Q: What were some of the challenges or advantages of writing two books at the same time?
A: Between the Assassinations and The White Tiger were conceived as two books that would tell one story. It was always my plan to create two narratives about India, set on either side of the landmark year of 1991, when the stagnant, corrupt socialist economy was opened up to capitalism and globalization. These forces created the "new India" – of rapid economic growth and massive inequality – which is the India of The White Tiger.
Between the Assassinations tells the story of the final years of the old India. In that sense, the two books complemented one another quite well. In fact, The White Tiger grew out of a couple of the stories in Between the Assassinations. There are echoes of The White Tiger in Between the Assassinations. At least one vignette in Between the Assassinations – which was first published inThe New Yorker as "The Elephant" – features a poor man tempted by violence and crime, but then takes a very different turn from The White Tiger.
Q: What appeals to you about the seven-day time frame as a structural device?
A: Since the two books were written at the same time, and they are mirror images of each other, it follows that the structure of the stories is also somehow similar.
Q: What is significant about the time between the Gandhi assassinations?
A: The assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984 traumatized India, but it also opened up the possibility that the economically stagnant and corrupt India that she had created could be reformed and modernized. But after a promising start, the man who replaced her as prime minister – her son, Rajiv – failed to change India, and his years in power were years of frustrated hope and failed dreams.
Q: How is the India of that time different from the more contemporary India of The White Tiger?
A: It was only after Rajiv's death that the old India was finally swept away. The years between the assassinations are the last years of the old regime. They are a time of dashed hopes and of crisis; yet the men and women who endured these years did so by learning the virtues of perseverance, resignation and compassion – virtues that have become less conspicuous in the new India of The White Tiger. In that sense, Between the Assassinations is not a prelude to The White Tiger but presents an alternative vision of India – and poses a challenge to The White Tiger.
Q: Please share an anecdote about something that happened to you as a consequence of winning the Booker.
A: In the Mumbai airport a few weeks ago, a woman recognized me from my photograph and said, "Your book has changed the way I see my servants." This wouldn't have happened if not for the Booker. It was one of the rare moments in the past few months when I've been glad that I won.
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