……... 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.
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