SALMAN RUSHDIE IN KOLKATA

Rushdie comes to the city after twenty four years to inaugurate a retrospective of Satyajit Roy, the great maestro, of whom he has been a known fan. Unfortunately, the film festival was cancelled due to some technical glitch.

But Rushdie being Rushdie did not waste time sightseeing and partying. He went to artist and painter Paritosh Sen's residence to update his knowledge about contemporary art. On Thursday evening he even regaled an enthusiastic audience at GD Birla Sabhaghar with his views on myriad things in his unique style of wordplay.

Here're some of Rushdiespeak:

On Satyajit Roy: "Perhaps the great artiste this country has ever produced."

On terrorism: "I am against terrorism. I think it's regrettable."

On prophets: "On the whole, the role of the prophet is not one that I have applied for ..I have had some trouble with prophets."

On Private life: "Private lives today can't exist in isolation from public events."

On George W Bush: "In America, we have to deal with strange growths called Bush."

On Nobel Prize: "There is only one prize and there are many writers. I'm not holding my breath for it."
MRINAL BOSE