These last 40-odd pages
of Boo play out like something of a courtroom drama film. As Abdul’s court appearance
date is postponed later and later into an indefinite time slot by the end of
the book, his sister Kehkashan and his father Karam’s plays out in the most
laborious of manners. On and off, week in and week out with no one being able
to determine whether the innocence of the Husein’s will be proven true, or if
Fatima’s husband and the people they’ve paid to testify against them will win
out. Asha slowly loses the confidence in herself and falls into a depression
that Manju helps her break free from, and teaches her to be independent of the
men she formerly relied on for power. And lastly, Sunil has something of a turnaround
to do honest work like Abdul had after hearing the words of The Master.
Although unintentional, it seems his words actually have had a wider affect
than anticipated.
In
the end we learn, unlike a work of fiction, that Kehkashan and Karam’s trial is
dropped without much fuss, and even by the end of the book Abdul’s trial date
has not been slated. The fate of the individuals we’ve followed throughout is
left extremely ambiguous, not knowing whether Abdul will be cleared along with
the other two, or if Manju will be able to lead the life she lives with who she
loves. I feel slightly conflicted and dissatisfied with this resolution, or
lack thereof, but perhaps it’s fitting for a work of nonfiction such as this,
to just lend credence to the fact that real life has no defined conclusions
(besides death), especially in the bustling world of the Mumbai slums.
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