Of Myth and Truth

One of the oldest rivalries society has witnessed is the feud between myth and truth. An ongoing one since decades, myth and truth concurrently go as nemesis. While the truth wants to contest myth with an objective to douse the core of its existence, the latter wants to retain its predominance by counter-questioning the former of its subjectivity, universality and the interpretation of its very nature. Their rivalry is akin to the generation gap, never seeing eye to eye; a hot debate between the familiar and the unknown where each acts as a corrosive force for one other. Writer Ashok Banker analyses this ‘epic’ battle of proportions in the territory of mythological writing

- Vinay Agrawal

How exhausting is it to write a fiction series based on historical facts?

I love reading history and historiography (the study of writing history) for pleasure. Most of my travel has been to ancient archaeological or historic sites. I’ve been longing to write historical novels for decades. It just took me a long time to find publishers willing to publish Indian historical fiction.

There’s this mistaken view that we already know everything worth knowing about the past: the fact is, new facts are being discovered all the time. Each uncovering of a new archaeological discovery, or even the finding of a buried coin or vase sheds new light on ancient cultures. The challenge is in taking this skeleton of reconstructed scientific facts and building an exciting narrative.

How much creative liberty can an author exercise while penning down work of such nature?

Is he engulfed by the pressure of distorting facts and over exercising his imagination at some point? If yes, what is the best coping mechanism for that? I think it’s vital to stick to known facts. You owe readers a responsibility to adhere to the basic scientific details. You can be imaginative and creative in the interactions between characters, the moments of human connection or conflict—the descriptions and dialogue. Even while sticking to the era and avoiding anachronisms, it’s still possible to tell a historical story responsibly but yet make it exciting. Great historical novelists like Hilary Mantel and Bernard Cornwell have showed the way. Our challenge is to apply those tools responsibly.

How often do you rewrite your drafts?