Arena

A Tall Story: How Salman Rushdie Pickled All India

Arena profiles one of the most dazzling literary talents of recent years - Saiman Rushdie , a storyteller extraordinary and winner of this year's Booker prize. Midnight's Children, his fantastic epic novel about life in 20th-century India, has established him as the new star of English fiction. Tonight, from the quiet of Kentish Town, Salman Rushdie looks at the turbulent history of India through the eyes of his hero, Saleem Sinai. Born in Bombay on the eve of Independence, his hero's vantage point is the corner of a pickle factory in Bombay. 'All the 600-million eggs which gave birth to the population of India could fit inside a single, standard-size pickle jar ... 600-million spermatozoa could be lifted in a single spoon.'