About Mrs. S. Arundhati Roy  

October 1997 – “Hey, did you hear? Some Mallu has won the Booker Prize this year!” “Who?” “Some ‘Roy’- something.” ‘Roy – something’ turned out to be a woman named Arundhati Roy; hitherto unknown, she shot to fame with her first book ‘The God of Small Things’ which became an international best-seller. Soon the wild haired, petite lady with the smoky, soulful eyes became a regular sight on the television, in newspapers and magazines.

Arundhati Suzanna Roy was born on the 24^th of November 1961 in Bengal, the daughter of a Christian Keralite mother and a Hindu, Bengali planter. Her mother Mary Roy became the favourites topic for local gossip when she left her husband and returned to her hometown in Kottayam with her two children – Arundhati and her brother Lalith. Mrs. Roy shot into the spotlight when she fought against the prevalent inheritance rights for Christian women and won. The ruling by the Supreme Court gave Christian women an equal share in their father's property if the father expires leaving no will.

Arundhati inherited her share of her mother’s strong will and free spirit. After completing her schooling at Lovedale in Ooty, she left home at the age of 16 to negotiate the world on her own. She made her way to Delhi where she joined the Delhi School of Architecture. She lived as an unlawful tenant camped in a makeshift shack within the walls of the Delhi Ferozshah Kotla; and even sold empty beer bottles as she struggled to manage her meager economy. Through it all, her inborn love for the written word remained strong as ever. While she never became a practicing architect, Arundhati did become known as an aerobics instructor who also wrote complex and scathing film scripts.

She eventually returned to Kerala 6 years after she left and in April, 1997 ‘The God of Small Things’ was launched. Along with the accolades and laurels came an equal amount of criticism and condemnation. Traditional and orthodox Malayalis were ‘stunned and outraged’ at her ‘twisted and warped portrayal of life’. She took both honor and censure in her stride, acknowledging that everyone has a right to express what they feel.

Today, the wild, wavy hair has been cropped short but unlike Samson, her spirit has lost neither its strength nor its fierce individuality. Fame and fortune never changed her. She donated her entire Booker prize money to the ‘Narmada dam protest group’ and all that she earned from her guest lectures in the West was given to the victims of the massive earthquake in Gujarat State.

She still prefers a life of simplicity and is determined to use her newfound celebrity status for the betterment of society and the lot of her fellowman. She is now involved with the poor, displaced villagers of the Narmada Dam project and one of their most passionate and vociferous supporters. She cannot stand hypocrisy of any kind. She strongly protested India’s nuclear tests, has been an orator at various non-violent marches across the country and openly lashes out at any organization that instigates communal violence in the society.

So, Is she planning another novel? Will there be another ‘God of Small Things’ soon? She herself doesn’t know the answer to that one. For now a collection of essays titled’ The Cost of Living’ ought to satisfy. As for the rest, we’ll have to wait and see.

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