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Adiga’s protagonist partly inspired by rickshawman

LONDON: “The White Tiger”, in the form of seven letters written by its rags-to-riches protagonist Balram Halwai to Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, has been praised for presenting the contrasting images of obscene wealth and deep poverty in India as it charts the journey of Balram, the son of a rickshawpuller, from his impoverished origins to entrepreneurial success.

Adiga, who was inspired to write the book after his travels through India as a Time magazine journalist, said that he wanted to portray the condition of India’s “underclass” after encountering a new India . “For the first time I met people like rickshawpullers, and it got me thinking about India in a different way. This book was an attempt to capture the voice of the men I met.”

Adiga said the protagonist was partly inspired by a rickshawpuller who told him: “You’ve listened to me, but when you go back to Delhi, you’ll forget about me…I did not forget about him.”

In a tribute to Delhiites, he dedicated his prize to New Delhi saying it was a city going to “determine the future of India.”

Asked what he was going to do with the prize money, he took a dig at the global banking crisis: “The first thing I am going to do is find a bank where I can put it!”