A Fine Balance: Analysis of Major Characters

Author: Rohinton Mistry

First published: 1995

Genre: Novel

Locale: India

Plot: Historical fiction

Time: 1940s through 1984

Ishvar Darji, a tailor; Omprakash's uncle. An easy character to like, Ishvar always tries to put a positive spin on even the most dire circumstances. He looks for the good in others, and has a strong sense of gratitude. He is a good father figure to his nephew and a good friend to Dina.

Omprakash Darji, a tailor; Ishvar's nephew. A young tailor, “Om” sees the injustice of his society all around him. He is embittered by the brutal murder of his entire family (after his father, Narayan, attempts to place his own voting ballot), and what he perceives as his uncle's obsequious behavior toward Dina Dalal. In spite of his fighting spirit, he is, quite literally, emasculated by the same enemy, Thakur Dharamsi, who killed his family. He is devoted to his uncle, Ishvar.

Maneck, a student. Maneck becomes disenchanted by his parents' insistence that he get an education. He is overwhelmed by what he perceives as intransigence in his father, becoming depressed over feelings of rejection when his father does not acknowledge his creative ideas and good business sense. At college, he befriends Avinosh, who is very active politically—an interest that Maneck does not share. While at college he boards with Dina Dalal, developing a friendship with Ishvar and Omprakash, and eventually with Dina. However, he is overwhelmed by the poverty, filth, and injustice in his country and culture.

Dina Dalal, tailor and employer of Ishvar and Omprakash. Having been raised in a loving, tight-knit family, Dina would seem to have every chance for a peaceful and fulfilling life. However, following the deaths of her parents, she must fight her older brother, Nusswan, at every turn. He is sometimes cruel, and she is stubborn and independent, falling in love with and marrying the man she chooses, to Nusswan's astonishment. After her husband, Rustom, is killed and Dina lives with Nusswan and his family for a year, Dina insists on living her life on her own. She supports herself by setting up business as a tailor, but after her eyesight begins to fail, she must hire others to do the work. She is barely able to sustain her lifestyle, taking on a boarder (Maneck) in her tiny apartment to help pay rent. She forms a family, of sorts, with her two employees, Ishvar and Omprakash, as well as Maneck.

Dr. Shroff, Dina's father. A physician in a modest practice, Dr. Shroff is a warm and caring father and husband. He is committed to easing the suffering he sees around him. His daughter, Dina, worships him and hopes to follow in his footsteps. He travels inland to lead a medical team on a campaign to ease outbreaks of typhoid and cholera and is tragically killed by a cobra three weeks into his venture.

Nusswan, Dina's older brother. A rather punctilious and controlling character, Nusswan becomes the head of his family after his father's tragic death. His first decisions involve tightening the family budget. He gets rid of the household help and tries to control all aspects of Dina's life (from her clothing to the friends she keeps), in an effort to break her stubborn personality, sometimes resorting to violence. After marrying and having children, he softens toward Dina, though for the most part, their relationship retains some of the tension that plagued them following their parents' deaths. Nusswan is a narcissist, believing Dina is only trying to spite him when she chooses her own husband, and refuses to give up her independence.

Ruby, Nusswan's wife. Like Nusswan, Ruby is very controlling and often treats Dina like she is a servant or child. Ruby is careful to make Dina account for every household expenditure when she shops for the family. She softens toward Dina onceDinaismarried.

Zenobia, Dina's girlhood friend. She helps Dina explore her own talents, and helps Dina get work as a tailor.

Xerces and Zarir, Ruby and Nusswan's sons.

Rustom Dalal, Dina's husband. Rustom is an easygoing, happy individual; a music lover, who makes his living as a pharmaceutical chemist. He and Dina marry, but on their third anniversary Rustom is killed after being hit by a car.

Darab Uncle, Rustom's uncle. Darab Uncle, like his wife, is a warm, loving parent to Rustom and Dina.

Shirin Aunty, Rustom's aunt. Shirin Aunty is a foster mother to Rustom, whose parents are dead. She is kind and warm, taking an immediate liking to Dina. She teaches Dina to sew, a critical skill later, when Dina must find a way to support herself after Rustom's death.

Fredoon, Dina's lover after Rustom's death. Fredoon is one of Dina's first customers after she begins her tailoring business. They eventually become lovers, but the attraction is strictly physical. He is patient with Dina, understanding her grief over losing Rustom.

Ibrahim, the rent collector. Ibrahim has stained teeth with large gaps between them. Burdened by disappointment, he is a bit desperate and scarred, and constantly hounds Dina, trying to get her evicted from her rent-controlled apartment. He knows she is conducting business out of her home, something that's strictly forbidden. Later, after the landlord has Ibrahim confront Dina with his “goondas” (henchmen), Ibrahim quits his job and apologizes to Dina.

Dukhi Mochi, Ishvar's father. He is a brave and deeply caring father—an “untouchable” tanner by trade—Dukhi breaks with the ages-old caste system by sending his young sons to a friend to apprentice as tailors.

Pandit Lalluram, a village wiseman known for his fair treatment of “untouchables.” A Chit-Pavan Brahim, from the highest class of Brahmin known as the “keepers of the Sacred Knowledge,” whom Dukhi consults after his sons have been beaten, Pandit is something of an arbitrator in community and family disputes. He is portrayed as a rather grotesque man, belching and blowing streams of mucous out of his nose.

Roopa Mochi, Dukhi's wife; Ishvar and Narayan's mother. While her family sleeps, Roopa wanders out to steal food for her children, putting herself in grave danger on a nightly basis. When Dukhi decides to send his sons away to learn a new trade and ignoring the ages-old caste system, Roopa is critical, considering it a foolish move. She eventually warms to the plan, though she misses her children horribly.

Narayan, Dukhi's son; Ishvar's brother. A devoted son and father, Narayan is ambitious and even-tempered. He has strong moral convictions, and is horrified by his mother's hypocrisy when she drives off a customer because he is from a lower class. However, he is also fearless, and his fearlessness ends up costing him his life, when he insists on casting his own ballot during elections.

Radha, Narayan's wife.

Ashraf, a tailor; Dukhi's Muslim friend. Ashraf is Dukhi's kind and gentle friend who gladly takes on the responsibility of apprenticing Dukhi's young sons as tailors. Living some distance from Dukhi's family, Ashraf becomes a surrogate father to the boys. Later, his devotion will prove a lifesaver, literally, when Narayan and Ishvar save the lives of Ashraf, his family, and his business, when brutal Hindu gangs threaten Muslims in the community.

Mutes,Ashraf'swife.

Nawaz, Ashraf's friend in Bombay. Out of a sense of obligation, Nawaz allows Ishvar and Omprakash to sleep on his veranda. He is not kind, though, and makes his resentment clear. Eventually he gets rid of them by introducing them to the slum village.

Rajaram, Ishvar and Om's slum neighbor. A good-natured friend who helps Ishvar and Om settle into their new life in the city slums, he makes his meager living collecting and selling human hair. His occupation leads him to madness when he begins stealing hair—clipping the hair from unsuspecting victims—and, finally, to murdering the victims of his bizarre obsession. Eventually, in an act of contrition, he goes to meditate in a Himalayan cave, and returns to the city as the holy man, “Bal Baba,” who is able to tell an individual's fortune just by feeling their hair.

Monkey-man, a performer and neighbor to Ishvar and Omprakash. A good-natured performer, he loves his animals (two monkeys and a dog) as if they were his children. However, when he is forced to leave his monkeys at home alone, the dog massacres them. The man responds in his grief by slitting the dog's throat in retribution. He becomes a rag collector, then a street performer, using his very young nieces and nephews in his act. He is brutally beaten when a gathered crowd perceives he is putting the children at too great a risk.

Vasantrao Valmik (a.k.a. the proofreader), a lawyer and fellow train traveller with Maneck. We are only told Valmik's name at the end of his conversation with Maneck. He is an important character nevertheless. The novel's title, as well as its meaning, come from Valmik's mouth. He is a seasoned traveller who passes the time in conversation with Maneck. He draws attention to the hypocrisy inherent in India's political system and explains, “Sometimes you have to use your failures as stepping-stones to success. You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair.” These lines express a theme that is woven throughout the novel, in the lives of its characters. Late in the novel, Dina meets with him to see if he can offer her legal advice, and he again espouses his philosophy.

Thakur Dharamsi, a powerful landowner. Thakur Dharamsi is an evil and brutal man, who takes every opportunity to punish and torture people in the lower classes.

Avinosh, a college student, idealist and political activist. Avinosh is Maneck's neighbor when he first moves to the college hostel. They become good friends, and Avinosh teaches Maneck how to play chess. Avinosh is the chairman of the Hostel Committee and the president of the student union, and is able to defuse a near-riot in the food hall by espousing a rational and democratic solution. He disappears after the government declares a state of emergency. Late in the novel, his body is found tortured and murdered.