2008 Woodie Awards
Book Project Follows Up on Rushdie Visit with Sandhu Talk
Josh Vogel
Issue date: 12/6/04 Section: News
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On Thursday, November 18, New York University Professor Sukhdev Sandhu visited the Yeshiva campus to speak about author Salman Rushdie. Dr. Sandhu's talk followed Rushdie's own highly-anticipated lecture to Yeshiva a week earlier, and this time focused on Rushdie's Satanic Verses.
Dr. Sandhu expertise's expertise in the academy, and as a writer himself, combined to make for a very interesting speech, despite the fact that he deleted his notes from his computer earlier in the day. He gave an in-depth lecture to a group of about 30 people, mostly faculty, about Rushdie's life and inspiration for his much-acclaimed book, Satanic Verses.
Rushdie, who grew up in Bombay, loved London for the same reasons he loved Bombay. "London," Sandhu said, "is a perfect city for stories. It is a maximum city, known for its highly spaced non-conformity, which is also dirty and very material." All these factors came together for a perfect story writing career for Rushdie.
But Rushdie's first choice in the arts, Sandhu claimed, was not writing, rather it was acting. After failing to succeed in that venture, he went into advertising, creating catchy ditties for common products. After marrying in 1973, he encountered a second-class group of people from Pakistan and a year later joined a project to create jobs for people from Bangladesh. Rushdie also lived in a range of housing levels, which added to his writing ability.
The inspiration for Satanic Verses came from the volatile political atmosphere of England in the 1970s. During this period, England found themselves in a laissez-faire economy and split bitterly between nationalism and the self. In response, Rushdie offered an alternative choice to the anarchy. "He attempts to salvage a human city through a series of thought-bombs," said Sadhu. This inspired written responses from the opposing side, and sonic warfare between the sides broke out. The Satanic Verses juxtaposes the issues in scenes of trash and dirtiness. This location was chosen by Rushdie because this is where all parts of life meet up, as the poor neighborhoods merge into the more wealthy ones.
Dr. Sandhu expertise's expertise in the academy, and as a writer himself, combined to make for a very interesting speech, despite the fact that he deleted his notes from his computer earlier in the day. He gave an in-depth lecture to a group of about 30 people, mostly faculty, about Rushdie's life and inspiration for his much-acclaimed book, Satanic Verses.
Rushdie, who grew up in Bombay, loved London for the same reasons he loved Bombay. "London," Sandhu said, "is a perfect city for stories. It is a maximum city, known for its highly spaced non-conformity, which is also dirty and very material." All these factors came together for a perfect story writing career for Rushdie.
But Rushdie's first choice in the arts, Sandhu claimed, was not writing, rather it was acting. After failing to succeed in that venture, he went into advertising, creating catchy ditties for common products. After marrying in 1973, he encountered a second-class group of people from Pakistan and a year later joined a project to create jobs for people from Bangladesh. Rushdie also lived in a range of housing levels, which added to his writing ability.
The inspiration for Satanic Verses came from the volatile political atmosphere of England in the 1970s. During this period, England found themselves in a laissez-faire economy and split bitterly between nationalism and the self. In response, Rushdie offered an alternative choice to the anarchy. "He attempts to salvage a human city through a series of thought-bombs," said Sadhu. This inspired written responses from the opposing side, and sonic warfare between the sides broke out. The Satanic Verses juxtaposes the issues in scenes of trash and dirtiness. This location was chosen by Rushdie because this is where all parts of life meet up, as the poor neighborhoods merge into the more wealthy ones.