"Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing"

Arundhati Roy’s evocative language conjures the vision of an alternative future, alive and imminent, not as a utopian abstraction but as an entity with presence and agency. Imagining “another world” as a living, breathing woman gives the concept of social transformation a tangible and almost haunting nearness. Roy refuses to dismiss hope as naivety; instead, she insists the possibility of radical change is not a distant dream, but a force already making its approach.

The personification of “another world” as “she” speaks to creation, nurturing, perhaps even a maternal spirit, suggesting that transformation is not merely a reactive process but one bound up with care, patience, and resilience. This alternate reality is not thrust upon the world aggressively or with bravado. Instead, Roy’s phrase “on her way” radiates both promise and subtlety, the sense that movements for justice and compassion simmer quietly beneath the visible surface of our turbulent times.

The final line, “On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing,” offers a poetic meditation on hope. There is an intimate, almost sacred listening implied here, asserting that beyond the noise of oppression, violence, and cynicism, there lies the presence of something new. Renewal is not always announced with spectacle; often, it is perceptible only to those willing to listen in stillness, to those attuned to the subtle signals of profound change. Roy’s words suggest that attentiveness and faith are themselves acts of resistance against despair.

Without dismissing the gravity of injustice or the work ahead, Roy’s vision is ultimately one of persistence and subtle anticipation. By giving “another world” a heartbeat, she encourages readers, particularly those disheartened by the slow pace of progress, to remain alert, hopeful, and receptive to the quiet yet insistent breath of new possibilities.