Ashok Banker: Difference between revisions

Ashok Kumar Banker
Ashok Kumar Banker
Born	February 7, 1964 (age 60); Mumbai, India
Occupation	Novelist
Nationality	Indian
Period	1978-Present
Genre	Mythology, Fiction, Non-Fiction

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Ashok Kumar Banker (born February 7, 1964) is a novelist born and living in Mumbai, India.

Biography

Banker was born in Mumbai, India on February 7, 1964. He began writing professionally in his early teens, and has worked as a door-to-door surveyor for market research firms, a print journalist, columnist, scriptwriter for television series and documentaries, and in advertising. ^{[citation needed]}

Literary Works

Banker has published in several genres, ranging from contemporary fiction about urban life in India to multi-volume mythological epics, as well as science fiction, fantasy, and cross-genre works.

His first three novels to be published were crime thrillers. He has since ceased to write crime novels though he has written short crime fiction, involving characters from the novels ^[1]. The stories of his "Devi" series are short works featuring avatars of the Hindu goddess Devi, and have appeared in various science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazines. Now, however, he is best known for his retelling of the epic Sanskrit poem, Ramayana.

Three of his novels contain autobiographical elements and are closely related to one another. His fourth published published novel Vertigo is about a man struggling to make a successful career and home life in Bombay (the former name of Mumbai). Byculla Boy takes its name from the Byculla suburb of Bombay where he and his mother grew up. Beautiful Ugly and the complementary documentary of the same title are a tribute to his mother, portraying the tragic events of her life ^[2].

Banker currently says he is working on a retelling of the major myths and legends of India, that began with his eight-volume retelling in English of the Indian epic of the Ramayana, the story of a legendary Indian prince named Rama Chandra.

The in-progress eight-volume Ramayana series storyline is continued directly in the forthcoming Krishnavatara series. This in turn leads directly into his ambitious Mahabharata epic retelling, in nine double-size volumes. It is said to be followed by a multiple-volume Epic India series that continues the quest for Indian identity though a retelling of Indian historical events following the Mahabharata, up to the present day.

Banker has also written on various forums that he was earlier working on an alternate history series titled "The Indus Saga" set in an alternate world wherein Indian scientists discover the scientific basis for the legendary 'dev-astras' (divine weapons) described in ancient Vedic texts and a group of Indian Freedom Fighters led by Mahatma Gandhi uses the dev-astras to change the course of World War II, gain India's freedom from the British Empire, and make India, China and Japan the dominant world powers by the turn of the 21st century.

Another project by the prolific author is a graphic novel adaptation of his "Devi" tales. The series is slated to begin publication sometime in summer 2007. However some dispute appears to have arisen since the series has not been released and edits in the format of legal notices purported to be signed by Ashok Banker were left on the Wikpedia entries of Gotham Chopra, Jeevan Kang, Virgin Comics by an anonymous IP 210.214.10.215.

Banker was earlier known as a columnist, well-known for his attacks on the celebrity-obsessed mass media. In May 1998, he claimed to have discovered a new novelist one Sunil Sawle who had received a big advance. Upon being unmasked as a hoax, he claimed that he had set it all up to expose the publicity-obsessed nature of the media. His method of gaining publicity for his own works is to ostentatiously repudiate any desire to have publicity.

He has also written a short non-fiction book about Bollywood entitled Bollywood: The Pocket Essential (2001).

Bibliography

The author's name has appeared as both "Ashok Banker" and "Ashok K. Banker".

(TBA=To Be Announced) (Unsub=Unsubmitted to publishers)

His previously published works include:

Amazing Adventure at Chotta Sheher (1992)
The Iron Bra (1993)
Murder & Champagne (1993)
Ten Dead Admen (1993)
Vertigo (1993)
Byculla Boy (1994)
The Missing Parents Mystery (1994)
A Mouthful of Sky (1995-96)
Bad Karma (1998)
Brandwarriors (1999)
Bombay Times (2000) (a.k.a. "Swing City")
Vortal (2000-01)
The Pocket Essential Bollywood (2001)

The Ramayana series:

Prince of Ayodhya (2003)
Siege of Mithila (2003)
Demons of Chitrakut (2004)
Armies of Hanuman (2005)
Bridge of Rama (2005)
King of Ayodhya (2006)
Vengeance of Ravana (Forthcoming, Unsub)
Sons of Sita (Forthcoming, Unsub)

Collected as hardcover omnibus volumes:

Prince of Dharma (Viking Penguin, contains Prince of Ayodhya and Siege of Mithila, June 2007)
Prince in Exile (Viking Penguin, contains Demons of Chitrakut and Armies of Hanuman, June 2007)
Prince at War (Viking Penguin, contains Bridge of Rama and King of Ayodhya, June 2007)
King of Dharma (Viking Penguin, will contain Vengeance of Ravana and Sons of Sita)

Forthcoming:

The Krishna Coriolis (a.k.a. "Krishnavatara") series:

Dance of Govinda (Forthcoming, Unsub)
Slayer of Kamsa (Forthcoming, Unsub)
Flute of Vrindavan (Forthcoming, Unsub)
Throne of Dwarka (Forthcoming, Unsub)
Field of Kurukshetra (Forthcoming, Unsub)
Chariot of Arjuna (Forthcoming, Unsub)
Coils of Ananta (Forthcoming, Unsub)
Lord of Vaikunta (Forthcoming, Unsub)

To be collected as hardcover omnibus volumes:

Krishna Leela (will contain Dance of Govinda and Slayer of Kamsa, Unsub)
Radhey Shyam (will contain Flute of Vrindavan and Throne of Dwarka, Unsub)
Gita Govinda (will contain Field of Kurukshetra and Chariot of Arjuna, Unsub)
Vishnu Ananta (will contain Coils of Ananta and Lord of Vaikunta, Unsub)

The Mahabharata series:

The Seeds of War (Unsub)
The Children of Midnight (Unsub)
As The Blind King Watched (Unsub)
Brothers in Exile (Unsub)
While Warlords Speak of Peace (Unsub)
Upon This Crimson Field (Unsub)
When the Blue God Awakens (Unsub)
Beyond Black, White, and Grey (Unsub)
The Age of Kali (Unsub)

Other works:

Becoming Kali (DC/Vertigo Comics, TBA)

"Mahabaalak"

"Sword of Dharma"

Crime Omnibus (Contains "Ten Dead Admen", "Murder & Champagne", and "The Iron Bra", Penguin India, TBA)

The Vortal Codex:

Shockwave: A Tale of The Vortal (Unsub)
Python: A Tale of The Vortal (Unsub)
Flash: A Tale of The Vortal (Unsub)
Dreamweaver: A Tale of The Vortal (Unsub)
Maya: A Tale of The Vortal (Unsub)

The Ganesa Palindrome:

Iron Gods (Penguin India, Unsub)

The Indus Saga:

Gandhi's War (Unsub)

Non-fiction/Autobiography:

Beautiful Ugly (Unsub)

Epic India series:

Historical novels (Unsub)

Vetaal: The First Vampire (graphic novel, Unsub)

References

^ [1]
^ [2]

External links

ashokbanker.com The official website of Ashok K. Banker. Recently updated.
Epic India A cultural & literary magazine owned and maintained by Ashok K. Banker--contains no information about the author or his work

[1] [1]

[2] [2]

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 Banker has published in several genres, ranging from [[contemporary]] [[fiction]] about [[urban culture|urban life]] in India to multi-volume [[mythology|mythological]] [[epic poetry|epics]], as well as [[science fiction]], [[fantasy]], and [[cross-genre]] works.
-His first three novels to be published (though not the first written) were crime [[Thriller (genre)|thriller]]s, hailed by the India media as the first written by an Indian novelist in English{{Fact|date=July 2007}}. They gained him widespread attention and a reputation for being a crime novelist that clung to him for several years despite his not having written crime novels since <ref>[http://www.epicindia.com/indianenglish/2005/04/its-crime-book-review-of-srinagar.html]</ref>, though he has written short crime fiction, some of which involves characters from the novels <ref>[http://www.epicindia.com/indianenglish/2005/04/flesh-songs-sheila-ray-story.html]</ref>.  The stories of his "''Devi''" series are short works featuring [[avatar]]s of the [[Hindu]] goddess [[Devi]], and have appeared in various science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazines. Now, however, he is best known for his retelling of the epic Sanskrit poem, Ramayana.
+His first three novels to be published were crime [[Thriller (genre)|thriller]]s. He has since ceased to write crime novels though he has written short crime fiction, involving characters from the novels <ref>[http://www.epicindia.com/indianenglish/2005/04/flesh-songs-sheila-ray-story.html]</ref>.  The stories of his "''Devi''" series are short works featuring [[avatar]]s of the [[Hindu]] goddess [[Devi]], and have appeared in various science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazines. Now, however, he is best known for his retelling of the epic Sanskrit poem, Ramayana.
-Three of his novels contain [[autobiography|autobiographical]] elements and are closely related to one another. His first novel (though the fourth published) ''Vertigo'' is about a man struggling to make a successful career and home life in Bombay (the former name of Mumbai). ''Byculla Boy'' takes its name from the [[Byculla]] suburb of Bombay where he and his mother grew up. ''Beautiful Ugly'' and the complementary [[Documentary film|documentary]] of the same title are a tribute to his mother, portraying the tragic events of her life <ref>[http://www.epicindia.com/indianenglish/2005/06/my-mother-and-i-intensely-personal.html]</ref>.
+Three of his novels contain [[autobiography|autobiographical]] elements and are closely related to one another. His fourth published published novel ''Vertigo'' is about a man struggling to make a successful career and home life in Bombay (the former name of Mumbai). ''Byculla Boy'' takes its name from the [[Byculla]] suburb of Bombay where he and his mother grew up. ''Beautiful Ugly'' and the complementary [[Documentary film|documentary]] of the same title are a tribute to his mother, portraying the tragic events of her life <ref>[http://www.epicindia.com/indianenglish/2005/06/my-mother-and-i-intensely-personal.html]</ref>.
-Banker is currently working on a retelling of the major myths and historical legends of India, that began with his eight-volume retelling in English of the Indian epic of the ''[[Ramayana]]'' that has gained him worldwide attention and is said to be currently in development as a series of major motion pictures. The story of a legendary Indian prince named Rama Chandra, his ''Ramayana'' series proposes a philosophical theme linking all the major myths, legends and 'itihasa' of India into one continuous storyline from the oldest times to the present day, transcending religion, caste, sex, and all other differences to seek out the quintessential humanistic core of the Indian character. Banker's own mixed-origins--he is of mixed religious and racial parentage, diverse cultural and nationalistic influences and radical liberal humanist outlook informs the series with a freshness and modern sensibility that has never before been attempted in similar Indian epics.
+Banker currently says he is working on a retelling of the major myths and legends of India, that began with his eight-volume retelling in English of the Indian epic of the ''[[Ramayana]]'', the story of a legendary Indian prince named Rama Chandra.
 The in-progress eight-volume ''Ramayana'' series storyline is continued directly in the forthcoming ''[[Krishnavatara]]'' series. This in turn leads directly into his ambitious ''[[Mahabharata]]'' epic retelling, in nine double-size volumes. It is said to be followed by a multiple-volume ''Epic India'' series that continues the quest for Indian identity though a retelling of Indian historical events following the Mahabharata, up to the present day.
@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 Banker has also written on various forums that he was earlier working on an alternate history series titled "The Indus Saga" set in an alternate world wherein Indian scientists discover the scientific basis for the legendary 'dev-astras' (divine weapons) described in ancient Vedic texts and a group of Indian Freedom Fighters led by Mahatma Gandhi uses the dev-astras to change the course of World War II, gain India's freedom from the British Empire, and make India, China and Japan the dominant world powers by the turn of the 21st century.
-Another project by the prolific author is a graphic novel adaptation of his "Devi" tales, being developed for the major New York comic publisher, DC/Vertigo. Tentatively titled "Becoming Kali", the comic is planned as a longterm monthly series intended to be collected into periodic graphic novels. The series is slated to begin publication sometime in summer 2007. Commissioned and edited personally by Karen Berger, illustrated by Peter Gross of Lucifer fame, assistant edited by Pornsak Pichetsotte, and created and written by Banker himself, the series unfolds an epic adventure involving a girl from a remote village in Madhya Pradesh, a visiting Indian American teenager, and is an original story involving various Hindu gods, asuras and other mythological and historical characters.
+Another project by the prolific author is a graphic novel adaptation of his "Devi" tales. The series is slated to begin publication sometime in summer 2007. However some dispute appears to have arisen since the series has not been released and edits in the format of legal notices purported to be signed by Ashok Banker were left on the Wikpedia entries of Gotham Chopra, Jeevan Kang, Virgin Comics by an anonymous IP 210.214.10.215.
+Banker was earlier known as a columnist, well-known for his attacks on the celebrity-obsessed mass media. In May 1998, he claimed to have discovered a new novelist one Sunil Sawle who had received a big advance. Upon being unmasked as a hoax, he claimed that he had set it all up to expose the publicity-obsessed nature of the media. His method of gaining publicity for his own works is to ostentatiously repudiate any desire to have publicity.
-However, for the past several years, he is believed to have given up all other writing to focus exclusively on his retelling of the ''Epic India'' saga. He is believed to be nearing completion of the series, and it's thought that once he is done, he will permit publication of the rest of the saga in quick order.
-Banker was earlier known as a controversial but hard-hitting columnist, well-known for his attacks on the celebrity-obsessed mass media. His unorthodox views include the rejection of all media that is sponsored by advertising or corporate promotion as being 'unreliable' and 'editorially compromised'. Banker eschews the typical route of self-promotional media interviews, book tours and similar PR devices, and maintains a direct one-on-one relationship with his readers.
-His official website [http://www.ashokkbanker.com] used to feature the legend "'Tis the tale, not he who tells it," and an email address where readers could contact him directly. He has recently begun updating it an added a personal biography as well as several other pages of information. However, his aversion to self-promotion and publicity remains. He does not permit photographs or interviews, does not attend public functions, book launches, signings, readings, and does not indulge in any form of self-marketing. He has been known to say "Only bad books need marketing. Good books have a way of finding their way into good hands." His website contains no information about his books, and is designed in keeping with his insistence on 'zero' marketing.
-He also does not possess a passport as he is actively opposed to political borders and believes that governments do not have the right to restrict the movement of individuals across a free planet. He is a committed liberalist and believes that the only permanent solution to war and violence is complete disarmament, destruction of all weapons (both mass and individual destruction) and a total commitment to pacificism. His entire body of work is dedicated to proving the futility of war, particularly his "Epic India" sequence which demonstrates how all the so-called 'great' conquerors and 'heroes' of history, myth and legend all suffered terrible consequences for their espousal of violence.
 He has also written a short [[non-fiction]] book about [[Bollywood]] entitled ''Bollywood: The Pocket Essential'' ([[2001]]).