A Fine Balance

It is 1975, the time of the Emergency in India. Set in a nameless location, four characters from ordinary yet different backgrounds – a gutsy widow, a young student removed from his pastoral home in the hills, and an uncle-nephew duo of tailors who have rejected the caste system of their native village – become entwined by social circumstances, fortuitous timing, and the political turmoil. From the streets and train stations of India to a small apartment space they eventually share, the intertwined lives of the characters that speak for

India’s masses are told through a tactically crafted, enticing narrative that is unputdownable. The novel was shortlisted for the

Booker Prize in 1996.