Hello, I am Himanshi Parmar, student of MK Bhavnagar University. This blog i have written as a response to Thinking Activity, Which is a Part of my academic Work. Which we get after each unit. In this blog, i am going to discuss about the book 'The Ministry of Utmost Happiness' by Arundhati Roy.
About Arundhati Roy
Full name of Arundhati Roy is Suzanna Arundhati Roy. She was born on 24 November 1961. She is an Indian author,essayist and Political activist. She is best known for her novel The God of Small Things (1997)which won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 and became the best-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian author. She is also involved in human rights and environmental causes. She also received many awards like National Film Award for Best Screenplay (1988),Booker Prize (1997),Sydney Peace Prize (2004),Orwell Award (2004), Norman Mailer Prize (2011) etc.
Arundhati Roy also worked in television and movies. She wrote the screenplays for In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones (1989) and Electric Moon (1992),film Bandit Queen by Shekhar Kapur. Roy won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay in 1988 for In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones. She also wrote novels, her best known novels are, The God of Small Things,began writing in 1992, completing it in 1996. This is her first novel. Secondly she wrote 'The Ministry of Utmost Happiness' in 2007.'The Ministry of Utmost Happiness' was nominated as a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction in January 2018. Click to read more.Watch this video to know more about her.
About 'The Ministry of Utmost Happiness'.
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is the second novel by Indian writer Arundhati Roy, published in 6 June 2017. The novel was originally written in English.it is a Fiction. The novel was published by Hamish Hamilton (UK & India) and Alfred A. Knopf (US). The novel set in India and covers wide range of India and some part of Canada also.it contains 449 pages.
The novel weaves together the stories of people navigating some of the darkest and most violent episodes of modern Indian history, from land reform that dispossessed poor farmers to the Bhopal disaster, 2002 Godhra train burning and Kashmir insurgency.Roy's characters run the gamut of Indian society and include an intersex woman (hijra), a rebellious architect, and her landlord who is a supervisor in the intelligence service. (Wikipedia) here is the video of Arundhati Roy giving speech on 'The Ministry of Utmost Happiness'.
1] The Reader’s Digest Book of English Grammar and Comprehension for Very Young Children by S. Tilottama. (Question - Answer)
First story (The Old Man and His Son)
Why did the villagers cry more for the shambling wreck?
~ The villagers cry more for the shambling wreck because Ahmed Ganai was killed.
Why did the wreck shamble?
~ Wreck Shamble because his boy was killed.
Who is the hero of the story?
~ Bull is the hero of the story.
Who did the boy expect to be killed by?
(A) The Army
2] Three Points mentioned in the photo of board - work.
1) List of Characters
1. Anjum/Aftab - Protagonist,born intersex, Muslim hijra.
2.Mulaqat Ali - father of Aftab, Husband of Jahanara Begum,hakim.
3. Zainab - three-year-old girl, daughter of Anjum.
4.Saddam Hussain (Dayachand) - Guests at the Jannat Guest House.
5. Dr. Azad Bharatiya - One of the protestor near Jantar Mantar.
6. S. Tilottama - student at the Architecture School.
7. Mariyam Ipe - Mother of S. Tilottama, Syrian Christian.
8. Nagaraj Hariharan - top-notch journalist, Husband of Tilottama.
9. Biplab Dasgupta - secret lover of Tilottama.
10.Musa Yeswi (Commander Gulrez) - Tilottama's Classmate.
11. Begum Arifa Yeswi - Wife of Musa Yeswi.
12.Major Amrik Singh - Military Officer.
13.Jalib Qadri - Lawyer and human rights activist.
14.Comrade Revathy - Maoist from East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, raped by six policeman.
15.Jahanara Begum - Mother of Aftab.
16.Ahlam Baji - midwife who delivers Aftab.
17.Ustad Hameed Khan - Musician who taught Aftab Hindustani classical music.
18.Imam Ziauddin - The blind imam.
19.Kulsoom Bi - Ustad of Khwabgah
20. Heera, Baby, Nimmo, Mary, Gudiya, saeeda etc are Hijra community at Khwabgah.
21.Zakir Mian - He travels with Anjum.
22.Begum Zeenat Kauser - Anjum's aunty.
23.Roshan Lal - Headwaiter of Rosebud Rest-O-Bar
24. Majnu - The man who know English client of Anjuman.
25. Sangita Madam - Running Security office where Hussain work after leaving hospital.
26. Mr. Agrawal - Symbolic representation of Arvind Kejriwal.
27. Tubby old Gandhian - symbolic representation of Anna Hazare.
28. Gujarat ka Lalla - symbolic representation of Narendra Modi.
29. Chitra - Wife of Biplav.
30. Jebeen the second - baby that Tilottama brought from Jantarmantar.
31. Jebeen the first - daughter of Arifa Yeswi and Musa Yeswi.
31. Lavleen Singh - Wife of Captain Amrit singh.
32. ACP Pinky Sodhi
33. Balbir Sodhi
34. Khadija Aijaz
35. Jalil Quadri - activist, killed badly.
2) Plot and Narrative Style
The story begins with A strange older woman living in Grave Yard named Jannat. There is one another man named Imam Ziauddin who is old blind man became frequent companion of Anjum. Who came to know that the woman’s name is Anjum. She is a Hijra, a transwoman, who left Khwabgah many years ago. Then there is a story of Anjum's birth. Who born as a intersex, but her mother, Jahanara, gendered the child a boy and named him Aftab.
In a childhood Aftab was very good singer that causes the neighborhood kids to tease him about being too feminine. His father Mulaqat gave him suggestion to undergo a gender-change surgery, also tell him stories about his great warrior ancestors to inspire him towards masculinity. One day he noticed one Hijra girl walking beautifully and he followed her which lead him to Khwabgah, after that he keep visiting the place until he get 15 years old and then permanently moved there to live. In Khwabgah Aftab becomes Anjum permanently. She also gone through the gender transition surgery and becomes Female finally. She also became very famous among NGOs, human rights groups and journalists because of her beauty and aggressive feminity. All the way she becomes a successful Hijra.
One day Anjum finds one abandoned baby girl outside the mosque and took her with her. She treat the baby like her child and became her mother. She naming the baby Zainab. She mostly telling her realistic stories of her life. When Zainab reached at the age when she is ready to go to school suddenly she goes through a bout of ill health. So anjum decided to take her for pilgrimage with Zakir Mian to a holy Muslim site in Gujarat. In pilgrimage, Anjum and Zakir Mian face worst massacre, in which Zakir Mian was killed, but Anjum spared because they believe that to killing Hijra is bad luck. Anjum after returning from Gujarat stated behaving strangely. She started wearing clothes of boys and trying to dress Zainab as a little boy to protect her from suffering violence. When Ustad Kulsoom Bi Opposed this division, Anjum left Khwabgah, moved to Graveyard behind government hospital and started living there. She leaving Zainab in Saeeda’s care.
Slowly Anjum built a house in graveyard, where after some time Saddam Hussain, an unemployed Dalit young man on a mission to murder the police officer who caused the death of his father came and started living there. Who once witnessed his father's murder. Saddam Hussain also suggested Anjum that she should start charg to guests and for funeral services, And Anjum started calling her home Jannat Guest House and Funeral Services.
After that we find there is a a character of Biplab, a bureaucrat in the Indian government discovers that a tenant of his, Tilottama, has gone missing. He secretly loves Tilottama throughout his life. He met Tilottama in play performance as a student of university. But unfortunately Tilottama was dating Musa, a Kashmiri architect. There is one another character Naga who is journalist, who also is in love with Tilottama.Biplab is involved in the Kashmir conflict as a bureaucrat whose work serves primarily to cover up the atrocities committed by the Indian Army in the region. But soon he find himself a puppet of the government, who reveals only as much as the government want him to reveal. Naga is a journalist, and although he doesn’t see himself as corrupt in any way. One day Biplab received a message of Tilottama that army has captured her so Biplab sent Naga to save her, and naga save her from jail and soon Naga and Tilottama marry. But soon they divorced and Tilottama ask Biplab that if she rent one of his apartment. Here Biplav thought may now it's his chance for Tilottama. Before Biplab come to Tilottama's apartment, there is a wide public protest at Jantar Mantar. It was started as an anti corruption protest by Gandhian. And later turned into hunger strike against corruption in India. There are many other causes and groups also joined the protest to get media coverage. Anjum and Hussain move to Jantar Mantar to see what is happening there. There is group called the Mothers of the Disappeared finds a baby abandoned on the pavement in front of the protest. Anjum decided to take baby with her but other protester Mr.Aggarwal. Anjum got fight with him as Mr. Aggarwal wanted to handover baby to police officer but Anjum was against it and wanted to take baby with her. In between the conflict baby disappeared and no one knows who taken the baby so Anjum and Hussain leave Jantar Mantar to find baby.
Later on readers comes to know that the baby was taken by Tilottama. The baby was named as Miss Jebeen the Second by Tilottama. The name is given after Musa's daughter who was murdered in massacre by the Indian government in Kashmir. Also her mother Arifa died in same massacre. Tilottama was also involved in Kashmir massacre after meeting Musa. After Musa and Tilottama returned from the houseboat, the boat was raid by military police.Gulrez, a friend of musa killed by the military police.the military was led by Major Amrik Singh. Tilottama and Musa vows to take revenge of deaths. But Amrik Singh fled to California with his wife and childrens.
After taking baby from Jantar Mantar, The police are after her so Tilottama wants safe place to live, her friend Dr. Azad Bhartiya suggested her to Jannat Guest house and gave number of Sadam Hussain. Tilottama move to Jannat Guest House and started living there. She begins to work as a teacher for the poor, local children, and greatly enjoys her work. At another hand Sadam Hussain and Zainab falls in love and married. Many outcasts people came and start living in Jannat guest house. All the people at Jannat guest house are very happy. Jabeen the second raised surround peace, love and safety. The story ends here.
3) Fact and Fiction
1) Godhra Riots - Anjum and Zakir Mian visit to Gujarat, after completing their pilgrimage.
2) Una Case (Leaching of Dalit) - Case of Sadam Hussain (Dayachand) whose father killed in Hariyana for taking skin of dead animals.
3) Mr. Agrawal - Arvind Kejriwal
4)Tubby old Gandhian - Anna Hazare.
5)Gujarat ka Lalla - Narendra Modi.
6) Obsession of adopting names - Dr. Azad Bhartiy
7) Jantar Mantar Protest - Anjum and Sadam Hussain visited Jantar Mantar.
8) Sadam Hussain hanged by America - Dayachand adopted a name Sadam Hussain after seeing the news of hanging.
3] Write about any one theme or character of the novel with the help of Chat OpenAI GPT. Ask to Chat GPT and put screenshot as well as copy-paste the answer generated by this response generator.
What is the role of Anjum in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy?
Anjum is one of the main characters in Arundhati Roy's novel "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness." Anjum is a hijra, a term used in South Asia to refer to individuals who identify as a third gender. She is a central figure in the novel and her story is woven throughout the book, as the reader follows her journey from a young boy named Aftab to a hijra named Anjum. She becomes the proprietor of a guesthouse called "Jannat Guest House" where she creates a community of outcasts and misfits, including widows, orphans and other marginalized people. She is a powerful symbol of acceptance and resilience and her story serves as a commentary on the treatment of marginalized people in India.
I hope this blog will be helpful to you. Thank you.
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