Being director of the Nehru Centre in London will give him a chance to contribute in his "own small way" to the country and culture he loves, says blockbuster author Amish who believes India's ancient scriptures are its biggest allies in tackling varied issues.
Best known for rekindling interest in Hindu mythology with his series of stories on Shiva and Ram, Amish moves to London this week to take charge of the centre tasked with being India's cultural interface with the UK.
"The centre has had an illustrious legacy. This is the biggest and the most active cultural centre abroad. London is also a very important city in the cultural space. London, New York and Los Angeles drive the cultural conversation in the Anglo-sphere, which, in turn, drives the cultural conversation in the rest of the world.
"It is an important conversation to be a part of. I am very patriotic, and very proud of our culture. I thought this is one route through which I could contribute in my own small way to a country and culture I love," Amish told PTI.
Established in 1992, the Nehru Centre is regarded by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) as its flagship cultural centre abroad.
The banker-turned-author said he will be in London for three years to serve as the centre's director, a post previously held by former diplomat and scholar Gopalkrishna Gandhi and writer-director Girish Karnad. He takes over from Srinivas Gotru, a diplomat by training.
Some of the biggest issues that India is grappling with can be found in its ancient culture, said the author of the Shiva trilogy -- "The Immortals of Meluha", "The Secret of the Nagas" and "The Oath of the Vayuputras".
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He has also authored the Ram Chandra series, "Ram: Scion of Ishkvaku", "Sita: Warrior of Mithila" and "Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta".
"My roots are deep in our own ancient culture and one of the things I have said repeatedly is that the misfortune of India is that most Indian liberals don't realise that our ancient scriptures are our biggest allies. Most Indian liberals tend to be very westernised and therefore have not read any of our own ancient texts.
He said the scriptures have "positive, inclusive answers" to issues such as women's rights, LGBT rights or environmentalism.
"We simply have to read them," he said.
In Amish's view, it would be ideal to mix the values of traditions with the benefits of modernity.
"It is a misfortune of modern India that we teach very little of our ancient culture and many of the problems that we grapple with can be solved. We can find answers from our own roots rather than trying to import western ideas."