Rohinton Mistry

Rohinton Mistry was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India to a Parsi family, Indian followers of the Iranian prophet Zoroaster. He lived out his youth in Bombay and eventually attended the University of Bombay (now the University of Mumbai), where he earned a degree in mathematics and economics. In 1975, he immigrated to Canada, and in the early 1980s, he attended the University of Toronto, where he pursued a degree in English and philosophy. While in Canada, he wrote short stories and won numerous literary competitions and prizes. His short story collection, Tales from Firozsha Baag—which contains “Of White Hairs and Cricket”—was published in 1987. The collection was met with critical acclaim, as were his three novels—1991’s Such A Long Journey, 1995’s A Fine Balance, and 2002’s Family Matters—which all explore the lives of Parsi people in modern-day Mumbai. Mistry’s writing is highly awarded, and in 2015, Mistry was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada.