Taslima Nasreen - 25 Years An Exile

Twenty-five years in exile have slightly changed Taslima Nasreen, but she has not mellowed one bit

- Mandira Nayar

It is an overcast Saturday in the capital. Taslima Nasreen potters around her home. A true Delhiwala, she has moved home more than once. Getting a flat was not easy. She had the money, but very few landlords want to make a point about literary freedom. For three years, she has been in this house, where, through the window, she gazes into the green—from the pale green Gulmohar leaves to the darker neem. Nasreen is chattering with the gardener in Bangla to plant seeds. Language is her home, she says. Her tiny terrace is an explosion of plants—curry leaves, lilies, periwinkles and a potted palm—a sort of recreation of the garden of her childhood. “I only have plants that existed in my garden when I was growing up,’’ she says. “I collect them.’’

Twenty-five years an exile, Nasreen has not mellowed. She blazed on to the literary scene as a rebel. Her book was banned. Hers was, and is, a voice that refuses to be silenced. She has switched publishers though and is now with HarperCollins India. (Her new book—Shameless—will be out soon). Provocative, and often controversial, she has chosen to speak her mind, despite death threats. Perhaps, because of it. “I feel scared. But because of that, will I shut my mouth?’’ she asks. “It is not my fault. My opinions made fundamentalists furious. Lajja made the government furious. I blamed the government for not giving the minorities enough security. I was threatened. Cases were filed against me. I was thrown out of Bangladesh. Is it my fault or is it societies? A writer should be free to write. A writer should feel safe. If I can’t express myself freely, then there is something wrong in society.”