Review: The White Tiger

A book written in the form of  a letter and an autobiography by Mr. Arvind Adiga.A letter written to Chinese Premier Mr. Jiabao who is on a visit to India, about three most important things of the life of Mr. Ashok Sharma, an entrepreneur from North in Bangalore. These three important things are:

• Ø  The concept of Rooster Coop, found only in India and nowhere else in the world
• Ø  Secrets of being a successful entrepreneur
• Ø  Reason to slit the throat of his master and runaway with his money

Now these three most important things in the life of Balram Halwai who rechristens himself as Ashok Sharma (his deceased master’s name) has devoted almost full two pages of the book out of 190 pages for these three things.

So what do rest of the pages talk about? Life of the two strata of the people living in India, comparison between dark India and bright India, mindset of the people from these two India’s existing together within the same geography. This is the story of how a pure innocence of a loyal servant turns into adulterated crude successful entrepreneur. Balram talks about his village, his rank amongst the servant, his rise in the rank, learning to get adulterated, establishing and running a successful venture and beating the competition in most efficient way. These particular things about Balram took very little space in the book. The things which has covered the book are the contemporary problems that an Indian from “dark” faces since his childhood, the binder which does not let him go out of the rooster coop, his exploitation throughout his life not by his master only but by people from dark even.

Balram slit the throat of his master but it does not mean that his master Mr. Ashok was a tyrant albeit he was very affectionate and understanding master having full faith into his servant. He never let him do anything inhuman unlike his dad or elder brother. It also does not mean that Balram was not a loyal servant. He was equally devoted towards his master and has always done what has pleased his master. He was even ready to take the blame of an accident done by his master and was ready to go jail. Then what made him to murder his master so brutally and flee with his money?

The letter describes the existence of two Capitals of two India parallel to each other, the strata within strata, powerful amongst the weak and weak amongst the powerful, corruption amongst the honest and honesty amongst the corrupts.

Description of village, low standard tea shop, rules of mall for the people from dark, blue line buses of Delhi, stinking roads of Delhi, behaviour of group servants, all of these have presented with an eye for detail. The most dreadful of all was the description of a buffalo pulling a cart all itself towards the place known to the buffalo carrying heads of the buffalo, not the heads even, skull and black nostrils only. This signifies the behaviour of humans towards humans, carrying the heads of human like ourselves after peeling their skin of, consciously or unconsciously.

Although he loved his master but he killed him just to free his soul from the rooster coop and it was his revolt towards this system where master and servants existed and not the humans. It was his resistance towards the coward buffalos carrying the heads of fellow buffalo and foe this he has paid the price by life of 17 of his family members.

A good book to understand the two India of India within the same coordinates of earth.  

Review of "Raag Darbari"

An excellent satire by Shri Lal Shukla, an eminent scholar of Hindi Literature who has drawn an unparallel painting of current socio-politico-economic condition of India with the help of this creation. The plot may be from a small village backdrop and has all the characters from that small village only but it does represent the condition of country in general. Although this novel dates back to seventies but with every passing decade it becomes much more relevant. Forty years later, this novel seems more relevant to our country in general than it may have been at the time when it was written.

The language used is easy Hindi and Awadhi at some places (depending upon the demand of scene or character). This novel is full of local idioms and phrases used in Hindi heartland of Uttar Pradesh. In short we can say that a colloquial Hindi was used in the novel to make dialogues more effective and real.

The beauty of the novel is relevance of its plot with ever pervading society and characters with unending and unsatisfied ambitions. The ambition is to displace the existing powerful, unlawful person from his present stature as he seems clogged with nepotism, favouritism and corruption. These ambitious contestants of the top players use the same unfair means to defeat him which they have been alleging him for.  

Vaid Ji being the apex man of the village is most respectable and winner of all the power play and has always defeated everyone in this game whomsoever has rose against him. The respect and luxuries of life that anyone can command is through corruption, nepotism and favouritism only. All those who try to be lawful or deny the existence of any of the above three will have to pay a hefty price. Characters like Langad personify the life of person who is lawful and wants to do something through right means. He just tries to get a copy of his land record throughout the novel  without paying bribe and fails but he constantly says to others “tum nahi samjhoge babu, ye sidhant ki ladai hai” and in the last he has to lose the battle.

Vaid ji on top and Langad on bottom, in the power play and corruption game, everyone else is sandwiched between these two. Revolt of Ruppan Babu against his father (Vaid Ji) , acts of devoted followers (principal saab, sanichar alias mangal) of Vaid ji, the initial disinterest of Badri pahlwan in politics of father and then replacing him, as successor defeating the ambitions of younger brother Ruppan are the key actions of key characters which signifies everything is reason driven or trying to find out a reason is foolishness.

The Mayajaal and its power play cannot be explained in a better and entertaining manner than this creation. A shear genius of Shukla Ji will make you to witness all these power play, difference of opinion, fight of beliefs, corruption and its abysmal roots.  A must read book.

दिन जल्दी जल्दी ढलता है/

मैंने आहुति बन कर देखा / अज्ञेय

मैं कब कहता हूं जग मेरी दुर्धर गति के अनुकूल बने,
मैं कब कहता हूं जीवन-मरू नंदन-कानन का फूल बने ?
कांटा कठोर है, तीखा है, उसमें उसकी मर्यादा है,
मैं कब कहता हूं वह घटकर प्रांतर का ओछा फूल बने ?

मैं कब कहता हूं मुझे युद्ध में कहीं न तीखी चोट मिले ?
मैं कब कहता हूं प्यार करूं तो मुझे प्राप्ति की ओट मिले ?
मैं कब कहता हूं विजय करूं मेरा ऊंचा प्रासाद बने ?
या पात्र जगत की श्रद्धा की मेरी धुंधली-सी याद बने ?

पथ मेरा रहे प्रशस्त सदा क्यों विकल करे यह चाह मुझे ?
नेतृत्व न मेरा छिन जावे क्यों इसकी हो परवाह मुझे ?
मैं प्रस्तुत हूं चाहे मिट्टी जनपद की धूल बने-
फिर उस धूली का कण-कण भी मेरा गति-रोधक शूल बने !

अपने जीवन का रस देकर जिसको यत्नों से पाला है-
क्या वह केवल अवसाद-मलिन झरते आँसू की माला है ?
वे रोगी होंगे प्रेम जिन्हें अनुभव-रस का कटु प्याला है-
वे मुर्दे होंगे प्रेम जिन्हें सम्मोहन कारी हाला है

मैंने विदग्ध हो जान लिया, अन्तिम रहस्य पहचान लिया-
मैंने आहुति बन कर देखा यह प्रेम यज्ञ की ज्वाला है !
मैं कहता हूं, मैं बढ़ता हूं, मैं नभ की चोटी चढ़ता हूं
कुचला जाकर भी धूली-सा आंधी सा और उमड़ता हूं

मेरा जीवन ललकार बने, असफलता ही असि-धार बने
इस निर्मम रण में पग-पग का रुकना ही मेरा वार बने !
भव सारा तुझको है स्वाहा सब कुछ तप कर अंगार बने-
तेरी पुकार सा दुर्निवार मेरा यह नीरव प्यार बने