First things first. Boo - I take a bow. Brilliantly written book and it reads like a fiction. Amazed by author's unsentimental narration of such an emotional and heart wrenching story. Her observation, understanding and narration of Indian way of life blew me away. It is packed with information/sub-texts that it will take at least couple of re-reads to appreciate it fully.

Overwhelmed by the indefatigable spirit and never give up attitude of the people living in Annawadi slum. For the people living in undercity, survival of fittest is the ONLY way of life. Day-in and day-out.

After reading the book, one can either feel terribly bad about injustice meted out so many people out there and hate India for being so corrupt, or look beyond all these and appreciate the spirit of people living in such inhuman conditions and still trying to be good. I saw the latter.

Whole book can be quoted, but will share couple of things to keep the review short...(Spoiler alert)

"It is easy from a safe distance, to overlook the fact that in undercities governed by corruption, where exhausted people vie on scant terrain for very little, it is blisteringly hard to be good. The astonishment is that some people are good and that many people try to be."

I am astonished and humbled at the same time to see you boys like Abdul trying to be virtuous while living in sub-human condition. Words fail to express my feeling towards him. Sunil's spirit, Manju's commitment is something to die for.

"The forces of justice finally comes to Annawadi. That the beneficiaries were horses was a source of bemusement to Sunil and the road boys.

They weren't thinking about the univestigated death of Sanjay and Kalu. Annawadi boys broadly accepted the basic truths: that in a modernizing, increasingly prosperous city, their life were embarrassments best confined to small spaces, and their deaths would not matter at all. The boys were simply puzzled by the fuss, since they considered Robert's horses the luckiest and most lovingly tended creatures in the slum."

Page after page, after reading about injustice done to so many people, it was indeed ironic to note that horses of Annawadi were the first to get justice. Couple of paras succinctly reflects the harsh reality of the Annawadis. I am sure it will apply to slums of Washington DC or Rio de Janiro.

Finally...

"For sometime I (Abdul) tried to keep the ice inside me from melting, was how he put it. But now I'm just becoming dirty water, like everyone else. I tell Allah I love him immensely, immensely. But I tell him I cannot be better, because of how the world is."

Abdul - don't become dirty water. People like you are the ultimate hope for mankind.May Allah reciprocate the love and shower HIS benevolence on you."