Later in the book, the Italianate tiles come back into play when the Husains try to refurbish their hut, and the tiles become not just an aesthetic addition but also a more hygienic option as a cutting board, because they don't have fissures in which bacteria can become trapped.Īs every slumdweller knew, there were three main ways out of poverty: finding an entrepreneurial niche, as the Husains had found in garbage politics and corruption, in which Asha placed her hopes and education. The product being described as "Beautiful Forever" is a frivolous luxury-marble countertops-and the majority of the community that lies behind the advertisement lives without the most basic of needs. The ironic revelation of the title's origin stings with cynicism and blazing critique of the capitalist institutions overrunning Mumbai and widening the wealth gap into a gaping chasm. The figurative meaning of the word behind becomes literal in the sense that the town of Annawadi is literally directly behind the advertisement. This revelation of the title's origin subverts the flowery language with which it is rendered and takes a phrase that sounds extremely general and figurative and grounds it in a specific place and context. This passage explains the origin of the book's title, Behind the Beautiful Forevers. Sunil regularly walked atop the Beautiful Forever wall, surveying for trash, but Airport Road was unhelpfully clean. The ads were for Italianate floor tiles, and the corporate slogan ran the wall’s length: BEAUTIFUL FOREVER BEAUTIFUL FOREVER BEAUTIFUL FOREVER.
#THE TERMINAL QUOTES DRIVERS#
Drivers approaching the terminal from the other direction would see only a concrete wall covered with sunshine-yellow advertisements. The airport people had erected tall, gleaming aluminum fences on the side of the slum that most drivers passed before turning into the international terminal. This short anecdote helps the reader to understand the psychology of Sunil's withdrawn behavior, the way his aversion to begging began as an act of pride and eventually became simply a habit. Here, Boo delves into the private mind of Sunil, a young garbage picker, and describes his rehearsed fantasy of encountering a charitable foreigner who recognizes the honor in his refusal to beg. But by then, the habit of not asking anyone for anything had become a part of who he was. Eventually, he’d come to realize the improbability of his hope, and his general indistinction in the mass of need. For years, he had waited for this discriminating visitor to meet his eye he planned to introduce himself as “Sunny,” a name a foreigner might like. Instead he’d harbored the idea that one of the women might single him out, reward his dignified restraint. At the orphanage, when rich white women visited, Sunil had refused to beg for rupees. He minded being unpitiable only at mealtime. Karam is a perfect example of someone whose health suffers for a lifetime in garbage work his lungs are weak from decades of breathing in burning plastics, chewing plastics, and using his "nose, mouth, and ears" to determine the monetary value of garbage.
This quote demonstrates the way which garbage pickers and garbage sorters must sacrifice their own wellbeing to make a living.
#THE TERMINAL QUOTES HOW TO#
In this quote, Karam Husain advises his son Abdul on how to use his senses and his body to assess the value of garbage. A fresh smell indicates good-quality polyurethane. If it’s hard plastic, snap it in half and inhale. Its ring will tell you what it’s made of. “Use your nose, mouth, and ears, not just your scales.” Tap the metal scrap with a nail. His comment also emphasizes a broader national narrative that poverty in India has been addressed and that the millions of citizens who are still living in slums have overcome the tribulations of poverty and have benefitted from globalization and India's tech boom this is a narrative pushed by India's elite and public officials, when the fact is that still, many of India's citizens live in crushing poverty, and the tech boom and subsidized agricultural advancements actually widen the wealth gap and contribute to the suffering of many. Mirchi refers to the rapid development of downtown Mumbai happening all around the slums, leaving the poorest citizens to starve and struggle in the shadow of multi-billion dollar hotel complexes.
“And we’re the shit in between.” Mirchi (Prologue) “Everything around us is roses” is how Abdul’s younger brother, Mirchi, put it.
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