NEW DELHI, FEB 22 (PTI)
Nobel laureate Sir V S Naipaul, who raised eyebrows yesterday with hischaracteristic loss of temper, endeared himself to the audience at a paneldiscussion held here today as part of the International Festival of IndianLiterature, drawing applause for his exposition on his connections with India.
"India fed me, made me what I am," Naipaul said about the reasonwhy he thanked India after winning the Nobel, to a big applause at a jam-packedauditorium at the India Habitat Centre.
"My ancestry, my cultural concerns come out of my (writing)fingers," Naipaul said referring to the India connection in his writings.
About the harsh criticism that his three books on India have received in thecountry, Naipaul said "I never distort. I am always accurate and true.Whatever I have written, I have done so with humour but not malice.""I have no political views. I have nothing to promote," he added.
Striking an even more pleasant tone, he went on to say that his confidence inIndia that has grown in the course of the writing of a trilogy of books on Indiastill holds.
"People are economically more secure. Their children are better educatedand there is a variety in the Indian intellectual and cultural life like neverbefore," said the literary heavyweight in conversation with Tehelka CEOTarun Tejpal, London-based writer Farrukh Dhondy and American critic David PryceJones.
About the quality of Indian Literature, the Trinidad-born writer said,"Your writers have only just started out in the global scene. They will betruly excellent in some 40-50 years from now." On why he has never set anyof his fictional accounts in India, Naipaul admitted he did not know enough ofthe country to be able to do so.
"A lot more knowledge is needed for such a task. And that comes fromgrowing up in a place," said Naipaul.
Despite claiming to have grown out of being a writer of comic works, Naipualmade his comic genius amply evident, making the audience burst out in laughter.
When asked by an elderly gentleman to give a message to the young writers ofthe country, Naipaul quipped, "But you are an old writer." On why hehad resumed writing novels after having declared "the novel is dead",pat came the reply - "because I was required to by the publishers."And on what his views were on materialism vs spiritualism, Naipaul said, ina mock serious tone, "I love materialism. Look at thisbottle," he said holding up the mineral water bottle kept next to him."It is so beautiful. It is a gift of materialism," he said, adding"We all need these things, however much we say we hate consumerism".
Tejpal ended the session by recounting how Naipaul, when asked to judge apoetry competition in Uganda, did not name anyone for the first and secondprizes and gave the third prize to a school boy -- but only after extracting thepromise from him that he will give up writing poetry.
