Parsi Identity In Rohinton Mistry's Such A Long Journey

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Rohinton Mistry, the author of “Such a Long Journey”, was born and brought up in Bombay(Mumbai) in 1952. He earned a BA in Mathematics and Economics from St.Xavier college, Mumbai. He emigrated to Toronto in 1975 and studied English and Philosophy as a part time student at the University of Toronto. Mistry, belonging to the community of Parsis, has a lot of Parsi voices speaking through him. Parsis are descended from the religious followers of Zoroastrianism who fled from what is now Iran to avoid forced conversion to Islam. While India offers them a safe haven, present day Parsis are subject to marginalization as well as widely-held stereotypes, both positive and negative. Mistry, present his story of parsis in direct style with simple description to afford an honest and loving image of India. The community caught in the crisis of identity feels a sense of loss and alienation resulting into anxiety, frustration and depression. These novels try to give voice to these feelings of the community . The city dust-up the evil and pursuit to repulse from effacing the place. And Still Bombay exists in the name of Mumbai ,efficiently maintaining that delicate balance between the two. The author concern himself with the questions of Parsi identity and its diasporas. There is a rich corpus of Parsi fiction lending a very mighty voice to the community of Parsis besides Rohiton Mistry’s novel Such a Long Journey. Key words : voice to the Parsis , identity-crisis, sacrifices,