Reality

Location

*This is based off the novel The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (The White Tiger is a window into a world of poverty, greed, and corruption. Balram chose to show this through letters to the premier of China, Wen Jiabao. He was trying to tell what the truth of life in Bangalore is like.)

 

Dear Mr. Premier,

From the second we are born

We are destined to be nothing more than dirt on the ground

Destined to work hard just to starve,

Destined to forfeit personal education for a dowry,

Destined to be treated as graveyard filler waiting to happen

Destined to be… lower class

 

Our government sees this

They’re not blind to our turmoil

But they just put bandages over the problems without fixing the cause,

If it’s out of sight it’s out of mind

They think that if they ignore our cries long enough, that they’ll go away

 

Constricted by nothing but our own society

We are victims to the wealthy

They steer us toward their direction,

And taking a wrong turn means the death of your family,

But following along just makes you a living corpse,

Dead on the inside, no longer a human being

 

Life for India as a whole isn’t how it is portrayed,

It’s full of poverty, greed, and corruption,

When you visit, look deeper within the booming cities and busy storefronts,

And you’ll see for yourself, Mr. Premier, what it’s really like to live in Bangalore.

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