Mrs. YooRee Sathyamoorthy
St. John’s Prep

“ Sweet-makers, ” the old driver said, shaking his head. “ That ’ s what you people do. You make sweets. How can you learn to drive? That ’ s like getting coals to make ice. Mastering a car ” – he moved the stick of an invisible gearbox – “ it ’ s like taming a wild stallion- only a boy from the warrior caste can manage that. You need to have aggression in your blood. Muslims, Sikhs, they ’ re fighters. They can become drivers. You think sweet-makers can last long in fourth gear? Why don ’ t you stick to sweets and tea.
”

 Brahmin: priests/educators
 Khastriya: [Shutrya] military/warriors
 Vaishya: farmers, herders, merchants
 Sudra: [Shudra] artisans, laborers
 Dalit (Untouchables): servants, butchers

(teachers will be able to)

Introduction:
An introduction to castes according to Balram Halwai
(Structure of novel: series of letters Balram writes to Premier
Wen Jiabao of China. )
Balram ’ s evaluation of the caste system?
Zoo analogy:


In past , when animals were encaged (caste boundaries enforced)  ORDER
Post 1947 “ liberalization, ” cages are open, animals attack each other  CHAOS

Shift from thousands of castes to just two…
1.
Men with Big Bellies
2.
Men with Small Bellies
Only two destinies: Eat or get eaten.

 Reading 1: Religion
 The Ganga, Hanuman, Sacred Cows
 Reading 2: Family
 Lizards, Money & Marriage, Personal Hygiene
 Reading 3: Economics
 The Mall, Exercise, the Rooster Coop
 Reading 4: Politics
 Education, justice & health care

Reading selections:
 River Ganga: memory from childhood
 Hanuman: description of a Hindu god
 Sacred Cows: Balram ’ s dream after contemplating abandoning his entire family to pursue a selfish goal
Action plan:
Read, share readings, share reflections & analysis

 Kusum – Balram ’ s grandmother
 Mr. Jiabao – Wen Jiabao
 Sadhus: holy men
 Hardwar: holy city on the River Ganga
 Benaras: holy city on the River Ganga
 Ghat: steps leading down to water
 Buffalo: equivalent to cow in India

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What are the author ’ s impressions of the role of religion?
What is the author ’ s impression of the god,
Hanuman?
What is the author ’ s impression of the sacred
River Ganga? (India of Light vs. India of
Darkness)
What is the real “ god ” of the Ganga?
What is the role of religion with respect to the caste system?

Reading selections:
 Lizard: memory from youth
 Money & Marriage: coming home as a successful driver
 Personal Hygiene: an epiphany moment for
Balram, the successful driver
Action plan:
Read, share readings, share reflections & analysis

 Kishan: Balram ’ s older brother
 Kusum: Balram ’ s grandmother
 The Great Socialist: pseudonym for local
Member of Parliament
 Naxal: militant communist groups in India
 Pinky Madam: Balram ’ s employer (when he becomes a driver)
 Paan: equivalent to Indian chewing tobacco

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Explain the expectations Balram ’ s father has of him.
What does Balram believe his family is doing to his brother ,Kishan?
To what extent does Balram resent his family and his background?
What are one ’ s responsibilities to his family?
What is the role families play with respect to the caste system?

Reading selections:
 The mall: The “ have ” and “ have not ” of India
 Exercise: poor dream of being rich, rich dream of being poor
 The Rooster Coop:
Action plan:
Read, share readings, share reflections & analysis

 New India: wealthy & modern India
 Gurgaon: suburb of Delhi aka Beverly Hills of
India
 Vitiligo –Lips: a driver who works and lives in
Balram ’ s apartment compound
 Mr. Ashok: Balram ’ s employer, who recently divorced
 Jama Masjid: largest, best-known mosque in India
 Goa: India ’ s smallest but wealthiest state renowned for beaches

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What does Balram realize at the mall when a common person is rejected from entry?
Explain the lifestyle of the “ have ” compared to the “ have not.
”
What is the “ rooster coop?
”
Explain the perpetual culture of servitude and the factors that make it possible.
What is the role of economics in maintaining the caste system?

Reading selections:
 Half-baked Indian: education in India
 Forced Confession: commentary on India ’ s judicial system
 Health care: commentary on India ’ s health care system
Action plan:
Read, share readings, share reflections & analysis

 Mr. Ashok/Pinky Madam: Balram ’ s employers
 Honda City: equivalent to Honda Accord
 Kishan: Balram ’ s brother
 Uncle: generic, respectful greeting to any older male
 Great Socialist: pseudonym for Member of
Parliament
*Warning* - some language

1.
2.
3.
Who or what is a half-baked Indian?
What is the role of the Indian justice system in perpetuating class differences?
How would you characterize health care in
India?

Billions of Entrepreneurs by Tarun Khanna
 Personal and local politics in India
 An inefficient Indian judiciary




Indian/Australian journalist & author
 Born in Madras, emigrated to Sydney during high school
 Studied literature at Columbia University
 Work:



Financial/business reporter for
South Asia correspondent for
Financial Time
TIME
Freelance period – wrote White Tiger
White Tiger , debut novel, winner of 2008 Man
Booker Prize
Currently lives in Mumbai

At a time when India is going through great changes and, with China, is likely to inherit the world from the West, it is important that writers like me try to highlight the brutal injustices of (Indian) society. That's what I'm trying to do – it is not an attack on the country, it's about the greater process of selfexamination.
- Aravind Adiga

“ I am India ’ s most faithful voter, and I still have not seen the inside of a voting booth.
” (p. 86)
“ There you have it. That was the positive side of the Great Socialist. He humiliated all our masters
– that ’ s why we kept voting him back in.
” (p. 88)
“ I was looking for the key for years
But the door was always open.
” (p. 228)

 Upton Sinclair ’ s The Jungle – The poor in
India have as much control over their own fate as the animals slaughtered in Sinclair ’ s novel.
 Richard Wright ’ s Native son – awakening a nation to the realities of racial divide.

 Teaching Guides:
 http://www.teachingindia.org/
 South Asia Initiative at Harvard
University
 Friday, April 29 conference -
Gandhi: Beyond the Legend
 http://spice.stanford.edu/
 Global investigation on child labor
(case studies: India, Uganda, U.S. )

The Story of India – PBS http://www.pbs.org/thestoryofindia/

 Nonfiction:
 Billions of
Entrepreneurs by
Tarun Khanna
 In spite of the gods, the rise of modern
India by Edward
Luce
 Fiction:
 A Fine Balance by
Rohinton Mistry
 Unaccustomed
Earth by Jhumpa
Lahiri

Current Events
Connections
Research & Writing
1.
Full TEXT of article on Google docs (NO links)
1.
Dateline and byline included in article (City/news organization and journalist who wrote the article)
1.
One-paragraph summary of news article

Written in student ’ s own words

Concise summary of entire article (not just the first few paragraphs!)
Points
Possible
Points
Earned
5
5
10
1.
One-paragraph analysis of article

Analysis includes SPICE: social, political, intellectual, cultural or economic

Analysis includes why the article is relevant to our current study
Presentation
1.
Visuals (2-3 good visuals for presentation)
1.
Presentation: spoke to audience rather than reading from slides or note cards, made eye contact
1.
Presentation was engaging and interesting
1.
Presentation made relevant & meaningful connections to classroom instruction
TOTAL
10
5
50
5
5
5