The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga: Book Review

Hello All,

“The White Tiger” by Aravind Adiga has been my second book in my reading spree and I think this was the first book I finished reading in less than 2 weeks. It was a fascinating and also a thought provoking book. I was always proud to be an Indian but when I was reading this book by Aravind Adiga, it really made me think, “Why am I proud of India?”.

Is it because:

I can get along with a traffic police even if I don’t have a driving license?

A murderer can come out of jail on bail and contest in parliament elections as the court case on him is pending?

People in one region of a state are angry with people from other people who came here for living?

What is it that really make us a proud Indian?

Aravind Adiga is a cynical writer and by the way he described the situation in India through the characters has been outstanding. Few days back or should I say few months back, Amitabh Bachchan made a documentary video showcasing the advancements India is making in every terrain and also mentioned about the great and bright future of India. According to this author also, there are two INDIAs. But, unlike Amitabh Bachchan he talks about India in the light (which is the metropolitan life) and the India in the darkness (which is the village life).

The main character of the book whom he calls “The White Tiger” is a Taxi driver by profession and is raised in the darkness where, working for a master is considered an achievement. He starts working for a master whom he likes a lot at the beginning, but things change in his master’s life which eventually makes a difference to his life. The emotions of a driver from the darkness, when he looks at his master’s wife dressed in modern fashion and many such minute emotions have been capture impeccably by the author. I also loved the way he handled the character because, its not so easy to understand how a man from the village thinks about life in a metropolitan city like Delhi or Mumbai. After the changes in his life, is this person from the darkness going to succeed in his dreams and achieve what he wants to achieve? and how? forms the essence of the narrative.

I would say, this is a very entertaining and fascinating read and the language used by the author is also very simple and easy to understand. The narration of the story is also good and I felt it was in the lines of Mani Ratnam movie where he shows the last scene of the movie at the beginning and then goes back to the different conditions that led to that situation at the end :-).

Anyways, this is I felt after reading the book and I would love to hear back what other feel about it. So please feel please feel free to leave your comments. And let me just confirm, “I am still and will always be proud to be an Indian for all that this country has given me to learn”.

Thanks,

Krishna Chaitanya Emani