Recently I read the book by Aravind Adiga, ’The White Tiger’. I had heard and read many criticism about the book and for the booker prize, I remember when the author won the prize, I read the news on rediff and some other sites, with hundreds of comments by readers against both the book and the author, for how he is portraying extreme poverty driven rural India through his book, just like Danny Boyle did through Slumdog Millionare. Someone added “they want to show the west how miserable and pathetic this country is, and west gives these shits, this much credentials, appreciations and awards, just because they want to see India only like this. Poor, needy and deprived of everything”. Few comments were “if you want an international fame, just depict your country, like Ethiopia or Uganda, with some embarrassing quotes and present them as facts, and they (westerners) are all yours, go and lick their feet for their awards”, or “He was living in Australia, there he drafted this fictional draft and converted it into the book of shame for us, we live in India, he comes here for holidaying, we know the truth not him” and many more statements like that. Although, very few who were supporting the book just kept saying “please read the book first”. May be these derogatory remarks convinced me to some extent to believe them, but it certainly developed the quest for reading that book, and finally I did read it (may be last month, but better late than never), and after reading it I just want to say all those above mentioned comments (and many more like them)- just a CRAP!! To the book- a Masterpiece! And to the author- Truly Deserving!
So the main problem of the critics was that he has depicted the wrong face of India to the world, India is developing fast and he should have presented the right picture. Right picture?? Let me think what it would have been. A child begging in front of a BMW or a slum dweller collecting the garbage (which include wrappers of dogs food) from roads for their living. Truly, our country is an outstanding example of diversity; it is a place for rich and the richest, and poorest of the poor. So, while there are people who are contributing to the Swiss economy through there Swiss bank accounts, there are also people like ‘Balram Halwai’ or any face you remember sitting on the roadside or sleeping on footpath at 5 degrees temperature of winters. So please help me understand what else in the book he said that we don’t know and why that fury was? Just because he tried to open our blind-folded eyes? Infact, it’s the matter of embarrassment that the person sitting in Australia or wherever can see it and write it but not us. yeah people are busy in their lives and we actually don’t have time to see or change the things, but then if one person did that and then got the booker prize why that fuss? It could have been any of us, who just once tried to see the real thing around.
I bet the story of Balram could match anyone of the workers coming from remote areas of U.P., Bihar, Orissa or any other states. No one wants to leave there shelter to sleep on pavements, to leave their mother/kids/wife in the uncertainty of the cruel fate but what compelled them to do so? What makes them to clean toilets and roads and then beaten up by some politicians workers in turn? Just because they don’t choose to die from hunger or from Maoists or naxalites or in any other circumstances or just because they chose to fight with their destiny, there rotten fate? May be like Purulia or Lalgadh their fate would have been to die with the bullets or the lifelong slavery and battle for food. In those situations or may be worse, I salute them for they chose to rebel, instead of committing suicides due to hunger and poverty, they stepped outside.
Today we call a rikshaw wala and argue him for why he’s asking for Rs. 10 instead of 5, he then takes us to the coffee-shop or some high-priced restaurant where we leave the tip of more than the amount we paid to rickshaw puller, just to follow the customary etiquette. Certainly to understand the plight of rickshaw-puller or millions others like him is none of our business, and we leaving how much tip to where, is none of his business and therefore we stay on blind-folded. So, again we see a BMW or a huge bungalow (with swimming pool inside) we pray to god- please make me like them, and secretly oblige him that atleast we are better off from some, and the things goes on. Now, that has made India, what it is today. This culture of India is flowing in our blood and this is what made critics to write those remarks. This is why, we can never feel that GUILT of why we argue with the vendor or rikshaw-puller on that least amount of money when we simultaneously feel grateful to lord for not making us one of them. If we can’t give them their dignity atleast we can give them that fair chance to fight for their existence in the same way we are fighting for ours. In anyways survival of the fittest theory rules everywhere, let them have a chance to compete first.
