Striving for Authenticity in Rohinton Mistry’s Such a Long Journey

ABSTRACT The novel Such a Long Journey is Mistry's recreation of the life and times of Gustad Noble, an ageing Parsi- the protagonist of the novel. Mistry has presented various narratives with the central narrative of Gustad. The novel depicts life style of Parsis, living in Khodadad Building, the microcosm of the Parsis in India. It encompasses various issues and is woven around the background of various upheavals in the subcontinent, like the partition of the subcontinent and ensuing violence, the wars between India and Pakistan and India and China, the emergence of Bangladesh, and how the community of the Indian Parsis responded to all these occurrences. This paper attempts to point out Mistry's novels in some of the most turbulent periods of India's modern history. It projects the creative energy of Mistry's Parsiness and analyses the manner in which, he cobbles together a composite Parsi identity, from the shattered shards strewn through diverse times.