Ashwin was in town to discuss his new book 'The Sialkot Saga', his fourth in the Bharat series.

At a session moderated by Yagnaseni Chakraborty, coordinator of the Tata Steel Literary Meet, Ashwin not only met his readers, but enthralled them with witty one liners.

Speaking about the ordeal he faced with his first book, 'The Rozabal Line', the author said that it was tough for him to get it published a decade ago."A lot was to do with the publishers. They did not want us to write on subjects that had already been attempted by Western authors," he said, but added, "But in the last few years, it has changed. Publishers are a lot more open-minded now".

The author rued the fact that while a lot of high-quality experimental works which were published in the 1950s and 60s, were seldom repeated thereafter. He said that a shift took place in the late 2000s.
"The good news is that things are changing, and they are changing very rapidly," he remarked.

He added, "It was in Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children that we found our voice, an Indian voice, something which we could relate to."

Asked if he could predict a good story beforehand, Ashwin said that it was impossible."We don't really know what works. We are still learning," he said.

The bestselling author of three previously released books said that it was his ability to manage time well that worked in his favour while writing. "I have become a good time manager. I generally do my writing between 5 and 9 in the morning. Then, I have the rest of the day available for other things."

Asked about his take on juggling both writing and marketing his books, the author said that it was important to not mix the two as it would prove to be counterproductive. "While writing, don't think about marketing. If that happens, you don't end up writing what you want to write," Ashwin said.

He also advised budding authors to be careful about their work, to take it seriously, and he said, "A storyteller is like a craftsman. With every work he gets better."

Speaking about his Kolkata connection, the author said that he visited the city frequently as he had his family members here.

Ashwin also thanked his mother and maternal grandfather for their contribution to his becoming  an author. He joked that growing up in a Marwari family, it was hard for him to pick out someone who had read a book, but his mother and grandfather supported his love for reading and would often present him a book.

Concluding the session, the author said that it was better to expect the unexpected from him.

Published by Westland Ltd., ‘The Sialkot Saga’ has been priced at Rs. 350/-.