Hindustan Central – What inspired you to tell Vinoda’s story and explore the Indo-Greek world of 143 BC?
Naveen Sridhar – I have written novels about ancient cultures and their interactions with other cultures: the Akkadians and the Sumerians in Mesopotamia, and the Hittites and the Egyptians in Ancient Egypt. Vinoda’s story turned out to be one such, set in the most recent of these. From my school days, I recall the Milinda Panha (Minander’s Question), a prominent Buddhist record of a Greek king’s dialogue with the Buddhist monk Nagasena, before his conversion. In addition, Sophocles’ earlier work Antigone inspired the story I imagined.
Hindustan Central –What aspects of Vinoda were most important for me to portray?
Naveen Sridhar – As a heroine, I did not want her to be a woman with a sword in hand, out for revenge, modeled after Zorro. It was important to portray her as an intelligent woman, versatile as a healer and a talented actress, yet burdened by trauma. She had to combine a humane but strong-willed nature. I sum up her nature and purpose in one of the last chapters of my novel, “Not for Fame or Fortune”.
Hindustan Central –Your novel brings together Indian and Greek cultural influences during the Hellenistic age. What kind of research did you undertake to recreate this historical setting?
Naveen Sridhar – This was indeed the hard part. For the Greek influences, I had to consult the few works on the period, such as those by Richard Stoneman, and build a picture of that part of the ancient world.
Hindustan Central – The story explores social, ethical, and philosophical questions alongside its historical narrative. Which of these themes did you find most meaningful to explore as an author?
Naveen Sridhar – The issues raised in the story do not belong to one society, nor can one philosophy answer them. They are universal and apply to any culture, society, or period. The most meaningful question is ethical. The question Sophocles raised in the 5th century BC remained unanswered in the 2nd century CE and remains so today.
The takeaway message of my story is
Judge her not. First, think about how you would have acted, not only from today’s perspective, but not like a judge in court.
Now, you are the judge and decide on her fate.
Hindustan Central – Vinoa’s journey involves ambition, personal choices, secrets, and different decisions. How did you approach developing her emotional and psychological journey?
Naveen Sridhar – For me, the most exciting and rewarding part of writing a novel is creating characters, which I call visualization. It is, to an extent, a continuous conversation between the author and the character, an alter ego. This leads to a discourse or interview through which the character develops, not unlike a dialogue between a movie director and an actress, each shaping the role. At times, I even picture a vis-à-vis with a Q&A session, as with you now.
Often, the character leads me. In certain situations, such as action or heavy dialogue, the character races ahead of my thoughts, and my fingers move faster than my mind.
Hindustan Central –The novel features a performance of a Sophocles play and places Vinoda in the world of royalty. What interested you about bringing theatre and royalty together in the story?
Naveen Sridhar – My primary motivation for writing the story was to explore the confluence of two ancient cultures. Instead of presenting only artifacts and historical data, I chose to show the tolerant intermingling of societies, as was common in ancient times, without outright negation or disdain for another culture or enforcement of one’s own by war and conversion.
I introduced an Indian actress who represents the moral dilemma Sophocles posed centuries later. (By the way, Sophocles and Buddha were contemporaries!) Right at the beginning of the novel, acting out her misery as a proxy, the actress addressed the royalty in public. With her own agenda, she had to portray the question Sophocles raised, which I also raise for readers today, wherever they belong.
Hindustan Central – How long did it take you to write VINODA’S VENGEANCE, from the initial idea to the finished manuscript?
Naveen Sridhar – It took me two years. The theme and concept, even the ending, came to mind in a matter of days, but I needed time for research and execution.
Hindustan Central – Your novel gives considerable attention to minor characters and the world around Vinoda. How important was detailed world-building to your storytelling process?
Naveen Sridhar – In historical fiction, world-building plays a major role: it is essential to let the readers time-travel as a tourist (TTT), get acquainted with that world, and immerse themselves in the atmosphere.
Mise-en-scène, which refers to the arrangement of everything that appears before the camera or on a theater stage, including set design, lighting, actors, costumes, and props, is also essential for authors’ world-building and helps place characters in the right atmosphere for their thoughts and actions. This applies to minor characters as well, who are not just statists but contribute to the story.
Hindustan Central –What do you hope readers discover about the Indo-Greek period and its interaction between India and Greek civilizations after reading your novel?
Naveen Sridhar – After Alexander reached up to the Punjab, other Greek kings invaded India, reaching as far as Pataliputra in the east. Yet Indian society remained unmolested. But there was indeed a cultural exchange of ideas on the philosophical and cultural planes, for this was an age of inquiry and retrospection, marked by the emergence of Jainism and Buddhism, all without religious conflicts leading to wars. In ancient times, there were no significant religious wars, such as between the Zoroastrians and the Greeks, the Jains and those of the Vedic tradition, or the Buddhists and the Confucians.
The common man was either unconcerned or uninterested in foreign, otherworldly views. It was not a cultivated, purposeful tolerance but a natural accommodation.
We can presume there was already an influence in other fields, like medicine, with the Greek school being called Yunani medicine, much later after the Arab import to India.
Hindustan Central – For readers who have not previously read historical fiction set in the ancient world, what do you think they might find most surprising about Vinoda’s Vengeance?
Naveen Sridhar – They will open their eyes to an ancient world rarely explored in literature, let alone in movies. This approach will help readers experience more. They will find:
Immediacy: The story pertains to people’s daily lives and raises questions about the common person, even today.
Immersion: They will notice what matters to them: they can relate to the situations and concerns of the characters directly.
Hindustan Central – Are you currently working on another book or any new writing projects that readers can look forward to?
Naveen Sridhar – My next project is set in Ancient Rome. An Indian merchant of precious goods stationed there is one of the story’s protagonists.
Hindustan Central – Where can readers purchase Vinoda’s Vengeance, and are you active on social media? How can readers follow your work and stay connected with you?
Naveen Sridhar – Readers can purchase the book on Amazon. I am not active on social media. I warmly welcome readers to contact me at naveen@sridhar.de. This is the email I check every day. It would help if they also mention how they found this address so I can prioritize their private mail.
