The Current Arundhati Roy: My mother and I were like two nuclear powers
Dec 23, 2025
Arundhati Roy, an acclaimed Indian author and activist, shares insights about her complex relationship with her mother, Mary, whose formidable spirit inspired much of her writing. Despite their turbulent connection, Roy reveals how Mary's strength and passion for justice shaped her perspectives. She discusses the impact of her mother’s achievements in education and gender rights and reflects on her own journey through grief, writing, and political activism, emphasizing the inseparable nature of literature and social responsibility.
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From Humiliation To Legal Victory
- Arundhati Roy recounts that her mother Mary left a small closed community and built a successful progressive school despite extreme hardship.
- Mary challenged inheritance laws and won equal inheritance for women from India's Supreme Court, shaping Roy's understanding of her strength.
Childhood Rage On A Plane
- Roy describes being cruelly mocked by her mother on a plane at age six, feeling like she disappeared afterward.
- That volatility taught her the safest place can be most dangerous and shaped her distrust of safety into adulthood.
Mother Who Made A Writer
- Despite her harshness, Mary introduced Roy to literature and encouraged her to write about real experiences.
- Roy credits her mother with teaching her to let 'the blood flow in my veins' by writing about what happened each day.