Author Interview: Portraying Kalki as a true Indian superhero in flesh and blood

Author Vishwas Mudagal was always fascinated with the prophecy of Kalki, the 10th and the last avatar of God, who the ancient Hindu puranas and epics predict would be born in the future to end the age of darkness on Earth. This interest led him to pen his latest novel The Last Avatar — Age of Kalki.

“It is told that Kalki the Destroyer would be all-powerful and merciless towards evil. But what if the God incarnate was born as mortal as any one of us in tomorrow’s world and had to toil through a tumultuous path with true grit and valour to one day save humanity from destroying itself? This set the premise of my book and the Age of Kalki trilogy, which is set in the future, unlike all other mythology books. What fascinated me most about the Kalki avatar is that he is a merciless leader and warrior who will show no mercy to enemies who are destroying the very fabric of human values and reigning terror. I decided to take on the challenge of bringing out Kalki in a way no one had ever thought about before — as a true Indian superhero in flesh and blood. I was tired of the Hollywood superheroes; I believe we need our own Indian superheroes with roots deep in Hindu mythology and ethos. It was a monumental task but one I committed to pursuing,” says Vishwas.

In the novel, you can see Kalki as a vigilante who wears a trademark mask, who is never caught on camera for he wants to operate in the shadows to destroy India’s enemies, both internal and external. He wants neither credit nor fame for his heroism. “He is a prodigy who creates the Astras group to build advanced and futuristic weapons and machines for Indian army. His combat drones called the Ultrabots man the borders on China and Pakistan fronts, bringing down terrorist infiltration to zero. A hero who rises from the ashes with a tumultuous origin; one who enjoys pain and has no fear of anything. Backed by the Rudras (a prehistoric secret society of India), he has mastered the ancient art of Rasayana (alchemy) to create complex machines and become a fearsome warrior by conquering the physiological and psychological martial arts technique

In the book, the story is set in the near future and not in the past. Kalki is just as mortal as anyone of us, but he has painful origins. He is on a path of self-discovery to unlock his Godly powers before he becomes the last and final avatar. “To defeat the powerful enemies, he has to bring back the Vanar Sena. Just like Lord Ram (who was an avatar of Lord Vishnu), Kalki also needs an army. But in this era of science and technology, how would he do that? He creates machines in the form of Gods — I call these machines The Vanaroids (Vanar + Androids). The character you see on the cover is not Kalki, it’s a Vanaroid, a machine that can instill immense courage in our countrymen yet send shivers down the spine of our enemies,” adds the author.

The narrative of The Last Avatar... goes forward in two parallel tracks. One, in the current situation where a terrorist organisation has destroyed the Indian parliament, killed the Prime Minister and the union cabinet. An emergency is declared, while chaos, fear and death reign across the country. Against the backdrop of falling democracies around the world, an unconventional hero emerges — a vigilante known only as Kalki. Along with Nushen, the Chinese superhuman spy, he must do the impossible to save his country and the world. “In a parallel track, the story goes back to the origins of Kalki, his ancestry, childhood, friends and how he creates the powerful machines called the Vanaroids to protect the country,” shares Vishwas.

The Age of Kalki universe is full of fascinating characters, secret societies, mysterious clans, superhumans, and supervillains. At the end of the day, it’s a battle of good versus the evil. “On one side, you have powerful villains and mercenary cults hell-bent on enslaving the world; on the other hand, you have superhuman soldiers that China has created. Then you have the Rudras, the secret society protecting India’s ancient knowledge, which trains Kalki and helps him become a saviour. All this is in the backdrop of an apocalyptic world war and terrorist attacks that are killing millions across the globe. Kalki has to rise to end it all,” sums up Vishwas.