Arundhati Roy speaks at the Sharjah International Book Fair on 9th November 2012.
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Indian author, Arundhati Roy at the fair Photo by Sakina Umme Abiha Click here for more photos |
She
moved quietly and with grace. All eyes were on her as she made her way on to a
stage in front of a packed hall in Sharjah. Her greying hair and petite figure
draped in a simple red sari belied the vibrant energy she was
known for. Arundhati Roy's presence at the Sharjah International Book Fair 2012
was greeted with applause – it was a success even before she said her first
word.
Known
for her fearless criticism of governments and corporate giants, the
award-winning author was at the fair to talk about 'God of Small Things', her
most famous work of fiction that won the Man Booker Prize in 1997.
The air
was thick with anticipation. What would she say? Here was a woman disliked by
both the ruling party and opposition – a rarity in India. The Indian government
often called her a rebel, a woman against globalisation and progress. The UAE
was about to find out if this was true or not. It was her first time speaking to an audience at a book fair, and she agreed only because SIBF was not sponsored by a corporate body.
After
the formal introduction and welcome, she took to the stage with the
interviewer. When talking about her book, Roy said she began writing it only
because of a river in Ayemenem, where she grew up. As she described how she
wrote it, a smile lit up her face, and she lyrically described a beautiful
river lit by a 'broken yellow moon'. Right at the beginning, it was evident
that Roy was a woman who used language to empower. Her easy yet refined
rhetoric exuded a calm confidence.
Arundhati
Roy wants to be the voice of the downtrodden. She has been working actively to
eliminate the caste system in India.
She said, “the caste system continues to be the engine that drives Indian
politics.”
In her own words, she writes about 'incredible bravery and profound
struggles'. In the interview, Roy emerges as a deeply sensitive human being who
cares about people and issues that others hardly even notice. And her cause is
very personal. She has spent two and a half weeks in the forest with
guerrillas, to write about them of the experience, she said that there was the
expected fighting, but she spent most of her time with them just ‘cracking up’.
Writing
fiction for her was a lonely affair. Maybe that’s why she enjoys writing about
real issues and real people. She feels connected to the people of her country
when she writes. But is she happy doing this? The answer is thought-provoking.
“Happiness is a weapon,” and she doesn’t want to be a victim.
Roy’s
opinions extend beyond India as well. As expected, she was asked for her
opinion on Obama’s second term. Contrary to all the cries of ‘better change’ that
the world has been screaming, she doesn’t think that there will be any change –
for the better. According to her, Obama increased attacks in Afghanistan
two-fold. How, she wonders, could he stand on that stage, hugging his daughters
and wife even as he rips apart thousands of families in other parts of the
world?
There
were many memorable moments during Roy’s talk. One of them was when she was asked
what she thinks of wearing the hijab.
Her response was received with a round of applause. “Removing the hijab off women who want to wear it is
not liberating them, it’s undressing them.”
So who
is Arundhati Roy? Is she a human rights activist? “I don’t believe in human
rights,” she is quick to respond. For her, it is jargon – a term coined by NGOs
and governments to ‘evade the real issue’. Is she a writer? Yes, but she is
much more. She is an empathetic human being who takes other people’s problems
seriously. And for the rest of us, she is a picture of hope. Someone who
doesn’t make empty promises for a better world. Someone who acknowledges that
there are many more unseen, unheard people working harder than she is. Someone
who we can trust – because she is more about ‘doing’ than ‘talking. She isn’t a
larger than life celebrity. Arundhati Roy is simply a passionate believer in
change.
By Georgina Paul
The writer is a MA Media and Communications student specializing in Journalism at Manipal University, Dubai.
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