Aravind-adiga Quote by Aravind Adiga
““Just because drivers and cooks in Delhi are reading Murder Weekly, it doesn't mean that they are all about to slit their masters' necks. Of course they’d like to. Of course, a billion servants are secretly fantasizing about strangling their bosses — and that’s why the government of India publishes this magazine and sells it on the streets for just four and a half rupees so that even the poor can buy it. you see, the murdered in the magazine is so mentally disturbed and sexually deranged that not one reader would want to be like him — and in the end he always gets caught by some honest, hardworking police officer (ha!), or goes mad and hangs himself by a bedsheet after writing a sentimental letter to his mother or primary school teacher, or is chased, beaten, buggered, and garroted by the brother of the woman he has done in. So if your driver is busy flicking through the pages of Murder Weekly, relax. No danger to you. Quite the contrary. It’s when your driver starts to read about Gandhi and the Buddha that it’s time to wet your pants.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, 2008
The passage satirically warns that reading sensational crime stories is harmless, but exposure to philosophical ideas may provoke anxiety.
In simple terms: Reading crime magazines is safe; philosophy may unsettle.
Don’t overreact to harmless entertainment.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- reading habits
- workplace safety
- media consumption
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What does the satire reveal about class tensions?
- How does media shape fear?
Humor may mask serious social commentary.