Racism is a reality: Salman Rushdie
Jaipur, Jan 21 (UNI) Indian-born author Salman Rushdie has said racism is a reality and he himself faced racist behaviour in his early days in the UK.
He, however, added ''Now When I am in India, London or New York I don't feel like a foreigner. There was a time I do feel like a foreigner in all these places.'' The Booker Prize winning author is here to attend the second Jaipur Literature Festival.
While talking to newspersons, the internationally renowned author who kicked up a storm in the Muslim world with his 'Satanic Verses', said Muslims must think over the means they have chosen to achieve their target, in an apparent referrence to the turmoil in the Islamic world.
The critically acclaimed author said people are identified with religion, region, nationality which creates a ''baggage of identity'' and is commonplace.
''Once we are able to define our identities irrespective of these factors, we would be able to reach a common ground,'' he explained.
He said terrorism is a great threat but it must be fought without guns.
Rushdie considers his first novel 'Midnights Children', that won him a Booker Prize and catapulted him to literary fame, his best work ever.
The renowned author said, ''The work which gave me the most creative satisfaction was 'Midnights children'.'' He said, ''It was the most pleasurble thing and writing the book was really fun. It has been appreciated by the classes and masses.'' But he regretted that he has not written much short stories.
''I have written only a dozen short stories and plan to write more in future,'' he said.
When asked whether the brand India excites him, the author said though he did not believe in brands, he was very conscious of his Indian roots. ''I could not manage to write a book without a central Indian character in my book.'' Admitting that he has not read any work by an Indian author, Rushdie said according to him Ranadas Gupta was among the best Indian-origin writers in English.
The
acclaimed
writer
said
his
next
work
is
a
historical
novel
set
in
the
16th
century
India
and
Italy.
He
said,
''I
feel
very
nervous
about
talking
unfinished
works.
I
am
writing
a
historical
novel
set
in
the
16th
centry
India
and
Italy
and
a
comparative
study
of
the
thought
process
of
the
book
of
'Babarnama'
and
the
works
of
Machiavelli.''
UNI