Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

This book is supposedly legendary. All my friends in India were reading it – Indians and foreigners. I only bought my copy recently and I am slowly making my way through its 936 pages. I love it. The fact that I have visited Bombay makes it that much more real and easy for me to relate to. The writing style is wonderful, and if the back of the cover is anything to go by, the story is bound to be interesting too. Here is what it says: “In the early 80s, Gregory David Roberts, an armed robber and heroin addict, escaped from an Australian prison to India, where he lived in a Bombay slum. There, he established a free health clinic and also joined the mafia, working as a money launderer, forger and street soldier. He found time to learn Hindi and Marathi, fall in love, and spend time being worked over in an Indian jail. Then, in case anyone thought he was slacking, he acted in Bollywood and fought with the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan … Amazingly, Roberts wrote Shantaram three times after prison guards trashed the first two versions. It’s a profound tribute to his willpower … At once a high-kicking, eye-gouging adventure, a love saga and savage yet tenderly lyrical fugitive vision.” (Time Out)

I love this conversation Lin (a fake name adopted by Gregory David Roberts) has with his new-found Bombay love, Karla:

“Yes. You’re a good listener. That’s dangerous, because it’s so hard to resist. Being listened to – really listened to – is the second-best thing in the world.”
“What’s the first best thing?”
“Everybody knows that. The best thing in the world is power.”
“Oh, is it?” I asked, laughing. “What about sex?”
“No. Apart from the biology, sex is all about power. That’s why it’s such a rush.”
I laughed again.
“And what about love? A lot of people say that love is the best thing in the world, not power.”
“They’re wrong,” she said with terse finality. “Love is the opposite of power. That’s why we fear it so much.”

You can buy the book here on Amazon.