Welcome to the fourth discussion for our India read - A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. Today we are looking at chapter VI - Day at the Circus, Night at the slum - VIII - Beautification. Next Tuesday u/fixtheblue will lead the discussion for chapters IX - What Law there is - XI - The bright Future clouded.

Link to the schedule is here, with links to all discussions as well, and the link to the marginalia is here.

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For some background info, here are some links that you might find useful:

Partition of India

The Emergency (India) - Wikipedia

Caste system in India - Wikipedia

Punishments and torture in ancient India

Parsis

Krishna - Wikipedia

Mahatma Gandhi - Wikipedia

Thakur )

Pandit

Chamar - Wikipedia

Who Are the Brahmins in the Indian Caste System? (thoughtco.com)

Discussion questions are in the comments below but feel free to add your own!

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Chapter summary

A number of buses arrive at the slum and the residents are all forced into getting on them to go to a rally by the president, where 25,000 people have been gathered. They return to find monkey mans two monkeys have been killed by the dog.

Maneck settles into Dinas place and soon makes firm friends with Om and Ishvar, going out to tea with them and to the cinema with Om. Ishvar stays behind with Dina to allow the two to bond, and realises Dina is lonely. One afternoon, Dina leaves Maneck in charge of Ishvar and Om while she goes to deliver the dresses, but Om and Maneck start messing around with the cut offs Dina makes into sanitary towels, and she walks in on them.

Ishvar and Om return to the slums one evening to find the whole place had been bulldozed. They end up sleeping in a shop doorway. Dina refuses to help, but eventually allows them to leave their trunk at her place. Om gets a sore arm and Dina rubs ointment on it for him.

As Om and Ishvar get used to sleeping on the streets, they are rounded up and sent to a work camp. Worried about not being able to fulfil the dress order, Maneck helps Dina do the work.