Apr 1975

I 1 Juiy 1975 Price Rs. 3 8«?; f. / .¦ «' I i‘.* 5 'I, I .- ;) I ** k- iV; CA-Jz "V;-* i » \ / u- t 'b CONTENTS EDITOR'S COLUMN READERS' FORUM THE PANCHAYAT PAPERS 13 14 A SYMPHONY IN WHITE 20 THE PRIEST WITH OOMPH 25 26 31 37 ART REVIEWS . . 38 IN MEMORIAM 41 RACE AND REASON by Jamshed Modi THE HERETICAL DUO by Pervin Mahoney WHO IS AN ORTHODOX PARSI ? by Feroza Paymaster THE NAVJOTE CEREMONY by P. N. Jungalwalla ? April - July 1975 Page No. GENETIC ROULETTE byManjula Padmanabhan and Goolrukh Vakil Parsiana Cover designed by Manjula PadmanabhanCOXUmTl and Violence. ” And freedom. One advantage of a civil ' wv/xiAUiAx Minoo Masani, noted politician and marriage is that it is brief, leav- statesman and Editor of the monthly magazine Freedom First, a Journal of Liberal Ideas, filed a writ petition in the Bombay High functions. In the course of her seven ­ interview feature our Associate ing the guests with more time for eating and drinking, that beifi^ the primary purpose of all such he ’d mint. He never took my ad ­ vice (no one ever does) and went into the family asbestos business _ ____ instead. My attempts to interest hibiting the publication of several people, others in this field of specialization articles among which are ones on - • ended when, while researching our the scope of the Pre-Censorship present cover story, we learned order by a former judge of the Bom- .. . Z-.----- resolution of the Maharashtra Bar Council requesting the President of India to revoke the Emergency, and a report on the order of the Madras High Court admitting a I once told a doctor friend of mine that if he specialized in Parsi illnesses —indigestion, headaches, obesity, phobias and the like — Court on July 18 challenging the - ’ Censorship Order of the Govern ­ ment of Maharashtra and the Editor, Ms Feroza Paymaster action of the local censor in pro- comes across many interesting Thus while getting Ms Perin Vajifdar ’s views on the definition of an orthodox Parsi, Ms Vajifdar told Jier that she was the first Indian and Parsi womq|k to play in an international chess tournament. It happened in July 1922, in London. “I just walked into the place where the tourna ­ ment was being held and the secre ­ tary of the Chess Federation asked whether I could play and would like to play. I didn ’t know whe ­ ther I was fit, so we played a lightning game. He observed my moves and in ten minutes placed me in Class B,” she said. There were more than 200 entrants and it was on this occasion that Mir Sultan Khan played for the first time and won the British cham ­ pionship. Ms Vajifdar played in several other tournaments and The Daily Mirror carried a photograph of her contemplating a move with the caption “The Wisdom of the East. ” Her interest in chess dates back to her childhood. “My uncle played chess, but he never let me come near when he played, ” she said. “Nobody could make any gesture or movement or he would get disturbed. So my father taught me the first few moves. ” She also has the distinction of petition submitted by T. Sada- writing general columns in both sivam, publisher of Swarajya. The the orthodox Jam-e-Jamshed un ­ Maharashtra Government with- ended when, while researching our that these ailments may not be bay High Court V. NI. Tarkunde, a genetic in nature but the result ' - -<• of our environment. However, never being ones to let facts come in the way of our prejudices, we voice our doubts about this ‘environment ’ theory. Otherwise the next thing scientists will be saying is. Parsis don ’t have a special flame burning in them and that we ’re not God ’s favourite people and before you know it pro ­ fessional troublemakers will be de­ manding we treat others as our equals and put an end to all our racist policies. Times being as they are, several well-wishers have urged us to be i circumspect in what we write, not ­ ing that the greatest damage to Parsiana is caused by the Editor ’s Column. So as not to aggravate matters any further we shall just write of events in our usual im ­ partial and objective manner, leav ­ ing out the editorial spice that usually results in people cancelling their subscriptions. In news around town, the man ­ aging committee of the Bombay Parsi Association saw fit to pass a resolution hailing Ms Indira Gandhi ’S 20-point economic pro- j gram and supporting “the most i admirable, bold and positive Maharashtra Government with- der the pen name of Pervize and steps taken in right direction by drew its State order on censorship the reformist Kaiser-l-Hind Weekly prompt and stern actions by the around this time. The case is due where her column was titled Banoo Central and State Governments after the declaration of country ’s court of Justice Desai. Soli authoress of three plays and has emergency... for the first time in Sorabjee, appeared as Counsel for published two novels, and a book on sewing. In out-of-Bombay news, the Igatpuri Fire Temple is in the process of building up a kaathi have the highest number of civil burning. Ervad Tehmtan Bhicaji marriages, with Gujaratis coming Karanjia notes next. The season for saying “I do' Irani: The ‘Bird' man for hearing on September 15 in the au ni Parliament. She is also the court of Justice Desai. Soli authoress of three plays and has While attending the civil marri ­ age of a friend we learnt from the _____ Registrar of Marriages that Parsis fund, to ensure that the fire keeps have the highest number of civil burning. Ervad Tehmtan Bhicaji marriages, with Gujaratis coming Karanjia notes a target of next. The season for saying “I do ” Rs. 25,GCG hao been aci ui wiucii begins around January and ends in Rs. 19,000 have already been col ­ and Commercial Strikes, Gheraos, peak' time for signing away one ’s recent years, people walk in the Masani and was instructed by streets of Bombay with confidence Attorney D. H. Nanavati, and liberty so provided by custo ­ dians of law and order besides giv­ ing protection from such un-Demo- cratic and anti-social elements who were bent upon destroying Democratic freedom by their in- next. The season for saying “I do ” Rs. 25,000 has been set of which siduous method of instigating, pro- begins around January and ends in Rs. 19,000 have already been col- ®Oti^ and supporting Industrial June with April and May being the lected. There are about 10 to 15 . .. , _ -• Parsi families in this WesternGhat hill resort which also boasts like many another commercial young but when I grew up, my a dharamsala and dokhma. The j interest from the earmarked switches and gears at Larsen and kaathi fund should suffice to keep Toubro. But come the weekend, the 88-year-old agiary stocked the speed-ball pens and T squares with sandalwood. “We never built up a fund all these years but met our requirements from dona ­ tions received. But how long can we keep imposing on people ’s generosity? ” notes the priest. A considerable portion of his trips artist, plies his craft drawing friends all told me to gp in for commercial art, because ther ^ w^ more future in it, ” says IranuJ^ trained for his profession at t® of daily drudgery are put aside for J J. School and worked in different a more pleasurable and in India advertising agencies before settling almost unique pursuit: scientific bird painting. “There are not many Indian Deolali, Irani describes himself as artists who do this kind of work, ” says Irani, whose proficiency in to Bombay are being spent going the winged world resulted in his from donor to donor. “The last six thousand is proving to be the most difficult, ” Karanjia notes. Donations may be sent in the name of the Igatpuri Anjuman President, M. N. Boatwala, the Igatpuri Zarthosty Anjuman, Parsi many Agiary, Igatpuri, District Nasik, Maharashtra. Stamp enthusiasts will be inter ­ ested to know that the recent series of stamps on Indian birds are the artistic efforts of Jamshed Irani. Parsiana Art Editor, Man- jula Padmanabhan, interviews the for the late King of Bhutan, H. M. soft-spoken artist for the Editor ’s Jigme Dorji. column: During the week. Jamshed Irani, becoming a fine artist when I was from the “We at his present job ten years ago. Having spent his childhood in “a village type of boy. My first love is gardening and nature, didn ’t paint very much then, at drawings being selected for the that time I was not very original, recent issue of “Indian Bird ” If I saw a painting of a beautiful^ stamps. The Postal Department rose, I would want to paint it. “took infinite pains in the print- a result I had a developed sense ing, ” says Irani, “It was a prestige of proportion. ” issue, I think the forerunner of ' ‘ more to come. ” Irani ’s five dent of the Bombay Natural I In 1963, when Dr. Salim Ali, the well-known ornithologist and presi- to come. ” work has appeared in publications, including the ten- History Society, was looking for an volume Handbook of Birds of Indian artist who could do some of Irani ’s name was suggested. “Every Sunday for over two years, I used to go to his house. He lives in Bandra and I live at Byculla —it used to take me an hour to get “I had a vague impression of there. ” Under Salim Ali ’s guid ­ ance, Irani learnt the art of India and Pakistan and in 1969 a the illustrations for the Handbook, five-stamp series on birds-for the Government of Bhutan, as well as a set of four oil-paintings of birds The Bank that gets things done ^^'iSiCRICXrI si: CXPRESSj American Express International Banking Corporation Bombay ? New Delhi ? Calcutta OBM 23 T4 i‘,.OBM/368? drawing birds scientifically from dead specimens, called *‘skins ”. Unlike the stuffed creatures one sees at a museum these are simply the birds ’ preserved carcasses, with the plumage intact and “the neck and feet laid out straight. Not only do you have to get the colours exactly like the original, but the position you select when you paint the bird has to be typi ­ cal of that bird. There is a difference between the way a crow and a sparrow perches. You have to draw the bird in exact propor ­ tions as well, because for science books, there is a scale so that you can measure any part of the bird in the picture and calculate what it is like in life. “The plates in Indian books on ornithology are nearly always by foreign artists, ’’ Irani notes, “when it comes to drawing birds, for calendars and so on, many Indian artists just copy from other books. ” It is not financially worthwhile for them to study the art in depth. For all the labour that goes into copying a bird down to the last detail of the bar- bules on its feathers, in colour, an artist may get between 25 to 50 rupees per bird. “The resources are always limited, there isn ’t so much scope, ” he notes. see this from the monetary angle. I do it only for the sake of love. ” * * « By the time we came to know Jamshed Pherozsha Pa3nnaster, he was ailing. Bedridden for close to a year, he fought on courage ­ ously, never letting his interest in the world around him flag. He kept himself occupied by reading, keeping up-to-date on his person^ matters, inquiring as to how the' car was running and asking his daughter, Feroza when Parsiana was due. In his younger days he took to hunting and was prominent on the social scene. As a condo ­ lence letter from Scindia Steam Navigation Company, which Pay ­ master served for over 35 years, noted shortly after his death at the age of 63 on August 9, “He was known to one and all in Scindia House. He was a much missed man after his retirement and we miss him much more now. ” Parsiana extends its heartfelt condolences to the Paymaster family. laid Irani eS PS es BS I never C1 yte S' ;5a isa Special trick : When you're making ice cream, falooda, kheer, rabdi: thicken milk with smooth creamy BROWN. Ot POLSON Custard Powder. Try the Variety Custard Pow. der pack: a combination of 6 super flavours. 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In his speech, Shroff had proposed that we have 7,500 graduates who must at least, have voting rights, together with others, sets up a small workshop;' the Even to such a suggestion one Parsi landscape should be stud ­ person raised an objection that if ded with self-employed artisans the ideas and outlook of our and tradesmen who can stand oh educated class be contrary to the outlook of our highly orthodox class they would jeopardise the With this objective in view, every unity and stability of our commu- Parsi colony should have half-a- A skilled fitter or turner easily earns Rs. 700 to Rs, 800 per month within four or five years and more if he forks out on his own and their own, without being a drain on the community ’s resources. Voting Rites The question of reforming our nity. At this rate nothing could dozen industrial sheds for such election system has long been be done. We want to move ahead, occupying our minds but .little action has been taken thereon. My efforts to bring attention to the archaic state of affairs by duration of a Trustee ’s tenure. It running as a candidate last year prompted individuals to term my candidature a “highly successful failure. ” unity and stability of our commu- i self-employed entrepreneurs. All existing Parsi business houses and for that matter, every Parsi must open ac ­ counts with the Co-operative Bank, which in turn should open branches in all the principal Parsi colonies, and thus help swell the Bank ’s work ­ ing funds which can be diverted be elected at the same time. to advance loans on liberal terms The Trustees have reportedly to deserving Parsis to start small turned down several schemes for businesses, be it a transport car ­ reforms. In many of these - - schemes, a certain class or classes ___ _____________ _____ to be left out. Are rickshaw owned and self-driven will bring in anything upto Rs. 800 a month, plying only in the suburbs; no elaborate knowledge except the ability to drive a three- wheeler vehicle is required. If ten not stagnate. It is clear that the first and foremost item for reform is the should be curtailed to five years. The present tenure of ten, 20 and even 30 years has made the Trustees unresponsive to the I started the Akhand Parsa public. All seven Trustees should movement with the aim of in ­ troducing adult franchise in the election of Trustees to the Panchayat. In December 1974 Jehangir Shroff delivered a lecture in which he described the different legal and statutory aspects the Trustees in a position to deter- of our election system. The most impressive point was the condi ­ tion that the community members must first formulate their demands large and impersonal scale —which and present them to the only adult franchise offers. The Trustees for their consent or community approval for changes in the elec ­ tion system. The Trustees may then take the matter to the Hon. Charity Commissioner and bring favourable to the majority and instead will favour individual sections. Any measure other than adult franchise will block the path of progress. All half-measures are intended to go halfway. Dr. P. B. Warden Parsis and Professions Even 100 per cent literacy not- mine who is to be given franchise and who not? If our society is to be reconstructed let it be on a should reject any scheme other than adult fran ­ chise as all other plans will have terms and conditions un- about the necessary changes with the final approval and order of the Court. Messrs Erach Nadirshah, P. P, Khambatta and Dr. Aspi Golwalla were seated together at a lunch table when I opened the topic of changing the Election System. I asked them why it was necessary for the Parsi public to carry the withstanding, if the education of matter to the Trustees. Was it not young Parsis is not geared to suit sensible that the Trustees, should the needs of the present day em- move in the matter? Their answer ployment pattern, it should be was : We do not know how far radically changed. By all means let and to what extent and in what us have intellectuals like doctors, way the community seeks changes; lawyers, college professors, lin- Parsi with open Zoroastrian which rier or a service industry or even plying an autorickshaw. An auto- FAROKH REPORTER Photographer • ADVERTISING INDUSTRIAL CINE 16MM &35MM FASHION Phone: 263723 Patel Chambers, 5th floor. Gunbow Street, Fort, Bombay-1 iiParsis of means "come fiWard' hdf a dozen Parsi engineers; the with Rs. 10,(XX) each which they same is the case with the sugar in ­ lend to the Zoroas|rian .Rank with dustry, plastics, < \............ _ or vnthout ihter^ the Bank can (onCe our exclusive strong-hold), amount is coUected every month eabily accomodate upto eight pur ­ chasers of such a vehicle who will then be economically indepen ­ dent. To make a beginning, I am so prepared to deposit Rs. 10,000 with the bank and shall be happy has done little to rectify the pre- if the bank undertakes to help sent state of affairs in the com- any Parsi who is willing to own munity. ' and ply a rickshaw. T--- ---------- .2. ----- 1 ’ _ Our community used to supply The lure of office looms large with vast showrooms and spacious and over 90 per cent of (textile tech- them —some have been trustees prestigious office premises should nicians of the country upto about upto 30 years. be constructed in its place which 30 years back; today hardly any The Augean stables must be will fetch a handsome rent; the Parsi —experienced or qualified cleared of those who have come present occupants can well be (B.Sc. Tex) can be found and even to think that the funds and pro- housed in any cheaper suburban the remaining mills of Parsi perties of the Parsi Panchayat locality, ownership have perforce to look are their private preserve. The elsewhere for their requirements, new administrative team must This state of affairs requires to be set right at the earliest; what has been said before regarding handle and must avoid the com- textiles holds good for almost all other industries. In Maharashtra which manufactures over 75 per cent of the total Scooters made oped, in the country, one can find barely initially should spring up. Flats in these colonies should be on a deferred ship-building ownership basis where a fixed for a period of 15 or 20 years and comes the owner; - this step will free the Panchayat from the worry mining, ordinance factories, gov- J ernment owned steel plants and after that period the tenant be- food processing; in fact in all organised industries the Parsi is becoming a rarity. The Panchayat of upkeep of these buildings in the long run. The present Dharamshala at ¦ The majority of the Hughes Road could well be pulled Trustees are well past their prime, down and a modern building with them —some have been trustees The Augean stables must be qualified cleared of those who have come to think that the funds and pro- are their private preserve. The These are serious matters re ­ new administrative team must quiring the urgent and immediate have the ability to take quick attention of all right-thinking decisions on the subjects they people who are concerned with the very existence of the com ­ munity. It is hoped that action will be taken before the twelfth hour —the proverbial eleventh and "cheap, preferably has already passed. subsidised, colonies Dinshaw A. Merchant mittee mentality. Every available inch of land of Parsi ownership should be devel- X Have you ever cualked on the beoch alone uuith nothing on and nothing on your mind except him, thinking of him. craving for him, to the /ymphony of ru/tling palm/, ujith the /un/et in your hai/ the cool breeze touching your face, the evening /un /himmering in your eye/, and the /pray of /urf care//ing your body ? jjifh nothing on It/o great feeling. Shifting/ by k The greot feeling . fldv/dri Cotto^ /ilk Lmited 9our community, such as housing, employment, education, etc. After I finish with the magazines I give them to my friends to read in the hope that they too will become in ­ terested and subscribe. A magazine like Parsiana must be encouraged “ Municipal Law ” Hyderabad has experienced a fine series of lectures by Dr Fram- roze A. Bode. Bode is a person who has the courage to quote from the Gathas and not the Vendidad, which he rightly describes as “municipal laws ”. He emphasized that everyone has the right to choose the method of disposal which he or she likes best. According to him that is a funda ­ mental right which no one can be denied and as the dead body be­ comes the property of the next-of- kin, the final decisions should be left to the family. His approach towards life is practical, as he holds that “the people should move with the times, otherwise be left be­ hind. ” If only our community had more stalwarts like Bode we would have seen the light of day many decades back. I pray he has the patience to bear with ignorant custom-bound people, who lay more stress on ir ­ relevant ritual than on the actual religious teachings of our great prophet. Iranshah’s Plight To us Zoroastrians, the Iranshah at Udwada, is the holiest of places, a _ - - place of religious pilgrimage. But some of the pressmg problems of its physical structure and environ- ” ''”'*** ment is a cause for concern. The building itself is old. It has no impressive frontage facade, or open garden space and is situated in the midst of old houses in unsanitary surroundings. The Iranshah Atash Behram community. should be a centre of Parsism with Lt. Col, Dady S. Major a library, museum and cultural institutions. It should be the meet ­ ing place for Zoroastrians from all over the world, to discuss and get information op our religion, culture, social and economic problems. The Zoroastrians of Iran on the other hand have a beautiful centre in Tehran. Other small communi ­ ties like the Bohras, Jews and Bahais have centres of which they are proud. We in India have none. The newly formed Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India should take a lead. Iranshah must be made a centre worthy of the name of our community. Dinshaw Behram Communal Sense I and my friends enjoy reading Parsiana. It is a pity that for minor affairs, such as dokhmas and burial, there should be such misunder ­ standing and waste of efforts. The main feature to keep in mind is the religion, its philosophy of life and that Great Mhn ’s teachings, set down thousands of years ago. We should preserve our balance of mind and try and bring peace and harmony to our community and consequently to the world. It is a pity that having so much wealth We should gradually lose it to the Government due to infight ­ ing. It is a pity that there should be a wide generation gap and that young and old should never come to a good and favourable conclu ­ sion. Why should we be so selfish and not think of other peoples ’ and our future generations ’ welfare? I hope that in the near future we will come to our senses and think of nothing but the good of others and our poor community. M. J. Zartoshty Iran Parsi Panchayat are very revealing but I wish they would stop their infighting and get down to solving Bakhtyar S. Kaoosji Hyderabad The Chosen One Ever since Dastooran-e-Dastoor Manekji Noshirwan Dhala passed away, our community has not con ­ ferred that title upon any other Dastoor. It is high time that the elders of our community made up their minds to confer this title upon the most 'deserving Dastoor in the world. In my opinion an ideal / Dastooran-e-Dastoor should fulfil the' following criteria: fie should be a very experienced and fairly Revealing senior Dastoor; physically robust, I enjoy reading the articles and mentally alert, morally and ethi- the different views expressed in Parsiana. The write-ups on the PHOTOPHONE leading manufacturers of 35mm Theatre Sound and Projec- tion Equipment and the whole range of Audio- Visual equipment comprising : •Photophone Super Lite 16mm Sound Projector * Photophone Instavision Super 8mm Sound Projector * Photophone Overhead Projector Photophone Pvt. Ltd. Fazalbhoy House LI, Marine Lines Bombay 400 020 I Tel. no. 212565 cally above suspicion. Please turn to page col, 3THE PANCHAYAT PAPERS In the Panchayat s scale of dis- The orthodox Jam-e-Jamshed sonance, it was barely worthy of daily condemned the leakage to note. To relate: A few papers C.. __________21__ had been reportedly misplaced by 6 noting that while the" community Trustee B, K. Boman-Behram. *........................... Duplicate copies, therefore, were circulated among the Trustees Nelie Noble to reportedly press her “shock ” at the “gross negligence ” * ~ which “just cannot be con- on the “Working of the Bombay doned. ” Boman-Behram chose Parsi Panchayat ” which was pub- to ignore the outburst alleging lished in four instalments in the that it was motivated by her candi- Jam-e-Jamshed. The first part, date ’s loss in the last Trustee titled “General Administration and election (see “A Tale of Two the Doongerwadi Department ”, Jimmys ”, Parsiana January 1973). ¦ - When the papers reached Trustee Jamshed Guzder he reportedly deplored the attack on Boman- Behram and noted that a Trustee should practice a certain measure of decorum. He suggested that in future remarks of this nature should not be mentioned in the circulars but reserved only for the Trustees. Chairwoman Lady Hira- bai Jehangir and the other Trustees concurred with Guzder ’s remarks, causing Ms Noble to reportedly blast the Chairwoman (“show her own standard of, responsibility ”), Guzder (“He must be used to losing important files and docu ­ ments ”) and Boman-Behram (“He is hardly expected to do anything better than to sit and clap. ”) Like most internecine feuds, the matter would have festered there except that the relevant papers were leaked to the Press. The Kaiser-E-Jiind Weekly gave the episode prominent play in its The orthodox Jam-e-Jamshed the press in its editorial of August GAZDAR among the seven causing Trustee Ms ex- was kept in the dark in matters that should be made public, con ­ fidential material which should be private was instead made known to all. Stung by the allegations, the Boman-Behram Panchayat issued a two-part series con- ' ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ chose PRIVATE LTD. of r “just cannot be Boman-Behram JEWELS that it was motivated by her candi- »9 Taj Mahal Hotel Bombay notes the accounts managed by the Trustees are in three classes and total 1,172 in number; their total corpus is Rs. 5,98,52,044. The immoveable properties are valued at Rs. 2,60,00,000. The bulk of the report deals cursorily with the administration of the Doongerwadi Estate and housing where the Trustees note that “when donations are received, new construction work is taken up in hand, .. The Trustees have been able to provide accommodation to only 20 per cent of those on the Register. The remaining 80 per cent naturally are still on the waiting list and it is apparent that as the Trustees are not in a position to fulfil the re ­ quirements of this large majority, dissatisfaction occurs.' ’ The second part concerns “Wel ­ fare and other Educational Institu ­ tions ”, Names of institutions, their functions and the nature and amount of aid they give is listed. - * , The Trustees note that in many „ Y issue under the headline cases “loans are NOT returned by Bitter Battle of Circulars. ” The persons concerned in spite of Bombay Samachar Editor, Jehan agreed easy instalments. The re- Daruwala, related the incident - - - without mentioning the Trustees ’ names in his Parsi Tart Arsi Sun ­ day column of August 3, “There is something rotten in the state of the Parsi Panchayat ” he wrote. “Their style of functioning in isolation and even secrecy mis ­ leads and alarms the community. Their confabulations, so far as we know, do not reflect deep thought, me pan oi me irustees mat mey good planmng and constructive had to take the community into work. We gather the unhappy confidence. As Daruwala noted in impression that they study books of quotations. Devil ’s Dictionary, one thousand insults etc.' “Bitter Battle of Circulars. ” The suit is that money under these circumstances remains blocked and other deserving persons are unable to be given necessary loans to the extent required by them, ” While the bureaucratic jargon of the reports did not shed much light for the lay person on the Panchayat ’s workings, their publi ­ cation marked an awareness on the part of the Trustees that they the Samachar, “If you go on ham ­ mering at a door it is bound to open even if it be a wee bit. ” Appointed Valuers of Jewellery to The Government of India We are buyers of your old Jewellery, Diamonds, Emeralds, Rubies, Pearls, etc. and pay the Highest Prices Code: "MANUSCRIPT" Telephone No. 255577 nGENETIC ROULETTE by Manjula Padmanabhan and Go&lrukh Vakil have been struggling to answer questions like that for the last 17 years, ” says the large jovial The science of genetics is very have been struggling to answer tha^ the chances are higher there much like a game of chance, questions like that for the last may be a defect. ” The odds vary with each roll of 17 years, ” says the large jovial Going from colony to colony, the human dice. For centuries geneticist. “They say perhaps taking intravenous blood samples people have invoked the gods and there might be more abortions and testing for various elements, ' ’ - ....................... - Undevia has come across some six J thousand Parsis in the course of I can only tell them his study. Since in any genetic survey it is important to trace the genetic links through families, Undevia says, “now it has become a rule that every young couple conies to me to be checked. Parsis as patients have been very receptive, once they have been given the scientific explanation for the condition.' At the basis of any genetic study are the minute invisible particles called genes. A vital part of each of the billions of cells which make up the human body, they are responsible for all the characteristics which are passed besieged the stars to predict and stillbirths in cases of cousin- whether their child will be a boy or girl, blue-eyed or brown, normal or deformed. But only when the Austrian biologist Mendel began his experiments with the lowly sweet-pea, did the mysteries of genetics and the laws of human heredity begin to unfold. For Parsis the word genetics has an ominous ring. The declining birthrate, the jjigh incidence of diseases and mental illness and even the increasing poverty are often thought to be the result of genetic laws working adversely, or of excessive “inbreeding. ” It is with problems such as these that Geneticist Dr. Jayantilal V. Undevia of the Cancer Research Institute at the Tata Memorial Centre and the author of Popula­ tion Genetics oj the Parsis deals daily. “Young couples come to me and say, ‘Doctor, I have married my first cousin, going to have a bad child? ’ It marriage, but we can never say for sure. I Dr. Am I . , on from parent to child —the Undevia: Needles in a haystack color of hair and skin, the length of the nose, the tendency toward heart disease. Genetics, however, is a young science and scientists have yet to identify which gene goes with what characteristic and how exactly the genes exert1 families which possessed the rare blood type, “and now we have obvious pride. Only a few isolated groups have been found to display this trait but not in concentrations comparable to the 0.7 per cent found among Parsis. The groups are all native to Europe, leading Undevia to believe that all these groups perhaps share a common SUS. Based on his findings on the Ry factor, Undevia says, “one same stock as the Iranis, but that might not be so. The Parsis were In Cyrus ’ day, they were a strong group. I feel perhaps they were a more priestly class. ” Searching for genetic .features their control over a person ’s mental and ^ystcal'features. As lai^ racial groups tend to' be of fourteen, ” says the doctor with too diverse and doubtful origins to provide effective models for genetic study, a small and distinct com muni ty such as the Parsis is ideally suited to the task. Undevia ’s interest in the Parsis began when, while conducting a survey of the incidence of jaun- „ dice in newborn children, they ancestry originating in the Cauca- found that it was more common t ________ among Parsi mothers. Newborn 1 jaundice or haemolysis is caused thinks of the Parsis as being of the by the presence in the mother ’s t ---- “2”, \ blood of an element known as the 1 Rh Negative factor. (See box quite different to the native Iran- “Monkey Blood. ”) “We investi- ians. ----- ’ gated the incidence and found probably that, while it was between two and five per cent among Maharash- trians and Gujaratis, with Parsis it was L..---------- ------------, ----- „ - the geneticist. It was then that they cial^ group is like searching^ for came across a Parsi woman whose ........ * blood contained a complex varia^ tion of the Rh Negative called the Ry, which “is so very rare, that we wondered whether it was really an Ry or whether we were not detect ­ ing it properly. ” Though its signi ­ ficance is not known Undevia says, “if it is there, there must be some reason for it. ” ' * - Through that Parsi woman they says Undeyia, as it was alleged were initially able to find three 'MONKEY' BLOOD Until 1940 about five babies out of every thousand bom, suffered from haemolysis, a dis ­ ease of the red blood cells. In that year, research carried out they would fight disease germs, on Rhesus monkeys (familiar to ' 4.1... holiday-goers in hill stations all over India), revealed a sub- , _ stance in their blood called the mother with Rh blood has a is an occasional leakage of the baby ’s blood into the mother ’s , - — ”1 would build up antibodies. These would then pass back into the baby ’s blood system, causing haemolysis and some ­ times death. Quite often the making them Rhesus first child is normal, with the chances of fatal consequences increasing with each subsequent at 11 to 14 per cent, ” recalled which distinguish a particifiar ra ­ needies in a haystack without knowing how many there are. For instance, in the early twen ­ tieth century, during the mala ­ rial epidemics in Bombay, it was found that almost 24 per cent of the cases of malaria were account ­ ed for by Parsis, as against 5 per cent by the Hindus. “The Parsis were rather upset by this report, ” that the high incidence was due in their blood. With any sub ­ sequent transfusion of Rh + blood the antibodies would attack it in the same manner causing the destruction of the red blood cells. This is called over India), revealed a suo- haemolysis. When an expectant stance in their blood called the mother with Rh — blood has a Rhesus factor, which makes red baby with Rh+ blood, if there blood cells form clusters, is an occasional leakage of the From statistical surveys in baby ’s blood into the mother ’s En^and it was found that that blood system, her Rh — blood ‘agglutinogen, ’ as it is called is present in 85 per cent of the population who are said to be Rhesus Positive (Rh-b) and ab ­ sent in the remaining 15 per cent, 1 „ Negative (Rh —). If a person with Rh — blood birth. The only cure in a severe were to receive a blood trans- case is to drain out all the fusion of Rh-h blood, that per- haemolytic blood while simul- son would develop antibodies taneously replacing it with (agents which fight infection) normal blood. The older women always kept a close watch on the younger ones. to keeping open wells in their compounds, which served as breeding grounds for the malarial mosquitoes. “So they carried out a second investigation. This prov ­ ed that the earlier finding was correct and that the incidence was higher for the Parsis. ” The significance of those reports only came out later, with the disco ­ very among the Parsis of the Glu- cose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G-6-PD See box “Man ’s World ”) deficiency in the blood. It is known that the lack of this long-named enzyme leads to a partial immu ­ nity to malari^ yet the Parsis suffered heavily from the disease. The explanation for this, says the geneticist is that the gene carry ­ ing G-6-PD is “after all only one small gene. At that time the rate of cousin-marriage may have been almost 60 per cent as against 8 per cent nowadays. The result ­ ing con^omeration of genes due to inbreeding then must have made Parsis more prone to mala ­ ria, even though they had a high percentage of G-6-PD." Every eighth Parsi male has »»have been coerced into perform ­ ing the ceremonies to make the children Parsis. The women may not have raised their voices when these children were brought into their homes because at that would never have allowed integra- time, as one author has written, ” they were like parrots in cages and had little say in these matters. My colleagues are more inclined to ___ _________ ___ _ i believe that the fault lay with the explained. “TheT* Parsis 'mi^ated ' women rather than the men since ’ .... - - the servants in most of the houses were from the tribals and be- ' cause the houses where they lived ___________________ _ ___ ____ were often very large and allowed tually cousins would have" had To w« J even in Hindu families, under the joint-family system, it would have been very difficult for the young married woman to go out alone or be by herself much. The older within a particular family will tend to keep mixing with them ­ selves, strengthening further those traits which are already strong - ------------ ------------ and weakening others. As the women always kept a close watch family grows larger a small com- tho vn.mnot. ’’ gcucs would tcud to dominate. This is called genetic drift. “Either a particular gene will proliferate as all the mem ­ bers of the family inherit it, or it will be driven out of the pool en- The surroundings in which a Twenty-five per genetic makeup. This is known as cf f.-.’cthe environmental effect. ” It can on the younger ones. ’’ Backing his argument are the genetic pointers. “Sickling ” is the name given to a tendency among blood cells to form sickle shapes rather than circles when deoxy- _______________ genated. Like the G-6-PD factor, tirely?^ " it confers partial immunity to ma- TL. ______ JL* laria but with the added trait, that people live Tan also affTt Their it can be fatal. ----- .------------- . cent of the children of two sickle the ^‘environmental effect. ” It can parents die before the age of ten, ” ensure for instance that people notes Undevia. The racial signi- .............. ficance of sickling is that again as with the G-6-PD deficiency while Parsis show this trait Zoroastrian caste communities in the Gujerat area which have been found to possess it as well (though in smal ­ ler concentrations), because, “in those times the caste groups tion. ” Once the genes had been in- 1irod.uced in (Suffiqient strength, their proliferation can be easily ....... “ ¦ 1 because of religion, an'd when they came here did not plan to min ­ gle, ” says Undevia. “Brothers and sisters could not marry, but even- , ... - - ., ---------- ---------------------------------------------.J " I X . ,, „ . privacy. Personally, I find be found. ” What happens when' J ® ,, Pai'SIS this difficult to believe because cousins marry is that the genes socially advanced. ................. the G-6-PD deficiency. But in Iran while Iranian Moslems demon ­ strated a 15 per cent concentration of the deficiency, among the Iranian Zoroastrians, there i„ hardly any. “When you go to Iran, from the air you can see the desert and absolute waste ­ land that it is. The Moslems tried their best to push any of the re ­ maining Zoroastrians into this part of Iran. In fact, while we were making a survey of the area, one could see the G-6-PD factor growing more common as one came away from the central de­ sert areas to the more Moslem parts, like circles growing wider, starting with the Zoroastrians, who have almost none. ” gene, he therefore infers, have come from India. Explaining his when the Parsis first came to In ­ dia they brought their families and women with them, Undevia says, “When you plan a migration —and I think this one was plan ­ ned —you don ’t leave your dear ones behind. ” Yet he feels con ­ vinced Parsis must have married among Indians. “I think this hap ­ pened around three hundred years ago, ” he says. “It would have been around this time that the community might have started moving into areas further inland thus coming into contact with the tribals. I feel it is possible that these children may have secretly been brought into the community because any man seeing his child will want to keep it as his own. By this time the economic posi ­ tion of the priests was not as strong as before an'd they may 3 1 1 with darker skins will survive more easily than others in tropi ­ cal regions, or that light eyes will be commoner in areas where the sun ’s rays are not so strong. The Parsis who lived on the hot, wet The Iranis (who came to India later than that Parsis), show almost no trace of the characteristic, both in Iran Gujerat coast were often subject- and India. In fact, says the doctor, ed to malarial epidemics. Since T have not found sickling among caste groups (in India) except the tribal people; genetically this fits those youngsters who in quite well with my thesis. ” Un- __ devia feels it is unlikely that genes breeding, died before being able such as the one causing sickle- ’ " cells could have been transmitted to the Parsis by the few high view, ed to malarial epidemics. malaria is a disease which takes a greater toll among children, I were suscep ­ tible to the disease due to in ­ I to pass the responsible genes on to the next generation. At the same time, those who survived the IT'S A MAN'S WORLD Though the absence of the K and Quinine). A pecularity G-6-PD enzyme has the bene- of the deficiency is that while ficial effect of preventing it is definitely passed on through malaria, it can also cause the genes, it is “selective ” in haemolysis (the rupture of its victims —almost all those de- , ficient in the enzyme are men. an allergic Only one per cent of the women ' ’/ I are susceptible, though they are certain responsible for passing the gene — ¦’“! on to their children. of 1 can also red blood cells) in the newborn, and in adults as i reaction to some 'drugs, (sulpha drugs, antimalarials, i J antibacterial agents. Vitamin I rf I ¦j I’ ¦ S I 1 IXscourge ¦Hjecause of the partial im ­ munity conferred by the G-6-PD deficiency or sickling were able to procreate and spread the genes further. In time, these genes proliferated to produce the high conceiTtrations which exist today. “The chances of a child getting diabetes is higher if both parents have it, but whether diabetes is entirely a genetic defect or not we don ’t know for sure. It is not a single genetic feature, ” says Undevia. Diet, exercise and social habits may as well he the cause of diabetes as genetics, under ­ scoring one of the most baffling aspects of the science —defining what is caused by genetics and what by environment. Coronary heart disease, kidney ailments, hernia, brain haemorrhage and cirrhosis of the liver, all of which find many victims among Parsis, may similarly be caused by the facts that Parsis eat meat, drink, enjoy a relatively lengthy life span and often engage in an active social life. Concerning the alleged tendency for mental illness, Unde ­ via says, “it could be that it is more noticeable in a small com ­ munity. Also Parsis are compara ­ tively better off than others. They may go to the doctors more often, and more cases are detected than with others. ” A good example of how easy it is to impute here ­ ditary causes for diseases where no genetic links exist, is the one ried genetically: “I have found about some Iranis who began to come to Undevia with cases of oral- cancer. “Each of them had the cancer in the oral cavity (mouth) and we thought it must be a gene ­ tic character. But we could not find any family relationship be- aware of the strong social and re ­ tween them, no connection ligious resistance to the issue of through which the gene could be marrying “out ”. Genetics has fre- carried. Then, by coincidence one day, one of them told of a habit _________ ______________ „___ among Iranis of chewing over marriage within the community, is to introduce to the pool genes bones after meals. Only then we but Undevia feels, “it might not from outside that group. “A hy- realized it was the constant fric- be necessary to marry out. ” Con- brid is always of greater vigour, tion of the sharp edges of the sanguinity, or the intermarrying The first generation is always bones which caused the oral can- ‘ .... .... k.. cers and not genetic suscepti ­ bility. ” As with every issue, there _______ ________„ ___ are those who feel that genetics been staved off for the time being, hot be so good —for the same rea ­ is responsible for even more than “But there is no doubt, ” adds the son that marriage within a family is usually accepted —such as the geneticist, “that if Parsis were to is not advisable —^because the habit of smoking. Though he does marry out, and see that the chil ­ dren were kept within the Zoroas- trian fold, it would be ideal. ” In ¦^y I" Rb 1^’ ) not endorse this view, Undevia feels perhaps certain so-called 1 I 1 I " Perhaps brilliance is simply more noticed in a small community." Genius is generally a mutation rather than a genetic entity." illustration of his point he says, “A teacher at Campion School once told me, ‘there are two kinds of Parsi students —those that are very clever and those that are very dull. ’ To subject any genetic strain to such extremes is like stretching a rubber-band too far — after a point it would have to snap. The genes need a balance compatible to life. ” The only way __ ________________ to mitigate this tendency of the witness for the case made against genes to veer between extremes marriage within the community, ’ ’ ' ’ but Undevia feels, “it might not be necessary to marry out. ” Con- social characteristics may be car- all Parsis socially advanced, ” he says, “for instance, no Parsi has ever walked into my room with ­ out first knocking! ” Through his long association with the community Undevia is quently been called in as the chief of close relatives, is on the decline good, ” he notes. When two hy- and with it the immediate dan- brids of identical backgrounds gers of excessive inbreeding have mix, however, the product may son is genes which ‘may have been sup ­ pressed by the mixture earlier will again pair off. 17 f I LA. “The . goqd^^ qualities . „ lingPa: tSat thCTe v I,” s«ys Mem the cbimnOT lity. The male _sexual drive dec- afer a7|fcnd"fortyfe | would rRurally be'l^'^ro-'^' ’’ ' ' go, ” s«ys Ui^\^ ih ,#3r|ip< to the cbimnOT such graces as the commu- geny in a late marriage. ” Even nity ’s aptitude for music might be the lack of adequate housing faci- wiped out when marrying out. “Perhaps brilliance is simply more noticed in a small community. Genius is generally a mutation rather than a genetic entity, ” he explains, a mutation being a sud ­ den fundamental and as yet un ­ explained change in heredity, pro ­ ducing an individual basically un ­ like its parents. as commu- lities may be blamed for the drop in numbers as Undevia finds that Parsis tend to expect a higher liv ­ ing standard than other commu ­ nities and are unwilling to marry ’ and produce children before be­ ing reasonably well-settled. “They can produce more children if they want, ” maintains Undevia, “by less family planning and a longer married life. If the Parsis are to exist well, marriage should be becoming non-viable early and reproduction should also start earlier. ” The ideal ages, he would One sure indicator that a popu ­ lation is ' Undevia says, is that its num ­ bers start decreasing. All the feels, would be “twenty to same he feels that the steady drop twenty-three for women, so that in the Parsi population, about 1 they can get their degrees and per cent a year, is for reasons marry, and for men around “more social than genetic. ” The twenty-five to thirty. ” For a com- fact that Parsis marry late is one munity with an average connubial possible reason for the infirmities noticed in the community —“chil ­ dren bom at the later end of a woman ’s menstrual cycle are more prone to being genetically diseas ­ ed,” Undevia explains, “and late marriage may also deplete ferti- age of 33 years, Undevia ’s words have a prophestic ring. The future of the Parsi§ may well hang bal ­ anced between a way of life and life itself. • Illustrations anti photo by Mattia Padmanabhan 1 -5^ Iv JEEI4A & COMPANY (ESTD. 1900) ¦v IATA AIR CARGO Clearing, Forwarding Warehousing and insurance Agents 10, Veer Nariman Road Fort, BOMBAY-1 Justitia ** “Understanding the nature of the ^bern gOTetic diversity of human beings is aiR®sential p*|^ Z requi^ fo^tBia® ^re th^ physiol andlpi^t^ ligalfh,*? not® physiol andlpi^t^ Ijgalfh, ’? not® Undeca in thf ires^md^f Bis fh^sif, ' Poptit^ion Ge^tfibs of the Popuf^ion “ManSis migrating and mixing and he is altering his social, famity and marriage "patterns. The cur ­ rent human activities are so fast changing that their possible gene ­ tic consequences in terms of human health and disease will be far reaching unless a clear base ­ line picture is defined and understood. ” It is to help define this base ­ line that the 47-year-old father of three, has directed his professional career. After obtaining his bache ­ lor ’s degree in Chemistry and is To many newly-wed Parsis, the Physics from Bombay University name of Dr. Jayantilal Vithaldas - - Undevia is as familiar as that of in 1949, he received a year ’s pro- fessional training in cliniqal patho- 1964 he completed an M.SC. in their family priest. The couples logy at the Haffkine Institute. In come to the geneticist ’s test tube- ];;; ' __ _ Z.„„. Z.. lined study in the Cancer Research Genetics, and was awarded a ^h.D. Institute of the Tata Memorial Centre, to be assured that the off ­ spring of their union will be blessed —genetically speaking. in the same subject in 196'9, tie has attended various seminars and symposia in India and abroad, and Please turn to page 43, col. 2 Cable: Telex: 2313 PHONE: 312032 Branc hes ; E. Merc House 19/B, Shakespeare Sarani ( Formerly Theatre Road ) CALCUTTA-16 PHONE: 444711 “Jeena House, ” 50, Hanuman Road Connaught Circus NEW DELHI PHONE: 310621 1^A SYMPHONY IN WHITE • , The sacred garments are Jal Tata, president of the by Parsi women c* --------- “The Naviotes were means as an a' ------ , — income. The selection of children completed in ' - —tailored It was like any other Nayjote-- jotes almostfrom.its mcep by Parei w7meA of limited financial multiplied by 21. One after the notesJal , Tata, p^es^ident ofjne additional source of other the children sipped the Union. Th ) „ j income. The selection of children nirang. underwent the cere- “d to tanj^m to the '““eonrpleted in March and monial bath and mounte , . tbp ceremonies performed measurements and names of re sheet-covered dais in the midst of to have the ceremo p latives are sought. The collection Allbless Bang. Here, flanked by because no one ca^ «^J°^ereasT'the oT donations also begins in this white-robed priests on either front, was the J , , month. The Navjotes are held on they recited the initiation prayers dwindling numbers of t the last Sunday of May after the and received the sudreh and kusti mnrutv - which symbolized their admittance to the Zoroastrian fold. The occasion was the annual massL-., ---------- by the Youth ’s Own Union (YOU) for children from limited income groups. “Most of the ,children are Hilla Nariman who along with Homi Tavadia and other YOU members organizes the May func- , now it is not necessary. iotes almost from its inception, notes . Union. “The Navjotes were held to bring in to the Zoroastrian mass dwindling numbers of the com- ® “Nlviotes are rarely performed chUd7en ’s^ “"s ’choof exams. The , ., fnr Bombav children because the children and parents are housed in Naviote.ceremony conduced .owe;.their «a,u£ bought^onfte tastday I --- on their individual One who lost her son wanted are for children from limited income Hilla Nariman who along with Homi Tavadia and other YOU tion. “Therr fathers are usually manual workers or they work in the agianes. This year there were only two orphans; all the rest had at least one parent. ” Each child is presented with 12 sets of clothes which include trousers, shirts, sudrehs, two kustis, school uniforms and a dugli. “We ask for their measurements before ­ hand and do the necessary shop ­ ping before their arrival, ” explained Ms Nariman. The parents also receive a set of clothes. “YOU pays for the travelling expenses and three days ’ stay in Bombay as well, ” says Tavadia, “but the main item of expenditure is the clothes. ” Each Navjote costs YOU around Rs. 900, he notes. “We have to keep our budget flexible, as next year the costs may rise to one thousand rupees. The money is raised from public donations and various fund- raising activities such as the annual YOU-on-Parade Show which in ­ cludes a play directed by Tavadia As a result most of the initiates are selected from the rural areas. mans to send us names of eligible well-being children, ” notes Ms Nariman, “but We have formed, YOU does not havejhe facilities to follow up ; though sometimes do. “I >«« 3 fir- 3? Qoow ¦¦¦ ¦¦¦ k TF rr IFF donors woman a jvrvw b'—*--------- , Nariman. “She asked for the name of the boy whose Navjote she was sponsoring; he was the son of a rickshawalla. The boy s birthday was on the same roj as her son ’s. She was moved and gave money for sweets and decided to follow UP with money on the birth ­ day and ’during the muktads. Other donors follow up to matric even. As regards the suggestion that mass-marriages also be performed in the community, both _ Ms Nari ­ man and Tavadia feel it is “not feasible. Each marriage would cost three thousand rupees. People ask for beds, cupboards and so on. One woman asked for a set of utensils, asking ‘What shall I cook in? ’” Aside from performing the Nav- YOU also gives financial aid to over 60 organizations, says Tata. It arranges lectures, debates, whist drives, music circles and other activities once a week. Though all members of the YOU managing committee have to be under young people are not able to take ' in the Union be­ cause of the increasing burden of studies, notes Tavadia who along with many of the other YOU members joined as a youth. Despite a low annual fee of Rs. 6, membership has declined but there is no move to make it a --------------------“’The community needs help, ” says Tavadia. UUIUU ------------— H J X Navjote performed, ” recalled Ms of the boy whose Navjote 1 built up closer contacts with the families and relatives so we get in touch with them directly. Be­ sides making local enquiries, the ptes main question we ask is Do you have any Parsi relatives in,^ Bom ­ bay? ’ Then latives to double-check that the cases are genuine, as it is public money we are spending. ” Navjotes of children who have a non-Parsi . are not performed much interest costs may rise to one 1 - -------------------- * J public donations and various fund- raising activities such as the annual YOU-on-Parade Show which in ­ cludes a play directed by Tavadia starring many of the YOU mem ­ bers. ‘T XS"ffte “Xoo«we"st “o;p;i £7 "us.- says Tavadia. Some because bogus .parties would ap- £.flte childrer> are up^for adopbon Formerly we used to > all donations but at the parent we talk to the re- not but YOU is not in a position to arrange all the formalities. We only provide the case histories as proach the donors requesting money for Navjcrtes which were "^YOU^'^whiS? ’ w?^^ started by the'families are known to us, ” says Jal Heerjibehdin with the en ­ couragement of Burjorji Bharucha in 1945 as a forum for Parsi youth, has been performing Nav- Ms Nariman. Preparations _ start in December on Behram roj with the order for the sudrehs. for the Navjotes cosmopolitan organization.,. d 1THE NAVJOTE CEREMONY by Pi loo N. Jungalwalla the Tree of Wisdom, so the chew- the following portion 'bf the ing of its leaf symbolises the Fravarane'. “Praise be to the most acquisition of Wisdom. Drinking righteous, most holy, most wise the Haoma juice symbolises striv ­ ing after immortality, as the “The initiation of a Parsee child into the fold of the Zoroastrian religion is known as Naojote. The ceremony of the initiation con ­ sists of the investiture of the child with sacred shirt called sudrah, and a sacred thread called kusti. “The word Naojote is made up of the two words Nao —new, and Zote—one who offers prayers. Hence, the word would mean a new initiate to offer Zoroastrian prayers. The ceremony is so named, because it is after its per ­ formance that a Zoroastrian child is said to be responsible for the duty of offering prayers and observing religious customs and rites as a Zoroastrian. “Seven is the age at which it is enjoined to initiate a child. In the case of some other unavoid ­ able causes, it is permitted, that of Ahura, the One Eternal God, as they were taught to the people After this public declaration of the faith by the child, the priest all the while reciting the Yatha Ahu Vairyo prayer. Then he stands behind the child, both facing East, if the ceremony is if the ceremony is performed in the evening. The Kusti is held, doubled, in the hands of the child, with a portion hanging vertically to one side. The two hands of the priest hold the two hands of the child, and guide the ritual the ceremony, a third full of performance. The Kusti prayers flowers which are distributed to the assembled guests at the end of the ceremony. A wick lamp, fed with ghee, an afarghan, with sandalwood and incense to hand, and a tray containing a mixture are recited in unison, and the Kusti tied as prescribed. When the last knot of the Kusti is tied with a recitation of the Ashem Vohu, the child repeats the entire Fravarane, the confes ­ sion of faith. This is the most im ­ portant part of the ceremony, for raisins, almonds, and a few slices of tender coconut, all symbolising the child must realize that in thought, wofd and deed he is de­ dicated to Ahura Mazda, from now till dje end of his life. The officiating priest next makes a vertical mark on the child ’s fore ­ head with the kumkum powder, if the child is a boy. If the child is a girl, the priest makes a small, cir ­ cular red mark on the child ’s and the best Mazda-yasna law, the gift of Mazda. ... of all re- Haoma plant was considered to be ligions. ... it embodies the Law the Tree of Immortality. of Ahura, the One Eternal God, 'After the sacred bath, the child, as they were taught to the people wearing a long pyjama, with his by Zarathushtra, His Prophet. ” bare upper body covered by a shawl or a piece of cloth, is taken to the room where the assembly clothes the child with the Sudreh is gathered. Here a platform has been prepared on which one or more priests are seated. A small stool, covered by a sheet, is in the centre. The child is made to performed during the day. West, sit on it. The following six items are placed on the carpeted floor: one tray bearing a new set of clothes including a new Sudreh and Kusti, another filled with raw ----- --------, ---------- , rice, akhiana, to be presented to the ceremony may be postponed the family priest at the end of to any age upto fifteen, at which age the investiture must take place. A Zoroastrian without the sacred shirt and thread after the age of fifteen is supposed to be out of the fold and likely to fall into evil paths. ” Abridged from The Navjote Ceremony of of raw rice, pomegranate grains, the Parsees by Jivanji Jamshedji Modi Before the Navjote can take place, every child is taught the pl^ty and prosperity. Kusti prayers and their meaning, as well ds how to tie the Kusti over the Sudreh. Both the Sudreh couple of areca nuts, some pieces and the Kusti are put on the child for the first time by the officiating priest at the Navjote ceremony, and ip the presence of parents, re ­ latives and friends. The Sudreh and Kusti are meant to be worn throughout life, as a badge of service to Ahura Maz ’da, Lord of Life and Wisdom. In the past, the Navjote was always performed in the mom- auspicious. The silver coins are ____ ing, but today, it is performed given to the family priest as part Ahura on the new initiate. While either in the morning or in the of his fee for performing the cere- reciting the prayer, the priest evening. On the appointed day, mony. showers the raw rice, raisins, the child is first given a nahn, or The child is seated facing East, pomegranate seeds, etc. on the purificatory bath, to symbolise the ‘ washing away of all sins. Certain prayers are recited both by the priest and the child, who is then given a leaf of the pomegranate to chew, and a sip of the Haoma Then both priest and neophyte Angels and the Amesha Spenta juice to drink. In ancient Iran rise, the child making a public de- come to your help. May the reli- the pomegranate was considered claration of his faith by reciting gion of Zoroaster flourish. O By the side of the new clothes, are placed some betel leaves, a of crystal sugar, a few grains of raw rice, a tender coconut in its husk, a garland of flowers, a silver pigani containing some kumkum powder, a sprinkler with rose water for wetting the kumkum, forehead between the eyebrows, and a few silver rupees. All these with the Kumkum powder. This have nothing to do with the re- ' ligious ceremony, but are borrowed __ _____ from the Hindus and considered Tandarusti, is pronounced by the auspicious. The silver coins are priest, invoking the blessings of is for good luck. The final benediction, the Doa of his fee for performing the cere ­ mony. The child is seated facing East. In front of him is the officiating child ’s head. priest. He makes the child hold the Sudreh in his hand, and the benediction is as follows: “May ceremony begins. Prayers are re- you enjoy health, long life, and cited while the child joins in. splendor of piety. May the good The most moving part of the! Sipping nirang 1 ¦3?’ "-s <* I Ml- sfttf! Ui.^ A >• } a ,1 /I ’¦I { s f- ¦ t Preparing for the bath charitable and religious life. May you perform righteous deeds. May health, virtue and goodness be your lot. May all your good de­ sires be fulfilled like ifhose of the Amesha Spenta. Ajnial Amin! ” (Trans : Dr. J. J. Modi). The chief priest and the othe priests now greet the child an( leave. At this point the mother o the child, together with othe women relatives, come forwan and form a ring round the chib Almighty God, may you bestow long life and health upon the ruler of our land, upon the whole com ­ munity, and upon this ... (naming the child) ... May the child live long to help the virtuous. May this day be auspicious, this month be auspicious, this year be aus ­ picious. May you live a good num ­ ber of years and lead a holy, Recitii^ the kusti prayersL V Receiving the sudreh B*’T J 'ii sf*^* 9< MS i F y f* 41- I py. w s 1 't- i H <1; % s" * f'?' ' Blessings before mounting the dais -i Cl B and help him or her to put on the new clothes ready in the tray. The guests now queue, one by one, wish the child and place a smsdl gift in his hand. The cere ­ mony concludes with a lunch or dinner for all present. This is known as the Jarthoshti sikkani scdamati, prosperity to the Zoro ­ astrian fold. Idterally, the phrase should also be told the child, al- means, safety or prosperity of the Zoroastrian coinage. And so ends perhaps the most important event in the life of a true Zoroastrian. The Navjote ceremony, being an initiation cei-emony, is only the beginning of our religious educa ­ tion. Every night, the mother should sit with her child, listen temating with stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Tales from the Masriavi, like that of “The Little Chick Pea ”, and the lives of the Sufi saints, also broaden the child ’s mind. Nor should we omit telling of the lives of our own great saints such as Guru Nanak, Tulsidas, Mira and - - others. There are plenty of spiri- yers, then explain some aspect of tual riches in our land. Let us fill our ] prayer at the end of the session. Stories f to the redtatipt^of^he Kusti p®- religion, and teach a short (rom the SZic/inanze/i The new initiates and Mends !< our lap with these treasures, so that we may become good Zoro- astrians, good Indians. A H A t, ¦: /.jj! A, IMII* I i T‘ a» IB A ¦ 4i see an The crow ’ds that come to watch the shows vary in response. “Sometimes they Please turn to page 44, col. 2 recalls he says from Nainital to Madras. In 1974 he won the ShreeWho is aii‘iOi»eUOttb^ . , ’ ¦ ' ‘ I ¦ ' : . ¦ 1 I ' I . U ' i' ' Interviews by Feroza Paymaster ‘Orthodox ’ is one of the v most maligned words in the community. Behind tife facade of respecta ­ bility it bestows on thosi who "seek its shelter, exists a spectrum of opinion. Warriftg parties claim that it is their point of view which is truly orthodox and the others which is a sham. Both sides quote scripture to prove their point. The ensuing battle of semantics results in terms like “Independent Orthodox ” being coined whose de­ finitions are determined more by the need of the hour than by any principles or logic. It is not un ­ common to hear a person say that thou^ they smokecigarettes, they believe in the dokhmas and, there ­ fore, are orthodox. Orthodoxy Mas become today a term of con ­ venience, a justification for a per ­ son ’s mode of life. According to Webster ’s diction ­ ary orthodox is defined as “con ­ forming to established doctrine especially in religion. ” The “estab ­ lished doctrine ” however is what is always in question. Is it the Gathas or the Vendidad, the Shahnameh or the Jamaspil To determine how the lay Parsi views orthodoxy we asked our seven interviewees this issue to define the terrn. I'* Shedb 0 o o o o Q o O 0 0 o o o Ollk 0 r" o Illi "y> 111 I'i'! ih II /J j[^***wv*x TT iiv/ AL things. He doesn ’t i modern generation ’s point R 3 oil believes that K « pie and wear the sudra-kusti. ? K^itiiaKcm IO ___ Bl own way. Aspi Sattha, 29, Solicitor, Little & Company ‘A person who conforms to and believes in the traditions which have been there for generations, particularly someone who follows the religious tenets, the ritrivaj as it is called and the customs. Or ­ thodoxy has nothing to do with the outlook but with theology. An orthodox person is not narrow ­ minded. Orthodoxy is good, be­ cause traditions have a certain background, a ficance, and are not cooked up to not able to understand their mean ­ ing and significance. Liberals are those who do not conform to orthodoxy and con ­ tinuing traditions. They could be reformists because they are the people with original ideas and may then propogate their views.' Sattha feels he is not orthodox because unfortunately I have very signi- knowledge of religious tenets ________,j and Zoroastrianism is an ortho ­ suit anyone ’s __ convenience. I fu»- dox religion —because it is ancient; ther feel that it is not right to its customs have been there for scoff at them just because we are innumerable years. ” historic ther feel that it is not right to I • I 4 I ¦ I Perin Vajifdar, 70, Free-lance Journalist “Those who have old ideas, are old fashioned, stick to old beliefs and old traits. They are not ortho ­ dox at heart, they are just hypo ­ crites. They just want to show off, for the sake of publicity. ” Liberals can be hypocrites too, says Ms Vajifdar. She defines libe ­ rals as people who have a broader outlook in everything, who do not stick to any dogmatic views. “A person can be both an orthodox '''^jitdar is based on good things, and a liberal ” if he takes the mid- “Why should there be any ortho ­ die path, looks to others ’ views, and does not stick to just one idea. («' ‘.‘Both the orthodox and the liberal can be reformists, ” she adds. “I am a complex person, I joy yoga and dancing, and yet like old traditions, I like my children en- brought up in old ways, but I don ’t I" ___ should one stick to that orthodoxy? Taking the middle path is the best. ” Religion to Ms Vajifdar is based like dhongodoxy. Why - —; sort of doxy in truth? You 'don ’t have to be orthodox to be good. 1% '3 ! .1 I •«¦jwr' Dara Cama KTIffl Interviews by Pervin Mahoney » ** i n 5^ I a .1 ! Dhunjisha Joshi that both he and Joshi say they fastened and in this way, secretly, can arrange for priests to perform bodies were taken into the jungle the necessary funeral ceremonies There have been few critics of the Towers of Silence as vocal as Dara Cama and Dhunjisha Joshi, the necessary funeral ceremonies and placed there. It is absolutely Over the years they have carried if a person chooses to be cremated wrong to say in Iran the bodies on their waA-dokhma crusade with missionary zeal. Cama once built iconoclast Joshi adds characteris- an attachable aluminium ladder on tically, “a mobed is not going to his car so as to be able to scale the walls of the mofussil dokhmas heaven. ’’ and the first time he tried to enter the towers at Doongerwadi, he carried a revolver. And Joshi Parsis to utilize the Municipal cre- still exhibits at his Raveline Street — - office gory photographs of the has given us fire to make destruc- interiors of various < ..................................... ’ ' throughout India. So it is no wonder that just the mention of humanity, their names is enough to arouse the strongest emotions in Parsis. Crank calls, letters of abuse and King Yazdagara Sheryar was de- minister that they can see decom- threats on their lives are as much feated by the Arabs, the Arabs part of their lives as the mon- acquired all the graveyards of the soons, ~ ~ “ abuse has dropped. “It ’s a baro ­ meter of the times, ” says Cama, a well-to-do real estate man, “people vented from doing this, they ’ re- have become more enlightened, have begun to see.' flamboyant Cama may have a weakness for hyperbole, the climate has changed to the extent or buried. But, as the 81-year-old were put on a mountain top be­ cause it is physically difficult to climb a mountain carrying a dead give you a certificate to enter body. “Those who are in favour of Joshi began his anti-doAr/zwa dokhmanashini can follow it. carnpaign in 1964 when he urged believe in keeping an open mind, not in insisting you are wrong and matorium at Chandanwadi. “God I am right. But I do believe the time has come to have an electric cre- dokhmas tive things harmless, ” he argued, matorium on Doongerwadi. Other- ”¦ .. forced to lose that land if the residents of the new 28-storey buildings band to- Fire is God ’s greatest gift to I Joshi is convinced that in Iran there were no dokhmas. “When gether and protest to the health posing bodies. “I wear a sudra and kusti but I don ’t pray. I consider agiaries and atashbehrams to be houses of cheating, where the priests, say: pay us and we will pray for you sorted to another method. With and you will get a good place in their hands and feet folded, the heaven. One of my relations, a bodies were put on a donkey; on lady, goes to Warden Road sca ­ the other side of the animal the shore every day to pray. I tell her soiled clothes of the dhobi were that instead of praying before the But lately the tempo of Zoroastrians. Then the Zoroa- strians started to put the bodies into rivers. When they were pre- While the for hyperbole,¦MB* The common multiplying factor i I % 1 - h? The rabbit is a rapid multiplier. That is common knowledge. What is not so common is the knowledge that rests with the wise investor. For him major multiplying factors are L&T shares. From 1951 to 1973/74 hundred equity shares have multiplied to 1630. Right and bonus issues were responsible for adding up to a lot. Facts about L&T make the figures possible. They indicate why investments in L&T shares increase and multiply. L&T is a vast manufactur­ ing complex with a paid up capital and reserves of Rs. 143 million and a turnover of Rs. 600 million. The growth is fostered by L&T's high rate of reinvestment. And it is planned with a purpose. The purpose is to design, manufacture and instal plant and equip­ ment for every vital industry. To make that plan a reality L&T has carefully accumulated a rich reservoir of technical know-how, manufacturing skill and fabrication facilities for over,35 years. But L&T's greatest asset is its people —10,000 specialised talents in its group of associate and subsidiary companies and its network of offices all over India. Together they contribute creatively to the company's industrial plan. i I i i j i i i LARSEN & TOUBRO UMITED P. 0. Box 278 Bombay 400 038 INS601tl Cama, who claims to have spent had managed to do so, would not have come out again." The second time, he resorted to a successful ruse. A friend in- sea, you should go to Parsi General Hosjrital and help poor over a lakh of rupees on his war, patients. ... I tell her, ” and sud ­ denly his voice sounded icily pro ­ phetic, “you will be punished by In my mind I compared a dokhma formed the Parsi Panchayat, in the Almighty for wasting your to an ash-tray. Unless we turn whose charge the Doongerwadi time. ” says he ’’always questioned what must be happening inside the walls. to an ash-tray. it topsy-turvey, it will never get estate is vested, that the bunglis * * * cleaned. ” .... Cama started his campaign In about 1967, Cama in conjunc- against prie^craft and what he tion with Joshi, had photographs " taken of Doongerwadi and mofuss dokhmas in Kharedi, Sholapur, spruce them up, recalled Cama. Poona and other towns. “I had a * campaign terms “The Towers of Horror ” on account of a “fanatic relative who was soaked —no, drowned —in rituals. In 1965 I wrote a letter of special aluminium ladder for scal- ~ ¦ ing mofussil dokhmas. messy business —what else could where the ceremonies are perform ­ ed prior to the corpse being placed in the dokhmas, were in poor con ­ dition and that he would offer to “The Panchayat replied, ‘Shabash, we want more Zoroastrians of your advice to him. ” Two years later ing mofussil dokhmas. It ’s all a type. ’ ” While the painting was Cama ’s jehad started in earnest messy business —what else could being done, Cama and a photo ­ when he approached the Bombay it be? Especially in Kharedi and grapher ventured to the towers but found the doors locked. “We had to find someone to open the lock but we knew of no Parsi Municipality in regard to building Sholapur, there were human bodies a crematorium for Parsis, but was rotting. ” While in the mofussil areas ad ­ mission to the dokhmas was gained locksmith. So I went to a Muslim by paying around five rupees to locksmith, purchased a lot of goods the non-Parsi gardeners, Cama from him and proposed my plan, says it cost Rs. 28,000 to enter the ~ Doongerwadi towers in the heart of Bombay ’s fashionable Malabar agreed. He dressed up as a Parsi Hill. The first attempt made with a revolver on his person, was thwarted when, after entering on a larger lock. ” , _____ through the Hanging Gardens and Cama says he sent the photo- “but for the moment, ” he noted, climbing over two small walls he graphs to various Parsi institu- “my crematorium plans are in cold was faced with a “huge one over tions and Joshi claims over a storage. ” which I couldn ’t climb and if I thousand people have viewed them told that they would not give land for a communal purpose. His offer to construct an addi ­ tional floor on the existing crema ­ torium was also turned down on the same grounds. He even volun ­ teered to finance a 10-lakh rupee one-oven crematorium at Doonger­ wadi which could incinerate a body in an hour and a half, leav ­ ing behind only the pelvic bones. was faced with a “huge one over which I couldn ’t climb and if I & Fortunately he held the same feel ­ ings towards his Mullahs and and opened the lock in two minutes flat —now the Panchayat have put Cama says he sent the photo- From experience comes faith Watch a young boy comparing and selecting book after book. They look much alike to him now. When he is older, through experience, he will have judgment. He will know books he can live by. The rest can gather dust on the shelf. nJ®® Life is like that. Out of each new experience, a man i gathers wisdom. He learns to hold fast to things of IB gL proven worth. By comparison, man also learns the value of things * „ unseen, things in which he finally puts bis faith. The prioelesB ingredient of every ppoduot ie the honor and integrity of its maker Ooinoo® Ar . ftr.... nuBAe Fo-A SARABHAI CHEMICALS LIMITED Squibb a Cemury of Experience Budds Faak WAOl WAOl, BARODA ©represents the Reglrte/ed Tredemerk of E. R. Squibb fr Sone. Inc., of which Sersbhel Chemfeaia Limited are the Ucanaed Uaera. y4 Century of Experience Builds Faith £CP1io his Raveline Street employment Especially in electric crematoriums cremated. But I say openly that office. The Panchayat admitted there is no question of fire being mobeds will be able to do nothing the photos were of the interiors of present otherwise everyday the for the dead. No amount of entrea- the ^khmas but insisted they must whole of Bombay would be ablaze, ties by hired priests will help the be of the mofussil areas while the The heat of electricity bums a dead man. The mobeds are fashan committee stated it was corpse. And even if there was fire willing to come because their ’s all trickery, says Cama. ~ _ But the rebuffs did not in any worshippers. According to Zoroas- way dampen the duo ’s zeal. Cama, is busy publishing a second book ­ let attacking the orthodoxy. “People say that it is not me who is writing against priestcraft poor man ’s sagdi, the fire from a king ’s palace, the fire from a potter ’s oven. Did you know that could the prophet have enlarged the first fire in those sixteen is his fold otherwise? There was no the fire from the cremation Zoroastrianism before Zoroaster; only in conversion did it begin. To “As for the popular belief that talk of respecting tradition, is to the elements —fire, water, air, earth ing the original language. —this is a total lie. The sun-fire “The Vendidad prohibits both beats on the corpse, the air kisses dokhmanashini and burial because it, the rain-water washes away the they are likely to spread pestilence, filth and it goes into the earth. There is an additional reason So if you can ever say that the . against burial: graves valuable land which can be used they are equally defiled for tilling. Dokhmanashini might dokhmanashini. have been feasible in remote times, but not nowadays in big cities. The heat of electricity bums a dead corpse. And even if there was fire in a crematorium, we are not fire- is a profession. They get money, so they ’ll do anything; you can ask them to lengthen or shorten prayers. The prophet has called ter that would be idolatry. “The fire which burns in our fire ­ temples consists of sixteen differ- priests babblers of words for fees, ent fires, such as the fire from a “Originally anyone was welcome into our religion. Conversion was a fundamental feature. How but some other wise man. I readi ­ ly- admit there is a wise man be­ hind me, so why not accept his wisdom? All these rumours are circulated because I don ’t read any ground? ancient scripts. But after all we ___ ___ ____ ___ _ _ know what the Koran and the by ddkhmanashini we don ’t defile most irrational and silly. All Bible say, in spite of not know- the elements —fire, water, air, earth prophets fought against the esta ­ blished religion of their time. They started to preach a new religion only because they were dissatis ­ fied with the old, ” says Cama. “I consider myself a practical, wordly man. I don ’t think I am activated by any higher calling. But it must be something which drives me. It is the mind which “Yes, I can arrange for mobeds says that all this chu-cha religion for those who are going to be of today is nonsense. ’’ reason occupy elements are defiled at all, then are equally defiled in 9> SHAPOORJI PALLONJI & CO., PVT. LTD. Building Contractors & Civil Engineers Registered Office: 70, Medows Street, Fort, Bombay-400 001 Administrative Office: New India Centre 17* Cooperage Road, Fort, Bonibay-400 001 oonnpnp hDoo . ^notap I 11 ?apPPl sn/aonaa I apt””’ X X \ \ ' X S> Phone: 254262/Z1Z844 Gram i GIMFKAME Bombay 00 A ’ ' TP alb V 11 flonnoopiP 0000800 pohOaoa a 00000000 ' I X X » X " ' '< \ • aoQ od <3 O 0 OOP J Jft. \-f?n £ iS I I ' X X X t » X X X X X * • ’ result of C^avda ’s early feeling reinforced by the pleasing ^-^7 training m Commercial Art, he is -----v? .. , , y pieasing ”"1 quite often inclined to produce 38 on a with women, Chavda: Flowing patterns pictures which have a pleasing but superficial quality. His scenes are invariably tranquil, not neces ­ sarily sentimentalized, but after a while seeming to posses a one ­ dimensional quality. Perhaps it could be that he is inclined to use colour as merely a decorative adjunct to his linear composition. In his last exhibition held at the Taj Art Gallery it appears to be a problem he has tried to tackle, for there is a definite attempt to concentrate on abstract ' compositions of colour. Our reac ­ tions to this are two-fold. On one hand we must admire the professional excellence of Chavda ’s canvases, the sheer technical finesse he brings to his work which immediately distinguishes him from the hoards of amateurs, who in varjring degrees of brash ­ ness or hesitation, are still in the process of discovering their style There is, therefore, an immediate attraction to his work, combination of colours he uses, and the range of his canvases from theFROM HERE TO TRANQUILLITY formal elegance of a crystallized Convoluted surrealism arid stri- rose, frosted in two colours, to ' " ’ the joyous unselfconsciousness of nude forms flinging up their hands in celebration. There is a delicate sketch of a bird etched against narrow panels of muted colour arranged in strips like a screen from a Chinese scroll and a series of vibrant abstracts the most not ­ able of them being “Flowing Pat ­ terns ” in which basic reds, yellows, blues and browns dance and gyrate together. Standing in front of a painting showing fishlike shapes flicking through an opales ­ cent medium, Chavda explained that the subject would suddenly reveal itself to him after he had started work on it. Often in his work one sees the painting sud ­ denly brought into focus by strong dark lines which immediately give a “meaning ” to the painting, as for example in the one entitled “An Unknown King ” which looks like the head of a Kathakali dancer or in those with figures of women. At other places, Chavda ’s famous line seems to have been used and then smudged out, giving only a faint hint of it. In these painting he seems to be deliberately sup ­ pressing the line which has been for so long his strength. Is it a result of heeding the carping of critics who detect a too facile quality in his work, or who feel that Chavda instead of control ­ ling his line appears to be con ­ trolled by it? These questions however are such as must trouble only the critics. At sixty, which he des ­ cribes as “the second childhood of an artist, ” Chavda says, that he is drawn towards more childlike forms of expression, wherein he hopes once more to recapture the clear uncomplicated vision of a child. DP?" C®ETA DOCTOR dent social comment having be- I come recurring nightmares on I the Indian art scene, it is a plea- I sant distraction to find Nergish Irani ’s exhibition at the Jehangir u Art Gallery. Recently returned | from the Washington University | School of Art, she feels “Harmony, peace and quiet, these are the qua- ? lities I want to express. ” In this, her first show in India, these characteristics are perceptible; there is a sort of controlled sere ­ nity in her art, her colors are muted to soft beiges and raw jute, the strongest tones being cool leafy greens verging on mellow yellows. Though she studied five years in the J. J. School of Art in Bom ­ bay before going to London and then to America for her Master of Fine Art, the American influ ­ ence is noticeable, particularly in a series of prints called “collo ­ graphs. ” The original composi ­ tions for these prints are primarily collages, with the emphasis in re ­ producing them placed on captur ­ ing the texture- of the materials used in the collage —such as the coarse weave of canvas sacking contrasted against smooth grained paper. Ms Irani fashions bleak landscapes from these materials, repeating the formula of a tree motif, set in wide fields bordered off with irregular slashes of what could be roads or waterways, de­ pending on one ’s interpretation. Despite the vaguely random qua ­ lity of the prints, as if the artist had haphazardly cut and pasted different bits of cloth and paper, there is a strong earthiness, a tan ­ gible sense of rough earth and hardy fibre. While the collographs are mostly in wheaten colors which com ­ plement the materials used, the oil-paintings show faint stirrings of greenery in those arid vistas of solitary trees and lonely roads. In particular. Tranquillity VII is a large spacious canvas showing verdent green areas overlapping and gently merging as if the harsh recurring nightmares are Ms. Irani: Rough earth and hardy fibre. < contours of the collographs had given way to lusher outlines. The same theme is repeated in a small oil pastel entitled simply “Land ­ scape ” where the green masses take on a more definite shape and one can see a true tree form emerging where elsewhere there was only a blob. Though there is an unmistakeable professionalism in her approach, characterized by the assurity with which she re ­ peats her themes, one wonders after all whether technical skill has stifled the original inspiration. ‘One sees so much harmony around one, ” says Ms Irani, ex­ plaining the cool ^mplicity of the pieces displayed, yet there is very little harmony in the erratic lines of the collographs. They embody a bizarre reality, as if in trying to achieve the utmost in the quietude, “order and principle, ” that she seeks, she has created a disturbing world where all colors and forms have been negated for no appa ­ rent reason. Again, in the Tran ­ quillity series, the images and emotions portrayed are all so smooth and unruffled as to pro ­ voke hardly any reaction, as if one were watching a scene so com ­ pletely tranquil that it ceased to exist or to be of lasting interest. MANJULA PADMANABHAN 1 § i I i \'td; *¦* J In memoriam Las' I Dinshah "Danny” Mody driver was said to have absconded after the mishap. Dinshah graduated from Doon School in Dehra Dun. Ife was ' T studying for a Bachelor s Degree lihisS in International Business Manage ­ ment at the American College of Switzerland in Leysin and hao returned home for the summer holidays along with his brother, who is doing his Chartered Accountancy in England. “Danny as the out-going six-footer was was described by friends zestful but sensitive young whose many interests m- It had rained all night and into 1 Minoo B. Desai his anthology of poems entitled Government for bis the morning, the day of Dinshah Kali Mody ’s funeral. But the size- able gathering that did manage to traverse the flood-bound roads of Bombay, witnessed the grief- wnose many im-vivov., — stricken Mody family give its painting and writing. ------- survived amongst others, bv his grandmother. Lady Jerbai, and his uncles, Piloo (the noted politician) and Rusi. Kali Mody ’s funeral. But the size- the flood-bound roads of witnessed the grief- youngest member a quiet and dignified last farewell. The tall, nineteen year-old grand ­ son of the late Sir Homi Mody lost his life in a tragic car accident on July 8 near the town of Bulsar. The family had gone to the Zoroastrian Mecca, Udwada, to offer prayers and thanksgiving and were en route from Navsari to Devka on that Tuesday morning Parsi in two cars when a speeding truck on May 25. modest came careening towards them from Mmoobhai as th S”op“^tion. Kali Mody, and inttoverted Who was driving the first car in known to all the Samacnor which were seated his American ployees, guided the course 01 tn S Nina and two friends, oldest daily newspaper in In^a swenred instantaneously and mis- for fourteen years, uri g <;ed beina hit. The truck driver the circulation rose from 4o,uw then reportedly applied his brakes 130,0(^; A on raiidne the vehicle to spin and sionist , he tocusea more collide^ against the second car, organization and tes killing three of its occupants on investigative the spot and seriously injuring the Jehanbaksh Daruwala,_the Sat^ fourth. Among the victims in the ch^'s imw e------ - car were two drivers, A. T. Jagtap and Raju Ramswamy both of for his anthology 01 poems, Bapu and won recognition from the Gujarat Government for his Vidyarthi Natika. The hterary section he mtroduced 11^ the Samachar provided : " "" much fresh talent in .Gujarati. He also wrote 1 Dastur Burjorji awaiting publication. Born in a literary family m a forum for ivte the biography of Jamshedji Kukadaru apd Bharucha —which i- IS ' Navsari, Desai ’s childho(^ ^teacher was the noted Jehangir Desai. Feroza Paymaster Minoo Burjorji Dwai, 56, scholar-poet firtri Hinoranlier* of cancer in tne trie aiitno _ — Parsi cLeml Hospital, Bombay After graduating J’ Madressa, Desai embarked on his Died : the came careening towaius incui xivir* ? . 4r.nmalisit the opposite direction. Kali Mody, and wKn was drivine the first car in known to all the Samaci^ ployees, guided the course of the zz~. He served a the Gujarati daily, editor. Desai com ­ missioned several new columns and features such as Fora Furt- whom were reportedly seated in “th S front. Dinshah-s .older . brother, whtch an and Jains. Though avoiding con- the troversies that may bave off^dea state- Jamshed, sustained multiple frac^ tures and was raced in amb ulance —acquired with help of some Bulsar residents — to the Breach C—¦’7 where he was reported to be pro- gresting well. According to reports, seVei^ ti^veliers in the truck were serioti^y injured. The truck Government s and Jains. Though avoiding con^ jisar the sensibilities of his readers, he Candy Hospital Published Shiayax VakilVstet^ - - ment on the plight of the Towers of Silence. tt • Desai was awarded the Union “Rashtriya Award ’ joumalistic career, short stint on the Janmabhoomi in 1942 and then joined The Mumbai Vartman. He was active in the freedom move ­ ment and through it met Jehanpr Sanjana and Burjorji Bha^cha, both of whom, according to Dare- wala, did a lot to stimulate his interest in Gujarati literature. Im 1944 he signed on as a columnist with the Kaiser-e-Hind Weekly and in 1948 the Samachar asked him to write their Parsi column. When in 1961 the paper ’s e^tor of 40 years, Sohrabji Kapadia diw, the Cama family, which owns me Samachar, appointed Desai in his place. . . - A religious man who visited the Banaji Agiary almost daily, Desai was drawn towards mysticism. After recovering from an opera ­ tion, he visited Shirdi to pay jus respects at the shrine of Sai Bab^ says Daruwala. He consideredKamu Baba of Jogeshwari his “spiritual guru ”. Desai introduced the column Bhajanavali in the Samachar, where the precepts of various gurus along with detailed explanations are given. He was interested in the philosophy of the Parsi mystic teachers, but maintained he would only publish their extracts if they were rewrit ­ ten in a language the paper ’s readers would understand. On account of his shyness, Desai often hesitated meeting people he did not know. He may not have been at his most effective on radio or television, recalled Daruwala, because his natural element was the written word. But one of his favourite pastimes i a On every I a I a mandali (circle) where they recited their poems. Desai ’s goal was to preserve the beauty and clarity of the Gujarati language which had always been the intention of the Samachar's founder, Faredoonji Murzbanji. To the end Desai retained his dedica ­ tion to the paper and attended office soon after his last operation. He faced death as he had faced life, said Daruwala, “with unmoved faith ”. He leaves behind his mother, Jaijeemai, wife, Mani, and son, Berjis. was discussing literature with fellow poet or writer. C Poomima (full moon) he and small clique of poets held Ratans/iu M. Chamarbaugwala try. In 1948, the Bombay govern ­ ment passed the Lotteries and Prize Competition Control and Tax Act forbidding all such com ­ petitions. Chamarbaugwala once again went to court. This time the case dragged on for ten years and created a land ­ mark in legal history. At length the Supreme Court ruled in 1957, that all prize competitions amount to “gambling ”. This forced the closure of die entire Bangalore concern and Chamarbaugwala re ­ turned to Bombay to start life anew and to found the R.M.D.C. press. An extrovert who abhorred lone ­ liness, Chamarbaugwala ’s abiding interest in life was his work, followed by his love of animals, particularly horses and dogs. In his youth he was a fine horseman. His charitable nature brought him into close association with the B. D. Petit Parsi General Hospital. Besides printing the Bom in Poona, Chamarbaugwala annual reports, jubilee numbers, studied at St. Vincent High and programmes for its charity School there. After completing shows free, he was a member of his studies, he worked with his both the Managing Committee and father Merwanji, a leading liquor the Executive Committee of the was a staunch Zoroastrian whose views were “practical rather than orthodox, ” said his son. Ruzbeh Antia Died : Ratansha Merwanji Chamar- baugwala, 63. founder of the popular, all-India R.M.D.C. Cross ­ words that were finally banned after several, historic and lengthy lawsuits; of cancer in the Parsi General Hospital, Bombay on May 1, 1975. A fighter to the end, Chamar ­ baugwala “always fought for what he considered right ”, said his son Merwan, recalling his father ’s tenacity not only in dealing with the courts, but life in general. After the closure of the cross ­ words in 1957, he started the R.M.D.C. press with four or five workers and built it up into an organization employing over 300 people. The press has won several awards for excellence in printing from the Government of India and has printed literature free of cost for many Parsi institutions and religious causes. and toddy merchant of Bombay. Hospital. He He soon left to become the joint ” founder of the Indian Express group of newspapers, along with said his son. “The first day of Mr. J. N. Hamilton, Rusi Karanjia January always found him at and others. With the coming of Udvada Atashbehram at six o ’clock independence, the ownership of in the morning, where the first The Morning Standard and The Sunday Standard changed hands, and Chamarbaugwala became the sole concessioner for the Little ­ woods Football Pool in India and Bombay he often pointed books on Burma. When the licence per ­ mitting him to run this pool was not renewed in 1947, Chamar ­ baugwala appealed to the Bombay spread what he believed to be the High Court. His plea was upheld, but the Bombay Government appealed to the Supreme Court, where Chamarbaugwala lost the ters, Ms Amy Damania, and case. - - - - Faced with the Supreme Court verdict, he migrated to Bangalore in 1947. His son Merwan recalls that Bangalore was at that time “a _______________ ___ _________ poverty-stricken city, and un- head priest of the Wadiaji Atash employment was rife ”. J “ " ' ' ' ----- - his sports weekly. Sporting Star, Chamarbaugwala gave employ ­ ment to about five to six hundred ____ ____ ______ families. This weekly carried the Bombay on April 18. R.M.D.C. Crossword, which soon became popular all over the coun- group of newspapers, along with and others. With the coming of Udvada Atashbehram at six o ’clock maachhi of the year was my father ’s ”. Chamarbaugwala was also a trustee of the Bangalore Parsi Anjuman. At his press in the teachings of Zoroaster, writ ­ ten by leading authorities, and circulated them free in order to true essence of Zoroastrianism. He leaves behind his wife. Perin, his son, Merwan, and his daugh- Ms Maneck Gagrat. R. A. Died: Dasturji KaScashroo Mahiyar Kutar, 87, head priest of the Rustam Faram Agiary and former Through Behram where his financial difficul ­ ties became the subject of a public controversy; of uremia at the B. D. Petit Parsi General Hospital in “Dastur Kutar was a leading religious scholar, an authority on 42j i I though a staunch defender of the rights and titles of the Navsari Bhagarsath Anjuman he was at the same .time instrumental in bringing about a compromise between the two rival sects of Navsari priests, the Bhagarsath and the Minocber- I homji. Besides helping to found several schools and colleges in that I city, he was also co-principal and I co-founder of the Bombay Masters I Tutorial School upto 1948 when he ’ was compelled to sell his share due I to pecuniary difficulties. It was the same year that he be­ came the focus of a controversy which eventually led to his relinqui ­ shing his gadi as the head priest of the Wadia^'i Atash Behram. He was alleged to have borrowed heavily for speculation and gambling pur ­ poses from Marwari moneylenders who subsequently filed an appli ­ cation of insolvency against him. Despite these setbacks, Kutar re ­ mained devoted to the priesthood all his life. An orthodox when it came to the issues of marriages outside the com ­ munity and dokhmanashini, “he was fairly liberal minded in other matters ”, says his daughter. His advice on religious issues was wide- Dastur K. M. Kutar the Persian language and the Shahnama, extremely well-versed in Parsi history and religious tradi ­ tions, a good writer and an impres ­ sive and incomparable orator, ” notes the condolence resolution passed by the Zarthosti Jashan Committee of which Kutar was the former vice-president as well as its chief religious instructor for almost 54 years. In this capacity he dedi­ cate much of his time instructing children on the religion and taught in 20 Parsi schools in Bombay, until he retired, at the age of 85. He also played a leading role in the ,, formation of the Bombay Athoman JX . __ hie riAoth hA rAr'Aivpzl a IftTTftr Mandal as its Honorary Secretary, President and served as the Gene ­ ral Secretary of the Bhagarsath Committee of Navsari. Kutar ’s association with Navsari goes back to his birth there in 1888. The son of the late Dastur Mahi- yar well-known for his pioneering translations and readings of the Shahnama. Kutar passed his Matric examinations from Bombay ’s Sir J. J. School and in college won the University Scholarship and Pesho- tan Sanjana Gold Medal for stand ­ ing first in Avesta-Pahlavi in the B.A. examination. A student of St. Xavier ’s College, he completed his M.A. with History and Econo ­ mics in 1915. His professional life gave Kutar his death he received a letter asking him to resolve a dispute in some agiary outside Bombay. Neither were his religious duties forgotten. “Even during the last few months when arthritis confined him to his bed, he continued to teach the tenets of the religion to the child ­ ren of the Dadar Parsi Colony, ” his daughter noted. For six months Kutar bore his illness at home bedridden before being moved to the hospital finally. He leaves behind his wife Alamai, his son Faredoon. and his daughter Thrity. R. A. Undevia {Continued from page 19) the opportunity to exercise his gift toured centres engaged in human for oratory, and he gave innumer- population genetics in the United able lectures all over the country States and United Kingdom. His and was also invited to Iran to projects have included extensive speak. His daughter, Ms Thrity surveys of the major communities Panthaky, notes. “He read exten- and tribes inhabiting the West sively on Parsi history, religion and Coast of India, of which the Parsis mythology. He also wrote a lot, ” formed a focal point of interest, many articles having been published In addition he has authored and in the Jam-e-Jamshed and other co-authored twelve publications Parsi journals. He did not forget dealing mostly with treatises on his native Navsari, however, and blood-systems. population genetics in the United BOYS’ TOWN Public school, Nasik 2 CHOICE SCHOOLING FOR YOUR SON Recognised as a Public School by Department of Education —-for Merit Scholars. Excellent » Climate —All-round Edu- cation : Indian AU Academic Subjects — Technical Subjects : Radio and Wood-Work Tech­ nology, Farming —Training in Self-Government through Elected Boys’ Office-bearers, Games— Physical Training —Daily Assembly with Congre­ gational Prayers—Weekly intensive Geeta—Koran Excellent Modem Kitchen and Dining Room facilities —Airy Dormitories. Mode­ rate Fees. Concessions to Deserving Students. Zoroastrian— classes— APPLY TO PRINCIPAL FOR ADMISSION 43Is on sale at : and Faredoon and Burjor Sandalwood Shop, Prin­ cess Street. Karani Booksellers, Sir P. Mehta Road. K. Bomanji and Sons Sandalwood Shop next to Dadyseth Agiary, Flora Fountain. Nalanda Book Shop, Taj Mahal Hotel, Sahib Singh and Sons Chemists, Veer Nariman Road. Warden Road Bookshop next to Touche, Manneys Booksellers* Poona And at other stalls and bookshops Bombay throughout Or write to Parsiana, Post Box 892, G.P.O.. Bombay 400 001. Subscription Rs. 30 for 12 issues Foreign : Seamail : Rs. 36, $7 or £3.50 Airmail: U.K. £4.50 (Rs. 80), U.S.A. $13 (Rs. 100) Forum {continued from page 11) His general knowledge should be of a very high order. He should have a working knowledge of Avesta, Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian, and should have made a deep, comparative study of the major religions and philosophies of the world. He should be able to distinguish the essential teachings of Mazdayasna from conventional rites, rituals and ceremonies, which are bound to vary from time to time and clime to clime. He should be an international figure, and spare no effort to spread the message of Mazdayasna to the four corners of this Earth. He must, therefore, be a very im ­ pressive, entertaining speaker and writer. Last but not least, he should not be afraid to speak the truth and to act according to the dictates of his conscience, irrespec ­ tive of whom it pleases or dis ­ pleases. B. S. SURTI Secunderabad Oomph {continued from page 25) behave as though they are watch- ing some drama. In Bombay they plenty of good in our ideology make you run, making noises and ......................... -- booing. Each show lasts for around two or three days, like similar competitions Un ­ like similar competitions for women which are judged just for beauty, we have to show every muscle. We have to train much more in order to look good. The judges don ’t look at just one part of the body but for symmetry — you lose marks for lopsided development. First there is the pre-judging and then they put you before the audience. There ’s only a stage with a light above and you pose wearing your chads. At the end there are some parties and then you go home. ” Race {continuedfrom page 37) the side of good sense and morality. Secondly, it would shift communal attention to the real factors which unite us as Parsis, our ideas and ideals. We serve notice, in effect, that the Parsi community will sur ­ vive not by mere biological pro ­ creation, but by ideological affilia ­ tion. I do not have to point out the significance of this for our rapidly declining Parsi population. Thirdly, we will be making a positive contribution to the solida ­ rity of certain Parsi families. I am thinking now of the increasing number of Parsi men and women, particularly in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, who marry non-Parsis. If we cease thinking of ourselves as a race, particularly a “pure ” race, we allow no room for anyone to think of those spouses as second-rate. The community would recognise no division in the family, and the family would feel none. And the couple who might otherwise have been hurt, alienated apd lost to the community might retain an attach ­ ment to it, and be more interested in raising their children in the Zoroastrian faith. That there is such an interest is evident, for ex­ ample, from a newsletter circulated in this country, in which two such navjotes were reported. This too has tremendous significance for our declining population. To conclude, let no map fear that the loss of “pure race ” notions might destroy pride of membership in our community. I have full con ­ fidence that modem, educated Parsis do not need the support of ego-satisfying myths to sustain their pride of membership. There is which will shine all the more brightly when the tarnish of false notions from a bygone era is re ­ moved. Warden is good For sandalwood Head Office ! i378 Grant Road Bombay 400 007 and Branches Tel. 371464 J Quality sandalwood Aggarbatties, gum benzoin (loban) and other Perfumes •S*.' /» K I si Published and edited bv lehAnmr P Pattti at T \AQTa onA vi«»«nfAz4 !,»»*•