Tuesday, April 4 2006 11:21 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: It's the anarchy and vulgarity of what she sees that haunts the 'activist' within Arundhati Roy and whets her desire to write.

"US President Bush came here with 16 of his dogs and they were not dogs but officers who were given separate suites in a five star hotel. And there were these about 60 women in some district of Kerala who were asking Finance Minister to give some money out of the developmental package for the region to pay back their debts, this stimulates you to write," says Roy.

Writer-activist Roy says that whether her writings bring adulation, as happened with her fiction 'God of Small Things' or criticism as with most of her non-fiction, she will continue to be political in her writings.

"I believe in political writing whether it is fiction or non-fiction. When you place yourself in it and try to make an honest declaration it is difficult. You can't function like some government ministry with certain policies here. It is a very delicate writing. I write about the most politicized class in India which is the poor," she says.

The writing journey for Roy has been a real rollercoaster. "When I wrote 'God of Small Things', I wasn't sure if it will work with anyone. It was five or six years of working, completely alone. I won the Booker and became darling of the middle-class. I won the national pride. Then, I wrote non-fiction. I wrote about nuclear tests and realised that speaking out is as political as keeping quiet. People who once were supportive and liked me, started looking at me as an enemy."

Reminiscing the post-GST days of adulation and hosanna, she says it was all a marketing impact. "Every word of the book was traded in silver coin. I wondered if I would become a Silverfin with a silvern heart."

'Every time I write something new'

The writer in her continues to inspire. "Still, I go on. Every time I write something new, I tell myself 'Shut up! enough'. But I think it's the writer's greed and curiosity that drives me on. I see writing as a weapon to fight the battle of 'Power vs. Powerless'. I want to write another book. I am seeking space where I can shut doors and write," she says.

Despite being seen as an English writer, Roy totally disagrees with the argument that she is the writer of the elite. "I don't feel like one as translation is simultaneous.

Regional language speakers are more familiar with my essays than the upper middle-class English speaking people. Because, I have written about the problems of this section of people, I guess."

"Language is definitely most important for a writer but that can't be called as English or Hindi on any other. Language in which a writer thinks is 'universal'. When I think, I do it in a completely different language. Moreover, it's the job of the writer to use the language instead of letting the language use him," she adds.

"I remember after winning the Booker, I was interviewed by English Media. They said its a tribute to Empire since your book is in English. I resented that, it was like attributing a child to a rapist father," Roy says.

Roy has a different say on the role of a writer too. "It is not always about acceptance. People whom you are supporting through your writing are regressive at times. A writer has to negotiate that and emphasise on simplifying the complex and not opposite.

Sometimes you have to fight for people who have no space for you in their imagination. Still you have to put the papers on the table," she sallies.