White Fire

His fear of humiliation drives Balram to imitate the appearance of Mr.Ashok, a wealthy man, although he does not appreciate the clothes’ aesthetic. In “The Fourth night,” Balram has arrived at New Delhi and became the main driver for Mr.Ashok after Mukesh left to Dhanbad. Balram, who was a countryman, is amazed at all the things in the city like New Delhi. On a regular day, while waiting for Pinky Madam and Mr. Ashok to shop in the mall, Balram observes a servant who wants to enter the mall, “he has sandals on his feet, [...] [b]ut everyone who was allowed to enter the mall had shoes on their feet”(125) and he saw the man being cast away. Even though Balram seems to be nonchalant towards the other servants, he actually pays attention to this
This is also the moment Balram sees through the superficiality of the division. Although the man’s attempt was a failure, it has ignited Balram’s determination to be that White Tiger that could manipulates the two worlds of Light and Darkness. While driving Pinky Madam and Mr. Ashok home, Balram notices Mr. Ashok’s white plain T-shirt and thinks that “[he] would have bought something very colorful, with lots of words and design on it (127). To Balram, a plain white tee shirt is not worth the value of his hard-earned money, and a more captivating tee shirt would be the colorful one that he believes the designers have put more efforts in. Balram clearly does not have the same aesthetic perception as his master. However, he still buys a similar shirt ultimately, not because he thinks it’s a better shirt, but it is what his master would choose. In this world that Balram lives in, he sees that the difference that makes up a servant or a master in this society is their appearance. The fact that he imitates Mr. Ashok shows Balram’s feeling of inferiority as a servant: wealthy man would wear white tee shirts, and servants like him would choose to wear a colorful