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Such a Long Journey (novel)
Encyclopedia
Such a Long Journey is a 1991 novel by Rohinton Mistry
. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize
and won several other awards. In 2010 the book made headlines when it was withdrawn from the University of Mumbai
's English syllabus after complaints from the family of the Hindu nationalist
politician Bal Thackeray
.
, Maharashtra
, in the year 1971. The novel's protagonist is a hard-working bank clerk Gustad Noble, a member of the Parsi community and a devoted family man struggling to keep his wife Dilnavaz, and three children out of poverty. But his family begins to fall apart as his eldest son Sohrab refuses to attend the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology to which he has gained admittance and his youngest daughter, Roshan, falls ill. Other conflicts within the novel involve Gustad's ongoing interactions with his eccentric neighbours and his relationship with his close friend and co-worker, Dinshawji. Tehmul, a seemingly unimportant and mentally disabled character, is essential in Gustad's life, as he brings out the tender side of him and represents the innocence of life. A letter that Gustad receives one day from an old friend, Major Bilimoria, slowly draws him into a government deception involving threats, secrecy and large amounts of money. He then, begins the long journey, that sheds new light on all aspects of Gustad's personal and political life. The novel not only follows Gustad's life, but also India's political turmoil under the leadership of Indira Gandhi
.
, the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book, and the W.H. Smith/Books in Canada First Novel Award
. It was shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize
and for the Trillium Award. It has been translated into German
, Swedish, Norwegian
, Danish
and Japanese
, and has been made into the 1998 film Such a Long Journey.
and abusive languages about Bal Thackeray
, leader of Shiv Sena
, a political party from Maharashtra
. The paragraphs in question refer to Maharashtrians as follows:
Aditya Thackeray
, grandson of Bal Thackeray, a final-year Arts student at St. Xavier's College, complained to the vice chancellor that the book contains abusive language about his grandfather and the Maharashtrian community and demanded its withdrawal from the syllabus.
The book was prescribed for the second year Bachelor of Arts (English) in 2007-08 as an optional text, according to University sources. It was also confirmed that Dr. Rajan Welukar, University of Mumbai
's Vice-Chancellor (V-C) used the emergency powers under Section 14 (7) of the Maharashtra Universities Act, 1994, to withdraw the book from the syllabus. Based on a complaint, the Board of Studies (English), which had recommended the book earlier, resolved that it must be withdrawn with effect from September 15.
Following this incidence the book entered public debate. The teachers' union wanted the Vice Chancellor to defend academic freedom, claiming that the book was selected for literary reasons. Their point of view was that the author, Rohinton Mistry, did not think poorly of Marathi-speakers, and that the passages were perspectives of a character in the book, namely Kapur. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ashok Chavan
(Member of Congress Party
) stated that the book is "highly abusive and objectionable". Former Vice-Chancellor of Mumbai University and Member of the Planning Commission of India
Bhalchandra Mungekar stated that "I'm fully convinced, even giving the benefit of the doubt to the book being a piece of fiction, that some sentences are certainly objectionable...there is a difference between dissenting with the political and social philosophy of an individual or organisation, and abusing the individual by name". Faculty have complained of pressure tactics being used to coerce their support of the vice chancellor's decision. The book is unlikely to be reintroduced in the short term on account of possibility of law and order problems . Mistry has also expressed disappointment in a statement regarding the withdrawal.
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Rohinton Mistry
Rohinton Mistry is an Indian-born Canadian writer in English. Residing in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, Mistry is of Indian origin, originally from Mumbai, Zoroastrian and belongs to the Parsi community. Mistry is a Neustadt International Prize for Literature laureate .-Biography:Rohinton Mistry was...
. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize
Man Booker Prize
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and...
and won several other awards. In 2010 the book made headlines when it was withdrawn from the University of Mumbai
University of Mumbai
The University of Mumbai , is a state university located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was known as the University of Bombay until 1996 when the city of Bombay was renamed as Mumbai. The affiliated colleges of the university are spread throughout the city of Mumbai and four coastal districts in...
's English syllabus after complaints from the family of the Hindu nationalist
Hindu nationalism
Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expressions of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of historical India...
politician Bal Thackeray
Bal Thackeray
Bal Keshav Thackeray , popularly known as Balasaheb Thackeray, is an Indian politician, founder and chief of the Shiv Sena, a right-wing Hindu nationalist, and Marathi ethnocentric party active mainly in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.Born in Pune, Thackeray began his professional career...
.
Plot introduction
Such a Long Journey takes place in MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, in the year 1971. The novel's protagonist is a hard-working bank clerk Gustad Noble, a member of the Parsi community and a devoted family man struggling to keep his wife Dilnavaz, and three children out of poverty. But his family begins to fall apart as his eldest son Sohrab refuses to attend the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology to which he has gained admittance and his youngest daughter, Roshan, falls ill. Other conflicts within the novel involve Gustad's ongoing interactions with his eccentric neighbours and his relationship with his close friend and co-worker, Dinshawji. Tehmul, a seemingly unimportant and mentally disabled character, is essential in Gustad's life, as he brings out the tender side of him and represents the innocence of life. A letter that Gustad receives one day from an old friend, Major Bilimoria, slowly draws him into a government deception involving threats, secrecy and large amounts of money. He then, begins the long journey, that sheds new light on all aspects of Gustad's personal and political life. The novel not only follows Gustad's life, but also India's political turmoil under the leadership of Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
.
Reception
When it was published in 1991, it won the Governor General's AwardGovernor General's Award
The Governor General's Awards are a collection of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, marking distinction in a number of academic, artistic and social fields. The first was conceived in 1937 by Lord Tweedsmuir, a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction who created the Governor...
, the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book, and the W.H. Smith/Books in Canada First Novel Award
Books in Canada First Novel Award
The Amazon.ca First Novel Award, formerly the Books in Canada First Novel Award, is a literary award given annually to the best first novel in English published the previous year by a citizen or resident of Canada. It has been awarded since 1976....
. It was shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize
Man Booker Prize
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and...
and for the Trillium Award. It has been translated into German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Swedish, Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
, Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
and Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, and has been made into the 1998 film Such a Long Journey.
Withdrawal from Mumbai University's syllabus
Such a Long Journey was withdrawn from the syllabus of Mumbai University since it contained, in the perspective of some character in the book, discriminatory and derogatory remarks about MaharashtriansMarathi people
The Marathi people or Maharashtrians are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, that inhabit the Maharashtra region and state of western India. Their language Marathi is part of the southern group of Indo-Aryan languages...
and abusive languages about Bal Thackeray
Bal Thackeray
Bal Keshav Thackeray , popularly known as Balasaheb Thackeray, is an Indian politician, founder and chief of the Shiv Sena, a right-wing Hindu nationalist, and Marathi ethnocentric party active mainly in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.Born in Pune, Thackeray began his professional career...
, leader of Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena , is a political party in India founded on 19 June 1966 by Balasaheb Thackeray. It is currently headed by Thackeray's son, Uddhav Thackeray...
, a political party from Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
. The paragraphs in question refer to Maharashtrians as follows:
Aditya Thackeray
Aditya Thackeray
Aaditya Thackeray is the son of Uddhav Thackeray, Executive President of Shiv Sena, and grandson of Balasaheb Thackeray. He is currently head of Yuva Sena, a youth wing of Shiv Sena.Education:Aaditya has done his schooling from Bombay Scottish School Mahim...
, grandson of Bal Thackeray, a final-year Arts student at St. Xavier's College, complained to the vice chancellor that the book contains abusive language about his grandfather and the Maharashtrian community and demanded its withdrawal from the syllabus.
The book was prescribed for the second year Bachelor of Arts (English) in 2007-08 as an optional text, according to University sources. It was also confirmed that Dr. Rajan Welukar, University of Mumbai
University of Mumbai
The University of Mumbai , is a state university located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was known as the University of Bombay until 1996 when the city of Bombay was renamed as Mumbai. The affiliated colleges of the university are spread throughout the city of Mumbai and four coastal districts in...
's Vice-Chancellor (V-C) used the emergency powers under Section 14 (7) of the Maharashtra Universities Act, 1994, to withdraw the book from the syllabus. Based on a complaint, the Board of Studies (English), which had recommended the book earlier, resolved that it must be withdrawn with effect from September 15.
Following this incidence the book entered public debate. The teachers' union wanted the Vice Chancellor to defend academic freedom, claiming that the book was selected for literary reasons. Their point of view was that the author, Rohinton Mistry, did not think poorly of Marathi-speakers, and that the passages were perspectives of a character in the book, namely Kapur. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ashok Chavan
Ashok Chavan
Ashok Shankarrao Chavan was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Chavan was sworn in on 8 December 2008, after his political party, the Indian National Congress and Vilasrao Deshmukh selected him to be Vilasrao Deshmukh's successor on 5 December 2008. He earlier served as Minister for Cultural...
(Member of Congress Party
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
) stated that the book is "highly abusive and objectionable". Former Vice-Chancellor of Mumbai University and Member of the Planning Commission of India
Planning commission of India
The Planning Commission is an institution in the Government of India, which formulates India's Five-Year Plans, among other functions.-History:...
Bhalchandra Mungekar stated that "I'm fully convinced, even giving the benefit of the doubt to the book being a piece of fiction, that some sentences are certainly objectionable...there is a difference between dissenting with the political and social philosophy of an individual or organisation, and abusing the individual by name". Faculty have complained of pressure tactics being used to coerce their support of the vice chancellor's decision. The book is unlikely to be reintroduced in the short term on account of possibility of law and order problems . Mistry has also expressed disappointment in a statement regarding the withdrawal.
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Khodadad Building Residents
- Miss Kutpitia
- Tehmul "Lungraa"
- Mr. Rabadi (the "Dogwalla idiot")
- Inspector Bamji
- Mrs. Pastakia
- Mr. Pastakia (depressed father-in-law of Mrs. Pastakia)
Other Characters
- Ghulam Mohammed (Major Billimoria's accomplice)
- Dr. Paymaster
- Sidewalk Artist (paints the black wall)
- Laurie Coutino (secretary of Parsi Bank, teased by Dinshawji as "Lorrie", ParsiParsiParsi or Parsee refers to a member of the larger of the two Zoroastrian communities in South Asia, the other being the Irani community....
slang for penisPenisThe penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
) - Mr. Madon (Manager of Parsi Bank)
- Peerbhoy Paanwalla
- Alamai "Domestic Vulture" (Dinshawji's wife, and later widow)
- Nusli (Dinshawji's nephew and adopted son)
Release details
- Such a Long Journey, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart (1991) ISBN 0-7710-6058-0
- Such a Long Journey, London: Faber (1991) ISBN 0-571-16147-2
- Such a Long Journey, New York: Knopf (1991) ISBN 0-679-40258-6
- Such a Long Journey, London: Faber (1992) ISBN 0-571-16525-7
- Such a Long Journey, New York: Vintage (1992) ISBN 0-679-73871-1
- Such a Long Journey, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart (1997) ISBN 0-7710-6057-2
- Such a Long Journey, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart (1999) ISBN 0-7710-6104-8