January 18

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity

By Katherine Boo

Somehow, despite very difficult circumstances, the residents of Annawadi still manage to have hope.  Journalist Katherine Boo chronicles life in this slum near the Mumbai Airport, where people barely eke out a living, mostly by selling airport garbage to recycling companies.   Though it's a true story, this book reads almost like a Dickens novel, as we meet a cast of colorful characters scrounging for garbage, dealing with dishonest police and politicians, and even trying to get an education.  Families live in connected one-room hovels near a polluted pond where even young children get into the business of trying to earn a few coins. Reminiscent of the movie "Slumdog Millionaire", the community has its own leaders and rules, although the lack of justice is alarming, with few people above accepting bribes or lying. The book's "plot" centers on the false testimony of a handicapped women who immolates herself, then accuses her neighbors of, first, setting her on fire, but then changing her testimony to accuse the neighbors of inciting her to try to take her life.  

With the burgeoning middle class, it's nice though naive to think that these slums are no longer the norm in modern India.  And, actually, by the book's end, it looks like an airport extension project is about to encroach on this particular community, but the reader (at least this reader) gathers that the residents would just find another place to encamp.  

Published over 3 years ago, this book has been an eye opener.   Maybe one day there will be more  young woman like Anju, who aspires to be Annawadi's first college graduate.

Surprisingly, this book was made into a musical, and had a 4-month run at the National Theatre in London, from late 2014 through April 2015.  Despite the tragic subject matter, the characters still evoke a sense of fun and purpose and their beautiful costumes belie their circumstances.