Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done, of everything done-to-me. I am everyone everything whose being-in-the-world affected was affected by mine. I am anything that happens after Iโve gone which would not have happened if I had not come. Nor am I particularly exceptional in this matter; each "I", every one of the now-six-hundred-million-plus of us, contains a similar multitude. I repeat for the last time: to understand me, youโll have to swallow the world.
Salman RushdieLive on, survive, for the earth gives forth wonders. It may swallow your heart, but the wonders keep on coming. You stand before them bareheaded, shriven. What is expected of you is attention.
Salman RushdieIt's always been colossally important to me that my books should be well received in India. It's where I come from.
Salman RushdieI used to write a monthly column for the 'New York Times' syndicate. But I stopped because I found it really hard to have one extreme opinion a month. I don't know how these columnists have two or three ideas a week; I was having difficulty having 12 things to say a year.
Salman RushdieBoth John F. Kennedy and Nelson Mandela use the same three-word phrase which in my mind says it all, which is โFreedom is indivisible. You canโt slice it up, otherwise it ceases to be freedom. You can dislike Charlie Hebdo โฆ but the fact that you dislike them has nothing to do with their right to speak.
Salman Rushdie