English Literature

Water is an intrinsic part of most spiritual beliefs and religious traditions. Its uses and symbolism in religion are many and varied; its spiritual and healing properties are seen in rites and rituals; and its representations are as numerous as they are  diverse. These different religious and cultural aspects of water reflect the vast array of civilizations that have made water the central element in their practices. The act of providing drinking water is seen by many cultures and religions to be one of the most charitable human acts.  Water is considered a purifier in most religions. Major faiths that incorporate ritual washing (ablution) include Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. Immersion of a person in water is a central sacrament of Christianity. It is called baptism. It is also a part of the practice of other religions, including Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. In addition, a ritual bath in pure water is performed for the dead in many religions including Islam and Judaism...

Rohinton Mistry has emerged as a formidable writer on world literary scene. It is he who has enjoyed acclaim from critics both at home and abroad. Many put him on a par with Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth, Anita Desai, Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Joyce, Thomas Hardy and Chekhov.  Nandini Bhautoo- Dewnarain says, ‘Rohinton Mistry is a writer with great honesty of imagination. He does not attempt to follow fades and fashions. His writing suggests sensitivity to the beauty and the fragmentations, the failings and the cruelties of his world. Much of Mistry’s fiction works with the humanistic premise that the universal lies in the ordinary. This is the trajectory he has chalked out for himself in the course of his brief but meteoric literary career’.  Mistry transcends the boundary of his geography when he writes. He is cited almost everywhere as a Canadian writer but Canada hardly finds expression in his writing. He draws his major source of material from the observed life in Ind...