India Becoming: A Portrait of Life in Modern India by Akash Kapur
The enormous transformations that transpired in the history of India some two decades ago drove the country into a stronger economy while inexorably influencing the traditions and social relations. The book titled “India Becoming: A Portrait of Life in Modern” presented the changes in India through photographs of a rural landlord, an individual working in a call center, and an activist of socialist environment. The author narrates stories of people who embody a range of Indian civilization.
India Becoming
In the book titled India Becoming, Akash Kapur traces the roots of modern India, a demarcation line that can be illustrated back in the 90s. Kapur made a description of India’s economy during those periods. Before those times, India was a closed economy, a characterization of license Raj in which success of business was more an operation of acquiring valuable permits over competition of products and services. A crisis in foreign exchange pushed the government of India to open up the market in exchange for World Bank’s assistance. The 90s period, often referred as the economic liberalization period, made Indian consumers realize that there are ample selections in wide range of products. The period of liberalization flourished along with the emergence of the Internet. The internet evolution delivered seismic transformations to the market in India in terms of choices in the products and employment opportunities. The 90s period also aided in the flourishing of the middle class. Further, the 90s period aided in the proliferation of Western influences and ideas. Akash Kapur narrates the effect of these transformations in his perception at the cost of what liberalization in the economy produced.
Akash Kapur centered on his idea that for an every advancement made through provision of opportunities to the less fortunate by money and caste, this accompanies countless negative consequences in the society of the entire country plunging headlong into a new era. Enthralling characters inhabit Kapur’s flimsily shaded account. By prying an investigative lens on the people, Kapur emphasizes how people manage, confront, and at times give way to change. Some significant characters in the book are Sathy, the landowner and Hari, the software engineer. Sathy views the transformations in India unbelievingly since those transformations brought him some personal consequences. Sathy’s wife lives in the city with their children to seek for some business ventures. Hari is among India’s asset. He is a technically trained worker responsible for helping India achieve its economic progress. More than being a company man, Hari wishes to move around to enhance his personal economic visions even as he faces questions concerning his homosexuality. Another significant character is the twenty-one year old Selvi, a village girl employed at a call center. Selvi is economically independent; however, she still gets caught up in the vortex of marriage, tradition, and family.
Conclusion
Akash Kapur was able to successfully write this book because he experienced India personally. Kapur resides in Auroville together with his family. Auroville is a community situated in the Southern section of India. Kapur is an active participant of the economic liberalization in India. Through his skills, he penetrates the thin covering of cloudiness presented by individuals he interviewed and to have them delve deeper within to face their responses to the transformations in the country. Akash Kapur captivates both functions of an interventionist and a questioner in inconspicuous style that allows the protagonists’ voices to emerge strongly.
Source
Kapur, Akash. India Becoming: A Portrait of Life in Modern India. 1st Edition. New York: Riverhead Books, 2012. Print.
