In 1978, Roberts was sentenced to a 19-year
imprisonment in Australia after being convicted of a series of armed robberies
of building society branches, credit unions, and shops. In July 1980, he
escaped from Victoria's Pentridge Prison in broad daylight, thereby becoming
one of Australia's most wanted men for the next ten years.
The protagonist Lindsay (according to the
book, Roberts' fake name) arrives in Bombay carrying a false passport in the
name of Lindsay Ford. Mumbai was supposed to be only a stopover on a journey
that was to take him from New Zealand to Germany, but he decides to stay in the
city. Lindsay soon meets a local man named Prabaker whom he hires as a guide.
Prabaker soon becomes his friend and names him Lin (Linbaba). Both men visit Prabaker's
native village, Sunder, where Prabaker's mother decided to give Lin a new
Maharashtrian name, like her own. Because she judged his nature to be blessed
with peaceful happiness, she decided to call him Shantaram, meaning Man of
God's Peace. On their way back to Mumbai, Lin and Prabaker are robbed. With all
his possessions gone, Lin is forced to live in the slums, which shelters him
from the authorities. After a massive fire on the day of his arrival in the
slum, he sets up a free health clinic as a way to contribute to the community.
He learns about the local culture and customs in this crammed environment, gets
to know and love the people he encounters, and even becomes fluent in Marathi,
the local language. He also witnesses and battles outbreaks of cholera and
firestorms, becomes involved in trading with the lepers, and experiences how
ethnic and marital conflicts are resolved in this densely crowded and diverse
community.
The novel describes a number of foreigners of
various origins, as well as local Indians, highlighting the rich diversity of
life in Mumbai. Lin falls in love with Karla, a Swiss-American woman, befriends
local artists and actors, landing him roles as an extra in several Bollywood
movies, and is recruited by the Mumbai underworld for various criminal
operations, including drug and weapons trade. Lin eventually lands in Mumbai's
Arthur Road Prison. There, along with hundreds of other inmates, he endures
brutal physical and mental abuse from the guards, while existing under extremely
squalid conditions. However, thanks to the protection of the Afghan mafia don
"Abdel Khader Khan", Lin is eventually released, and begins to work
in a black-market currency exchange and passport forgery. Having traveled as
far as Africa on trips commissioned by the mafia, Lin later goes to Afghanistan
to smuggle weapons for mujahideen freedom fighters. When his mentor Khan is
killed, Lin realizes he has become everything he grew to loathe and falls into
depression after he returns to India. He decides that he must fight for what he
believes is right and build an honest life. The story ends with him planning to
go to Sri Lanka, which lays the premise for the sequel to this book.
Source: Wikipedia