Book Review, Q&a By Vikas Swarup

For those of us who have heard of, read about or seen the Oscar-winning motion picture, Slumdog Millionaire, Vikas Swarup or Q&A would be nothing new. For some others it might be an ordinary rags-to-riches story just like the name of the movie suggests. But Q&A proved to be whole new adventurous experience in itself for those who managed to grab a copy of the diplomat’s debut novel. Suspense-packed and fastpaced, it is successful in keeping every reader engrossed, making them writhe in anticipation. It is a saga of love and hatred, a tale of truth and deceit, a story of the wealthy and the neglected, a narrative of acceptance and rejection, a comedy as well as a tragedy…its real life…a fictitious story placed in very realistic background. The book narrates the story an eighteen year old boy, working in a cheap restaurant, who manages to win a billion rupees after participating in a quiz show. How could an orphan brought up in the lap of poverty with absolutely no formal education achieve this feat? Heights of luck? …apparently not just that…it is also the pinnacle of coincidence! Ram Mohammad Thomas is arrested and put in prison for answering twelve intellectual and diverse questions in a television quiz show. The entire life story of this young lad unfolds before our eyes as he recounts to his lawyer, the circumstances that led the boy to be the first winner ever of ‘Who Will Win A Billion?’ Brought up by nuns and wanted by no couple longing to be foster parents, Fate takes him to Fr. Timothy, the parish priest of the St. Joseph’s church in Delhi. The priest became a father figure to the child whom he called Ram Mohammed Thomas, a name that was imposed upon the kid merely because of the daft notions of the people in a secular country which has too many varied religious beliefs. A blessing as it was, the good times with the holy man didn’t last more than eight years for Thomas. Exiled to a juvenile home, Mohammad met Salim, the sole escapee of a brutal communal riot that had erased away his entire family. Together through thick and thin, the duo escapes the clutches of the vile Sethji (a.k.a Mamen) who took them away from the safety of the

juvenile home, promising them their dreams, but in reality only conspiring to handicap them and send them begging for alms. Thus, entering into another phase of his life at a chawl in Mumbai, Ram begins to earn a living, working as a helper in the household of a Bollywood actress, Neelima Kumari, of the yesteryears and then later on at a foundry. Situations compelled him to forsake Salim and to flee back to Delhi, where he gets employed as a man-servant by an Australian diplomat and his family. After being able to expose the political dishonesty of his employer, Ram was in a position to return back to Mumbai and his friend, Salim, with a decent saving collected over the years, working at Mr. Taylor’s (the diplomat). All was not well when the train in which he was traveling was taken over by dacoits. Ram leaves the train that night, a murderer. Penniless and famished, he reached Agra where he began working as a guide in the premises of the monument of love, the Taj Mahal. It is in this place that he comes across Nita, a girl forced into prostitution, whom he realizes is the true love of his life. Following an incident leading to her hospitalization, Ram Mohammad Thomas sets off back to Mumbai to participate in the quiz show with an ulterior motive in mind. Thomas had seen it all through. Be it misery or luxury, he had come across it both. He had a comfortable life at the church, all petted and pampered. He went through a period of gloom at the juvenile home. The tenure at the Australian household proved to be lavish, while his stretch in Dharavi was long and distressing. Over the course of time, Thomas learnt not to trust the police because they formed the top of the pyramid in which the underworld dons, the criminals and the pick-pockets constitute the lower tiers. He understood the mastery of the English language, which he picked up from Fr. Thomas and begins to use it for his advantage. He realized that the glitter and glamour of the film actors existed only in their reel life. He went through trauma when he lost his good friend, Shankar, who was disowned by his mother and left to die a nasty death due to rabies. Yes indeed! Ram has been through both the extreme ups and downs of life! Thomas’ experience with every character he meets turns out to be helpful not only in his quest to win the prize money but also in shaping his character. The personality of each character portrayed by Vikas Swarup is different and drawn from life. Thomas

received a fatherly care and affection from Fr. Timothy, a lasting friendship from Salim, a motherly fondness from Neelima Kumari, and everlasting love from Nita. We see the flip-side through the characters of Gupta, Sethji, the dacoit, Shantaram (the neighbourhood drunkard in the chawl), Swapna Devi (the land owner of the outhouse in which Ram spent his days in Agra) and Godbole (the cruel police inspector). Salim is characterized as a movie buff who aspires to become an actor one day. Shantaram is the stereotyped drunkard who beats up his wife and daughter. Neelima Kumari is the actress who detests the fact that she is ageing. The Australian family is one that doesn’t approve of the ‘bloody Indians’ but nevertheless live off them. Balwant Singh is described as a one-legged soldier who makes up heroic stories about his wartime accomplishments all of which were a sham. All these characters plus a host of others like Prem Kumar (the anchor of the quiz show), Smita (Ram’s advocate who also happens to have a connection to his past), Lajwanti, Shankar etc makes up a pot pourri of characters, each of them adding flavour and fragrance to the story. Vikas Swarup adopts a simple, free- flowing writing technique that makes an easy read. His descriptions are picture perfect wherein he clearly brings out the Indian backdrop highlighted by poverty and deprivation. Every reader gets an insight into the life of a slum-dweller and his struggles for existence on a daily basis. He draws attention to all the issues plaguing our society like communal violence, corrupted governance, exploitation of children, and sexual harassment. The ignorance of our people, the narrowminded thought pattern and the utter disregard for fellow citizens are what we can gather from Ram’s exploits. But, even in this dark and depressing world, Ram shows us that there is a ray of hope. He teaches us that happiness and fulfillment can be achieved if one can dare to dream and move against the tide. He prods us to search within, for that is where luck lies. The plot is intricate and impeccably-knitted, event leading to another in flawless succession. One can say that it is indeed a masterpiece of a work! Most of the important decisions Ram makes in his life were based on the toss of a coin, which was presented to him by an astrologer he meets at a fair. We learn at the end of the book that this ‘lucky’ coin was one with heads on both sides! Certainly, luck comes

from within! One chooses his own destiny and it is his outlook that is going to mould his future. For those of us who are yet to read this book, an exciting and fun-filled rollercoaster ride lies ahead, and for the rest of us, there is the satisfaction of having been a part of the life of Ram Mohammad Thomas, an exemplar of optimism and luck! JAI HO!

About the Author

Vikas Swarup is a native of Allahabad. He graduated from the Allahabad University with degrees in History, Psychology and Philosophy. He is a profound debater and has won many laurels in this regard even at the national level. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1986, inspired by an interest in international relations and an eagerness to witness the vast and varied cultures. His areas of work include Turkey (1987-1990), the United States (1993-1997) Ethiopia (1997-2000), the United Kingdom (2000-2003) and South Africa (2006-2009). His next assignment is scheduled at Osaka, Japan. Q&A is Swarup’s debut novel. It was published by Doubleday/Random House (UK & Commonwealth), Harper Collins (Canada) and Scribner (US). The novel has been translated into 42 languages some of which includes Arabic, French, German, Chinese, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, and Malayalam. The following are the awards and recognitions the book received: •

Best First Book by the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize

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South Africa’s Exclusive Books Boeke Prize 2006

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Paris Book Fair's Reader's Prize

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Prix Grand Public Prize

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Most Influential Book of 2008 in Taiwan

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Best Travel Read (Fiction) at the Heathrow Travel Product Award 2009

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Best Audio Book of the Year 2005

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The BBC produced a radio play based on the book which won the Gold Award for Best Drama at the Sony Radio Academy Awards 2008 and the IVCA Clarion Award 2008.

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The film version of Q&A, titled ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, directed by Danny Boyle, has taken the world by storm and has won more than 70 awards including four

Golden Globes, 7 BAFTAs (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) and 8 Oscars, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture. Vikas Swarup’s second novel was titled Six Suspects. It was released in the UK & Commonwealth by Transworld in August 2008. Published by Harper Collins in Canada and St Martin’s Press in the US, it has sold translation rights in 20 languages. Radio 4 has commissioned a radio play based on the novel. It has been optioned for a film by the BBC and Starfield productions and John Hodge, who wrote the script for films like Trainspotting, Shallow Grave and The Beach, has been commissioned to write the screenplay. Besides, Vikas' short story ‘A Great Event’ has been published in ‘The Children’s Hours: Stories of Childhood’, a bold and moving anthology of stories about childhood to support Save the Children and raise awareness for its fight to end violence against children. Vikas Swarup’s Achievements: •

Participated in the Oxford Literary Festival, the Turin International Book Fair, the Auckland Writers’ Conference, the Sydney Writers’ Festival, the Kitab Festival in New Delhi, the St. Malo International Book & Film Festival in France, the 'Words on Water' Literary Festival at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, the Jaipur Literature Festival, and the Franschhoek Literary Festival in South Africa.

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Contributed to TIME, The Guardian, The Telegraph (UK), Outlook magazine (India) and Liberation (France)

Indeed, India has identified an incredible story-teller who has brought glory and honour to her. One can only wait to behold what other masterpieces he has in store for us!

Reference: Vikas Swarup’s Official Website.

BOOK REVIEW On Q&A By Vikas Swarup

Submitted by: Ann Jomy Joseph Register No. 0921039 Aravind Sir Mentee Group CUIM.