Against All Odds

Once in a while you come across a book that makes you look at your own life and be thankful for everything that you have, almost ashamed of yourself for being dissatisfied with a normal, secure life.
Against all Odds is one such book. Originally written in Marathi as Kolhatyache Por by Kishore Shantabai Kale (yes, Shantabai is his mother) tells the story of the Kishor; a son of a tamasha dancer of the kolhati community. The book was later written in english by the author himself.
An illegitimate child born in a community where literacy is very rare, where men either become dhol players or pimps, Kishor suffers abuse, starvation, humiliation and yet through sheer persevarance and tenacity not only attends school but goes on to become a doctor. What grit, what determination.
This is Kishor's story told simply, straight from the heart. Your heart goes out to this young boy whose mother, due to circumstances had to leave him with his grand parents and the boy's longing for his mother.
You feel disgust for the way the men in this community treat their daughters. You feel rage for the women for quietly accepting their fate and not fight back.
Most of all you feel sheer admiration for the boys hard-work and passion to study.Every once in a while he gets help from some relatives, but mostly it is only hard work that sees him achieve his goal. From cooking, cleaning and other household chores to selling clothes and at times even pimping his aunts, Kishor's is a story of never ending struggles to get the few rupees needed to buy books.
A worthy read that essentially tells us never to give up.