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 With all discussions of literature, a great deal can be gained by way of enhanced knowledge and broader understanding, when thoughtful ideas are shared amongst a group of interested individuals. I invite you to share with me the highly memorable experience I have had by reading, A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, as it has left a lasting impression on my view of great Canadian Literature. I anticipate that you will either be sparked to eventually read this novel yourself or to simply comment on my entries and engage in the exchange of thought about its content and its place as an acclaimed piece of fiction. It is my purpose to not only enrich your lives with the concepts that Rohinton Mistry presents, but to glean a deeper awareness of the books many facets for myself, by writing and discussing any entries I have made. As this collaborative process continues to unravel, I believe that each person who visits not only my blog but the others throughout the class, will have their understanding of Canadian Literature shaped in a very purposeful way. For the novel I had selected, does not present content of a topic situated within the country, and is also not written by a Canadian born author. Both of these elements revolve around India, but ultimately reflect the perspective of a man who now lives in Canada. I hope that this will allow my blog to represent the nature of Canada's diversity when it comes to authors, and on a whole act as a piece of the puzzle that will be established through exploring each others blogs. 

The power in Rohinton Mistry's writing choices

Journal #1

 

On Rohinton Mistry’s writing style

 

            When considering literary significance in a piece of writing, one might delve into an enthralling moment whereby the characters of a story are faced with the utmost in an emotional conflict, or subject matter that presents its self as a test against the very core of our morality as readers, in an instance of a horrible twist of fate. However this is difficult to do when what you are presented with is not a story of that caliber but rather a complete, unabridged portrayal of a series of lives, and everything in amongst them that shapes their reality. When I began reading Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance, I was immediately captivated, not necessarily by the way in which the plot’s events unraveled, but his writing style; employing a refreshing unpretentious manner. This a story, well more than a story, of the lives of four people, who through life’s synchronicities, came into each others lives and changed the courses of their futures forever. The author sets his characters in India during a time of great political turmoil- the tailor Ishvar and his nephew Omprakash, their employer Dina, and a college student Maneck, who end up living altogether in a in a tiny flat in the heart of India. When dealing with subject matter so beyond what we a Canadian audience can relate to, it would seem as though the author should take on an authoritative, instructive tone, in order for us to be effected by subject matter so beyond our realm of experience, yet he is able to achieve exactly the opposite.  Rather than being the all-knowing, overbearing dictator that many authors on foreign subject matter tend to end up as, he presents his story in a style that is merely sharing a window into the lives of his characters; an invitation to take what we can, be effected how we may and continue on in our lives with what ends up being an intensely powerful impression. The reason that I noticed this in particular was due to the fact that I personally had no previous knowledge of and could never have dreamed to imagine the struggles these people faced, yet as the first few chapters flew by I felt as though I became as involved in their lives as if they were present in my day to day.

            In a very compelling way the author acknowledges the fact that we most likely are completely unaware of the context of this story. He does not expect us to be scholars on the history of political chaos in India, or the caste violence that has been perpetrated for centuries. He realizes that the audience cannot just pick up wherever the author chooses, but that he must gradually expose us to every facet of his characters lives, starting from the fist few moments of their existence, and that is primarily for me what made this story so easy to read and so effective. In a very natural way, as characters wander in and out of the author’s descriptive scope, we are gradually given their entire background, going back as far as to the stories of their parents. When we meet Ishvar and Om on the train in the very first few lines of the book, we join them at a point in their lives when their pasts have merged to bring them to their present situation. They grew up in a small village, dominated by caste violence, with them residing on the lower end of society. They subsequently rose out of their confines when the parents of Ishvar and Narayan (Om’s father) sent them to learn the trade of tailoring so they could escape from the legacy of chamaars that they had been born into. Narayan was murdered along with the entirety of their remaining family members after Om was sent to pursue the same profession, as a sign from the uppers of their caste that they were too far out of line with their successes. We learn details of the equally tragic lives of Dina Shroff, widowed at an early age, left to recompense about her husbands brutal death and faced once again with haunting past of abuse from her brother who had also been her primary caregiver. It is impossible for me to convey the to you the same degree of intensity that I experienced from reading this book, for in order for that to be possible, you would have to know every aspect of their lives. It was this style that the author took in his process that made the people come alive in a way that I have never experienced as strongly from any other story. As I relived their lives throughout this novel, I came to a profound realization, not only about the content of this story but also about the vastness of our lives in general. Very rarely are we given the opportunity to see completely into the soul of another human being or given their memories in a way that makes them come as a second nature to our own. As you look around at the people in your life you must admit to yourself that you will never be given the power to understand them fully in the way that you can understand yourself. For if we could, we would realize their motives and reasoning in the way that we can on a personal level. When Rohinton Mistry chose to approach this story in the way that I have just described, he allowed me to, as completely as I can, understand the inner workings of his characters on a shockingly personal level. After I knew them intimately, understood their lives and their struggles, their choices, everything about them seemed to be wonderfully succinct on a level that I find difficult to comprehend even from those who are flesh and blood around me. A Fine Balance to me was so much more than just a story, it was a life perspective…….

Mr. Valmik and Beggarmaster

 

……...            I believe that when humans consider life, and the lives of those around them, that it becomes a fairly internal process. We seek to define ourselves by our perceptions of awareness, our personal experiences, morals, values and how we are affected by the way in which we react to life. In this story life is only partly what you make of it, and largely what others make of you. As much as the characters in this book are affected by their pasts, the way that they have an effect each upon other and proceed through their interactions has the greatest impression upon the reader. The individuals in this book cannot always evoke epiphany out of their regular state of independence, and I found that it was usually through the synchronicities of their interactions with others that we are brought to a state of immediate recognition. The reason that I personally felt these interactions to be so meaningful is for the reason that strangers at random could create impressions in a sudden way that were very different from the gradual realizations that arose from the relationships of the main characters. Dina, Maneck, Ishvar and Om eventually became the closely-knit family that they never had, but it took me until nearly the end of the story to feel the full affect of their union. There were two people in particular; characters that simply entered the story for a moment that seemed fleeting, but that ended up presenting me with a lasting sentiment. The first is expressed through Maneck’s encounter with an old lawyer, turned proofreader, turned public speaker who sat beside him on one of his earlier train rides. He ends up revealing one of the most heavily dominating themes and the novel’s title- a fine balance:

 

“ ‘Sometimes you have to use your failures as stepping stones to success. You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair.’ He paused, considering what he had just said.  ‘Yes,’ he repeated. ‘ in the end its all a question a question of balance.’ “

(page 268)

 

For me personally this statement really allowed me to perceive the book in an altered light; for all of the overwhelming despair that I felt for the characters, as their’s were lives filled mainly with hardship and sufferings, a new sense of optimism, and a fresh lens arose out of this statement. The characters appeared more luminous in their moments of subtle joy, with the smallest things that they would gain the greatest appreciation for, in turn presenting the audience with the possibilities for the scope of human joy. It is really just a question of balance!

            The second upheaval of our understanding comes through a much darker character, Beggarmaster. He rescues Ishvar and Om from one of the many government scandals, an intense “legal” labour camp, in exchange for a monthly payment, which he visits them at Dina’s flat afterwards for collection. I never suspected to find such a memorable sentiment in so harsh a character, yet after Beggarmaster (that is the only name you ever know him by) is faced with his own set of life altering tragedies, his misfortunes cause him to make a statement that stands true for the lives of many in the story. He reveals a symbolic drawing of what I’ve taken to be an illustration of the conflicts Dina, Om, Ishvar, Maneck, as well as Beggarmaster himself all must come to terms with in their lifetime:

 

             “A man with a briefcase chained to his wrist was standing on four spidery legs. His four feet were splayed towards the four points of the compass, as though in a permanent dispute about what was the right direction. His two hands each had ten fingers, useless bananas sprouting from the palms. And on his face were two noses, adjacent yet bizarrely turned away, as though neither could bear the smell of the other.

            They stared at the drawing, uncertain how to respond to Beggarmaster’s creation. He saved them the embarrassment by offering his own interpretation. ‘Freaks, that’s what we are-all of us.’

            Ishvar was about to say that he should not take Shankar and Nosey’s fates entirely upon his own person when Beggarmaster clarified himself. ‘I mean, every single human being. And who can blame us? What chance do we have, when our beginnings and endings are so freakish? Birth and death-what could be more monstrous than that? We like to deceive ourselves and call it wondrous and beautiful and majestic, but it’s all freakish let’s face it.’ “

 

Each person in this story is pulled in all directions of their faith. Challenged by the world they must reckon with their old ways and beliefs in order to continue on their journey from life to death. In spite of the gloom that this message carries, it also allows us to consider that if we are all affected by the flaws of the human condition, then nothing is wrong, and we are in turn limitless in what we take away from life’s lessons. However grim Beggarmaster’s outlook is, I chose to take from it not the negative connotations, but the idea that in the end the constriction and restrictions we place on existence are irrelevant because we all go out the same way. This is a prominent theme throughout the novel, as morals and family values are rooted at the core of all of Ishvar’s, Dina’s and Om’s decisions, but in the end they must come to terms with letting that go. 

Government?

 

…..In light of recent issues with our government and the ridiculous scandals that have been overwhelming the media, I was drawn to and recognized more distinctly the degree to which every country’s government dominates the lives of each individual in society, especially the characters in A Fine Balance. The source of almost all conflicts, sorrows and losses for the tailors, Dina and Maneck come at the hand of the Indian government. As I mentioned previously, this story is set during what I presume was the middle of the last century, when India declared a state of Internal Emergency. Beggar were swept off the streets by order of the Beautification Laws, huts were destroyed leaving millions homeless, and the homeless were then seen as beggars, so they were rounded up and forced to work in intensive labour camps for no pay. The worst part of government destruction and insanity came in the form of sterilization enforcements, where in order to promote the reduction of India’s population, people were first tricked into the medical inferitlization process with hefty cash bribes, and when that failed to be successful enough, teams of unqualified doctors would round up an unfortunate group of individuals from a marketplace for example, and against their will shame them for the rest of their existence so they were unable to have children. The corruption that went on, and was promoted and enforced under a crooked Prime Minister, shocked me to an indescribable degree. The lives of Ishvar and Om, still a young man, were mutilated carelessly; all the while authorities praised the government for the prosperity that they were bestowing upon the country.  The tragedies that were presented openly in this story evoked sorrow comparable to the magnitude of the Holocaust, yet I can almost guarantee that very few people worldwide are aware of the sufferings that went on. The people living within Dina’s flat at this time in India were kept within the sanctions of safety and subdued happiness only by maintaining a fine balance. Beggarmaster played an increasingly important role in maintaining the balance of their lives as political tensions heightened. As was part of his agreement to collect a memorandum from the tailors, he made his visitations regularly, and on one fateful night when the henchmen of the property hungry landlord threateningly destroyed their flat, he made it his duty to protect them. This is for the reason that the government, and in due course the police and other keeper of the “peace” can be paid side with whomever offers the largest bribe. I discovered that at a closer glance the government had greater symbolic representation- they are the chaotic catalyst for change, the fate with the power of movement, able to scatter lives at will. It would seem that only by unfortunate twists of fate are these characters brought to their knees for mercy, however it is actually by the skillful and intelligent hand of life itself. Just as the people of this story must learn to be wary of an irrational government so too must they strengthen themselves for life’s challenges, hence completing the governments symbolic purpose as we become aware of the parallels. As the characters learned, so did I alongside them, that life’s hardships only strengthen us, even at our weakest moments. The government ruined the lives of these characters, but it never had the power to control how they responded to life’s disparities……..

An amazing ending

            As the last few pages of this book flew through my fingers, fatigue drying my eyes, in a desperate attempt to finish this book in time, I was brought back to earth, and could never have been prepared for an ending like the one Rohinton Mistry wrote. It left me feeling heartbroken for the next few days.  I was honestly expecting ‘a happy ending’, whatever that might be for Dina, the tailors and Maneck-a glimpse into the joy and prosperity that life would bestow them after surviving an eternity so filled with hardship. It came as an overwhelming shock to me when fulfillment was nowhere in sight, and as the book ended the bleakness of their pain overwhelmed every single character. I was so confounded, so overwhelmed that the author could leave me with absolute hopelessness and an apparent absence of any redemption. If anything, their sufferings that had come to a head in the last few chapters with their lives on the brink of ruination, were left in complete and irreparable devastation. Without completely giving away the end of the book, I will simply state ambiguously that it ends with a suicide for one character, deaths of almost every related family member, and the other characters are left to struggle through the remainder of their days with all their hope removed due to the government-stimulated castration. I am still struggling desperately to find the author’s reasoning for leaving the book this way-it seems completely contradictory. It is not a fine balance if death has mastery over their lives, and if the book is so heavily dominated by events that completely diminish all hope. I wanted to see it this way at first, as it was easier to get lost in the ocean of despair that flooded the end of this novel, yet I know now that this was not the author’s intention. Through feeling the culmination of this absolutely intense pain, we became aware of the truth of their reality. It is the balance of life and death, and pain and joy, that leaves us with a lasting impression- through the sufferings we are exposed to we experience just how real their seemingly small doses of happiness are and at the same time become aware of the balance the must be maintained when approaching a story in general. Every now and again we need to be jolted awake by the potency that IS real life, and to experience truths we are unaccustomed to. In turn we are left with “a fine balance of hope and despair” concerning all circumstances, for the remarkable individuals within this story and in our lives beyond.