Reading the rave reviews of “The White Tiger” which won the Man Booker,I thought -must be another of those India bashing, poverty tourism, cows on the road type of a book to draw such international acclaim (Slumdog is another example). When I picked up the book it was with a ‘let’s see what is so great about it’ attitude. 10 pages down the line, I thought – ‘it is ok, not exceptionally brilliant language’. 10 more pages down the line, I was hooked ,with a capital H. The book made me feel like Balram Halwai -the protagonist, the man who was brought up in Darkness where basic amenities are not available, who dreams to be an important man with a lot of chandeliers, branded goods, Mac’s at his disposal
Balram’s lack of a proper name ( “Munna” was what he was called till a school master christened him as Balram), the corruption of the school teacher, his brilliance amongst the not so bright lot earning him the nick ‘The White Tiger’, his mother’s death etc. just grabbed my attention. The angst , the frustration, the cynic in him calling ‘River Ganga’ which is considered very sacred as a highly polluted river with human excreta floating around jolted me out of my comfort zone. His ambition to wear a khakhi uniform with a shiny whistle ala a bus conductor (who later rises to become the right hand of a politician) soon makes him a driver to the son (Ashok)of the richest man of his village and his wife Pinky. The servant politics, being forced to massage the landlord’s filthy legs, taking dogs for a walk, playing badminton with Pinky madam are some of the highlights of his life at Dhanbad as the driver.
Once the scene shifts to Delhi where the US returned man with a conscience Ashok & Pinky relocate to settle some under-the-table dealing with the ministers, our Balram becomes the man to rely upon, be it ferrying Ashok to the minister or taking a hit and run(credit goes to Pinky’s inebriated condition) blame, Balram is the man. The corruption of Balram is complete when he eyes the ‘dirty money’ to be handed over to the minister and kills Ashok for it. Escaping to Bangalore where he turns an entrepreuner even as police are looking for him helps him achieve what he always wanted -to be an important man , with a lot of chandeliers (one in the bathroom too!) in the end.
The format of the book – letters to Wen Jiabo by “The White Tiger” (alias Ashok alias Balram Halwai who takes up his victim’s name), the simple writing and the content came together to make it a Man booker winner which it surely deserved.
Verdict : Must Read. 8/10
2. Connect hamburgers and JM Barrie
