The well deserved winner of the Pulitzer prize, this account of non-fiction written by Katherine Boo unfolds the story of a slum named Annawadi. Situated in the vicinity of the Sahara International Airport, it has long been an eyesore to the promoters of globalization. Riding on the winds of uncertainty, Annawadi still hangs on to hope as its refuge.
Coming back to the book, which won the accolades of the literary elite, it captures in its pages the lives of the Annawadians and baggage of hopes they carry on their shoulders(in direct proportion with baggage of garbage carried). It is an account of people whose necessities boil down to basics, who literally live behind the beautiful forevers.
The first thing that caught me about the book was its title. Behind the walls painted beautiful forevers, life still flourishes under the casted dark shadows. Now lets go on with lightening streaks in the account.
Resilience is the first thing you will notice as you get to know the characters. It was the nature of the people. Almost all the people whose stories have been told had something in common, other than the place they lived in. It was the way their focus shifted from one trouble to another. They never privileged themselves with brooding over their tragedies. Once the tragedy was done with them, they were done with it. Every moment brought in a fresh set of requirements and they, free from the baggage of the past, set out in the pursuit of their immediate need. It was very clear from their behavior that this was the guard they had developed to survive. Their unfazed determination to make life a little better, their undaunting hope that the so called economic booms will bring in better times, hope that the tide will turn in their favor one day, clearly underlines, resilience, the most prime quality for the survival of the fittest.
Secondly, it is the way the book is written. It is not over dramatic. No exaggerated tragedies or saccharine jubilation. It is plain, simple like something we see around and dont take notice of. It is subtle, like a life unfolding slowly without grandeur, without over emphasis on anything. It strikes the right note by just being simple.
Thirdly, as it is a contemporary nonfiction, we can very well see and understand the situations that affect their lives. Like the other day, as I had just finished reading this book, my attention was driven to a headline in the newspaper in which Maharastra Nav Nirman Sena had announced about illegal immigrant based issue.
At the end of it, all i could conclude was in this life, all we have is hope. Hope, that things would get better and if they get worse, it is for the better. And hope is something we should never get over with and may be can never get over with.
Annawadians remind me of this famous bollywood track, "Gaadi bhula rahi hai, seeti baja rahi hai, chalna hi zindagi hai, chalti hi jaa rahi hai".
Well the book undoubtedly makes a very good read as it is not overloaded with opinions and lets you form your own.
