Writer retreats

THE town which Salman Rushdie left as a 14-year-old has fond memories of his last visit in April 2000. During the writer’s recent trip to India, the people of Solan had high expectations that he would again visit his ancestral house. The writer of Satanic Verses, who laid claim to his ancestral house, Anees Villa, in 1992, has disappointed those who were looking forward to seeing him, writes Ambika Sharma. 

SALMAN Rushdie’s last visit to his ancestral home in Solan in Himachal Pradesh was the realisation of a long-cherished dream for him. Not only was this India-born writer completely charmed by the natural beauty of his house during his last visit here but he was also overwhelmed by the majestic deodars growing all around his house. His fondness for the place was amply reflected in the manner he went around the place trying to rediscover his childhood memories. He had later announced from London that he would convert Anees Villa into a writers’ retreat. The plan, however, could not take off as no visits were made either by him or his attorney Vijay T. Shankardass later to the town. The local administration asserted that security could have been a reason that kept the writer away from the town this time.

Last time, this Booker Prize winner had expressed his desire to come here again with his family. Nestled amid the beauty of deodars and pines, Anees Villa until a few years ago was the ADM’s residence and also housed various government offices. The state government had been paying a rent of Rs 2,208 for many years.

In 1983 the government stopped paying the rent, declared it anonymous property and transferred it to the Revenue Department of the state. In 1992, Salman Rushdie put forth his claim on the property through his attorney Vijay T. Shankardass in the state high court.

In November 1995, the title of the property went in favour of Maulvi Anees Ahmed, Rushdie’s father. It took the noted writer another review petition for claiming exclusive rights over the villa on the basis of a gift deed with him. The then Deputy Commissioner, Shrikant Bladi, passed an order and granted the property to Rushdie on November 15, 1997, and with that the writer became the legal owner of Anees Villa.

Later his attorney told mediapersons that the writer was also trying to recover his other properties in New Delhi, for which cases were pending in the courts for years.

Built in 1927, Anees Villa adjoins the Shilli wildlife sanctuary and overlooks a pine forest. Located on a forest road, it is surrounded by pine trees. Reminiscent of the British architecture, this six-room house has a garden on all sides and a fruit orchard in the front. Perched on one of the upper parts of the town, the house receives ample sunshine throughout the day.

Solan had a large Muslim population before Partition. Most of the Muslims fled during the riots, leaving behind their properties. Anees Villa was one such property abandoned in 1947. It served as a hostel for a local school in the 1950s and then remained unoccupied for some years. Till 1951 it was the registered property of his father. After housing various government offices from time to time, it was declared evacuee property by the government. Gifted to him by his father in 1969 on his 21st birthday, the property originally belonged to his grandfather Muhammed Ulladin.

Rushdie’s family had left for England in the 1960s and thereafter settled there permanently. Rushdie had decided not to sell his property but had wanted to convert it into a writer’s retreat. As a good-will gesture, the district administration had provided telephone and water connection to the villa after it was restored to him. Byasa Devi and her family, who have been looking after the house for the last six years, were entrusted to do so by Rushdie’s attorney.

Rushdie, who was accompanied by his young girlfriend Padma Lakshmi, during his visit to Delhi, Mumbai and other places in the country, resides in Manhattan and lecturers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.