A fine balance between hope and despair

It's been over five years since i first chanced upon this book in Pune, at the British library. I brought it back, and in no time it was my favorite book. Since then i've bought Rohinton Mistry's "A Fine Balance" as a present for several friends, and recomended it to many more. So I insisted R get the tickets when I found an ad in the Metro for discounted tickets.

I was sceptical. How could someone transform a book about people and relationships into a two and a half hour long play? Was that enough time for an audience to love Om and empathize with Dina? Would the audience understand Shankar, fear the monkey man's insanity, and understand what the emergency did to many?

The stage was simple, except for the foreboding poster of Indira Gandhi on the wall. The stage consisted of a raised platform, space beneath it, and in front of it, where the characters spoke their lines. The only other props were two sewing machines, some material, two chairs, and a stool on which Om, Ishwar, and Dina sat. The cast of 7, (most of whom played several parts) were brilliant.

The stage was divided and lit up according to the scenes. The play begins in the tailor colony where Dina picks her tailors. The front portion of the stage is then used as Dina's room, where she houses the tailors, Om and Ishwar. In the next scene, it is transformed into a slum, where slum dwellers such as the monkey man, hair collector, and Shankar the begger live.

Relationships were built and understood during the course of several conversations between the characters. You understood Dina's desperate need for independance from her overbearing brother. You see her fear of losing her tailors to the more successful Mrs Mehta, for whom she is delivering tailored goods. In this desperation, you eventually see her warming up to the tailors, Om and Ishwar. While Om is still bitter about the life he has left behind, and the better future he doesn't yet have, Ishwar goes through life with one aim; getting Om married.

The characters are lovable and real. They open your eyes to a world that is alien yet very real. You sense humanity in the beggar master, the tragedy in the monkey man, and the lunacy in the hair collector. These characters are real! Yet, the biggest reality proves to be the Emergency, that changes all these lives.

Well acted, well scripted and well directed, the play brought the book back to life. It had its fun times and tragedies, but finally it proved that life is a fine balance between hope and despair!

Read the book if you haven't already!