Manmohan Singh congratulates Adiga on his winning Booker prize

New Delhi, Oct 15 : Prime Minister Dr, Manmohan Singh toady congratulated Arvind Adiga, on his winning of 50,000 pound Man-Booker-Prize for the year 2008 for his first novel 'The White Tiger'.

In his message, Dr Singh said, "I am extremely happy to learn that the coveted Booker Prize is being awarded to you this year. I join the people of this country in celebrating this international recognition of your literary accomplishment. "

Adiga is the third first-time novelist to win the Booker Prize, which is awarded every year for the best novel in the British Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland.

34-year old Adiga is one of the two first-time novelists, the other being Australia's Steve Toltz.

'The White Tiger' is a "compelling, angry and darkly humorous" novel about a man's journey from Indian village life to entrepreneurial success.

Adiga was born in Chennai in 1974. He grew up in Mangalore and studied at Canara High School, then at St. Aloysius' College, where he completed his SSLC in 1990.

After immigrating to Sydney with his family, he studied at James Ruse Agricultural High School. He studied English literature at Columbia University, New York and Magdalen College, Oxford.

Adiga began his journalistic career as a financial journalist, with pieces published in Financial Times, Money and the Wall Street Journal.

His review of previous Booker Winner Peter Carey's book "Oscar and Lucinda" appeared in The Second Circle, an online literary review.

He was subsequently hired by the TIME magazine, where he worked as a correspondent for three years before going freelance. During his freelance period, he wrote 'The White Tiger'. He is now based in Mumbai.

ANI