Vaishnavi Patel talks ‘Goddess of the River’ & Writing Career

Vaishnavi Patel is a glistening talent in the realm of writing.

Since the release of her debut novel Kaikeyi (2022), Vaishnavi has set the world of literature ablaze with her captivating and imaginative storytelling.

Kaikeyi was an instant bestseller that continues to enthral millions of readers across the globe, offering a never-before-seen insight into Indian mythology.

Vaishnavi Patel’s skilful narratives, the dynamic manner in which she weaves her words, and her impeccable sense of conveying characters and relationships, make her one of the most talented fresh authors to bless our bookstores.

Vaishnavi’s new book, Goddess of the River, dives into the fascinating character of Ganga and her relationship with her son Devavrata.

In our exclusive chat, Vaishnavi offers an enchanting glimpse into Goddess of the River and her inspiring journey that propels her writing career.

Can you tell us a bit about Goddess of the River? What is it about, and what inspired you to write it?

Goddess of the River is a partial retelling of the Mahabharat. 

It tells the story of Ganga who is the goddess of the river and her mortal son Devavrata, who is later known as Bhishma, who becomes one of the major side characters of the Mahabharat.

I started out wanting to write about Ganga specifically because when I first heard all of the original stories from my grandmother as a child, she always started with Ganga.

I was like: “This is boring – let’s head to the war part!”

When I grew up, I went to college and took a class in which we read and discussed the Mahabharat. 

All of a sudden, we did start in the war part and I went: “Where’s Ganga?”

I realised that the terrible choices that she has to make at the start of the epic actually set up the conflict of the story, about trying to determine what is the righteous path of action.

All of the entanglements that the Mahabharat is interested in exploring starting with Ganga’s story.

I had this new perspective on Ganga and when it came to writing my second book, she was the first person who popped into my head as a story that I wanted to explore further.

At the beginning of her story, she kicks it all off and she’s gone.

We don’t really see her in the story anymore but her son is there making important decisions that change the course of the book.

I thought it would be interesting to imagine the interplay between her and her son all the way through the war and how they influenced each other.

What is it about Indian mythology that fascinates you, and how do you use it to explore characters and relationships in your novels?

I grew up in an Indian household and grew up hearing these stories. I read the Amar Chitra Katha and I watched the animated versions.

These were always the backbone of my cultural upbringing – stories – and so, they just formed a large part of who I am as a person.

The stories are in some ways morality lessons. They’re meant to be told to children to teach them about their culture and the ways to live.

So I think I’ve just always been drawn to them because of that central importance.

I think one thing that is really fascinating about writing about these epics is that today, unlike a lot of other epic mythologies, which are equally beautiful, these epics are part of a living religion.

The lessons you learn from the Ramayan are lessons that people are still using to live their lives.

Looking at these characters in these epics that maybe get short shrifts, I think is particularly important and fascinating to me because it tells us something about our society.

I have seen when I was researching for Kaikeyi, that there were so many tweets or blog posts or articles that were comparing female politicians that people didn’t like to the character of Kaikeyi.

It was more than just a character from an epic 4,000 years ago – it was something that people were using as a way of shame.

Similarly with Ganga, when I was researching about her, I came across some really bizarre articles about how Ganga is the original ‘unfaithful wife’, which is crazy to me.

Because Ganga is the holiest river and a goddess but that doesn’t stop people from being really mad about what she did in the Mahabharat. 

I just think that these stories have so much relevance to our lives that I keep coming back to them, wanting to explore these characters to see if there are any hidden depths to talk about.

How did the success of Kaikeyi change your life, both as a writer and as a person?

It has been truly a privilege that people have read my book and liked it and the interest in it.

I feel that as a writer, people don’t know you because you just wrote a book.

So it’s not like being in a TV show where people are going to come up to you.

I think one of the most impactful things through just reading messages or letters or emails from particularly Hindu people was them saying: “You know, this changed my perspective on the story.”

I’ve had some people tell me, “I was kind of struggling as a woman with my religion because everything around me was so patriarchal.

“After I read Kaikeyi, I felt like I had a place and I feel more settled in who I am.”

Those are amazing things to hear. I think that’s really the way that it’s impacted me if I saw that my writing actually has power.

When I was writing Kaikeyi, I didn’t actually think anyone was going to read it.

Now, I think I’m a lot more aware that my words have an impact on other people.

In other ways, my life is remarkably unchanged.

I’m a lawyer in my day job and I have no intention of quitting and I love being a lawyer.

I get up every day and go to work. I write legal briefs and that hasn’t really changed.

In a way, I’m glad for it because it’s given me perspective.

What inspired you to become a writer, and are there any Desi authors who inspire you in writing?

I’ve always been interested in writing, ever since I was a kid – probably because I was such a bookworm.

I think that’s a very common experience for a lot of writers. As a kid, up through high school, I wrote a lot of stories and when I went to college, I kind of lost that spark for a while.

It wasn’t actually until I went to law school that I started writing again and wrote Kaikeyi.

I feel that in that time, I underwent a personal transformation, as many people do when they go to college and they figure out who they are, what they like and what they don’t.

I was a much more grounded person who was able to write.

So I always had an inspiration to write generally because I just love books so much and telling stories.

Kaikeyi was a character who had been in my mind for so long. So that was a natural place to go.

I think the first time I read a book and felt represented, I remember it so clearly.

It was Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Conch Bearer. 

She is famous for having written Mistress of Spices. 

My favourite by her is The Palace of Illusions, which is a Mahabharat retelling from Draupadi’s perspective.

She also wrote a trilogy for kids. I think when I was seven or eight, I discovered the book The Conch Bearer.

It was the first time I read that wasn’t like Amar Chitra Katha.

I still remember being so excited and re-reading that book 10 or 15 times.

So I think that was what specifically made me want to write stories with Indian characters.

Do you have any advice for people who want to become writers?

Just write! I just see so many writers who stop writing every day, or they talk themselves out of becoming writers.

They feel that their first drafts are not good enough, or they just can’t figure out the perfect combination of words.

My advice to them is to just write. Every single one of my first drafts is a hot mess.

It is only through the process of editing and having very good readers that I can trust – primarily my sister who’s always like: “This book is a hot mess!”

They help me figure out what I need to change so that I reach a product that I’m proud of.

My first draft is more to get the ideas, themes, and feelings out there and then I’m going to workshop the words and the presentation because that’s also very important.

And so, if I got demoralised by having bad sentences, and my ideas not being as clear as they should be in my first draft, I would have given up before I ever got published.

Just practising writing and understanding that you’re going to get better – the more you do and the more you edit I think is key.

Specifically to Desi people out there, I would say that publishing can be a hard industry to break into because people just hear stories as automatically niche and just fit for Desi readers, which is just not true and very frustrating.

I think that’s changing, and I think the more Desi writers who are out there putting out their voices and good stories will show that there is a big appeal for these stories.

These things are just as universal and there are Desi readers out there who have been waiting for a story of their community for so long.

They are going to love seeing themselves in the pages of the book.

Is there anything you can delve into about your next book?

I can speak about it a bit more freely now which is exciting!

It’s called The 10 Incarnations of Rebellion. 

It is set in an alternate history version of India in which colonialism has persisted for 20 more years.

It’s about a new band of freedom fighters in Mumbai coming together to fight the occupation.

The reason it’s called The 10 Incarnations of Rebellion is because it’s told in exactly 10 chapters.

Each one mirrors or has some elements that are inspired by each of the 10 incarnations of Vishnu.

It is not really a retelling. Those are just like little Easter Eggs for readers in the now.

I’m very excited about the project.

What do you hope readers will take away from Goddess of the River? 

I’m really hoping for it to be thought-provoking.

The Mahabharat, for me, is basically a big moral, philosophical discussion about what is right, what is wrong, and how people should conduct themselves.

Goddess of the River does not shy away from that debate.

So I really hope that it makes people think about not just what the characters are doing but their own life and how they conduct themselves.

The two central conflicts of Goddess of the River are what to do when you have a lot of power.

What does that mean, and what do you owe other people?

The secondary conflict is whether it’s more important to be loyal to your family, friends, to your kingdom, country and community.

Or is it more important to divide them all and hurt the people you care about, but serve some greater justice?

I think those are two conflicts that humanity has not figured out in thousands of years, and will never figure out because there’s not really a right answer.

I think with so much going on in the world, it’s an important question to be asking yourself.

Am I doing what is right? Am I acting out of loyalty?

What is better for me to do here? I think that conflict is universal.

I hope that people are able to see themselves in that element of the story, even if it’s about this epic war and anthropomorphic rivers.

I hope that there is this more universal element of moral and philosophical debate that people can relate to.

The journey of Vaishnavi Patel from using her love for books to entertain millions through her writing is a representation of perseverance and talent.

Her advice to people wanting to explore writing is both inspiring and evokes a lot of her passion.

The new novel, displaying a unique saga of Ganga, promises to be an enriching, thought-provoking read.

Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel will be released on May 23, 2024. Its Kindle edition comes out on May 21.