Being Arundhati Roy

I don’t know how many of you have read the works of Ms. Arundhati Roy other than of course her Booker winning “God of Small Things” GOST.

Now GOST was in a class of its own. I remember it came out in the year 1996-1997 and the moment it was awarded a booker I had the book in my hands. And till date, the story is imprinted on my mind. I can still recall some of the phrases.

Since the novel however, she has dedicated her time to various social causes and lent her scathing criticism on all sorts of topics varying from Indian government conducting Nuclear tests to Narmada Dam to comparing the treatment given to the Naxalites equivalent to genocide.

Since the novel, there have been several books by her, which are essays on socio political issues and all of them have been, hmm..., putting in my very own words, LOADED. Yes, totally loaded. They are so full of acid that it takes a very strong gut to go through the book at a length and after one is finally done with one book, one feels like theres nothing good in this world except the book and some of the martyrs described in those books.

Personally, after I was done with the first one, I had a bout of acidity which lasted a fortnight. Such is the power of her words on me. However being her most ardent admirer and having immense respect for her acrid opinions, the moment her second essay-ish book was announced, I had it in my lap. But this time, I remembered to take an anti acid tablet after every twenty pages.

I used to wonder at length, what is it like, being Arundhati Roy? How does she go through with life being so full of bile, how does she detoxify herself? And I think the answer was quite evident but I was late in arriving at it.

She writes a book, derides the politicians, in general points out each misery of life, highlights how inadequate we are in dealing with the real problems that surround us, how people are suffering and how we the so called educated class stand there watching , doing nothing. And then she is done. Her books are her detox therapy ! She lets it out all on paper and stays quiet for a couple of years till the bile starts building again and voila! there’s a book to write.

PS: I highly recommend “War Talk” and “Listening to grasshoppers”. The latter brought back my migraine.