City of Joy
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- City of Joy redirects here. For the film, see City of Joy (film).
| Author | Dominique Lapierre |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Publisher | |
| Released | 1985 |
City of Joy is a novel written by Dominique Lapierre (1985) and a 1992 film directed by Roland Joffé.
[edit] The book
The story concerns a polish priest living in West Bengal, India, Stephan Kovalski, who is trying to help and understand life in a Howrah slum (across the Hooghly river from Kolkata) called Anandnagar (City of Joy). Among its various protagonists is the rickshaw puller, Hasari Pal who becomes a central figure in the novel. Despite the abject poverty and injustice, the inhabitants of Anandnagar display an inscrutable acceptance and celebration of life - an attitude that humbles fate and dignifies life.
The Stephan Kovalski character is inspired by a Swiss missionary, Gaston Grandjean, who became Gaston Dayanand when he took the Indian nationality in 1992, who devoted his life to the poorest.
Despite popular misconception, the book does not deal with Mother Teresa, although it deals with many of the issues that Mother Teresa sought to focus on.
Half of the royalty from the sale of the book goes towards the City of Joy Foundation that looks after slum children in Kolkata.
[edit] External links
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