Ashwin Sanghi—entrepreneur by day, novelist by night—has all the usual qualifications of an Indian businessman. Schooling at the Cathedral and John Connon School, a B.A. (Economics) from St. Xavier’s College, and an M.B.A. (Finance) from the Yale School of Management. Ashwin is a director of the M. K. Sanghi Group of Companies, which has business interests in real estate development, automobiles, manufacturing and engineering. Besides being a businessman, Ashwin manages a parallel career as writer of fiction.
Ashwin Sanghi’s first novel, The Rozabal Line, was self-published in 2007 under his pseudonym, Shawn Haigins, an anagram of his real name Ashwin Sanghi. The theological thriller based upon the theory that Jesus died in Kashmir was subsequently published by Westland in 2008 in India under his own name and went on to become a bestseller, remaining on national bestseller lists for several months.
Ashwin Sanghi’s second novel, Chanakya’s Chant, a political thriller with roots in ancient Mauryan history, shot to the top of almost every bestseller list in India within a few weeks of its launch. The novel went on to win the Crossword-Vodafone Popular Choice Award 2010, and film producer UTV acquired the movie rights to the book. The novel continues to dominate the fiction charts.
The Krishna Key, Ashwin’s third novel, is a furiously-paced and riveting thriller that explores the ancient secrets of the Vedic age and the Mahabharata, released on August 24, 2012 and shot to #1 on the AC Nielsen India Fiction list within the first week.
Ashwin is an entrepreneur by profession but writing historical fiction in the thriller genre is his passion and hobby. Ashwin is currently working towards a Ph.D. in Creative Writing. Ashwin lives in Mumbai with his wife, Anushika, and his son, Raghuvir.