We learn Balram's life story courtesy of letters he has taken upon himself to write to the premier of China. He wrote these letters to educate the premier so that he wouldn't be fooled by any of the false pictures the politicians he meets might paint about life in India when he comes for his official state visit. Balram decides the best way for the premier to understand what life in India is like is by telling him the story of his, Balram's, life.
The first lesson Balram has for us is the reality of rural life in India. In his small village everybody is beholden to one of four landlords. If you want to grow anything you have to pay money to one person. If you want to graze animals you have to pay money to another. If you want to use the roads to make money as a rickshaw driver, you pay 10% of everything you earn to a third. Finally, the fourth one owns the waters. If you want to fish or use the water to transport goods, you pay him.
It's after Balram's family is forced to borrow money from one of the landlords to pay for a cousin's dowry that he has to leave school and start working in teahouses. Balram is destined for greater things, though, and his grandmother comes up with 600 rupees so he may learn to drive and get a job driving for a wealthy man. Through blind luck he happens to show up at his landlord's compound on the day the youngest son has returned from America and needs his own driver. This begins his long climb out of the darkness of poverty.
Balram is not just a driver. It turns out he's expected to cook, clean, and do whatever else his new master needs him to do. When his master moves to New Delhi, Balram moves with him and drives him around the capital as he greases the palms of all the various political fixers and parliamentarians that need greasing in order to ensure the family business survives. One hundred thousand rupees here, two hundred thousand there, and Balram sits in the front seat seeing nothing, but witnessing it all.
Article comments
1 - k led
well, you don't understand - these writers just expose the beautiful country called india to west, to let the west run their tounge and eyes over her belly. Look at kiran desai - who reads her -but she has a booker - now this guy. Teh only good writers india had are vikram seth and salman rushdie - uptill now - well tomorrow, an unknown, depleted genius might spring fro nowhere, without awards, and fame - and he will change literature
2 - Sunil Nandlall
I would like to say that nothing Aravind Adega has written is not known throughout the world. The world which he writes of exists not only in India but Africa, Europe and the Americas. The story could be the story of poor Sicilians, Zimbabweans or Ukrainians.The book seems to make out that this life that Balram lives is unique to India. The poor getting buggered, corrupt politicians and some soul making it out of the quagmire...the story is as old as time.
3 - sitesh kumar soni
this book is realy good
4 - Archita Kumar
The book was a bit of a dissapointment quite frankly
5 - smita
the book is basically an outsiders view. Take a tour of the country, talk to a few autowallahs and you think that you know India? that you kno its ppl?? I dont think so. I belong to the same part of this country that balram comes from and trust me those feudal atrocities are a thing of the past. I do not deny that the poor in India do get a very raw deal and the corruption is also there but India is much much more than just that. India should not be seen in comparison or by contrasts to the west. our problems, our society and our life is totally different. I cant help feeling that adiga's novel is a bit overdone more so to please the western readers who love to c the poorer side of india
6 - Prachi Kagzi
After hearing so much about the book, I read it and kept waiting throughout for the story to take a form or to see that write with a spark which everyone talked about, Adiga possessed.
None of that!
Plain story about the domestic help in India which is splashed everyday in the papers.Mundane and downright boring for this is not what I call entertainment nor enlightenment!
7 - pathikrit
You put the book down with a horribly uneasy feeling inside you. The book is a slap across the face of the reader in the most subtle yet prominent way. The book takes you over for the days you spend reading it, and creeps into your system like a disease, making you more bad-tempered and misanthropic than you will ever be...this book is an experience - a morbid tryst with the maggot-infested underbelly of civilization and sophistication.
8 - Toby
justice is not done with character balram halwai and ashok. right from the start of novel writer has paid a great amount of stress on enterpernourship, but nothing came out, uptill end.arvind, simply tried to show poor side of INDIA.
9 - leena
I cannot agree more with the review that India is a feudal society disguised under the garb of Democracy. One only looks at the number of Dynastical politicians we have in India.
It is time that more such writings emerged in India and made people feel uncomfortable and think.
White Tiger shows some hope ..... however dark the path. My initial reaction to the book was negative however that was quickly altered as it got me thinking on each aspect that it talks about and it all rings so true.
The fact that this maybe the truth in many emerging countries doesn't mean that a civilisation as old and mature as ours can't take a different path.
The fact that we keep our masses uneducated and uninformed is the reason we can get away with the masses of blatant corruption and abuse in our society. I take as much blame for not educating India ...... Its time you should too and do something about it. Great writing Mr. Adiga
10 - debmalya
This book really speaks of India.I can tell you for sure as my parents hail from villages.I understand it is difficult for urban rich & middle class,which all internet users in India are,to identify themselves with the bare truth about the vast majority of our own country,as we are carried away by the falsified claims of media propaganda about 'India Rising & India Shining' which is actually 'RICH India Shining & RICH India Rising',whereas 'DARKNESS' looms large among the majority.This has become so more because the polished media houses tend to cater the readers,mostly the educated urban rich..Get hold of a copy of TEHELKA(only media that speaks about people at large,bold and fearless)
Well done ADIGA...go on with your activism..
But the irony is,people whom Adiga wanted to break from their 'COOP', can't read english...
11 - D
i think what Adiga wrote was pretty much reality based.it was a good novel in terms of humour and potrayal of india....(though not sooo much as to get d booker,i accept)and remember....THERE WAS NO EXAGGERATION...THIS NOVEL IS FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF SOMEONE WHO SUFFERED-BALRAM..were we ever in his place? then who r we to judge that the suffering and poverty n blah blah has been exaggerated??
12 - D
and as to ms smita....we indians may not find stories like slumdog millionaire,and this white tiger too gr8 to win a booker/oscar coz..(DONT U REALISE)IT HAPPENS ALL AROUND US!!we dont need a book to tell us...in india it is like that..my father has like 50 times the income and comfort his father gave him..!we r used to coming up and up away from being poor to rich...and that needs determination...so such stories r there everywhere around us...
and the west r already rich arent they...they just have to continue that...so they really dont see this rags to riches story everyday and so they just get wonderstruck on hearing/reading stories like that which to us indians is so common..
Adiga wrote a decent book..but the humour was excellent.and i m sure he dint write it with any motive of pleasing east or west or south or anything.
his book is sure to create a dent and make ppl think abt the society like how Dicken's works did in england back then..
13 - shikha katiyar
The story could be the story of poor Sicilians, Zimbabweans or Ukrainians.The book seems to make out that this life that Balram lives is unique to India. The poor getting buggered, corrupt politicians and some soul making it out of the quagmire...the story is as old as time.
14 - Dhruvin
Rubbish..is the only word for the book.
Simply negative,hopeless book
All indian youth must not read the book.
Just know india then write about it Mr.Adiga.
15 - Karan
I'm glad when books like these are published. They expose India for what it truly is. In all the idiotically nationalistic reviews that I've read from Indian reviewers, not a single person has been able to dispute the reality presented in this book.
16 - Ashutosh Singh
I survived the city but couldn’t survive the women in my home- This statement made by Balram Halwai raises certain pertinent issues related to exodus of people towards cities as well as pathetic condition of women in rural areas that curbs their intellectual and social skills. This can be seen through the case of mall construction in Gurgaon which is forcing huge number of natives to move along with their cattle’s to other places but being dependent upon land for generations, they don’t have any other skills to survive and hence are forced to go for unskilled jobs such as construction-labour in bigger cities that brings other problems that we are witnessing in the name of regional chauvinism in Maharashtra. Their pathetic condition is evident from the magic realism weaved by Arvind adiga while describing servant quarters. Women folks in rural areas are not allowed to work and are forced to live inside their home and be dependent upon their husband or sons for their day to day life. This crushes their spirit and converts them into someone who is always greedy as is reflected in the character of Balram’s granny.
There was some trouble with communist guerillas then,Pinky-Nuxulite movement was started in the 60’s from a village named Nuxulbadi but has taken into its grip almost half an India within short span of 4 decades which is an indication of the kind of times we live in.One of the reasons why Bihar is most affected by Nuxulite movement where as neighboring state UP is not has a lot to do with Land reforms which were not allowed in Bihar owing to tremendous pressure exerted by Upper caste leaders such Bhumihar and Rajputs.Socialist movement that claimed to express concerns of the downtrodden also turned out to be a farce.There is an incident in Shanti parv in Mahabharata where legendary character Bheema asks tribal leaders to leave the plains and go and settle in Jungles and Hills. Some 3000 years later, they are being asked to leave that place too. They have nowhere to go but despair which is accompanied by weapons.
The story of a poor man’s life is written on his body in a sharp pen-We need to look at the psychological spin out due to poverty when we try to see the corruption that Balram is destined to follow when he reaches Banglore.One of the most important benefit of Globalization has been globalization of inequality which can be traced through the revival of communism across the globe especially after global economic meltdown. Great socialist leader Ram Manohar lohia had declared in parliament in 1964 that 25000 Rs is spent on a prime minister in a day where as 3 Anna is the daily average income of a person. Four decades later, things are still very much the same. So much in the name of egalitarianism.
We don’t drink, we are Halwai sir-People are poor in many parts of the world but what makes this poverty excruciating in India is Caste. Aforementioned statement by Balram halwai says it all. The motive behind opting for a protagonist from Gaya has a lot to do with caste as Gaya is the place where Buddha attained Nirvana and he was first of the million mutinies of India who stood against this social evil.Also, worshipping Hanuman is something that is often associated with lower castes because according to legendary story he was a devout servant of Ram who represented Aryan race and hence, upper caste. The White Tiger comes to an end with the story of Buddha which serves as a reminder to us that caste is a social evil that continues to reverberate in the chronicles of our conscience and hence haunt the society at large, even today
17 - Devang Rangani
Dear All,
To me, the novel lacks the action. I dont find anything new or fresh. The Plot is completely similar to typical Indian(Bollwood)Movie.
In fact, I am preparing a research paper based on the comparative study of Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid and The White Tiger.In my view Moth Smoke is better and much appelaing and I certainly believe that Mr.Hamid should be awarded and not Mr.Adiga (This is what I do believe Firmly and very Personally as You know, we need to fear from Shiv Sena). Stiil I like the mental movement of Balram. I also prefer the way Mr.Adiga expresses the Psychological trauma.
Yet I am completely disagree with the view that the novel talks about the real India but what is so new and different in it? Everybody talks about the Politics and corruption. I acknowledge that everytime it is not possible to deal with the different subjects and themes but atleast the treatment can be innovative, new and different. I dont find the Book(due to the Average Treatment) eligible/qualified for the Man Booker Prize.
18 - Ricky singh
I read an article in Times of India by Aravind Adiga which says: I appeal to all Biharis/ UPwallas to respect Kannada culture by learning Kannada language, and behave themselves in our state"!!!! What do we make out of this author's intentions now?
19 - Rachna Agarwal
Dear All,
I found the story to be a real timepass and nothing new. The plot is very cliche...same old dark pic about india...
20 - Equbal Hussain
It amazes me why this new cash-rich middle class can't digest The White Tiger. Every age in every place of the world has shown the ugly face of the society - Balzac, Dickens, Premchand, Anand, Manto & many others. Do we not have a social responsibility? What is wrong to dream of an India free from poverty and corruption? From our petty temporal gain we must rise and help build up an India where there is light everywhere and which does not remain a strange mixture of 21st century and 19th century. Halwai may be morally wrong but this is what he learns from the contemporary culture- to beat ruthlessness with ruthlessness.
21 - MAZHAR HUSSAIN
This is good and mindblowing novel
22 - laxmi deginal
dis book is really really good..........2..nice 2 read ...i think all should read it...
23 - White tiger facts
The only way a white tiger is born is through inbreeding. Many breeders in India and throughout the world mate brother and sister to produce a white tiger. White tigers have poor vision and coordination, and are equivocally retarded. Breeding to produce white tigers is animal abuse. They are not a subspecies but a genetic mutation, the same as a child with down syndrome. This means they are not “endangered”, yet extinction should be a goal. White tigers are bred solely for the purpose of zoo visitors and fur production.