Aravind Adiga's "The Elephant" (novelette, non-genre, free)

Life story of 29 year old Chenayya, a rickshaw puller in Kittur, Karnataka(?), India. He works as one of the delivery men for Ganesh Pai Fan and Furniture Store - home delivering items purchased in his pedaled rickshaw. A man completely frustrated with life & the universe. Generally realistic portrait, but conveyed in a dark mood.

I'm not sure of the period the story is set in. It's post-India Gandhi assassination - probably only a few years after that - late 1980s or early 1990s. But some prices don't tally - in which city could you hire a luggage delivery man for a flat Rs 2 per trip during this period??

Fact sheet.

First published: The New Yorker, 5 January 2009.
Rating: B.
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