Vasudhendra’s new Kannada novel Tejo-Tungabhadra has created a record of sorts by going into the fourth edition within just two months of its release.
Thanks to advance booking online, the first edition of the historical novel, set in the Vijayanagar empire of the 15th and 16th centuries (1492-1518), was sold out even before it reached the book shops.
“On social media, I had announced the release of the book three days ahead of the release. Book shops called me from all over Karnataka asking for copies. This shows that readers are interested in historical fiction,” he says.
History is usually a glorified story about kings and queens, and not about common people. That is why it is important for historical fiction to tell the story of common people, says Vasudhendra.
“How did common people live? What did they do? What did they eat? These questions always intrigued me. I am from Hosapete in Ballari district and the Vijayanagara emperors ruled from Hampi near Hosapete. They controlled the whole of south India. I was always in awe of them,” he says, explaining how he got down to writing the book.
In the news in recent years for his short story collection ‘Mohana Swamy,’ translated into seven languages and hailed as a contemporary classic in gay fiction, Vasudhendra was keen to “come out of the hangover” of that style. “I have written short stories, essays and a novel. I didn’t want to be branded as a writer of gay fiction,” he says.
Trained as a software engineer, Vasudhendra didn’t know much about history and so spent three years reading all available English and Kannada books about the Vijayanagar empire and the Portuguese who entered India about 500 years ago.
“We have a lot of books on the life of the Portuguese in the medieval era but sadly not much about our own people of those days. Some characters’ names I took from the inscriptions. As far as the food of that time is concerned, I got details from an inscription at the Vijaya Vitthala temple in Hampi about the daily prasada offered to the deity,” he says.
Those were days of conflict between worshippers of Shiva (Shaiva) and Vishnu (Vaishnava), the Sati system and cruelty of kings. I have used all this and woven a story around them,” he says.
Historical characters such as Krishnadevaraya, his two wives, Albuquerque, Vasco da Gama, Adil Shah, Portugaues king Manuel, and Purandara Dasa appear in the novel, but they are not the focus. Common people — Gabriel, Bella, Keshava, Hampamma, Amnanam Bhatta, Champakka, Tembakka, Mapala and Adavi Samy—are the leading characters.
The Portuguese travelled 24,000 miles in ships to reach India, without caring for their lives, just for our spices. India was wealthy back then, perhaps like today’s America. It attracted people from far and wide, says Vasudhendra.
Tejo-Tungabhadra has received rave reviews in print as well as on social media. Priced at Rs 380, it is available at leading book shops and can also be ordered online.
Chanda Pustaka (98444 22782), Vasudhendra’s publishing house based in Bengaluru, has brought out the book.
‘India was US of those days’
The novel is set in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, and Vijayanagara (Hampi) and Goa. Among other things, it talks about how common folks lived during an era of prosperity and imperial expansion. The Portuguese risked their lives and travelled to Vijayanagara for our spices, and people from all over the world were attracted to the empire, says Vasudhendra. Tejo Tungabhadra also tells the story of how paper and green chilli came to India five centuries ago.
Current Kannada bestsellers
Uttarakanda (novel): S L Bhyrappa
L (novel): Jogi
Kasheera (novel): Sahana Vijayakumar
Shankara Vihara (non-fiction): K V Akshara
Naanu Kastur (Biography of Kasturba Gandhi) H S Anupama
Tejo-Tungabhadra (novel): Vasudhendra