Of White Hairs

and Cricket

Written by Rohinton Mistry

Presentation by- Dipan Jain & Hriday

About the Author
Rohinton Mistry spent his youth in Mumbai,
graduating in mathematics from the St
Xaviers College. The dominant influence in his
life was the religion called Zoroastrianism
which he followed as a Parsi. The city of
Mumbai was another influence. His novels
portray different aspects of life in India,
especially among the Parsi community.
Relevance of the Title
Of White Hairs and Cricket, White hairs, in
this story, is a metaphor for advancing years,
thus implementing mortality. Cricket as a game
symbolizes the calm and peaceful days when
life was stress free and old age was not a
threat to happiness.
Language

The story pans out following the memories that

fill the mind of the protagonist. Written in first
person, it weaves in and out following a stream
of consciousness kind of style. The story is
fleshed out by memories of various incidents and
people who were significant to the protagonist.
Theme
Main themes in the story are the insecurity that
advancing years bring, the loss of happier times when
life was carefree and the poverty caused by lack of
money. The narrators father is finding it difficult to
get a job because he is no longer young; he tries to
stop time by having all the white hairs on his head
removed. The narrator longs for the days when he and
his friends used go with his father for a game of
cricket on Sundays.
Aging
and for all ( of fathers ) white hairs that I was
powerless to stop.
He realizes that he cannot stop his father from aging
and eventually dying and learns to accept it as an
inevitable reality. From this, he also learns how he
should appriciate his father, and the moments spent
with him as some day, he will no longer be with him.
Father/Son Relationship
But that was all a long time ago, now Daddy did not
take us to cricket on Sunday mornings
The father and son used to have a strong bond
through their cricket games and played regularly.
After that father had grown older, he was too tired
to play cricket any longer and the bond between them
began to loosen and they have a rather distant
relationship, not sharing any emotion despite the sons
deep love for his father.
Failed Promises
I just found (this advertisement) in the newspaper, I think
its perfect. He waited for mums reactionthe silence was
unsurprising
The father was very optimistic about each advertisement,
making plans and promising a better furture for the family but
the mother has been let down so many times that she stopped
having hope and eventually didnt even care about new
opportunities as she knew it would lead to disappointment and
so did the son, as he saw his mothers silence as surprising.
Despite this, the father stays cheerful. From this, we can
see that he wants the family to remain happy as that is all he
ultimately cares about.
Characters
2 major characters in this short story
are:
The Narrator
Daddy
The narrator
The narrator remains nameless throughout the story. We see the
happenings in the lower middleclass Parsi household through his
adolescent eyes. The protagonist has immense love for his father
but is tongue-tied when it comes to expressing his feelings. Viraf
is his best friend but with him too he finds it difficult to say
sorry. He has a different way of talking that is meant to mask
his real emotions. He is a much loved younger son. At the end his
only regret is not that things are changing fast in his
neighborhood, friends are losing fathers disturbing the status quo
that existed. His deep regret is for not being able to cry his
heart out, or for not being able to hug his father.
Daddy
The protagonists father is one of those people who always look
and sound positive even the cards are stacked against them. He
knows that he cannot defeat time by having the white hairs of
his head removed. He is jobless at the moment but hopes that
something will come his way soon. He is a loving father who
desperately hopes to provide for his family. He does not want
Percy to be disturbed as he is in college now. He wants his
younger son to be able to go to the US to study. He hides his
disappointments so that his family stays cheerful. Its only with
his mother-in-law that he argues. Even with her there is no ill-
will but he does not like the idea of living under the same roof as
her.
Symbolism
The white hairs
The father forces his son to pluck his white hairs every Sunday
(instead of playing cricket).
The white hairs symbolizes time and mortality. Plucking the white
hairs shows how the son and father are trying to prevent aging
and wants to stop time. The white hairs are trapped shows that
there they have no control over aging.
The father forces his son to do this because he wants to look
young for his job interview.
 The Murphy Calendar
Worn and Turned inward, curl and tatter
The murphy calendar is as old as the narrator and has baby on
it. It is also a symbol for innocence
The murphy calendar is ironic as it has a baby on it and is
permanent but time is still passing, the wall kept losing plaster.
The baby is ruined as a dark and jagged halo appears, showing
how we lose innocence as we grow older.
 Cricket
They do not play cricket together anymore.
The father does not have the energy or time to bring his son for
cricket, so it is now a memory prom the past. Cricket is a symbol
for the narrators childhood.
Cricket shows the yearning of the youth and symbolizes the
luxuries of youth, innocence and care-freeness that we lose as
we grow older.
Thank You