Born on June 19, 1947, Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie is a British Indian essayist and novelist. He came from a wealthy, well-educated household. His father, Cambridge University-educated barrister, Anis Ahmed Rushdie, owned his own company. Negin Bhatt, his mother, was a teacher. In Mumbai, he attended the Cathedral and John Connon School, and in England, Rugby School. He attended King’s College, and like his father, he attended Cambridge University for graduate work, earning a master’s degree in history there in 1968.
Since he was five years old, he had wanted to be a writer. He began by briefly acting before moving on to do some freelance advertising for almost ten years. “Grimus,” Rushdie’s debut book, was released in 1975. A Native American Eagle who is eternal embarks on an adventure to discover the meaning of existence is the tale’s subject. Rushdie continued to create advertisements while writing his second book, “Midnight Children,” published in 1981 after nearly five years of labor.
Rushdie’s life became a nightmare due to his novel “The Satanic Verses” (1988). The book’s narrative refers to some lines from the Quran that were deleted because they dealt with a period in the Prophet’s life that Muslims found distasteful. As a result, Ayatullah Rahola Khomeini issued a “fatwa,” or “death sentence,” for Rushdie, causing anger throughout the Muslim world. The most extensive book retailers took his book off the shelf, and Rushdie retreated into hiding. The book that had so severely offended Muslims was condemned with book burnings all around the world. Those who publicly defended Rushdie were assassinated, and Rushdie found himself the target of several jokes. His first marriage had similarly been annulled because his wife was in danger of dying. However, Rushdie got married again and had a kid.
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Salman Rushdie Net Worth
| Date of Birth: | Jun 19, 1947 (75 years old) |
| Gender: | Male |
| Height: | 5 ft 7 in (1.702 m) |
| Profession: | Writer, Novelist, Author, Copywriter, Screenwriter, Essayist |
| Nationality: | United Kingdom |
What is he famous for?
Rushdie is a well-known novelist who has won the Booker Prize and been knighted for his contributions to literature. An overview of significant occasions after Iran’s fatwa against Salman Rushdi. Salman Rushdie, an Indian-born novelist, was given the order to die by Iran in 1989 due to his writing. Here is a timeline of everything that came after.
However, the fatwa and the debate over The Satanic Verses elevated him to the status of a 90s pop culture icon. In a 2012 interview with George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight, Rushdie recalled a time when American sitcoms couldn’t stop mentioning him.” I wasn’t there. Still, I was in the Cheers plot. There was a scene in one of The Golden Girls’ final episodes,” the actor said.
Rushdie’s name was mentioned a couple of times in a Seinfeld episode. In a 1993 episode, a character mistook a man he met in a sauna at a fitness club for Rushdie. With so many people pursuing him, a different character said that Rushdie would “want to stay in pretty excellent shape.”
Salman Rushdie Early life and education
Anis Ahmed Rushdie and Negin Butt had four children together before giving birth to Ahmed Salman Rushdie on June 19, 1947, in Bombay, India. His father was a successful businessman who attended Cambridge University in England for his education. Rushdie had a contented upbringing and was frequently surrounded by books. At the age of five, Rushdie recalls dreaming of being a writer. He was sent to Rugby, a private school in England, at fourteen. He was taunted by his classmates due to his ethnicity and lack of athletic aptitude.
Rushdie later attended Cambridge, much like his father had, and had a far better time there. In 1968, he graduated with a master’s in history. After a brief acting career, he spent 1970 to 1980 as a freelance advertising copywriter in England. An essential theme in his writing is the experience of exile (living abroad), which he shared with many other writers of his generation who were also born in the Third World.
Salman Rushdie Career
Rushdie had first-hand expertise in the writing industry while working as a freelancer for the marketing firm “Ogilvy & Mather.” He created taglines and advertisements as a copywriter for many businesses. He had slogans like “irresistible” for “Aero” and “Naughty but Nice” for cream cakes, among other catchphrases.
With the publication of the partial science fiction story “Grimus” in 1975, Rushdie transitioned from freelance advertising to full-time writing.
The narrative of the book “Grimus” focused on a Native American Eagle’s quest to discover the meaning of life. Both the general audience and literary reviewers were unimpressed.
Midnight’s Children, Rushdie’s second book, was published in 1981 and immediately became a best-seller. Besides positive reviews from readers and critics, Rushdie gained significant literary notoriety due to the book.
The movie “Midnight’s Children” focused on the lives of a little infant born as India attained independence. It concentrated on the persona of “Saleem Sinai” and the mysterious abilities he seemed to possess. The connection he had with other youngsters born in independent India and their magical skills are also discussed in the book.
Celebrating “Midnight’s Children’s” achievement, Shame, Rushdie’s subsequent book, was published. The book provided vivid examples of Pakistan’s political upheaval, chaos, and turmoil. Principal Pakistani political figures Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq were models for two of his characters. Both “Midnight’s Children” and “Shame” were successful because they exhibited Rushdie’s most marketable literary style, magic realism, and an immigrant viewpoint.
The Jaguar Smile, Rushdie’s subsequent book, was published in 1987. It was his first foray into non-fiction and primarily focused on Nicaragua. In contrast to his earlier writings, the book provided a first-person narrative of the experience and research based on the Sandinista political experiments. The Satanic Verses, the most contentious book by Salman Rushdie, was published in 1988.
Salman Rushdie Awards & Achievements
Salman Rushdie has several accolades for his remarkable work in the literary world. The “Booker Prize” and “Best of the Bookers” were given to “Midnight’s Children,” while “Shame” was given France’s “Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger” (Best Foreign Book) honor. Shame was a formidable opponent at the “Booker Awards.”
The “Whitbread Award” was given to “The Satanic Verses,” notwithstanding its controversy. While “Shalimar the Clown” managed to make it to the “Whitbread Book Awards” finalist round, “Haroun and the Sea of Stories” took home the “Writers’ Guild Award.”
British Royal Society of Literature Fellow Rushdie is. He also has fellowships and honorary doctorates from six universities in the United States and six universities in Europe. Rushdie is a Distinguished Writer in Residence at “Emory University” and an Honorary Professor of Humanities at “M.I.T.
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He is a distinguished fellow in literature at the “University of Anglia” and a distinguished supporter of the British Humanist Association. The greatest artistic accolade in France, the Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts and des Lettres, is bestowed upon him. Rushdie has been ranked thirteen on “The Times'” list of “The 50 Greatest British Writers” since 1945.
Rushdie led the “PEN American Center” as president from 2003 to 2005. In addition, he established the “Pen World Voices Festival.”
Rushdie was knighted in 2007 as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours. Rushdie was also made a “Library Lion of the New York Public Library” and admitted to the “American Academy of Arts and Letters.”
Salman Rushdie Personal Life
Rushdie and Clarissa Luard got married for the first time in 1976. In 1980, the couple welcomed a son named Zafar into the world. However, the partnership did not survive long, and the two broke apart in 1987.
Rushdie was married to American author Marianne Wiggins in 1988 after getting divorced. This marriage also failed, as the two divorced in 1993. Rushdie wed Elizabeth West in 1997, and in 1999 they had a son they called Milan. In 2004, Rushdie and Elizabeth were divorced.
Padma Lakshmi, an Indian American actress and model became Rushdie’s fourth wife. They were happily married in 2004 and maintained a friendly relationship till Lakshmi chose to call it to quit in 2007. Rushdie and Indian model Riya Sen was rumored to be dating in 2008, although there has been no official confirmation.
Rushdie escaped an attempted murder in 1989 when a guy later identified as Mustafa Mahmoud Mazeh detonated himself while trying to kill Rushdie. Mazeh died after a book bomb containing RDX explosives detonated too soon.
Rushdie canceled his entire India tour in January 2012 and skipped the “Jaipur Literature Festival,” claiming security concerns as the primary justification. But in March 2012, he made a public entrance into the nation.
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Since 2000, Rushdie has made New York City his home. He had surgery to treat ptosis, a tendon disorder that results in drooping eyes. He was having a more challenging time opening his eyes because of his condition.
On August 12, 2022, in Chautauqua, New York, shortly before he was ready to start a speech, Salman Rushdie was stabbed by an assailant. He also had liver damage and multiple nerve injuries in an arm. He had also severely damaged one of his eyes. Hadi Matar, a New Jersey native, was the attacker, according to the New York state police.
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