A STUDY ON MULTICULTURAL ASPECTS IN THE SELECT WORKS OF 1Ms. N. Kavitha, 2Ms. B. Subashini, 3Dr. Venugopal, 1,2,3Assistant Professor (Sl.Gr.), Department of Science and Humanities Sri Ramakrishna Institute of Technology, Coimbatore , Tamil Nadu, ()

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to bring out the Canadian author Rohinton Mistry‘s views on India and in the Multicultural aspects. This research tries to show how he is heavily influenced with the Indian thoughts and culture. Immigrants from India have been settling in Canada since 1904. Since then, thousands have made Canada their new home, bringing with them their talents and skills, and the hope of contributing to their new country. This research depicts how a Canadian writer, Rohinton Mistry, is heavily influenced by the Indian culture. This research studies Multicultural aspects of the author in his fictions.

I ORIGIN OF Canadian Literature in English began in the early 17th century and it had the developed during the 18th century. During 19th century, newly founded newspapers and magazines became more popular for political observations. This medium became common for conservative and reform-minded for literary expression and so on. Novels and Dramas followed historical romance. During this time much attention turned to literacy and political organization. Schools, Universities and libraries were opened. Writers celebrated their new found nationalism. The writers on Philosophy and Science flourished. By the end of the 19th century, new writers emerged to write about Women‘s Sufferings, Prohibition and issues related to social change.

II CANADIAN LITERATURE DURING FIRST WORLD WAR After the First World War, the cultural and social attitudes changed. A set of creative generation was lost and another emerged with new thoughts and focus. New magazines affirmed the independence of Canadian thought. Prizes were announced to recognize Canadian literary accomplishment. In fiction of the 1920s, while some popular family chronicles continued to affirm conventional class distinctions, anti-war novels and class critiques began to appear. Young writers like T. S. Eliot and others were emerged and embraced the modernism in Literature. The well known writers of this period were F. R. Scott, for his commitment to social justice and Abraham Klein, for his passionate embrace of his Jewish heritage. Over succeeding decades Dorathy Livesay became the voice of socialist

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feminism and the poet-critic A. J. M. Smith became an influential anthologist, shaping the early teaching of Canadian literature. III LITERARY CHANGES DURING SECOND WORLD WAR In the wake of the Second World War came a mix of propaganda, pacifist rhetoric, parodies of military ineptitude and a new wave of progressivism writers, humanist, anti-clerical, community-minded, and intellectually anarchist. Amidst of these the notable names are Irving Layton, Earle Birney, Gabrielle Roy, P. K. Page and George Woodcock. In 1940s and 1950s, social policies were drafted that would shape a Canadian sense of community for decades to come. New literary periodicals demanded a sharper more colloquial language. Public radio, established in 1932, led to a wave of cross country spoken – word broadcasts- talks, dramas, readings of short stories, children‘s programs especially from 1943 onwards. Novelists such as Hugh Maclennan and Sinclair Ross turned again to local settings.

IV POST WORLD WAR ERA Several social developments markedly changed Canadian Society in the years following 1960. The number of Canadian universities was accessible for academic and literary periodical courses in Canadian Literature, and creative writing schools also increased. Margeret Atwood embraced the new nationalism of the 1960s and 1970s. In 21st century fiction, conventional vulgarities became normative speech. As in the United States, significant immigration of Indian citizens to Canada was triggered by new immigration legislation that opened the door to highly skilled immigrants. In 1968, Canada introduced its points system, which assigns value to qualifications rather than a person‘s ethnic or national background. As a result, Indian immigration to Canada boomed.

V MULTICULTURAL MOVEMENT Canada is a land of immigrants – ‗a multicultural mosaic.‘ As a corollary to this fact, it has also long been preoccupied with an unending quest for self-identity – for ‗Canadianness.‘ Lately, however, a shift in emphasis is becoming increasingly evident-from ‗nationalistic‘ insistence to a growing acceptance of its ethnic diversity as a great unifying force. The reverberations of this shift are conspicuous in the field of literature. This evolving nationhood has had to go beyond Hugh MacLennan‘s ―Two Solitudes‖ (referring to French and the English), and take connizance of many more and ‗other solitudes, that co-exist in the mosaic. Pandya quotes Hutcheon words in his work ―Voyages of Self Discovery: Some Immigrant Writers in Canada‖ that ―The ethnic diversity of Canada is mirrored in Literature dealing with immigrant experience, which can now be said to have come of age and created a ‗literary space‘ for itself. (Pandya 83).

Different cultures represent different systems of meaning and visions of the good life. Since each realizes a limited range of human capacities and emotions and it needs other cultures to help it understand itself better. All it means is

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that no culture is wholly worthless or perfect and has a right to impose itself on others. From a multiculturalists‘ perspective, the society cherishes the diversity and encourages a creative dialogue between its different cultures and their moral visions. Bhikhu Parekh quotes in his work ―What is multiculturalism?‖ From a multiculturalists perspective the good society cherishes the diversity of and encourages a creative dialogue its different cultures and their moral visions. Such a society not only respects its members‘ rights to their culture and increases their rage of choices but also cultivates their powers of self criticism, self-determination, imagination, intellectual and moral sympathy, and contributes to their development and well-being. (Parekh 3) A Socio-political novelist, he is the embodiment of the fundamental dialectic of a multicultural consciousness. Multiculturalism is a ―social-ideal rather than ‗Political ideal.‖ Both politico-economic and cultural influences in the multicultural world are after the erosion of the nation-state concept. Rohinton Mistry‘s text is ethnic in its context in a multicultural context. Only the cultural difference makes ethnicity an issue. The acceptance of differences is multiculturalism. Multiculutalism is like a salad bowl or a patch work of quilt. Culture again cannot be graded but it has relativity. There is no marvel and doubt that Rohinton Mistry is a writer of prolific means who strives hard to reform the society like his predecessor MulkRaj Anand. Mistry is a writer who wants peace to prevail in the society which can be attained only by understanding various problems in the society that can be highlighted by literature. Since Mistry is a powerful, chronicler of contemporary social and political life, he daringly reveals the problems of the society through his works.

VI ROHINTON MISTRY AS A WRITER Rohinton Mistry is an Indian born Canadian author who writes in English and is famous for his short stories and novels. This research is all about his contributions and the Indian insights into his writings. His style is a direct reflection of his personality: detached, confident, always in control, suffers with an obvious intelligence and subtle wit. He is an enormously private persona with an absolutely sincere modesty.

VII INDIAN IMPACT ON ROHINTON MISTRY This research depicts how a Canadian writer, Rohinton Mistry, is heavily influenced by the Indian culture. Understanding is not to be thought of so much as an action of one‘s subjectivity, but as the placing of one-self within a process of tradition, in which past and present (self and other) are constantly fused. (Hons-Georg Gadamer 258) To the sayings of Hons-Georg Gadamer, even though he is settled in Canada, it is his upbringing in Bombay that reflects in all his writings. In a 1989 interview with Geoff Hancock for Canadian Fiction Magazine, Mistrydescribes his life in three sentences: "I grew up in Bombay. Now I am here. I am a writer" (145). The distinct Bombay culture, particularly the Parsi way of life, portrayal of the sons of the soil and even the politics of India are

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major themes in his novels. All the works of Rohinton Mistry are created with a sense of plurality which is typically Indian. ―Thus [Mistry] creates a vibrant image of a community caught in a cycle of restrictive traditions, economic needs, racial and religious tensions, as well as inner psychological conflicts‖ (Malak 190). It is for this reason that India must not only be written by thoseauthors who never left, but also by her displaced survivors—writers who "create fictions, not actual cities or villages, but invisible ones, imaginary homelands, o f the mind"(Rushdie 10). In his writings he often tries to revise the history of his homeland. In an interview, when asked why India persistently occurs in his work?, he answered that it is very naïve to assume that you go to a new country and you start a new life and its new chapter-it‘s not. Canada is the middle of the book. At some point you have to write the beginning? And the beginning for Mistry has been India. The social imbalances provoked Rohinton Mistry to become the champion of social balance in the community. Mistry aesthetically registers his bold protest against the nexus between Religion and social status. From time to time, social reformers set to correct these imbalances. However, their efforts proved futile. But, the novelists, especially writing in English, made well pronounced attempts in their fictional works. Malak points out that ―That both the story teller and the audience share common codes speaks volumes about the social function of the story teller as a repository of the community ethos, recorder / reminder of shared perceptions, and spokesperson articulating feelings, attitudes and judgements. (Malak, 110). Some novelists pay little attention to the aspect of fantasy relegating it as ―self-indulgence‖ and ―self – entertainment.‖ Rohinton Mistry belongs to the group of novelists for whom reality is more imperative than fantasy. This occurs because of their sense of social commitment and reforming zeal.Rohinton Mistry tries to retain his ethnic identity in Canada. He says, ― I became a member of the Zoroastrian society of Ontario, hoping to meet people from Bombay. I also went to the Parsi New Year celebrations and dinner.‖ Rohinton Mistry in his literary works attempts to revise the history of his homeland and define his ethnic identity and sense of self. As a Parsi and then as an immigrant in Canada, he sees himself as a symbol of double displacement. Moreover, this sense of displacement is a recurrent theme in his literary works. Exiles immigrants or expatriates are haunted by some sense of loss, some urge to reclaim, to look back, even at the risk of being mutated in the pillars of salt. But if we do look back, we must also do so in the knowledge-which our physical alienation from India almost inevitably means that we will not be capable of reclaiming precisely the thing that was lost‘ that we will, in short, create fictions, not actual cities or villages, but invisible ones, imaginary homelands, Indians of the mind. Quoted in Satendra Nandan, ―the Diasporic consciousness‖ in interrogating post – colonialism. (Dodyia 170).

VIII SUCH A LONG JOURNEY

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Mistry‘s first novel, Such a Long Journey (1991), brought him national and international recognition. The book concerns an ordinary man who becomes involved in the politics surrounding the Bangladesh separatist movement in India and Pakistan. In Canada the book won the Governor General‘s Award for Fiction and the W.H. Smith Books in Canada First Novel Award. It also won the commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book and was a finalist for Britain‘s . In 1998 Such a Long Journey was made into a feature film by Sooni Tarapoevala (screenplay) and Sturla Gunnarsson (director). Tess E. Chakkalakal Points out that ―in his first novel Such a long Journey, Mistry shifts his attention to the political life of the nation‖. (Chakkalakal 163). Mistry‘s subsequent novels have achieved the same level of recognition as his first.

IX A FINE BALANCE His second novel, A Fine Balance (1995), concerns four people from Bombay who struggle with family and work against the backdrop of the political unrest in India during the mid-1970s. Once again politics plays a vital role in the novel ‗A Fine Balance‘, which deals with the international emergency imposed by Mrs. Gandhi in 1975 to save her shaking government. How the social conditions affect the middle class and the marginalized community is highlighted in a realistic manner. The chief protagonists, namely Dina Dalal, Ishvar Darji, Omprakash Darji and Maneck Kohlah are inter-woven, who try to overcome their hurdles but fail to maintain ‗a fine balance‘.

X FAMILY MATTERS Family Matters (2002) The novel focuses more narrowly on the city‘s lower middle class, and is at its best when showing the stress, the stink, the bother and the unexpected blessings experienced by Nariman‘s daughter Roxana and her family as they look after him in their crowded two-room apartment. Mistry, being a Parsi, depicts various aspects of Zorastrianism in all his four works. They are conveyed either through rituals, tradition and custom or through language or heritage. In his works Mistry saves special anger for the policies of and what he believes to be the reactionist politics of the Shiv Sena party. Several reviewers have pointed out that in casting his novels in some of the most turbulent periods of India's modern history; Mistry is able to effectively appropriate historical fact for his own fictional needs. Mistry‘s selective use of typical Parsi idioms in addition to the other Indian ones differentiates his discourse from the other writers of the majority community. Bharucha‘s comment sums up the author‘s intention most succinctly: ―As Parsi he is on the periphery even in India, so his discourse also challenges and resists the totalization of dominant culture within India itself.: (Nilufer E. Bharucha 59) He occupies a special place in the galaxy of writers belonging to Indian Diaspora. The fact that he was born in Bombay in 1942 and emigrated to Canada in 1975 serves as one of the determining factors to evaluate his artistic output. Commenting on his diaporic status Nilufer Bharucha has a point when she says:

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―As an Indian who lives in and writes from Canada, Rohinton Mistry is a writer of the Indian Diaspora. However, Mistry is also a Parsi Zoroastrian and as a person whose ancestors were forced into exile by the Islamic conquest of Iran, he was in Diaspora even in India. Like other Parsi writing, his writing is informed by this experience of double displacement.‖ (Bharucha 23)

XI CONTRIBUTION TO THE SOCIETY BY MISTRY The writings of Mistry are governed by the experience of being a diasporic minority community in India and also the difficult situation of being an emigrant in Canada.Mistry‘s novels are about the patterns of empowerment in a world that denies individual voices. They expose parental authority, class hierarchies, personal betrayal, political supremacy, and corruption. Savita Goel says that Rohinton Mistry in his works tries to revisit the history of his homeland and defines his ethnic identity and sense of self. A study of this kind will also place in proper perspective the salutary and sterling role played by novelists in bringing about social balance and reforms. A society can reconstruct and restructure itself on the basis of mankind. A constitutional assurance not withstanding, the reformatory spirit must come from within. In this process, a writer has a limited but powerful role to play. Mistry as amply demonstrated their avowed beliefs and humanistic leanings in their texts as the following study shows. Besides, humanism has evolved as a universal law that binds all people together. Nothing seems to be capable of changing the narrow and mean mentality of man. In fact this subject is highly relevant to the present day for as I opine even a thousand natural disasters like Tsunamis cannot save man from his caste leanings and racial prejudices. A common thread that runs through all his works is the relationship between individual and society. Within the boundaries set for an artist, Mistry has pointed out the inadequacies and weaknesses of our social and political order. He has lashed out against the evil influence of this order on the individual who is always at the receiving end.

XII CONCLUSION It is true, globalization and media have created awareness and have raised human consciousness to new novels. He pictures broken human personalities under the socio-economic cultural pressures and stimulates the human individual to develop an intimate growth and adopt himself to the respective social milieu. Gustad Noble in Such a Long Journey undergoes the trials and tribulations of an urban middle class and middle aged man. Rohinton Mistry‘s expectations of society are high. A free India must necessarily harbinger peace and prosperity to all sections of the society. As a member of a minority community whose number is fast dwindling, he has reasons to fear for its survival. In fact, the are grand survivors. As a community, they have achieved economic self- sufficiency and are well on the road to prosperity. Mistry himself migrated to Canada in search of better life. A Fine Balance. Dina Dalal shows grit and a kind of urban sophistication. A city is no respecter of caste or community. She survives with her meager income and even offers home and sustenance to Ishvar Darji and Omprakash.

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So far as religion is concerned, Mistry takes a functional view of it, as the religious humanists do. The religious humanists agree that most human beings have personal and social needs that can only be met by religion. All the works of Rohinton Mistry are created with a sense of plurality which is typically Indian.

REFERENCE 1. Pandya, Sudha P. ―Voyages of Self Discovery: Some Immigrant Writers in Canada.‖ Indian Journal of Canadian Studies 2, 1993. Print 2. Hons-George Gadamer, Truth and Method (New York: Seabury Press, 1975.Print. 3. Malak, Amin. ―Images of India.‖ Canadian Literature 119 Winter 1988: Print. 4. Abrahams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 3rd ed. Madras : Macmillan India Limited,1989. Print. 5. Narayan R. K., A Story-Teller’s World: Stories, Essays, Sketches, New Delhi: Penguin, 1989. Print. 6. Dodiya, Jaydip Singh. The Fiction of Rohinton Mistry. New Delhi: Prestige Books, 1998, Print. 7. Chakkalakal E. Tess, ―Rohinton Mistry (1952-),Sanga, Jaina C.South Asian Novelists in English: A-Z Guide, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003. XVI, Print. 8. Rushdie Salman: Imaginary Homelads, Granta Books, , 1991. Print. 9. http://www.india-seminar.com/1999/484/484%20parekh.htm

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