When you hear about the economic boom of 21st century India it's all about call centres, futuristic engineering and a bright vibrant future for the world's largest democracy. What AIDS Sutra tells us about is a side of Indian life that the publicists would prefer to keep hidden. With an estimated 3 million people in India infected by AIDS or HIV, it's not a small problem or one that deserves to be brushed under the carpet.
AIDS Sutra gathers together some of the best contemporary Indian and NRI writers and international commentators to tell the stories of people who have no international voice - the sex workers and their clients and families, drug addicts, men who have sex with men, transexual hijras, and regular folk who drive taxis or trucks or work at the hospital. The writers went around India spending time with charities, NGOs, homes for HIV positive children and groups of infected housewives. Everyone has a story and AIDS Sutra gives a place for those stories to be told.
It's a book about a serious topic but it's still an interesting and beautifully written volume. If you have an interest in contemporary India or in the epidemiology of AIDS, this book is a great buy. I recommend it highly.
