Behind the Story
Arundhati Roy’s Wild Ride
Let’s just say Arundhati Roy has never lived by the book. To begin
with, she didn’t receive formal schooling until she was 10 years
old. Her mother, who became famous in her own right as plaintiff in
a landmark 1986 Indian Supreme Court case about equal property
rights for women, took responsibility for her daughter’s education.
It was an experiment in free thinking that left an indelible mark
on the young pupil.
From her mother’s classroom, Roy moved to public school in the
southern Indian state of Kerala. But by the time she was 18, she
had fallen out with her mother and was living in a squatters’ camp
in Delhi. Eventually, she enrolled at the Delhi School of Planning
and Architecture. While she was in architecture school, Roy met
fellow student Gerard da Cunha. They quit school together and lived
for a time as self-described 'flower children' in the Indian resort
town of Goa. Four years later they parted ways.
But Roy’s adventures had only begun. 'Discovered' by Indian film
director Pradip Krishen, she took a small role in his movie Massey
Saab. She then wrote a number of film scripts, including Krishen’s
hit Electric Moon. Her energetic public support for Indian folk
hero Phoolan Devi, whose life story she felt had been exploited by
the international hit film Bandit Queen, eventually escalated into
a court case. After the dust settled, she went into semi-seclusion
to write her debut novel, The God of Small Things.
To those living outside India, the remarkable splash created by
Roy’s drifting, melodious, semi-autobiographical novel (a £500,000
advance, the 1997 Booker Prize,
a worldwide speaking tour, translation into more than 40 languages)
may have made her seem like an overnight success. But in truth,
much of Roy’s early life was spent gathering the experiences needed
to write such a masterpiece. And it’s clear that she intends to
keep gaining experiences as fuel for her next project—whatever it
may be.
—Andy Steiner |