End of Fourth Night

The Fourth Night 128-145

Part1

In this part of the book Balram continues talking about his life as a driver in Delhi.

On day he drove Pinky Madame to the Mall, waited for a few minutes and went in his new white shirt and new black shoes in the mall. He was so scared that he didn’t make it to the guard in front of the mall at the first try. The second try he thought he gets caught every second but he made it inside the mall. He was proud but felt like guards were watching him all the time. That was his first taste of the fugitive’s life.

Inside the mall he absorbed everything, the golden light, all smell of perfume, cool, air-conditioned air and shops with walls of glass and huge posters of handsome European men and women hanging on the walls.

Back outside in the parking lot he changed and went to the other drivers, who haven’t noticed that he was in the mall. They were all looking at a cell phone. On driver got it from his master, so he can call him to let him know where and when he is suppose to pick him up.

The following days the traffic got really bad and Pinky starts again talking about going back. Mr. Ashok is a good husband and tries to come up with something new to surprise her every time. For her birthday Balram had to dress up as a maharaja and serve her some pizza, which smells awful in his opinion. Later that day he drove them into the city to T.G.I. Friday’s and Balram waited until after midnight. When Ashok and Pinky woke them, they were loud and happy. Pinky Madame wanted to drive the car. She was really drunk but said everyone is driving drunk in India. Ashok was to drunk to stop her. As a joke they left Balram in a street but picked them up a few minutes later. Pinky was driving really fast and trough one red light after the other. Then they hit a black thing. Balram drove them home and Pinky was under shock. At the house she said it wasn’t a dog. While Balram cleaned the car he found cheap, green fabric. Mostly homeless kids from the darkness are wearing this. Balram was supposed to keep it a secret. The next day the Mongoose was waiting in the lobby. Balram was a ‘part of the family’, that’s what he made him believe. The Mongoose just wanted him to sign a paper where he admits to drove the car alone on the day of the accident. In India it’s an honor for the servants family if the servant/ driver goes to jail for his family. Balrams family knew is already because the Mongoose visited his granny Kusum. They bragged with the news and were proud how loyal and prefect Balram is as a servant. In Delhi the jails are full of drivers who took the blame from there masters.

Part2

In the blog post before I was interested in how it’s going to continue with the clothes Balram bought. He went into the wall which shows that he is courageous and interested in new things. It shows that Balram thinks independently. He is not a normal servant because it takes a smart guy to get into the mall without a guard noticing him. He wears the shirt just to get in the mall, after that he changes into his colourful cloths again. This could mean that he is not comfortable being that smart person. He likes acting strong sometimes but in the moment he doesn’t have the confidence to stand up for himself and neither the options.

In some parts for example when he is driving Pinky Madame alone or when she acts out he seems uncomfortable and insecure. E.g. He knew that Pinky Madame and Mr. Ashok were drunk the one night so in my opinion he should have said something or make them realize how dangerous it can be. If he would do so, she wouldn’t hit the child and he didn’t had to go to prison.

Part3

T.G.I. Fridays – fast food restaurant

http://www.tgifridays.com/home/welcome.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T.G.I._Friday%27s