Rushdie Profile

A full profile of Salman Rushdie in the Hindustan Times offers the usual tidbits about the icon’s life and work, the infamous fatwa, turbulent love life, and numerous honors. But for my money, nothing beats Kitabkhana’s report on the Rushdie reading in Delhi.

So the Babu met Rushdie during his visit to Delhi, and it was everything he’d thought it would be–ie two ships that passed in the night, one of them an ocean liner, the other a very small dinghy. We exchanged brilliant, sparkling conversation, or rather Mr R tossed off one bon mot after another while The Babu said, “Er, the kababs are that way” and “So how’s the Haroun opera doing” and “Um, haven’t read the anthology yet” and “Ain’t Padma hot?” (Okay, he didn’t say “Ain’t Padma hot?” But he definitely thought it.)

And, for those who want to read more about Salman + Padma, there’s always this.