'Elastic Girl highlights the cruelties, indignities and injustice of child trafficking. An enlightening and gripping read.' Joanna Lumley
Before Muthu Tikaram is born, her grandfather murders the family's landlord, an act of violence that shapes Muthu's life from the very beginning.
Too young to understand the repercussions of this act of brutality, Muthu knows only that her two older sisters are given special treatment while she is forced to sell rotis on the dusty roadside, dreaming of escape.
When the family find themselves destitute and living by the side of the railway station, Muthu is sold to The Great Raman Circus of Chennai. Her father convinces her that this is the only way to help free her family from poverty, and in her innocence Muthu imagines that with her extraordinary contortionist abilities she will become a star, just like all her Bollywood idols.
Muthu's hopes for glamour and excitement are short lived, as she is transported into a world of misery and abuse. After several years of enslavement, she plans her escape with her friend Gloria, convinced that they can make it on their own in Mumbai, the City of Dreams. Will Muthu succeed in making her name as the Elastic Girl or will her dreams turn into a nightmare?
This poignant tale draws attention to the plight of child performers in India, and on the horrors of child trafficking, but as Muthu tries to make sense of her existence, readers will discover the true strength of the "Elastic Girl."
About the Author: Olivia Rana was inspired in part to write Elastic Girl by the work of photographer Mary Ellen Mark, who captured images of child circus performers in India. She also drew on information from Child Rescue Nepal (formerly the Esther Benjamins Trust) who are active in helping children and women who are trafficked into slavery.
Rana holds a master's degree in creative writing and teaches a novel-writing course at Queens University.
Rana is married with two children. She lives with her family in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
