1. ARUNDHATI ROY

2. Childhood Born Suzanna Arundhati Roy on 24 th November 1961 Mother – Christian woman from Kerala Father – Bengali Hindu tea planter Parents divorced when Roy was young Childhood spent in Ayemenem, Kerala

3. Into Adulthood Roy left home at sixteen and lived in a squatter’s colony in New Delhi She sold empty beer bottles for a living She attended architectural school and married fellow student, Gerard Da Cunha Both quit their studies and moved to Goa Roy eventually left Da Cunha and moved back to New Delhi

4. Career Whilst living in New Delhi, Roy met the film director Pradeep Krishen (whom she later married), and accepted a small acting role Roy wrote several screenplays that became films Controversy first came when she wrote a critical essay of the celebrated film Bandit Queen Roy withdrew to private life to work on her debut novel The God of Small Things, which took her five years to complete.

5. Writing The God of Small Things won the Booker Prize in 1997 After its publication, Roy began to work as a political activist, writing and giving speeches on a variety of issues She has been imprisoned for her activism but continues to fight for her beliefs Roy received the Sydney Peace Prize in November 2004

6. Inspiration for The God of Small Things “… the image of this sky blue Plymouth stuck at the railroad crossing with the twins inside and this Marxist procession raging around it.”

7. INDIA

8. Kerala: God’s Own Country

10. Kerala

15. Social and Political Family are Syrian Christian (60% of pop. is Hindu, 20% Muslim, 20% Christian). Caste system (derived from Portuguese casta meaning breed, race, or lineage). Castes are ranked, named, endogamous groups with membership through birth. 4 main castes + ‘untouchables’ Caste discrimination outlawed 1959 but still exists in many rural areas of India. Patriarchal (consider the impact of divorce). Communist state (1957, first Indian state).