Kolkata: Controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, undaunted by threats that she not be allowed to set foot in West Bengal again or the ban of her autobiographical 'Dwikhondito' by the Marxist Government of Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, dreams of setting up her home in the metropolis.

The feminist writer, against whom Islamists in Bangladesh have issued a fatwa, discounts the reservations by certain Muslim groups and clerics on her stay in West Bengal and asks, "Who are these people? Whom do they represent?"

Though her visit since mid January was for the launch of her latest autobiographical title 'Shei Shob Andhakar' (Those dark Days), which was immediately banned in Bangladesh, she also took time off to meet people.

"I have found that they love me and are against my persecution," Taslima said before leaving for London.

She holds that the banning of 'Dwikhondito' (Split into Two) by the Left Front Government did not have popular support.

"People whom I met at the Calcutta Book Fair told me so. I have been getting hundreds of phone calls from people, including complete strangers who have expressed solidarity with me and want to meet me."

Taslima said she planned to return to Kolkata possibly during the Durga Puja festival. "I know what Durga puja means to a Bengali."

Then she would begin a fresh hunt for a permanent home and if this did not materialise settle for a six-month's visa on a regular basis.

She is looking for a home in Kolkata, she confided, "To live, talk and dream in Bengali."

The writer, who had received numerous international awards, recounted her childhood days in Mymansing, where the first sparks of her literary and fiery genius blossomed.

Taslima said while certain norms and traditions of the patriarchal society and household like covering one's head and face shunning outsiders intrigued her when she was about 10 to 12 years old she came into her own her days in college days in the 80s often raising hackles of elders and neighbours.

"I did not consciously attempt to tread a different path but certain things, like going to college in an open rickshaw, caused outrage among some. I was some times thrashed by my parents, but my spirit refused to be cowed down."

The 42-year old writer, who received her medical degree in 1984, said, "In a way my stint as editor of a literary magazine 'Senjuti' in 1978-83 aided me in writing what I thought to be the best."

"I asked my girls my age about how they felt living a secluded, sheltered life and not being a free human being. This segregation rankled in me the most," she said.

Taslima's first book of poems was published in 1989.

The bouquets and brickbats from Bangladeshi readers began when her columns on women's oppression, 'discriminatory Customs' and traditions began appearing in major newspapers.

While street demonstrations against her for her penmanship began in 1990, a fundamentalist organisation put a price on her head in 1993 and she was forced to resign her job under Government pressure that year, Taslima recalled.

Finally she had to go into hiding in 1994 after the publication of 'Lajja', her book on atrocities on minorities after the Babri Masjid demolition.

Banned in Bangladesh 'Sei Sab Andhakar' dealt with the experiences of those two critical months, the writer, recipient of Swedish PEN award, Sakharov prize, Erwin Fischer award from Germany besides a two-time Ananda Purashkar winner said.