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A Book Review of The White Tiger (Aravind Adiga)

Nov 27, 2014

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A Book Review of The White Tiger (Aravind Adiga). Dhavalkirti Thakker Sumantra Club Institute of Management. He is not a Slumdog Millionaire…. He is…. An Entrepreneur A Visionary A Dreamer A Renegade A Paranoid A Killer. He is the White Tiger. Balram Halwai.

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A Book Review of The White Tiger (Aravind Adiga) Dhavalkirti Thakker Sumantra Club Institute of Management

He is not a Slumdog Millionaire….

He is….. • An Entrepreneur • A Visionary • A Dreamer • A Renegade • A Paranoid • A Killer

He is the White Tiger

Balram Halwai • Belongs to the “Darkness”. • Escapes it… • Breaks the “Rooster Coop”.

Its about the problems of our country…. • Inequity. • The exploitation. • The caste and religion devide.

The style. • It’s a narrative. • Satirical • Dark

His philosophy…. • The dreams of rich and poors… • We the human and the animals…

Read this book …. • And also read “ The reluctant fundamentalist” . • You’ll love both of this book….

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In 'White Tiger,' A Dickensian Rags-To-Riches Story Turns Psychological Thriller

Justin Chang

Balram (Adarsh Gourav) is a young man struggling to escape poverty in The White Tiger. Tejinder Singh Khamkha/Netflix hide caption

Balram (Adarsh Gourav) is a young man struggling to escape poverty in The White Tiger.

The year 2008 saw the publication of Aravind Adiga 's novel The White Tiger and the release of the film Slumdog Millionaire , two stories about young men escaping poverty and defying the odds against the backdrop of a rapidly globalizing India. But Adiga's novel was a far more cynical and morally unsettling piece of work, with a protagonist who came into his fortune through acts of theft, deception and worse. Now, 12 years later, there's a darkly funny new movie adaptation of The White Tiger , and it plays even more like the flipside to Slumdog Millionaire 's pure-hearted optimism. There's even a cheeky line in the trailer about how there's no million-rupee game-show prize at the end of the story.

That story is narrated in flashback by its protagonist, Balram, played by a superb Adarsh Gourav. We meet a younger version of Balram growing up in a poor coal-mining village, where he shows early promise as a student, until his domineering grandmother pulls him out of school and puts him to work in a tea shop.

But Balram is smart and ambitious, and he has bigger things in mind. Some years later, in 2007, he lands a job working as a driver for a wealthy businessman known as the Stork. Balram works his way into the good graces of one of the Stork's sons, Ashok, played by Rajkummar Rao.

In White Tiger, Killer Exploits India's Caste System

Movie interviews, director ramin bahrani on the book that inspired netflix's 'the white tiger'.

Ashok was educated in the U.S., which is where he met his wife, Pinky, played by Priyanka Chopra Jonas. They're a young, beautiful couple, and they seem kinder than the others: They chafe at how casually the rest of the family abuse their servants, and Ashok and Balram strike up a close friendship. But when tragedy strikes and the family's security is threatened, Balram quickly becomes a scapegoat, destroying any illusions he may have harbored about his privileged place in the household.

In a way, The White Tiger taps into the same vein of class rage that fueled recent eat-the-rich thrillers like Parasite and Knives Out . Gourav's marvelous performance shows us Balram's inner turmoil as his gratitude toward his employers gives way to anger. And so he begins to rebel, at one point telling us the various tricks that he and other drivers use to secretly cheat their bosses.

The White Tiger is like a Dickensian rags-to-riches story by way of a Patricia Highsmith psychological thriller, but Balram's wickedly conspiratorial narration gives it an extra layer of satire. He unfolds his story as a kind of high-risk business plan: When most of the country lives in poverty, he argues, anyone trying to break out will have to resort to cutthroat tactics. Throughout the film, Balram likens the poor to roosters in a cage, unquestioning in their acceptance of an economic system that is forever stacked against them. That's not the only unsubtle animal metaphor here: Balram himself is the fabled white tiger of the title, a rare and remarkable beast that will forge its own destiny.

The Iranian American filmmaker Ramin Bahrani, who wrote and directed the movie, has always been fascinated by stories of poverty and survival. He began his career with low-budget New York dramas like Man Push Cart , and since then he's branched out to explore the socio-economic complexities of rural and suburban America in films like At Any Price and 99 Homes .

Even on the bigger, splashier international canvas of The White Tiger , there's an attractive modesty to Bahrani's approach. He doesn't sensationalize or aestheticize poverty — or wealth, for that matter. And despite the movie's considerable visual energy and upbeat musical selections, Bahrani doesn't turn India into a flashy spectacle. He tries to keep his focus on the characters and the desperate circumstances in which they find themselves.

For about two-thirds of the movie, that approach works beautifully; even with its occasional lapses in pacing, it never loses your attention. But I'm not entirely convinced that Bahrani is temperamentally in sync with the darkness at the heart of this story. His past films could be pessimistic and brutally unsentimental, but they also had a striking moral clarity, and there's something about the gleeful amorality of The White Tiger that ultimately eludes him. The film rushes through its violent closing passages, as if it were unwilling to fully grapple with what it's showing us. By the end, Balram may have become quite the businessman, but The White Tiger doesn't quite close the deal.

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The White Tiger - The First Night

Subject: English

Age range: 16+

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

22 February 2018

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The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

A Gripping Tale of Power and Ambition

Title: The White Tiger

Author: Aravind Adiga

Publisher: HarperCollins

Genre: Crime Thriller

First Publication: 2008

Language:  English

Major Characters: Balram Halwai, Mr. Ashok, Kusum, Pinky Madam, Wen Jiabao

Setting Place: India

Narration: First-person narrative of Balram Halwai

Theme: Social Breakdown, Self-Interest, and Corruption

Book Summary: The White Tiger

The White Tiger is the story of Balram Halwai’s life as a self-declared “self-made entrepreneur”: a rickshaw driver’s son who skillfully climbs India’s social ladder to become a chauffer and later a successful businessman. Balram recounts his life story in a letter to visiting Chinese official Premier Wen Jiabao, with the goal of educating the premier about entrepreneurship in India.

Balram writes from his luxurious office in the city of Bangalore, but the story begins in his rural ancestral village of Laxmangahr. Throughout his childhood, Balram’s destitute family lives at the mercy of four cruel, exploitative landlords, referred to as “The Animals”: The Raven, The Stork, The Buffalo, and The Wild Boar. Despite the difficult life he is born into, Balram excels in school. His academic potential and personal integrity distinguish him from his classmates, bringing him to the attention of a visiting school inspector who nicknames him “the White Tiger,” after the most rare and intelligent creature in the jungle.

Book Review: The White Tiger

The White Tiger is the splendid debut and the Booker Prize winning novel by Aravind Adiga which gives the world a glimpse of the life of a servant in modern day India trying to escape the darkness and become free. The book covers the harsh truths of a modern global economy and its crushing effects on the working class. With themes ranging from poverty, religious tensions, families all the way to political and police corruption in this booming country.

The protagonist, Balram Halwai is a thinking man, an Entrepreneur, telling his story of escaping the darkness and coming to the light. I really love the analogy of been in the darkness (referring to being a part of the working class and living in the slums) and seeking the light (rich and well off). Balram become a driver for a wealthy business man in the coal industry where he learns about the ways of the world and the classes. Balram tries to be a good Indian, looking after his family, been a good servant, not drinking, praying to his gods. But slowly corruption seeps in and you can see Balram been effected by this new world around him as he slowly sinks into this world; while trying to escape pressures of been a servant.

This book is somewhat a blend of mystery, psychological thriller and dark humor. It was indeed a fresh experience for me after a long duration of dormancy from the world of books.

There’s a concept called “The Rooster Coop” which the writer very efficiently details out in his usual, demented manner, but the horror of it is felt when you, deep down, side with his theory in its abstract form. It talks about how the oppressed have been so groomed and brought up beneath the sky of oppression that their minds have been robbed of rebellious thoughts; their existence bound to a fate which they can’t fathom an alternative to. So they don’t draw up a plan to flee, even if presented with the chance. Like roosters, in a coop.

“Do we loathe our masters behind a facade of love- or do we love them behind a facade of loathing? We are made mysteries to ourselves by the Rooster Coop we are locked in.”

The power of The White Tiger lies in its authentic and persuasive voice and the complex relationships the protagonist and those that surround him. There’s resentment and respect, desperation and pity, in the relationships between Balram and his family, between Balram and the other servants, and most ambivalent of all, between Balram and his master. Adiga exposes social and economic injustices with humour and a brisk pace and only falters in the last step because of too much left to say with words that seem stripped of their confidence after the emotional climax. Still, the journey of The White Tiger is one worth experiencing.

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Book review: the white tiger by aravind adiga.

Aravind Adiga’s debut novel, The White Tiger, won the Man Booker Prize. Here is a short review of the socially-charged satirical novel.

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga was published in 2008 and won the Man Booker Prize in the same year. The book garnered mixed reactions from the readers for Adiga’s humorous portrayal of the social and class system in India. The novel partakes in quite the dark humour. A journalist by profession, this was Adiga’s very first novel. He was 33 at that time.

The Man Booker Prize committee emphasised on the novel’s humorous take on “a different aspect of India.” The committee also commented, “The book gains from dealing with pressing social issues and significant global developments with astonishing humour.” In a nutshell, Adiga tells a story of a man deprived of the riches belonging to the ‘darkness’ of Bihar’s poverty and decline, who climbs up the social ladder and becomes a part of the ‘light’ and ‘civilization’.

The White Tiger is a sultry, sarcastic, socially charged story of India in its binary of “dark” and “light”. We’re introduced to Balram Halwai, who refers to himself as a self-made man who knows the “real India” and must inform the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao about it, who is to make an official visit to the country. The story is told through a series of letters Balram writes to Wen Jiabao, narrating his life story.

Through the series of letters we learn that Balram Halwai was born in the village of Laxmangarh, Bihar. After the death of his father, Balram learns to drive and, through his skills and flattery, gets a job for the village’s landlord’s sons: Mukesh and Ashok. The story then takes forward in a new cityscape, where our narrator comes face to face with the corruption and social binaries that exist in the fabric of modern cities as well. For the sake of keeping it a spoiler-free review, we will not spill the ending of the novel, or one of the many crucial scenes that unfold in the story which forms the crux of Adiga’s goal.

The White Tiger: Social Commentary And Dark Humor

In The White Tiger, Aravind Adiga has used realistic and quite descriptive words and sentences to visibilise the social strata of India, which has been normalised in the country to the point that it is invisible to the naked eye.

Adiga compares the oppressed, lower class of the country with a ‘rooster coop’. The following lines, which are quite evocative, graphic and despairing, are a response to the unchanging social fabric of India, which is marred by poverty, hunger and unequal opportunities.

“ Go to Old Delhi, and look at the way they keep chickens there in the market. Hundred of pale hens and brightly colored roosters, stuffed tightly into wire-mesh cages. They see the organs of their brothers lying around them. They know they are next, yet they cannot rebel. They do not try to get out of the coop. The very same thing is done with humans in this country .” 

The lower class, economically oppressed , stamped upon, and blocked from entering the spaces of the rich and the well-off, have accepted their downtrodden destiny and have been made unconscious of even any rebellious thoughts in their mind. Unless, of course, like Balram Halwai, you take into the sludge of corruption, deceit, and crime to make your way upwards.

The Ending Of The Man Booker Prize Winner: A Question To Be Asked

There are far too many descriptive scenarios of the plight of the poor and the working class in The White Tiger. These scenes are an eye-opener to realistic perspectives of the people coming from underprivileged backgrounds. Moreover, Balram’s character is quite intriguing. There can be reasons why one might not like the character, or absolutely love him. His thoughts are malign, sometimes sympathetic, and Adiga forces the readers to understand his psyche.

Aravind Adiga leaves the novel at an intriguing end since it emanates both a success and a failure. The success is Balram Halwai’s triumph at making it upwards on the social ladder. He came from the ‘dark’ and the ‘uncivilized’ to the ‘light’ and the ‘civilized’ tech city of Bangalore. However, this prosperity and lavishness had come at the cost of washing one’s hands with the same corruption, greed, and deceit he has been criticising, mocking, and been a victim of since the start. The White Tiger leaves us with a question: will Balram Halwai become the perpetrator of the same corrupt scheme?

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Morally Grey: The Different Shades of Human Morality

Morally grey is hard to define but that’s truly what we human beings as our morals are dictated more by intentions than conventions.

Ever since we were kids we were introduced to the concept of right and wrong. We were constantly taught how to differentiate between right and wrong, but nobody actually teaches us how there is no singular right or wrong. Our morality is always framed in black or white. The biggest proof of this black-and-white view is our existing laws for crimes. What we often forget in our rush to categorise everything in black and white is that the laws and morality that we use to categorise right from wrong are applied to the actions thoughts and motivations of human beings. And human beings can never be just black or white. But rather they exist and function in various shades of grey. Hence, they are considered morally grey. Let’s understand a bit more about moral development by going through Kohlberg’s theory of moral development to understand how morally grey works.

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development

Moral development refers to the process by which an individual learns to differentiate right from wrong and form their sense of morality. American Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg came up with the widely used and acknowledged model of moral development. The model also known as Kohlberg’s theory of moral development consists of six stages and explains how moral reasoning is formed over the years. The six stages are further divided into three levels. The first level in Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is known as Preconventional Morality and it consists of 2 stages which last from birth to 9 years of age. The first stage in the first level is called Obedience and Punishment which involves someone deciding or doing something moral as a way of avoiding punishment. The second stage in the first level is called Individualism and Exchange which involves deciding or aligning your moral actions that serve one’s needs the best.

The second level of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is known as Conventional Morality which applies to individuals in their early adolescence to their adulthood and consists of 2 more stages. The first stage in this level and the third stage overall is called, Developing Good Interpersonal Relationships. This stage, also referred to as the “good boy-good girl” orientation, focuses on how our moral development depends on living up to society’s social expectations and roles. It brings in the aspect of conformity or the idea of trying to fit in and hence abiding by the majorly agreed upon moral codes of conduct. The second stage in this level and the fourth stage overall is called, Maintaining Social Order. This particular stage focuses on maintaining law and order to preserve the entity called society. People consider society as a whole and see following law and order as a way of sustaining it and hence, consider it as their duty to follow law and order and respect authority.

The third level of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is known as Post-Conventional Morality, and it is only achieved by a few adults who can grasp the abstract principles of morality. The first stage in this level and the fifth stage overall is called, Social Contract and Individual Rights. In this particular stage, individuals begin to realise and acknowledge that different people may have differing values, principles, ethics and morals of their own. They understand why everyone needs to agree to certain rules to sustain society as a whole but also take into account the differences in opinions and values. The second stage in this level and the sixth stage overall is called Universal Principles. This particular stage focuses on how certain individuals understand morality and form as well as follow their internalised principles of morality and justice even if they may conflict with existing laws and rules.

The Case of Morally Grey

From Kholberg’s theory of moral development, we realise that not a lot of people can truly reach the highest stage of moral development. Maybe part of it has to do with the fact that we wish to be a part of society and hence prefer to conform rather than stand out from the crowd. But we need to understand that just because one is white the other doesn’t necessarily need to be black, just like the opposite of love is not hate for how can you get disgusted at something you once cherished? You might not feel the same amount of love and preciousness towards that person or thing but you can’t exactly feel disgusted without it carrying hints of affection from the past. 

The term morally grey refers to those individuals who don’t exactly follow or rebel against the existing laws without a cause. This term mostly applies to people who have achieved the sixth stage of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development. It highlights the capacity of people to discern right from wrong according to their own principles that may differ from society from time to time.

In this world of differing opinions and individuality taking a central position, it’s high time we start acknowledging that your white in the sense of morality could be somebody else’s grey and that’s fine. Take the case of white lies, we have been told since time immemorial to never lie as it is bad and only hurts people. But as we grow up and meet people from different walks of life we realise that there is something called white lies which we tell to prevent hurting the person’s feelings on many occasions. Although lies are considered bad, white lies are actually a saving grace. Even choosing to use white lies is also a sort of morally grey move on a person’s part. True the level of morally grey attitude that one exhibits differs from person to person and even varies in extremes as some may choose to indulge in just white lies and nothing else while others may choose to form their entire identity based on it. And when Kohlberg talks about the sixth stage of moral development he most likely is referring to people who form their identity based on their own moral alignments. 

Regardless the most important thing at the end of the day is that we respect people for their individuality rather than shun them for it. We let them be morally grey and in fact, we should try to be such a way whenever possible to whatever degree we can manage, because this world will only become better and richer with a variety of opinions and perceptions which will only come with the ability to form one’s own morality which is not targeted at harming anyone. Let’s appreciate the different shades of grey that we human beings are, rather than forcing us to choose between black and white.

The Colourful World of Humans

Did you know that gender and sex are two different things? Let’s dive deep into the colourful world of humanity.

Did you know that our world is much more colourful than we think? Like yeah, you must have seen the skies and the oceans and whatnot and they are all colourful, but did you know humans were also made up of different colours? What sets each human apart are the choices they make and the way they express themselves. Given that we are mostly brought up to love or told to fall in love with the other gender or sex, the entire concept of LGBTQIA+ seems out of place. But did you know that your gender and sex meant different things? Let’s dive a little deeper to understand gender, sex, people’s way of expression and the colourful world of humans a little better. 

Is there a difference between gender and sex?

Whenever we take a look at our medical prescriptions or birth certificates we will find a section that asks about our sex. Sex, henceforth is biological. It refers to the chromosomes that are present in your DNA, your reproductive organs and genitals that determine whether you are a male, female or intersex (which refers to having more than one reproductive organ, chromosomes, sexual characteristics and genitals) at birth. People who are born intersex have the option to decide which sex they want to align with by choosing to get rid of the other reproductive organs. But gender on the other hand is social. The reason gender is considered social is because society has a way of determining what roles you should play depending on your sex, such as, women who are biologically determined as female should be timid, good at cooking, etc. and men who are biologically determined as male should not cry, be angry, etc. This entire idea that if you are a man you should behave like this or if you are a woman, you should behave like this is what makes gender. Gender as built by society is more of an expression, an identity that you may choose to align with. 

If you are a woman but feel like being loud and rowdy which is the assumed gender role that society has attached to men is what you like over the gender roles that are attached to women and hence you can identify yourself as a man. Hence everyone has a colour of their own making them colourful. The same goes for women who don’t like to perform the gender roles that society is attached to them and hence can choose to identify themselves as a man. What you need to understand is, it’s okay. You don’t necessarily need to figure out your gender identity, which is the gender you gel most well with or identify with, right now. Do what you feel like and over time you will figure it out. 

Then comes the question of your sexual orientation which depends on the attraction you feel towards another person. Society expects us to fall in love or get attracted to another person who is from a different sex and a different gender. But that isn’t always the case. You don’t decide who you get attracted to, you just do. If you could decide who you will get attracted to then it will be less of love and more of a math test. Don’t you think if we could choose who we get attracted to then Tom in Tom & Jerry wouldn’t necessarily be falling for female cats who don’t like him in general but just want to use him for all the gifts he can buy them? So it’s okay if you get attracted or fall in love with someone who is from the same gender or same sex. Hence, the LGBTQIA+ community exists.

What is the LGBTQIA+ community about?

The LGBTQIA+ community is a community that provides a safe place for all those who don’t necessarily follow society’s rules about who to get attracted to. A safe place for all the colours that make the world so colourful. In general, society expects men and women to fall for each other and not with others of the same gender as them as in men falling in love or getting attracted to men and women falling in love or getting attracted to women. But as we have mentioned before it isn’t always in our control to decide who we fall for or get attracted to. And it’s completely okay because you’re loving someone not throwing stones at them. But sadly society doesn’t agree with that. Hence, we have the LGBTQIA+ community which gives everyone a safe space of acceptance and allows people to just be themselves.

The LGBTQIA+ community first started as a movement to announce to the world loud and clear that people who don’t follow the conventional laws of attraction as put down by society also exist and deserve equal respect and rights like every other person out there. Their colours may be bright but they are equally colourful as another person who follows the laws of attraction put down by society. The LGBTQIA+ movement in India started by ensuring that people from every walk of life regardless of their bright or dull colours were held in the same regard. The entire LGBTQIA+ community is built on the foundation of taking pride. Hence the month of June in which the community celebrates the global acceptance of people and love is also called Pride Month .

Figuring out your gender identity, sexual orientation and who you are attracted to is tough. And you don’t need to decide your colour and be colourful today. Take your time. You will shine and be colourful regardless. You have your entire life to explore and figure it out. But in the meantime, love and let love and respect every person that you meet. To learn more about the different sexual orientations that the LGBTQIA+ community highlights and stands for, keep an eye out for our next article.

Masti Venkatesha Iyengar: A Titan of Kannada Literature

Unveiling the Literary Legacy And Exploring the Depths of Masti Venkatesha Iyengar’s Influence on Kannada Literature

In the centuries of literary history, few names live on beyond their mortal time, becoming proverbs and eponyms. Masti Venkatesha Iyengar is one such luminary, hailed as “Kannada’s Treasure” or “The Titan of Kannada Literature ” ; his legacy goes beyond mere words on a page. 

Masti Venkatesha Iyengar’s life was a tapestry woven with threads of brilliance and integrity, spanning ventures such as literature, administration and editorial excellence. While his prowess as a titan is widely celebrated, his administrative and editorial works sometimes get lost in the shadows of his literary acclaim.

Exploring Masti’s Literary Opus

In his 95-year eventful life, Masti had penned over 123 books in Kannada and 17 in English, containing a plethora of genres like short stories and historical novels. His magnum opus, “Chikaveera Rajendra,” earned him the prestigious Jnanpith Award in 1983, immortalising his name among the pantheon of literary greats.

But beyond this, Masti’s stewardship of the monthly journal “ Jivana ” for 20 years served as a lamp of enlightenment, nurturing values in public discourse and championing the essence of decency in a changing world. 

A Beacon of Integrity and Courage

Masti Venkatesha Iyengar’s life epitomised the highest ideals of personal integrity and moral fortitude. His principled resignation from the civil services as a protest to an unjust promotion is a testament to his commitment to righteousness.

Even in the face of adversity, Masti remains steadfast in his commitment to his convictions and confronting detractors with dedicated resolve and intellectual prowess. His critiques of prominent figures, including Nehru and Rajagopalachari, bore the mark of sagacity and restraint, transcending mere polemics to embody a quest for truth and accountability.

The Legacy Beyond Words

His critique of the Dravidian movement and staunch defence of Sanskrit underscored his dedication to preserving the land’s cultural heritage. As an editor par excellence, Masti Venkatesha Iyengar breathed life into the pages of “Jivana”, infusing public discourse with a sense of decorum and intellectual rigour. His editorials, columns and literary essays remain timeless artefacts, offering invaluable insights into the socio-political landscape of his time.

A Call to Rediscover

In a world marred by moral ambiguity and intellectual apathy, Masti Venkatesha Iyengar’s legacy is a guiding light, lighting the path towards intellectual excellence and moral rectitude. As we discover the treasures of his literary opus, editorial insight and “Jivana”, we must heed the call to rediscover the profound wisdom in his works.

His life was not just a compilation of his achievements but a testament to the enduring power of integrity, courage and intellectual curiosity. As we reflect on his unparalleled contributions to Kannada Literature and public discourse, let us embrace the timeless wisdom of his words and strive to uphold the noble ideals that defined his illustrious life. 

Masti Venkatesha Iyengar’s legacy lives on long after he left this world and remains a beacon and titan of hope and inspiration for future generations.

Understanding Parenting Styles

Understand the impact of different parenting styles- Authoritarian, Authoritative, Permissive, and Uninvolved parenting styles

Developmental psychology is a field that pertains to understanding the development of human growth, why, how and to what extent. Therefore, developmental psychologists have also naturally been perceiving the involvement of parents in the child’s life. The easiest form of inference is through observation of different approaches people use to parent their children. Parenting Styles are the methods or practices of raising a child by the parents based on their own behaviour, beliefs and values. It encompasses a varied set of rules or regulations set in the home for a child’s development by the parents. Good parental guidance is necessary for the child’s ideal emotional development to occur. 

A child’s development is crucial in many ways- be it emotional well-being, physical development and social interactions. It becomes the responsibility of the primary caretakers who are most commonly parents’ to form an optimal environment for these milestones to be achieved. Further, the parents’ involvement in the child’s development is pivotal and important to ensure a healthy environment for the child and his/her growth. 

The understanding of the different styles of Parenting was pioneered by Diana Baumrind , a psychologist in the 1960s, who identified three main styles of Parenting- Authoritarian, Authoritative and Permissive. This typology was assessed based on the two main dimensions of parental behaviour: demandingness and responsiveness. Further, Martin and Maccoby also suggested including the Uninvolved/Neglectful type based on their research. It is important to note that these types were assessed based on extensive research and common characteristics found but are not the only form of parenting styles that can be labelled. These types aim towards a common understanding of the differences and do not necessarily label the approach used by the parents towards their children. 

Authoritarian Parenting Style

The authoritarian parenting style is explained by Baumrind as the type of parenting where there is high demandingness and less responsiveness. It is characterised by parents who are keen on rules and regulations and do not respond to the needs of the child. For example, the parent does not understand the child’s need to make new friends and spend time with them but rather forces the child to study instead of playing with his/her friends. They define this as knowing what’s best for the child and do not hear their needs. This causes the child to detest the parents’ behaviour and causes them to potentially rebel in the future against the parents’ wishes. 

 Authoritarian parents are also commonly known as strict parents who place high expectations on their children, they have rigid rules and regulations and do not compromise whatsoever regardless of the needs and wants of their children. Enforcing rules is also done through verbal threats, physical control, shaming, punishments and many more. It psychologically affects the child leading him/her to question their way of life and also potentially causing mistrust towards their parents.

Authoritative Parenting Style

The Authoritative Parenting Style, according to Baumrind, is the ideal type of parenting to be enforced onto the children. It is characterised by high demandingness and also high responsiveness. This type of parenting allows the child to express their opinions and also encourages rules and norms to be followed. It is the most effective method for the child’s development given the autonomy the child can achieve. An example of this style would be when a parent allows their child to spend time with their friends and also expects their homework of the day to be completed before they leave. This creates the opportunity for the child to abide by the rules and regulations demanded by the parents and also believe they can make friends and interact with other people. It encompasses a sense of responsibility within the child to make sure both the parents’ and their wants are achieved. 

   Authoritative Parenting also allows the child to have a better understanding of themselves and others. When a rule is broken, authoritative parents do not enforce an arbitrary or violent punishment but rather help the child realise their potential mistake through other forms of punishment. This is necessary for the child to understand their shortcomings and avoid the consequences in the outside world.

Permissive Parenting Style

According to Baumrind and her dimensions, the Permissive Parenting Style is characterised by low demandingness and high responsiveness. It leads to the child having to do whatever they want to without any sense of rules to be followed. It is especially difficult for the child to understand autonomy and form boundaries when they are not disciplined by their parents accordingly. An example of Permissive Parenting would be when a child is allowed to play with their friends whenever they want to and no demand for homework is provided by the parents. This creates a lack of responsibility a child can take and makes them understand that they can do whatever they want with no consequences to be faced. 

   Permissive Parenting Style creates a sense of entitlement in the child which may not be ideal for the outside world they live in. Though Permissive Parents are very warm, caring, and nurturing and think that their child is their world, this gives off somewhat of a friend figure to the child rather than a parent figure which is extremely crucial for their development. Children raised by Permissive Parents may often struggle with decision-making, impulse control, boundaries and self-discipline. 

Uninvolved/Neglectful Parenting Style

The Uninvolved/Neglectful Parenting Style was included in the typology by Martin and Maccoby’s suggestion. This has been characterised following the dimensions as low demandingness and low responsiveness. The uninvolved parents make few to no demands of their children and are more than often neglectful of what is happening with their children. They show little to no interest in their child’s life and are often dismissive and indifferent to their child’s needs and wants. An example of the Uninvolved Parenting Style is when the parents do not have any interest in their children’s activities, be it their want to spend time with their friends or doing their homework. 

   The Neglectful Parenting Style often includes a lack of supervision of the children’s activities, and failure to tend to emotional needs which can have detrimental effects on the child’s physical health, psychological well-being, cognitive abilities, social development, academic abilities and many more. The lack of emotional attachment also causes the child to develop deviating forms of emotional maturity. 

Parenting Styles’ impact on children varies from academic success to emotional maturity. It encompasses the foundation for healthy development as a human and optimally induces the potential of having a positive outlook. The Parenting Styles are directly related to the outcome of the children and their approach to life. While the understanding of Parenting Styles is important for the development of the child, other factors may also influence the growth which include environmental factors like peer group, extended family, temperament, work environment and many more. However, Parenting Styles have been observed as one of the primary factors in a child’s development. 

    To have a set criteria for parenting the child is not necessary. Parenting can also be considered as a subjective approach that certainly differs from person to person. This article only aims to educate the general types that have been inferred through research. There may not be certain types but there is always a “good” parent that people can be to their children. The basic principles of a “good” parent would be to listen actively to the child’s needs, to involve themselves in their child’s life, to demand their own rules towards their children, to accept their children as whoever they are, and to passively supervise their child’s actions. Therefore, it is essential to be a “good” parent to witness the healthy development that a child embraces.

World Environment Day

On the Occasion of World Environment Day, let us look at what people have to say through their poems, films and songs.

World Environment Day is not just about praising our environment and cleaning the parks and beaches for one day. It is a day to remind us that our world as we know it is changing; the world our parents and grandparents knew has changed, and ours is, too. World Environment Day is here to serve as a reminder that we must treat the world we have with kindness and do everything in our power to ensure that we keep it clean and healthy for all living beings. On account of this day, we have a collection of creativity that voices the concern and horrors of the changing world around us and how we can strive for a better world and sustainability. 

Ek Soch Hai Jaagi -Kailash Kher: World Environment Day

First, we have a song by renowned singer Kailash Kher, “Ek Soch Hai Jaagi”. The song sends audiences the message about how we can change the world with just one idea in mind. Together, we can all put our strengths and ideas and create a sustainable and habitable world for all beings. We will start by ensuring that in our own homes, we are practising environment-friendly practices, such as even the most straightforward action of turning the tap when not in use or rainwater harvesting in apartments and societies. 

Desi Moms & Their Love For Recycling: World Environment Day & Sustainable Living

This adorable little short film is relatable and a practice that we should be following in our lives every day. Recycling and reusing things around the household promotes and is the very essence of sustainable living. It also reduces the amount of waste products that are harmful to the environment. Boxes and tins for cookies are made of sturdy materials that can be used to store various household items for years to come. Hence, recycling and reusing items like those promote and encourage sustainable living.

“Kya Kal “Aaj” Hoga?” by Nayab Midha: World Environment Day Poetry

The poem “Kya Kal “Aaj” Hoga?” by Nayab Midha is an eye-opener to the horrors of climate change and the deterioration of our environment. The poem resonates with the message that we are destroying our tomorrow by being selfish and greedy with the environment. If this continues, we won’t have a world left for ourselves, let alone for generations to come. The poem is an alarm that we must jump straight into action and start practising sustainable living and conserving our environment.

Kitni Duniya Dekhi Hai? By Shubham Shyam

“Kitni Duniya Dekhi Hai?” resonates more than just the surface level. It’s not just a poem about the different worlds our generation and older generations have seen. It’s about how we boast of having seen many parts of the world and the changes each of them has regarding culture, food and tradition, but the generations before us have seen their world undergo so many horrific changes. The words in the poem leave us to think, how much exactly have we seen to boast so much? We may see different countries and cultures, but we fail to see how much our world is changing for the worse. 

World Environment Day is not just a performance we’re supposed to put up for 24 hours and post on social media; it is a reminder to teach these practices every day and follow them through for the betterment of our environment. Countries such as Germany have already made significant changes and shifted towards Green Energy, with acres of land filled with windmills and solar panels; they are adaptable and sustainable and ensure that their environment is not harmed. 

Today, we see the adverse effects of climate change and the exhaustion of natural resources in every corner of the world, with countries experiencing heat waves and unseasonal storms. Our environment needs immediate attention and action to preserve and sustain it for us, our flora, fauna, and future generations. Taking from the lessons and messages from the compilation above and all the initiatives around us, let us promise to take every step to live a more sustainable life and take care of and heal our environment.

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The White Tiger: A Book Review

• Saturday, March 27, 2021

"Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger is one of the most powerful books I've read in decades. No hyperbole. This debut novel from an Indian journalist living in Mumbai hit me like a kick to the head -- the same effect Richard Wright's Native Son and Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man had. - USA Today

There has been a resurgence of interest in Aravind Adiga’s book The White Tiger as Netflix recently released a movie of the same name based on this 2008 Booker prize-winning exemplary work of fiction. 

I watched the compelling movie, and I was discussing it earnestly with my high school-friend Deepanita Singh, an avid reader who told me that I should read the riveting novel as the screen adaptation was merely an “ insipid and watered-down version of what could have been!”

According to her, the “ book is powerful and packs a punch” as “it is a brilliant and brutal satire on the neo liberal India of 2008” . I heeded her advice and read this darkly humorous thriller which did not disappoint.

Balram Halwai aka Munna is our pithy protagonist, a poor boy who hails from the village of Laxmangarh in the district of Gaya. In this epistolary novel, Munna writes down his life story in the form of a long letter addressed to “his excellency” , the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao who is poised to visit India to learn the secrets of its rising entrepreneurship.

The story opens with our main character as a successful businessman in Bangalore. He says he is “ in the light now ” but he “was born and raised in darkness.” If you have not guessed it yet, light symbolizes the rich and darkness relates to poverty. His mom died when he was young and his tired, gnarled rickshaw puller dad said prophetically, “My whole life, I have been treated like a donkey. All I want is that one son of mine-at least one-should live like a man.”

The first step in Munna’s journey up the social ladder comes when he acquires a job as a chauffeur to his village landlord’s son Ashok who resides with his wife Pinky in Delhi. He suffers many indignities in this position and the final blow comes when he is asked to assume responsibility for a road accident he did not commit.

When Balram was young, an inspector visited his school and impressed by his intelligence, called him a “White Tiger’, a rare “creature that comes along only once in a generation.” This title stays in his subconscious and he signs his letter to Jiabao as “The White Tiger, A Thinking Man and an Entrepreneur”. His ambition propels him on a path to success and he is able to shatter the shackles of servitude.

How does he manage to break free? Does he literally cut a throat to become a cutthroat businessman?  What does he lose and what does he gain in this journey to independence? You will have to read the book to find out.

This novel tugged at my heartstrings as I belong to the state of Bihar in India from where Balram was. I felt connected to the novel as I have fond memories of visiting Gaya in my childhood. However, it is heartbreaking to read about the hopelessness and despair experienced by the impoverished. The fate of the millions of people living in poverty is compared to chickens huddled together in a coop, who “see the organs of their brothers lying around them. They know they are next, yet they cannot rebel. They do not try to get out of the coop. The very same thing is done with humans in this country.” It was depressing to read about nameless, faceless workers sweeping floors in tea shops, “human spiders” that go spend a lifetime “crawling in between and under the tables with rags in their hands, crushed humans in crushed uniforms, sluggish, unshaven, in their thirties or forties or fifties but still boys." 

Balram is a narrator like no other: witty, sardonic, sarcastic, amoral, disdainful; he has an opinion about everything from bribery, corruption, traffic, love, prostitution, poets, politics and so on. He intersperses the narration of his story with tongue in cheek observations about Indian society which may sound condescending, but they are the profound truths of everyday life. He rightly says, “If I were making a country, I'd get the sewage pipes first, then the democracy, then I'd go about giving pamphlets and statues of Gandhi to other people, but what do I know?” H e quips ironically,  “See, the poor dream all their lives of getting enough to eat and looking like the rich. And what do the rich dream of?? Losing weight and looking like the poor.”

When his father dies due to negligence and lack of proper medical facilities, he comments with a wry sense of humor, “I came to Dhanbad after my father’s death. He had been ill for some time, but there is no hospital in Laxmangarh, although there are three different foundation stones for a hospital, laid by three different politicians before three different elections.”

This novel caused a furor as people are sensitive when their country is criticized. However, I believe that whether we wish to face it or not, the author has been brutally honest about the harsh realities faced by the servant class in India. In his defense, Adiga said in an interview, " it's not an attack on the country, it's about the greater process of self-examination."

In 2021, we have made progress in lowering the poverty rate but according to an Oxfam report in 2020, " India's top 1% still owns half of national wealth; bottom 60% just 4.8%." Last year, when the pandemic broke and companies closed, the migrant workers were left stranded without jobs and pictures of them drudging home on foot served as a pertinent reminder of the unfairness of it all.

The picture Adiga paints in this book is extremely bleak. There is no joy in Balram’s life. Everyone, from his employer to his grandmother is out to exploit him. Growing up in India, I have seen first hand that poor people can be happy. I have seen joyful children in villages; playing, laughing, swimming in streams nearby without a care in the world. I have seen parents who delight in their children, who are personable and hopeful despite not having enough money. Sadly, Balram does not have even one experience of elation to share with the readers.

Adiga has faced some criticism from critics who doubt the authenticity of his voice. They point out that Adiga has never been poor, he is middle class and Oxford educated. Balram's excellent English and manner of speaking do not correspond to someone who is poor and street smart. But then, he is the White Tige r, so we really cannot cannot question how and why he is so well read and articulate.

The servant master dynamic in the book is brilliantly depicted. Balram is a sycophant who can be excessively obsequious to win favors and be in the good books of his masters. Since Ashok and Pinky treat him better than most employers, his feelings get hurt when he must dress up as a Maharaja to entertain or when they make him say something so that they can laugh at his expense. Balram asks a thought-provoking question, “Do we loathe our masters behind a facade of love - or do we love them behind a facade of loathing?”

Balram commits peccadillos like cheating his master by giving false receipts or using his car as a taxi on the side but he rationalizes his behavior when he thinks to himself, “ The more I stole from him, the more I realized how much he had stolen from me.”  Emboldened by getting away with misdemeanors, Balram plans the ultimate sin. Will he get away with it or will he be caught? The book will shock you but also make you ponder about the injustice of social inequality and if there should be a better option in life than to   “eat — or get eaten up.”  

If this review piques your interest, do c lick on the book cover below to access this book in the Richland Library catalog.

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If you are interested in fiction from India do browse these booklists:

31 Outstanding Fiction Books by Indian Authors

Read a Book by a South Asian Author - India

Research and Readers Advisory Professional

Loves learning about other cultures and broadening her reading horizons through a vast selection of multicultural fiction.

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Throughout the novel, Balram describes family as a destructive and burdensome part of Indian life, one that prevents its members from pursuing individual advancement and liberty. Balram’s grandmother Kusum embodies this negative image of family in the story. She shortsightedly pulls both Balram and his brother Kishan out of school at a young age, and attempts to arrange both brothers’ marriages early in life, before they are able to support families of their own. The…

Morality and Indian Society

The White Tiger portrays an India that has not only lost its traditional social structure, but also outgrown a conventional moral framework. Balram’s description of the Light India versus the Dark India in the novel, which subverts usual associations of “Light” with virtue, and “Darkness” with immorality, reflects this upset of moral values. Light India is not virtuous at all. Rather, its members do whatever necessary to preserve their own wealth and power, acting morally…

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The Kenyon Review

Review of Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger

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Free Press, $24.00 (hardcover)

Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger has won the Man-Booker prize. It is the fourth winner by an Indian writer, including Midnight’s Children , by Salman Rushdie, The God of Small Things , by Arundhati Roy, and Inheritance of Loss , by Kiran Desai. As an historian of India, who frequently teaches fiction, I picked it up to read on my flight to New Delhi last week. Quickly I found that The White Tiger displays such a mean-spirited voice and a brutal distortion of the lives of poor rural Indians that it makes its celebration puzzling.

The White Tiger is the story of Balram Halwai, the son of a village rickshawwalla , who through wiles and determination becomes the driver to the hated village landlord. The book takes the form of a series of letters from the narrator, now a self-described entrepreneur in the bustling hi-tech city of Bangalore, to the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, describing “the real India” he will not see during his upcoming official visit. We learn early on that Balram has committed murder and robbery. But all of this is told with comical fun poked not only at the excesses of the rich, but also at the circumstances of poor people.

Described by the Man-Booker committee as a humorous take on “a different aspect of India,” the novel sets itself up as a corrective to one prevailing image of India’s economic success. Clearly this politics was a Man-Booker consideration. As the committee says, “The book gains from dealing with pressing social issues and significant global developments with astonishing humour.” In fact, 80% of the world’s software comes from India and so too do many of the world’s richest entrepreneurs. (I’m reminded here of Thomas Friedman’s portrayals in The World is Flat .) And yet there remain problems of economic and social inequality.

The White Tiger chooses Bihar, the poor state in eastern India—always maligned by reporters who rarely visit there to report on it—as emblematic of poverty and savagery. The fact that none of the characters are fully realized or sympathetic may be the sign of satire, but if so, it also suggests (and many reviewers seem to agree) that they stand for the real depravity of Biharis. Adiga’s labeling this place as “Darkness” in contrast to Civilization (Bangalore) can’t possibly escape a comparison to Joseph Conrad. And sure enough Adiga’s description of village life follows from so many stereotypes found in colonial literature.

Having lived in Bihar, I both recognize the landscapes he describes and resent the cheap caricature he makes of it. One needn’t idealize poverty to recognize the humanity in people from different regions, cultures, backgrounds, and classes. The fact that Adiga was born in Chennai, or lives in Mumbai, does not excuse the blank stereotyping of Biharis. (By the way, there was a recent political agitation in Mumbai to kick out Bihari migrant workers.) In the novel, we’re supposed to laugh at the cruelty of the main character’s grandmother or his own uncaring ambition. Even the critique of the wealthy landlords and corrupt politicians is convoluted—elections determined by a single man stamping ballots. As a student of India’s democracy, I especially balked at this dismissal of the seriousness with which Biharis in large number exercise their right to vote.

Both in India and abroad The White Tiger has received mixed reviews. Akash Kapur in the New York Times writes about “an absence of human complexity” in the novel. And Manjula Padmanabhan in Outlook India , points to its “schoolboyish sneering.” But others at The Independent and The New Yorker are cheerfully “seduced.”

The White Tiger has none of the beautiful prose of The God of Small Things or the brilliant social criticism of Midnight’s Children . And it does not portray poor people in the complex and nuanced terms that Rohinton Mistry does in A Fine Balance . Rather, the Man-Booker committee chose to reward a weak novel that does little more than depict corruption among the powerful and depravity among the poor in the guise of a “post post-colonial” novel.

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The White Tiger By Arvind Adiga

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‘The White Tiger’ Review: Don’t Call Him a Slumdog

Ramin Bahrani directs a barbed rags-to-riches tale of modern India.

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By A.O. Scott

According to Balram, a wealthy young Bangalore businessman, “the Indian entrepreneur” must be a combination of opposites: “straight and crooked, mocking and believing, sly and sincere.” He explains this in a letter to the Chinese prime minister that doubles as voice-over narration for “The White Tiger,” Ramin Bahrani’s restless new film, which is itself a blend of disparate elements. Adapted from Aravind Adiga’s Booker Prize-winning novel , the movie is part satire and part melodrama, a crime-tinged rags-to-riches parable that uses the story of Balram’s improbable rise to indict the iniquities of the society that created him.

Balram (Adarsh Gourav) composes his letter in 2010 and addresses it to Wen Jiabao, China’s premier at the time. Most of the action — the events that led Balram from poverty to his current status — takes place a few years earlier, in Delhi and the rural village where he grew up. In spite of this, “The White Tiger” bristles with present-tense energy. History has only confirmed the signs that Balram, an astute self-taught observer of the tides of fortune, sees around him. “The white man,” he writes to Wen, is on the way down, while India and China, “the yellow man and the brown man” are in the ascendant.

But geopolitics isn’t his main concern. For most of his life, Balram has been preoccupied with survival, with understanding his place in a cruel system and figuring out a means of escape. Born into a caste of candy-makers, he quickly concludes that the complex stratification of Indian society has devolved into a simpler hierarchy of masters and servants. His preferred metaphor for the condition of the poor is “the rooster coop.” He and his fellow have-nots are crowded together, pecking and squawking and waiting to see who will be slaughtered next.

The title of the movie suggests a different metaphor, one that Balram clings to through years of suffering and privation. A white tiger is a rare, once-in-a-generation phenomenon. The idea is that in a country defined by rigid inequality, a self-made man is that kind of beast.

You may remember another English-language film set in India whose hero followed a similar trajectory, and “The White Tiger” positions itself, sometimes explicitly, as a response to “Slumdog Millionaire.” It isn’t luck, pluck or happy coincidence that propels Balram from his ragged beginnings to sleek triumph, but cunning, desperation and a coldbloodedness that can masquerade as servility. The spirit of Charles Dickens that hovered over “Slumdog” has been banished; Bahrani’s literary reference points (and Adiga’s) lean more toward Dreiser, Dostoyevsky and “Native Son.”

Balram receives an early education in injustice. The death of his father forces him to give up a scholarship and work in a tea shop. Balram is under the thumb of Granny (Kamlesh Gill), the family matriarch, but the local landlord (known as the Stork) and his enforcers (including the fearsome Mongoose) wield the real power. Nominal political authority belongs to a figure identified only as “The Great Socialist” (Swaroop Sampat), whose ideology doesn’t prevent her from taking bribes from old-school feudalists.

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