Behind the Beautiful Forevers

When my mother came to Berlin, I knew exactly where to take
her: Dussmann. This four-plus floor mega-bookstore even includes a two-floor
English language bookstore with a large assortment of titles. After we slowly
sifted through the books separately, we sat together and read the backs of the
books together – discussing which ones that we wanted to read. My mother
eventually decided upon a fiction title that had been recommended to her by a
friend. After reading so many books about policy, I wanted a lighter read,
which led me to pick up the 2012 Winner of the National Book Award for
Nonfiction, Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity, by Katherine Boo, a staff writer at the New Yorker.
I never intended to buy and read this book as a part of my
Global Book Challenge. (Indeed, the first book I ever read as a part of this
challenge was about India – In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India by
Edward Luce.) However, I found this book so poignant and gripping that I wanted
to write about it and share it on my blog.
Ever since I read the anthropology book, Ghetto at the Center of the World: Chungking Mansions, Hong Kong by Gordon Mathews, I have
found myself fascinated by the concept of low-end globalization – in particular
how this low-end globalization stems from high-end globalization, something
which I definitely play a role in. Over the past few years, I have joined the
ranks as someone who is involved in high-end globalization: I consider international
airports are just a means to get from Point A to Point B – a necessary means rather
than a novelty or a reason to get excited. I have a global plan for my cell
phone, so that I can contact my friends and family not only in cases of
emergency, but also to conduct everyday business. As a multi-lingual and well-traveled
person, I expect to eventually add myself to the workplace that perpetuates this
high-end globalization. But yet, this globalization affects many others in less
positive ways.
Such is the case with the main characters of this book –
among the three thousand people who live in the slums of Annawadi, which is
located right next to the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. The
airport, in fact, plays an important role throughout the book. As many of the
main characters sort through garbage as their main source of income in order to
find recyclable materials, they are constantly hoping for access to the
valuable trash that travelers leave at the airport (or throw out of their cars
on the way to the airport.) One lucky character is given the opportunity to
work in a menial position at one of the hotels surrounding the airport – to the
jealousy of many of his neighbors.
Although this book is non-fiction, it reads like fiction as
it follows different people – children and adults alike – as they try to
survive and better themselves, often at the expense of their neighbors. Their
stories are compelling and I found myself unable to put down the book when
reading about the people who were experiencing starvation, lack of medical
care, beatings by police, inter-ethnic conflict, corruption, scamming, and
voter disenfranchisement. I kept on waiting for the “American dream story” –
for one of the characters to rise up and overcome his or her circumstances.
However, this story never came. The book ends without any significant change in
any of the characters’ situations or positive change brought about through
economic development or new policy implementation.
Something that really stuck with me was this quote about
corruption: “In the West, and among some in the Indian elite, this word, corruption, had purely negative
connotations; it was seen as blocking India’s modern, global ambitions. But for
the poor of a country where corruption thieved a great deal of opportunity,
corruption was one of the genuine opportunities that remained.” (page 28) As I
read firsthand about the women who engaged in scamming and corruption directly
in order to better the position of their families, I couldn’t help but wonder that
if the situations were turned, would I find myself engaging in this behavior?
And in an even broader sense, how do you discourage corruption among those who
perceive the opportunities offered through corruption as the only option? The books shows instances of what “The West”
would consider unethical or corrupt – even among economic development
institutions and orphanages.
Even more, this book made me question my role in the
globalized world and made me ponder how others are affected – even by my
subconscious actions - everyday. As the slum essentially was based off of the
trash and subsequently, the tourism to India through the International Airport,
the slums were very much affected by the global crisis: “A kilo of empty water
bottles once worth twenty-five rupees was now worth ten, and a kilo of
newspaper once worth five rupees was now worth two: This was how the global
crisis was understood.” (page 190) I would recommend this book to anyone –
especially the world traveler – in order to help broaden one’s perspective and
understanding of what it truly means to be a part of the modern, globalized
world.
Please feel free to comment on
these topics or note something interesting from the book. I look forward to
hearing your opinions!
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