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curious question
Greetings,
I am considering writing a short novel on the way children are sold into
labor or prostitution in India. The characters will all be children who
are named after gods and whose lives represented a twisted version of the
mythical tale. For example, Krishna's parents will be in jail while he is
born. A very evil guard offers to take the child and keep him until the
parents get released, but instead takes Krishna and sells him into a child
labor practice which enslaves the children. Here in this labor prison, he
will meet other young men like Rama, Arjuna , and Buddha who are all in
the same plight.
When the kids are too old to be profitable, they are thrown into the
streets. Krishna becomes a rikshaw puller and the other boys get other
menial jobs. The boys cannot make ends meet so they decide to rob a
house. Krishna is pulling Arjuna to the house they are going to rob and
then Arjuna starts to get queasy about robbing the house. This is when
Krishna tells him the importance of survival and how they have no other
choice. This scene will be modeled around the scene in the Bhagavad-Gita
where Krishna is extolling the Vedic philosophies of life while driveing
Arjuna's chariot, but here Krishna will be telling Arjuna about the
realities of life in the slums of India while pulling a rikshaw.
I do not want this to be offensive. I just want it to be a poignant look
at the life of indian slum children and the harsh pressures they must face
in order to survive. There will be a recurring theme in the story of
people praying, but never getting their prayers answered. This is one of
the reasons I want to retell the mythical stories with a very grim twist
of reality.
Would you find this to be offensive or as a fresh look at the Indian
poverty?
Please send comments if you have any.
Thanks,
Rad
