Trauma - Social, Economical and Physical Massacre of Marginalized in Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance

Dr. K. Subapriya

Asst. Professor, Dept. of English, Pachaiyyappa's College, Chennai

Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance is often approached from the perspective of Diasporic novel. However this article intends to study this novel as a form of literature that portrays trauma. In general trauma in literature is defined as something that deals with personal trauma that is instigated due to colour, caste, ethnic, tribal indifference; sexual assault and historical trauma are those that are related to genocide and holocaust that happens in and around the world through different era. Sometimes these kind of expression may be through Autobiographical text and in majority the trauma is reflected through memory of the affected individual. Majority of the trauma produces psychological disorder only in the later stage and that becomes inevitable.  Surviving the trauma or getting destroyed in the trauma depends upon the individual’s strength. At times the voice of individual trauma becomes the untold stories of collective trauma.

The trauma is mostly caused by a factor that could produce both physical and psychological destruction. It can be due to an individual or by a public and social factor. Psychological trauma is the unique individual experience of an event or enduring conditions, in which,

1. The individual's ability to integrate his/her emotional experience is overwhelmed, or
2. The individual experiences (subjectively) a threat to life, bodily integrity, or sanity. (Giller)

 

The Trauma which means ‘wound’ in Greek is woven in and around this novel. In Mistry’s A Fine Balance, the marginalised so called lower caste people are exposed to severe trauma. They are shattered into dust by the age old caste system and turmoil of political factors.  Dukhi’s family catastrophe is the example for the millions of so called lower caste people. The first couple Dukhi and Roopa is subjected to severe torture. Roopa steals oranges to pacify the hungry stomach of her son. Immediately, she is physically assaulted by the orchard guard threatening to expose her thieving amidst the villagers. Fearing the consequences of the threat, she provides her body as a feast to the guard with a little resistance. Her inability to resist sets a storm in her mind when the guard storms and destroys her biological factor.

When she comes back home she could not wail loudly. Dukhi is quite aware of her muffled sobs throughout the night, yet he does not have the courage to console her. It is a shame to console her rather than killing the man who has done this to her so he too weeps silently for his inability. This tear in humiliation is an unforgotten trauma of many downtrodden. The lines ‘he wished he would die that night’ is the real wish of several victims. The victims of trauma always have a wish to die since they consider death as a way to escape from all severe troubles. Only the great trauma memories create an instigation at the peak to die. However, in general the fighting spirit of these victims for a long span of time is  quite admirable. Dukhi as a father could not bear the humiliation of his children Ishvar and Narayan. He goes in search of Pandit Lalluram with a hope to get some justice. He laments over the fact that his children were severely beaten for touching the books and blackboard. All his lamentations are reciprocated with a mere tube of ointment. His hope to get justice ends in despair.

Each and every interaction with the so called upper caste people leaves a severe trauma in the mind of Dukhi. Once Dukhi takes up the task to grind an entire bag of chillies in a massive stone mortar. He was devoid of work for several days, so he eagerly takes this job to earn some money. When the sack was almost empty an unexpected accident takes place with the splitting of the mortar and Dukhi’s left foot gets crushed. The landlord Thakur Premji’s wife makes a  scene crying out that ‘The Chamaar donkey has destroyed our mortar’(104). Neither his bleeding legs were cared for nor he is paid money for the hard work that he has done throughout the day. Further he is lashed at violently by Thakur. He is chased away on his limping legs. Roopa tries to heal the wounds by bandage but the marks in the heart of Dukhi remains unscathed. Even he could not immediately explain the reason for his wounds to Roopa. The trauma at this instance puts him silent. The words are arrested but again his heart as a father proposes to change the fate of his sons.

He gets a chance to meet a Muslim friend Ashraf in the nearby town and that paves the way for his sons to take the profession of tailoring. He takes a brave decision to break the caste bondage. Breaking the shackles of Chammar caste he encourages his sons to learn the profession of stitching clothes. Usually the post-traumatic experience leaves a grey memory but in this context Dukhi goes ahead and again the question of remedy through this decision is doubtful as it further leads to series of trauma throughout the life of Ishvar and Narayan. The trauma of untouchability in this context is even mocked by the author himself. He presents the speech of a politician. People cheerfully clap after the speech against the untouchability. When Dukhi wonders at the reaction of landlords to these kinds of speeches, Ashraf rightly points out to the fact that they would clap but the same would be continued.

Due to Ashraf’s noble guidance Ishvar and Narayan becomes good tailors. Narayan comes back to the village. He has a good start. Economically he grows better but still he stitches clothes only for his fellow members in his caste and it itches the other villagers who belong to upper caste. Despite taking the cloth profession he teaches his son Om to peel the skin of dead cattle. Om has an aversion to it but he forces his son to do it as he considers it as a pride and identity. He never feels bad about his caste. However, he could have survived if he had remained silent along with his fellow lower caste people without raising his voice. During an election he demands his right to vote. He is beaten to death. His death does not occur in fraction of seconds. He is tortured and put to death. He is hanged in the broad day light. Thakur Dharamsi turns them into an open book to teach a lesson to other who would think about raising their voice.

This ill-fate does not stop with Narayan alone. His whole family is burnt to death. His mother, father, wife, and daughters are provided as feast for the raging fire. Ishvar, the brother of Narayan and Om, the lovable son of Narayan alone escapes as they stay away from home in a town residing with Ashraf Chacha. People often say that history repeats itself. The doom of destruction follows Om and Ishvar even after many years. They are taken as   scapegoats to fulfil the norms of the family planning quota. First they undergo the painful surgery. It is a tragedy for those two bachelors to undergo the sterilization process. At least Ishvar is aged without marriage but with all hopes he has taken his nephew to the native town with the prospect of marriage. The real trauma happens not only through the process of sterilization. Ishvar learns the way to re-operate and get his nephew married but Thakur Dharamsi visits the sterilization camp and orders the doctor to conduct testicle removal. Already Om has been subjected to vasectomy and Thakur uses the government program to take his vengeance. The doctor turns pale at the instruction of Thakur but he could not refuse his order.

Thakur Dharamsi stopped at the foot of Om’s mattress and stared. He murmured a few words to someone at his side. The man left, returning a moment later with one of the doctors. The Thakur spoke to him softly and the doctor recoiled, shaking his head vehemently. The Thakur whispered again. The doctor went pale. (536)

The lamentation of Ishvar about his nephew goes unheard. He cries “Hai Ram Look Look what they have done. To my Nephew. Look. They have made a eunuch out of him” (537). His painful attempt to make complain becomes futile. Ishvar’s dream to get Om married to a beautiful girl remains as a dream. His dreams have beautiful imaginations. The dreams are often disturbed by traumas of reality. The bed made by Dina for the newlywed couples at last serves as a cushion for Ishvar who loses his legs because of the infections caused by vasectomy operations. The urge to cater to the number of vasectomy operated persons forces the doctors to use unsterilized instruments. The trauma of the emergency period program of family planning turns Ishvar and Om into beggars. The former became legless and the later loses his manhood. The trauma of Ishvar and Om is the trauma of millions of Indians. The history talks about massacres of Jews and many other ethnics but who cares about the trauma of these unknown Indians. Their names are unknown and history never talks about their trauma. The trauma befalls on them no matter where they try to survive. Their trauma in various circumstances for different reasons can be presented in the following way,

The trauma as a term refers to the disaster event at different levels like psychological, physical painful event but the role of literature is to examine both the trauma and the consequences of traumatic events. One other character who incessantly undergoes trauma in his life time is Maneck, a Parsi guy who hails from a middle class background. His childhood does not exhibit any ripples of trauma. His life seems to be stable like calm water but the first ripple begins from his father. As the ripple grows in a wider circle, his contact with people leads to a traumatic impact. The trauma befalls him and in due course of time he himself becomes the victim of trauma.

Maneck fails to realise the trauma of his father when he suffers for the destruction of mountains and forest in the name of economic progress. He recognises it later after encountering series of painful incidents in his life. He could feel the love of his father for the mountains and street dogs after his death. His sorrow knew no bounds. He makes a frantic search for his father. His anxiety is expressed in the following lines,
But the ashes-they lay in the cold, driving rain. He ran to where he had emptied the wooden box in the morning. Panting, he stopped at each familiar spot where his mother lingered, but could not find any trace of the grey ash. His breath coming in great sobs, he brushed aside leaves, kicked over a rock, shifted a broken bough.... he covered his face with his muddy hands and wept, and wept, and wept. (596)

His search for the ashes denotes the search for his father. His encounter with Avinash, Ishvar and Om are the other factors that causes terrible trauma in his life. When he meets these characters he would have least imagined the effect that it would have on him. Avinash, one of the best friends of Maneack is the leader of students union in his college. He becomes closer to Maneck and teaches him chess. He finds Avinash to be a role model youth who could manage things and think clever. Though he comes from an economically poor family he is extraordinarily sensible. He easily develops friendship with Maneck and tells the story about his mom, dad and three friends. Despite the poverty he is conscious about love that he has for his family and the duty to which he is bounded. However, during the emergency period he is quietly evacuated from this world. When Maneck comes to return the chess board to Avinash, he hears the shocking news about his death from his parents. He is least able to digest the fact that he is tortured to death but the police have closed his file as suicide case.

A series of events knock down Maneck’s strength. He spends quite a few years  abroad dealing with air conditioning task and finds the worse condition of human beings while coming back for his father’s death. Even when abroad he finds an Indian girl in pathetic condition of bondage but could not rescue her. At the station he is not aware about the Sikh hunt for killing the Prime Minister of India. He feels for the distressed state of Sikhs. He goes to the extreme of worrying for the life of car driver who is a Sikh which he finds out later. After finishing  the last rites of his father, again he is subjected to a trauma. He goes through the old newspapers and learns about the suicide of three sisters of Avinash.

The photograph dragged Maneck’s eyes back to it, to the event that was at once unsetting, pitiful and maddening in the crystalline stillness. The three sisters look disappointed, he thought, as though they had expected something more out of hanging, something more than death, and then discovered death was all there was. (594)

The end of the report focused on Avinash’s death  few years ago and at this point he realizes the three girls to be the sisters of Avinash. His reaction to the trauma is clearly revealed in the following lines,

The rain was pounding on the roof and coming in through the windows. He tried to fold the discoloured newspaper neatly along its crease, but his hands were shaking, and it flapped and crumpled untidily in his lap. The room was airless. He struggled to push himself out of the chair...He closed the door, paced the damp porch a few minutes, then walked out into the rain, tears streaming down his face. (595)

To get relieved from the prolonging stress and trauma events, suddenly he takes a decision to pay a short visit to Dina, Ishvar and Om. He wants to make sure that at least a few are leading a happy life in this world. He visits his relatives for a formality and then with great urge he visits the same old home where he had spent his college days. He could not find Dina in the same nestle. He goes for the next option-her brother’s home. He finds Dina there but not the very same old Dina who had the aspiration to complete the bed for the expected wedding couple with different patterns out of wastage piece of clothes. Maneck comes to know about the trauma of Ishvar and Om from her. The true status of his friends who had turned out to be beggars was really unpalatable for Maneck. He could not hear anymore fine stories. The entire life dawns to be a curse with no hopes - only filled with trauma and frustrations.

He deliberately tries to avoid a meeting with Ishvar and Om. He does not know what to talk with them. Ishvar and Om identify him on the way and they pester him for a penny mischievously. They have undergone the maximum tragic circumstances in their life but amidst all they are able to balance their life but Maneck who watches drama is seriously affected by it. He spends his time in a hotel in silence. After watching things happening around him like a spectator with the chess set of Avinash handed over by Dina he leaves the spot.  His end at the railway station is unexpected. He tries to save a lady mistaking her to be blind who stands near the edge to check out  the station name. The lines that explains the death of Maneck are grave and plain but as the noise of roaring train disturbs our mind, it keeps on rumbling. His act of hugging the chess set of Avinash is melodramatic. 

Now the express could be seen in the distance, having cleared the bend in the tracks. The rumble was louder, growing to a roar as it approached. When the first compartment has entered the station, he stepped off the platform and on to the gleaming silver tracks.

The elderly woman in the dark glasses was the first to scream. Then the shriek of pneumatic brakes drowned all other sounds. The fast train took several hundred yards to stop.

Maneck’s last thought was that he still had Avinash’s chessmen. (612)

Ishvar and Om bring smile on Dina’s face. The outsiders become a part of Dina’s life. All the three Dina, Ishvar and Om have faced terrible tragedies and a few hours of hope and joy. However, they have a mind that could balance different moods therefore the book has been rightly titled as A Fine Balance. Despite the title, we should notice the different traumas that revolve around the characters’ lives. As the title states trauma in this text that happens at social, economical and physical levels and should be taken into account. It becomes the deciding factor of every man/woman’s life. The reaction to the trauma may vary according to the individual’s strength but the trauma in an individual and group of people becomes a recurrent factor.

Works Consulted:
Primary Source:
Mistry, Rohinton. A Fine Balance. Great Britain: CPI Bookmarque, 2006. Print.
Secondary Sources:
Dodiya, Jaydipsinh . Perspectives on the novel of Rohintan Mistry. “A Fine Balance”. http://books.google.co.in.
“A Fine Balance by Rohintan Mistry-Faber and Faber”. Google.com.

Short-bio
Name: Dr.K.Subapriya
Designation: Assistant Professor
Department of English
Pachaiyappa's college
Chennai.
Mob: 9585013527
email: shakthikannan.priya@gmail.com
I am in teaching field for the past three years. I am interested in research works. I have presented papers in both the National and International conference. The following are the list of my publications.
1. Published an article on Multi ethnic literature in ICFAI Journal, (Hyderabad)-February 2009 issue.
2. An article on the soft skill techniques entitled “Non Verbal Cues- The Second Tutor” was published in ICFAI journal for soft skills-June 2009 issue.
3. Published an article entitled “A Pluralistic approach to Pearl S. Buck’s Works” in the Journal Critical Analyzer June 2009 issue (Haryana).
4. Published an article in Anthology entitled “Beauty, spirit and     Power – (Abstract) Divine Animals in the writings of Louise Erdrich”.
5. “Native American Storytelling Tradition in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Interpreter of Maladies” has been published in online website of the journal Impressions.
6. A paper entitled "The Metamorphosis of Black culture" was published in Literary insight journal.
7. An article on Sherman Alexie works using subversive mimicry has been published in Literary criterion international journal.
8. An article entitled “Eliminating English Phobia” and   has been published in Resear ch Scholar e-journal.
9. Published a paper in ISBN journal titled "Displacing element of 'power' in Train to Pakistan".
10. Published  a paper on Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Rappacinni's Daughter" in worldlit international journal.
11. Poems have been published in online journal E-women, Literary Perspective and Families journal by Kolkatta University.
12. Poems were posted in Website - MuseIndia.com and Literary Ruminations.