Rohinton Mistry
Rohinton Mistry was born in 1952 in Bombay, India, of Parsi descent. He earned a B. A. in Mathematics and Economics at the University of Bombay (Ross). In 1975, at the age of 23, he immigrated to Canada where he studied at the University of Toronto and received a B. A. in English and Philosophy (Ruddy).
After a few years in Canada, he began to write stories for which he received immediate attention; he won two Hart House literary prizes and Canadian Fiction Magazine's annual Contributor's Prize in 1985. In 1987, he published a collection of short stories entitled Swimming Lessons and Other Stories From Firozsha Baag. He published his first novel, Such a Long Journey, in 1991, for which he received Canada's Governor General's Award, the W. H. Smith/ Books in Canada First Novel Award, and the Commonwealth Writer's Prize for Best Book ("Award").
In 1995, he published A Fine Balance, which won the Giller Prize, the Royal Society of Literature's Winfried Holtby Prize, and the 1996 Los Angeles Times Award for fiction. A Fine Balance also made the short-list of nominees for the prestigious Booker Prize, and was the basis for a 1998 film of the same title. Mistry now lives in Ontario ("Author").
The Parsis are a small, yet united, religious community in India, devoted to Zoroastrianism, whose ancestors fled Islamic persecution in Iran (ancient Persia) during the eighth century ("Parsi"). Today only about 125, 000 people follow the faith originally propagated by the prophet Zoroaster between 1500 and 600 B. C. The largest Parsi community is in Bombay, yet there are also Parsis in Karachi (Pakistan) and Bangalore (Karnataka, India). The population of the Parsi community is diminishing due to its unwillingess to accept conversions to the faith; the Parsis maintain the importance of their purity in the face of high death rates and low birth rates (Rahman).
The Parsis tended to be on the edge of Hindu society due to their Zoroastrian faith (Ross). Because the Parsis were less suspicious and hostile towards British colonizers, they their arbiters and agents. The Parsis embraced modern education and became successful in industry and commerce. Although they enjoyed good relations with the British colonizers, they suffered the stigma of trying to be too Western. The unpopular position of the Parsis at the end of British rule in 1947 influenced another Parsi Diaspora, this time to the West. Mistry's literature reflects his position as a member of a twice-displaced people, and explores the relationships in the Parsi community in India's troubled historical context (Takhar).
Swimming Lessons and Other Stories From Firozsha Baag: Mistry's short stories describe the characteristics of middle-class Parsi life, and show the characters' struggles between modernity and tradition (Myer). Eleven intersecting stories give portraits of the lives of the members of the fictitious residential block Firozsha Baag. The characters represent Parsis at odds with their religious beliefs and the larger community, and also conveys the common human issues of spiritual questions, alienation, fear of death, family problems, and economic hardships (Ross).
Such a Long Journey: Mistry again deals with the Parsi environment in India. He explores the loss of innocence of the protagonist, Gustad Noble, as he attempts to define himself in relation to his family and his country during the chaotic times of 1971 India, during which India and Pakistan went to war over the liberation of East Pakistan, or Bangladesh(Myer). The novel gives extremely detailed description of the lives of Gustad and his family in their apartment in Bombay, which serves as a contrast to outside world which disrupts family order. Mistry presents the outside world as a rotten and corrupting force on even the most decent members of the inner sphere (Ross).
Dodiya, Jaydipsinh, ed. The Fiction Of Rohinton Mistry: Critical Studies. London: Sangam, 1998.
"Award Winners." Canada's National Literary Prizes. Online. Netscape. 11 Nov. 2000.
Dodiya, Jaydipsinh, ed. The Fiction Of Rohinton Mistry: Critical Studies. London: Sangam, 1998.
Myer, Emily. "Such a Long Journey - Rohinton Misty." The Brunswickan. Online. Netscape. 8 Nov. 2000.
"Parsi." Encyclopedia.com. Online. Netscape. 4 Nov. 2000.
Rahman, Maseeh. "A Race Nearly Finished." Time South Pacific 16 March 1998. Online. Netscape. 29 Nov. 2000.
Ross, Robert L. "Seeking and Maintaining Balance: Rohinton Mistry's Fiction." World Literature Today Spring 1999. Online. Netscape. 29 Nov. 2000.
Ruddy, Martin. "Rohinton Mistry." National Library of Canada. Online. Netscape. 11 Nov. 2000.
Takhar, Jennifer. "Rohinton Mistry, Writer From Elsewhere." Canadian Literature and Culture in the Postcolonial Literature and Culture Web. Online. Netscape. 4 Nov. 2000.
Biography
Rohinton Mistry was born in 1952 in Bombay, India, of Parsi descent. He earned a B. A. in Mathematics and Economics at the University of Bombay (Ross). In 1975, at the age of 23, he immigrated to Canada where he studied at the University of Toronto and received a B. A. in English and Philosophy (Ruddy).
After a few years in Canada, he began to write stories for which he received immediate attention; he won two Hart House literary prizes and Canadian Fiction Magazine's annual Contributor's Prize in 1985. In 1987, he published a collection of short stories entitled Swimming Lessons and Other Stories From Firozsha Baag. He published his first novel, Such a Long Journey, in 1991, for which he received Canada's Governor General's Award, the W. H. Smith/ Books in Canada First Novel Award, and the Commonwealth Writer's Prize for Best Book ("Award").
In 1995, he published A Fine Balance, which won the Giller Prize, the Royal Society of Literature's Winfried Holtby Prize, and the 1996 Los Angeles Times Award for fiction. A Fine Balance also made the short-list of nominees for the prestigious Booker Prize, and was the basis for a 1998 film of the same title. Mistry now lives in Ontario ("Author").
Rohinton Mistry's Parsi Heritage
The Parsis are a small, yet united, religious community in India, devoted to Zoroastrianism, whose ancestors fled Islamic persecution in Iran (ancient Persia) during the eighth century ("Parsi"). Today only about 125, 000 people follow the faith originally propagated by the prophet Zoroaster between 1500 and 600 B. C. The largest Parsi community is in Bombay, yet there are also Parsis in Karachi (Pakistan) and Bangalore (Karnataka, India). The population of the Parsi community is diminishing due to its unwillingess to accept conversions to the faith; the Parsis maintain the importance of their purity in the face of high death rates and low birth rates (Rahman).
The Parsis tended to be on the edge of Hindu society due to their Zoroastrian faith (Ross). Because the Parsis were less suspicious and hostile towards British colonizers, they their arbiters and agents. The Parsis embraced modern education and became successful in industry and commerce. Although they enjoyed good relations with the British colonizers, they suffered the stigma of trying to be too Western. The unpopular position of the Parsis at the end of British rule in 1947 influenced another Parsi Diaspora, this time to the West. Mistry's literature reflects his position as a member of a twice-displaced people, and explores the relationships in the Parsi community in India's troubled historical context (Takhar).
Major Themes
Swimming Lessons and Other Stories From Firozsha Baag: Mistry's short stories describe the characteristics of middle-class Parsi life, and show the characters' struggles between modernity and tradition (Myer). Eleven intersecting stories give portraits of the lives of the members of the fictitious residential block Firozsha Baag. The characters represent Parsis at odds with their religious beliefs and the larger community, and also conveys the common human issues of spiritual questions, alienation, fear of death, family problems, and economic hardships (Ross).
Such a Long Journey: Mistry again deals with the Parsi environment in India. He explores the loss of innocence of the protagonist, Gustad Noble, as he attempts to define himself in relation to his family and his country during the chaotic times of 1971 India, during which India and Pakistan went to war over the liberation of East Pakistan, or Bangladesh(Myer). The novel gives extremely detailed description of the lives of Gustad and his family in their apartment in Bombay, which serves as a contrast to outside world which disrupts family order. Mistry presents the outside world as a rotten and corrupting force on even the most decent members of the inner sphere (Ross).
A Fine Balance: The novel, which is set in India in 1975, during Indira Ghandi's declared State of Emergency, gives intense description of extreme poverty, and shows the bond that develops between four main characters, despite the barriers created by their differences in religion and social status ("Author"). Dina, a Parsi woman who refused to return to the home of her domineering brother after the death of her husband, allows two tailors, whose homes have been burned by the government because of their attempts to rise out of the caste of leather workers, to share her apartment. Maneck, a Parsi student who suffers from alienation from his family (who lost their lands in the 1947 Partition), also joins the apartment. Mistry gives detailed descriptions of the lives of the characters and the hardships they endure (humiliation, torment in a government work-camp, torture, and disillusionment. The novel poses the question of the possibility of the existence of atrocious acts and beliefs in the face of the world's beauty (Ross).
Critical Texts on Rohinton Mistry
Dodiya, Jaydipsinh, ed. The Fiction Of Rohinton Mistry: Critical Studies. London: Sangam, 1998.
Works Cited
"Author Focus." India.books.com. Online. Netscape. 14 Nov. 2000.
"Award Winners." Canada's National Literary Prizes. Online. Netscape. 11 Nov. 2000.
Dodiya, Jaydipsinh, ed. The Fiction Of Rohinton Mistry: Critical Studies. London: Sangam, 1998.
Myer, Emily. "Such a Long Journey - Rohinton Misty." The Brunswickan. Online. Netscape. 8 Nov. 2000.
"Parsi." Encyclopedia.com. Online. Netscape. 4 Nov. 2000.
Rahman, Maseeh. "A Race Nearly Finished." Time South Pacific 16 March 1998. Online. Netscape. 29 Nov. 2000.
Ross, Robert L. "Seeking and Maintaining Balance: Rohinton Mistry's Fiction." World Literature Today Spring 1999. Online. Netscape. 29 Nov. 2000.
Ruddy, Martin. "Rohinton Mistry." National Library of Canada. Online. Netscape. 11 Nov. 2000.
Takhar, Jennifer. "Rohinton Mistry, Writer From Elsewhere." Canadian Literature and Culture in the Postcolonial Literature and Culture Web. Online. Netscape. 4 Nov. 2000.
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