Mr Biswas would've found it easier to own a house in India than Arundhati Roy (War Talk has just been reviewed in the Village Voice). The Madhya Pradesh administration has cancelled the lease of the house built in Pachmarhi by Arundhati Roy and her husband Pradip Kishen. This is not as straightforward as it seems: the first move towards challenging her right to own a house here was made when the Booker Prize winner was in the thick of the fight for the Narmada Dam. Incidentally, Outlook Traveller Getaways: Weekend Breaks from Delhi mentions "several mini high rises in violation of the rules" in the bazaar at Pachmarhi; as far as Kitabkhana could ascertain, none of these egregiously environmentally unfriendly buildings have had their leases cancelled. Draw your own conclusions.