Behind the Beautiful Forevers

Annawadi is a place where “fortunes derived not just from what people did, or how well they did it, but also from the accidents and catastrophes they dodged. A decent life was the train that hadn’t hit you, the slumlord you hadn’t offended, the malaria you hadn’t caught” (xx). When confronted with so much strife and misfortune, it’s difficult to consider anything beyond survival. It’s also difficult to extend kindness to others when you’re struggling through the same oppressive circumstances and when you have so little yourself. In Annawadi, where most of the residents “earn to eat” and live in poverty, everyone must look out for themselves.

For example, Sunil steals the sandals off his drunken father’s feet for food—although this later earns him a beating. And then there is Asha, the ultimate self-serving example in the book. She aspires to be the slumlord of Annawadi not because she cares anything about her fellow neighbors but because she believes this will give her influence. One of the cruelest instances of her selfishness is when she turns down Mr. Kamble’s pleas for assistance with a government loan because he does not have enough to pay her for her help. He later dies because he does not receive this loan and cannot afford heart valve surgery—all because Asha could not profit off the situation.