Rushdie calls monarchy stupid,archaic

Asked,then why did he accept the knighthood,Rushdie,now a British citizen,said he had received an honour from the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France,and it would have been extraordinary to accept something from the French state and then refuse something from my own country.

The 63-year-old author thought the ceremony itself was a bit ridiculous,all structured around this furious archaic thing of queens and knights,all a bit stupid,but its what we do. You take it for the spirit of it,which is to be complimentary about your work. And I think,thanks very much8230; We got our medal and left.

The author of Midnights Children,who has married four times,admitted that his love life has been in endless turmoil. He was angriest in 2007 when Padma Lakshmi ended their three-year marriage,the report said.

But Rushdie is good friends with his third wife Elizabeth West. He said he had remained friends with his first wife Clarissa Luard too and when she died of cancer 11 years ago,he was in the room with their son Zafar.

Asked if his book The Enchantress of Florence was based on his last wife Padma,Rushdie said I wasnt thinking about Padma, but added,and I wouldnt pay her the compliment.

Born and brought up in Mumbai,Rushdie said he felt uncomfortable when his businessman father enrolled him at a sport-obsessed institution. Even as a 13-year-old he was a cultural misfit who yearned for acceptance from the women in his family confident women who took no shit, he said. At Cambridge,he felt more at home and decided to stay.

Rushdie is close to his sisters and credits them for his love of the company of women. He said the sudden death of his youngest sister three years ago was shattering.