Previous
Rustom
Shankar is a beggar with no legs or hands who gets around on a wheeled platform called a gaadi. He meets Ishvar and Omprakash at an irrigation work camp, and they are surprised by his positive attitude given his physical condition. Although Shankar is at first a symbol of resilience, he dies in a traffic accident with people laughing at him, showing the cruelty of life in the big city. Shankar’s death plays a major role in the character development of his half-brother Beggarmaster, who begins to think about things other than money. Ultimately, though, Beggarmaster meets a similar fate to Shankar.
Shankar Quotes in A Fine Balance
The A Fine Balance quotes below are all either spoken by Shankar or refer to Shankar. 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:
).
Chapter 8 Quotes
The beggar was having none of that, and soon returned with a full mug. He inquired if they wanted extra chapatis. “I made friends with someone in the kitchen, I can get as many as I like.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes
“Terrible accident. He lost control of his gaadi. Flew off the pavement … straight into a double-decker bus.” He swallowed and said he hadn’t witnessed it himself but had identified the remains. “With all my years in this profession, my eyes have seen much that is gruesome. But never anything this horrible. Both Shankar and the gaadi were crushed completely—not possible to separate the two. Removing the wood and castors embedded in his flesh would have meant mutilating his poor body still more. It will have to be cremated with him.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 16 Quotes
What was with him, explained Ibrahim, was the large bag full of coins, chained to his wrist, which he had been out gathering from his beggars. Anchored to the ground by this deadweight, one hand immobilized, he was trapped. He thrashed and flailed with the free arm, kicking his legs about, while the frail murderer laboured on, sitting astride his victim’s back, trying to make the blade pass through the clothes, break the skin, enter the flesh and pierce the heart.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire A Fine Balance LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Shankar Character Timeline in A Fine Balance
The timeline below shows where the character Shankar appears in A Fine Balance. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 8
...extra food, because he has a friend in the kitchen, and says his name is Shankar.
(full context)
Chapter 9
Beggarmaster comes to the camp and recognizes his old worker Shankar (whom he calls Worm). Shankar has no legs but gets around in a wheeled device...
(full context)
Shankar tells Ishvar and Omprakash that he’s going back with Beggarmaster. He says he can get...
(full context)
Chapter 10
...night, then make plans to go to the Vishram Vegetarian Hotel the next morning (where Shankar is begging) before they start sewing. Maneck reluctantly leaves them for the day to go...
(full context)
After seeing Shankar and getting some food, Omprakash and Ishvar go back to Dina’s to start work. Throughout...
(full context)
...Ishvar 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...
(full context)
Chapter 12
...he met an older beggar woman and, after talking to her, learned that she was Shankar’s mother. She was called Nosey because she didn’t have a nose.
(full context)
Beggarmaster’s father bought Nosey, and not long after, she had a child—Shankar—who was soon taken away from her and “sent for professional modifications.” As she was dying,...
(full context)
Beggarmaster says he may tell Shankar the truth eventually, but first he wants Omprakash and Ishvar to talk to Shankar and...
(full context)
Chapter 14
Maneck leaves Dina’s and happens to run into Shankar by the Vishram. Shankar says he’s waiting for a haircut from Beggarmaster’s barber. Maneck walks...
(full context)
Rajaram starts by shaving Shankar and nicks him a little but without too much blood. But when Rajaram gets ready...
(full context)
Rajaram gets nervous about the crowd and slips away. People find Shankar with the two ponytails and accuse him of stealing the hair from somewhere. When a...
(full context)
...Omprakash and Ishvar, forgetting they would be gone. Beggarmaster says he just learned recently that Shankar was killed in traffic, and his body is so twisted up in his gaadi that...
(full context)
Beggarmaster wants to invite Omprakash and Ishvar to attend Shankar’s cremation. Maneck offers to go in their place, and Dina decides to go with him....
(full context)
Chapter 15
...does. Ishvar worries that he’s become useless, but Omprakash says he’s still better off than Shankar was.
(full context)
Chapter 16
...from the tailors, but Beggarmaster says he’ll protect her for the moment since she attended Shankar’s cremation.
(full context)
