![]() Living At The EdgeAnshul Bhamra By Meera Mitra Rupa Publications, New Delhi, 2015, pp. 224, Rs. 425.00 VOLUME XL NUMBER 3 March 2016 This book is the author’s attempt to make
her reader experi-ence diverse aspects of the
lives of the ‘poor’ in this country. Without
going into the complexity of defining a phenomenon
as massive as poverty, the author has simply
taken the reader through journeys of people from
various parts of India in their quest of the basics.
The book is broadly classified into eight categories:
shelter, health, education, livelihood inclusion,
governance, livelihood exclusion, finance and
new collectives. Under each of these segments, stories
of people from some part of the country and
their transitions in life or their life in India have
been detailed. Stories of Orphan Neel becoming a
house-owner in the capital and Dalits—Hatti Ram,
Bijender and Kishore successfully experimenting
with their skills of entrepreneurship against the odds
in society speak of the opportunities created by
people at the bottom of the pyramid to explore better
living conditions for their own selves. Stories of
Ghanshyam and Nazma, on the other end, study their response to the changes in conditions
and opportunities around them—the impact of a Reliance Fresh on a nearby vegetable vendor
Ghanshyam, and the opportunity that Nazma sees in vouchers for education in a private
school. Every story revolves around one or more characters and uses their experiences to
study the status quo and the opportunities in the concerned area.
Evaluating the evidence used in each of the stories, the author has been cautious in
quoting the words of the people she studied and her own interpretations, allowing the reader
to have their viewpoint on evidence collected and inferences incurred. Quotations used all
through the book highlight the gravity and the simplicty of opinions from people surveyed.
‘Jo apne se neeche hai usko dekh ke jeevan chalaao’ (Lead your life by observing those who are
below you) is one such one liner used by Kamlesh, a character in one of the chapters explaining
an opinion of her family on the TV set she bought for her kids when the family was not
able to afford two decent meals a day.
The arguments put forth by the author poses some critical questions on the ground and
for the policy in each scenario. The author has not just looked at an issue but has rather taken
the reader through the journey, researched on certain emerging concerns and has raised
questions in the process. In one ... Table of Contents >> |