There is a
very simple test of how you feel about India. I call it the White tiger test.
It consists of answering a simple question. Do you like the book The White
tiger by Arvind Adiga?
Some people
would say yes. For them India is a land of poor and the hungry. Of people who
could go to any extent to get a decent standard of living. Of violence and
trickery. Of exploitation and upper caste bias. These traits of India, which
come out clearly in the book shout out to expose the real truth behind the
veils of grandeur and hypocricy in the country. If you feel this is true you
would love the book.
Some people
say no. For them this is the country of unity in diversity. Of mutual love and
cohabitation in difficult circumstances. Of sprinkles of success here and
there. Of a functioning democracy. Of the land of merit. The India of these
people is no where in the book. And if you belong to this category, then you
would hate the book.
Where do I
stand on this test? If I had taken this test in my 20’s I would be in latter category. I could not read the book
then. I put it down. I hated it. Now after living so many years here, I love
the book. I read it recently and also watched the movie. Laughed out loud at
the humor and appreciated the lens the writer has put on our country. Something
which is well known to everyone, yet gets concealed in the hyperbole.
The problem
is not that things like these happen only in India. The recent Booker prize
winning book, Shuggie Bain portrays a pretty dreary picture of the Scottish
city of Glasgow. A story of a broken family with an alchoholic wife who takes
multiple sex partners, a taxi driver husband who leaves her for someone else,
her children who leave her one by one expect Shuggie the titular character who
is gay. The book does not paint a good picture of the city with its low income
parts, the banter and the violence and mental health issues. Yet it does not
look like anybody is protesting.
Another
book which comes to mind is the stream of consciousness Booker prize winning
book Milkman from Anna Burns. An Irish woman in the book is being stalked by a
man. The book paints a dreary picture of war torn Ireland and takes us into the
mind of a fearful woman. If anything like this about Jammu and Kashmir is
written today, I would not be surprised if it does not raise eyebrows.
Closer home
we have Munshi Premchand. His books bring out the stark class and caste
discrimination in his times. The story Kafan is a masterful portrayal of a man
not having a shroud for his death. I guess probably those times were different.
Munshi Premchand is considered one of the greatest writers in India. I wonder
what would have happened to him had he been writing in today’s times.
Writers
write about the bad things in the society. It is sort of their job to sweep out
things so easily shrugged away below the rug. Some of the best books are about
painful things in life, things that others do not want to talk about. The White
Tiger brings one aspect of it beautifully and convincing manner.
Then of
course, a reader has the choice to feel offended too. People have inbuilt
perceptions of things around them based on their personality and experiences. A
portrayal not suited to their inner worldview can bring out the worst in some
of them. Who knows it better than Salman Rushdie!
Anyways do
take the test. A better way to know how you feel about your country.