Solan (Himachal Pradesh): Indian-origin British author Salman Rushdie is one of the world's richest novelists and was desperate to get his ancestral home repaired in Himachal Pradesh's Solan town. Salman Rushdie has his own bungalow Anees Villa on the Shilli Road in Solan. This bungalow has 14 rooms and six big rooms, bedrooms, a hall, a kitchen and washrooms.
Rushdie last visited this house in 2002 and the maintenance of the house is being taken up by one Govind Ram and his family, residents of Mandi, who came here about 25 years ago and staying in the house since then. Govind's wife Byasa Devi says that Salman Rushdie had told her husband Govind Ram to take care of the bungalow. "I will keep sending money from time to time for its repair. But, after 2015, neither money came for repairs nor Govind's salary. Govind's wife Byasa Devi told that after leaving Solan in 2002, Rushdie neither called nor did any of his relatives come."
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Govind and Byasa Devi are residents of Joginder Nagar in Mandi. He told that seven years ago i.e; till 2015, the salary of Rs 8,000 kept coming into his account. After that, the money stopped coming. The condition of the bungalow got worse. He kept getting himself repaired. Right now, for the last seven years, the electricity and water bills are being paid by themselves. The condition of the two rooms is bad due to seeping of water due to leakage in the roof. He said they came to know about the attack on Rushdie from neighbours on Saturday. It may be noted that Salman Rushdie was attacked at an event in New York on Friday.
Salman Rushdie got the 2,934 square yards of Anees Villa in 1997 after fighting a five-year-long legal battle, but today this building is in a dilapidated condition. The main gate of this house was broken and the roof was leaking. Glasses are missing from windows and doors, nets are broken. In fact, the watchman, who was guarding the house, was putting pieces of polythene in place of missing glasses to safeguard it from rain.
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It is worth mentioning that in 2000 when Salman Rushdie came to Solan for the first time after winning the case against the Himachal Pradesh government, he announced to make Anees Villa a writer's house. Anees Villa was gifted to him by his father Muhammad Anees Ahmed in 1969. Salman Rushdie had spent a night in this house and told his lawyer Vijay ST Shankar Das that he wanted to convert it into a writer's house and library, but this promise could not be fulfilled. Far from building the writer's house, Rushdie could not even get this house repaired.
Anees Villa was built in 1927 and was later bought by Rushdie's grandfather. After that, after being named after Anees Ahmed from 1953 to 1969 this property was declared anonymous saying that its owners had gone to Pakistan. After this, this building was sometimes occupied by the Education Department of Himachal Pradesh and government officials. In 1992, Salman Rushdie laid his claim on this building and proved that he is its real owner, but after that forgot this beautiful bungalow.
