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'Calcutta Robbed Me Of Words, I Was Mute'

The Nobel Prize winner on a range of topics from George Bush's crusade to the writer's flowering as an artist.

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Germany's and perhaps Europe's greatest living writer and impassioned chronicler of his encounter with India, Nobel Prize winner Gunter Grass turned 75 last month. The north German Hanseatic town Luebeck celebrated Grass' birthday by inaugurating the Gunter Grass House which preserves and exhibits the writer's manuscripts, drawings and sculptures. Grass-watchers gathered for an international symposium to discuss his literary and artistic achievements as well as his political engagement. Subhoranjan Dasgupta, a participant in the seminar, spoke with Grass on a range of topics extending from George Bush's crusade to the writer's flowering as an artist. Excerpts from the interview:
Mr Grass, what is your impression of President George Bush?
Does this visible alliance of economic and political interests point towards a close connection between neo-liberalism and the so-called fight against terrorism?
You seem to brand the present nature of capitalism as a major culprit?
The Gunter Grass House concentrates not only on your evolution as poet and novelist but also on Grass, the artist and sculptor. Is Grass the writer inextricably connected with Grass the artist or is the artist autonomous and independent?
There are a few exhibits of your Calcutta-India phase in the Gunter Grass House. When will we see a more comprehensive view of this phase?
Will you come to Calcutta again?
Many in Germany and Europe would like to regard you as the conscience of post-war Germany, especially after the death of Heinrich Boll...
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