Belletristic, the literary society of the Department of English, Shoolini University had a virtual conversation on Sir Salman Rushdie, initiated by the invited speaker Dr. Nandini C Sen, who is an English Professor at Delhi University. Dr Sen has an impressive professional profile with several national and international awards to her credit.
The session began with a wonderful quote by Rushdie who he is known to speak his mind: “What is freedom of expression, without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.” Dr Sen then gave a brief account of the biographical details of Rushdie because his writing is intertwined with the life he has lived. Rushdie’s life has been a complex one, his lifestyle is flamboyant and he has the knack of remaining in the news constantly. He plays with words, uses satire in his fiction, and courts controversies incessantly.
Rushdie’s first novel, “Grimus” 1975) was ignored by critics. The second novel, “Midnight’s Children”, however, reached the heights of success. People believe that the main character of this work, Saleem Sinai is actually Salman Rushdie himself, though, Salman Rushdie denies this.
Dr. Nandini not only talked about the works of Rushdie, but also about that time of the partition about which he wrote. She also mentioned the most controversial work by Rushdie, “The Satanic Verses”, which made Rushdie go into hiding for several years. Another work, “Shalimar, The Clown” was the come-back of the Rushdie.
Rushdie’s sensibilities are incredibly global, he is a person who reads and understands history. He usee Magic Realism or Marvelous Realism which in all his books. Dr. Nandini concluded the session by talking about how languages, as the carriers of cultures, should be ever-flowing and ever-growing. With that, she also quoted yet another line by Rushdie, “Language is courage, the ability to conceive a thought, to speak it, and by doing so, make it true”.
The session was very informative, the students were vastly enriched by the knowledge they gained from the discussion. Belletristic, Shoolini Loves Literature Society, meets every Friday and holds discussions that are streamed live on several Facebook pages and have a very wide reach. The aim is to bring like-minded people together and discuss aspects of literary texts, movements, and writing skills that go far beyond the printed text, bringing people and minds together through a shared love for literature.
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