I am reading the book ‘Shantaram’ authored by Gregory David Roberts. Roberts bust a high-security prison in Australia and took refuge in India. Most of the book – at least upto where I have read – is about his adventures in India. In an amazing true tale, he describes how he sold drugs to foriegn tourists, how he went and stayed in the slums next to the World Trade Center in Mumbai, how he was arrested and was tortured in Indian prison, how he started working for the Mumbai underworld and even how he wroked in the hindi movies. I haven’t completed it yet and I can already sense that there is more to come.

While he has narrated his story and explorations amazingly – and that alone makes it a fascinating read – it is the way he describes India and Indians that touches the soul of the reader. He describes the spirit of Mumbai several times over; and also the essence of rural India, where he managed to stay six months and learnt Marathi. Very few authors – Indians included – have described India with such honesty and so vibrantly. Because of his minute observation skills and personal experiences with many of these people, he has wonderfully painted the characters, be it a typical Mumbai Taxi driver, his friend Prabaker, his neighbors in the zopadpatti, his friends in the Leopold’s and Karla, his love.

It is his style of writing which brings out the attributes of each of his characters and helps the reader identify these characters easily. This is one of the primary reasons – vivid characterisation – that makes this book so interesting.