Ashok Kumar Banker
Born	February 7, 1964 (1964-02-07) (age 44) Mumbai, India
Occupation	writer
Nationality	Indian
Writing period	contemporary
Official website http://www.ashokbanker.com/

Ashok Kumar Banker (born February 7, 1964 in Mumbai, India) is a novelist and short story writer living in Mumbai, India. He has written professionally since 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. If you hold the copyright to an image (e. ... is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... , Bombay redirects here. ... This article is about work. ... A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... In English usage, nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a country. ... is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... , Bombay redirects here. ... For other uses, see Novel (disambiguation). ... This article is in need of attention. ... A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... , Bombay redirects here. ... For other uses, see Journalist (disambiguation). ... A columnist is a journalist who produces a specific form of writing for publication called a column. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and the Internet. ... Screenwriters, scenarists, or script writers, are authors who write the screenplays from which movies and television programs are made. ... A television program (US), television programme (UK) or simply television show is a segment of programming in television broadcasting. ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... // Advert redirects here. ...

Career

Known either as "Ashok Banker" or "Ashok K. Banker", he worked as a successful freelance journalist and columnist for several years, breaking front-page news for publications such as The Times of India, Mumbai, and cover stories for Outlook magazine, New Delhi.^[1] The Times of India, often abbreviated as TOI, is one of Indias leading daily newspapers, owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. ... 1 July 2002 Cover Page Outlook is an Indian weekly English newsmagazine in publication since October 1995. ...

Banker is a contemporary Indian novelist often counted among the significant literary names in post-colonial Indian literature.^[2] He is also known as a reviewer and commentator on contemporary Indian literature, and as a candid essayist with a particular focus on media hypocrisy in India, and the western racial bias against South Asian writers.^[3] The History of the Republic of India began on August 15, 1947 when India became an independent Dominion within the British Commonwealth. ... Indian literature is generally acknowledged, but not wholly established, as the oldest in the world. ... Indian literature is generally acknowledged, but not wholly established, as the oldest in the world. ...

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, claimed to be the first written by an Indian novelist in English. They gained him widespread attention and a reputation for being a crime novelist that has clung to him despite his not having written crime novels since, ^[4] though he has written short crime fiction, some of which involves characters from the novels.^[5] 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. For other uses, see Fiction (disambiguation). ... Urban culture is the culture of cities. ... For other uses, see Mythology (disambiguation). ... The epic is a broadly defined genre of narrative poetry, characterized by great length, multiple settings, large numbers of characters, or long span of time involved. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... For other uses, see Fantasy (disambiguation). ... Cross-genre is a term that refers to fiction or media, such as movies, books, or video games, that blend themes from two or more genres, such as fantasy and science fiction (science fantasy). ... Look up Thriller in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the concept in Hindu philosophy. ... This article discusses the adherents of Hinduism. ... It has been suggested that Shri Vidya be merged into this article or section. ...

Three of his novels contain 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 of the same title are a tribute to his mother, portraying the tragic events of her life.^[6] Cover of the first English edition of 1793 of Benjamin Franklins autobiography. ... Byculla is a suburb of Mumbai. ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ...

Having completed a six-volume retelling in English of the Indian epic of the Ramayana that has gained him worldwide attention, he is working on a nine-volume adaptation of the Mahabharata. These are intended to be part of a larger sequence dealing with the major myths of India, along with two yet-to-be published series that will more clearly blend myth with science fiction tropes and quantum mechanics ^[7]. The Krishna Coriolis is to tell the life of Krishna beyond the Mahabharata, and The Ganesa Palindrome is to be set in the present and far future and focus on Ganesha, Kalki, and the end of the Day of Brahma. For the television series by Ramanand Sagar, see Ramayan (TV series). ... For the film by Peter Brook, see The Mahabharata (1989 film). ... Hindu mythology is a term used by modern scholarship for a large body of Indian literature that details the lives and times of legendary personalities, deities and divine incarnations on earth interspersed with often large sections of philosophical and ethical discourse. ... For a generally accessible and less technical introduction to the topic, see Introduction to quantum mechanics. ... This article is about the Hindu deity. ... For other uses, see Ganesha (disambiguation). ... For other meanings, see Kalki (disambiguation). ... In Hindu esoteric teachings, one day of Brahma consists of a thousand cycles of four yugas, or ages: Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali. ...

Banker also has plans for The Epic India saga, a series of historical novels presenting the last 2500 years of Indian history from the perspective of the Indian people. He's also said to be 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 a major New York comic publisher. A historical novel a novel in which the story is set among historical events, or more generally, in which the time of the action predates the lifetime of the author. ... The History of India begins with the Indus Valley Civilization, which flourished in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent from 3300 to 1700 BCE. This Bronze Age civilization was followed by the Iron Age Vedic period, which witnessed the rise of major kingdoms known as the Mahajanapadas. ... Title page of the English translation of Vaimanika Shastra published in 1973 The Vaimanika Shastra (Science of Aeronautics[1]; also Vimanika, Vymanika) is a Sanskrit text on aeronautics, discussing construction of vimānas, the chariots of the gods, mythical self-moving aerial cars in the Sanskrit epics. ...

Another project by the prolific author is a graphic novel series titled "Becoming Kali" scheduled to be published by Vertigo Comics (and not Virgin Comics as mistakenly reported by some bloggers). The Vertigo Comics series is edited by Karen Berger, Assistant Edited by Pornsak Pichetsotte, illustrated by Peter Gross, and is scheduled to begin publication in mid-2008. Devi Snakewoman The Sadhu Ramayana Reborn Seven Brothers End of Story Five upcoming titles Promotional poster Virgin Comics LLC is a comic book company, which produces Indian-related comics for an international audience. ... Karen Berger is the editor of the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics and one of the most influential comic book editors of the 1990s. ...

Banker was earlier known as a columnist, well-known for his attacks on the celebrity-obsessed mass media. He used to write a weekly column in the Mumbai daily, Mid-Day, called "Cut The Hype", in which, as the column title suggests, he used to deflate several media celebrities as well as mock the media obsession with celebrityhood itself. In May 1998, he claimed to have discovered a new novelist, one Sunil Sawle who had received a big advance. The following week in his next "Cut The Hype" column, he claimed that he had set it all up to expose the publicity-obsessed nature of the media. He ostentatiously repudiates any desire to have publicity. Mid-day is an afternoon newspaper in India with editions in Mumbai (Bombay) and Delhi. ...

He was a prolific literary critic and reviewer, known for his candour and bluntness in reviewing books by Indian authors. His views often veered from the outright derogatory^[8] to effusive praise.^[9]

He is one of few contemporary Indian authors writing in English to be included in prestigious anthologies such as The Vintage Book of Modern Indian Literature ^[10] and The Picador Book of Modern Indian Literature. ^[11]

His unorthodox views include the rejection of all media that is sponsored by advertising or corporate promotion as being 'unreliable' and 'editorially compromised'. According to a note posted on his official website, he is in the process of launching a 'community portal' with free blogs, email, forums, and even an ambitious "Indiapedia" project modelled on Wikipedia, with the intent of furthering information on Indian culture, history, mythology and literature without outside commercial support. More details are posted on his official website Epic India.

He is also said to be working on several film projects, including an untitled film according to the director, Michael Radford (of "1984" and "Il Postino" fame).^[12] Michael Radford was born February 24, 1946 in New Delhi, India to a British father and Austrian mother. ... Nineteen Eighty-Four (sometimes 1984) is a British film based upon the 1949 novel of the same name by George Orwell; the film was made in the year imagined by the author. ... Movie poster for Il Postino Il Postino is a 1994 Italian language film directed by Michael Radford which tells the story of real-life Chilean poet Pablo Neruda and his relationship with a simple postman who learns to love poetry. ...

He wrote a short non-fiction book about Bollywood entitled Bollywood: The Pocket Essential (2001). For the book by Chuck Palahniuk titled Non-fiction, see Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories. ... Bollywood (Hindi: , Urdu: ) is the informal term popularly used for Mumbai-based Hindi-language film industry in India. ...

Bibliography

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 a.k.a. "Swing City" (2000)
• 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)

Collected as omnibus volumes

• PRINCE OF DHARMA
• PRINCE IN EXILE
• PRINCE AT WAR

Other works

• A Mouthful of Sky -TV Series created and written by Banker (1995-96)^[13]
• Bad Karma Online serial (first published on Top Write Corner website) (1998)
• Brandwarriors Magazine series published in ad magazine edited by Anil Thakraney (1999)
• Bombay Times (2000) (a.k.a. "Swing City") Online serial published on Rediff.com
• Vortal (2000-01) Multimedia serial published in CD-Rom magazine "Mahazine"

Forthcoming

This article or section contains future predictions, contains speculative material or documents events that may possibly not occur. Please help improve this article or section by removing speculative content.

• The Krishnavatara Series
• Dance of Govinda
• Slayer of Kamsa
• Flute of Vrindavan
• Throne of Dwarka
• Field of Kurukshetra
• Chariot of Arjuna
• Coils of Ananta
• Lord of Vaikunta

• The Mahabharata
• The Seeds Of War
• The Children Of Midnight
• As The Blind King Watched
• Brothers In Exile
• While War Lords Speak Of Peace
• Upon This Crimson Field
• When The Blue God Awakens
• Beyond Black, White, and Grey
• The Age of Kali
• Becoming Kali (DC/Vertigo Comics, 2008)

Image File history File links Emblem-important. ...

References

This article or section uses citations that are either broken or outdated. This article or section uses citations that link to broken or outdated sources, and are deemed unreliable. Please improve the article or discuss this issue on the talk page. Help on using footnotes is available. This article has been tagged since January 2008.

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... A dead link or broken link is a link on the world wide web that points to a webpage or server that is permanently unavailable. ... 1 July 2002 Cover Page Outlook is an Indian weekly English newsmagazine in publication since October 1995. ... WSU-Vancouver is a branch campus of Washington State University located in Vancouver, WA. Category: ... The Times of India, often abbreviated as TOI, is one of Indias leading daily newspapers, owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. ... The New Statesman is a left-of-centre political weekly published in London. ... // Random House is a publishing house based in New York City. ... Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately-held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ...

External links

• The official Ashok K. Banker website
• BOOKISTANI Ashok K. Banker's under-construction Blogsite, which includes his most recent media columns, literary reviews, and various other writings
• Ashok K. Banker at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database The official ISFDB listing is replete with errors
• Ashok Banker at the Internet Book List
• Ashok K. Banker's online fiction at Free Speculative Fiction Online
• Retelling the Ramayana the Author's Note to the Indian edition of Armies of Hanuman
• Two-part interview with Ashok Banker conducted by gypsyman at Blogcritics.org. Also published at gypsyman's personal blog Leap In The Dark
• Interview with Ashok Banker conducted by Andy Sawyer at The Alien Online
• Biographical profile published by The Telegraph newspaper, Kolkata (Calcutta)