Aravind Adiga writes about the life of Balram Halwai: a driver turned entrepreneur. It a dark story about rags-to-riches. The book is in the form of an autobiography where Balram writes about his success in letter. Balram writes the written over seven nights.
The story starts with Balram's childhood in a poor family. His village is under the control of ruthless and greedy landlords. The poor in the village are in a vicious cycle of debt. Balram is the brightest kid in school and is impresses the official who took surprise inspection at his school. This official calls him 'The White Tiger': one that comes once in a generation. Balram's father is a rickshaw puller. After his father's death he is forced to drop out of school. From there his life takes a turn and he starts off by breaking coals at a tea shop. Balram has keen interest in the latest news and learns by evesdropping on the customers. This inquisitiveness is instrumental in shaping his future.
He has realistic role models in local people such as the bus conductor who rose from a family of 'pigheards'. This is a low caste in Hindu caste system in India. The author emphasizes how the caste system influences peoples perception. He overhers someone say that that there is good money to be made in being a car driver for the rich. He convinces his brother and granny to come up with the training fee and learns the skill.
Once he learns driving he goes door-to-door looking for work. He realizes that people hire drivers only based on recommendations. Destiny however had something in store for him. He ends up getting hired by a coal mining family. He drives Ashok and his wife Pinky, who had returned from the US to India. The author touches on topics where the wife wants to return to the US while the husband wants to stay back. The story goes into political dealings of the family to avoid taxes. Balram watches large sums of money change hands.
The story is a page turner because it weaves into his experiences. Balram's story is almost like an anti-climax where he starts off with what he has done. It keeps your attention till the very end and you are eager to know how and why he did it. The author writes in a simple language with easy words. This novel has all the dark elements: betrayal, poverty, corruption. Its a Machiavellian story where Balram decides that the end justifies the means.
Showing posts with label Aravind Adiga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aravind Adiga. Show all posts
February 9, 2010
January 31, 2010
Between The Assasinations
Seven days in a town in India : Kittur. Aravind Adiga's book goes over incidents that happen with different people in the town in 1985. The stories mostly unfold from the eyes of the poor. The stories are fairly independent of each other but all happen on the same steets and neighborhoods of Kittur.
The books starts with a poor honest boy, Ziauddin, who comes to Kittur hungry and broke. He works hard at a teashop and gains everyone's trust and favor. As the story goes on, he does wrong things for another fair-skinned Pathan who treats him well.
The next story is about a honest businessman Abbasi. He is torn between running his business and blinding the women who do the delicate embroidery work. Every step of the way he is faced with corruption and bribery.
The authors characters think deep, a class apart from their peers. The philosophical thoughts come from the journalist, the communist, the cart puller and the guy who earns a living spraying mosquito repellent. Some characters like "Xerox" Ramakrishna are ironic. The illiterate guy sells illegal photocopies of bestsellers. The irony is not only in his profession, but that he loves books in his own way.
There is a common thread in all his stories: the caste system in India. He describes the struggles of the Hoykas; both the underprivileged and the rich. Shankara Kinni is has as upper caste father and a lower caste mother. He struggles to get accepted in society ends up doing a serious mischief. Continuing with classrooms, the author talks about assitant headmaster Mr D'Mello. He pins hopes and expectations on his favorite student who he cares about more than his own children.
Keshava is another character like Ziauddin. With sheer harwork he rises among his peers, only to be forgotten once his is on no use to anyone. Gururaj is a journalist who wants to do the right thing. However, he realizes that the facts are doctored and controlled by the people in power. Chenayya is the cartpuller who realizes that he is going nowhere with his current job. His struggles to get a new job and his hardwork give us a glimpse of the unpriviileged.
The author deals with abuse in the story of a construction worker. Jayamma's is the story of an unmarried old Brahmin woman who spends her life working as a maid the houses of various rich people. George earns the trust of Mrs Gomes with his hard work but eventually falls in her eyes.
Ratna Shetty is a quack who turns selfless when the situation demands it. The author deals with how society perceives a childless couple. Murali was a budding author with an interste in politics. He devotes his entire life to Communism only to have second thoughts about it.
There is a similarity in the stories that Murali wrote and this book. It talks about people who just think and want nothing. The book takes you to a different place and time. Its easy to get immersed in the story and empathize with the characters.
While we have our own worries, this book pull us into the dregs of humanity. There are people who are in absolute poverty. When we tap away at our computers, there are people struggling to ends meet. Struggling to gain acceptance. Struggling to survive. This exisied not just in 1985, but sadly now as well.
The books starts with a poor honest boy, Ziauddin, who comes to Kittur hungry and broke. He works hard at a teashop and gains everyone's trust and favor. As the story goes on, he does wrong things for another fair-skinned Pathan who treats him well.
The next story is about a honest businessman Abbasi. He is torn between running his business and blinding the women who do the delicate embroidery work. Every step of the way he is faced with corruption and bribery.
The authors characters think deep, a class apart from their peers. The philosophical thoughts come from the journalist, the communist, the cart puller and the guy who earns a living spraying mosquito repellent. Some characters like "Xerox" Ramakrishna are ironic. The illiterate guy sells illegal photocopies of bestsellers. The irony is not only in his profession, but that he loves books in his own way.
There is a common thread in all his stories: the caste system in India. He describes the struggles of the Hoykas; both the underprivileged and the rich. Shankara Kinni is has as upper caste father and a lower caste mother. He struggles to get accepted in society ends up doing a serious mischief. Continuing with classrooms, the author talks about assitant headmaster Mr D'Mello. He pins hopes and expectations on his favorite student who he cares about more than his own children.
Keshava is another character like Ziauddin. With sheer harwork he rises among his peers, only to be forgotten once his is on no use to anyone. Gururaj is a journalist who wants to do the right thing. However, he realizes that the facts are doctored and controlled by the people in power. Chenayya is the cartpuller who realizes that he is going nowhere with his current job. His struggles to get a new job and his hardwork give us a glimpse of the unpriviileged.
The author deals with abuse in the story of a construction worker. Jayamma's is the story of an unmarried old Brahmin woman who spends her life working as a maid the houses of various rich people. George earns the trust of Mrs Gomes with his hard work but eventually falls in her eyes.
Ratna Shetty is a quack who turns selfless when the situation demands it. The author deals with how society perceives a childless couple. Murali was a budding author with an interste in politics. He devotes his entire life to Communism only to have second thoughts about it.
There is a similarity in the stories that Murali wrote and this book. It talks about people who just think and want nothing. The book takes you to a different place and time. Its easy to get immersed in the story and empathize with the characters.
While we have our own worries, this book pull us into the dregs of humanity. There are people who are in absolute poverty. When we tap away at our computers, there are people struggling to ends meet. Struggling to gain acceptance. Struggling to survive. This exisied not just in 1985, but sadly now as well.
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