A Study of Rohinton Mistry’s a Fine Balance: Environmental And Human Relationships

Abstract

Rohinton Mistry’s A fine Balance is an in-depth analysis of the human soul under a socio-political instability in the 1970s Indian society. The novel combines the theme of social, political and economic hardship, with the background of economic and political struggles. But in addition to these apparent conflicts, Mistry also touches upon the problems of environmental destruction and the effect of this process on human life implicitly. By showing the process of rapid urbanization, corruption, and the political instability of the era, Mistry is criticizing the effects of unchecked development. The urban setting of the novel is used as a metaphor of the declining situation of human life and the surroundings. Destruction of nature symbolizes loss of human dignity when the characters of the novel struggle against the personal, social, and political struggles. When human beings interact with nature, they establish an inseparable union but the relation is unbalanced especially to the marginalized classes. In the current urban centers, disconnection of the human race to the natural environment is symbolic in the absence of green field and the growing pollution. Thus, the novel is not only a commentary on human suffering but is also a critique of the destruction of the environment in a subtle and powerful one. The present study brings out the interaction between the socio-political dynamics and the environmental degradation where human survival and environmental sustainability is well balanced. Through this book, Mistry encourages the readers to look at the environmental impact of development, and how there is the need to restore balance with nature.