The White Tiger – yet another book that makes a mockery of the slogan “India Rising”. It is distinguished from the book of the same genre (‘Q&A’ and ‘Past Continuous’ to some extent) by several factors. The style of narration is excellent. The author has shown the class conflict, caste system, religious hatred, illiteracy and all the other things that are pulling India back. Surely it deserved the booker prize.
It’s a tale of seven nights. In those nights the central character of the novel – the white tiger writes letters to the Premier of China, Mr. Wen Jiabao. He pretends to share his knowledge with Mr. Jiabao about how to become a successful entrepreneur. He tells his own story. He tells how he became a successful entrepreneur from a loyal driver. In which he actually says how he became a corrupt fellow from an honest man.
The author has bifurcated India into two parts, namely, the Darkness and the enlightened world. The central character Balram Halwai was born in the Darkness – in a village called Laxmangarh. He hailed from the lower class people of India. His father was a rickshaw puller who wanted his son to live like a human being. Yes, it happened at last, but surely not in the way his father dreamt. Though Balram was a bright student (he was named the white tiger by his school inspector), he had to leave his studies and join the tea shop to work as a boy. He had an urge to break out from the Rooster Coop of the Darkness. He learned driving and went to Delhi. He then discovered the truth hidden in the lines of a poem he loved – “You were looking for the key for years / But the door was always open!” And yes, he found the key. He sarcastically calls himself an enlightened fellow, though he knows very well that he is a sinner, a fugitive, a murderer.
The poverty, the agony, the corruption, the mutual hatred among different classes and different religions has been vividly described. There is a saying that the backward people remain backward because they are backward. In this novel we see its practical example. Balram’s family considers him a money earning machine. They think that five years of schooling is more than enough. They use their muscles and not their brain. The corruption in the Darkness is never ending because nobody is bothered about it. When Balram’s father died of TB, untreated, he takes it as his misfortune. Nobody lodges any complain anywhere. When the leading political party rigs the booths openly nobody dares to protest. One man, who protests, gets killed by the party cadres and the police.
The situation is almost same in the enlightened world as well. Politicians exploit dishonest businessmen who want to evade income tax. If they kill some fellow in some accident, they may fix it with bribes to police, the judges and the ministers. Balram himself takes this strategy when he becomes rich. One nice thing is to notice that he had a moral sense when he was a servant, but he loses it gradually. He understood that he is going to be a slave all over his life if he strictly follows his morals since the whole society is full of rogues. He commits the crime to come out from the bondage.
It’s to be noticed that the author never supported any particular class or community or any individual. He just portrays what he sees – the judgement is left for the readers. All over the novel we see his frustration, his anger and his pain for the people of this country. He abuses the radicals like Muslim terrorists and the Naxals. Again he expresses his anger to the people who want to avoid any conflict and want to seat idle.
One fact remains untold – he also shows that India is rising. There is a crisis of employee in Bangalore since the demand for labour is high. But at the same time he points out that this rising is for the enlightened ones, the fully baked ones and not for the people in the Darkness.
From any angle, it’s a far better book than the books of its genre. I am looking forward to reading his second novel, “Between the Assassinations”.
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