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.