Former UN assistant secretary-general and author Lakshmi Puri has confirmed that a multi-season web series adaptation of her novel 'Swallowing the Sun' is currently in development, with screenplay writing already under way. Puri disclosed the update during her ongoing United States tour, where she is promoting the book's international edition across cities including Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston.

Where the Adaptation Stands

Puri said the project, which she noted was first announced in September last year, has made significant progress. 'So they are writing the screenplay and it's, it's, and then, you know, the whole process is ongoing,' she said. While she expressed hope that the series would eventually appear on a major streaming platform, she did not identify a platform or announce a release date, placing the project firmly in the development stage.

The Novel's Journey — From JLF to International Shelves

The novel's public journey began at the Jaipur Literature Festival in early 2024. Its international edition was launched in Britain in February 2026, and the current US tour marks its entry into North American readership. Puri described the novel as an instant bestseller that has also received critical acclaim. Marathi and Telugu translations are already available — both reportedly bestsellers in their respective markets — while a Hindi edition is expected soon.

Two appearances on the US tour are linked to the Jaipur Literature Festival's overseas editions, in Seattle and Houston. Puri also plans to participate in the South Asian Literature and Art Festival and other engagements. One event coincides with Gandhi Jayanti, which she said she will use to discuss how Mahatma Gandhi comes alive in the narrative — the novel is set against the backdrop of India's independence struggle.

The Family Story Behind the Fiction

Asked what inspired the novel after a career spanning diplomacy and international service, Puri traced its origins to her own family. Her mother was among the early women in Maharashtra to pursue postgraduate education and study law. Her father was a lawyer who, she said, contributed to work on India's Constitution in support of B.R. Ambedkar. Both parents wrote poetry, and their values and experiences shaped the world she wanted to recreate in fiction.

Puri was careful to distinguish inspiration from biography, however. The novel pays tribute to her parents' generation but its characters and narrative belong to fiction. 'So I realised that this cause is best promoted through storytelling,' she said, linking her turn to fiction with the gender equality cause she had championed at the United Nations.

A Pan-India Epic Rooted in Maharashtra

The narrative moves across India, taking in Indore, Mumbai, Banaras, Shimla, and Delhi, with its roots firmly in Maharashtra. Puri described it as both an epic romance and a story of women's empowerment, exploring how women a century ago found the confidence to act, pushed against restrictions, and participated in the freedom struggle. The title draws from a verse by the saint-poet Muktabai, whose imagery of extraordinary, seemingly impossible feats underpins the novel's faith in human possibility. 'So, you know, emphasising that if you have faith, if you persist, if you dare, you can achieve the impossible,' she said. 'So it's a pan-India story, quintessentially Indian, but universal in appeal.'

India's Soft Power and the Future of Writing

Puri placed the book's international journey within the wider movement of Indian literature across borders, crediting the Jaipur Literature Festival's organisers for taking Indian writing abroad. 'And that osmosis has been a major contribution to spreading India's soft power around the world,' she said. She also welcomed the festival's expanding presence in the United States, Britain, and Spain. Asked about writing in the age of artificial intelligence, Puri expressed hope that the written word would survive in its original, human conception. The screen adaptation, if it reaches a major platform, would bring the novel's themes of women's resilience and India's freedom struggle to a global streaming audience.