A Fine Balance

by Rohinton Mistry

The road towards self-reliance could not lie through the past.

It’s not good to go far from your native village. Then you forget who you are.”

They are so rich in foreign countries, they can afford to fear all kinds of silly things.”

Please always remember, the secret of survival is to embrace change, and to adapt. To quote: ‘All things fall and are built again, and those that build them again are gay.’ ”

“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.”

“Parents are as confused by life as anyone else. But they try very hard.”

What an unreliable thing is time—when I want it to fly, the hours stick to me like glue. And what a changeable thing, too. Time is the twine to tie our lives into parcels of years and months. Or a rubber band stretched to suit our fancy. Time can be the pretty ribbon in a little girl’s hair. Or the lines in your face, stealing your youthful colour and your hair.” He sighed and smiled sadly. “But in the end, time is a noose around the neck, strangling slowly.”

“There is always hope—hope enough to balance our despair. Or we would be lost.”