Fallen tree damages Rushdie villa gate in Himachal
By IANSFriday, August 27, 2010
SOLAN - The gate of British-Indian novelist Salman Rushdie’s ancestral house in this Himachal Pradesh town suffered some damage when a big eucalyptus tree fell on it following heavy rains over the past few days, the caretaker said Friday.
The eucalyptus tree fell, hitting the gate of Anees Villa, and blocked the passage to the house.
“Nearly 150-foot tall eucalyptus tree fell on the main gate on Thursday, blocking the passage to the villa,” caretaker Govind Ram told IANS.
He said he had informed the civic authorities Friday but they showed no inclination to remove the tree.
“I will try to get it removed by employing labourers Saturday morning,” said Ram, who has been taking care of the villa since 1997.
Built in 1927, the villa was purchased by Mohammad Uldin, grandfather of Salman. When the Rushdies left for Pakistan, the government declared it an evacuee property and transferred it to the revenue department.
Salman Rushdie’s father, Maulvi Anees Ahmad, gifted it to his son in 1969 and Rushdie put a claim to it in 1992. After being convinced, the then deputy commissioner Shrikant Baldi granted the property back to Salman Rushdie in 1997.
Rushdie was keen to develop it as a writers’ retreat.
