Key Messages
Exploring Life In The Bombay Slums: A Journey To Annawadi
Behind the Beautiful Forevers will give you an opportunity to take a walk through the slums of India.
Through Annawadi, a living example of one of the world’s most complicated cities, you’ll be exposed to heartbreaking stories that explore indifference, corruption and suicide.
You’ll meet people like the boy who lost his hand at work yet felt obligated to apologize to his employer after, discover how hospitals profit from selling medicine that should be given for free, and ponder why slum dwellers still take pride in voting during election season.
Take this chance to engage with a different side of Indian culture and walk in the shoes of those struggling against poverty and lack of opportunity in the world’s biggest cities.
The Terrible Cost Of A Neighborhood Dispute: How One Family In India’S Annawadi Lost Their Dreams
In the slum of Annawadi, something as minor as a brick wall shared between two families can be the deciding factor in whether your attempts to improve your life are successful or foiled.
The Husain family, when renovating their old home and by chance shaking the wall they share with a mentally unstable neighbor, Fatima, demonstrates just that.
Though no real harm was done aside from pieces of rubble falling into Fatima’s pot of rice, the animosity she had towards the Husains’ relative wealth prompted her to falsely accuse them of destroying her property and injure herself in order to draw attention to this fabricated issue.
The fallout is tragic: a sequence of events beginning with arrests and trial fees to bribery and an irrecoverable loss of earnings culminate in the Husain family not being able to reclaim their plot of land with all its promise for better fortunes now sold off.
This paints a vivid picture of how one wrong move can quickly unravel even the most well-intentioned plans for growth and it serves as a reminder that true change can be difficult if not impossible when circumstances work against you.
Living In The Squalor Of Annawadi: Unsafe Animals, Poisonous Sewage, Rats, And Dust
The slum of Annawadi is a living testament to the ill effects of unsanitary conditions and poor hygiene.
The Husains, who are considered well off in comparison to their neighbors, still suffer due to the harsh living conditions, causing a variety of health problems.
Animals such as goats roam around freely, feeding on what they want – like sucking on plastic bottles – but their presence puts them in contact with germs and diseases from the sewage lake nearby.
All waste from Annawadi is illegally dumped here and it’s become so foul that Abdul has even witnessed 12 goat carcasses rotting in its depths.
Animals aren’t the only ones at risk either – mosquitoes feed from this dreadful lake, transmitting malaria to those who live in Annawadi too.
Not to mention all the rat bites on young Lallu’s cheeks that can easily get infected thanks to the humid climate.
Adding insult to injury is the sand and gravel blowing in from a nearby concrete plant, which fills the air with dust particles and contributes to more health ailments such as asthma or tuberculosis.
It’s clear that unsanitary conditions are hazardous in more ways than one, making it even more important for us to strive towards better living standards for everyone!
How Slums In India Deny Basic Human Rights
It’s a sad truth that the people living in Indian slums often have few to no basic human rights.
This affects every area of their lives, normally in detrimental ways.
For example, many workers are so scared of their employers that they hardly dare stand up for themselves.
One little boy even apologized to the owner after losing his hand in a shredder at a garbage recycling plant he worked at, out of fear of being disposed of if he caused any trouble.
The police are also uncaring and disrespect basic human rights, such as when Abdul was arrested and beaten by the police officers in jail, even though Indian law supposedly protects those rights.
To make matters worse, the police even attempt to terrify him into taking out loans from moneylenders and paying huge bribes to avoid a false charge being filed against him.
The reality is that the people living in slums have fewer rights than other Indians due to their poorer economic situation.
This can lead to some terrible situations for them with little hope for redress or justice.
The Prevalence Of Corruption In Slums: Exploitation, Bribery, And Hopelessness
In Annawadi, corruption is pervasive.
It’s deeply rooted in the system and bribery is needed to make even the smallest progress.
To give just one example, even something as essential as acquiring a voter card requires some form of payment.
Take, for instance, the Bridge School that many children from Annawadi attend.
It’s funded by the central government through a Catholic charity and officially run by Asha.
However, since she is too busy with other business ventures, her unqualified daughter runs it instead and they only teach classes when supervised by someone from the charity.
Even Indian democracy isn’t immune to this type of corruption.
Though Annawadians don’t get much from participating in the political process, at least voting lets them feel like legitimate citizens with equal rights.
But in order to be able to vote in elections, slum dwellers need a voter card which can only be secured through bribes paid to officials – unless Asha can take the required documents and bribe them on behalf of her constituents – a service she refuses to do .
Corruption In India’S Health Care System: Exploitation Of Desperate People And Bribery
In Behind the Beautiful Forevers, it’s clear that even health care professionals are taking advantage of vulnerable residents.
This is seen when slum dwellers go to public hospitals for treatment and don’t get the medications they need.
Medical staff often steal the medicine and then tell their relatives that it’s out of stock, forcing them to buy it from a market right in front of the hospital – where it has marked up prices.
Doctors also forge medical papers in order to cover their tracks and make patients records look better than they actually are.
For example, when Fatima dies from an infection she gets while in hospital, her doctor changes her admission papers to say that 95 percent of her body was burned instead of 35 percent – this way he can’t be blamed for her death.
It goes beyond just charging more money for services though; government officials are also extracting bribes by making false statements and then offering to expunge them if they’re paid off.
All these examples paint a picture of inadequate medical treatments and extortion surrounding those who look for help in Indian slums.
The High Cost Of Childhood In The Slums: Death, Blame And Negligence
The slum is an especially dangerous place for children, as illustrated in the book summary of Behind the Beautiful Forevers.
Everyday tasks and activities such as crossing the street can be life-threatening experiences due to inexperienced drivers who are distracted or paying no attention to the road.
In fact, when children are hit by cars, they often receive blame instead of compassion from their parents.They are expected to take full responsibility for their own safety, even though financial disasters could result from a severe injury.
Moreover, when a child is killed in the slum, it is rarely investigated or given justice–a prime example being Abdul Husain’s friend Kalu.
It’s clear that children living in these conditions suffer dearly with little protection or hope for a better future.
It Takes Selfishness, Savvy, And Ruthlessness To Survive In Annawadi
Life in impoverished Annawadi is an ongoing struggle for survival, and it’s inevitable that many slum dwellers will try to exploit those who are less fortunate than them.
This is the case with Asha, a teacher who aspires to become the town’s first female slumlord.
In order to get her way, she takes advantage of any influence or power she can muster, such as demanding a large bribe from a man begging her to help him get a loan for heart surgery.
On top of this, she also uses sex and other forms of bribery on government officials in order to sway their decisions.
On the other hand, there are some slum dwellers who simply choose to ignore the plight of their neighbours.
For example, when Fatima catches fire in her hut and neighbours fail to offer assistance—choosing instead to wait for her husband’s return home—it exemplifies how these same people prioritize helping themselves and their immediate families over all else.
The Harsh Reality That Education Cannot Counter Poverty In Annawadi
Many slum dwellers work hard to receive some kind of education, but these efforts too often lead nowhere.
This is clearly seen in Behind the Beautiful Forevers; Sonu, a young boy, works throughout the day as a garbage collector so he can attend school at night and take his standardized final exams yearly.
Even though children strive for better opportunities that come with an education, their efforts may not be rewarded.
Asha’s daughter Manju is attempting to become Annawadi’s first college graduate – she splits her time between home duties, teaching at the slum school and college classes.
However, although Manju has been studying English for years, being limited by the lack of resources make it difficult for her to improve her English proficiency or own a dictionary.
Similarly, Manju’s college classes consist mainly of memorizing famous books’ plots instead of pursuing higher knowledge in other areas that would actually help her thrive in society.
When Manju is enrolled in a part-time job as a life insurance seller after completing the training with excellent grades, despite her best effort she struggles to make any sales because people do not want to do business with a “slum girl.
It appears that no matter how hard Annawadians try to get an education, they are stuck in this dismal cycle where better opportunities remain out of reach for them.
Fear And Misery Push Slum Dwellers To Desperate Measures: Suicide
For some living in the slums of Annawadi, suicide is sadly seen as the only way out of the misery and despair that surrounds them.
For example, after witnessing a murder, an orphan named Sanjay feared he’d suffer retribution from both the police and the murderers, so he chose to take a bottle of rat poison to end his life.
Meena was another victim of the miserable treatment girls face living in those conditions.
She suffered abuse and beatings from her family if ever her work was deemed unsatisfactory.
On top of that, she lived in fear that one day she would be married off to another family in the countryside where traditional customs would mean she’d be treated even worse than before – this led her to make a tragic decision to also commit suicide with rat poison.
These stories demonstrate just how bleak and desperate life can become when you are trapped living in extreme poverty.
For these people, suicide is seen as the only way out and not an easy choice – yet sadly it’s often very tempting given all other paths seem closed off for them.
Wrap Up
Behind the Beautiful Forevers offers readers a sobering view of life in Annawadi.
It confronts them with the harsh reality that for many, there is no escape from the danger, disease, and corruption that permeates the slum.
Although some may dream of a better future, their fates remain largely beyond their control.
This book serves as a reminder of the powerlessness and injustice often experienced by those who inhabit impoverished communities around the world.
