- Taslima Nasreen called Kolkata her second home and said she felt a sense of homecoming
- She left Kolkata in 2007 after protests over her banned book "Dwikhandito"
- Nasreen arrived in Kolkata to attend a civic reception on August 1 at Rabindra Sadan
Exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen - who has reached Kolkata nearly two decades after she was forced to leave the city - said her feeling was one of homecoming. "I used to call it my second home. So it feels like I have come back to my own country," she told NDTV in an exclusive interview.
Nasreen -- - who made her home in Kolkata after leaving Dhaka -- had to leave the City of Joy in 2007 following massive protests over her controversial book 'Dwikhandito'. She had been living in Delhi since.
The 63-year-old reached Kolkata this morning to attend a programme to be held on August 1.
Read: Taslima Nasreen Returns To Kolkata 19 Years After She Was Forced To Leave
The programme, scheduled to be held in Rabindra Sadan is a civic reception to her and will feature recitations of Taslima Nasreen's poetry, musical performances based on her literary works, and discussions on her contribution to literature.
The event is expected to be attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and renowned author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay.
About the speech she is expected to give tomorrow, Nasreen said she hoped that people would listen to her and the poetry she is hoping to read on the occasion.
Read: Analysis: Can Taslima Nasreen Finally Return To Her Second Home? Kolkata Visit Revives Debate
Nasreen's memoir 'Dwikhandito' was banned by the Left Front government in the state in 2003 for allegedly hurting the sentiments of the Muslim community. Since then, while efforts were intermittently made to allow her to return to the city she regards as her second home, then Trinamool Congress government led by Mamata Banerjee has never showed interest.
This time, her party and the CPM found themselves on the same side of the issue, calling Nasreen's return yet another effort by the BJP to cause a religious divide.
Asked what her engagement book for the city looked like, Nasreen said she would like to meet her old friends and visit her favourite spots including College Street and its famous Coffee House.
