Aravind Adiga

Born On: 23rd October 1974
Born In: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Career: Writer

Being a person with flawless language and great writing skill, it is no wonder that Aravind Adiga bagged Britain's most prestigious literary award - The Man Booker Award for his book 'The White Tiger'. From a proven student to a journalist and then to a famous writer, success always accompanied him. He always kept his eyes and ears open to the world around and derived inspiration from the facts he come across in daily life. His award winning book "The White Tiger" was a critical view on "an India of light and an India of darkness while his latest novel "Last Man in Tower" describes the life and soul of one of India's biggest cities, Mumbai, where he discovers that the city and its people are obsessed with real estate. He derives this fact from the common man who often talks about elusive 'square feet' while journeying on suburban trains. The book gives a different picture of the city which is always described as the "Bollywood City" or "Mafia City". Read on to learn more about this young talent, Aravind Adiga.

Early Life
Aravind Adiga was born on the 23rd day of October, 1974 in Chennai. His parents Dr. K. Madhava Adiga and Usha Adiga hailed from Mangalore, Karnataka. His paternal grandfather late K. Suryanarayana Adiga served as the Chairman of Karnataka Bank. He was brought up in Mangalore, he completed his schooling from Canara High School and St. Aloysius High School. He completed SSLC in 1990, ranking first in the state preceding his elder brother Anand Adiga who secured 2nd rank in the SSLC exams. He also got the first rank in PUC in the state.Rest of his studies continued in Sydney as his family migrated to Australia. Aravind studied at James Ruse Agricultural High School in Australia and then pursued English literature from Columbia College, Columbia University in New York, where the famous British historian Simon Schama was his fellow. He completed his graduation in 1997 and then moved to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was taught by Hermione Lee, the current President of Wolfson College, Oxford.

Career
Aravind Adiga started his career as a financial journalist intern at the Financial Times covering stock market and investment protocols, interviewing luminaries like Donald Trump (American business magnate and television personality). He also wrote literary reviews, a famous one being the one about "Oscar and Lucinda", written by the previous Booker Prize winner Peter Carey. He then moved to TIME magazine where he served as South Asia correspondent for three years. He then quit TIME magazine and opted to work as a freelancer. It was during his freelance period that he wrote the Man Booker Prize winning book -The White Tiger, thus became the fourth Indian to achieve this. Thus, he turned into the field of writing and has penned many books since then. He donated a part of the Man Booker Award prize money to St. Aloysius College where he did his schooling, as a token of gratitude.This amount will be utilized to provide scholarships for underprivileged children staying in Aloysian Boys Home, Kotekar, Ullal. Aravind Adiga is now put up in Mumbai, India. Shortly after bagging the Man Booker Prize, he was accused of sacking his agent to secure his contract with Atlantic Books. His book 'The White Tiger' was a big hit and was popularized by many other Booker Prize winners and his novel was adopted into a film according to an announcement made in April 2009. The Indian hardcover edition of his award winning book "The White Tiger" has sold in excess of 2, 50,000 copies. His second book, namely "Between the Assassinations" that depicts 12 interlinked short stories, was released in November 2008 in India while its release in the US and UK took place in 2009. The book features 12 interlinked short stories.

Contributions
Aravind Adiga's contributions to literature include novels and short stories

Novels
The White Tiger: A Novel, 2008
Between the Assassinations, 2008
Last Man in Tower Due to be published, 2011

Short Stories
"The Sultan's Battery", 2008(online text)
"Smack",2008(online text)
"Last Christmas in Bandra",2008 (online text)
"The Elephant" 2009(online text)

Awards And Accolades
Man Booker Prize, 2008

Time Line
1974: Born in Chennai.
1990: Got the 1st rank in the SSLC examination.
1997: Completed graduation.
2008: Won the Man Booker Prize.
2009: It was announced that 'The White Tiger' would be adapted into a feature film.