Vultures Of Paradise
Our ignorance has converted us into waste-producing machines. We are robots fuelled by avarice and indifference, who only want to possess more…and more…and more…And at what cost And why?
-Atulya Misra
‘Vultures Of Paradise‘ is the story of a young well heeled Indian origin girl who overnight becomes the richest woman in the world featuring in Forbes after the sudden death of her father, a Steel Industrialist. In order to cope with the deathblow for which she blames herself and to prove the world her worth, the protagonist ‘Neha‘ decides to create her own unique business venture.
After dwindling with multiple business ideas and a strange incident that takes her to Bombay and the Zorastian community’s ‘Tower Of Silence‘. She decides to turn into a ‘Vulture’ and build her empire around waste management, the biggest problem faced by the world. Soon her company gets multiple offers and funds but her team has no plan where and what is to be done with the dump.
Later Neha makes a ‘Three Clause’ surreal deal with the king of a country in Central Africa and creates the biggest dumpyard in the world in his country. Everything runs smoothly and promising, flourishing manifolds until a sudden radioactive leak occurs causing widespread radioactive exposure not restricted to one country but the entire world. How does Neha and her team come out of this catastrophe which is the result of their greed, lack of knowledge and incompetence makes one ponder and understand a lot about world politics, privilege, various types of garbage and the inhumane activity of humans.
The book is more of a contemporary fiction with elements of mysticism and Vedic Astrology defining some important events in the story. I wished the author had invested more into framing drama around the world problems due to waste, relatable characters and solid ground solutions.
#readingfatima
I loved the cover art. The story comes with a repetitive message of using less resources and respecting Mother Earth. Nevertheless the wide experience of the author is reflected in the various journeys Neha takes throughout the book.
Bombay Reader 