A Fine Balance: Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis

Back in Omprakash and Ishvar’s home village, their family used to be tanners and leather-workers. But before then, before Omprakash is even born, Ishvar becomes apprenticed to become a tailor at age 12. His father, Dukhi Mochi, is a Chamaar (a group of people in the caste system considered “untouchable” during this era), and people consider him mad for abandoning the traditional Chamaar trade of leather-working.

When Dukhi Mochi turns 18, he marries a Chamaar girl named Roopa. Roopa has to steal for them to have enough food, particularly after the birth of Ishvar. One time while stealing oranges, she is raped by a guard. She tells Dukhi, but then acts the next morning like nothing happened, and so Dukhi does too.

Two years after the birth of Ishvar, Roopa and Dukhi have a second son, Narayan. People become envious of their two sons—some families will kill their newborns if they turn out to be daughters. A rumor gets started that the children aren’t really Dukhi’s and he kidnapped them. Upper-caste people in the village start flogging the Chamaar more, and Dukhi gets punished for falling asleep while he is supposed to be watching a herd of goats.

When Ishvar is old enough, Dukhi starts to teach him the leather trade, then later the same for Narayan. The year that the boys are 10 and 8, there’s a lot of rain. One day, while grinding chilis in a giant pestle for a Thakur (feudal lord), Dukhi accidentally drops the pestle on his foot, injuring his foot, breaking the pestle, and severely angering the Thakur. Dukhi goes home and hits Roopa when she tries to ask about his injured foot. Two days later, he admits what happened and curses all upper-caste people.

One day on his way to work, Dukhi notices a crowd gathering. Some leaders of the Indian National Congress are visiting, and a speaker gives a speech about throwing the British out of the country. The speaker then goes on to say that there’s an even greater problem within Indian society—the idea that certain people are “untouchable.” The speaker believes no one is untouchable.

Dukhi continues to hear of bad things happening to the “untouchables” in his village. Roopa worries that Ishvar or Narayan will get into trouble when they go off on their free time, but they seem to know their place in society. One day, when the local schoolhouse is empty, Ishvar and Narayan sneak inside and play with the chalk, putting it on their foreheads like Brahmins. They get caught, and the schoolmaster canes them.

When Dukhi hears of Ishvar and Narayan getting caught at the school, he goes to Pandit Lalluram, who has a reputation for being fair and solving local problems. Dukhi tells Pandit Lalluram that his two sons were beaten unfairly. Pandit Lalluram explains that every caste of person follows their own dharma (religious concept similar to duty or way in life), and Ishvar and Narayan have upset this balance by going into an upper-caste school. Dukhi leaves disappointed and says Pandit Lalluram should instead be called Shit-Eating Brahmin.

Dukhi’s discontent with the caste system motivates him to go against tradition and have Ishvar and Narayan become apprentices to Ashraf, the tailor. Dukhi tells his sons to change their last name from Mochi to Darji to hide their identities. The two boys leave their village and go to live in Ashraf’s shop. The two boys begin to learn the skills to be a tailor, but Narayan misses home and cries at night. Ashraf tries to reassure him, saying he can be like a father.

Roopa complains while Ishvar and Narayan are gone but is happy when they come back to the village for a visit. They look healthy and are happy to demonstrate some of their new skills by measuring their parents. The two boys go back to the apprenticeship, each time staying away for three months, then coming back for a one-week visit.

When Ishvar and Narayan are 18 and 16, they’re near the end of their training. Ashraf has had several more children. Narayan wants to go back to their village to set up a sewing shop, but Ishvar wants to go somewhere with more opportunities. Meanwhile riots break out nearby over independence. Ashraf convinces the boys to stay in his village because the violence hasn’t reached there yet. Dukhi is disappointed that his boys won’t be returning. In his village, the landlords are taking advantage of rumors that Muslims have been attacking Hindus, trying to use this as an excuse to dispossess Muslims.

Eventually the violence reaches Ashraf’s village, with Muslims being killed and their businesses destroyed. Ashraf, who is Muslim, makes plans to leave with his family. Narayan and Ishvar don’t want him to leave, but Ashraf says they’ll always be family, even when they’re apart. But when several local business owners hear of Ashraf’s plan to leave, they try to convince him to stay, promising to protect him and his family if necessary. Ashraf makes plans to change the name of his business from Muzaffar Tailoring Company to something that sounds more Hindu.

Ashraf and his family get rid of any evidence that they’re Muslim and start posing as Hindus. But one night, a crowd of about 20 to 30 men shows up outside the shop and claims that they’ve heard it’s owned by a Muslim. Ishvar and Narayan go to meet the crowd, claiming that their father owns “Krishna Tailors,” and he’s out of town visiting a sick relative. One of the men makes the boys take off their pants to inspect their foreskins. Eventually, the crowd goes away.

Ashraf says he and his family owe their lives to Ishvar and Narayan. Although he can’t really afford it, he wants to keep them as paid assistants. Eventually, only Ishvar stays with Ashraf, and Narayan goes back to Dukhi and Roopa’s village. Narayan begins to build a name for himself as a tailor. He decides that he will sew for anyone, even people of the lowest castes.

After two years, Narayan saves up enough money to build a hut by Roopa and Dukhi. Roopa complains that he’s abandoning her but soon becomes proud of the hut. Meanwhile, Ishvar gets promoted to being Ashraf’s partner. Together, the two of them let Dukhi retire so that they can provide for their parents. While many in the village are happy for the sons’ success, some upper-caste people, including Thakur Dharamsi, begin to feel resentful.

Roopa and Dukhi start looking for potential daughters-in-law. When Ishvar doesn’t seem interested, they start by trying to find someone for Narayan. They arrange for Narayan to marry Radha, a girl from a nearby village, whom Narayan eventually approves of. Right before the wedding, Thakur Dharamsi forces the village musicians to cancel, and so Dukhi has to find replacements.

Narayan and Radha give birth to Omprakash. They go on to have three daughters, but only two (Leela and Rekha) survive. Narayan teaches Omprakash to read, and shortly after Omprakash’s fifth birthday, Narayan takes him to the tannery where the Chamaars work. Narayan tries to force Omprakash to help with the work, and Omprakash cries, even after they go home. Radha protests that Omprakash doesn’t have to learn such dirty work, but Narayan is determined to keep taking Omprakash back.

Omprakash learns tanning for three years, but at age eight, he gets sent to learn tailoring from his uncle Ishvar. The place where Ishvar lives is bigger and the school there now accepts people of all castes. One day, on a visit to Dukhi, Narayan complains that despite everything that has changed in India—independence and laws banning the concept of untouchability—upper-caste people still look down on people like him. Dukhi says politicians like to pass laws more than enforce them. During elections, people like Thakur Dharamsi oversee the voting process and essentially determine the votes.

Two years later—it’s been 16 years since his wedding—Narayan goes to the next election and requests to personally see his ballot so that he can vote. Thakur Dharamsi comes over to see what the problem is. Narayan says it’s his right to vote, but Thakur Dharamsi just apprehends Narayan and two others and starts flogging them. Eventually, Thakur Dharamsi hangs them and displays the bodies in the village square.

Thakur Dharamsi continues to harass Narayan’s family, blaming Dukhi for his son’s behavior. He gathers Dukhi, Roopa, Radha, Leela, and Rekha and ties them up in their house. He shows them Narayan’s body, then lights the whole house on fire, killing all of them. When Ishvar hears the news, he reports it to the police, but they investigate it and accuse him of lying. Ashraf tries to help, but the police won’t listen to him either.

Omprakash talks of gathering an army of Chamaars to seek revenge. Ashraf tells him to be careful, and Ashraf and Ishvar each try to think of ways to stop Omprakash from seeking vengeance.

A year after the murders, a store opens in town that sells ready-made clothing, which shrinks Ashraf’s list of customers. Eventually, business gets so slow that Ishvar talks of potentially going with Omprakash into a bigger city, where the factories make ready-made clothes. Ashraf sends them to see his friend Nawaz.

When Ishvar and Omprakash go to see Nawaz, he acts like he wasn’t expecting them. Ishvar tries to make the best of the situation although Omprakash is sometimes offended by the lack of hospitality. Nawaz tells them he doesn’t have enough work for them. One day, they overhear Nawaz talking with his wife about how he’s trying to make his two guests leave. He hits her when she argues.

Ishvar and Omprakash manage to find a meager amount of work with another tailor in town. After four months, Nawaz starts insisting they find more work, and Ishvar takes a job helping to make leather for a cobbler. Finally, Nawaz tells Ishvar and Omprakash that he ran into a rich lady named Dina who needs two tailors.

Nawaz begins insisting that Ishvar and Omprakash should live somewhere else. He shows them some options, but Ishvar says they don’t have enough money left for a rental deposit. Nawaz angrily agrees to pay the deposit if Ishvar and Omprakash go on to pay the rest of the rent. They learn that their new place is owned by the city and their “landlord” is just someone who bribes local officials.