A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

 

Lot of the books we read give us a picture of their surroundings. The countryside, the blue skies, the long stretch of a road and many more. But, there it is absolutely endearing to read books of a place closer to home. One of the reasons I loved Sujata Massey's books was the Bombay she based her story out of. It brought back wonderful images of my trip to Mumbai many years ago and of course, a lifetime from the storyline. 

There is a warmth of a known place. Nowhere else in the world, would there be cows working as traffic controllers. Probably very few places outside our beautiful country, would there be horns blaring, people sitting on road sides and having a garam chai or a getting a shave. There is warmth in the known. That's what is so beautiful in Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance.

I listened to the dramatized version of the book on Audible and it was an absolute wonderful experience. Amazing cast narration. The play literally happened in front of my mind's eye. 

It's 1975. Two stories run parallely. This is a time that talks of political unrest and lots of casteism issues.

Dina grew up in a wealthy Parsi family. After her parents passed away, her brother Nusswan took up the task of disciplining her and constantly kept her under his check. He was doing so much for her, he reminded her. Looking after her, feeding her, ensuring her safety. Dina soon finds ways to entertain herself and one day meets the man she would marry, Rustom. Her brother is livid of her choice but Dina does what her heart tells her to. She promises never to return to her brother's house no matter what the situation. Unfortunate events lead her back where she ran away from. Does she find her freedom? 

Ishwar and Narayan are from the chamar caste. Their job is cure the leather and basically fell under the untouchable category. They lived in the village and one day, the boys' father send them to be apprentices to a local tailor, Ashraf Chacha. This was one attempt to change their status and be considered respectable enough to lead a normal life. In a horrid turn of events, Narayan is murdered and Ishwar along with his nephew Om Prakash flee to Bombay in search of job and better livelihood. Bombay offers both parties with a common job - tailoring. This common ground of friendship and camaraderie grows between Dina, Ishwar, Om Prakash and Dina's friend's son, Maneck amidst strife and troubles and landlord gundas. 

A Fine Balance is their story of hardships and wading through them all.

The dramatized version for BBC was a little short of 3 hours but an absolute wonderful listening experience. I can only imagine how beautifully it would have been enacted on stage. It had great funny moments and some serious ones too. You find friends in enemies and foes in the closest of relationships. You find the difficult times and you choose not to dwell on them but to find the silver lining. It is all about a fine balance. Sad and heart touching. I am sure, the book is more detailed and has lot more than the dramatized version, which I do plan to take up in the coming days. But, for now, this is my take.

Some heart touching quotes from the narration are:

"... you have to use your failures as stepping stones to success. You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair. In the end, its all a question of balance." 

Sometimes, you need to step outside, get some air, and remind yourself of who you are and who you want to be.

After all, our lives are but a sequence of accidents - a clanking chain of chance events. A string of choices, casual or deliberate, which add up to that one big calamity we call life.

Distance was a dangerous thing, she knew. Distance changed people.

If there was an abundance of misery in the world, there was also sufficient joy, yes - as long as one knew where to look for it.