An Exclusive Interview with Indian Author, Ram Sivasankaran

That author who gave an interesting twist to old story; who transported us in the golden era of Peshwas & read Bajirao Peshwa’s history with an exciting knot. Yes, I am talking about the talented author of the book ‘The Peshwa: The Lion and the Stallion’ – Ram Sivasankaran.

Ram published his first novel and surprised us with his impeccable & impressive writing in The Peshwa. Who would have thought in their dreams that same old story of Bajirao Peshwa who often associated with Mastani could become an interesting read? 

However, our author did a mindboggling job on this part & we just can’t wait to get our hands on his second novel. But hold on your horses, peeps as there are many interesting facts about Ram that we should know. 

I had a chance to interview him & he gladly accepted my request. So here’s our candid talk about his writing stint, his life & many more!

I hope you’ll enjoy to know more about Ram Sivasankaran! 

Ram Sivasankaran, the Author of 'The Peshwa: The Lion & the Stallion

Q 1: Tell our readers about your background & how did you get into writing?

My background is actually (like most Indians) in Engineering. In particular, I am an aeronautical engineer. I have always been interested in all forms of writing since I was very young. I cannot say how well I do it but I have been writing short stories, poems, and articles since I was eight.

Q 2: Which writers inspire you for writing?

Mostly the authors of classics – Alexandre Dumas, Mark Twain, R K Narayan, Jules Verne etc. Also, the Indian Itihasas (epics) – namely the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas had a very profound influence on my life and thought process.

Q 3: As a child, which books or fictional characters fascinated you the most?

I will pick one out of many. The character who fascinated me most was Edmond Dantes, the protagonist/anti-hero from The Count of Monte Cristo. In a sense, he showed the resilience of human spirit in rising from a deep injustice that had been dealt to him. His revenge on his enemies was what I thought were both brutal and compassionate.

Q 4: Where do you get ideas or inspiration for your writing?

The number one inspiration for writing is reading other works by prolific authors. Read J R R Tolkien, George R R Martin, and J K Rowling and you see how these authors have weaved up universes in words. Add this inspiration with dreaming up stories and scenes of your own, put your thoughts to paper in consistent, coherent language and you hopefully have a book worth reading.

Q 5: What genre you enjoy the most while writing short stories?

I thoroughly enjoy drama, historical fiction (of course) and science fiction.

Q 6: What was the inspiration behind your recent book?

I am going to offer a little bit of a longer answer here, do excuse me 😎

My major inspiration is my firm belief that our history textbooks are biased and even sometimes downright inaccurate in the depiction of events and characters from out the past. As an example of a biased report of history, the years between 1100 and 1800 is dominated by chapters on the Delhi, Mughal and Deccan sultanates with almost zero mention of the Vijayanagara Empire and the rise of the Marathas to supremacy. The combined period between the dominance of the Vijayanagara and the Maratha Empires is entire 1,000 years. So, why the selectivity and bias in what we learn? 

I get the feeling Chhatrapati Shivaji is, in textbooks of national boards, shown as something of a brigand – an expert in guerilla warfare who snatched power from the Mughals a little at a time through unfair means. On the other hand, there may be a paragraph or two at most describing what an able, egalitarian ruler he was. 

The Peshwa

 You can buy this book on Amazon, Flipkart & Infibeam.

Of Peshwa Bajirao and his heirs who spread Maratha Samrajya over the entire subcontinent extending to the far reaches of Afghanistan, we barely hear anything. Of Mahadji Scindia who fought and defeated the British in the First Anglo-Maratha War, we barely hear anything. Of whole dynasties like the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyas and Pallavas, who conquered not only lands up to the Ganga but built fleets to go as far as Vietnam, Cambodia and other parts of Southeast Asia, we barely hear anything. Of Krishnadeva Raya, the greatest Emperor of Vijayanagara who smashed the power of the Bahmani Sultanate, we barely hear anything. On the side of inaccurate history, we study about the ‘Aryan Invasion Theory’ which says a small band of horsemen came from Europe and Central Asia and replaced local culture with their own. I could go on about this but let me stop here.

My books (and future books) are a fictional take on what actually happened in history. Any historical inaccuracies in my book are not only to be expected, they are a part and parcel of my storytelling style. My goal is to arouse interest in the actual history by telling stories in my way – so my readers may be intrigued enough to go out and do some research for themselves. However, I will always narrate the tale in the true spirit of what the protagonists are remembered for. For example, Bajirao is known for his military genius, chivalry, and valor. There are zero compromises made on that front regardless of what events and characters I choose to omit or exaggerate.

Q 7: What does your family think of writing?

They are very happy with my writing (and proud of me, of course). However, my wife is my biggest source of support. In fact, she is the only one in my family who has read my book from beginning to the end!

Q 8: Can we expect your next writing stint & if yes, what & when?

You can expect two sequels to The Peshwa – The Lion and the Stallion, effectively making it a trilogy. There are other projects in the pipeline too.

Q 9: Lastly, what writing tips you’d like to give to upcoming writers? 

Dream your stories well, have a solid and simple plot and write it down in simple, coherent language. Dream Big and Write Simple.

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