‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is an eye-opening film about the realities of poverty in India.
Now, you’re probably double-checking to make sure you’re reading the right review but fear not, the point is here: When Latika Bourke hears her name in the movie, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, memories she long sought to suppress rise to the surface.
Latika Bourke’s biography, ‘From India With Love’ is a feel-good tale about finding your place in the world and finding peace. Bourke was adopted from an orphanage in India when she was eight months old. She grew up in Bathurst, in a family made up of five biological children and three adoptees. Latika Bourke is an award-winning chief political journalist for Fairfax newspapers as well as a radio presenter at 2UE.
Bourke’s memoir is riddled with fond childhood memories of killer deadly snakes and hay bales and dotted with hilarious failed dating escapades. She uses her wit to describe the life of an aspiring journalist, determined to climb out of country bumpkin status and become the political princess we know of today (less some serious credit card debt).
However, amongst the joyful reminiscent beginnings of the book are scenes of ‘what could be’ and a life left amongst the rubble in India. Haunted by her past, Latika finds herself pushed to embrace the guilt of a past left behind in India.
‘It was much easier to focus on the belief that i was fated, destined to be a Bourke, brought up in Australia. That way I didn’t have to think about the fate I had avoided – the fate shared by so many Indian children born into poverty- and feel guilty that I had somehow escaped, feel guilty about what could have been.’
Latika Bourke’s memoir is an easy-to-read novel which transports its readers from the streets of Bathurst to the helms of extreme poverty in India. Bourke’s deeply personal account of self-discovery gives readers a chance to sift through the mind of the author as she emphatically and gratefully learns about a life she left. Issues of place and purpose are illuminated through a deep description about the inner grapplings of a successful woman in her prime.
The lack of photographs and other visual aids from Bourke’s adventure are amiss. Whilst not every non-fiction novel has these, such a personal account laden with vivd imagery and descriptions would have been enhanced by photography. Many will read this review and think I’ve left little to the imagination and you are right. The novel is simple and simply what is written on the back: The story of how Bourke found peace with her Indian roots. That’s it. There are no surprises.
Bourke’s memoir is a tale of success in two forms. The success of a young professional, with a zest and a desire for journalism, succeeding and accomplishing her dreams. The success of a child, adopted into a loving home, coming to terms with and relinquishing the guilt of leaving a life of poverty. ‘From India With Love’ may be a personal biography but there are lessons buried inside for every reader no matter where you’re from.
Leah Chaiton 