Is it tradition?

Adiga does a great job of showing Balram's transition from servant to entrepreneur by showing the precise moments when his world perspective starts to change. The irony of it all is that the people that let him to change his perspective are his masters.
Mr. Ashok is the one that makes Balram aware that his room is falling apart and not fit for most people. Balram was blind to this fact before this incident just like he was blind to his appearance before Pinky Madam made him aware of how horrible he looked. They helped Balram take the first steps out of servitude. He was even successful in changing his appearance and making it into the mall where drivers were not allowed. Although he was still cognitively aware that he was not supposed to be in there. The mental process takes longer than the physical process. The most interesting part about this is that he blames his father for not raising him to see these things that have kept him a servant. He now knows that it was not impossible to transcend these social labels, but if families kept raising their children to not know otherwise then how were they to overcome their caste. It wasn't the people holding themselves down, it was tradition and it took Balram a trip to Delhi, where the caste lines are blurred, to see past them. I guess if they are not as clearly visible as in the villages it is easier to cross them because there are no referees to call you out of bounds. (not many sports references so far so i thought i might add one)