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Photo: V.V. Krishnan

Prolific Paul Edward Theroux in New Delhi

Those who love travel must have read Paul Theroux. But do you know India is one stop which gives the American writer of “The Great Railway Bazaar” enough buoyancy? “An American can stop at random in India and ask a man on the street questions about his job and salary. And he will get the answers. It is nearly impossible to get such hospitality and politeness in America. Mumbai has superficial politeness, but it’s there. I went to Assam to deliver a lecture and they welcomed me with flowers. Now you don’t find this gesture in California,” says Paul settling down in the winter sunlight to face a volley of questions.

After three decades Paul is revisiting the places — from London to Osaka — he vividly described in “The Great Railway Bazaar”. Paul says he completed the journey two years ago, and the book, “The Ghost Train to Eastern Star”, would be out by the end of this year.

Last time, he had to use cows as road markers at night and came across interesting stuff such as a matrimonial classified claiming, ‘marry your daughter in Rs.12.50’. Paul says that a lot has changed in the interim. Correcting himself, he asserts, “India changes and stays the same. Some things such as priority to family and religion are still the same but a new class of Maharajas of industry has emerged. There is conspicuous consumerism which surprises even an American.”

Paul says an average American who has made his dollars is now looking for free time. “Recently, a friend of mine sold his company and went fishing. I think this is not happening in India…or is it a wild generalisation?”

A prolific writer with 27 novels and 14 works of non fiction to his credit, Paul is known for his ironical statements which are often misunderstood.

Sample this: ‘Is there a Japanese smile that doesn’t seem like an expression of pain.’ “That’s true. I am not an objective traveller. I am an impressionist traveller, who writes what he sees, not what he wants to see. Some people visit London with the hope of seeing Dickensian London, which no longer exists. Today, if you write about London you have to include issues such as drugs and racism. However, this habit of generalisation sometimes leads to wild assertions, but I am ready to correct myself.”

Very unlike V.S. Naipaul, Paul’s one time mentor whom he later trashed in “Sir Vidia’s Shadow”. “The difference is, Naipaul is so sure of whatever he says,” he says. That’s why he insists it’s important to revisit places. He gives a simple example. “Delhi’s weather is quite different in monsoon than what it is now. So if a writer visits in winter he will just have a limited idea of Delhi.”

Having spent his early years in Africa as a teacher, Paul insists there is no need of celebrity help to save the continent. “Americans get bewildered wherever they see chaos. And, their first reaction is, how can I fix it? In most cases the best help is to move out. Some also want to save India, but since India is a rising economy, there is not much danger.”

Paul terms the likes of Brad Pitt and George Clooney, who have shown interest in Africa, “tarzans” who are confused between their onscreen roles and the real world. However, in the case of missionaries — he once wrote missionaries and cannibals make a perfect couple — he is ready to give benefit of doubt. “There are all kinds of missionaries. Like in Assam, they helped in the restoration of the native script.”

Paul is working on a novel “Mother” and has completed the script of The Man Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag, stuck because of the demise of director Ismail Merchant. As for the matrimonial advertisement, Paul says he would love to make use of it in his next life!

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