Ministry of Utmost Happiness – Arundhati Roy

I read this over a period of 2 weeks. First few chapters on my way to work. Disconcerted especially the entire section on introduction to Anjum I moved my reading to late night ensconced in my world so that I could sleep to exorcise the feelings which arose as I read the book. Last few days I was away from the duniya at Rishi Valley School to meet my daughters so I could snatch away time at night as they slept peacefully to finish the book.

The dedication tells it all – To, The unconsoled. 

It’s a difficult book to read; it churned my inside as I read the pages. I have not followed her since God of Small Things in terms of her involvement with the social movement or what the press terms as an activist. Reading the book creates a vision in your mind which is no different from the reality what you see in any city of India and in the high rises – the modern affluent people. 

The first six chapters on introduction to Anjum, Khwabgah is gut wrenching – any of us looking for escapism will put the book down and never move to the second section where the build-up happens around 3 characters entangled in a way possible only in books. 

What I liked is the detailing of Old Delhi, characters, situations especially of eunuchs and their whereabouts – this maybe a first for most of the readers – who would want to understand them. There in probably lies the message of a kind of apathy which has set in most of us – we are ok with a Santhal women hired from an agency to take your baby out to the park as we are busy posting our pics on international travel in Facebook.

It’s a political book and I felt at times she tried to address too many issues plaguing our society. I believe all writing is personal – you write what you feel the best and as I read I could feel at some point she was exorcising the ghost within.

But I loved the entire Kashmir episode – the strange relationship between the four characters – Musa, Tilo, Naga and Garson Hobbart. The description of Kashmir and the brutality was vivid and I could visualize the seething anger; lost beauty; sadistic brutality - it swung my emotions between rage, love, disgust and pity.

Overall, I came out of the book feeling like an incapable bystander who is busy running uncaring and uninvolved cocooned in his own world – not a comfortable feeling to end a book with.