Officially dead

Little glossary

Hosted- to intruduce and talk to the people taking part in a television or radio programme.

Charity-  organization to wich you give money so that it can give money and help to people who are poor or ill.

monsoon- a period area of a town where the houses are in vety bad condition.

disabled- someone who is disabled is unable tu use part of their body or brain properly because of injury or disease.

booth- a samall enclosed space where you can buy things, look at things or use a service.

praising- to show your ove of a God with word or music.

siren- a piece of equipment tha makes a loud sound, used for warning people.

airfield- a place where aircraft arrive and leave, especially military or private aircraft.

bayonet- a long sharp blade that is fixed onto the end of a long gun.

den-a room in a house where someone goes to be alone.

berth - a bed on a train or ship.

Our video - A love story

Chapter 1. Cheat!

 

1.       Why was Ram surprised to see Smita? because he was being tortured and he hadn't asked for lawyer because he couldn't afford it. 2.       In your opinion, who sent Smita? How did she know about his arrest?I think Smita saw the program and imagine it could happen to Ram. Therefore i don't think that anyone's send her, she was by intuition.

Chapter 2. Father Timothy.

1.       Father Timothy gave the orphan three names. How would these names help the boy?

The three names of Ram help him when the people wants to call him because depends of the religion of the  person called Ram in a different way.

2.       Find out about the wars between India and Pakistan and answer: In your opinion, why did Father Timothy give him these three names?

Maybe Father Timothy accepted the three religions in India and didn't discriminate any one.

3.       How did Ram spend his childhoo?

He spend his childhoo in the church, while living with Father Timothy And Also I play cricket and football with another children.

4.       How diferent was Ram Mohamed Thomas’ childhood from yours?

I am not an orphan and luckily I had I can go to school and have a meal every day.

5.       In your opinion, what is going to happen to Ram after Father Timothy’s death?

I think he will probably be left in the street with nothing and nobody will take care of him, then have to try to survive with what little they had.

Chapter 3. A Home for the disabled.

1.       How did Ram and Salim meet?

In the orphan, when Ram was ill.

2.       Why did they like each other?

they loved watching films and their favourite actor was Armaan Ali, and they are orphans.

3.       What was the Delhi’s Children home like?

 It was a large old building with a small garden and a wall around it and the bedroom of Ram had two beds and a mirror in a wall.

4.       Why and how did they escape?

They escaped because he overheard a conversation between maman and Punnoose, who spoke of Ram and Salim ability for singing. Ram was frightened because he discovered that maman and Punnoose want to blind them.

5.       Where are they Planning to go?

To going to Neelima Kumari house, an actress that would help them.

6.       How are they going to survive there?

They probably thought the actress would give them work as servants and a place to sleep.

Chapter 4. Tragedy Queen.

1.       Ram knew Neelima’s lover face although he couldn’t remember exactly where from. Who do you think it was? Where might he have seen him before?

Probably the lover of Neelima's was a famous person in India and he saw his face in a newspaper or in a TV program.

2.       Neelima says about her lover: “sometimes I think that he loves me. Sometimes I think that he hates me”. Why does she say this?

Because her lover beat him.

3.       In your opinion, why men mistreat women? Why is Neelima mistreated?

I think that men mistreat his wife or girlfriend to feel more important than the womens or something because they think that her wife it's doing something wrong.

4.       What happened to Neelima in the end? Name three true celebrities who died the same way

Nelima commits suicide like Marilyn Monroe, Vincent Van Gogh or Kurt Cobain.

Chapter 5.  A soldier’s story

1.       He talks about a war. When was it and which countries were fighting each other? Why?
India and Pakistan. It only lasted 13 days, making it one of the shortest in the history of warfare. Because of the war, 10 million people left the country and went to India.

2.       How did the old soldier’s stories help Ram with the answer to the next quiz question?
The soldier told Ram that the greatest reward for the soldiers was the PVC ( Param Vir Chakra)

            Chapter 6. A Brother’s Promise


1.       Do you think Ram should have helped Gudiya?
No, it maybe causes him problems and is something that only the police must help.

2.       Will the Police find him and arrest him for the murder?
I don’t think so, anyone had seen him doing it, so they didn’t thing about Ram as the murder.

4.       Will see ever see his brother and Gudiya again?
I think so, because will be very sad if they won't meet again.

5.       Would you interfere if you knew your neighbour is beating his wife and daughter?
Of course , i think  it is necessary and I thinks too that it never had to happen.

Chapter 7. How to speak Australian.

1.       Who do you think phoned the inspector about Colonel Taylor and Jeevan Kumar?

Ram had already saved 43,500 rupees of his salary, and he got the rest by selling magazines.

2.       Why was Thomas  diferent from the other servents that Colonel Taylor had had?

Because Thomas is an honest man.

3.       Now Thomas has 52,000 rupees. What will he do? How will he spend them?

He bought a train ticket that used to go to meet again his friend Salim, and also bought some clothes for his friend.

4.       Where did he get all this Money from?

He had already saved 43,500 rupees of his salary, and he got the rest by selling some magazines.

Chapter 8. Murder on a Train

1.       Fifty thousand dreams had suddenly been taken from me. “What did Ram mean?”
He refered to the money. The 52.000 rupees from Coronel Taylor's house, and when he was on the train to meet again Salim, a robber take that money from him.

2.       Thomas is thinking about the Police and asks himself: “Would the Police tell me that I was a hero for killing a robber? Or would they call me a killer who had shot a man dead without even knowing his name?”. Why does he think this? What do you think the Police would tell him?
I think I was a little worried because where I was, the police are not as friendly as in other cities, and thought he ivan stop because they're very strict.

Chapter 9. A Love Story

1.       Ram and Nita fell in Love. But why could they not get married?
Because Nita’s dad engaged her with a man that will pay the money that his dad asked for, and Ram don’t have this money.

2.       Nita is engaged to a rich and successful man who will pay her family 40,000 rupees. Do you think arranged marriages are a good idea?
No, but in these culture, is a way to give money for the family.

3.       Why do you think Swapna Devi said this about his son: “perhaps death will be the best thing for him”
Because for ill people, death is sometimes the only way to stop suffering.

4.       In this chapter we see Thomas is really generous. Why?
Because with the money that didn’t give to Nita, he gave it to a man who needed it to help his son.

5.       Why is this chapter particularly important?
Because it explained why and how Ram decided to go to the TV show.

6.       How was the man of the hospital able to pay Thomas back?
Helping him to answer a question in the TV show by phoning him.

Chapter 10. At home with a killer.

1.       Explain how Salim became a junior actor.
He starts to  work as a servant for a manager who meke junior actors stars. He told Salim if he does some photos he help Salim to be an actor.

2.       Would you betray  someone who has saved your life if you know he’s a criminal?
I think tha  it depends in how is the person like the personality and the way of being, and what kind of criminal is.

3.       Why do you think Thomas didn’t tell Salim about the quiz show?
Because he didn’t wanted that Salim Knew his intentions.

Chapter 11. Look after your Buttons

1.       Do you think Prakash Rao was right in giving his wife all what she wished?
No, He shouldn’t  have stolen only to satisfy the wishes of his wife.

2.       Is that a reason to steal and betray your ownn family?

I think that if its necessary for the survival of my family I will do it.

3.       What is voodoo and in which country do people usually practise it?

Black magic rituals, in which needles are stuck somewhere in the doll's body and thus the related person will suffer some evil or a curse.

4.       How did she make vodoo to Prakash Rao’s brother?

He took a button from a shirt, some hair from the hairbrush and he put the head of the doll on a chicken's blood.

5.       In your opinion, who was more cruel to each other, Prakash or Arvind Rao? Why?
Prakash, because he practised vodoo againts his own brother.

Chapter 12. The Last Question.

1.       In this chapter we learn the true reason why Ram Mohammed Thomas went to the show Who Will Win a Billion. What is it?
He wants to kill the presenter of the show because is the man who beat Neelima and the man who asked for money to Nita’s family.

2.       Why did Ram choose the answer A?
Because he didn’t trust the presenter andhe knows he was lying althought he didn’t kill him.

3.       What was Smita’s secret?
that she is Gudiya, the little girl who he saved years ago.

Chapter 13.  A Sister’s Promise

1.       Ram said the luck came from inside the person. Explain what he meant.
Everyone makes his own luck, the fate is something that is in our hands and we are the owners of our fate.

2.       Does the story have a happy end? Explain your answer.
Of course he finally get marriage with the girl he loves, and he get the money who wins in the programme

 

Author

 

 

Vikas Swarup was born in Allahabad in India, he goes to Allahabad Boy's high school and college, he study psychology,history and philosophy at Allahabad University.

He worked in Turkey, USA, Ethiopia, Great Britain and south Africa.

The author likes listening music, playing cricket, tennis and table tennis, he is married to Aparna and they hace two sons.

*In august 2009 - became consul general of India in Osaka

*His first book was - Q and A,

*His second novel was - Six Suspects (2008)

His first novel, Q and A, tells the story of a waiter from one of the poorest slums of Mumbai who wins the biggest prize in a game show in history. The novel was well received by critics and audiences, being translated into 40 languages​​. She was nominated for Commonwealth Writers' Prize and won the Exclusive Books Boeke Prize in 2006 and the Prix Grand Public at the Paris Book Fair 2007.

The novel was adapted as a radio series on BBC and served as the basis for the screenplay for the film Slumdog Millionaire Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, winner of eight Oscars, including the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

 

 

The TV show

 

What’ s the name of the TV show in which the story is based on?
Who wants to be a millionaire? ( The Indian version of the show started in 2000 anb has been hosted by Bollywood actors , Amitabh and Shahtukh)
What do you know about it?
Is a game show on TV based on the format of questions and answers, which offers large cash prizes forcorrectly answer a series of multiple choice questions with increasing difficulty

 

 

 

 

The main character

 

His name combines the names of three religions. Which are they?

Ram -> hindu religion

Mohammad -> muslim religion

Thomas -> Christianity

Where does he grow up?

Ram was a young boy who was born in Delhi (India) and grows up in the slums of Mumbai (one of the biggest cities in the world). It is a very poor city, and 60% of its 13 million people live in slum buildings. The biggest problem of the city is the water supply and Ram decided to take part in the TV show Who Will Win a Billion?

 

 

People, places and events in the story

 

 

SURDAS (Sant Kavi Surdas) was a 15th century blind saint, poet and musician, known for his devotional songs dedicated to Lord Krishna. Surdas is said to have written and composed a hundred thousand songs in his magnum opus the 'Sur Sagar' (Ocean of Melody), out of which only about 8,000 are extant. He is considered a saint and so also known as Sant Surdas, a name which literally means the "slave of melody".

 WAR INDIA AND PAKISTAN At the start of the 20th century, India was part of the British Empire. Then, in 1947, two separate, independent countries were created - India and Pakistan. There were violent wars in 1947, 1965 and 1971.

THE TAJ MAHAL: is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage

 

 

Indian words

Rupee - It's the indian unit of money. In the story it first appears when the main character wins the TV show.

 

Chapatti - That's the only piece of food that the character eats most of the days.

 

Sari- The character sees women of all ages wearing this kind of dress.

 

Chawl - It's a large building with small rooms for people to rent in India, particularly in Mumbai. It normally has between four and five floors and a shared bathroom on each floor.

 

Tiffin - It was offered to the main character when he was in the "school" for the disabled.