Pleasure in things of beauty

Family Matters, a novel by the acclaimed Indian writer Rohington Mistry is, in my perception, a product of genuine empathy. It deals with difficult familial issues (while bringing out the various ways in which family members are important), with sensitivity and acumen.
The agonies of an old person suffering from Parkinson's disease have been presented so graphically and in such minute detail, that you cringe and feel you can't go on reading. But something stronger than pity and revulsion takes over - a deep understanding - not just of the 79-year-old Nariman Vakeel's plight, but also of the heartaches of the other characters. Old age and its numerous complications, weaknesses, frustrations, etc, have been depicted with an endearing insight in this supremely well-written, 500-page book.
The extremely moving incidents in Nariman's life, his dependence on his two middle-aged children, then on his own daughter and son-in-law, are all portrayed in a way that makes you ponder over issues like destiny and the fragility of relationships. The different characters are interwoven skilfully into the story, so we can feel what each one goes through.
Nariman, a witty old Parsi man, wants to live his life and be self-reliant, but the odds are against him. His stoical stance towards his hardships and his attempts to suppress his anguish concerning his past gradually let him down, as his breaking an ankle acts as a cataclysm. Jal and Coomy, his step-son and step-daughter (with whom he lives), shift him to his own daughter, Roxana's flat. The deteriorating circumstances have dire effects on the family life and psyche of Yezad Chenoy, Roxana's husband.
Ensuing events show how a constraint of finances can make people act in uncharacteristic ways. Yezad's struggle with his conscience is a remarkable study of the vulnerability of human disposition. Seeing family members in difficulty causes people to end up doing unexpected things. When family members' happiness is at stake, even children make sacrifices and the purity of their concern and affection becomes evident. In this story, desperate steps are taken as conflicts with the self are experienced, regret is felt, and the power of prayer is acknowledged.
An interesting underlying theme is the lifestyle, religious rituals and changing position of the Zoroastrian community in Indian society. We also see how religious and racial prejudices deprive people of the happiness they have a right to. Things had started to go wrong in Nariman's life quite early - when his love for Lucy, a non-Parsi girl - had been forbidden by both his and her families. And the opposition had reached a point when he and Lucy had had to give each other up. A loveless, arranged marriage with Yasmin, a widow, had ended in disaster; its one good outcome being Roxana's birth.
Recriminations, resentments, sibling attachments and rivalry, despite bring intrinsic parts of most families, can be solid bases for intriguing tales; likewise, in "Family Matters", these ingredients make the plot more fascinating. Mistry does not just have a superb story to recount, his brilliant style makes it more appealing.
The helpless state that the aged find themselves in evokes as much compassion as does the precarious position of their children, who are expected to, and want to, care for them. The question is: to what extent can you put your parent(s) above everything else?
The epilogue is a 39-page narration by 14-year-old Jehangir, Roxana's and Yezad's younger son. Life seems to have gone back to normal (as far as can be expected) for the Chenoys - with its father-son disagreements, the mother's trying to keep the peace, and the father's obsession with his religious practices. It has been five years since they moved out of Pleasant Villa (Roxana's flat) and into Chateau Felicity (Nariman's former home), and four years since Nariman's death.
History is threatening to repeat itself as Murad, Roxana's and Yezad's older son, starts going out with a non-Parsi girl. Yezad is completely against it. He tells Murad, "We are a pure Persian race, a unique contribution to this planet, and mixed marriages will destroy that".
Jehangir's mother reminds him of his grandfather's advice --- "to take pleasure in beautiful things, to defeat the sadness and sorrow of life" --- as he tries to make sense of the drastic changes in their lives and in his father. He answers in the affirmative 'Yes, yes, I'm happy'', to his mother's anxious "What is it Jehangir? Aren't you happy?"

Nausheen Rahman is an academic and critic.