Dominique Lapierre wants Mumbai to spread joy

Always carrying the hand-bell of his deceased rickshaw-puller friend Hasari Pal as a constant reminder of the voice of the common man, writer Dominique LaPierre is in Mumbai after celebrating his 80th birthday at 24 Parganas and the Sunderbands. The Padma Bhushan recipient, known by the local children as Dominique Dada, is celebrated for writing City of Joy in 1985 which highlighted the plight of the poverty-stricken Kolkata.

A citizen of honour there since 1981 he, in the words of municipal president KK Basu, wrote about the resilience of the people of the city for the world.

The founder of nonprofit organisation City of Joy Aid, he is in Mumbai to urge Indian entrepreneurs to be a part of his crusade that is fought on behalf of the poorest of the poor. Earlier this week, DNA met up with the writer at The Taj Mahal Hotel where he was staying with his wife, also called Dominique.

  
Q: What about the founding of the Indian State prompted you to write Freedom at Midnight, your first book on India?
A: Freedom at Midnight which I wrote in 1975 was about the end of the colonial era. It was abut the independence of 1/5th of humanity. It had great actors like Gandhi, Nehru and Mountbatten. It was a momentous event in the history of the world.

After it sold over 8 million copies, I wanted to show my gratitude to the people of India. When I flew to Calcutta with $50 in my pocket in 1981, I came across an institution, Udayan which sheltered and educated children suffering from leprosy. Giving them the $50, I  promised ‘you will never close Udayan’

The royalties of City of Joy, which I wrote In 1985, was instrumental in curing 2 million TB patients, digging 651 tube wells for drinking water, opening 52 schools and launching 4 hospital boats that brought medical help to 59 islands.

Q: Calcutta has changed since City of Joy was published.
A: Yes, as I was getting down from the airport, I saw a sign that read ‘Welcome to Kolkata, the City of joy’. I coined that expression. In 6 months, my new book India my Beloved that shares incidents and anecdotes about my 50-year association with India will be published here. It has been a great success in France, Italy and Spain.

Q: Why do you think that Europe would find a book about India appealing?
A: I think it will depend on the quality of the books.

Q: With the Left finally ousted, do you think political change will reflect on the city’s socio-economic status?
A: As a foreigner, I don’t speak politics. I have a love for the people of India. India must do what is best for the people of India.
 
Q: You have been an associate of Mother Teresa. How do you react to scathing critics of her like Christopher Hitchens?
A: For me, Mother Teresa was a symbol of charity. I’m proud to say that every time we traveled in alleys of a slum, it was like a wave of love swept over the place. Those who criticize are those who do nothing.

Q: Who inspired you apart from her?
A: Mahatma Gandhi. He was a leader who belonged to humanity. Today, we desperately lack a Gandhi- a man with vision. He spoke of love, tolerance  and non-violence. My greatest experience was being invited to Sabarmati Ashram, where Gandhiji stayed in 1915.
 
Q: After writing thoroughly researched non-fiction like Is Paris burning?, O Jerusalem with Larry Collins, what made you write The Fifth Horseman in 1980 where Muammar Gaddafi holds New York hostage with a nuclear bomb?
A: It was an experience. I wouldn’t call it fiction, but faction. The threat could be very true and very real. What happened to Gaddafi recently shows that we were right. The scenario was quite plausible. Small atomic weapons can be introduced in any city, be it New York or Paris. If nuclear blackmail is going to come, that’s how its going to come.

 Q: In 2001, you wrote Five Past Midnight in Bhopal. With another anniversary rolling by and controversy with the London Games, what do you make of Dow Chemical’s role in the tragedy?
A: For 27 years after the leakage of Methyl Isocynate, the toxic effluents still remain and seep underground with every monsoon, poisoning water sources. The poor have to drink this water and they have been fighting with Dow to clean up the waste, which it has refused to do.
 
Personally, I think it is a scandal that that company is sponsoring the Olympics. I hope the government is tough enough to oblige the Olympic Committee into dropping Dow.
 
Instead of spending millions on the Game, it should start by cleaning the effluents.

The publication of Five Past Midnight created a worldwide alarm and prevented pesticides plants from springing up in 5 countries. With the loyalties from the book a gynecological centre was built and it sees 300 patients everyday.
 

Q: Are you optimistic about Indian entrepreneurs aiding you crusade?
A: Two thirds of the funding that goes into running 14 centres is what we receive from the royalties from my books. We need to find $1 million in support. I have spoken with warmth and enthusiasm to entreprenurs. Recently I have opened the Dominique LaPierre Centre for Excellence for handicapped students in Calcutta. The Tata Group have been helpful by providing ambulances for children and for the hospitality it has provided me. 40 years ago I was in this hotel, one of the finest in the world, researching for Freedom at Midnight.

Q: What was it like winning the Padma Bhushan?
A: Receiving the honour in Rashtrapati Bhavan was really beautiful. It was the very place where Mountbatten had given Independence to India. I had been there many times while writing Freedom at Midnight and yet there I was receiving this award that is practically never given to foreigners, I felt, at that moment that I was entering the great Indian family.

Q: Would you say your constant travelling is a source of inspiration. When are you going to stop?
A: I travel as much as I can. I am always in curiosity of the world and I will keep fighting for my cause until my last breathe.  Meeting people is the best way to understand their problems, their aspirations. I never cease to marvel about the beautiful India. There is a campaign ‘Incredible India’. After 50 years, for me it is still Incredible India!