You Don't Go Looking For a Story, The Story Looks For You!

Ashwin Sanghi on how he weaves folklore, fact, fiction, mythology and history into his bestsellers.

- Ashwin Sanghi

Ashwin Sanghi is articulate and measured in his speech, much like his writing. A compelling narrator, he maintains a smooth flow of conversation, without revealing too much too soon. His eyes sparkle when he talks about his two loves: books and family. There is no denying that Ashwin Sanghi is a sharp and seasoned businessman, whose patience and impeccable timing have made him among the highest-selling authors in India.

Although, he never dreamt of becoming an author, he was never away from books. “Frankly, I could think of nothing but getting through my MBA (from Yale University) and joining the business” he recalls. “I never even wrote a diary. (But) I was always a voracious reader.” What he did write were letters that were almost literary reviews to his maternal granduncle, Ramgopal Gupta, who sent him books from his personal library. The old gent had a coupe booked on a train that ran between Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Bombay (now Mumbai, Maharashtra), for his business travels.