A Guardian and a Thief: A Novel, Megha Majumdar (Author), Leela Tapryal, Sid Sagar, Rajib Bhattacharya, Soneela Nankani, Reena Dutt, Shawn K. Jain, Mayuri Bhandari (Narrators)
This is a heartbreaking novel about hopelessness in the face of a culture and lifestyle that is self-defeating for any but those with the means to escape it. Sometime in the not-too-distant future, in Kolkata, India, the citizens are suffering from the wrath of climate change, financial instability and a moral decline. Food is scarce, the heat has become oppressive, and those who can afford to leave and go off to greener pastures leave, but those who cannot are doomed to suffer from the exigencies of the life offered to them by circumstances that are beyond their control. Desperation fills the air. It is difficult to care about others when you feel that no one cares about you and when your situation grows more and more dire. Those with power abuse those without it. Those without it, abuse those with even less power than they have. It has become a truly dog eat dog world and it is difficult to navigate its streets. In the authentic voice of the Indian people, this story tells a tale of sadness, a tale in which hope is always dashed and a brighter future is always just out of reach, a world in which the brighter future always turns darker.
When the story begins, Ma and her father, Dadu, are filled with hope. They are planning to take two-year-old Mishti to Michigan where they will all reunite with Baba, her father, who has been in a laboratory in America working on a project to prevent the spread of a mosquito-borne illness. He left with the hope that he would be able to bring them there too and provide a better life for them. Ma worries that her husband will not embrace her as he once did, after their separation. However, he secured a place for them to live, arranged for their visas and passports, and was waiting for them to arrive in just a week’s time. He was eager to see them. Frightened but eager too, they traveled to the consulate to pick up the papers that would allow them to escape from the economic and social decline taking place in India. Baba warned them to be careful when they arrived at the airport in Michigan, because the moral decay and shortages had begun to spread to America, as well.
Ma has been able to feed her child well; she manages a shelter from which she has secretly been stealing bits of food and money from the donations. She does not really consider herself a thief, until what she considers a real thief enters their lives. Boomba has been living in the shelter and has witnessed her thievery. He is now determined to steal from her. Boomba not only steals their food and passports, but he sets events in motion that will steal their very opportunity for a better life, and ultimately, even their very identity and lives. Boomba’s actions force Ma to recognize her own shameful behavior and her own moral decline. Still, she reasons, what else is a mother to do? Her father, Dadu, does not want to admit that he is aware of her behavior, because he doesn’t really want answers that will disrupt their lives any further. Right now, their house is air conditioned, they have cold water, unlike many of their fellow citizens, they have a fairly balanced diet, so they are not in dire need, and they are managing well. So, although, they are going to a land of greater opportunity, they are leaving their land of memories and it is a bittersweet adventure.
Meanwhile, a very young Boomba has left his family with the best of intentions. His family was barely surviving. They suffered through one disaster after another, some because of their own choices and some because of circumstances beyond their control. He was determined to prove himself worthy by providing them with a better life, even though he is really too young to take on that burden. Sadly, as his life seems to spin out of control around him, and he is powerless to alter the outcome, his own bad experiences cause him to make poor choices. So, for him, as his family’s needs come before the needs of others, just as Mishti’s needs take precedence for Ma, he dismisses the idea of whether or not his behavior is right or wrong.
He and his family are in dire need. He has never lived as Ma does, with so much abundance. His family lives in shanties, only if they are lucky enough to find one. They live from hand to mouth, just barely making it through each day. They are exposed to the elements. His little brother Robi is suffering. Boomba is desperate to help them. He leaves them behind and heads for Kolkata to make his fortune and provide them with a better life. Although he tries hard, at first, everything he does seems to backfire. He makes reckless decisions. Later on, he causes Ma and Dadu to do the same because he has thrown their lives into turmoil. They all make the choices that are the least likely to succeed, because they are driven by desperation. This book is truly a window into a world of hopelessness and shameful behavior. It does not matter that the actions may have been motivated by goodness and love, because they caused chaos and pain instead. The wretchedness of the lives of some, leave them with no other choice but to put their own needs above the needs of others. That is the only way they will survive. Is that the correct way?
The book leaves many questions to be pondered and many unanswered. What happens to Mishti in the intervening years from her tender age of two, until she reaches the age of one hundred? How and where was she living all that time? What does Baba do when they do not arrive after seven days? Why did Ma tell him so many lies? Why did she keep so many secrets? Is it true that you have no other choice but to take from others when they have more than you do? Is your survival more important than theirs? What drove Boomba to be so cruel on the one hand and so kind on the other. Was he formed by his experiences or was he simply someone with a compromised moral compass from the beginning? Were his actions the result of his love and devotion to his family or his own need for recognition, his own need to prove that he could be successful and accomplish what he had set out to do? Would he provide for his family? Why did the authorities refuse to do their jobs appropriately? Would there be any consequences for anyone’s behavior that brought about so many catastrophes? Was their hopelessness the reason for their behavior, or did their own behavior ultimately cause their hopelessness? Would they become involved or retreat into a world of their own needs, once again, when Mishti reappears in her home with strangers? What is the difference between the characters distinctly named and those who were nameless? In the book there are no answers to these questions. The book only raises them for the reader to consider. From the beginning, this question is asked. Could there have been a different, ultimate outcome?