A fine balance.

*does victory dance*. I finally finished it. Turns out it was the most disgusting book I’ve ever read in my life (until now) and I managed to complete it in 1 week straight. Gifted to me last month, the book is titled “A fine balance” by Rohinton Mistry. Not for the faint hearted this one is. It’s a simple enough book that revolves around 4 people whose lives dramatically change during the Emergency called by the (then) Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Dina Dalal, the paradoxically old Parsee woman whose dramatic life forces her to age in mind and soul faster than she ought to, Ishvar and Omprakash, fighting to keep misery out of their daily schedule and learning to accept the shocks of the city life as opposed to the torments of their native village. Maneck, the young paying guest, brilliantly portraying all that an adolescent boy can. The pangs of leaving a safe home, facing torture in the name of ragging. What I felt was the icing on the cake was the subtlety with which he (the author) has sneaked in points like ‘improper’ romance, racism, untouchability, the hiatus given to money.
The reason I deemed it disgusting is for the sole fact that its disturbing. Well most of it is. Shocking for people who haven’t lived through any bit of it. I have to admit, I haven’t seen a jhopadpatti or been to the nearest village (the closest one was the semi-town where I spent 6 out of 10 days sick) either, so reading about life in them was horrendous. The atrocities each of them face is in its own way justified although being human, you find that at some points, more often than not, just putting the book down seems the best thing to do. The style is simple and powerful at the same time. Painfully descriptive is what I can leave it at.
I do remember having highlighted ‘improper’ romance earlier. How can you explain the logic behind attraction towards older women? To start it all, is there any logic behind any form of attraction in the first place? I doubt it. Then why do we question this one? Who are we to call it abnormal? Why do we unwillingly spur this one (not to mention the million others we find inappropriate too)?
But all said and done, it is still a book, which I loved and hated at the same time. Frankly, I’m glad I got it over with.
Would I recommend it to you? Nnn…nyes.