The White Tiger Review

The White Tiger is a hilarious satire written by Aravind Adiga. Set in modern-day India, Adiga addresses problems of the country through the story of a murder, Balram Halwai. The novel is written in the form of a letter to Premier Wen Jia Bao of China. India is a rising country alongside of China and while both these countries are rising economically, they both have problems that should be discussed. The novel explains that one reason that India is rising is because of its large technology industry.  As Balram says in the novel: “…we entrepreneurs-have set up all these outsourcing companies that virtually run America now.” And while the novel boasts about India, it also satirizes issues such as corruption and poverty.

Why is the book named The White Tiger? The white tiger is the “the rarest of animals-the creature that comes along only once in a generation”. Balram is the white tiger. His story is of his change from a servant, a driver, to a successful entrepreneur working in Bangalore. What was part of the process though, was the murder of his master. Although Balram is a murderer, I found him absolutely entertaining. Adiga has great author's craft. For example, he gives details from a wanted poster to weave Balram's explanation of his crime into the novel. But what is best about Adiga's writing is the voice. The humor and satire of Balram’s voice brings out the seriousness in the issues he addresses. The humor of the novel is already apparent from the first page where Balram describes Beijing as the "Capital of the Freedom-loving Nation of China". Another example of Balram's voice is when he talks about the corruption education he was given by saying: “If the Indian village is a paradise, then the school is a paradise within a paradise.” Right afterwards, he then says that the teachers stole their lunch money. Balram's humorous voice carries throughout the novel and contrasts with the serious issues he talks about.

This novel, although a great laugh, also prompts the readers to think about the serious problems of India. This book is a perfect read at a time like now, when India is rapidly growing economically. Adiga writes this satire well, with strong voice and a captivating plot. This is an excellent book to read for both teenagers and adults.

Discovering: The Aryan Civilization (DRAFT)

An archaeology assignment. (fictional-report)
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1st Day

According to discovery, waves of Aryans migrated into the Indus Valley Civilization for many years.They were warlike people that contributed to the final collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization. Already in the weakest part of their civilizations, the Indus people were defenseless, therefore, the overran the valley. The Aryans originated from the Caucasus Mountains, but journeyed eastwards towards Asia. On their way, they met people from the Middle East, and learned how to make iron tools and weapons. The Aryans swept into the the civilization from the Hindu Kush Mountains on the Northwest side of the Indus Valley. Irons weapons contributed greatly to their success, and they were skilled charioteers who used fast, horse-drawn war chariots. Over time, their culture clashed with the Indus peoples.

Map of Aryan Migration into Indus Valley Aryan-made iron tools, for engraving

2nd Day

People gain knowledge of Aryan history and culture through oral religious traditions called the "Vedas". They include hymn, prayers, and rituals for religious ceremonies. The Vedas were composed many years ago from about 1500 B.C. to 1000 B.C. Until today, the Vedas still play an important role for religious life in India. People today still continue reciting Vedic poems for weddings and funerals. Eventually, these oral traditions were recorded in Sanskrit, a written language invented much later. The Aryans worshiped many gods. From discovery, their most important god was Indra, a warrior god. This god had many human characteristics such as doing pleasurable things like eating and dancing. On the other hand, they also had strict gods like Varuna who governed the workings of the universe and punished sinners.

A painting depicting Varuna

A painting depicting Indra



















3rd Day

Partition: A Muslim View

Dear Diary,                                                                                                August 16, 1947

We now have hope.

For us Muslims, the past few years have been filled with fear and suspicion. From the point the Indian National Congress started demanding independence, us Muslims in the Muslim League have feared that our power would be lessened to nothing if India were to be ruled by the more numerous Hindus. We are worried that the Hindus will not represent the interest of us Indian Muslims. Although some Hindus do not discriminate against us, some treat us with hostility and call us foreign invaders, even though the Muslim invasion happened way back in the past. India is my home, like it is for many of my Muslim friends. We do not want to live in a place where we are not treated with respect. And that is why our leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah demanded for a separate country for us. Our want for a separate country is justifiable.

I must say that it is unfortunate that riots and violence was what gave us our independence and that there is violence now that the British have given us independence. I agree with Gandhi’s way of non-violence protest. Violence is not how people should protest. Too much violence is happening in around me and I wish not to think of it any further. Now I only think about migrating to the new founded Pakistan. The journey might be difficult because as I migrate north, Hindus are migrating south.

I am delighted to know that partition will happen, that we have our own country. Added to that, we have our great leader, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, as governor general. In my mind I see a great future ahead. In this new country, Muslims will never be worried about our power and we will never be called foreign conquerors.

We now have hope.

Timeline: Beginning of India

Archaeological Report: Harappa

Below is a fake archaeological report based on research of the actual Harappa excavation in 1920.

Harappa Site: Investigation of the Indus Valley Civilization during 1920-21

Figure 1

Harappa is one of the two best-known sites of the Indus Valley, much work has been done in this site and the findings have contributed to our understanding of the ancient civilization. It is quite difficult to excavate in the Indus Valley due to the shape of a valley.

Harappa was originally found by railway workers who were building a track through the city. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to work on the site myself. During my work, we excavated Mound AB and Mound F, which is pictured in Figure 1. Both Mounds provided many artifacts that we can use to understand the civilization better.

Figure 2

Mound AB, also known as the Citadel Hill (figure 2), contained remains of fortifications, a well and a few buildings. The buildings were made of stone that were covered in a polish that we think is of “Mauryan” characteristic. From this Mound we also found several clay seals (figure 4). The pictographs on the seals are yet to be deciphered. The pictographs are many of animals, these seals were most likely used by Merchants to show what they were trading. They are much like the ones found by Sir Alexander Cunningham in his excavation in Harappa in 1872 - 1873.

Figure 3

In Mound F, we made a trench that was 500 feet long and 16 feet wide. In the trench we found something very unexpected, a large granary (figure 3)! A granary is a storehouse for threshed grain. In the granary we found a few farming tools. This suggests that the civilization was focused on farming! In this area we also found statues of dancing temple women (figure 45, suggestive of a mother goddess.

Figure 4

By observing the whole site, we can see that the city is very organized and carefully laid out. There are separate areas in the city for certain buildings. For example: one area for homes and another for public buildings. The remains of fortification are parts of the wall that protected the city. The city also has advanced bathing facilities and drains.

Figure 5

I feel that this excavation has been useful in the ongoing quest of finding more about the Indus Valley Civilization. The artifacts found in this excavation have contributed to our knowledge about the culture of the Indus Valley Civilization. I expect to return soon and work on the other mounds in Harappa.