Quotes of the Day!
Recently I read A Fine Balance (a recommendation from the fiance and many a ‘going to India’ reading list). The book is very good! I would definitely recommend it. A few quotes from the book won’t mean as much out of context, but I think a number of them are pretty even by themselves.
A lifetime had to be crafted, just like anything else, she thought, it had to be moulded and beaten and burnished in order to get the most out of it.
Their first day with Dina Dilal was over. Borne along by the homeward-bound flock, exhausted from ten hours of sewing, they shared the sanctity of the hour with the crowd, this time of transition from weariness to hope. Soon it would be night; they would borrow Rajaram’s stove, cook something, eat. They would weave their plans and dream the future into favourable patterns, till it was time to take the train tomorrow morning.
“You see, you cannot draw lines and compartments, and refuse to budge beyond them. Sometimes you have to use your failures as stepping-stones to success. You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair.” He paused, considering what he had just said. “Yes,” he repeated. “In the end, it’s all a question of balance.”
“In those days,” continued Ishvar, “it seemed to me that that was all one could expect in life. A harsh road strewn with sharp stones and, if you were lucky, a little grain.”
“And later?”
“Later I discovered there were different types of roads. And a different way of walking on each.”
DumbFunnery 