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Rajaram is a friend of Ishvar and Omprakash whom they meet in the slum of the unnamed city where much of the novel takes place. He is more accustomed to living in poverty than they are and has found an unusual way of making a living by selling human hair. But as conditions worsen in the city and make life harder, Rajaram changes and eventually murders two other beggars for their hair. After this, Rajaram goes away and then comes back, rebranding himself as the holy man Bal Baba and selling fraudulent hair-growth products. The fact that Rajaram only succeeds after embracing a scam lifestyle reflects the prevalence of corruption during this period of Indian history.
Rajaram Quotes in A Fine Balance
The A Fine Balance quotes below are all either spoken by Rajaram or refer to Rajaram. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 4 Quotes
“And how do you collect the hair?” asked Om. “Steal it from people’s heads?” There was a sneer in his voice.
Rajaram laughed good-naturedly. “I go to pavement barbers. They let me take it in exchange for a packet of blades, or soap, or a comb. In haircutting saloons they give it free if I sweep the floor myself. Come—come inside my house, I’ll show you my stock.”
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Chapter 10 Quotes
“Let’s have masala wada today,” proposed Ishvar. “Rajaram’s recipe.”
“I don’t know how to make that.”
“That’s okay, I can do it, Dinabai, you relax today.” He took charge, sending Om and Maneck to buy a fresh half-coconut, green chillies, mint leaves, and a small bunch of coriander. The remaining ingredients: dry red chillies, cumin seed, and tamarind were in the spice cabinet.”
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Chapter 13 Quotes
At some point, Rajaram’s fanciful notions took on a serious aspect. Now he began to believe there was no ethical connection between picking pockets and administering unwelcome haircuts. One was a crime, which deprived the victims of their money. The other was a good deed, the alleviation of an encumbrance, the eradication of a lice-breeding pasture, which would save the victims time and effort and itchy scalps, not to mention the frivolous expenses of shampoo and hair lotions. And “victim” was hardly the correct word in this case, he felt. Surely “beneficiary” would be more accurate. Surely it was vanity that kept people from realizing their own good, and a helping hand was necessary. In any case, the loss would be temporary, the hair would grow back.
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Rajaram Character Timeline in A Fine Balance
The timeline below shows where the character Rajaram appears in A Fine Balance. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4
...rarely, and people get angry if you take too long collecting it. A stranger named Rajaram introduces Ishvar and Omprakash to some of the customs in the area, like how the...
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Rajaram continues to give advice to Ishvar and Omprakash, telling them to get a ration card...
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...them. Because of all the confusion at the station, they are late getting back to Rajaram for dinner. Rajaram explains that such raids by police to discover people without tickets are...
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...neighborhood. During monsoon season, Ishvar and Omprakash’s roof leaks. They continue to have dinners with Rajaram, and one evening he surprises them by asking for a loan of 10 rupees. That...
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Chapter 6
...to ride the buses to a meeting with Prime Minister, he is tempted to go. Rajaram says everything the bus drivers say is a lie. When the bus isn’t full enough,...
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Ishvar, Omprakash, and Rajaram end up on the bus, although Ishvar worries the whole time about what Dina will...
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Omprakash and Rajaram play cards during the speech until an audience monitor scolds them to be more respectful....
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Chapter 7
Rajaram tells Omprakash and Ishvar that men from the government came in and destroyed all the...
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Omprakash and Ishvar scavenge some of their possessions from the wreckage. Rajaram tries to save part of his stock of hair. Ishvar decides they should go see...
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...couple nights with the nightwatchman. One day at Dina’s, they get a surprise visit from Rajaram, who has found a new job. They make plans to meet at the nightwatchman’s place,...
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Chapter 9
...conspiracy theory about how the CIA is trying to sabotage India’s Family Planning Programme (that Rajaram works for).
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Chapter 10
...gets used to a new household routine with more people living with her. One day, Rajaram shows up again at Dina’s to see Ishvar and Omprakash. He sounds desperate, so they...
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Ishvar goes to Dina and gets an old haircutting kit that he can give to Rajaram. Rajaram asks if he can store some of his hair collection with Ishvar, since he...
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One day, Ishvar proposes cooking a recipe he learned from Rajaram. Everyone works together to cook it, and when they’re done, Maneck praises it more than...
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...goes to Dina and asks for advice about making a garment for the legless Shankar. Rajaram has suddenly had some good fortune and started depositing a lot of hair into the...
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Chapter 12
After Beggarmaster leaves, Omprakash and Ishvar talk about how Rajaram must be the killer of the two beggars. Ishvar warns Omprakash never to bring the...
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Chapter 13
One day, Rajaram unexpectedly shows up at Dina’s. Ishvar threatens to call the police. Rajaram asks for mercy...
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Rajaram tells his problem—he went back to being a barber but couldn’t resist to urge to...
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People begin to talk about Rajaram’s hair thefts, but mostly they just joke. Rajaram likes to find long-haired foreign hippies. Finally,...
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Rajaram says he believes people are still looking for him. Ishvar wonders if Rajaram should turn...
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Chapter 14
...walks on. Shankar doesn’t know that the Beggarmaster’s usual barber declined the job but offered Rajaram as a replacement. Now, Rajaram arrives to give Shankar a haircut. Rajaram is nervous because...
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Rajaram starts by shaving Shankar and nicks him a little but without too much blood. But...
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Rajaram gets nervous about the crowd and slips away. People find Shankar with the two ponytails...
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Epilogue
...for his foundation. When Maneck goes to see “Bal Baba,” he realizes that it’s actually Rajaram. Maneck questions him and learns that he’s selling a special tonic to grow hair. Rajaram...
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...version of his life story at some point. Currently, Mr. Valmik is in charge of Rajaram’s mail-order business as Bal Baba.
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