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.
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