I recently read this book named ‘White Tiger’ by author Aravind Adiga. This book is a slow and brutal sequence of criticism with a sarcastic tone about almost everything that exists in current India, be it rural area or be it an Urban area.
The story revolves around a guy named Munna who is later christened as ‘Balram’ by a school teacher simply because Munna is not a name in real sense, it means ‘A boy’. He is from a village which he calls ‘The Darkness’ because of lack of privileges and facilities present there. The book describes his experiences through various phases of life spent in village and later in the city where he manages to find work as a driver to a wealthy NRI.
He is a keen observant and a self-motivated learner and above all he has a business mind. The writing style of the book is such a way that he is narrating his story to Premier of China in a book-long letter in first person and all the events have happened in the past while he talks in his letter to the Premier.
Vast disparity between the classes, willingness to get education, disappointment at not able to do so due to extreme poverty, death of father due to poor medical facilities, rural family of too many number of non-working-and-just-eating mouths,
lack of basic facilities due to being born in a village, slavery to the masters - the protagonist faces all this at his early life but he makes
efforts to escape and overcome these hurdles.
He works at a tea-shop and based on the conversations of people coming to tea-shop, decides to make his living by becoming a driver, he learns at every level – a kind of a real education to survive which is probably not taught in any school.
He learns to drive , then finds a job as a driver in a rich man’s house to drive his America returned son ‘Ashok’. He has to fight for all this. he experiences competition, corruption at every level, but he uses his opportunist mind at its best. He understands that there are only two classes, 1. ‘Rich and powerful’
2. Poor and helpless
Poor serve rich , the weak and helpless are servants to Rich and are treated like slaves.
He breaks free from his earlier states to reach a better state. He continuously educates himself from conversations of his masters and realizes that the only way to overcome the disparity between poor, powerless and rich, powerful is to become the latter.
His ambitions turn into rage to get to the top and he murders his master and flees with the huge sum of money to Bangalore where he establishes himself as a
Entrepreneur.
Now he is successful, a part of the lot: “Rich and Powerful”, but His innocence is lost in this journey.
The white tiger resembles to this character of Balram only for the fact that it’s so rare.
It’s rare to find a person willing to overcome the boundaries of classes and poverty , and break the so called ‘rooster coop’ author’s term for people being stuffed in to cages with label as ‘poor/low caste/inter-caste/ unprivileged /workers /servants for ages and are never been able to come out.
This books criticizes almost everything : differences between poor and rich, religious beliefs and racism, politics and political minds, so called entrepreneurs, growing economy, Relationships in the Families living under poverty line, rural life, urban life, globalization, corruption, justice system, marriage system, sexism, illiteracy. You name it , and you have it right there in the book.
I liked this book because I was hooked to it till the end. The protagonist’s long banter hits your head hard. Sometimes, in the middle I just could not put up with the criticism wrapped under the dark humor.
It’s so apt but being an Indian and being already aware of all the issues discussed in the book, I just could not see all of it it out there in front of my eyes at one go, one after other in the form of pages in this book.
Its harsh reality but I would really feel stressed and burdened by it if all of it is put in front of me that way. I felt the pangs of stress by visiting the reality that’s so hard to swallow down.
Sure this books will keep ringing in my head every now and then and you know why it should be: because I am an Indian living under the realities mentioned in the book.
I read on wiki that Adiga explained why the book is written full of criticism. In his words “the criticism by writers like Flaubert, Balzac and Dickens of the 19th century helped England and France become better societies".
Here’s a link to one of his interview:
http://in.rediff.com/news/2008/may/02inter1.htm
I wish Adiga’s vision becomes reality. Sure such books, and criticism might bring a shift in the mindset of Indians and give rise to an improved society.
That’s the reason of writing this post, I would recommend this book to every Indian.
To change the mindset is in our hands, and I do hope that might happen through such criticism although as a slow process but it will happen.
So people! Do read this book.
I wish there may be many writers like Adiga whose criticism can bring this change.
If not, then at least what I am sure to do is ‘punch the ogre’ every time I face people crossing on roads recklessly, mindlessly and crowds replicating more crowds. That’s what Balram does to wash off his frustration and anger. He punches a ogre which is hanging as a show-piece in the front of the City Honda car of his Master 'Ashok'.
