Exploration of the Minority Community in Such A Long Journey

Abstract

Rohinton Mistry’s Such A Long Journey is set in Mumbai against the backdrop of the Indo-Pak war in the Indian subcontinent and the birth of Bangladesh. It tells the social, political and cultural story of the period in a peculiar way of the nation. Mistry has recreated Mumbai of that era in the novel. The centre of the novel is the Parsi community. Parsis are an ethno-religious minority community. It impinges on the lives of Gustad Noble, an ordinary man and his family. The novel is about the Parsi community who are living as a minority in Bombay ( Now Mumbai).  The novel talks about the social and political situation in the country during the period of the 1960s and 1970s. It also reveals the anguish and anxiety of the Parsis; they are insecure due to the socio-political ambience in India. The feeling of pleasure and pain of the Parsis is well-knit in the novel. It is a detailed view of the rituals, customs and traditions, culture, and religion of the Parsis in India. The novel revolves around the central character of the novel, Gustad Noble, who is Parsi. The text highlights the Parsis as a minority community in India.