This new century, still only a few years old, is likely to witness the rapid ascendancy of China and India as both economic and political superpowers. But before they can claim that kind of status, both countries will have to endure the same kind of social upheaval that nearly tore America and Europe apart in the early decades of the last century. Perhaps that explains the enormous popularity of Slumdog Millionaire among American audiences. We see echoes of our own past in the struggles of present-day Indians to rise out of poverty through hard work, ingenuity, and a dash of luck. But that movie is only one version of India’s rags-to-riches story. Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger offers a darker glimpse of modern India.
The book is a series of confessional letters written by a Bangalore entrepreneur named Balram and addressed to the Chinese president. Balram only knows the Chinese leader through reports on Indian news, but he feels compelled to share his story of how he left an isolated village to seek work in New Delhi. Balram eventually finds work as a driver for a wealthy family, a position that his village relatives both envy and respect. But Balram soon realizes that he is nothing more than a servant in a long line of servants. He has no desire devote decades of his like to working for a cruel, petty boss only to be tossed to the streets when his eyesight fails or his reflexes slow. Balram decides he needs to take drastic measures to escape the dreary life of a servant.
In telling his story, Balram indicts much of Indian society: its hopeless public education system, its messy and thoroughly corrupt political system, the bleak and persistent poverty, the greed of the wealthy outsourcing business owners (who themselves are servants to American corporations). These indictments are also Balram’s not-so-veiled excuses for his actions. But the book succeeds because Balram doesn’t try to delude himself or the reader. He recognizes that he is a deeply imperfect man trying to get by in a deeply imperfect country. His cynicism is tempered by his wit, giving this book a sharp satirical tone that even Dickens would have respected.
So beautiful!