? What makes it a compelling audiobook?

The Chola Tigers is set during the time when Mahmud Ghazni attacked India and destroyed the Somnath temple, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas and a major Shiva temple. Emperor Rajendra Chola, then the most powerful ruler and a devoted follower of Lord Shiva, decided to act. He sent a team of Indians from across the subcontinent—Hindus and Muslims, men and women—to Ghazni to assassinate Mahmud and recover pieces of the broken Shivling. The story follows this daring mission.

What can one expect from the audiobook and the book it comes from, considering your books are Indian history and mythology-centric?

I should hope so. My readers expect immersive books from me set in the past, which will be fast-paced, feature grand drama, war, action, love, and philosophies, and have a deeply Indian narrative. And The Chola Tigers is completely within that vein. It is why it’s doing very well as a physical book. I’m sure it will do very well in the audiobook format. I think Audible has done a fantastic job. It’s not just someone reading the book; they’ve actually done it like an audio drama.

Why pick the theme of Cholas with the background of Mahmud of Ghazni's attacks?

To start with, the Cholas were fascinating as people, warriors, and rulers. History hasn’t given them enough attention. Our textbooks often focus on Delhi and overlook other regions. So, while the Cholas are somewhat familiar, there’s still a lot that most people don’t know about them.

There’s also a sense of relief in seeing stories where Indians fight back, defend themselves, and win. Our history books often leave out these victories and don’t give us the full picture. Instead, they make it seem like we faced defeat for a thousand years.

That was a narrative made by the British. Establishment historians carried that on post-1947. The point that struck me in school is that if we were losing every battle, why the hell are we still alive? And there are so many of us. If you read global history, the invaders who came here went to every other corner of the world and destroyed all ancient cultures. But our culture is still here.

For example, look at Zoroastrian Persia. Is the Zoroastrian culture alive in Iran? No. It survives in India. They were among the greatest cultures of ancient times. When the Arabs attacked, they survived just 50 to 75 years. 1,000 years have passed. We Indians are still here.

So, the actual story in my mind of the last 1,000 years is not a story of repeated defeats. It’s actually one of the greatest resistances in human history. Many indigenous people have fought for so long and hard to protect their culture. They fought hard. We are a soft bunch compared to our ancestors. At least, we should remember and celebrate them. But we remember the invaders rather than our ancestors who fought them.

How was the research for the audiobook?

So, the Legend of Suheldev and The Chola Tigers are actually linked to each other. They’re both around the same time as a response to the destruction of the Somnath temple. But the Legend of Suheldev was a much more difficult book to research because most of the traditions are oral. Most written texts on Suheldev were found in British gazettes written centuries after the events. But the Cholas were massive emperors. There are more than enough written texts on them. So, researching them was actually a lot easier.

But historical facts only go so far. You can never have all the facts. What you do is you fill up the balance with your imagination. And you have to have a story. It has to have a beginning, middle, and an end. It has to make sense within the construct. So that’s how I did it.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Amish Tripathi (@authoramish)

What are the aspects of Chola history or the historical time period that surprised you?

We know that they were great emperors and conquerors. At the peak of the Chola empire in Emperor Rajan Chola’s time, they conquered most of South and East India, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, the Andaman, and the Nicobar. In terms of population, share of GDP, etc., Emperor Rajan Chola’s empire was as big, if not bigger than that of Agra. They built a huge infrastructure. They didn’t focus that much on palaces for themselves. They built public infrastructure, universities, canals, temples, and cities.

We know of their great scientific, infrastructure, and economic achievements. You’d expect that from great rulers. What intrigued me was their humility, which you don’t expect from men that powerful. What are the examples of humility that I saw? Emperor Rajendra Chola had built a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, as did Emperor Rajaraja Chola, who was Rajendra Chola’s father. The interesting thing was that when Emperor Rajendra Chola was building his Shiva temple, he was building it after his father had built the Bhrideshwara temple. He made sure the height of the temple was five feet lower than the one his father built.

Even though Rajendra Chola had conquered a lot more territory, he said, how could he outdo his father? Think of humility. Whereas there are other dynasties where the son would imprison the father and kill him. Here, the son had so much humility. Think of the culture within that family.

Working with Audible must have been interesting for an audiobook.

I think Audible is the best to do an audiobook with because they don’t just do a reading of the book. They create an audio drama, which is what makes it fun. So, there’s a war scene. It should have background music, adding to that drama. And the guy reading should be a performer like the Kathakars of old. And Audible does that really well. India is a land that celebrates the tradition of oral traditions. So, in a way, I don’t think it’s something new. It’s a revival of an old tradition.  

What makes Audible experience different for books like yours?

I think one of the perils of modern day is that the eyes get really tired. You’re on the screen all the time. When I was young, you didn’t have too many kids wearing specs. Now, practically every student in my 16-year-old son’s class wears specs. Beyond a point, it just starts glazing over. But you may still want to absorb stories. What Audible does is use another sense that is as powerful. The eyes and the ears are the two most powerful of your senses.

And like I said, this is part of our tradition in any case. We had the tradition of Kathakars. My father’s family comes from Varanasi. I remember as a kid going out there watching Ram Leela and having the Kathakars on the Ganga Ghats. They had that ability to hold your attention just with their voice and one instrument they would carry.

And Audible stories were so immersive. You get lost, which is where I think my kind of book, which is not a modern love story of a boy and girl running around trees or something difficult in an audio drama. It is an immersive historical or epic fiction, like the Ram Chandra and Shiva trilogy, that is very amenable to audio dramas. Another thing is that with video, you have to pay attention. But listening, in a way, helps you multitask as well.

What do you like listening to online in audiobooks?

I’m more of a non-fiction reader. I read a lot. I read five-six books per month on average. I have been reading at that pace for decades. Most of my reading is non-fiction, which means that even the audiobooks I listen to are usually non-fiction. I just finished the series of books by a British historian called David Starkey on audiobooks – Crown and Country. I really enjoyed them, and there is Why Nations Fail. I’d like one by Daron Acemoglu, along with Louis Perry’ The Case Against the Sexual Revolution and Yuval Harari’s Nexus. I’d like all these books.

Lastly, what is the one reason the listeners should listen to The Chola Tigers on Audible?

That would be the story – action drama, romance, and patriotism. But most importantly, you’ll learn some deeper philosophies while having fun.