This time I broke all my previous records. I took over six months to finish Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance. I would blame my busyness (this isn’t a word) for this. The only time I could give to reading was when I was traveling. It took me two journeys to my native place to finish the novel. I may blame bad air/rail/road connectivity for so many things but for reading, it was a boon. The over twenty-hour (one way) journey gave me a chance to read this masterpiece.
As far as busyness is concerned, it’s obvious. Career is moving fast and it’s taking its toll in terms of my time. I leave office building every evening but I am unable to leave ‘office’. It has come to my bedroom now and has left me with no choice to do anything else. Maybe this is what happens with everyone, right? So, no complaints here. Anyways, this is supposed to be A Fine Balance’s review, right? Let’s start. :)
The novel is all about lives of four characters i.e. Dina Dalal, a widow in mid-fifties, Maneck Kohlah, a young, under-graduate student, Ishwar Darji, a cobbler-turned-tailor, never-married, mid-fifties man and Omprakash Darji (or Om), a tailor and Ishwar’s nephew. Dina Dalal has been living in Bombay since her birth. Maneck comes to Bombay for higher studies. Ishwar and Om made Bombay a home in hope of good jobs and better livings. If I say anything more than this about the characters, I would end up revealing something that you would regret to know before reading the novel. Despite being entirely different from one another, they come close in very bizarre circumstances.
I find A Fine Balance as very close to Premchand’s Godan in terms of brutality of one’s fate, the society and the system. Just like Godan, in this novel, there seems to be no end to the problems of the common man. To me, A Fine Balance looks like a revisit to the world depicted in Godan by the great Premchand. Godan is a pre-independence novel and mainly shows the problems associated with the lives of villagers. Rohinton’s A Fine Balance too moves around the same problems but it extends further and shows the condition of common man in the more brutal Bombay. The novel proves that nothing has changed in the last 100 years. The country, the people and the problems, all are the same.
The novel covers a vast set of problems that persisted in India in 1970’s. The novel makes us go to the roots of well-known (and still persisting) problems like caste system, unemployment, poverty and corruption to specific problems of 70s like problems emerged because of Emergency called by Indira Gandhi. There are several examples in the novel that tell us how systems are made for betterment of things but end up ruining them. One such example set in novel is, the Gandhi government encouraged family planning for controlling the emerging population. But this didn’t do any good to the most, rather it ruined lives of many. Mostly young, unmarried or elderly people were forced to go for the nasbandi program.
Despite of the lengthy descriptions of the characters and events, Rohinton Mistry was able to keep me involved. Curiosity was always on extreme. Due to less but prominent characters, I was able to recall them without any confusion, even after an interval of three months. The only thing I regretted reading this novel was the kind of stress it gave me. Every event mentioned in the novel made me go deep into the situation, maybe because I have seen quite similar events in my own life or in lives of people around. Another positive point about this novel was its connection with Parsi culture (apart from Maneck Kohlah and Dina Dalal, there are several Parsi characters in the novel). Being a Parsi, Rohinton Mistry was able to beautifully describe the Parsi culture.
I give full marks to this highly tragic novel. A must read if you can bear all the stress it will give to you.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Suraj Ka Satwan Ghoda by Dharamvir Bharati
I had read Dharamvir Bharati's Gunahon Ka Devta around three years ago. The novel is one of my favourite Hindi novels. Since Suraj Ka Satwan Ghoda is much more acclaimed novel than Gunahon Ka Devta, my expectations were much higher. And I must say this short-novel over-delivered on my very high expectations.
The way Dr. Bharati has told the story in Suraj Ka Satwan Ghoda is very much different from the conventional story-telling style. Today, in twentieth century we may have read novels with similar way of story-telling but for a Hindi novel that first published in 1952, it must have been quite revolutionary. Bharati have split the story of the novel in seven short stories.
Bharati, himself, is the story-teller. The place of the events is Allahabad (I suppose) and the time is immediately after India’s independence from the Britain (~1950). The novel starts with an introduction of Manik Mulla, the protagonist of the novel. Manik is a famous personality of the colony Bharati lives in. It’s summer, typical North India style. A group of friends (including Bharati) gathers at Manik Mulla’s house. A regular activity. Some of the friends are playing cards, some are laying on the floor, doing nothing. Bharati is reading a novel. Manik Mulla pulls the book from Bharati’s hands, saying, “You can’t read others’ stories in a story-teller’s house!” And this is how Manik Mulla starts telling the stories. He tells seven stories on seven consecutive noons. All the seven stories prove to be a part of a single story in the end. Manik Mulla tells the conclusion on seventh noon and novel ends.
Unlike Gunahon Ka Devta, Suraj Ka Satwan Ghoda has nothing to do with sacred love and commitment. This novel is all about Indian lower-middle-class people. According to Bharati, economy is more important to Indian lower-middle-class people than love or any other emotion. And this phenomenon has led the entire class to darkness, immorality, inhumanity and apathy. All the people in the novel tend to do injustice to humanity. Their characters seem to be weak and they end up betraying the people around. All because of money or their low values.
If you are wondering what Suraj Ka Satwan Ghoda means then Bharati ji has described it in a very beautiful manner. As per him, despite of all the darkness and sadness, there is something that inspires to light up the dark, lead to the good. The truth, faith and bravery lead the soul to the light in the same way the seven horses lead the chariot of the Sun. The chariot of the Sun has to move forward, always. But it’s destroyed during its journey via the streets of our dark, corrupt, low-value and immoral lives. Except for the seventh horse, all the six horses have been severely injured. The seventh horse is still brave, determined, focused and is moving ahead continuously. The seventh horse is the future. Bharati ji has co-related this seventh horse with the children of his novel’s characters. He says these children, the new generation will lead us to the light and we must have faith in this seventh horse.
A very small but good read. Highly Recommended.
Suraj Ka Satwan Ghoda by Dharamvir Bharati. pp 101, rs 25 paperback. Bhartiya Jnanpith.
The way Dr. Bharati has told the story in Suraj Ka Satwan Ghoda is very much different from the conventional story-telling style. Today, in twentieth century we may have read novels with similar way of story-telling but for a Hindi novel that first published in 1952, it must have been quite revolutionary. Bharati have split the story of the novel in seven short stories.
Bharati, himself, is the story-teller. The place of the events is Allahabad (I suppose) and the time is immediately after India’s independence from the Britain (~1950). The novel starts with an introduction of Manik Mulla, the protagonist of the novel. Manik is a famous personality of the colony Bharati lives in. It’s summer, typical North India style. A group of friends (including Bharati) gathers at Manik Mulla’s house. A regular activity. Some of the friends are playing cards, some are laying on the floor, doing nothing. Bharati is reading a novel. Manik Mulla pulls the book from Bharati’s hands, saying, “You can’t read others’ stories in a story-teller’s house!” And this is how Manik Mulla starts telling the stories. He tells seven stories on seven consecutive noons. All the seven stories prove to be a part of a single story in the end. Manik Mulla tells the conclusion on seventh noon and novel ends.
Unlike Gunahon Ka Devta, Suraj Ka Satwan Ghoda has nothing to do with sacred love and commitment. This novel is all about Indian lower-middle-class people. According to Bharati, economy is more important to Indian lower-middle-class people than love or any other emotion. And this phenomenon has led the entire class to darkness, immorality, inhumanity and apathy. All the people in the novel tend to do injustice to humanity. Their characters seem to be weak and they end up betraying the people around. All because of money or their low values.
If you are wondering what Suraj Ka Satwan Ghoda means then Bharati ji has described it in a very beautiful manner. As per him, despite of all the darkness and sadness, there is something that inspires to light up the dark, lead to the good. The truth, faith and bravery lead the soul to the light in the same way the seven horses lead the chariot of the Sun. The chariot of the Sun has to move forward, always. But it’s destroyed during its journey via the streets of our dark, corrupt, low-value and immoral lives. Except for the seventh horse, all the six horses have been severely injured. The seventh horse is still brave, determined, focused and is moving ahead continuously. The seventh horse is the future. Bharati ji has co-related this seventh horse with the children of his novel’s characters. He says these children, the new generation will lead us to the light and we must have faith in this seventh horse.
A very small but good read. Highly Recommended.
Suraj Ka Satwan Ghoda by Dharamvir Bharati. pp 101, rs 25 paperback. Bhartiya Jnanpith.
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