Books: A Life Less Ordinary

A Life Less Ordinary

Baby Halder

Price: Rs 195

Publisher: Zubaan and Penguin

Every once in a while you read a book that hits you, that makes you sit up and think. This is the incredible story of Baby Halder, a Bengali domestic help. Baby’s story is awesome in many ways, and not least because she survived to tell the tale.

Her mother abandons her family, leaving her with a father who’s distracted at best. He gets her married off as quick as he can - she’s barely 12. She’s barely 14 when she gives birth to her first son.

She’s much too young for the kind of life she’s forced to lead, much too young to be bashed up by a no-good husband, and much too gutsy to let all this get her down. She packs bag and baggage and leaves with a vague address for a relative in the big city (Delhi). All she’s got is her kids, her ability to work hard, and her spirit.

Her luck just about changes when her employer, Tatush (Premchand’s grandson) encourages her to read (she starts with Taslima Nasreen), and then write. Write what? Well, her story. And it’s a gripping read. It’s hard to get through in several parts because of the stark nature of Baby’s world, but there’s a reality check for you. Even though I was initially sceptical that this would be some deliberate feel-good clap-trap, I was clean bowled over. It’s not patronising or too clever, or corny, even. It’s written in a simple style, lapsing from the first person to the third and is a testament to a life, like a journal.

And meeting Baby at the launch of the English translation of her book (originally in Bangla, called Aalo Aandhari, or From Darkness to Light), I saw what a delight she is. Shy, charming and adorable, she bounded over to hug Nandita Das as soon as the actor walked in. When asked who could play her in a movie, Baby didn’t hesitate before saying just a Nandita Das or a Konkona Sen would manage!

She definitely is a character. And now a source of inspiration - Urvashi Butalia of Zubaan (who translated from Hindi to the English version) says her help was practically in tears after reading Aalo Aandhari and couldn’t believe the woman who’d written it was this young woman, a “compatriot, if you like” and not some old fogey who’d copped it centuries ago.

And Baby is still only in her early 30s. She’s got a lot more to offer, too - she’s working on a sequel, and is all set to rock the international circuit, with translations slated for German and French.