A Fine Balance

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A Fine Balance
1997 paperback edition cover
Author	Rohinton Mistry
Country	Canada
Language	English
Genre(s)	Historical novel
Publisher	McClelland and Stewart
Publication date	1995
Media type	Print (Paperback)
ISBN	ISBN 0-679-44608-7

A Fine Balance is the third book by Rohinton Mistry. Set in Mumbai, India between 1975 and 1977 during the turmoil of The Emergency, a period of expanded government power and crackdowns on civil liberties, this book is about four characters from varied backgrounds—Dina Dalal, Ishvar Darji, his nephew Omprakash and the young lad Maneck—who come together and develop a bond.

First published by McClelland and Stewart in 1995, it won the Giller Prize. In 2001 it was selected for Oprah's Book Club. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1996. It was one of the selected books in the 2002 edition of Canada Reads, championed by actor Megan Follows.

An acclaimed stage-adaptation of the novel by the Tamasha Theatre Company was produced at the Hampstead Theatre in 2006 and later revived in 2007.

[edit] Plot summary

This plot summary covers only a part of the book

The book exposes the changes in Indian society from independence in 1947 to the Emergency called by Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Mistry is generally critical of Gandhi in the book. Interestingly, however, Gandhi is never referred to by name by any of the characters, and is instead called simply "the prime minister". The characters, from diverse backgrounds, are all brought together by economic forces changing India.

Ishvar and Omprakash's family are part of the Chamaar caste, who traditionally cured leather and were considered untouchable. In an attempt to break away from the restrictive caste system, Ishvar's father apprentices his sons to a tailor, and they became tailors. As a result of their skills, passed on to Ishvar's brother's son, they move to Mumbai to get work, by then unavailable in the town near their village because a pre-made clothing shop has opened.

Maneck, from a small hill village in northern India, moves to the city to acquire a college diploma "as a back up" in case his father's business is no longer able to compete after the building of a highway near their village.

Dina, from a traditionally wealthy family, maintains tenuous independence from her brother by living in the flat of her deceased husband.

Dina distances herself from the political ferment of the period: "Government problems and games played by people in power," she tells Ishvar. "It doesn't affect ordinary people like us"(Mistry, 75). But in the end it does affect all of them, drastically.

[edit] Characters in "A Fine Balance"

Dina Shroff (later, Dina Dalal when married to Rustom Dalal)
Ishvar Darji
Omprakash "Om" Darji (Ishvar's nephew)
Maneck Kohlah
Nusswan Shroff (Dina's brother)
Zenobia (Dina's friend)
Vasantrao Valmik (the proofreader and lawyer)
Ibrahim (the rent collector)
Dukhi Mochi (father of Ishvar and Narayan)
Thakur Dharamsi
Ashraf Chacha (Dukhi's friend. A tailor)
Nawaz (Ashraf's friend)
Rajaram (initially, a hair collector and later, Bal Baba)
Monkey-man (a resident of the slum) who kills Beggarmaster and takes revenge
Aban Kohlah (Maneck's mother)
Farokh Kohlah (Maneck's father)
Avinash (Maneck's senior, President of the Student Union and Chairman of the Hostel Committee)
Sergeant Kesar
Shankar (the crippled beggar) also known as Worm who rolls on the ground
Beggarmaster ( Step or Half Brother of Shankar ) and who controls all the beggars
Shanti (a girl in the slum)
Jeevan (Tailor who was with Om and Ishvar in their first assignment)
Ruby Shroff (Nusswan's wife)
Rustom Dalal (Dina's deceased husband)