When I was growing up in the south Indian city of Madras, there were only two political parties that mattered; one was run by a former matinee idol, and the other was run by his former screenwriter. Aravind Adiga citygrowidol Change image and share on social
Mangalore, the coastal Indian town where I lived until I was almost 16, is now a booming city of malls and call-centres. But, in the 1980s, it was a provincial town in a socialist country. Aravind Adiga 1980sboomcall Change image and share on social
I never did very well as an immigrant. I've lived in several countries and been a disaster everywhere. Aravind Adiga countrydisasterhave Change image and share on social
I grew up, as many Indians do, in an archipelago of tongues. My maternal grandfather, who was a surgeon in the city of Madras, was fluent in at least four languages and used each of them daily. Aravind Adiga archipelagocitydaily Change image and share on social
Columbia University, where I went to study in 1993, insisted its undergraduates learn a foreign language, so I discovered French. Aravind Adiga columbiadiscoverforeign Change image and share on social
Having plenty of living space has to be the greatest luxury in a city, and I guess in some sense Bombay is the antithesis of what living in Canada must be. Aravind Adiga antithesisbombaycanada Change image and share on social
In my family, as in most middle-class Indian families I knew when I was growing up, science and mathematics were held in awe. Aravind Adiga aweclassfamily Change image and share on social
If we were in India now, there would be servants standing in the corners of this room and I wouldn't notice them. That is what my society is like, that is what the divide is like. Aravind Adiga cornerdivideindia Change image and share on social
Too much of Indian writing in English, it seemed to me, consisted of middle-class people writing about other middle-class people - and a small slice of life being passed off as an authentic portrait of the country. Aravind Adiga authenticclassconsist share on social
I had grown up in a privileged, upper-caste Hindu community; and because my father worked for a Catholic hospital, we lived in a prosperous Christian neighborhood. Aravind Adiga castecatholicchristian Change image and share on social
