Amish Creates Indian Literary History With The Launch Of The Concluding Book Of The Shiva Trilogy

Feb. 27, 2013 - PRLog -- ·         Fans throng Crossword Bookstores past 9pm with over a kilometer long line at Kemps Corner

·         ‘Amish is the first Indian literary popstar’ – Shekhar Kapur

·         ‘What we’re seeing today is a literary phenomenon’ – Anil Dharker

·         ‘It’s the kind of book that interests my daughter and me. It’s for all age groups’ – Kajol

·         ‘THE OATH OF THE VAYUPUTRAS’ sees record-breaking sales as 3,50,000 copies sold out even before launch, out of 500,000 copies printed. Entire Shiva Trilogy (The Immortals of Meluha, The Secret of the Nagas, The Oath of the Vayuputras) crosses 1.5 million copies in print

Mumbai, 27th February, 2013: Amish’s much awaited book ‘The Oath of the Vayuputras’, published by Westland Ltd, was launched today at Crossword Bookstore, Kemps Corner. The last book of the Shiva Trilogy was launched in the midst of huge fanfare along with three special guests - Bollywood actor Kajol, critically acclaimed Indian film director Shekhar Kapoor and celebrated Indian columnist Anil Dharker.

Fans of the series lined up outside Crossword’s Kemps Corner outlet extending to over a kilometer to witness the launch, many of whom flew in from Gurgaon, Mangalore, Pune, Goa, Dubai and many places across India. Setting in the mood were also some ardent fans that came dressed as their favourite characters from the books, fervently chanting ‘Har Har Mahadev’. The launch also saw performance from the group Indo Gypsies, who sang songs from the music album Vayuputras, a compilation of songs based on the book.        

Amish’s eagerly anticipated book in the Shiva Trilogy, ‘The Oath of the Vayuputras’ was released with an unprecedented print run of 5,00,000 copies; 3,50,000 of which have already been sold out even before release.

Shekhar Kapur who flew in from Paris specially for the launch called Amish ‘India’s first literary pop star’ while Anil Dharker stated “What we are seeing today is  a literary phenomenon; there has never been an event like this; it is on the scale of a movie premiere'  

India's Most Loved Actor, Kajol said about Amish’s books “They are really simply written. It’s the kind that interests my daughter and me.”

Speaking at the launch Amish said, “It’s an absolute dream, one that I don’t want to be woken up from. I hope the readers get a sense of completion from this third book of the Shiva Trilogy.”

Gautam Padmanabhan – Chief Executive Officer, Westland Limited (Publishers of The Shiva Trilogy) – said, “Today I feel a sense of relief that we have distributed 3.5lakh copies across the country to make sure Amish’s third book goes on sale on 27th morning. It is the single largest launch in Indian publishing. However, this is not the end of the road, we expect the trilogy to go from strength to strength. There is a lot of excitement with the book being adapted to a movie and many more things to come.”

Mr. Kinjal Shah, COO, Crossword Bookstores, “The ‘Oath of the Vayuputras’ is by far the biggest launch in the Indian publishing industry and we are delighted to launch it on the Crossword platform. Amish has huge fan following and it shows with the great response we have received this evening. The Shiva Trilogy has grown as one of the most read books in India and the numbers are only increasing. Amish’s writing has captured the audience with a genre like mythology which is incredible. We are confident that the last book of the series will do very well. I congratulate Amish and Westland Ltd. on the launch and we look forward to many more.”      

The Shiva Trilogy, is a compelling, fictional tale of a Tibetan tribal called Shiva, whose adventures nearly 4000 years ago, morphed into the mythical legends of the Hindu God Shiva. The first 2 books of the Shiva Trilogy (The Immortals of Meluha & The Secret of the Nagas) have sold more than a million copies within a short period of two-and-a-half years. The books have been released across the Indian subcontinent in various languages, including English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu and Assamese. Additionally, Jo Fletcher Books have bought the English language rights outside of the Indian sub-continent and has published the first book, The Immortals of Meluha, in the UK in January 2013. The book will be released in the US in Summer 2014. The book is also due for release in Indonesia soon.

About Amish:

Amish is a 1974-born, IIM (Kolkata)-educated, boring banker turned happy author. The success of his debut book, The Immortals of Meluha (Book 1 of the Shiva Trilogy), encouraged him to give up a fourteen-year-old career in financial services to focus on writing. He is passionate about history, mythology and philosophy, finding beauty and meaning in all world religions. Amish lives in Mumbai with his wife Preeti and son Neel.

About The Oath of the Vayuputras:

The final book of The Shiva Trilogy, The Oath of the Vayuputras talks about how evil has risen. Only a God can stop it. Shiva is gathering his forces. He reaches the Naga capital, Panchavati, and Evil is finally revealed. The Neelkanth prepares for a holy war against his true enemy, a man whose name instils dread in the fiercest of warriors. India convulses under the onslaught of a series of brutal battles. It's a war for the very soul of the nation. Many will die. But Shiva must not fail, no matter what the cost. In his desperation, he reaches out to the ones who have never offered any help to him: the Vayuputras. Will he succeed? And what will be the real cost of battling Evil? To India? And to Shiva's soul? Discover the answer to these mysteries in this concluding part of the bestselling Shiva Trilogy.