Ashok Banker | |
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Born | Ashok Kumar Banker 7 February 1964 Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
Occupation | Author |
Nationality | Indian |
Period | Contemporary |
Notable works | Ten Kings (2014) Blood Red Sari (2012) Slayer of Kamsa (2009) Prince of Ayodhya (2003) Vertigo (1994) The Iron Bra (1992) |
Spouse | Bithika Banker (m. 1987) |
Children | Ayushyoda Banker, Yashka Banker |
Ashok Kumar Banker (born 7 February 1964 in Mumbai, India) is an author and screenwriter. His writing spans crime thrillers, essays, literary criticism, fiction and Indian mythology. [1] The author of several well-received novels including a trilogy billed as "India's first crime novels in English", [2] he became widely known for his retellings of Indian mythological epics, starting with the internationally acclaimed and best-selling eight-volume Ramayana series. [3] His books have sold over 2 million copies and have been published in 16 languages in 58 countries. [4] His Epic India Library is an attempt at retelling all the myths, legends and itihasa of the Indian sub-continent in one story cycle comprising over 70 volumes. [5] [6]
Banker was raised by his grandmother, May Agnes Smith. She married Mr. D'Souza, an Indian Christian from Goa, and the couple settled in Byculla in Mumbai. His grandmother financed the publication of his first book, a collection of poetry titled Ashes in the Dust of Time, which he self-published at age 15. [7]
Ashok Banker worked as a freelance journalist and columnist for several years, for publications such as The Times of India [8] and Outlook magazine. He was also a reviewer and commentator on contemporary Indian literature, an essayist, literary critic and reviewer. [9]
Banker is a contemporary Indian novelist. [10] [11] His work has been included in anthologies such as The Vintage Book of Modern Indian Literature [12] and The Picador Book of Modern Indian Literature. [13] His novel Vertigo, published in 1992, was praised by critics and readers including the late Dom Moraes. [14]
Banker has published in several genres, including crime thrillers. [15] His Kali Rising books is a contemporary radical feminist thriller series featuring only women protagonists. The first book, Blood Red Sari, was launched at the Tata Literature Live! literary festival in Mumbai in November 2012. [16]
Three of his novels contain autobiographical elements and are closely related to one another. His novel Vertigo is about a man struggling to make a successful career and home life in Bombay. Byculla Boy takes its name from the suburb he and his mother grew up in. Beautiful Ugly is a tribute to his mother. [19]
Banker is best known for his Ramayana Series, a freely imaginative retelling of the ancient Sanskrit epic poem. [20] It has spawned the burgeoning mythology genre. [21]
Banker has been credited as the creator and scriptwriter (story, screenplay and dialogues) for A Mouthful of Sky, India's first television series in English, originally aired on DD Metro in the Indian sub-continent, retelecast on Star World. He was also co-writer of Malaysia's television series in English, titled City of the Rich, produced by UTV. Writing sporadically for television from the mid-1980s onwards, Banker scripted over 520 episodes of broadcast television for various series. [22]
In June 2013, Disney UTV purchased the rights to Banker's ongoing Mahabharata Series, with Banker commissioned to adapt the epic for release in 2016/17. Disney India CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur was attached to produce and Director Abhishek Kapoor signed to direct the film. [23] [24] [25] Banker has also confirmed that he has been commissioned by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra to write the script for a forthcoming film. [26]
Prequel Series
Mahabharata Series
The Mahābhārata is one of the two major Smriti texts and Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered in Hinduism, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succession between two groups of princely cousins, the Kauravas and the Pāṇḍavas.
The Ramayana, also known as Valmiki Ramayana, as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text from ancient India, one of the 2 important epics of Hinduism known as the Itihasas, the other being the Mahabharata. The epic narrates the life of Rama, a prince of Ayodhya in the kingdom of Kosala. The epic follows his fourteen-year exile to the forest urged by his father King Dasharatha, on the request of Rama's stepmother Kaikeyi; his travels across forests in the Indian subcontinent with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana; the kidnapping of Sita by Ravana, the king of Lanka, that resulted in war; and Rama's eventual return to Ayodhya along with Sita to be crowned king amidst jubilation and celebration.
Vishvamitra is one of the most venerated rishis or sages of ancient India. Vishvamitra is one of the seven Brahmarshi. According to Hindu tradition, he is stated to have written most of the Mandala 3 of the Rigveda, including the Gayatri Mantra (3.62.10). The Puranas mention that only 24 rishis since antiquity have understood the whole meaning of —and thus wielded the whole power of — the Gayatri Mantra. Vishvamitra is supposed to have been the first, and Yajnavalkya the last.
Kaikeyi is a princess of Kekeya and the queen of Kosala in the Hindu epic Ramayana. Kaikeyi is the third queen and favourite consort of King Dasharatha, who ruled Kosala from its capital, Ayodhya. She is the mother of Bharata.
Dasharatha was the king of Kosala, with its capital at Ayodhya, in the Hindu epic Ramayana. Dasharatha married Kausalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. He was the father of Rama, the protagonist of the epic, Bharata, Lakshmana, and Shatrughna. Dasharatha also finds mention in the Vishnu Purana.
The Ramavataram, popularly referred to as Kamba Ramayanam, is a Tamil epic that was written by the Tamil poet Kambar during the 12th century. Based on Valmiki's Ramayana, the story describes the legend of King Rama of Ayodhya. However, the Ramavataram is different from the Sanskrit version in many aspects – both in spiritual concepts and in the specifics of the storyline. This historic work is considered by both Tamil scholars and the general public as one of the greatest literary works in Tamil literature.
Shambuka is a character in some editions of the Ramayana. Some say that the character and his story are an interpolation which is not found in the original Valmiki Ramayana but in a later addition called Uttara Kanda.
Sita, also known as Siya, Janaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic Ramayana. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is the chief goddess of the Rama-centric Hindu traditions and is the goddess of beauty and devotion. Sita is widely known for her devotion, self-sacrifice, courage, and purity. Sita's birthday is celebrated every year on the occasion of Sita Navami.
Braj Basi Lal was an Indian writer and archaeologist. He was the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from 1968 to 1972 and has served as Director of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla. Lal also served on various UNESCO committees.
The Chinas are a people mentioned in ancient Indian literature, such as the Mahabharata, Manusmriti, and the Puranic literature.
Writers Workshop is a Kolkata-based literary publisher founded by the Indian poet and scholar Purushottama Lal in 1958. It has published many new Indian authors of post-independence urban literature. Many of these authors later became widely known.
Randamoozham is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language mythological drama novel written by the Indian author M. T. Vasudevan Nair, widely credited as his masterpiece. The work won the Vayalar Award, given for the best literary work in Malayalam, in 1985. It also won the Muttathu Varkey Award in 1994. The novel has been translated into multiple languages. It was translated into English as Second Turn by P. K. Ravindranath in 1997. Another English translation by Gita Krishnankutty published in 2013 is titled Bhima: Lone Warrior.
An astra is a supernatural weapon in Hindu mythology. It is presided over by a specific deity and imbued with spiritual and occult powers that causes its effects.The term came to subsequently denote any weapon which was used by releasing it from one's hand, compared to keeping it one's hand.
Devdutt Pattanaik is a mythologist and writer from Mumbai, India. He writes on mythology, the study of cultural truths revealed through stories, symbols and rituals. He lectures on the relevance of both Indian and Western myths in modern life. His work focuses largely on the areas of religion, mythology, and management. He has authored and illustrated over 50 books, including ABC Of Hinduism, Bahubali : 63 insights into Jainism, and Yoga Mythology: 64 Asanas and Their Stories.
Svargarohana Parva or the Book of the Ascent to Heaven, is the last of eighteen books of the Indian epic Mahabharata. It traditionally has 6 chapters. The critical edition has 5 chapters. It is one of the shortest books in the Mahabharata.
Mahabharata is a comic adaptation of the Indian epic poem Mahabharata. The 42-issue best-selling series by Amar Chitra Katha, Mumbai was illustrated by Dilip Kadam. The team of script writers included Kamala Chandrakant, TMP Nedungadi, Subba Rao, Yagya Sharma, Lopamudra, Mihir Lal Mitra, Sumona Roy, Mohan Swaminathan, Shubha Kandhekar and Margie Sastry.
Anand Neelakantan an Indian novelist, columnist, screenwriter, and public speaker. One of India's best selling authors, He is known for writing mythological fiction and has authored 15 books in English and one in Malayalam. He has been writing a column in the The New Indian Express since 2017.
Venmurasu is a Tamil novel by writer Jeyamohan. A modern renarration of the Indian classical epic Mahabharata, it is considered Jeyamohan's most ambitious work to date, with "a scope and scale that seeks to match the grandness of the epic itself." It is one of the longest novels ever published. Jeyamohan started writing the work in January 2014 and announced plans to write it every day over ten years. He completed Venmurasu in 2020, spanning 26 volumes and 26,000 pages.
Ram: Scion of Ikshvaku is a one to one replica of the events taking place before the epic tale "Ramayana" and also the fourth book of Amish Tripathi, fourth book of Amishverse, and first book of Ram Chandra Series. It was released on 22 June 2015. It is based on Ram, the legendary Indian king regarded as an incarnation of Vishnu. The title was revealed by the author at the Jaipur Literature Festival. The story begins with King Dashrath of Ayodhya being defeated in a war by Lankan trader Raavan, and the birth of his son Ram. It follows through Ram's childhood and tutelage, along with the politics surrounding his ascension to the throne, and ultimately his 14-year exile, accompanied by wife Sita and brother Lakshman.
Samhita Arni is an Indian writer who writes in English. She is best known for her adaptations of Indian epic poetry. She started writing and illustrating her first book The Mahabharatha - A Child’s View at the age of eight. The book then went on to be translated in seven languages and sold 50,000 copies worldwide. Her second book – Sita’s Ramayana – was on the New York Times Bestseller list for Graphic Novels for two weeks in 2011.