Book Review - AIDS Sutra

Author: Numerous Authors (Anthology)
Pages: 345
My Rating: 4.0/5

AIDS Sutra presents a side of India which is seldom noticed prior to. This is 1 such book which requirements to be study by a wider audience. It will certainly open your eyes to the harsh realities faced by individuals in the underdeveloped & underpriviliged societies of India.

AIDS Sutra is an anthology place collectively by the 'Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation', which is a collection of 'untold stories from India' by 16 renowned authors. Those stories deal with a wide variety of subjects, all with a prevalent theme of the big challenge facing the building planet (HIV/AIDS), beginning from these innocent youngsters who obtain this deadly illness by birth, to sex workers, homosexuals and transgendered people today.

India is household to two-3million HIV circumstances. Ignorance and prejudice have been the 2 most contributing components for the speedy spread of this deadly illness; it is nevertheless stigmatized and persons reside in denial. This is exactly where books such as 'AIDS sutra' play an key part. Those stories not only humanize the tragedy of the HIV/AIDS victims, but also admire their courage and respect the victims devoid of finding sentimental or displaying pity. Authors such as Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth, Kiran Desai, Shobha De, Nalini Jones, Siddhartha Deb, William Dalrymple have uncovered the realities behind this epidemic by writing candid but refreshing stories about their real-life encounters with the AIDS victims in India. Amartya Sen's introduction in the starting, about the injustice committed by means of prejudice is particularly thoughtful and downright great!

The particularly 1st point that you recognize immediately after reading this book is the truth that ignorance about AIDS is nonetheless prevalent in India. Though India does display an picture of a building nation and a developing technologies giant but when it comes to matters of sexuality, it is nevertheless in dark and has a extended way to go! It is this sort of an attitude which is essentially impacting the remedy and prevention of HIV/AIDS in India to a substantial extent. Sooner the folks recognize it, the more quickly will be the progress.

If you are organizing to choose up this book at any factor, let me warn you; the information stated in the book by means of those stories are incredibly disheartening and depressing. This book, as a fiction would be incredibly heart-breaking; so you can consider how sickening and horrifying it could be as a non-fiction (primarily based on genuine stories). It took me almost one particular.5 months to finish this. Each story would have such a deep impact on my emotional state that it would just get not possible for me to continue reading. I have offered up reading this a couple of occasions throughout the course; but lastly decided that I require to study it to get the real consider of the state of this illness in various components of India - which otherwise you would never get to see.

If you have study this book, I would adore to know if you share my views and if you particularly did handle to study it totally or did you give it up midway, unable to deal with the depression.

Pratima Jayaram
http://pratima-jayaram.blogspot.com