Can there be light without darkness? Does the effervescence and reverence of the mighty river Ganga who is worshipped and thronged by millions of people seeking solace at her feet, lose its sheer opulence and luminosity by the protruding filth and gunk that she carries in her belly? Is it possible to triturate the stigma and the social belief system that’s ingrained in us and functioning constantly at subliminal levels?
Welcome to the intriguing, demoralizing and a nonchalantly deceitful world of Munna – Balram Halwai, born and raised in the lap of poverty and disdain in a quaint little rural village called Laxmangarh. One of the brighter ones of the lot; his father, a rickshaw puller, at the behest of his dead wife, wanted him to study, believing that Balram will be the one to herald and change their already disintegrating fortune.
Written in the form of letters addressed to ‘The Premier’ in a span of seven days, this epistolary fiction is a masterpiece. The author pens a striking tale – a rags to riches story, depicting the sordid reality of the downtrodden, revealing its rotten and filthy insides, not forgetting the unflinching determination of will and grit to conquer darkness and emerge in light.
An appellation given by the visiting school officer “The White Tiger” confirms Balram’s beliefs that will eventually unfold the lucid narrative just like a convoluted labyrinthine, brilliantly layered to usurp a series of unwarranted events that have been exclusively curated and tailored to question the profundity of the protagonist’s action.
A servant, bond with a sense of loyalty, however, drowned with an innate desire to taste power and money, gets a golden opportunity to work as a driver for one of the most powerful families in town. Manipulative and conniving to the core, Balram understands that the path to success lies in acquiring the trust of his masters, Ashok and Pinky; understand their foibles and use their vulnerability to his advantage that would in turn catapult him to a life of growth and wealth.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I can’t wait to watch the film adaptation. Have you read this book? Are you excited to watch the film on Netflix?