The Seventh Night

The Seventh Night 249-276

Part1

The last chapter is about Balrams live change from a hunted criminal to a solid pillar in Bangalore.

Back on the last day of Balram’s life as driver he made him self a plan how to get to Bangalore. He wanted to travel in zigzag which turned out to be really hard because he had to keep the red bag and Dharam in each hand. On the third day in Hyderabad Balram bought a cup of tea when he saw his police poster on the wall.

A man looked at him and when Balram wanted to run away the man caught him by his wrist. He was another guy from the darkness and wanted to know what’s written on the posters because he couldn’t read.

Balram told him those were police posters and two of them were terrorist from Kishan and the third poster was from the man who caught them. That was Balram’s poster but he didn’t tell him. 

When they finally arrived in Bangalore Balram and Dharam lived in a hotel for four weeks because Balram took so long to recover his nerves. He wasn’t that kind of guy who could just move on after killing someone.

So after those four weeks they moved into an apartment and Balram started to think about how to earn money. He sat down and listened to the city. Everything came together to outsourcing. That means you are working in India on the phone for an American company. The work time is the night and Balram was wondering how the people came to and back form there work place. That’s how he would fit in and that’s how the entrepreneurs came in. He went to a Toyota Qualis dealer and wanted to rent a car.

Balram called every outsourcing company to offer a taxi pick up service but every company already had one. He was depressed for a day but then thought what Ashok would have done. He went to the police with his red bag and made a deal with the police. He offered ten thousand rupees and a little bit more and the police checked the taxi services for drivers’ licenses. Two days later Balram had his White Tiger Drivers company.

In the beginning Balram was a driver too but the stopped. Now he has sixteen drivers, twenty-six air-conditioned vehicles, a lot more money than he borrowed from Mr. Ashok and a website. On the website are a lot of pictures from each driver and his cars and if anyone needs his help he just has to click “contact Ashok Sharma now”, that’s how he calls him self now.

In his company he treats his employees like employees and does not slap, bully, mock or insult anyone. The relation ship between master and employee is just on the working base. Everything else would he to dangerous for a White Tiger.

He also explained the long interruption the other day in this chapter. One of his drivers killed a young boy on his bike when he drove a group of girls home. When Balram arrived at the place of the accident the police was already there. The driver got yelled at from the dead boys’ brother. They convinced the brother to go to the station. The police officers knew Balram and the brother understood why Balram took him to the station.

But Balram felt bad and made the driver find the address. He drove there offered the family money and a joy at his company. He mother didn’t take the money and refused the job offer. The father thought differently about it. Balram felt better after he went there but he was scared that his employees noticed it and tried to cheat him.

Three moths after Balram came to Bangalore he went to a temple and talked in a pray to his whole family and told them to leave him in peace. Dharam, the last family member Balram really has, hoes to a good English school in Bangalore and gets what he wants. Balram thought he keeps the secret as long as he gets food, because without Balram he wouldn’t have such a good life.

In the end of the chapter Balram talks about him self. He sees him self as a part of the new Bangalore and the new India together with all the work that is going on in the city, all the companies that are coming to Bangalore and all the buildings which are getting build. He dreams about getting into real estate because it’s the Bangalore of “tomorrow” and he would sell his company to another entrepreneur. Even if this won’t happen or he get’s caught some day he would say it was all worth it.

Part2

Pg. 275 “I’ve made it. I’ve broken out of the coop!”

I really like that Balram is proud of him self and that he would not do a thing differently in his life. It shows how self-confident he became during his life. But in the same moment I don’t like and understand how he could be so cold to his family. I thought the Indian families would stick together and won’t be so mad at each other. He should have sent some of his money to his family. It won’t get in my head that he doesn’t really care if his family died because of his acting or not.

The ending made me interested in how his life would continue. He last sentence was pg 276 “ I think I am ready to have children, Mr Premier.” Is he really going to marry? Who would he marry? A woman with golden hair or a Nepali woman? Does he get caught? How would Dharams’ life be?

Part3

The Sixth Night

The Sixth Night 191-247

Part1

Chapter seven is about Balram and the end as Mr. Ashok's driver.

In the beginning Balram talks again about his life as servant by Mr. Ashok.

Mr. Ashok and other masters started to do an evening walk. They are walking in circles around the house. After one they go to there servant, drink some water, take the towel and run another round. Mr. Ashok attends twice a week. On the way back to the apartment Balram met Vitiligo-Lips to order a girl with golden hair for Mr. Ashok. But actually the girl was for him self. During the week Balram did some things to cheat his master by using the car as a taxi, taking the car to a corrupt mechanic and steeling petrol to sell it. When Balram had enough money he went to the other servant, Vitiligo-Lips. He took Balram to a hotel an managed a girl for seven thousand rupees for him. At first Balram was really happy but when he just wanted to get started he saw that the hair was just dyed golden. He freaked out and got beaten up by the manager. Back in the apartment, Mr. Ashok was in Balrams room. He called after him but he didn’t show up so he decided to come down. Mr. Ashok didn’t know that Balram lived in such bad conditions; that’s why he wants to give him money for a better apartment. They were talking quite a lot and in the end they ended up a cross the street at a tea shop. Mr. Ashok wanted to try the kind of food Balram eats. He liked the okra, cauliflower, radish, spinach, daal and lassi a lot.

The other day the Mongoose came back to Delhi. He had a red Italian bag with him which was full with money. The money was for the minister. They paid him money so they don’t have to pay taxes. Mr. Ashok had the job to do that frequently. The first time the Mongoose came with Mr. Ashok and than took off to Dhanbad again.

The next time Mr. Ashok had to handle the money to the minister. Balram took the red bag and went to the car while he discovered all the money in the red bag. Balram felt like everyone knew about his idea to steal the red bag. He saw things and actions witch he interpreted.

With Mr. Ashoks permission to go to a temple Balram took of to the “red-light-district”. He looked at a few very skinny and pretty Nepali girls but nothing stirred from above his waist. Then Balram started a fight where he could just lose. He punched one and every other pimp came to punch him back. Balram ran away more and more into the old Delhi. He came to Darya Ganj, an old book market. While walking trough the market be looked at books but didn’t buy any but got to knew poems. He liked them a lot. Then he came into the slaughter quarter. It’s a famous part of the old Delhi but no one ever really saw it. He saw a buffalo and heard him talking to him about his family, that all of them died.

The next morning Balram wanted to talk to Mr. Ashok about his problems. But in the car Mr. Ashok just paid attention to his cell phone. He thought Balram wanted to get married in Laxmangarh. Mr. Ashok got excited because he likes the city and wanted to go with him. At the mall Balram walked around and found animal prints which he was going to follow. He ended up at a slam.. The people here were building the malls and the houses of the rich people. The slam had a safety wall which was a row of shitting men. They were sitting there giving a shit and some of them didn’t feel embarrassed by Balram watching them.

Back at the apartment a guy was in Balrams room. He had a letter for him. Which said he is selfish that he hadn’t send money back, so his family decided to send him Dharam. He had to take care of him and they are going to organize a wedding for him. Kusum is going to send Mr. Ashok a letter. Balram was furious and hit Dharam he fell on the ground and his face turned blue. Balram was ready to kill Mr. Ashok but with Dharams arrival he didn’t do it. That evening he went to Mr. Ashok who was being really nice and happy for Balram to have company. Dharma was quiet, went 5 years to school and learnt like Balram did. They talked a little until Vitiligo-Lips came who wanted a tea. He used Balram because of the other night when Balram went to a hotel for a prostitute. In the night Dharam had to get a lizard out of Balrams bed. He seemed to be amused by Balrams fear.

The next day he drove Mr. Ashok and Ms. Uma to Lodi Gardens when the streets were full with people. The election results were announced that day. The election changed because the The Great Socialist and his group came up because they got the votes from the darkness. Mr. Ashok got really upset and angry. They paid the money wrong and he had to fix the income-tax mess. He was on the phone the whole day and in the night Balram drove him to the Imperial Hotel. When he came out Balram had to drive Vijay, Balrams childhood hero and the pigherd’s son who turned from a bus conductor in a politician. Mr. Ashok and his family had to pay Vijay lot money to get out there and Vijay knew they are going to pay the money.

Balram took the next morning off to go to the zoo with Dharam. They walked from cage to cage stopped a few times and continued walking. At the cage of the white Tiger Balram fainted and talked to his grandmother Kusum. He said he was sorry but he can’t live in a cage his whole life. In the evening Balram and Dharam wrote that in a letter to Kusum.

It was raining the next day. Balram fixed the car so he’d be ready if Mr. Ashok needs him and went back to Dharam. Before he left he gave him 10 rupees for the day and picked Mr. Ashok up. He was on the phone. Balram drove in the city from Bank to Bank. When Mr. Ashok had seven thousand rupees together he wanted to go to the Sheraton. On the way there they drove by a park. The streets were empty. Balram stopped the car and told Mr. Ashok he needed his help because the tire was stuck in mud. He got out and got down to the tire. Balram rose up behind him and rammed a broken Johnnie Walker Black whiskey bottle into his head.

He thinks a lot about why he didn’t just gag him and left him in the bushes unconscious. He thought about two possible answers. The first thought is he recovers and calls the police, the second thought is that it was an revenge in advance which means Mr. Ashok an his family would have done terrible things to Balrams family which Balram did not want. So he had to kill him.
He drove to the railway station and thought about getting Dharma. First he hesitated but then he watched a little boy playing with water and drove back to get him.

Part2

Pg. 191“The dreams of the rich, and the dreams of the poor – they never overlap, do they?”

I like this statement because it’s the truth in every society. In India the poor want to be like the rich, they want money, food and they want to get fat. Being fat means being rich but the rich people dream of being as skinny as the poor people. This is such a contradiction of the social life and really ironic in my point of view.

Another interesting part was when Balram heard the buffalo talking to him about his family. He said kishan, his aunt and grandmother Kusum died. I think this shows that Balram feels bad an guilty for not sending back his money.

Part3

The Sixth Morning 167-189

Part1

At 6:20 am Balram returned from an accident which happened in an outsourcing company Balram is working with. In this chapter Balram is going to talk about how he got corrupted from a sweet, innocent villager into a citified felloe full of debauchery, depravity and wickedness. Those changes happened because of Mr. Ashok who came innocent from America and turned corrupt in India. He changed and how could a servant not change with him? On day Balram drove him to the mall, the Sheraton hotel, where Mr. Ashok got himself a Nepali girl, the PVR Saket, a huge cinema like the ones in America and than finally back home. While waiting at the cinema he talked to another servant and read American magazines with women as a cover.
The friendship ended like every other servant-servant friendship, when the master needed the servant. Balram took the car after he drove Mr. Ashok and the girl home. He drove around the malls and trough the streets.

The next morning nothing happened so Balram had a bad feeling about the last night. He eavesdropped on them and heard that the girl was is former love and not a Nepali or prostitute. They met because Balram told her he changed but she isn’t convinced because with one phone call from his father and brother he was the old one.

The Minister’s sidekick, a man Mr. Ashok met when he brought a lot of money to the minister’s house, came with him the other night. They talked, drank whiskey and stopped for a Russian prostitute which looked like Kim Basinger an American actress. She spoke perfectly Hindi and was in real a Ukrainian student. All three went to a hotel an hour later Mr. Ashok came outside in a bad health. Balram drove back and wanted them to come out but then a police officer came and Balram left.

On the way home Balram was bitter and thought about Delhi, the civil war and the blood on the streets. That night, driving alone trough Delhi, he saw hundreds of homeless people. Back in the Buckingham Towers B Block the gatekeeper saw Balram again returning alone.

Before he went to his room he went to the back of the car to look for a golden hair, which he still keeps in his desk today.

Part2

Part3

Sahara Mall

http://www.delhilive.com/page/sahara-mall-gurgaon-200804042541

Greater Kailash

http://delhi.clickindia.com/areas/greaterkailash.html

The Fifth Night

The Fifth Night 147-166

Part 1

This chapter starts out with Balram telling Mr. Jiaboa about the Great Indian Rooster Coop,

which means that the entire Indian economy is based on the trustworthiness of servants. For a better understanding he gave some examples, here is one: Every day are chauffeurs driving an empty car with a black suitcase in the backseat! Inside of it must be a million or two million rupees. And he will never touch that suitcase. He takes it where every the master wants him to put it, puts it down and goes. That all because Indian are the most honest people.

In the other part of the book Balram talks again about his time in Delhi as driver for Mr. Ashok. Balram sat a whole day in his little room until he got called up again. The Mongoose opened the door and the Stork was there too. Balram had to give him feet massages. Until Pinky Madame came out of her room no one told Balram he hadn’t go to prison because they had a contact at the police and no one reported the accident. The stork hit him again, like he always does when the water is cold or the massage is to strong. Pinky Madame ran back to the room and slammed the door. She is the only one in the whole family with a conscience.

On night Pinky Madame woke Balram up to drive her to the airport. Balram was confused because Mr. Ashok didn’t come with her and he never heard that a woman leaves her husband in real life. Mr. Ashok was really sad and a little depressed that Pinky Madame left him. He drank a lot of whisky and did not eat. Balram took care of him like a wife because someone had since his wife left. He felt like it was his duty. Balram tried to cheer him up with singing, joking and philosophy. The minute the Mongoose came back the whole relationship changed into a normal servant master relationship. Balram was still just the servant, just the driver. On day they were driving past a slum were a lot of families were outside. Mr. Ashok was touched by that and told his brother the Mongoose that family is everything and that he is happy to finally have someone real by his side, after 5 nights with just the servant. Back at the house the Mongoose opened a letter from Balrams granny Kusum and read it out loud. They need more money because it’s getting bad again and Kishan married but Kusum will not order Balram to marry. She wants him to visit. Balram had to bring Mr. Ahsok to the mall and stayed in the car to think. He thought about marriage and how Kusum would get the dowry.

At 1:32 in the morning he suddenly had to leave because of an emergency.

Part 2

The following quotes are from the part where the Mongoose came back to Delhi after Pinky Madame left Mr. Ashok and Balram started to take care of him like a wife because he felt like it was his duty.

Pg 160 “The moment he arrived, everything changed for me. The intimacy was over between me and Mr. Ashok.”

Pg 161 ““When I was in Americas, I thought family was a burden, I don’t deny it. When you and Father tried to stop me from marrying Pinky because she wasn’t a Hindu I was furious with you, I don’t deny it. But without family, a man is nothing. Absolutely nothing. I had nothing but this driver in front of me for five nights. Now at least I have someone real by my side: you.””

Balram really started to take care of Mr. Ashok and felt bad for his situation. He did everything to cheer him up and the relationship really started to get better between them. I think Balram was really happy about it because he felt lonely so often. When the Mongoose came back it must have felt like a slap in his face. It must be so depressing and unmotivated. Mr. Ashok talks derogatorily about Balram and is not pleased at all for his help. I thought Mr. Ashok is different than his brother and more like Pinky Madame because he married her and was so happy. He liked the westernized way of life and that must have changed him. But I guess I was wrong after all.

Part3

Yoga

http://www.indiaconsulate.org.br/html/english/yoga.php

http://www.americanyogaassociation.org/general.html

Rooster Coop

I just found links with a connection to the book. Both are webblogs, too.

http://jagruti.orangy.in/2009/02/great-indian-rooster-coop.html

http://readnright.blogspot.com/2008/06/rooster-coop-trap.html