Mar 1988

f 1 I-; ,’-v ?, k'l ( r- 13^*- 'i i^' I •< f . V I' t r r^ ' • * * « t ti it 1 ¦J 4 .i-wi *1 t, ¦ •^-*«««-*pi^« iBai ' • • -y * 1 <)» **•' -^, --* Z'~ ~; ' ....... .. ‘ iirtk^ • - -._«. -rt. L .', ^sb ^h "h' '.‘^ »F^4* f *¦* P B 'j ¦ ? 4 A s' f'". ¦a. Fl *x' '*5 8_if ^Xf' i '< 1* 'I . i?. • '» ? L s If !< { If-^ fey 4 ¦i •4, IS l^hram :-3&i1 i: March 1988 Volume 10 Number 9 )¦ r Z' EDITOR Jehangir Patel MANAGING EDITOR Arnavaz Mama EXECUTIVE EDITOR Parinaz Toddywalla DESIGN CONSULTANT Mini Boatwala DESIGN ASSISTANTS Kranti Shilotri, Varghese Fernandez, Deborah Fernandes MARKETING DIRECTOR Veera Patel ADVERTISING MANAGER Zarin Mistry ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE Cheryl D'Penha CHIEF EXECUTIVE Rustom Thanavala FINANCE B.L. Arora CIRCULATION Behram Umrigar MANAGEMENT Minoo Patel, Jasmine Driver, Khurshid Daruwalla, Rohinton Daroga OFFICE Rajendra Nayak, Khurshid Panthaki, Patricia Lewis, Rajalakshmi Iyer, Bakhtavar Batliwala 2 Editorial Viewpoint: The Unworthy Israps 5 Readers' Forum 9 Events and Personalities 13 Zoroastrians Abroad 17 BPP: Spreading the word by Parinaz Toddywalla 25 The WZO Youth Conference by Arnavaz Mama 34 A tale of two fires by Homi Rogers 47 Calcutta Agiary: "The pillar of our existence 51 The Agiary at Godrej Baug 64 The chalk that cheers 1 71 Dr Patel and Mister Behram by Geeta Doctor 77 A spurt of sports by Niloofer Madon 82 Recipes: Navroze Mubarak Sarosh by Bhicoo Manekshaw 85 Plans for survival by Homi Minocher-Homji 89 Books 98 Milestones Cover transparency by Homyar Mistry, Homz Prints i Parsiana is published by Jehangir R. Patel for Parsiana Publications Pvt Ltd at C/o H.L. Rochat, Navsari Chambers, ground floor, 39 A.K. Nayak Marg, Fort, Bombay 400001 and printed by him at Parsiana Publications, 300 Perin Nariman Street, Bombay 400001 and phototypeset at Ace, Bombay 400001. All rights reserved. Phone: 2048730 Annual inland subscription : Rs 50 for one year (12 issues); Rs 90 for two years (24 issues). Foreign subscription rates: Seamail Rs 100 for one year, Rs 180 for two years; Air mail Rs 250 for one year, Rs 475 for two years. For US cheques add $ 5 to cover bank charges. For Indian upcountry cheques add Rs 4 for bank charges. Cheques and drafts to be drawn in favor of Parsiana and posted to GPO Box 892, Bombay 400001 or C/o H.L. Rochat, Navsari Chambers, ground floor, 39 A.K. Nayak Marg, Fort Bombay 400001.EDITORIAL VIEWPOINT about ! ctap inc he article Parsiana carried in the August 1987 issue ti­ tled “The Last Israp,’’ raised a lot of interest in the community about the Israps. The author of the piece, Rig- nahej Letap, was in Bombay recently to research the habits and cusl!>ni< of the now extinct Israps. Parsiana at his hotel room and interviewed him on his forthcoming book, Israp Cus­ toms: The Path to Extinction (published by Patel Publishers, London, Pp 420, £40). Parsiana: What aroused your interest in Israp studies? Many people consider it a waste of time to study a species that wasn’t even fit enough to survive. Letap: On the contrary, we can learn a lot from the mistakes of others. My interest in the Israps is not purely academic. The United Nations is keen to know why some communities thrive and flourish and others die out. They want to see if there is a formula for success and a formula for failure. Parsiana: Well, is there? Letap: The formula for success we still have to find, but the Israps may pro­ vide the formula for failure. Parsiana: How is that? Letap: You see, the behavior of the Israps followed fixed patterns. Every time the Israps were faced with a cri­ sis, every time the reality of extinction dawned upon them, they respond - ed in such a way as to ensure their doom. Parsiana: You mean they could not see solutions, only the problems? Letap: Yes; and what they mistook to be solutions only aggravated the prob­ lems. Parsiana;’They sound like a real bunch of losers. Can you cite some examples of their perversity? Letap: My book is full of them. But I would prefer not to call it perversity, it’s more tragedy. Here was a people who had everything - wealth, housing (they were very particular about con- y The Unworthy Israps I The f UNITED NATIONS 2 Parsiana March 1938I 0^ WllH AF01.06(£^TO structing houses),places of worship (more than they required) .education^ The best lawyers,doctors,engineers,* accountants were Israps. They rose to the top in the armed forces and yet, for all their wealth and abilities, they failed in the most basic requirement: survival. Parsiana: Amazing, especially when you consider that even rats and cock­ roaches survive without even trying. Letap: True, but an unfair compari­ son; cockroaches are the longest survi- J, ving species.They even beat the dino-^t saurs and will probably outlive the human race. But now that you men- tion cockroaches, it is interesting to know what causes them to survive: their requirements are minimal, they are very adaptable to their surround­ ings - they have developed immunity to most of our pesticides-and they multiply at the drop of a hat. Parsiana: And the Israps... Letap: The Israps were very particular ab(^ut everything - who they married, . where they stayed, how many children they had, what they ate. Parsiana: What ’s wrong with that? Many of us are particular about these things - we don’t want to live like cockroaches - but we’re not about to become extinct. Letap: Well the Israps went to ex­ tremes. An Israp would only marry an Israp and only the children of Israp pa­ rents were considered Israps. Every time the Israps were faced with the reality of extinction, they responded in such a way as to ensure their doom Parsiana: It sounds like some exclusive private club. Letap: Yes, except that private clubs normally have long waiting lists of people wanting to become members; hardly anybody wanted to become an Israp. Parsiana: Well, a club offers many facilities to attract members. Letap: The Israps had nothing to offer converts. Their places of worship were I dilapidated, the floors would not be ’ swabbed for days on end, there would ik be dust on the benches; thefts used to I take place in them and much of the V silverware that one used to associate \ with Israp ceremonies was stolen. f Their most sacred city, Adawdu, be- I came a city of alms seekers - from the y elderly priests to the suppliers of reli- f gious offerings - and many of the Israp j worshippers who went there would ' drink illicit brew from the touts in the area, and gamble and swear at one another in jest. Parsiana: It’s beginning to sound like the fall of the Roman Empire. Letap: Not really. The Romans be­ came indolent, debaucherous, lazy, k They made their slaves do all the work and they forgot how to fight. Some of the Israps were hard workers and nearly all of them were great fighters. • •* But they fought each other and not the enemy, and that was their undoing. Parsiana: Who was their enemy? Letap: The times in which they lived. You see, the Israps could not adapt. Their thinking became so rigid, they could not distinguish between Israp, the people and Israpism, the religion. They said Israp is Israpism and so the world lost out on Israpism, which was one of the greatest living religions and has now joined the list of innumerable defunct religions. Parsiana: That ’s sad. I remember reading about Israpism in my school history book. It said, the Israps be­ lieved in speaking, thinking and doing right. Letap: Yes, but finally they did wrong. People who cannot sustain their reli­ gion, their beliefs and customs are fai­ lures. History will judge the Israps harshly. It will say the Israps were not worthy of Israpism. 3 Parsiana March 1988In Memoriam Mr Fali Meherji Variava Director BLAZE ADVERTISING PVT LTD AND ASSOCIATE COMPANIES IREADERS’ FORUM I I 0S H* t»t n , I •. I K , I »»»?»»*».O.U-OT itt*****>• >( sH ......... * therein. WZO’s funds have always been used for the promotion and fulfil­ ment of its objects. s.f. captain >> 11 *l . I J ;mr. I’ II i Mi ttliltiitl, g However there seems to be much derision cast on ‘Dasturji’ Aibara who is supposed to be “in touch ” with Kookadaru saheb and the manthras (incantations) cum holy water he hands out to the troubled members of but was expressed by the delegates at the our community. From downright de­ Federation meeting - Editor nunciation through a humorous acceptance to a perfect faith in his powers, Dasturji Aibara has seen it Ervad Darius Sethna cites the work of all! What is sinful (or dhong - farce) demographer Dr (Ms) Chatterji about Kookadaru saheb telling Das- (“Effects of intermarriage,” Parsiana, • * • ¦ * “ November 1987) who found that in USA, five percent of Zoroastrian men and 11 percent of the women marry outside the community. The demog- rapHer concludes that the only single appointed time? Haven’t we been factor that can destroy or diminish the Zoroastrian people is intermarriage. With so many dar-e-mehers coming Joint Honorary Secretary, WZO London, UK The Statement was not made by Parsiana ?* i| Si “Effects of intermarriage 1 - Editor nunciation through turji Aibara about “completing my work?” Don’t we believe in the im­ mortality of the soul? Does not surviv­ al of the spirit take place after shaking off the old and infirm cage at the taught to believe that after four days the soul leaves the earth and goes to reside in those planes best suited for its up, thanks to the philanthropic munifi- temperament and progress? Spirits of cence ----- and the associations of the USA, Canada, UK and Australia, I have a separated, feeling that our microscopic commun- < of the late Arbab Rustam Guiv those who are linked with us with the magnetic power of love can never be 2____ ¦ - Only those who delve into the occult ity is striving hard for the propagation with idle curiosity and to accomplish of the community abroad. Sethna suggests that the increase in black magic siddhis (powers) are the ones who ultimately suffer the agonies of such a foolish adventure. But to the Readers' views are welcome on any subject of interest to the community intercommunity marriages is due to and should be sent to the Editor, Read- < ' ’ ers' Forum, Parsiana, G.P.O.Box 892, crossbreeding. But it could also be due I . ¦ ¦ ; _ ___________ ________ ~ editing for reasons of space and clarity, or help in finding partners, or it may temporary separation of death and be that the persons fall victim to cir- flourishes in the Beyond till such time as cumstance. Apart from inculcating is the will and the acceptance of His faith in our caste and creed, the com- Holy Power! Why say that Dasturji Aibara accepts what Kookadaru saheb says as ing 7“ThT¥ed7ratTon^ equal straying into other faiths. By such re- gospel truth and forgets that the power - -- • ’—' - ------- - '-----*'1'' comes from Zarathushtra paigambar? _ __ _____, Zarathushtra was a messenger of the the ^Federation the Wadias and the like, back into the Holy Spirit (God); so were Moham ­ med, Jesus, Buddha and many others who were all channels through whom the power of the Almighty flowed to some parents who are champions of spirit who was once a beloved child, _____________ Z ‘ : parent, friend - there can never be any Bombay 400 001. Letters are subject to jq insufficieiTt parental influence and/ separation.The relationship survives the ............ '----------------¦ • .. r -I _ .1- flourishes in the Beyond till such time as “The Federation debates... I have read with interest the details of munity may also consider accepting the discussions at the Federation meet- children of Parsi fathers who erred in rights, ” Parsiana, November 1987) forms we may at least be able to re- and in particular the write-up concern- trieve such people as Rajiv Gandhi, ing the discussion on 7--—1— 2— ' * ’' " ' ' joining the World Zoroastrian Orga- Zoroastrian fold, nisation (WZO), London. For obvious reasons I cannot com- . - ment on various points raised in the That the marghi-na-farcha and pulao rejuvenate the flagging spirits of the discussions but I would like to correct t------ --- -— --------— - , - . ’ ’ - ” ¦ • - - of hope, love and acceptance of His meeting which has resulted in your temple at Sanjan proved insufficient for holy will. Under the right circumst- ------- ¦ ... .---------- ances we all have the capacity to be these very same channels if we decide Dr P.D. SUNAVALA “Kookadaru: the man... >> discussions but I would like to correct served at the foundation stone laying earthly ones, to give them a message • the wrong impression created at the ceremony of the Dastur K^kad^ fire- 1 ¦ V VB ** --------- - \/» printing “The '^7.0 was also expec- the khaanaars-pinaars (gourmands) of ted...to utilize the available funds sole- the community (“The Sanj^ Odyssey,” . . ... ly for the promotion and fulfilment of Parsiana, December 1987), made good to purify our lives by loving our fellow its objects and not to sponsor air pas- light reading. The caustic comments of human beings irrespective of caste or sage and hotel costs of the members of our revered elders on this incident (Das- community. the managing committee.” The latter turji Kookadaru being a strict vegetarian, Dasturji Aibara...is a true messen- half of the foregoing statement is total- etc) were also noted (“Kookadaru: the ger of God. He not only believes in the ly uncalled for and I categorically re­ the managing committee.” The latter turji Kookadaru being a strict vegetarian. ¦ “ " . man and the myth, ” Parsiana, December power of Dasturji Kookadaru but also fute the implied suggestion contained 1987). accepts that the power does indeed 5 Parsiana March 1988 Itfti' come from Ahura Mazda Himself! He times?” Only one question is asked. When they try to make it a point to has never taken any bribe or cash for “Did you try to do good to at least one drag the entire load of North Amer- ’ inan being wluislyvuwi^iv or. earth, ican Zarthustee community, I say such did you just accept everything for schizophrenic snafu needs a stamping from Ahura Mazda Himself! He times?” Only one question is asked (. his services to those who have no- human being whilst you were on earth, where else to go. When a human being or \ touches a bottomless well of despair, yourself, without one thought for your Dasturji hands out powerful manthras brother? ” How we answer that ques- foot. PHIROZ D. DOTIWALA Houston, USA ( and holy water. Maybe it does not tion is what our sojourn on earth is all Rahro# nilffrim abode work (it did not in my case), but that ’s about! msGooloor.mehta nvipiig not because such a happening is false, but because that was not the will of God. Yet I believe that some sort of a psychic strength does come t_ ------- , . - . us to bear the tragedy for which we are “why the Zoroastrian settled m Amer- destined. Let us not condemn these “chan ­ nels” of the Holy Spirit of God as charlatans and rogues. No doubt we have a lot of them doing more harm cause of his ignorance than good. But there are one or 1 ' really great souls who by their siddhis religion and established codes of con- help suffering humanity, at least to duct, hope, to accept and to resign ourselves I „ to say “not mine. Lord, but Thy will will, freedom of choice, these extrem- be done ” nnnde.r that America. Let us all try to be good decent hu- < „ man beings first and true Zoroastrians tan countries harboring blacks, Ko- afterwards. There is no Parsi or Hindu reans, Chinese, Hindus, Muslims. l.» X UUllll * -- - ---- X body, all are accommodated according contaminated junkies - a conglomera- " ds). Nv viiv aoks, tion of confusion and complications. Is sudreh-kusti? Did this the legacy of their freedom of choice which they want to infuse into our generations, present and future? man 1 L .. We are happy to inform you that the “Narrating home truths Free Food Service Charitable Trust In “Narrating home truths ” (Parsiana, has been donated a plot of land to con- ¦ - struct a Bahrot Cave Pilgrim Abode __ __ _____ ____ for historical and educational pur- ica thinks and behaves differently from poses. The Trust intends to provide his brethren in India.” It is not because of his exposure to the libera’ or scientific climate but be- and lack of to enable July 1987), Homi Rogers inquires free accommodation to pilgrims so that the middle-class and poor Parsis can also benefit. performed a jashan cere- two knowledge of our sublime Zarthustee mony on the site. The land has already I- been converted from agricultural to non-agricultural use and completely In extending their so-called free fenced on all sides. The tube well bor- ¦ ing has also been done successfully. Our ancestors had preserved our ists do not ponder that America ISIS GO noi poilUCl LUdL v Canada, England, etc. are cosmopoli- holy Iranshah fire at the Bahrot Cave , ’ _ 1 1 Mr 19 Inno vAar« TnHflv Zoroastrians 1 for 12 long years. Today Zoroastrians erwards. There IS no Farsi or Hinou reans, eninesc, nmuus, ye eager to visit the Bahrot Cave but, Muslim heaven. When we leave the murderers, rapists, sex maniacs, AIDS due to lyk of accommodation and - ¦ ’ - other facilities, are unable to do so. N.S. ENGINEER Active Trustee Free Food Service Charitable Trust Edited by Arnavaz S. Mama to their karni (deeds). No one a^s. “Did you wear a s,--------------- — you pray five times a day? Did you recite the Gayatri manthra 100 With Best Compliments From DUBASH FRERES & CO Exporters, Importers, Agents & Manufacturers of Machine-Made Precision Neutral GLASS AMPOULES, VIALS, SUTURE TUBES, TEST TUBES, TABLET TUBES, ETC Victoria Building, Parsee Bazar Street, (S.A. Brelvi Road) Fort, Bombay 400001 Cables “DUBFRERES” Telex 11-4739 DFCO IN Phone Nos 2860069 2860130 6 Parsiana March 1988 .4. •>5 Events and Personalities Committee was due to be elected, pre­ ferably within three months. Justice Desai, admitting the appeal. ble Savari, on March 4, 1988, the re­ lease further adds. The building will comprise of 16 flats of two rooms and a kitchen, approximately Elections appeal admitted The possibility of holding the overdue Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) Anju- instructed the Punchayet's attorneys to man Committee elections received apply for directions to the High Court each admeasuring another setback when an appeal bench in light of the impending election. of the Bombay High Court admitted a The uncertainty over the date of petition challenging the revised elec- holding the elections and the general J 500 square feet. Kudos for Karanjia’s pen tion scheme o^ered by Justice H. voter apathy have resulted in only “If a pen must write and if a broom Suresh in February last year. 1,800 of the 19,000 or so revamped vo- must sweep, it must itself be free from Judges S.K. Desai and S.P. Kurdukar ter certificates being collected from all impurities. If the Press is to clean admitted the appeal by donor voter the BPP despite their efforts in setting public life, it must itself be clean,” said Jehangir Bamji and three others on up centers in the various Parsi colonies the President of India, R. Venkatara- March 21, Jamshedi Navroze. to distribute the forms. man, whilst speaking at a function held Bamji’s appeal has been pending at „ „ , , on February 25, 1988 to felicitate Blitz the court since August last when H. nOmC lOF mODCQS Editor, Russy Khurshed Karanjia, on Suresh refused the plea to revise his Starting construction this March, the the occasion of his completing 50 years order. The Punchayet, meanwhile, building at Godrej Baug which will in the field of journalism and 75 years was readying for the election under the house full-time mobeds will be ready of age. new scheme, in case the appeal is not for occupancy in one and a half years. The gathering at the Birla Matushri admitted by the court: on three pre- notes a press release signed by Kersi Sabhaghar included personalities like vious occasions the appeal benches, Gazdar, joint honorary secretary of Sharad Pawar, chairman of the Karan- each comprising one Parsi judge, had the Committee for Economic Reviv- jia felicitation comniittee, Maharash- refused to hear the petition. At the last al’s II----- 3. *' ‘ '' " press conference on January 30, 1988 (CER-HOME). the Punchayet had ihformed that the trustees, by a majority vote of four to Punchayet (BPP) and chaired by char- guna, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray three, had decided to seek the court’s tered accountant Kersi Limathwalla, legal luminary Nani Palkhivala, indus- permission to postpone the elections, the CER-HOME has already collected trialist Nusli Wadia, secretary of the Bamji and the others have contested Rs 12.5 lakhs for this project. In order felicitation committee Dr Rafiq Suresh's decision to eliminate the to raise additional funds, the CER- Zakaria, as well as film personalities, right, hitherto enjoyed by all F Regis- HOME presented a Burjor Patel- notes The Afternoon Despatch and ter members (who have donated more Dinyar Contractor production, Don- Courier (ADC) of February 26, 1988. than Rs 5,()()() to BPP charities)jto vote ~ z~ directly at trusteeship elections. In an « * *** effort to make the scheme easier to administer, Suresh raised the floor donation to Rs 50,000 for a direct vot­ ing right. The present 800-strong Donor Register was to be represented • by 100 members who, together with 100 representatives of the rest of the community, would constitute the Anjuman Committee. According to the old scheme and the new scheme, the existing Anjuman Committee’s seven-year term expired on December 31, 1987 and a new to distribute the forms. Home for mobeds House-Our-Mobeds-Endeavour tra Chief Minister S.B. Chavan, Bhar- Janata Party leader A.B. Appointed by the Bombay Parsi Vajpayee, Lok Dal chief H.N. Bahu freedom,” which is India’s basic claim ZDO secretary Porus Turner spoke years.” Changes and adaptations lead to recognition. Palkhivala ’s critique of glowingly of the achievements of Dr to a collection of “elegant peignoirs, the government emerged as a jest: Govind Shankwalkar, ex dean of the alluring pyjamas, comfortable robes, “‘To make up for all the benefits I Government Dental College as “teach- embroidered nightshirts, mix‘n’match have given India,’ God said, ‘I’ll give it er par excellence.’’Another individual sets at affordable prices (Rs 60 to Rs the Indian government!”’ Though honored by the ZDO was Homi Ran- 400), utilizing foreign laces, ribbons there is no sense of identity - “patriot- deria, marketing manager of Ciba- and elastics,” as notes a press release, ism begins and ends with cricket” - Geigy, who has enthusiastically nur- continued on page 97 r I f f ii f fc Ik* 'E A I • s S'- ' ?rv ¦'* Jj •i; H- St •* ¦ '- J#" ¦tSfltfi&J ¦ ’ ¦' Sjr jMMl t„'»- -Irtt I Dover (above) visualizing new patterns (Insets) Models exhibiting her creations Photo: Phiroze Battivala into the beautiful eyes of a young lady Palkhivala was confident that “the un- tured the ZDO’s preventive dentistry Hypnotik nightwear M 4 12a Parsiana March 1988 ¦* ... -ZOROASTRIANS ABROAD (caps) and scarves at the Chicago past wounds of dead-end quarrels. We Darbe Mehr seem to be falling short of stopped the erosion in our mem- Only two offices on the board of the the demand. The ZAC newsletter bership by making our members feel Federation of Zoroastrian Associa- therefore urges members planning a good about our open-arms policy, tions of North America (FEZANA) visit to India to bring back 10 to 15 Membership climbed to 227, more will be contested at the body’s first cloth prayer caps as also to donate than double of what it was in Decem- annual general meeting scheduled for those that their children may have out- ber 1985. Our committee meetings April 1, 1988 in Toronto, notes the grown. were open to all to participate and February newsletter of the Zoroas- make suggestions for effective prog- trian Association of Metropolitan Chi- “Winter has taken its toll at the Darbe ramming and improvement of ZAC cago (ZAC). The two nominees for Mehr, ’’ states the newsletter. Janu- policies.” vice-presidency for the years 1988 to ary’s below zero temperatures caused 1991 are Homi Minocher-Homji of water filters to freeze and crack. Wa- year presidency, as stated in the letter, Toronto and Ms Kamal Tengra of ter supply could only be restored by included the emphasis on youth parti- Washington. Ms Dolly Dastoor of the bypassing the filters. Another casualty cipation that resulted in the organiza- Zoroastrian Association of Quebec was a part of the metal trim on the tional and financial success of the First and Ms Dhunmai Dalal of the Zoroas- building’s frontage which was blown North American Zoroastrian Youth trian Association of Pennsylvania and loose by a storm. Congress in September 1987 which New Jersey are contesting the office of drew 300 youths and 100 adults from secretary, for the same period. There An appeal from The Zoroastrian Reli- North America, Europe and Asia, is no contest for the other three posi- gious Trust for Udvada Mobeds has Five percent of the profits from the tions - all for the period 1988 to 1990 - reached Chicago Zoroastrians via Dr Congress have been set aside for youth of president, treasurer and assistant Rostam Sarfeh, trustee of the Arbab activities, writes Gandhi, secretary. Rohinton Rivetna, Fredy Rustam Guiv Trust Fund. With the Patel and Ms Sabar Balsara are the re- objective of improving the payment tribution of his team members, Gan- spective uncontested nominees. system of the mobeds of Udvada with- dhi is particularly pleased at the open- Although the annual general meet- out encouraging lethargy, the Trust ing of “the lines of communication ing will be a part of the program of the aims to provide subsidized food in- with our brothers and sisters of the Sixth North American Zoroastrian eluding religious preparations like Zoroastrian Center.” The rapproche- Congress, only the accredited repre- daran and chasm, hostel accommoda- ment has resulted in the ZAC being sentatives of the member associations tion, medical cover and an infrastruc- able to use the Center for its programs will participate in the deliberations, ture that will induce youngsters to take for a nominal cleaning fee. “We simp- Others may attend as observers, notes up mobedi. ly could not afford the Felicia Mahood the newsletter. Quoting information provided by Hall in West Los Angeles after they The number of votes allotted to the settlor, Ervad Paurusasp Magol, raised their rent sky high, ” admits each association depends upon its the newsletter states that despite being Gandhi. membership figures with most associa- formed after 1961, the non- p .. . , tions having two or three votes. For cosmopolitan trust is tax exempt KUWOiyCC S paCC Seller example, while Chicago holds three thanks to the expertise of legal lumin- When pioneer Hormusjee Ruttonjee votes, the California Zoroastrian Cen- ary Soli Dastur. started his own wine and spirits busi- ter and the Zoroastrian Society of • C rf • century ago in Hong Kong, he Qntario have five each. Open arms in CalllOmla could not have remotely envisaged the Roshan Motivala is the president of terraced sophistication of Ruttonjee A free seminar on finance is on the the 1988 Zoroastrian Association of Centre in Duddell Street which has cards for Chicago Zoroastrians this California (ZAC) managing commit- earned bouquets for its designers and April. Although the dates have not tee which took charge on January 9, its owners. been set, members are invited to a announces their first newsletter for the The new 28-storeyed Ruttonjee . series of four lectures dealing with year. Qther members on the board in- House and the 22-storeyed Dina analysis and trading options in stocks elude vice-president Minoo Katrack, House which comprise the Centre - to be delivered by Prof Nauzer Bal- joint secretaries Rattan Appoo and described by critic Chris Fawcett in Vi- sara, a master in business administra- Aban Commissariat, treasurer Dogdo sion magazine as “a skinny, shimmer- tion from India who earned his docto- Arjani, program chairperson Keki En- ing, sky reaching apparition” - replace rate in money and financial markets gineer and youth coordinator Hoshi two older buildings of the same name from Columbia University. Balsara is Deboo. constructed 50 years ago in memory of currently assistant professor of finance Ruttonjee and his wife Dina. Approp- at Northeastern Illinois University. FEZANA’s first election Other high spots of Gandhi ’s two- Generously applauding the con- The new 28-storeyed Ruttonjee In a valedictory letter, outgoing presi- riately, the same architectural firm of dent Keki Gandhi notes with satisfac- Palmer and Turner is responsible for With increasing attendance, topis tion, “We tried our best to heal the the old look and the new. 13 Parsiana March 1988 I Ifc L The use of gold-colored glass, framed in black, result in the struc­ tures standing out as “two, glittering mountains under the sunshine, ” notes Building Review, a professional architectural publication in Hong Kong. Extensive use of computer analysis has produced the most energy efficient design, reveals The Hong Kong Taller. The Centre ensures 24- hour security with the aid of cameras, monitor screens and computers. A network of smoke and heat detectors provide an early fire warning both at the site and at the fire station. The pace setting commercial com­ plex and shopping mall with car parks in the basement is crowned by three individual suites for Rusy Shroff, Beji Shroff and Ms Vera Ruttonjee-De- sai, the managing directors of H. Rut­ ton jee and Son Limited, who control the family businesses which include the expanding wine and spirit trade as well as real estate. Plants cover the three levels of [ podium joining the two buildings, pro­ viding a resting area for those working in the offices, notes Building Review which describes the arch shaped main entrance to the Centre in the middle of the lowest podium as reminiscent of a European opera house. “Ruttonjee Centre, as completed, would not have been possible without the enlightened attitude and support of the owners throughout the last seven years,” states the architect ’s press release of June 1986, regretting that the completion of the project meant “the end of the day-to-day col­ laboration with these patrons.” Hormusjee Ruttonjee had arrived The two towers of Ruttonjee Centre as an employee in Hong Kong in 1884 (above) with a glimpse of the main and lived alone until his wife Dina and atrium (inset) 12-year-old son Jehangir joined him in 1892 and made Hong Kong their sis. The tragedy led Jehangir to found permanent home. Although young the Ruttonjee Sanatorium now oper- Jehangir did well in school, his father ated by the Hong Kong Tuberculosis “felt that a university degree would Chest and Heart Diseases Association, not be as important as a thorough When convalescing patients relapsed training and grounding in the business because of bad living habits, Rutton- . for his son to succeed him and the jee created the Freni Memorial Con- Rawdon notes, “During the Japanese young man...started to learn the wine valescent Home in memory of his occupation many Hong Kong residents and spirit trade in the typical Parsi second daughter. His total contribu- received a whispered invitation, ‘Mr tradition - from the very bottom,” tion towards the Anti-TB Association Ruttonjee wants to see you.’ And his writes George Rawdon in ‘The Story exceeded $ 2,000,000, records Raw- first questions were, ‘How are you far- of Ruttonjees’ in The Hong Kong Tat- don. The Society for the Protection of ing? Do you need money?’ Those ' ~ , . Children, the Family Planning Asso- whom he aided were not always dis- *.............................. creet and he was arrested twice, with his son Dhun, and tortured. When he received his CBE (Cross of the British continued on page 55 ler of February 1981. Although Jehangir flourished com- elation, low cost residential housing, mercially, his three daughters prede- all had Ruttonjee’s financial and per­ ceased him, the first a prey to Hong sonal support. Kong’s number one killer - tuberculo- Recalling the spirit of the man, 15 Parsiana March 1988 Lr 4 POLITICS AND POLICY Spreading the word Parinaz Toddywalla b. r I In an endeavor to improve com­ munications with the community at large, the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) is increasing the frequency of the BPP Quarterly Review from four to six issues a year which will be circu­ lated to 18,000 members on the elec­ toral rolls. To be published in an eight to 12-page format, edited by BPP chief executive Rustom Anklesaria, the newsletter will focus on the achieve ­ ments of the BPP which are presently “understated” according to trustee Minoo Shroff. This information was conveyed at a press conference convened by the trustees, though with a break of a not proceed. The relocation of the board of trustees on January 30, 1988. year. Langrana Agiary fife was thwarted by The greater part of the two-hour pro- — ¦ ceedings was devoted to their housing viously took “five to six years” are while at the Godavara Agiary, a lady plans and the ensuing Anjuman Com- now being prepared within six months social worker’s threats to reenact a mittee elections. of the year ending, thanks to the con- Jalianwala Bagh situation has made Four of the BPP’s seven trustees - tribution of Sorab Katpitia, chief ex- the trustees defer the issue for the pre­ Dr Aspi Golwalla, Eruch Desai, Homi ecutive of the Surat Parsi Punchayet. sent, reported Golwalla. Ranina and Dr Mehroo Bengalee - Guzder, who credited Katpitia for up- have, by a majority vote, decided to dating the accounts, referred to his in- Boosting priests and nassessalars make an application to the High Court troduction of a totally new system to A bank employee in Navsari, keen to to postpone the seven-yearly Anjuman streamline the procedure, often mak- be trained as a paramobed at the Committee elections in “the interest of ing three trips a week to Bombay to hands of Dastur Meherji Meherjirana, administration and economy.” (The supervize the backlog of work. was reportedly embittered by the Anjuman Committee elects the trus- The number of nassessalars are BPP’s refusal to finance his training, tees of the BPP as and when vacancies dwindling in Bombay. To offset the Khojeste Mistree of Ushta who arise.) As the revised election scheme decline, the BPP is offering them brought up the case before the trustees handed down by Justice Suresh of the monetary incentive schemes and social wanted to know the reason for this de­ Bombay High Court is being chai- recognition. cision. lenged by members of the old F Regis- The Gibbs Road housing project, “Why should he be bitter?” quer- ter (Donors), there is uncertainty over whose ownership flats for the com- ried Anklesaria. The gentleman is only whether their petition will be admitted munity are meant to yield the neces- likely to retire from his career when he or not. sary income for the BPP to proceed comes of age. “The purpose of the pa- The ticklish question of who will with its other housing schemes, should ramobed scheme is to train people • succeed Golwalla as chairman of the be ready for occupation by end March who are willing to serve the religious BPP when his term expires in October 1988. needs of the people in smaller places 1988 surfaced at the press conference. Though traditionally the seniormost agiary as the Doongaji family which (not areas like Navsari).” trustee (in this case Eruch Desai) be- manages an agiary at Bharuch has con- comes the chairman, in 1982 Golwalla sented to shift its fire to Bombay and the paramobeds subcommittee consti- was elected to the post, even though in addition donate a corpus of four tuted by the Federation of Parsi he was the seniormost trustee, thereby lakhs of rupees towards the mainte- Zoroastrian Anjumans of India, “Our setting a precedent. Jamshed Guzder nance of the adarian. (However, a first priority is the immediate future; has, after Golwalla, served the max- subsequent letter circulated among the not five to seven years hence. And be- imum number ot years orr the hoard of Doorrga^r iarrvhy rrrerrvhers mdicates srdes, why shouldn ’t he spend on his 1 r <^/SX3i7^ Over 18,000 Bombay Parsis will be receiving newsletters from the Bombay Parsi Punchayet once every two months that the corpus is to be utilized to­ wards performance of after-death ceremonies as stipulated by the donors.) Envisaging an expenditure of 15 lakh rupees on this project, of which 10 lakhs are expected to be the contribution from the Doongaji fami­ ly, the structure will initially house one fire and the adjoining room will be set aside for religious functions. The trus­ tees were happy that this proposition has worked out especially since their earlier plans to transfer the Langrana Agiary fire and the Godavara Agiary fire from Bombay’s Fort locality could year. Finalization of accounts which pre- a ruling of the charity commissioner. The Gibbs Road housing project. Godrej Baug will soon have its own where there is a shortage of mobeds Supplemented Guzder, chairman oftraining when he must be earning well in a bank?” But Ranina felt that this might mean disservice to a man “who may retire prematurely to take up mobedi.” Said Guzder, “That is not his intention.” Countered Ranina, “That is not spelt out.” For the amelioration of the priestly class, 63 mobeds were given a monthly assistance of Rs 100 each by the BPP during 1987, states the press handout. In all, Rs 75,600 were spent towards the maintenance and amelioration of the priests. Over 12 lakh rupees have been collected through the CER- HOME (Committee for Economic Re­ vival’s House Our Mobeds En­ deavour) towards the mobeds’ housing project, and nearly three lakhs by the BPP. The dwindling ranks of the nassessa- lars whose numbers have declined from 29 to 15 has prompted the BPP to introduce monetary incentive schemes, Anklesaria furnished the de­ tails. Eight nassessalars have been in­ sured for an amount of Rs 25,000 each. Those who could not be insured due to the age factor will be given rec­ ognition in another form. The BPP will set aside Rs 2,000 per annum in their name, subject to a maximum limit. Medical aid is also offered to all nassessalars. “The diminishing numbers is going to be a problem,” said Anklesaria, “so we want to preserve their group.” The statistics as provided by him reveal that even a fresh nassessalar gets a sal­ ary of Rs 700 per month which soon increases to Rs 1,200 or even Rs 1,400. In addition, he receives tips from the bereaved families, plus “anaj (ra­ tions)” twice a year. To grant them the much wanted so­ cial recognition, the nassessalars and their families will be invited to an ex­ clusive luncheon/ dinner with the trus­ tees’ families. Informed CER’s Silloo Kavarana, “We will be inviting them to our ghambar on March 20.” monetary On the eve of elections The election scheme stipulates that a new Anjuman Committee (with a seven-year tenure) must be formed within 90 days of the expiry of the last committee. If the trustees seek a post­ ponement of the elections which are due in March, what then would hap ­ pen if there is a vacancy on the board of trustees and no Anjuman Commit- 19 Parsiana March 1988 “Lift out of order again"" “We don"t want a new lift"" **Concord services old lifts"" “Call Concord"" ours is ancient"" “Concord converts them to electronic elevators"" “Our pu^h buttons are missing"" **Concord installs vandal proof self- illuminating touch buttons"" “Our doors don"t open and close"" “Concord “We don "t can make them have a automatic"" liftman"" “Concord uses the latest technology, minimum maintenance"" **This calls for a celebration"" **Just call Concord"" CONCORD ELEVATOR Telephone 2041830 2047460 C0N CORD Maintained & Supplied by Zaina Electric & Mechanic Works Prospect Chambers Annexe, 2nd fl D.N. Road, Bombay 400001tee (of 100 General Register members and 100 Donor Register members) to elect the next trustee? This query by Fali Poncha, chairman of the CER’s managing committee, had no definite reply. Anklesaria opined that it would imply forming a new committee, what ­ ever the process adopted, or deferring the trusteeship election. Said Ranina, “We could also ask the court to extend the life of the old Committee.” Guz- der felt, “The whole thing would be simplified if the court doesn’t accept the appeal.” Of the 19,000 and odd members on the General Register, barely a 100 have collected their voting certificates. This news came as a surprise even to the trustees who agreed to reconsider their earlier refusal to set up booths at different baugs. Assuming that most would be inclined to collect their cer­ tificates in the last few days, the trus­ tees felt that the efforts involved in conveying the entire set of documents to a new destination each weekend and the fear of the “sanctity of the re­ cords” being lost, would be outset by the response received from residents of different baugs who may otherwise be unable to collect their certificates in person. While the 2,700 new entrants on the General Register may collect their certificates in due course, Poncha estimated that barely one-third of the old registrants would be interested in picking up their fresh certificates. Taking umbrage at the insinuations made in the Jam-e-Jamshed of January 24, 1988, that the CER, the BPP staff and the trustees had rigged the last anjuman committee elections in 1981, Poncha insisted on knowing whether the BPP would ask them for a suitable apology. Since this allegation had arisen from a group of youth, trustee Jamsheed Kanga, a founder member of the CER, questioned, “Is the Edi­ tor going to listen to all Parsi youth? And making such rumors public just on the eve of another election lowers the credibility of a newspaper... We shouldn ’t submit to sensationalism. If we are to blame, by all means chastise us...” Since this accusation came close on the heels of the Editor announcing that they would be improving the newspaper and carrying more inves­ tigative articles, the trustees were offended and had summoned an emergency board meeting to draft a suitable note to Jame. What was irking 21 Parsiana March 1988 » Xi x« ¦'^ s X' 2)^^ woaa Tour 1: Moscow: Leningrad: Sochi: Tashkent: Bukhara: Samarkhand: Moscow 16 May to 31 May Tour 2: Moscow: Leningrad: Tallinn: Riga: Sochi: Moscow 30 May to 14 June Tour 3: Moscow: Leningrad: Tallinn: Tbilisi: Yerevan: Yalta: Moscow 20 June to 05 July Tour 4: Moscow: Leningrad: Tallinn: Yalta: Moscow 25 July to 05 August (All departures ex-Bombay) Tour 1: Moscow: Leningrad: Smolensk: Minsk: Moscow 09 May to 21 May Tour 2: Moscow: Leningrad: Kalinin: Vladimir: Moscow 16 May to 28 May Tour 3: Moscow: Leningrad: Kharkov: Rostov-On-Don 23 May to 04 June (All departures ex-Bombay) 2)2 aoQ^pa London: Brussels: Amsterdam: The Rhineland: Mannheim: Innsbruck: Venice via The Dolomites: Assisi: Rome: Naples: Capri: Sorrento: Florence: Pisa: Monte Carlo: Nice: Grenoble: Annemasse: Geneva: Bern: Basle: Paris: London 08 May to 29 May, 22 May to 12 June, 12 June to 03 July, 26 June to 17 July, 17 July to 07 August, 14 August to 04 September, (All departures ex-Bombay] Bangkok: Patayya: Hongkong: Singapore 28 April to 08 May, 10 May to 20 May, 19 May to 29 May, 31 May to 10 June (All departures ex-Bombay) All Tours are Sublect to RBI/Govt. Approval Please Call for our brochures for full particulars ASIATIC TRAVEL SERVICE The House of Travel 12, Murzban Road, Fort, Bombay 400 001. Tel: 2048151 Gram: AIRASIA Telex: 011-3151AIRAIN G-3 Konark Apartments, 175, Dhole Patil Road, Pune 411011 Tel: 68401, 67934, 66455 Telex: 145-472 AIRAIN I I •S'k i rT N all the trustees was the absurdity of the implication that the CER and the BPP were in cahoots when it was a known fact that the majority of the trustees at the time of the last elections were anti- CER. Jehan Daruwalla, the Editor of The community?” BQtnbay Samachar, noted, “It is very unfortunate that the Press is being attacked by the Press. Despite both . working for the same cause, personal infirmaries tor rarsis attacks are not avoided...We should have character... ” ter will soon be provided at the B.D. within the commumty thatjhe^BPP Block which will be refurbished at a servations,” Poncha informed the trus- cost of Rs 30 lakhs, informed Ranina. When Kanga asked in ajl earnest­ ness, “Do you think we are an aging IJ i J Petit Parsee General Hospital’s Wadia should take up the matter of (job) re- __ - . « . « ’ll 1 . . J?___ ^4.____________________________________________________________________________________ fflA frilC- tees. In the recruitment lists of banks and insurance companies, no Parsi ______ _______________name appears as against what was it was Shroff who once considered “a Parsi citadel,” he _ continued. With the exception of some business families like the Godrejs and Guzders, even Parsi founded organiza­ tions like the Tatas don’t absorb many Parsis, it was regretted. Whether a representation should be made to Maneck Goiporia, chairman of the Central Bank of India, and the Re­ cruitment Commission in this regard answered his query, stressing on “the was being discussed when Noshir Dad- _ .l, ” ¦’______________ rawala, representing the Jam-e- To encourage Parsis who supple- Jamshed, voiced the fear of the trus- ment their income by spinning kustis, tees consciously creating a cadre of the BPP supplied packets of wooltops clerical employees which, many insist. / / The need for more is not there. It is being created 11 No place for the aged The need for more infirmaries for Par­ sis who are an increasingly aging com- . _ munity was expressed, especially since longevity of the ladies.” the BPP’s Parukh Dharamshalla on "" Hughes Road is not able to accommo­ date any more inmates. .. . According to Golwalla, “The need to 2311 persons from Bombay, Surat, is not there. It is being created,” citing Navsari, Bulsar, Broach, Udwada, the case of a family residing in an Nargol, etc. Acting as middlemen, the stead of shouldering the responsibility sold more than 700 at a subsidized rate of the aged relative was trying to take to Bombayites. the easy way out by seeking room at the Parukh Dharamshalla. Representations for reservation _ _ For the terminally ill patients, shel- “There is a very very strong feeling the community’s apex body, the BPP. date any more inmates. is not there.°It is being created,” citing Navsari, Bulsar, Broach, Udwada, affluent^"lo?ality of Bombay? which in- BPP bought over “a 1,000 kustis, and from being reserved by the govern- ...... ¦¦ ’ — ’ •ment, Poncha urged the trustees. His enquiries with the Minorities Commis­ sion indicated that the government would be willing to give a hearing to has contributed to the stagnation of the community. Prevent the community’s open lands ) 22 Parsiana March 1988 LEACH & WEBORNY Drycleaners Dyers & Carpet Cleaners¦» ¦ • «• When Desai asked, “How can the chair if the criterion of seniority is con- When Poncha suggested that the dependent) trusts?” Kanga cited the in),but by consensus.” Clarified Guz- stead of the present practice of stating case of the Muslim waqf properties, der, “There is no mandatory provision the number of trustees present, Gol- the scheme that the seniormost walla declined the move saying, “The trustees have decided not to give the names.” Punchayet interfere with separate (in- sidered, said, “The seniormost (came names of those present be indicated in- 1 1 ___ T>____________ -u,,* u,, ctporl of tFiA nrpcpnt nf StatlTlQ 1 of the Muslim waqf properties, der, “There is no mandatory provision While initially problems of encroach- in -.1----- .1—. — ment were dismissed as private dis- comes^in. The last time, I proposed the putes, subsequently the Minorities name of Dr Golwalla.” Commission instructed the district col­ lectors to treat such disputes as en­ croachment on the property of minor­ ities whose lands need to be protected. Similarly they were asked to refrain from reserving lands belonging to the minorities. Choosing the chairman The seniormost trustee on the board usually comes in as chairman of the BPP. But this year may see an unpre­ cedented situation. With Golwalla’s tenure as chairman drawing to a close in October 1988, 1 r Educate ’em, marry ’em “To streamline the process of match ­ ing and vetting of information (on the community’s eligible bachelors and spinsters) on a more scientific basis,” 477 applicants on the live register of the BPP’s matrimonial bureau were made to fill in fresh application forms. These new forms are so devised that the data therein can be interpreted by the computer. This move was possible due to the assistance rendered by for- Opined Ranina, “If there was only mer BPP trustee Naoroji Godrej, noted the press release. The matching done by the compu­ ters will be followed-up by corres­ pondence, interviews, meetings, get- ‘ ¦ - activities which _ ____ ______ ____ _________ have made possible 23 marriages and As reported in the last BPP three engagements under the aegis of continued on page 92 If the elections are postponed, what would happen if there is a vacancy on the board of trustees? ; “ ¦ " , one name, there is no question of can- Ponch^ asked in his written question- didacy. At the time of (appointing) the naire submitted to the chairman be­ fore the meeting, “What was the pro- . cess adopted in 1981 in regard to the good beginning,” but both Ranina and togethers, picnics - chairmanship of the BPP? Was the Desai responded with ‘‘Not so sure/’ ' chairman elected?” Replied Golwalla: / . ' ¦’ • “We did not follow the old method. ” Quarterly, not a single board meeting the bureau. Desai, who would be eligible to the was attended by all the seven trustees. last chairman, the 300-year-old tradi­ tion was broken.” Said Poncha, “A 1916 to 1988 ww (Z^Years of Quality & Service PARSI DAIRY FARM 261-63 Shamaldas Gandhi Marg Bombay - 400002 Tel 313633-34 I ’ 24 Parsiana March 1988I' it £ ¦ SEMINAR IliF '(^ h 5u\ a. ¦"<8 ¦ ...? 'f- I K * A * I << J wo r ri *’ **’ ^TlB I 1 I 1 !i.f5 <£ ;'d *fj ‘’h ' t I tt' l£'*i » I '¦Ji'. i’/jf ¦ *' w* £^*54* _____ _ ‘ ~ ¦ "¦ ” ’ Appropriately drawing upon the aaiLcu IV 1 analogy between religion and the statements of philosophers and states- ‘The need for religion’ and ‘Matri- chameleon which adapts its color men, noted solicitor, Rotarian and mouy auu xaumy ™ „ ovi... .........--t ’:2;> chairmM of the. WZO’s Indw Com- tific rationalist and a bachelor of long cally remains unchanged. He urged mittee Dadi Engineer sought toinstili standing, I am singularly ill-qualified the young debaters to differentiate the in the audience a respect for diffenng to speak’on these subjects.” Director essence of the religion from its outer viewpoints, the need to judge men by of Godrej Soaps, Nadir Godrej, ache- trappings so that the community can the lives they lead rather than the mical engineer by profession, was in- concentrate upon preserving the core creed they claim to follow, toappreci- augurating the youth conference orga- of the Zoroastrian faith and live in ate that it is “not the ideas discussed nized by the World 2Loroastrian Orga- accord with the WZO’s motto, but the spirit of the conference that is nisation’s (WZO) youth wing on De- ‘Zoroastrian unity worldwide.’ important.” - WZO vice-president Dadi Mistry Broaching the topic of community _______ __________________ : "Elizabeth 11 is a direct desCen- secretaryTn London, urging yOuth to dant of William the Conqueror, yet it “I am still not quite sure why I was Chester University Prof John Hinnells’ asked to inaugurate a conference on j (flM- — __ . -1 rl,x . mony and family welfare.’ As a scien- according to the environment but basi- concentrate upon preserving the core creed they claim to follow, to^appreci- of the Zoroastrian faith and live in • ..... j... j j ni^d by the World 2Loroastrian Orga- accord with the WZO’s motto, nisation’s (WZO) youth wing on De- ‘7A«««h!a« ..nitv wnddwidp ’ cember 6,1987 at the J. J. Modi Hall of the K.R. Cama Oriental Institute,, Bombay. The day-long conference, sponsored by Mazda Leasing, v«x- v«n.w .......w...... s,'---------e> •——r — r , j- . • tailed discussion to two topics, each the community. Mistry informed that have a single one of his genes. We followed by a question-ranswer session the WZO had intended to synchronize should not seek immortality in repro- and a workshop for which the 150 de- this conference with the first Zoroas- duction. But if we contribute to the legates were divided into four groups, trian youth conference held in the US in world’s culture, if we have a good Mazda Leasing director and CER September, but due to various reasons idea, invent a spark plug, write a ... ----------1-— poem, it may live on, intact. Socrates ¦Zoroastrian unity worldwide.’ WZO vice-president Dadi Mistry read a message from Shahpur Captain, survival, Godrej quoted Richard Daw- _ .. wrrr^i^ b>«Mo« ^*'C7K«7oKAfki TT ic a rlirACt /( It. < I '^71 ' a '4 "¦li). co- cur- currently the WZO’s joint honorary kins; take interest in guiding the destiny of is quite probable that she does not '4'; f i and a workshop for which the 150 de- this conference with the first Zoroas- duction. But if we contribute to the legates were divided into four groups, trian youth conference held in the US in Mazda Leasing director and CER September, but due to various reasons (Committee for Economic Revival) had to postpone it to December. managing committee member Kersi _ Limhthwalla, and Dr Burzin Khan, I Havovi Dadabhoy and Tina Rustomji, I president, vice-president and commit- I tee member of the WZO youth wing ¦ respectively, served as moderators. I Hoping that the conference would I promote friendship between the youth I as they discuss common problems, I Khan noted that “youth Was least " bothered by the rifts between the re­ formist and orthodox lobbies.” The young dental surgeon nonetheless cautioned that the controversies could | result in “alienating the young from the community.” Khan drew on Man- 1*- ;-•5- ft tr* A workshop in progress 25 Parsiana March 1988 . / . />¦! EV* L.W^' r’ t iS . 'J k I ¦./ .4- '- ¦ ' ;'«iweI . ¦' f ¦S’ 'I J may not have a gene alive today but on which it is founded will remain domi- ‘‘chayy^ hame Zarathosti (we are his ideas live on.’ If we admire our reli- nant in the hearts of its people.” Zoroastrians);’it is very difficult to sing gion, shouldn ’t we want to spread the Ervad Yezdi Panthaky, speaking on 'thaiyye hami Zarathosti (let us be- " idea? Is it really necessary that people the ‘Relevance of Zoroastrianism to come true Zoroastrians).”’ should have certain genes in order to the twentieth century,’ referred to 'Ervad Rooyintan Peer spoke about' A understand (Zoroastrianism)? pollution and stress as the evils of our Zoroastrian ethics and noted that all “It is not important that Parsi time; despite which, day to day living religions are based on morality. ,,, Zoroastrians survive. It is not impor- based on the morality of religion can Questions came in thick and fast tant that Zoroastrians should survive, bring solace and equilibrium, he said, during the question-answer session But I think it would be wonderful if It is a matter of pride, said Panthaky, which followed: the ideas of our religion, its ethics of that Zoroastrianism had accepted the Is it not enough to practice the phi- good thoughts, good words and good scientific value of the elements, was losophy without the rituals? deeds, its practical spirituality survive conscious of solar energy and the need Bapsy Darukhanawalla (BD)-. “One in some form.” to combat pollution. who does not experience the religion Coordinating the session on ‘The Solicitor and Zoroastriah Studies through rituals is not a complete need for religion,’ Dastur Navrooz member Bapsy Darukhanawalla Zoroastrian.” Minbchehr-Homji defined youth as likened the role of rituals to the prac- Dastur Minochehr-Homji (M-H) -. “Ceremonies are the embodiment of moral truths. ” nant in the hearts of its people.” Ervad Yezdi Panthaky, speaking on "thaiyye hami Zarathosti (let us be'^ should have certain genes in order to the twentieth century,’ referred to A pollution and stress as the evils of our Zoroastrian ethics and noted that all \ ' 'T? I S' “the ability to live without counting tice of using a computer, “producing years, with a fluid mind open to new certain tangible and intangible re­ theories, changing opinions, willing to suits.” Defining ritual as a reaching What is the significance and the ne- make new beginnings. One who can out of the physical through the psycho- cessity of after-death prayers beyond fulfil these conditions is a young man. logical to the spiritual world to tap la- the first four days? If not, he can be old at 25.” As to the tent energy, Darukhanawalla noted BD: “The living are stronger than the survival of Zoroastrianisni, Minochehr- that the harvest is proportional to the dead. It is necessary to give the soul Homji quoted, in analogy, Benjamin investment. support in the hereafter. ” Franklin’s reply to a query about how “Let us have a fundamental rule to Which rituals belong to the original long will the American Republic sur- read and understand our prayers for Zoroastrian preachings? vive: “The American Republic will en- five minutes a day,” suggested BD: “Zarathushtra is silent about a lot dure as long as the ideals and principles Minochehr-Homji. “It is easy to sing of things... So it does not mean we shouldn ’t do them. Rituals are an enactment of the principles given by Zarathushtra. ” Why do people die? M-H‘ . “The thing that is born, must die. It is the law of nature. What will be the state of affairs if the Ravanas / A] -.A',! ' li --^ V’ ¦Vj “1 s 71 Parsiana March 1988 ! Clockwise from below,( from left): Peer and Minochehr-Homji Mistry (at the mike), Engineer, Godrej, Khan and Dadabhoy Godrej Bharucha (at the mike), Desai, Engineer and Ranina ! I ! I '' '^' 'ir and the Zohaks don’t die?” Why was Zarathushtra not made im­ mortal? Af-///‘Then by the Law of Asha all mortals must be made immortal. The Law of Asha is supreme.” Introducing the panel in the post­ lunch session on ‘Matrimony and fami­ ly welfare’ Engineer quipped, “All of us are lawyers, all of us are married and at least three of us look it.” Speaking on the Parsi law of mar­ riage and divorce, Bombay High Court advocate Edul Bharucha de­ scribed the Parsi response to intercom­ munity marriage as “not a controversy but a battle which obscured the issue involved.” Although Ervad Rooyintan Peer had earlier noted at the workshop that no child of an intercommunity marriage could be initiated into the Zoroastrian faith, Bharucha noted that there is no legal hurdle to the nav- jote even of the child of a Zoroastrian mother and a non-Parsi father as was accepted by the Privy Council in the Bella Case. (Bella, orphan daughter of a Parsi mother and a Christian father was raised as a Zoroastrian in a Parsi household in Rangoon and her navjote performed. Community members ob­ jected to her presence in the agiary. The Privy Council accepted her initia­ tion into the faith but decreed she was not a Parsi Zoroastrian and therefore the trustees of the agiary could prevent her entering it.) Referring to other repercussions of intercommunal marriages, Bharucha said that men married outside the community have been consigned to the dokhma without controversy. Howev­ er, when a Parsi woman married to a non-Parsi desired the conventional dis­ posal in 1918, the body was placed in the chotra instead, which was also used for consigning bodies which had suffered capital punishment or dis­ ease. In 1928 Sir Dinshaw Mulla de­ creed that a female who had not re­ nounced her faith be allowed all the rights and facilities of the community • except the navj ote of her children , said Bharucha. Basing himself on “information that is fairly reliable and observations which are as objective as possible,” solicitor Bergis Desai noted, “Parsis and marriage seems incongruous.” Desai blamed the falling rates of mar­ riage and birth in the population on the lack of tolerance, adjustment and appreciation of the other person’s LALA TOURS A WEALTH OF HOLIDAYS SUMMER 1988 KASHMIR WITH DELHI & AGRA Cost: Rs. 3,590/- BY SUPERFAST TRAINS AND DELUXE BUSES Cost: Rs. 4,290/- DELUXE TDUR BY RAJDHANI AND AIR WITH SUPERIOR HOTELS Cost: Rs. 5,590/- DELUXE TOUR BY AIR WITH SUPERIOR HOTELS Cost: Rs. 6,790/- NAINITAL- MUSSOURIE Cost: Rs. 2,890/- SOUTH INDIA Cost: Rs. 2,990/- ANDAMANS BY RAIL & AIR Cost: Rs. 6,650/- 29 Parsiana March 1988 KASHMIR & LADAKH BY RAIL & AIR Cost: Rs. 5,490/- MALDIVES BY RAIL S AIR Cost: Rs. 3,250/- + USS 190 NEPAL BY RAIL & AIR Cost: Rs. 3,590/- DARJEELING-SIKKIM Cost: Rs. 3,390/- NEPAL-DARJEELING BY RAIL & AIR Cost: Rs. 5,690/- SIMLA-MANALI Cost: Rs. 3,090/- BANGKDK, PATTAYA, SINGAPORE Cost: Rs. 6,990/- + USS 60 WITH PENANG. KUALA LUMPUR, GENTING HIGHLANDS Cost: Rs. 9,490/- + USS 80 WITH HONGKONG, MANILA Cost: Rs. 13,390/- + USS 100 WITH MELBOURNE, SYDNEY. BRISBANE (EXPO 88). SURFERS PARADISE Cost: Rs. 17,990/- + USS 250 ALSO: EUROPE S U.K., U.S.A., KENYA, EGYPT & DUBAI ADDITIONAL SERVICES ? INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC AIR TICKETING ? PASSPORTS. VISAS AND POE ASSISTANCE ? RAILWAY TICKETS ? HOTEL BOOKINGS ? TOUR PACKAGES For further details contact: H. K. LALA & CO. Capitol Cinema Bldg., 1st Floor, Opp. New Empire Cinema,Murzban Road, Bombay 400 001. Tel: 204 3006, 204 5094, 204 5744 Cable: EDTOURS, Bombay Telex: 011-3680 LATO IN Dattaram-LT 51/88? I GALLERY CHEMOULD keeps a large and current stock of oil paintings, graphics & water-colours of well-known and up & coming artists We also give Services in Retouching & Renovation of old paintings Valuation Framing Lamination Gallery Chemould First floor Jehangir Art Gallery Bombay 400023 Tel: 2443S6 31 Parsiana March 1988 point of view among the community today; the concept that marriage and career disrupt each other; and the abs­ ence of social sanctions against single people. Suggesting that marriage be promoted like new toothpaste, Desai urged special preferences for married people in employment. Not only do Parsi girls excel and are more career oriented but the sexes view each other with hostility, observed Desai, recom­ mending psychological, social and de­ mographic help. The growing alienation of the young and the emphasis on individual perso­ nality development, coupled with the standardization of culture in most urban areas, increased the chances of intercommunity marriages, said Desai. “Though even a liberal will agree that it is easier to adjust when the back­ grounds are similar,” Desai pointed to the increasing divorce rate among Par­ si couples to show that community mar­ riages are also very unstable. Desai noted that those who are emotionally drawn to a non-Parsi spouse are indifferent to the orthodox argument which compares intercom­ munity marriages to cross breeding be­ tween different species of animals. Af­ ter all, marriage between cousins can be hazardous for children, he noted. “In the next 15 years, intercommunity marriages will be more the rule than the exception. Consider accepting the children of any one Zoroastrian pa­ rent,” he advised. Mazda Leasing chairman and Bom­ bay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trustee Homi Ranina presented the orthodox counter to intermarriage: “Just as Par­ sis came to India, several groups went elsewhere. There were Zoroastrians in China for 300 to 400 years. Others went to Europe. Where are those Zoroastrians today?” Shoring up the argument that mixed marriages are the result of proximity, Ranina noted that 75 percent of such marriages occur be­ tween couples working in the same office or firm. A solution Ranina offered was more housing complexes and more employment opportunities, recalling that there have been several marriages among the employees of Tatas, Central Bank, etc. “Mazda’s first preference is to Parsi boys and girls. (But) not enough good Parsi boys are available,” he added. An impish Jehangir Nicholson, the septuagenarian sheriff of Bombay, en­ quired, “Is it merely male chauvinism 't APPOINTED VALUERS OF JEWELLERY TO THE GOVERNMENTOF INDIA GAZDAR PVT. LTD. * Taj Mahal Hotel, Bombay. Tel; 202 3666 Telegrams; “MANUSCRIPT” ¦ I'I r 1 5 J J i' I, i > 1 J- fj I: Summing up the discussions at the the community we are gathered here. or biological consideration that the Summing up the discussions at the the community we are gathered here, child of a Parsi father has a right which four workshops Limathwalla recalled reminded Engineer, posing ^the two the child of a Parsi mother does not . ........ have? Secondly, if two Parsi Zoroas- trians live together and have children, what is the status of the children? ” The stunned silence which followed was broken by Bharucha explaining that it is the courts that have held that the child of a Parsi father may be cons­ idered a Parsi. “I’m not a biologist,” he added. As for the status of a child of unwed Parsi parents, Bharucha noted, “Justice Davar said that Parsis were willing to condone bastardy!” In answer to a question about BPP involvement in these matters it was . . stated that the marriage bureau was The majority of the youth organiz- bringing people together and that a 30 trian survival, Limathwalla decried the ers of the Delhi seminar had attended percent reservation of new housing ex­ isted for engaged couples. However, “the experience is that even after pro­ viding two-room kitchen flats in God- i.j-----„ .1--^ . . the BPP is now thinking in terms of you have no right to belong^ to the providing creches for the community. < . , To lighten the solemn atmosphere ries out can’t have community rights, Engineer joked, “One suggestion is to where is the question of his children the delegates repaired to the Elphm- permit every Parsi male to have two wives!” that the question of intercommunity most likely alternatives before the marriage had been discussed 100 years community - extinction or merger. ago and will probably be discussed 100 “There is no easy solution or we’d all years hence. Optimistic about Zoroas- be geniuses. When you clap so loudly. is it merely escapism? The problems need to be debated by sociologists, family counsellors, leaders and the man in the street. The solution can emerge only if we respect the other person’s view.” Promising sponsorship from the "If you can't accept the community's views, you have no rioht to belono to the WZO tor any laudable project. Mistry n urged the yoynger generation to live community together, grow together as a commun- -------------------------------------------------- ity- IX 1£|11 OlXlVIVCXl) »? ***>€* w difference in treatment of Zoroastrian the conference and on behalf of ^eni men i— ------------- community. “If a Parsi marries out of Anjuman youth trustee, thanked Bur- the community, why talk of commun- rej ^aug they don’t procreate,’’ and ity rights? If you can’t accept its views. and women marrying out of the all Farrokh Rustomji, Delhi Parsi zin and his team and the WZO, while Rustom Anklesaria of Poona sang his song of thanks on behalf of the dele- community. (And if) a Parsi who mar- gates generally. ¦ ¦ The day’s talkathon behind them. having them? ’’ stone Club to dine and dance the even- “Because we are concerned about ing away. Sun-n-Sand wishes all its Parsi Patrons a ‘Happy Jamshcdi Navroze’ The Pleasure is all Yours . , Sun n Sand Hotel, Bombay's leading beach resort, is only 7 kilometres away from the international airport Whether you are between planes, just overnight in Bombay on business or for a fun-filled holiday, we have it ALL laid out for you Airconditioned rooms uiith piped music -n -K A sutimming pool with poolside snack service * Superb dining — Indian, Continental and Chinese ? * Health Club/Seauty Parlour/Barber Shop * ? Conference/Convention facilities Beachcomber Bar serving full measure drinks Banquet/Garden Parties serving upto 1500persons AND ABOVE ALL, the magnificent Bombay Sunset in all its panoramic splendour A Scin>n-SAn4 39. Juhu Beach, Bombay-400 049 Tel: 571481 Tlx: 011 3282 Grams: “Sunandsand” (sz) Bombay, India. ii ->¦ L ¦ I 5 General Manager: Minoo D. Katpitia, fbim, fhcima, fcfa, arsh, dhma, (England). f/i -z (fi Se 32 Parsiana March 1988INSTITUTIONS I I' I ATALEOF TWO FIRES Hi T ijj The controversy surrounding the Dadyseth Agiaiy and Atash Bahram highlights the deteriorating condition of fire-temples in Bombay Homi J. Rogers many Parsis working in the been “visiting the Agiary since August are performed and which houses the . '^c uzhpn T am HaHoah household fire which can be either in the morning or after in Bombay and not indisposed. ¦1 i I I Ji I 3 J F or ' - . . Fountain area of Bombay, a visit work to the Dadyseth Agiary is manda- i..- ......- —o r-r- -- tory There are L mirades ascribed to ity, or probably, because of it the whenever we get very heavy and he Agiary Nor is it a spiritual oasis in Dadyseth Agiary was in the eye of the abnormal rainfall, water from all sides ihe hubbub of the city’s commercial storm in August last, when Vakil shot of the Agiary flows down, flooding the nerve center there are at least six other off a long letter to The Bombay concourse and choking the drainage agiaries jostling within the area of one Samachar on the “shocking condition pipes. On such occasions, according square kilometer. Even the fire is of the Agiary. He charged that it was ^adyseth, there is no alternabve tended by priests belonging to the in dire need of repairs which, he in- but to appeal to the Bombay Municip- r^Pnority (^), i« a city sinuated, were not being carried out al Corporation to send their workers where ^the majority of Parsis are by the trustees as “they would like the to dram out the water. Chahenshahis building to become dilapidated so that Yet the following is large and they can sell it at a fat price.” Above: Depicton of S-hah Lor^P varied: from doctors and dalals (siock- Vakil’s quiver of arrows stemmed and Zarathushtra at the Atash Bahram brokers) to clerks and chairmen from from the cesspool formed in the Agi- (racingpage) Dadyseth Agiary: the neighboring Parsi job bastions of ary, and was, according to Jehangir commands a large following Central Bank, and Bombay House, Dadyseth, managing trustee^ Dadyseth Atash Bahram courtyard as seen through the portals Prayers conducted at the hall of the Atash Bahram Photos: Homyar Mistry. Homz Prints 25, 1938, almost every day when I am dadgah (a household fire which can be ___ ' ” tended to by the laity) is on a level Despite the overwhelming popular- lower than the road outside. Hence, ________ - -- - Samachar on the “shocking condition” kilometer. Even the fire is of the Agiary. He charged that it was the headquarters of the Tata empire. Dadyseth Charity Trust, “instigated Many have been visiting the Agiary by our panthaky, Ervad Parvez Nal- . .. r , -1 . ___ -ru^. " <=>vr»lain<: The cesspool,” explains “is a regularly for years. Shiavax Vakil, er- ladaru. stwhile trustee of the Bombay Parsi Dadyseth, “is a rather common Punchayet and a director in numerous occurrence in the monsoons, because a Tata companies, claims that he has portion of the Agiary where ablutions 5 34 Parsiana March 1988 ¦.,3K Hi fe. ¦ ’i’C *1 I i?' _ _ _ iI I At the time of the 1987 monsoon, i ‘ the Municipality was less than prompt, Dadyseth. and for five days devotees had to wade r____ ___ through ankle-deep water. “’But, says brother^ Behram, and cousins, man- rains, we got it repaired," states mischief in Vakil’s company, Nalla- parries between giving his em- Parvez Nalladaru, who with his pipyers a clean chit, and accusing them D-i which they have kept -- ’’ t-UlJ ’ • *' . ' ----------------------- -- --------- ...W, J , ». UZVllIK IMWIVvJ the trustees cannot be held responsi- behdins (laity), and performs the boi into," he repeats ad infinitum, “and it ble for a matter pertaining to the (ushering in the Gahs) ceremony, is Municipality. They do not clean the the third generation of the Nalladaru underground drainage in time," avers family to be panthaky of the Dadyseth, “and as there is no outlet Dadyseth. Having been looking after the trustees have sprung into action, for the water to drain out into the reg- the Agiary for over the past two de- . The dadgah premises are being re- ular gutter, the situation cannot be cades, Nalladaru is apparently dis- paired and white-washed, and by the averted." Vakil, however, charges the turbed by the controversy, and his time this article is in print, the dadgah trustees with lethargy, and says that he loyalties stand divided. While will have been shifted back to its got the condition remedied within 15 , Dadyseth charges him with being up to minutes by getting the gutter opened by a chasniwald (a Parsi page who de­ livers the sacred offerings) known to him. The inconvenience caused to the Agiary's innumerable devotees till Vakil and/or the Municipality put things aright, caused a lot of regulars to join in the chorus, charging that the * management and administration of the | Agiary left a great deal to be desired. I “Fire-temples in Bombay,” admits I Dastur Dr Firoze Kotwal, high priest | of the H.B. Wadia Atash Bahram in Bombay, “have not been models of *¦ cleanliness,” even though the com- I munity holds the trait proverbially I next to godliness. “Our agiaries and atash bahrams may not be clean in the an sense of displaying dazzling marbles and well-polished furniture, but they fifl should be kept neat: devoid of cob- webs, bird and animal droppings, and ‘ walls with peeling plaster begging for chuna (whitewash) or a coat of paint.” Dastur Dr Kaikhusroo JamaspAsa, high priest of the Anjuman Atash Bahram in Bombay, while stressing the need to keep agiaries and atash bahrams clean, notes that “in this task our community is severely handicap ­ ped” by the shortage of personnel. As only Parsi Zoroastrians can enter a fire-temple, the number of people who can be employed to ensure cleanliness is extremely limited. Dadyseth, however, shrugs off the barrage of letters stating that the Agi- • ary is kept in a miserable and messy condition, and insists that he takes a personal interest in keeping the Agiary clean. “But, you know how hard it is to get plumbers and masons. A pipe burst in the mori (bathroom) during the monsoons. Immediately after the an apparently agonized Dadyseth, ages the Agiary, attends to the Kadmi the Agiary. “Things are being look^ is no use writing about a matter which is being amicably settled.” There is, of course, no doubt that the Agiary for over the past two de- . The dadgah premises are being time this article is in print, the dadgah room. The Agiary walls are looking Entrance to the Dadyseth Agiary (top) and the Dadyseth Atash Bahram (right) 37 Parsiana March 1988 a-1^1 ifi 1.......* -I s 'Sf^- •.i il l I’ 8 M /J I I Jt I* 0-cleaner. Even the clock at the entrance walls in a fire-temple without the trus- how much a panthaky can influence is ticking again. “The trustees try their tees’ permission. Since the panthaky is his trustees.” besT” reiterates Nalladaru, “and it on the premises, all day-to-day work Kotwal feels that until a central would ill befit me to malign them. ” concerning the fire-temple is his re- priestly order is formed, assigning Nalladaru is piqued that Dadyseth, sponsibility and hence the onus of priests to agiaries, panthakies will be while replying to the Press,stated that . '> “I (Dadyseth) wanted to get these minor repairs completed before the (Shahenshahi) Muktad, but I was re­ quested by Ervad Parvez Nalladaru to carry out the repair work after the (Shahenshahi) New Year.” The re­ quest, Nalladaru states, was made by him because the time gap allowed by the trustees was so short that it was just not feasible for him to shift the dadgah to-and-fro and get the white ­ washing done. ____________ ' _____ like employees of the trustees whose tn hpH ____________bidding need to be obeyed. I I ICz LI UoLCCo I laU “There is no substitute for a devout refused to have fans religious pamhaky of good charac- fpr ” ariztc fLo f installed arguing that it would encourage Parsis to go to sleep in the cool atmosphere ter,” adds Kotwal, “and the trustees should continue with the services of such a person, once they have found him. ” A panthaky is thus more than an employee: he is a de facto trustee on the spot. Yet, even some minor im­ provements or additions call for a trus­ tee’s nod. Nalladaru, whose benefac- The relationship between a panth- tors wished to get installed large stain- aky and trustee is a rather tenuous keeping the fire-temple clean and tidy less steel drums for the washing of one. X^hile Dastur Dr Hormazdyar is his. Some agiaries in Bombay are hands, had to wait till the trustees, Mirza withholds his comments on the very well-maintained and extremely rather reticent of accepting people’s equation, stating that it depends pure- clean because the panthakies take a help in maintaining and bettering the ly upon each particular trust deed, keen interest in the upkeep. Much of Agiary, approved of it. Vakil claims JamaspAsa states, “The relationship this depends upon the nature of rela- that he scored a coup when he had fans between a panthaky and trustee is that tionship between the panthaky and installed in the Agiary hall although of an employee-employer. All power • trustee. A cordial relationship is essen- vests with the trustees and no member tial for the proper upkeep of a fire- of the community can start painting temple. Cleanliness also depends on to go to sleep in the cool atmosphere. t' ! 1 1 I f 1 i , t the trustees had refused to do so arguing that it would encourage Parsis with best compliments from A M/s M.Palloiyi&Co Private Limited Industrial painting and coating, anti-corrosion water-proofing and construction contractors 't 87, Abdul Rehman Street Bombay 400003 Tel: 324150/330306 Telex: 011-75871 MPEL IN Cable: “PALLONJIM ” 1 39 Parsiana March 1988 IWith the compliments of M/s B.F. WADIA & SONS Timber Merchants & Sawmillers 142 Reay Road Bombay 400010 41 Parsiana March 1988 To Dadyseth ’s credit, however, it must be noted that when Parsiana called on him, he was about to accompany a Parsi donor down to the Agiary (from his Trust office, which is situated on the Agiary’s first floor, overlooking the road) to discuss with him the possi­ ble gift of a new wire netting over the well. Barely had the dust settled on the Agiary front when Vakil f’red his second salvo: the deteriorating condi­ tion of the Dadyseth Atash Bahram at "The cesspool is a rather common occurrence in the monsoons because a portion of the Agiary is on a level lower than the road outside" Fanaswadi. The Atash Bahram, conse­ crated on September 29, 1783, was built by an influential merchant Dady Nusserwanjee, the founder of the Dadyseth family, who, according to H.D. Darukhanawala ’s Parsi Lustre on Indian Soil, was the first Parsi to trade with the British. The humility of the man is apparent from the absence of his name on the much-erased takhti (plaque) in Farsi that is embedded on the doorway of the Atash Bahram attributing its construction to, “a ser­ vant of God.” With the same modesty, Ardeshir, his son, housed the Adarian fire, believed to be older than the Atash Bahram fire, in 1803 at the pre­ sent Agiary premises, and did not in­ stall a takhti at all. Prior to that, the Dadyseth Adarian existed very close to its present site at Fountain. The pineapple orchards of the 1780s which Mulia Kaus Rustom Jalal selected as the site for the first Parsi (Kadmi) Atash Bahram in Bombay is now an inextricable maze of lanes lying between the densely populated Kalbadevi and Bhuleshwar areas of Bombay, and inhabited by a majority of Hindus. The Parsi population around has diminished, practically vanished; and the Atash Bahram has few callers. Its vast courtyard with two For FRESH: MAFCO’S Mutton, Beef, Pork and Vegetable products VENKY’S Chicken, Legs, Breast and easy to cook products ALKABEER*S Mutton, Khima, Brain, Trotters, Veal, Beef and Meat products SHALIMAR’S Pork products Remember TARACHAND &CO 80, Sleater Rd N. Bharucha Marg Grant Rd (W) Bombay 400007 Ph: 383691/389531 Wc give free home delivery }' 1I I (buildings) are occasionally used, though with diminishing frequency, for navjote/marriage ceremonies. It is claimed that a few years ago. Dr Aspi Golwalla, chairman of the Bombay the trustees tiijn has now Parsi Punchayet, mentioned at a pub- ' “ lie meeting that this vast plot of land was up for sale. Dadyseth shrugs off the announcement as ridiculous. Dadyseth, however, says that Gol­ walla had tried to get him interested in shifting the Atash Bahram from its present premises to Godrej Baug, off Napean Sea Road, where now the atash from Bharuch ’s Doongaji Agiary will be housed. “I point blank re­ fused,” storms Dadyseth. “Why should I give away 6,000 square yards of land for a measly 1,000 square Nalladarus, by refusing to shift the work is carried out by skilled non-Parsi 1 Atash Bahram to a plot of land then workmen,” argues Dadyseth, “but are going cheap at New Manne Lines. 1 helpless in the face of the adamant Yet, it is the same pliant attitude of attitude of our priests...There are on y 1 . ‘ ... ,« 4 tr A-.\ ___4-y-1 <-x«r oriric 4 adds them in an impasse if/ J, i'' involved 11 Kadmi mobeds today, regarding the Dadyseth ruefully, aware that any | strong-arm tactics would only jeopar- | dize matters rather than solve them. | The Atash Bahram lies in a state of I disarray: the last time major repairs I were carried out here was way back in 1 1916. Nalladaru, when confronted 1 with the information, shrugs off the | shifting on the grounds of defiling^ I ; ¦ J and adherence 1 to rituals), inconvenience in tending I the fire, and a possible intrusion into 1 the sanctum sanctorum by non-Parsis, I as there are no security guards and the 1 neighborhood is predominantly non- J enter the new premises, what should I a do: tend the fire, or shoo them away?” ( The contention that an Atash 1 Bahram cannot be shifted is countered ! by Vakil, “The Iranshah has been, and has its purity diminished? ” Even Kot- wal agrees that a fire can be moved, “though, the same must not be under- The Atash Bahram lies in a disarrayed state: the last time major repairs were carried out here was pak- parejgari (piety way back in 1916 .unu lu. a ...VC.., maintenance of the Atash Bahram. varrls'^ And at that location I would The roof of the Atash Bahram build —. r • . yards. And, at that location, wouio . dangerous state, and could Parsi. “Should a group of them jus get neither behdins (laity) nor athor- nans (priests).” Dadyseth cites yet another reason for his refusal to accept Golwalla’s purported proposal. His panthaky, he notes, told him that a fire once installed cannot be shifted. And he bowed to the priest’s wishes, just as same reason, conceded in 1933 to the come crashing down, but the trustees cannot get it repaired reportedly be­ cause of the non-cooperation from its boiwallas led by the panthaky, who re­ fuse to shift the fire. “We have con­ structed a special room barely 25 feet ing "the Atash Bahram fire till repair his grand-uncle had, for exactly the away for the express purpose of hous- ® 4.U.z^ A •fir#> till rPTYxlir Better times Hope Till hope creates From its own ashes The things it contemplates I INDUSTRIAL PERFUMES LIMITED (A Tata Enterprise) Creators of Rnc Industrial Fragrances Hay Bunder Road Tank Road P.O. 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Nalladaru, similar­ ly, seeks an assurance that once the fire is removed, repair work is so car­ ried out that it should last for at least another 50 years. “You do not shift the padshah alone,” he remonstrates. “You shift all the other trappings as well.” While both the trustees and the panthaky are agreed on the imminent need to repair the Atash Bahram, no work can be undertaken till jointly a blueprint is drawn up to ensure the security of the fire in its temporary habitat, which stands within uncheck ­ ed accessibility, unlike the present abode which faces a block of resi­ dences. Dadyseth himself is aware of the presence of non-Parsis in the sprawling Atash Bahram compound, and as an old devotee informs us, it is not uncommon to see young boys of other communities streak across the roofs chasing kites. Vakil is of the opinion that given a chance, the trustees should dispose of the property here, shift the Atash Bahram to a more convenient loca­ tion, where there is ample vacant place (the Banaji Atash Bahram compound, for example), and use the money raised by the sale of land towards addressing the community's major problem of housing. The idea not only sounds heretic, but seems a volte face from a man who has charged the trus­ tees with the ill intent of selling off prized land for a fat price, at the cost of sacrificing people’s religious feel­ ings. But, as Vakil now claims, that bit insinuating the trustees’ greed to let the Agiary building fall into disrepair so as to be able to sell the land, was added by him “just for effect, to stir the trustees into action. “Every time a snake opens its mouth, it should not necessarily sting; hissing too is suffi­ cient.” In the melange of Vakil's dankh (sting) and fufaro (hiss), matters are being set aright at the Agiary. “The Agiary’s structure is strbng, like most buildings in this (Fountain) area: it can easily stand for at least another 100 years,” says Adil Billimoria, a structu­ ral engineer and regular devotee at the Agiary. But, while the Agiary is being saved, the future of the city’s oldest Atash Bahram is as precarious as the doddering dome above its exalted fire.--»sar' INSTITUTIONS i ' Ht “The pillar of our existence P IK llft J Calcutta Parsis celebrate the D.B. Mehta Atash Adaran’s platinum jubilee Arnavaz S. Mama. notes an account of the celebration by as “a remarkable woman, neither Phiroze Dustoor, office manager for energy, wit nor memory dimmed by the Calcutta Zoroastrian Community’s her 93 years which she wore as and Charity Funds gracefully as the strands of pearls and _______ uncut emeralds at her throat, ” in a re- CZCRCF trustee Dali Bhesania ’s port entitled “Inner temples,” for- welcome and a monajaat (religious warded to Parsiana by Dhun Mehta. cAisiciivc. niuuiiu II uui iivvo song) arranged by Shirin Modi was fol- Vakeel was said to be in tears of joy as and you, honored panthaki sahebs and lowed by an apt, catchy and enjoyable Ms Dmamai Bhesania presented her mobed sahebs, are its protectors.” song by Vistasp Bulsara pra^ising^the with a shawl and flowers on behalf of In turn, each of the mobeds - Ervad Bapuji Desai, who has served the agi- _ __________ ary for 58 years since 1929, Ervad Rus- named, added tomji Meherjirana and Ervad Adar- (October 20, 1987) described Vakeel span 52 and 42 years respectively, and Ervad Ratansha Karanjia, Ervad Rusi Bharda, Ervad Soli Kotwal and Ervad Khurshedji Katrak - were garlanded and presented-with a shawl, purse and copy of the citation. Thanking the anjuman, Ervad Desai noted that perhaps never before had seven mobeds together been so honored. “But then our mobeds are special, t Most of us have known them since B childhood, and we wanted to express I our gratitude and affection,” writes p Dustoor. Ardeshir Batlivala, former CZCRCF trustee and a father fi^re to generations of Calcutta youth, introduced others £ who were also honored, Ms Bapsy I Rabadi presenting each with a souvenir. B Among them were those who volunteer B their help whenever a Parsi dies in Cal- B cutta; the boys who had qualified as fl priests during the 15 years that elapsed I between the diamond and platinum ¦ jubilees of the Mehta Adaran; the I volunteer mobeds who help out during ¦ the muktad rush. After singing Chhaiye ¦ hame Zarthosti and partaking of a round ¦ of chasni (consecrated food), the con- I “This Adaran saheb occupies a unique place in the hearts of all of us in Cal­ cutta. We come-here to offer prayers of thanksgiving on joyful occasions. In Religious times of distress we turn to this atash (CZCRCF). to seek solace and consolation. The Adaran is therefore the pillar of our „ existence. Around it our lives revolve, mobed sahebs, are its protectors.' „ , . . The maanpatra (citation in Gujara- mobeds, notes Dustoor. CZCRCF the anjuman. ti) presented to three panthakies and trustee Dr Russi Anklesaria traced the four assistant mobeds on the occasion history of the Adaran and Ms Naja of the platinum jubilee celebration of Vakeel, granddaughter of the man af- the Ervad Dhunjeebhoy Byramjee ter whom the agiary is named, added —--j------ ---------- Mehta Zoroastrian Anjuman Atash details from memory. The Statesman bad Meherjirana whose contributions Adaran on October 10, 1987 recorded ( the Calcutta Zoroastrians’ affection for the priests and appreciation of The Mehta Adaran’s inner courtyard their “wise counsel and guidance in all matters pertaining to our religion and the performance of our ceremonies.” Two jashans - a simple one in the j 7^ Havan Gah and another in the Ujiran nl Gah conducted by seven mobeds and attended by nearly 400 members of the anjuman - commemorated the in- stallation of the sacred fire on roj j/ Sarosh mah Ardibehest in the year 1912 by Dastur Shams-ul-Ulema Sar- dar Kaikobad Adarbad, high priest of Poona. “The hall was full of light and ¦¦ the scent of flower garlands. Scores of HH divas (lamps) were lit. The fire in the ’ kebla (sanctum sanctorum) burnt brightly, fed by the sandalwood offer- ings of those who were attending the HH ceremony. The ladies were in expen- sive saris and kasbi kors (borders of gold and silver thread). Many of the men wore daglis...Ervad Adarbad Dastur’s voice rang loud and clear and, after the hambandagi, people B^ surged forward to put loban (incense) on the jashan ’s afarganyu (fire urn),” BB Photo: Business Standard I 1 ' I •: tr Hi H: R sn Parsiana March 1988 £***.• ¦ ?! I i I i I .i'f "1 Jtj<' gregation dispersed. the way from Navsari. “According to A historical sketch of the Calcutta tradition, the sacred fire could not be community, forwarded by Dustoor, brought over a ' names Dadabhai Banaji as the first s' Parsi to arrive, about 200 years ago. i Banaji’s descendants achieved great wear pavris (special high platform towards*’ its renovation and repair to distinction in the industrial and civic shoes of iron) to cross the bridge,” qualify for exemption under section 80 life of Bengal and an outstanding notes the historical essay, crediting the G of the Income-tax Act, informed scion, Rustomji Cowasji Banaji, details to Parsi Prakash. trustees Bhesania, Anklesaria and Adi founded Calcutta’s first Atash Adaran . When Dhunjeebhoy died in 1907, Rabadi, in an anneal for funds dated in 1839. The increase in business activity, and family donated one lakh 10 “Over the decades, the elements specifically the China trade, lured thousand rupees while the Calcutta have taken a heavy toll of the building, more Parsis to Calcutta which was Zoroastrian anjuman collected which is now in need of extensive re- then the capital of British India, another Rs 67,000. Investing Rs pairs and renovations, external and in- Dhunjeebhoy Byramjee Mehta set up 43,000 to buy an old property on Met- ternal,” noted the trustees. “The ex­ in this eastern port in 1846. Within 20 calf Street, the community spent penditure will be very heavy (about years Mehta had established a firm another Rs 42,000 to build an agiary three lakh rupees), and we have to au- each in Calcutta and Hong Kong and, building. To this structure was then gment our funds to meet these ex- within another decade, a textile mill shifted the sacred fire from Dhun- penses on this historic milestone in a on the advice of Jamsetji Tata, engag- jeebhoy ’s house and enthroned with solemn and befitting manner. We, ing the services of expert European all ceremony in the presence of a large therefore, make this fervent appeal for managers and spinning masters, notes number of Parsis from Calcutta and your kind and generous donations to the write-up. elsewhere. An adjoining building to assist us in our endeavors.” By 1890, the deeply religious Mehta serve as a residence for mobeds was And Parsis responded for, as The had established a dar-e-meher in his constructed by the late Pirojbai Madan Statesman reflected, “75 years as the house at 65 Canning Street, said to be in memory of her brother Ratanji Min- spiritual anchor of a community that . the former abode of Viceroy Lord wala, while the Bombay-based N.M. thrives far away from its main stream Canning. The alat (sacred fire) for the Wadia Charities funded the construe- on the western coast (of India) is not dar-e-meher was brought on foot all tion of the.prayer hall in the agiary. ............. By May 28, 1986 the central govern­ ment’s ministry of finance had a wooden bridge and accepted the Mehta Adaran as “a since the then Howrah Bridge was an place of public worship of renown,” all-wood structure, the mobeds had to enabling 50 percent of donations made ' _i as renown. shoes of iron) to cross the bridge Rustomji Cowasji Banaji, details to Parsi Prakash. When Dhunjeebhoy died in 1907, Rabadi, in an appeal for funds dated his widow Khorshedbai, son Rustom November 26, 1986. and family donated one lakh 10 more Parsis to Calcutta which was Zoroastrian t I - an insignificant period... ” With Best Compliments From ? ZORO Group of Companies ZORO GARMENTS PVT LTD INTERNATIONAL FASHIONS DRESSES Manufacturers & Exporters of 100% Cotton Readymade Garments An eligible Export House recognised by Govt of India C-3, Industrial Estate, Ambattur MADRAS 600058 Phone 652416 652497 Telex 041 8179 ZORO IN 49 Parsiana March 1988 ^1RELIGION ! It was a wobbly climb to the I site of Godrej Bang’s prop- I osed Pestonji Aslaji Doon- I gaji Agiary as Dastur Dr I Hormazdyar Mirza and six I mobeds performed the I jashan ceremony in the shel- I ter of a shamiana on January I 31, 1988. The cool sea I breeze tempered the warmth I of the afternoon sun as the I more sprightly of about 200 I assembled Parsis trailed the I Dastur, Bombay Parsi Pun- I chayet (BPP) chairman Dr ® Aspi Golwalla and trustees Eruch Desai, Jamsheed H Kanga, Homi Ranina, Jam­ shed Guzder and Dr (Ms) Mehroo Ben­ galee down an even trickier slope to watch Golwalla lay the foundation stone. Like a hexagonal crown, the Agiary will straddle a Malabar Hill peak, its garden falling away on all sides in a series of landscaped terraces as witnes­ sed the model on display. Overlooking the Arabian Sea and the affluent resi­ dences of Napean Sea Road, the Agi­ ary, as conceived by architect Maneck Engineer of Godrej and Boyce Manu­ facturing Company Pvt Ltd, will cost 45 lakh rupees to complete, noted Golwal- ’ la in a formal address in Gujarati after the ceremony. A shortcoming is that a well has not been provided for. Though originally designed to house two or three sacred fires, only one gum- baz (the site of the atash) and two sides of the hexagon (including the room i where the baj and ijashne ceremonies I are held) will be built initially, informed Engineer. The cost of the preliminary construction will amount to Rs 15 lakhs of which the Doongaji “tribe” (not fami­ ly - as emphasized Hoshang Doongaji in his speech) will contribute Rs 10 lakhs and the BPP, the balance five. This res- ’ tricted construction could be completed in one and a half years if funds are avail­ able, says Engineer. The original BPP plan had been to shift the Langrana and Godavara agiary fires from the by-lanes of Fort, Bombay and enthrone them at the new setting. This plan was abandoned when some Parsis moved the charity commissioner to bar the shifting of the Langrana fire. ¦ NEW HOME FOR AM OLD EIRE Godrej Baug, the youngest Parsi colony in Bombay, will be graced by the 254-year-old £>oongaji fire from Broach I 51 Parsiana March 1988 1 • ’ - it Model of the new agiary BB Arnavaz S. Mama Anxious to preserve the 254-year-old atash of their Doongaji Agiary in Broach “consecrated by our ances­ tors with devotion and love,” Doongaji noted that with the decline in the Parsi population in Broach there was barely a single devotee visiting the Doongaji Agiary each day. It was “a dream” of all the Doongajis to reen­ throne the fire more fittingly ___ that, thanks to the coopera- H|H tion of the BPP, was begin­ ning to materialize, he said. Noting that the Doongajis will also be donating the income from their four- lakh rupee maintenance fund, Golwalla appealed to Godrej Baug residents to collect and contribute towards the rest of the Agiary construction which will in­ clude a hall for the colony’s use. (However, in a letter circulated amongst members of the Doongaji family and published by The Bombay Samachar on February 28, it was noted that the in­ come from the Doongaji fund was to be utilized for performing monthly or year­ ly ceremonies for the dead as required by the donors.) Golwalla recalled the days when the present Godrej Baug property lay fal­ low. The biggest snag was that there was no approach road available. In response to the BPP’s request, then municipal commissioner M.W. Desai agreed to allocate land for an approach road in exchange for an equal area of the prop­ erty. The late Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, interceded to release the plot from government re­ servation in the interests of housing the weaker sections of the community, Gol­ walla added. However, because of the high cost of constructing on virgin land, Godrej Baug rents are high as compared to other Punchayet housing colonies. Even so, by now the BPP has received 100 applications for transfer from the older baugs, Golwalla said, which meant that 100 old flats at cheaper rent would be available to those with limited means. Referring to Godrej Baug resident' - s - A- —'t"", t.. Traditionally attired audience following the jashan 4 ¦^5* -i - /“"Ai' ;>¦ y •'“s J®'. I but the BPP must furnish the govem- * ment with a list of allottees to satisfy the requirement that the tenants are truly ? I' !s 'J deserving. “If there are too many signs ' of affluence, the trustees may be blamed for cheating...For the benefit of the re­ maining 3,000 applicants whose fate will be in jeopardy,” Kanga requested coop­ eration from the Godrej Baug residents. While proposing a vote of thanks, A <-j. The present Parsi community has the speciai duty "to many and multipiy" to preserve the Zoroastrian heritage ¦I- ! f ( the government, informed Kanga. This have been contributed by’Godrej Homi Mehta ’s plea for an enclosure for indoor sports and a cooperative store in the course of his welcome address , Gol- ___________________ _ ......... ....... . walla noted that the Time and Talents nal design of the flats at° Godrej Baug. Club had promised Rs 75,000 towards a Normally, a condition for land to be re­ medical center. Urging patience, the leased from the urban land ceiling act - chairman said that it was likely that a ' ........... ; cooperative store and even a pavilion for would be made with the consultation of the preparing of the^ land '^roadr**etc ind^r games will materialize after the the government, informed Kanga. This have been contributed by’ Godrei at residential complex is completed, condition has been waived, he noted, cost) is at stake “Perhaps (the house of) Godrej may build a hall in honor of...sflatZflo znaadaa (austere) Pirojsha seth, ” the consolida­ tor of the Godrej enterprise who, according to Golwalla, had started life as a BPP employee! Sorab Godrej, Pirojsha ’s son and chairman of Godrej, sought to instil in his audience “the happiness of self- reliance” and suggested that the com­ munity involve itself in social work cen­ tered round the agiary. Referring to the human tendency to expect benefits, Godrej urged the gathering - the great niajority being Godrej Baug residents - to remember others who are underpri- '' vileged at the time of receiving a bonan- ¦za such as housing. Dastur Mirza in­ voked the blessings of Ahura Mazda on the fire-temple and the colony, and said that the present Parsi community had the special duty “to marry and multiply” in order to preserve the 2Loroastrian heritage handed down from antiquity. Dastur Mirza (with shawl) leading the jashan Kanga was at pains to explain why the block resident Yezdi Buhariwalla urged BPP could not permit the installation of the trustees to ensure the security of the - - air-conditioners oi^chang^in the mter- Baug. “There is only one watchman in Normally, a condition for land to be re- . the whole Baug and he can’t manage,” said Buhariwalla noting that not only the safety of the tenants but crores of rupees as in this case — is that allotment of flats of Godrej investment (the work towards 5 i J J 4 w. e W*’ ,f, 53 Parsiana March 1988r ZOROASTRIANS ABROAD continued from page 15 , . Empire), the whole colony rejoiced. Never was an honor more fully earned. And when in 1952 he and his beloved wife celebrated their golden wedding at the Peninsula Hotel, 7UU guests rejoiced- with them. Ruttonjee died in 1960 at the age of 80. The Shanghai connection | The 47 graves solicitously maintained by the erstwhile Parsi community of ? Shanghai were all removed during the cultural revolution in China, writes Karachi businessman and regular Chi- na visitor Shahpur Shroff in a letter dated September 12, 1987 to Jamshed Pavri of Vancouver. Pavri notes that it 1 an i I solicitously maintained ¦ i O’ I iii ( I '¦i' i took Shroff four years of persistent effort to locate the site of the old Parsi prayer hall and cemetery. . “Where benevolent Parsis and their mobeds once recited prayers and re­ membered their dear departed ones, there stands today an elevator factory and another factory making machinery for the manufacture of cardboard box­ es ” writes Pavri, quoting Shroffs letter. Pavri recalls a letter dated Novem­ ber 22, 1967 in which the Bombay Par­ si Punchayet ( Desai had written ---- Embassy in Peking had juforme^d the r Punchayet t.— — * . of China had acquired the Parsi hall and cemetery in Shanghai. Ine BPP and the Indian governmeiUjiro- Pavri who said he had sug- Punchayet Prayer hall in Shanghai circa 1932 and re- with the cemetery (inset) d V..1 the China trade, notes Pavri. roll call of Parsi traders in China based on The iv»ii ------ included such names as Banaji, Knur- shedji Cama of the K.R. Cama Orien­ tal Institute, Wadia, Jeejebhoy, Readymoney, Petit, Jamsetji Tata s father Nusserwanji, Talati and Sethna, S' SgTe're ali^lXSes nJaTe China. Numerous agiaries, atasn Institute, “Albless Baug and Cama that the Indian Bau^were 'thaMhe ’ SopiS Republic Causeway, etc were T| ¦¦ ¦ an update from chairperson Moti Bal- sara of the subcommittee for group sponsorship of Zoroastrian refugees in r . r ___thA Vnrnas- a. i^v*****^*'-— - - dharamshalas, schools, col- wells, the Poona Urging all made with Chi ­ leges, iiuspiidio, —, - Waterworks, the Bund, the Causeway, etc were all made with Chi ­ na money. ‘Parsi, thy name is charity became a slogan only after the (univer­ sal) charities made by Parsis with wealth made in China. Recently, Sha- Tta'"c'eme.ery was in.ac. in pur lokhi bull. Ava Bang in Navsan a, a cost < hall and cemetery in Shanghai. The BPP and the Indian government pro­ tested on behalf of the Parsi coinmun- ity, notes Pavri who said he had sug­ gested that “a petition be made to ex­ hume the remains and rest them^ejsej- where... x**- --------- - , 1968 and could have ^en salvaged. « jnChina ,” recounts Pavri. Today, everything is lost,” he adds made m Chma,_^ Shroff, who located the address with persons whose re- the help of his business . jj,s are totally lost today, Pavri sug- scribes two small houses, on either mams are ro y side of the main gate, of solid stone inscribed with the mabad,^ notes construction and m very good cond dates of death of the disin- tion. f tprred to preserve their memory. Speaking .0 .‘he jnanager^of ances.ors have left us so much, roiiea’gue who helped .o inferpm. A- leas, we can do .h.s much ,n re- had entrusted the place to these - court order only a few tones of the subcommittee for group r ------.-J Fe“bSy“news,e.,er of .he Zoroas- trian Society of Ontario (ZSO). the Ontario community to col­ lect furniture, clothing, kitchen uten­ sils, canned food, etc in their base­ ments, the write-up notes, “Let us no forget how very much we appreciated , help, guidance and support when we Balsara Committee for Refugee Resettlement 4': a! first came to this country. Balsara and Perin Antia had visited of two and a half crore rupees Refugee Resettlement considering it of the B^ ^"t —S" processed the ZSO’s sponsorship file which has now been passed on to the Canadian immigration office in Isla- the ZSO’s January A total of $ 1,582 has been collected from 17 individuals so far and the youth, under the leadership of Bina . .. ____ r. fund rmijing drive to strengthen the refugee fund. In the meanwhile, the newsletter in­ troduced Dr Jehangir Rashidh hwwite Kean i---------- recently arrived refugees. A youth meeting (13 to 25 years commemorate partment — whose re- :1 I .i gests that a newsletter tion the factories with the help of ness I in Chinese, Xanul7a co™ a few ‘,end‘:« bi. .he fehue raonihs earner. -In faC, i. appeared m uncerra.n. that (the manager) was afraid that i had come there to obtain a reversal refugees .he cour. order," wn.es Shroff. may 6 The wealth of the Parsis was largely midst in me y of terred to preserve “Those ancestors ’ At least we can gue who neipea lo iincipivi povr? adding that Behboodi, are planning a fund raising ^Shroff learnt that the high turn, comme , strengthen the refugee fun_ the nlace to these the ^^^cau and. Hong future In the meanwhile, the newsletter^in- and their two small children as afraid that I Sponsoring refugees . . . , r --------j the very near future. in our notes - “no 55 Parsiana March T988 / ¦I I ....... ¦-wi^With compliments of Starlite Electrical Works Electrical Engineers & Contractors FERN HOUSE 13, BEST MARG BOMBAY4(XX)39 Tel: 241496 57 Parsiana March 1988 adults please”) will discuss youth F perceptions of the Zoroastrian way on April 1, 1988, notes an announcement in the newsletter. The subtopics in­ clude: how does Zoroastrianism work in our daily lifp; how can we adapt to western society while maintaining our Zoroastrian identity; the structure of social, religious and educational prog­ rams to ensure youth interest in Zoroastrianism; youth/parent rela­ tionship; uniting Zoroastrians from different backgrounds; sudreh-kusti - embarrassment or pride. The discus­ sions will be followed by a youth dinner-dance. To celebrate a centenary of Parsi cricket - the first Parsi team had reached British shores in 1986 - the Zoroastrians of Ontario are planning to send the first Zoroastrian cricket team to tour England from North America. To finance the outing the Zoroastrian Cricket Club was sche ­ duled to present a gourmet evening on February 28. ‘Dotbusters’ on trial Judge Salvatore Bovino of the Jersey City Court ruled on February 26, 1988 that the four American ‘Dotbuster’ teenagers, accused of the fatal mug­ ging of Navroze Mody on September 27, 1987, will be tried as adults, noted a UNI despatch dated February 27. Identified as Ralph Gonzalez, Luis Padilla, William Acevedo and Luis Acevedo, the alleged killers had been set free after the initial arrest so that they could attend school. The move had angered Navroze’s parents Khor- shed and Jamshid Mody, other mem­ bers of the Indian community and a host of Americans who were worried that the criminals, if charged as juve­ niles, would get off with a lenient sent­ ence despite the horror of their crime. Petitions from 1,400 signatories had been forwarded to the US Attorney General and other law enforcement agencies, states the February newslet­ ter of the Zoroastrian Association of Metropolitan Chicago (ZAC). Among those who repudiated the earlier leniency was Zoroastrian scholar Dr James Russell of Columbia University who wrote to Attorney General Richard Hughes of New Jersey on February 6, 1988: “As it is, (Mody’s) parents’ lives are permanently and irrevocably shattered, but the un­ speakable American criminal justice system seems determined to subject WA Best Compliments From White Cloud Filter Pads Pvt Ltd Pioneer Manufacturers of Finest Quality machine-made Filter Pads in the Country 412 Gultekdi Road Pune 411037 Phone 32236 Grams Filterpads in r r r ¦' Sm ?? i I 5 ( 1 r 5 <5 1-H idST ^5*'''r*''" > r them, as victims, to additional suffer­ ing. I must admit I could ill control my anger when I learnt that the attackers have been allowed to stay at home. ” Providing Hughes with a brief back­ ground on Zoroastrianism and the Parsis, including the sugar and the milk bowl legend, Russell added, “That ’s what Parsis are: sweetness... Like the other Indians who have come here, to this country Of many races and peoples, they have added sugar to the American bowl of milk. There is no room in our country for the Dotbus­ ters. Teenagers who form a gang ex­ pressly dedicated to racist murder are not mischievous little boys and girls, but that is how the criminal justice apparatus you supervise is treating them- And in doing so, it renders a grave disservice to the civilized values of Americans, and good people every­ where. I ask you, therefore, to make every effort to have a special prosecu­ tor assigned to the case of Navroze Mody, and to press for the severest sentences possible under law. Furth ­ ermore, I ask you to request the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to examine all cases of attacks on Indi­ ans in New Jersey and to treat the Dot­ busters as it would any subversive and violent conspiratorial organization. Nothing but the full weight of the law is enough. ” Quoting a letter from Jamshid Mody, the ZAC newsletter notes that the Department of Justice has asked the FBI to investigate the case. News of the court decision was con­ veyed to the victim’s parents and com­ munity members, who were not allowed inside the court room, by pro­ secution attorney John Molinari, notes the UNI report. Jamshid Mody is also suing the authorities of Hoboken City, where Navroze was attacked, for $ 10 million for having failed to protect his son’s life, adds the report. Counsel Bernstein pleaded the Modys’ case with Prof Jan Pillai, pro­ fessor of law in Philadelphia, as co- • counsel. Another source of support was honorary human rights commis­ sioner Hardayal Singh who heads one of the Indian community groups which have been campaigning for putting the four delinquents on a regular trial. The ‘divine’ car The name of the Japanese automobile - Mazda - has raised many a query in Zoroastrian minds. When Manashni, Come! Join Various Tours! With DINI TRAVELS GO... GO... GOA... 6 days tour by luxury coach Rs 1050 Dep May 4th: 7th; 10th NAINITAL-BHIMTAL-RANIKHET Bom/Delhi/Bom by Rajdhani Express Also Visiting Delhi Rs 2599 Dep on May 10th (Full) and 19th (Few seats available) SIMLA-KU LU-MAN AU Bom/Defhi/Bom by Rajdhani Express Also Visiting Delhi-Agra-Fatehpur Sikri Rs 2999 Dep on April 29th ; May 1 st and May 19th BANGALORE-MYSORE-OOTY 10 days tour by luxury coach Rs 2250 Also visiting Brindavan Gardens & Bandipur Dep on May 27th UDVADA - ON EVERY BEHRAM ROJ 1 Day Tour By luxury coach Rs 141 Bookings open for April 10; May 10. Also special tours on April 29 Adar Mahino Ne Adar Roj May 15 Sunday Ashiswang Roj and May 21 Dae Mahino Ne Hormuzd Roj UDVADA-NAVSARI-SURAT 3 days tour by luxury coach Rs 425. Also Visiting Chikhli Agiary known for its miraculous belief and Goti Nu Adarian. Dep on May 16th CHIKHLI Sunday One day Holiday Tour Rs 141 . Jasan and Gamnu Gambhar type food at Chikhli. Dep on April 17 NOTE: In All our tours (except Udvada) cost includes Stay at comfortable hotel Sightseeing by luxury coach and Veg/Non-veg food prepared by our Catering Division Luxury Buses & Cars available DINI TRAVELS 9 A, Anand Nagar, Forjett Street, Bombay 400036 Tel 382221 -389755-8727049-8513997 I 1 ! ! . li • i 59 Parsiana March 1988 1 i ( S: ! si ,1 ¦rf: J Ji-Jr I I I I I S' I 1 I ¦( »* T***» a. .>1. * Burjor Framji & Co. Licensed Plumbers Sanitary & Drainage Contractors MARINE MANSION 1ST MARINE STREET BOMBAY 400 002. TELEPHONE:. 313207 the newsletter of the Australian Zoroastrian Association of New South Wales, quoted a Reader’s Digest snip­ pet linking the name to Ahura Mazda, Parsiana reported the information for the greater satisfaction of Zoroastrians . worldwide. A letter from Capt Rusi Katila of Bombay however notes, “This matter was a subject matter of correspond­ ence I had with the Mazda Car Cor­ poration and I wonder who fed the in­ formation to Reader’s Digest?" In the xerox copy of a letter dated May 11, 1987 to the managing director of Toyo Kogyo Company Limited, Hiroshima, Japan, which he forwarded to Par­ siana, Katila wrote, “My curiosity was aroused for many years to know how you came to use the word ‘Mazda’ as a brand name for your cars. Were there any followers of Ahura Mazda settled in Japan when so many of us had to run away from Iran under Muslim onslaught about 1300 years ago?” Yumiko Miyoshi, Mazda’s interna­ tional public relations officer, replied on September 24, 1987: “Mazda Motor Corporation was founded as a cork manufacturer named Toyo Cork Kogyo in 1920 and renamed Toyo Kogyo Co Ltd in 1927. In 1929 produc­ tion of Toyo machine tools com­ menced. In 1931 production of three- wheel trucks commenced and in 1960 R360 coupe, the first Mazda passenger car, introduced. “Mazda Motor Corporation was known as Toyo Kogyo Company Li­ mited until May 1, 1984 when the cur­ rent corporate name was adopted to identify the name of the company with that of Mazda motor vehicles, its lead­ ing products.” Explaining that while the company had wanted to use the founder Jujiro Matsuda’s name for its products, the word ‘Matsuda’ was inappropriate as a brand name because it evoked no im­ age for the international buyer. “So we searched for a word that can be pronounced ‘Matsuda,’ but means something of value. And we hit upon the word ‘Mazda’ which is the name of the Zoroastrian god of light, Ahura Mazda. As we are longing to produce the vehicle which makes people’s life bright, we thought the word ‘Mazda’ is most suitable to our product. Now we are very happy with the company name, Mazda Motor Corporation.” Selvel For Effective Outdoor Advertising Throughout India with Best Compliments from SELVEL PUBLICITY & CONSULTANTS PVT. LTD. Ravindra Mansion Annexe 194, Dinshaw Vatcha Road 4th Floor BOMBAY 400020 Tel. No. 2026512 2027560 62 Parsiana March 1988 Compiled by Arnavaz S. MamaTRADITION i The ¦j cheers * A Members of the Dumasia and Bhagat families labor for hours to create elaborate designs in chalk ParinazToddywalla The letter ‘T’ was constantly on their glazed paper cuttinp, ^e- Will an angular or a curved ‘T’ blend components are assembled there and with the overall background? What ’ Mubarak’ and ‘Happy Birthday is • • ' Behroze usually works single- I be helped by her sister Gool Guzder, as when they jointly completed an assignment at Standard Mills on the i,K ------ occasion of the late Vijay Merchant ’s of commitment to her (famed cricketer and industrialist) seventy-fifth birthday . Behroze accepts 15 to 20 chalk assignments in a inc ICllCr 1 Waa vuiiaiaiiiij vii iiivii - --------- minds. How should it be designed? forehand and “^^lld'tee ISd “BehX usually works single- cunipuiiciii:> aiv asbcinuicu UICIC aiiu ,11 with the overall background? What then starts the coloring, beginning al- handed, though ‘ occasiona y Y will please the parents and more so the ways with the background tones. - • ¦ Faces and figures never feature in the work of Behroze Bhagat who undertakes chalk assignments more I sense c* —--- --------- late father Faredoon Dholoo ’s mem- child whose navjote is to be per­ formed? To accommodate the re­ quests of the clients and yet maintain their hallmark on chalk designs (floor out of a sense decorations in multicolored powder) is 1— ------- . what the Dumasia team of Zarir and ory, reportedly the fifst^ his sister-in-law Dinoo hoped to achieve at their next assignment on _ March 19, 1988. The Dumasias as well her living sending l.w...v _ nrartice started bv as-Behroze Bhagal. the only other selling snacks (Parsi speciahyes) con- les) “ dlys Only chalk designer known to the commun- centrates only on floral and graphic her fa^ tViAtncplvpS itv, are specially commissioned on au- patterns. When commencing work, spicious occasions to add color to the she never knows what shape he^de- : entrant^ of buildings, bangs, fire- sign ¦ ¦ ’ temples, hotels. Among their Parsi clientele, “the design preference is usually for flow­ ers,’’ informs Zarir who works for a bank. Dinoo, a l through their album to emphasize that even among flowers, the favorites are —, roses When the client leaves the de- one tiny hole (for the eye of a butter­ sign selection to them, the Dumasias fly) - Behroze emphasizes, “You nmst -- know how to tap the box for the best -------------- - jc each possible effect.” If the four Corners 6f chalk pattern designed by Behroze is the box leave their unwanted mark, preserved for the “pag," on t- - - over-all picture. The floral embellish ­ ments take time, informs Behroze, - ------------------- “the lettering of initials, numerals and ing all these assignments for religious • fl tvT...- ’ ‘CUqHJ fiinntinnc of COSt. BehrOZC SaVS birthday. introduce the concept of a professional year. This includes her voluntary de­ chalk designer. Behroze, who earns coration of Bombay s four atash coration of Bombay’s four atash home tiffins and bahrams on their salgrehs (anniversar- patterns. When commencing work. have they permitted themselves once an interruption - on the occasion of ¦ I 1986, which ilic lltvvi Mivno ------- - - * sign will take. While the central motif her father s chahrum, m is always done freehand, she gradually happened to fall on the same day as makes the picture more elaborate, us- ing chalk dabbas (boxes) if space per- _ mits. r " ’ housewife, flips that her father got made to order - a three-foot boi (fish), a crown, an extra large horseshoe, a box bearing just have a brainstorming session to come up with new creations. Their aim ( time is to work on “something diffe­ rent, something challenging. '' Scenes from nursery rhymes and fairy tales, depicted on the floorage, are their spe­ ciality. Such designs are not done ex­ clusively freehand but with the use cf the salgreh of the Dadyseth Atash laiN uuucyc., _____ -r_______r- Bahram. Though the family had not Referring to the special dabbas planned on a break, when the priests themselves volunteered to look after the chalk work, the family excused themselves. At the Wadia Atash Bahram, where the interval between t________ and atash adarian is just four days, the makes the picture more elaborate, us- the anniversaries of the atash padshah the floor, it could mar the She had also assisted her father design -------- J--------- da Atash Bahrain years back. Accept- large carpet-like motif at the Udwa- ? of words like ‘Navjote Mubarak,’ ‘Shadi functions free of cost, Behroze says j 64 Parsiana March 1988r- 4 'A*.: i,.>’ WINERY: College Road, Village vadkun, Dahanu Road, Dist. Thane Pin; 410502 Phone :2947(Dahanul ii r » WULittle W llOSSfc Vq «- •I- .. ¦ 's' iByi ^Bi iiw; V ] i- S’.' /.*T'' .¦'r; ‘_2a . -''' - ¦I-?-*' ¦>'- A. V * GRAPHAL WINERIES & DISTILLERIES PVT. LTD. OFFICE: Shroff Chambers, 261 Pehn Nahman Street, (Bazargatestreet), Fort, Bombav-400001. Phone: 262677f I she would have liked to have volun­ teered her services at the foundation stone laying of the Kookadaru Dar-e- Meher at Sanjan, (like they had in 1972 at another community function there), but did not know whom to approach. The task of decorating the portico on the si'lgreh of the Kappawalla Agiary at I J ardeo is delegated to the Dumasias each year. This March they also re­ ceived an invitation from the Fasli Agi­ ary but with the sudden demise of Das­ tur Navrooz Minochehr-Homji, the appointment was cancelled. g The foyers of hotels like the Taj, I Oberoi, West End and Heritage have I seen the Parsi chalk touch at the hands I of the Dumasias and Bhagat. The Alb- I less and the Cama Baugs as well as I Parsi residential colonies have noticed ¦ the difference a talented hand can I make to the art of chalk designing. ¦ Roadside corners like Kashinath I Street and Firdausi Road have been given a facelift or rather ‘floor-lift,’ as also affluent buildings like Sterling 1 ne Uumasias linish Apartments. Taking six hours for completion, the largest design which the Dumasias have tackled so far is a 21 by 4 foot design at the Oberoi. On an average they undertake designs which can be executed in two hours. The size and colors of each design are adapted to suit the requirements of space and the shade of the floor. Mar­ ble tiles lend for the best effects, in stopping the wind blowing away the Behroze's opinion. Those interested in powder or preventing dust from set­ preserving the designs may cordon off tling over the colors which can be very the areas with potted plants, stilts or ' even bricks. But there is no way of has commissioned the work and for a Xf- “yi-rl. c IM*** I - -S' ’ •I J 'U Dinoo and Zarir Dumasia with their floor creations: I roses are the favorites I among Parsis 1N Bhagat with her chalk decorations The motif at the Udwada Atash Bahram (far right) was the joint effort by Bhagat and her father where the unpredictable winds wouldn't take long to get their handi- the chalk work before the break of dawn because that is the time when they can work in peace... the unpredictable can be particularly dampening is unex­ pected drizzles like the ones they ex­ perienced in January last. The Duma- sias had just finished their design on the road at Lalbaug when the first dro­ plets began to settle on their art. An anguished Dinoo cried out, “O God, what are you doing?” But fortunately for all, the design was not spoilt as “God seemed to have heard our plea,” Dinoo continued in Gujarati. k !¦! 31; ! I’ •I! 1 Ji" ! it ! ti' -I disheartening - for the customer who Chalk designing starts as a challenge ' ---¦ “At weddings-navjotes, we were the the designers who have taken the first to start chalk decorations,” claims pains. That is the only reason why the Behroze. “No British firm would em- Duniasias and Bhagat decline to ploy my father who was known for his accept any assignment at the Jee- Gandhian principles. We were a fami- jeebhoy Dadabhoy Agiary at Colaba ly of eight children. My father would I i i [f- S7 Parsiana March 1988 I III s’ ¦1i.i^ I:- hi ih I !) 1 J; I a J 1 Ji ii: -i Si 3 ¦¦ (JJ! iV' ‘ i I ij ’ iii i ii ii 1 J •i I ! j .1 (j ii J J t t' J-J j '¦"' j Vs ¦ H ¦ [J go and approach clients (soliciting _ - . . . business) and charge them Rs 25 to 30 • dCSiQU rCCJUlfinQ for one assignment. He also used to - - conduct ‘mental drill’ classes (in mne­ monics) to supplement his income. But if he felt that some client could not afford his full fees, he would charge less. Today, the cost of the powder it­ self is so high that I charge on an aver­ age Rs 200 to 300 per job.” Behroze herself undertook her first solo assign­ ment about 30 years ago when she was “E'BsSsS Behroze accepted the task. She can f.--- still recall receiving a bouquet and gift tions from the customers and heading the success of his fyst venture ------ —---------- (lamp) are the first choice of their Hin- 1 ------- -------------------------- - . du clientele, but on seeing the diffe- > - _• rent styles in their album, they opt for - some minute detail to ^mething more creative, notes be filled in, I have to literally hold my breath lest my hands shake more Dinoo. Neither Behroze nor the Dumasias advertize their skills. Usually, recom­ mendations are made by friends or otherwise interested parties make note of the sticker pasted along with the de­ sign indicating the name and- contact point of the artists. In the case of the Dumasias, the work starts and ends interruption, ¦’ even and the though if might involve working under ¦ ! was artificial tipht made Dossible with ex­ brother Sarosh, but about three years back friend who was to be married. Invita- in peace, without ,, from other colleagues followed spreading out their colors in peace. straight for the hospital with a sense of word soon spread. Initially he ® Ktr hic vniinQpr bn accomplishment. Their very first customers being the Pandoles of Duke and Sons, the Dho- loos had over the years gained a repu- - tation. Behroze says that chalk decora- sister-in-law Dinoo replaced him. artificial light made possible with tensive wires stretching from the resi­ dence of the party to the site where the Khushnuma Florists so their on their job they have to always ensure that the ground is swept and cleaned with their own hands. Any trace of moisture means delay and patience... assisted by his younger Sarosh decided to devote himself to his design is to be concern Zarir has even had an opportunity to With Compliments From PETROSIL OIL COMPANY LIMITED (LICENSEES OF Apeejay House 3, Dinsha Wacha Road Bombay 400020 Gram ORANGEDISC Tel 220818 Tlx 113520/116857 GULF OIL CORPORATION, PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A) 68 Parsiana March 1988 .DRAMA I I Dr Patel '"'^‘Mister Behram I Gieve Patel’s third play focuses on a man’s love for his Warli son-in-law and the consequences of the relationship I Geeta Doctor *1)' The footsteps ring through the vast ex- When the sunlight strikes his lip and panse of the Nehru Centre, Bombay, the moisture glows upon it, it is an in- poet asks, and the dramatist displays a as a young man walks across and crum- vitation to me to drown in the fluids of twitching mass of neural connections, bles mid-stage, his arms and legs his body. I could enter his entrails and Is man just a dark lump of living stuff thrashing about. “You had a fit. You eat the foul wastes of his bowels,” he like the birth mass that Naval’s goat were slithering, ” says his young wife says. He is talking to his own daughter expels from her womb, or is it his Dolly as she holds him close to her. Dolly, who is fighting to save her hus- capacity to think, and feel, and suffer, Dolly is a highborn Parsi girl; her hus- band. Rati, his wife, whose civilizing that distinguishes him as a human band is a dark untamed creature, but touch has transformed Nahnu, the lit- being? These are some of the ques- the moment he begins to talk there is tie Warli boy in her kitchen, to Naval, tions that are kept tightly curled within poetry in his words. Naval is filled with the eloquent lawyer, is by Behram ’s the folds of the play, neither fully ex- a strange vision of a black goat that he side as he makes his confession. It is a plained, nor detonated at the end, so has just seen giving birth and this, cou- moment of complete degradation. Yet that the answers keep growing long af- pled with the image of the setting sun even at this moment, the poetry that ter the play is over. Love, perhaps it is engorging the entire world around shines through this most convoluted of love, that is the blinding sun that has him, has set his senses spinning. “The plays, redeems the ugliness and leaves convulsed Naval and catapulted him, sunset,” he says looking at Dolly, “It the spectator both reeling with delight scene from Mister Behram was huge...a red ball...blinding! You and groping in the dark. (Photo: Madhu Gadakari) could reach out and touch it,” and a few seconds later he sighs, “I was reel- |||||||||||||||||||^^ The first few moments of Dr Gieve Patel’s play. Mister Behram, are filled with a poetic intensity that sets the for the whole a play that deliberately jars the senses, wren­ ching the spectator out of his (or her) comfortable expectations by creating a series of confrontations that become more and more intolerable. The cli- . max of the drama is reached when Mister Behram, an influential lawyer and wealthy landowner, who is lording it over his beautifully appointed household, set in the late nineteenth century, admits that he has been har ­ boring an unnatural love for his own son-in-law. Naval - the same Warli tribal boy, Nahnu, whom he has adopted. “To me there is no part of him that is not a source of rapture. What a piece of work is man, the ¦i 71 Parsiana March 1988 Si- -i I' I i ij s '•pj I f I?' I k** ¦'! BU • ¦. pit < <41 't;- reeling, onto center stage and our attention. Meeting Gieve Patel both before and after the play is a dislocating ex­ perience He is as eager and fresh as a young uoy in love to talk about his play and yet, for all that, he is com­ pletely detached also. He could be dis­ cussing the case history of one of his patients. As he talks, his wife, Toni Patel, Svho is a theater person in her own right, and who has undertaken to direct Mister Behram, listens. “The germ of the play started as far back as 1981,” says Patel. His method is to write down scraps of conversation or ideas on bits of paper and collect them in a brown paper bag that he puts aside until he feels he has enough material to work into a coherent form. “I re- wh^talked'to X*about"'herlif°.''the family. He takes them to the very brink rlual wheel of men and oxen carving things that had happened to her. It was of «’ of his life, growing up in a fairly ordinary, middle-class Bombay Parsi family I I w “s ’* '1 Toni (left) and Gieve Patel: “liberating the audience” of self-knowledge. Patel is an eager, indeed a luminous a disaster story, you know...She was a Patel is an eager, moeeo a luminous wonderful person. It seemed terrible talker, whose face lights up in a spon- that like that would happen taneous smile when he feels that you -------- - . - i-aai„ u ;* hersKit that mavbe she had have grasped a point. Yet. it is difficult background. I think I was a litt e bit her. She felt that maybe na^^j P ^p^^ , silences. He seems to be standing both thrown more and more into myselt. 1 inside and outside his characters, loved my grandfather ’s house on me snuauui. « ja.a.va.. . - glancing back at you to S::retS::m'’t‘h^nrwK^^ Ko7s.ThL “s‘aS?4MwhMh^^^^^^^ aYlchildrenareattractedtoasecretlife m^nXiv^d^T feehng'/an intense fleshed per^nality of Mister Behram »hich ^J^^n^wmp th^s^es feeling for his own son-in-law. From himself. When itcomes to r._ time to time the idea would come back Nahnu, the Warli boy, to me. How would it affect his rela- £"K,=3'-="i;= ASSESS; ; tion, how they had been reduced to bare skin and bones, and been ravaged by alcoholism and leprosy. But from my childhood there is the memory of an extraordinary richness. There is such a thing as a tribal way of life and, “In Savaksa (Patel’s second play, the 1 ano me uoiiy, i wu. nau.H-.w------- ------first being Princes) lhere is a W^U xi- out of his that dress.. .1 felt I was seven years old vant moving through the play. But jus i^a OUT O1 ms umi .................presence. People noticed him aU IU1C13 uivirvrrvu ___ -1 thc samc. Finally I decided that I wanted rain' Each man works his that person to come out. To inake it right. To take him out and probe the depths of a relationship that was very to brought it upon herself. “From this simple beginning, the idea came into my mind to create a situation whereby a person’s life is shattered. I began to think...What if a man conceived a feeling...an intense see whether estate. It was an open window, an ex­ istence outside of what I knew. Maybe Naval/ but 1 would go into this other world. It was a male dominated world. It literal­ ly was a jungle in certain respects. «..M -____ _____ Even the food we had was different. It shared" with the Warlis lacked the refinement of a woman’s in between long pauses, when his own feelings of affection and wonder at the character that he has created. There is no doubt that the most in- noi UC VUlIllVUCU. lliviv m Vii.j ----------------- ------------- 1 U I drop of poison in this man. Mister spired passages in the^play belong to Behram is forward-looking, courageous, Nahnu. He seems to be a part oyhe a liberal in the best nineteenth century earth. There is a fierce beauty and in- sense of the word; he has a library in nocencein.everythinghe.does,even in which he has coUected aD the best books; the painful scene when Mister Behram all that is good in the family comes from forces him to strip off his Western . . . ¦ ____ I— di-irl Hnn VllC WatH WAlSttCOHt lull!) uwi - ---------- him. I wanted to see what happens when of the word; he has a library in nocence in everything he does, even in clothes and don his Warli waistcoat him; but there is that drop working in • there is a threat to the strong emotional others in the room. As he says later to u u uD..1___ r.nzi fho nniiv. “I was transDorted when 1 wore bond between L------ --------- young man who is about to go Gu, ^a aa*m -------—------------ . orbit. I wanted to examine how that drop and once again ^orkingjn of poison works its way through Mister 1?, 2'' ’ Behram, right through to the end.” Later pouring on Patel adds that a playwright has to be tc2“ r.c Bss SSS U1U111C3 aiiw Mv»*i ----------------------- --------- xx:*. and G-string to the amazement of the for a moment, I wa^ a part ot it. . ® A _ 1______ Ay.. “Tn C/iij/ii-M YPntp.l’s second nlai Mister Behram and the Dolly., “I was transported when I wore 10, 20 others drenched like nie! In V%** »*” '¦ — team next to the furrow made by the so the 10, 20 of us '¦4' -3' ’0 w, '."'i b”- jyi .1^: 'I I ¦’tfl I ,.4 I ’ll' V >1 i Ji' i- .V -?¦ i r 73 Parsiana March 1988 J I*00 to the people who see established, I have no interest in flog- EXa^Shl to^ri^^ Je„~“’' Yyou yourself are the first au- ging the Parsi angle or anything dM. sense of loss There k nntST f n j X critical audi- The important thing for me is that they kXS « “«tog at an ,s that is cleansing, are hu^an beingslrving the The next dramatic encounter that f ’"e’ theater. That should be flawless. T 1 ................ knew was lying there, waiting for him, lL, was a meeting with Ebrahim Alkazi, and Fit then director of Theatre Unit in Bom­ bay who, as Patel observes, influenced a whoto generation of actors. To Patel, , Alkazi was a mentor who sharpened has seen the way ” his mind to all that was best in theater Patel admits that he enjoys the con- B^kett. “To fidence of five or six close friends who him the touchstone was that theater form his i..u»i viiiivai audience alter ^d to get to the center of things, himself. “One way I have protected When you drop a stone, it should proiecteo travel straight down and touch bot­ tom. It shouldn ’t be floating around. It had to touch bottom. He had a distaste for anything that did not aspire to this clear perception. One may not always achieve it - one rarely does - but that is not to say that one is not deeply aware at all times of the need for it.” Another phrase of Alkazi’s that r Patel repeats is, ‘“Theater is about bad ;*people.’ There ’s something wonderful j about that phrase, ” says Patel. “It’s ' true people love to see drama because of the terrible things that happen to the people in it; badness makes for I good drama. Only then can you see I the whole range of the human psyche • _________ Jike to see the Young Gieve (second from left) with his truth even if It s a harsh truth. That is p'- ¦ ¦ ¦’ = why the positive feature of Behram ’s j character is that he is strong enough to myself is by engaging in aHow himself to open the floodgates of where I his soul. It is the drama of a i_ subjected to the test of his lifetime. We always like to keep the doors shut, ¦ to keep ourselves timidly behind me, theater. That should be flawless. I _ , - - --------------------- -- T this path 111 be to do anything self-conscious such as creating a ‘Parsi’ character. I write what I am most familiar with, and frnm fk/n X 1 o T v .------ ’ ¦ X Iiai ailuulu UV IiaWlCSS. 1 fSg thlfin follow X;V?! » Paigi to have burdens .’rtiTv * through lightened, a muai laiiiiimr wim, ana joyous, and this has happened. What that ’s being a Parsi. If I were a Bengali . the artist sheds, the viewer also sheds, . .. ° perhaps not to the same extent, but he Patel admits that he enjoys the con- -•Wl.;, 'lit' ¦¦ > fu? ’ I would write with that bias in mind but that does not mean that I should see myself exclusively as a Parsi play­ wright or a Bengali playwright. ” When I ask Patel whether he does most critical audience after not feel the lack of a Christian moral sense of right and wrong spelt out in black and white, he explains that according to the basic Hindu concept of morality, the worst evil was to see yourself as a personality or agent dis­ tinct from the rest of creation. The main task was to free yourself from this delusion and actively experience the unity of the life force. While a playwright had to be attuned to the subtleties of the moral and metaph ­ ysical truths behind his characters, he still had to keep in mind the theatrical means to that end: “One thing about theater is that the enjoyment of watch ­ ing it is everything. ” Meanwhile, I try to tell Patel that there were parts of the performance of Mister Behram that I could not enjoy at all, particularly the long second half. He murmurs, “Yes, yes,” but I can see by his abstracted look that he out of the window, the light reflected in his glasses, looking at some distant spot. In the silence I begin to hear the Warli friends: experiencing tribal'life am working alone. I don’t man being have to face the vicissitudes of working others. As a playwright 1 am an activity is thinking of something else, staring T rizxrt’i- xV - ___• . » ..... _ ® ¦ .0 Keep oumelves timidly behind our Xplc Tto wav Tcan sTdownTnd & >'““"8 '»>' ; walls so that we do not have to face Tpend fiX yearVover a o av which 1 "’¦'““gK Je furrows of what is deep within us. Behram is v^alue. I wo^rsto^ s xt/es a dt ‘ W he o^nl’IyS'^h? - strong enough to remain open. At but in 10 days you have «0 Ita^” liey kJew ’ws ’’ . each step there ,s a struggle but he While in the process of completing the guiding di”m ±^0 “en in all his play he received a Woodrow Wilson letting out oTi nakedness until he surrenders com- f,"___inaiuuic pletely to the force. It is a play about in the USA* which ’hrsaidwarvX^ I too much love, a love that suffers terri- ‘ ‘ ble defeats all the time, but which re­ mains true to itself. That is why Rati tells Dolly, at the end that she will have to bear the pain of it.” “What is the function of theater? ” I |sk Patel and he replies, “It is a play- ' i "is!. 'Mr: ‘-f. '¦^'h I I i| ‘,1 I'h! ( ¦' i l-i' H' ’ip il J a play which I the earth walking behind the plough SIX lines a day, “And the oxen! Oh, oh! Thev knew! 3 was only a little boy , and they tried tricks, getting out of line, taking a bit of way­ ward grass on the side, but I would tug them back into line. Then the oxen would have their revenge, letting out big splashes of dung right in front of me, and my feet which were chilled bv ? _____ J 1 » X* ¦ _ treading on warm dung as though it were a soft carpet, and strong healthy ¦—C " , ,j my nostrils and 1 looked gratefully up at •*—. rains pouring down from great grey clouds, washing - ^4 U fellowship at the Smithsonian Institute able in giving him the time to gather his forces together for the final busi­ ness of revising and editing. “It gave me the time to do nothing, whic ’h is ihrcild'-'^ld^wo'^i;;'fcerZfonld' very important,” he admits. 1 - cumioriea Patel also talks about the ethnicity v... „ strong nea ing out in front of’you, to its fullest ^lay.'-lK twS XClaUfh “ consequence, things that are within the audience. To that extent theater is a means of liberating the audience. Obviously it has first to happen to the as a ?2’‘s»Play3hough it is written by a the skies, with their Parsi and filled with Parsi characters, f In everything that I have written, even the dung offfrom between by toerand Pnnces, once the ethnicity has been cooling them again...” I i 4 JK? 3 j' fl !’f t' Hr' tf.: ¦¦4 « W Parsiana March 1988 Lti i (¦ !¦ SPORTS A spurt ofsports Athletically inclined community members contributed to the success of the two all-Parsis sports meets held within a week of each other in Bombay Niloofer J. Madon The Zoroastrian community in Bombay lities. At his furniture factory at Maza- the Zoroastnan community in Bombay lities. At his furniture factory at Maza- ber and class all participate in spite of witnessed a bonanza of athletic activity gaon, he has already made provisions other commitments,” she adds. Lend- over 1 ¦ .................................... February and March this year with the and carrom. Bringing the second high- staging of two annual athletic events - est contingent to the games (number- ____ __ ______ ____________ the All Parsis Annual Athletic and ing 57) the new team won many laurels Jal Pardivala. The acknowledged Cycling Meet held at the Brabourne and, promises Patel, next year he will father figure of the meet, fondly called Stadium and the Sixth Zoroastrian bring a bigger team and win more. Jal Papa by the Dadar youngsters, Par- Athletic Championships at the University Two boys from Surat - Khushru divala tried to placate an irate parent Stadium. Anklesaria and Jamasp Patrawala - who was complaining that the 200 The afternoons of February 27 and also participated in the games for the meter run and the long jump events 28 saw the Brabourne Stadium a-hum first time. The other outstation contin- were being held at the same time, with activity. gent was from Navsari led by Phiroz thereby restricting his son’s participa- Organized under the auspices of the Jokhi. Two of his teammates, Rustom tion to only one event. Pardivala noted Nowroze Baug Play Centre, Zoroas- Sadri and Abul Pithawalla, were very that it was essential to register oneself trian Physical Culture and Health successful. The outstation athletes, for events carefully so as to avoid over­ League, Mancherji Edalji Joshi housed at the Nowroze Baug Hall, lapping. He also cited the example of Memorial Trust and Cusrow Baug Un- found that the facilities there were bet- American Olympic athlete Carl Lewis ited Sports and Welfare League, the ter than what they were a year ago. who had participated in four events in All Parsis Annual Athletic and Cycling “We get the cream of (Parsi) quick succession. This however did no- Me^Jhis year saw a record high of athletes at this meet,” notes Khurshid thing to mollify the parent who in- partfcipants, totalling 547. Compared Kalyaniwala, a physical training in- sisted that the timings had been to last year’s tally, the number of con- structor and warden for the RSP changed since the time of registration, testants increased by 125, according to (Road Safety Patrol), who was offi- Another parental complaint was that Homi Ustad who was officiating aS dating at the meet. “This is a highly there were only two events for athletes assistant manager of the event along reputed meet, because athletes of call- under 10 years when there shfitrfd'liave with Allan Roberts of the Maharashtra , ..... .. .. two consecutive weekends in for playing of games like table tennis State Officials Association. Out of a total of 91 events, nine were reserved for cycling. To facilitate the 28 cyclists, their proficiency was adjudged on the tracks at the V.P. Stadium at Worli a .week earlier. The athletes ran under various ban­ ners of colony associations, schools, colleges, youth associations, etc. Kersi Patel (of car racing fame), manager of the recently formed Mazagaon Team, noted that Parsis living outside the col­ onies do not have adequate sports fad- r " f r- r 'rF'' f -M* idMi aibi iMtf f /'V f L’ i 'T ' «* f 4, -ii I. ; if ¦¦ i-' ‘f" Running the 3000 meter race at the All Parsis Annual Athletic and Cycling Meet n Parsiana March 1988 ing credibility, discipline and an im­ mense organizational talent to the meet was veteran sports personality fl r ' Ut J; it '“4{(i S’ ¦’4i ..lift 'I ‘f. 1 r .at* ' ; .. . .. « prize distribution, Bombay appointed the skipper of the Mahar- gineer, Allan Roberts and D.B. . ------------------------------------------------- - Puthran, the 62-event meet had 400 the sponsor of the Meet, was the guest tic Meet at Jabalpur. participants vying for the trophies and of honor and gave away the certifi- The organizers also took this oppor- medals, according to Doomasia. The cates, medals and trophies. Last year’s tunity to “salute the doyen of sports number included non-Zoroastrians winners, the Mancherji Edalji Joshi journalism and ace commentator” representing various schools invited by " Memorial Trust contingent led by A.F.S. (Bobby) Talyarkhan and 14 the organizers. The outstation teams manager and coach Naval Pithawala other Parsi sportsmen and women included the Zoroastrian Physical Cul- won the team championship. Kamal “who made their presence felt at the ture and Health League from Navsari, Cooper of the Panthaki Baug Welfare national and international levels.” Un- led by Phiroz Jokhi and a 15 strong Centre was the most successful girl fortunately, due to a sudden indisposi- contingent from the Calcutta Parsi athlete. She was declared the fastest tion, Talyarkhan was unable to attend Club under manager Aspi Pestonjee woman of the meet and also bagged the meet. Nonetheless, Pardivala, af- and Prochi and Noomi Mehta. There the F.K.S. Foundation Trophy for the ter urging all those present to pray for was also one solitary participant from Best Girl Athlete (girls under 17) and the health of 93-year-old Talyarkhan, Nagpur. Not impressed by the overall the Cannon Sports and Gift Trophy requested some helpers to carry the competition at the meet, the Calcut- forthe Best Athlete of the Meet. (Ace momento and flowers to his room at tans nonetheless hope to attend more sprinter Zenia Ayrton was unable to the adjacent CCl club house, participate in the meet due to a T sprained ankle.) Merzi Dubash was formance in the sports field were also adjudged the Fastest Man of the Meet, offered to Kerman Framna and Porus the 200 meter race for girls under 10, the while Porus Jassawalla was declared Jassawalla (cycling); Jehangir Nichol- starter, after allocating the lanes to the the Fastest Man on Wheels and also son, sheriff of Bombay, for being the girls, went about patiently explaining awarded the trophy for the one mile oldest participant (at 73 years) to fin- the rules of racing. But a little girl was cycle race. The F.K.S. Foundation ish the recently held Himalayan Car still confused and enquired of her father Trophy for the Best Boy Athlete (boys Rally; Dilshad Irani, for coming first (standing encouragingly on the field) under 16) went to Burzin Mehta, at the same rally; Cawas Billimoria ""Kah ver dorvanu (Till where does one Rohinton Nazir was awarded the Dr (judo); Meherwan Daruwalla and run)?” Replied her father indulgently, Sorab K. Nariman Sasaman Challenge Farokh Pandole (squash); Lt Farokh '^‘^Dori che tah ver (upto the string).” Af- Shield for the 3,000 meters run and Tarapore (yachting); Gev Katrak, ter another particularly exciting race, a Firdosh Colah was awarded the Kaikho Neville Daroga and Vispi Daroga mother was happy that her daughter had Ratan Trophy for javelin throw (men), (weightlifting); and Rustom Patel and at least come in third: “Third avi? Chalo As promised last year at the same Kaizad Patel (motocross). The awards fero vasul (She came third? The trip was meet, noted community philanthropist were given courtesy Parle (Exports) worth the effort)!” Dinshaw Merchant instituted a new Private Limited. The other sponsors However, not everyone was so hap- award - the Jal D. Pardivala Trophy were Associated Breweries and Distil- py. One parent thought that the meet for Best Parsi Athlete of the Year - leries and the Polson Charity Trust. needed “toning up” and suggested which was awarded this year to Zenia Ayrton, the youngest athlete to be Doomasia with the help of F.S. En- Parsi Punchayet trustee Homi Ranina, ashtra team for the Inter-State Athle- such meets in future, bringing an even Felicitations for outstanding per- larger contingent. » Yet, the meet had its moments. At for Best Parsi Athlete of the Year - leries and the Polson Charity Trust. ~ Though arranged along the same that there should be more officials to lines as the All Parsis Meet, the Sixth make it easier on the participants as Zoroastrian Athletic Championships, well as on the organizers. Another pa- held at the University Stadium a week rent did not like the idea of giving cash later under the aegis of the Federation prizes to the winners and noted that it of Zoroastrian Associations for Wei- was better to give either cups or med­ fare and Culture (FOZAWAC), als to children. Doomasia’s experience attracted neither as many participants indicated that cups and medals merely nor viewers. Organized by Dara lie around the house and arc of no real Below: Ranina (right) congratulating Nicholson Center: Gamadia (at the mike) with members of the organizing committee at the All Parsis Meet Right: Bengalee presenting trophy to athletes Zubin Guzder and Kaizad Mistry E MF € ,/¦ - 3 f !; J 7 (— J R«tSjfe 79 Parsiana March 1988 A I 'h. I i i'^'i ¦Hi hEE .’1 J iI 1 t j i 1 J c v4 Tct Female Athlete was won by Kamal necessary duplication, merely due to Cooper. The Wadia Sports Club ego problems. Noomi Mehta, secret- Team’s performance in the tug of war ary of the Calcutta Parsi Club, was o event earned them the Jerbai Mulla the opinion that the greater the num- Shieid. tier of athletic events, the greater the FOZAWAC constitutes a group of opportunity for the athletes to partici- 11 associations, including one from pate in them. Merely training youngs- Vancouver, Canada and another from ters through various associations is not Delhi- the rest are from Bombay, enough; they should have the oppor- noted Doomasia. The Federation, tunity to put the training into practice, apart from conducting the annual Dr Viraf Kapadia and weighthfter athletic meet, also conducts all-Parsis Vispi Daroga of Petit Street felt that badminton tournaments “with the idea such meets should act as a talent ,.g Zoroastrian youth search where upcoming athletes could Plans for future athletic be identified and given the facilities for intense coaching. The general opinion sportspersons of renown. sive proposition and without adequate obvious question that comes to for young athletes to be successful. 'Dr Dinyar Gamadia, president ot Welfare League, in his speech at the All Parsis Annual Athletic and Cycling Meet, hoped that all colonies and asso­ ciations would get together and pool in their resources so that the community could have one comprehensive athletic meet representative of the entire com- 6 use whereas money is always useful. Yet another complained that the gruelling 1,500 meter run which was held at 2.30 in the afternoon should have been held early in the morning or late in the evening as is done at all other meets. Dr Mehroo Bengalee, BPP trustee and vice chancellor of Bombay Uni­ versity, was chief guest at the meet and gave away the prizes. Bengalee was in­ troduced by Dr Aloo Billimoria, presi­ dent of FOZAWAC. In her address, Bengalee noted that the time had of come \----- --------------- themselves what they had done for their community. She mooted the idea of building for the community a vast sports complex with a swimming pool. Her suggestion was welcomed amidst much cheer and applause. Later she donated a sum of Rs 1,000 towards the cost of the meet. Sixteen new meet records were set. Once again the team trophies went to questions...’ the large and enthusiastic contingent the ether he from the Man^herji Edalji Joshi two groups ... ... . . Memorial Trust. The J.N. Guzder come together^ 'tM ®rzin Th" meeVs, werrdolog'ius. that.'According ™ni«y differen, tournaments in H.P. Ranina Shield for the Best to Kalyaniwala the meets were an un- other fields of sport. Cooper. The Wadia Sports Club ego problems. Noomi Mehta, secret- _____ a.1-^ Dn«>o« 11/QC r^T bringing when Zoroastrians must ask of together. ” 1. meets include netting in more outsta- tion participation and felicitating older seemed to be that sports is an expen- VIi»vv.,vu., ....... sive proposition and without adequate * Viewing both these athletic meets, finance and training it is not possible an obvious question that comes to for young athletes to be successful, mind is; Does the community need L_ , - two such meets at an immense cost of the Cusrow Baug United^ money, time and effort? Pardivala re­ frained from answering; “Ask me no ” he said. Doomasia on the other hand noted that there were two groups which did not want to funds to hold their own separate to Kalyaniwala the meets were an un- With Compliments From DINSHAW SHAPOORJI & CO 414/3 Kasarwadi, Bombay-Poona Road, Pimpri, Poona-4il 018 92-C, Mohamedali Road, Bombay-4(X) 003 “Motor Truck 323977 or 339718 011 76597 DS A IN “Truck” Poona 62052 83055, 83056, 87033 0146 204 DIN IN TRANSPORT CONTRACTORS, TRANSPORTERS OF HEAVY MACHINERY, LUXURY COACH & STAFF BUS OPERATORS Branch Office: Bombay Grams: Phone: Telex No: Poona Grams: Phone: Pimpri Phones: Telex No: », 80 Parsiana March 1988I i / FOOD ^IL K<* f. Navroze Mubarak Sarosh An assortment'of barbecue recipes which offer a change from the usual fare eaten on Navroze Bhicoo Manekshaw Last August, when I gave a continen­ tal menu for Parsiana, you Sarosh, were very disappointed and said, “Aunt, how can you do this to me? I always look forward to your articles and try them out, but this time you let You can, if you want 1 _ _ menu!” I suppose, if one is living palav. abroad and far from one’s country, one does get nostalgic about one’s own BHOOJAN food. To compensate, I dedicate this Leg of lamb (2‘/a kg-deboned and article to you and all our people who cubed, about 1 '/a-inch pieces) live out of the country, and are spread Liver (1 kg - deskinned and cubed, to the four corners of the world. P/z-inch pieces) I know your love for barbecues. Kidneys (Vz-^ kg-well cleaned and nephew, so, here is a meal with the kept whole) accent on barbecue. It is Indian, Masala though not traditionally eaten on Nav- Malt vinegar (as required) roze. We have Bhoojan (barbecue) Fresh ginger (250 gms) or ginger from Balsar, Murgh malai kababs (ori- powder (about 2 tbsp) gin Iran), Jacket potatoes la Indien- Garlic (2- medium sized) ne. Salads of your choice, pickled car- Coriander powder (45 gms) rots, Ghau nee rotli and Falooda ice Cumin powder (30 gms) cream. Our traditional masoor dar Chili powder (to taste) goes well with Bhoojan, but I will be Worcestershire sauce (Vz cup) very cross with you if you make it on a Mustard powder or paste (1 tbsp) saaro sapermo daro (auspicious day). Oil (1 cup) . , "t dar, make the Black pepper (to taste) me down by giving a continental masalanee dar which we eat with Jaggery or brown sugar (1 tbsp) ' Ajinomoto (1 tsp) Salt (to taste) Note: If you can, grind coriander and cumin freshly. Do not wash meat after it is cut, as one loses all the proteins when meat of any kind is cut and washed (the pink liquid that comes out when meat is cut is the protein; do not wash it away). Do not use salt in the masala. Apply salt after the meat is ‘sealed’ on the barbecue. Mix all masala ingredients (except salt) with enough vinegar to make a firm but not dry paste. Apply on all the meat, liver and kidneys. Marinate 82 Parsiana March 1988 Lovernight or for at least four hours Grease skewers. Skewer lamb ................ ately from liver and kidneys as lamb with me, and takes longer to cook than the offals. Now barbecue, basting with the liquid JACKET POTATOES A that has remained in the pan. (Along INDIENNE with the liquid marinade perhaps, need to brush c::_ ____ ___ _ rcuuireo i on the quality of the meat.) Chat masala (as required) meat is browned, sprinkle Chat masala any cues, it draws out thp miz^Akc on/i ___ a. _ i\ ' ® and simmer till the potatoes are done, always shared this ambrosia now I share it with you! LA you may. Potatoes (12- medium sized) on extra oil. This Butter (as required) salt. (This is done because if one adds Dry cumin seeds (100 gms - roasted) r^r r\..,, ____i___ « ' cues, it draws out the juices and blood of the meats.) What a shame that while yCw barbecuing the Bhoojan, there ir - taari (toddy) to sip or an (mixed vegetables roasted i: then pot) to savor with it! MURGH MALAI KABAB Chickens (4 - 1 kg each, deboned and marinated in lime juice for four hours) Masala Curds (200 gms - hung in a cloth till all the liquid has drained out) Ginger (100 gms) ¦ Garlic (1 whole) Coriander leaves (2 tbsp) Green chilies (4 to 6) White masala Poppy seeds (50 gms) Four magaz (50 gms - seeds of pumpkin, cucumber, water melon marsh melon) Cashewnuts (25 gms) Thick cream (150 gms) Eggs(4) Garam masala powder (1 to 2 tsp - cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms and black pepper corns) Grind ginger, garlic, green chilies and coriander leaves together. Grind the white masala together. Mix curds with white masala, ground ginger garlic paste, eggs, cream and garam masala. Marinate chicken in this paste for four hours. Grease skewers, and barbecue, basting with oil if necessary. Sprinkle salt when the chicken is browned. Note: Do not throw away the bones of the chicken and the lamb. The Cooks of Chefair, sometimes make from ex­ tra bones what they call a stew. It is deheious. They chop up the bones with a little meat still on them, add ginger, garlic, onions, tomatoes, a few black pepper corns and a few bay leaves. Cook all this with water and salt to taste, till the meat on the bones is cooked. Then they add a handful of chopped spinach and some potatoes roasted) Dry mango powder {aam choor- 100 you are gms) -- is no Black salt (1 tsp) oobe'ryu Black pepper (1/2 tsp) m an ear- Chili powder (I/2 tsp) Salt (1 tsp) (Powder all ingredients. Mix well. Store in a glass jar. Stays indefinitely.) Wash and dry potatoes. Give 3 slits on the potato diagonally, t"- ' ’ and chat masala together to fUl ously the slits. As the absorb a lot of butter, wrap in foil, and bake in the cinders of coal for about an ja. hour. When done, remove foil, add the extra butter and chat, and serve with wedges of lime or lemon. GHAU NEE ROTLI Whole meal wheat flour (1/2 kg) Butter or pure ghee (2 tbsp) Salt (1 tsp) Boiling water to make a plyable dough. Mix all the above ingredients with floured table several times till the tex­ ture is smooth. (This hard throwing not only does good to the dough, it also helps to relieve pent up feelings!) Keep the dough covered with an in­ verted dish for about an hour. Roll into a sausage, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, roll into chapatties and cook on a grid-i die. Do not allow the rotlies to get brown and over-cooked. Brush with pure ghee or butter, very lightly, fold and keep in an airtight tin. Store the tin in a warm oven till required. (These rotlies, if kept in an airtight tin, will stay soft for 24 hours.) PICKLED CARROTS Fresh carrots (2 kg) Mustard seeds (lOOgms-slightlv crushed) Red chilies (4 to 5) Salt (to taste) ''fie r 83 Parsiana March 1988 and gener- and chilies which have been broken potato will into bits, in a large jar. Cover with wa­ ter, to the brim. Cover the top of the jar with a cloth and tie down. Keep in the sun for one week and FALOODA ICE CREAM Full cream milk (3 Itr) Cream (2 cups) Condensed milk (150 gms) Tookhmari na beech (2 dsp - when covered with water they look like milky globules) Cornflour (4 tbsp - mixed with water use. hft ’ “lander into iced "old lift the dough and throw it hard on the water to form elongated drops) Rose water (to taste) Almonds (100 gms - blanched, skinned and slivered) Pistachios (100 gms - blanched, skinned and chopped) Salt (a pinch) Egg yolks (4) Sugar (3 to 4 tbsp) Scald milk and condensed together. Beat egg yolks and together. Pour scalded milk cv.. yolks mixing all the time. Put on fire and cook gently or in a dubble boiler till the mixture thickens. (Do not allow it to boil, because it will curdle.) Re­ move from fire, pass through a sieve immediately and cool. Whip the cream and fold into the mixture. Add rest of the ingredients and freeze. Serve with rose syrup. Bon appetit! milk sugar over egg I I 'I I ' •i ‘ !, 'ip *L ',1 -t’’ tf 'i . J i 4 1 (¦ I i i Ju.I I if COMMENT Plans for survival The future of the Zoroastrian community hinges on its vkzillingness to accept socio-religious reforms Homi B. Minocher-Homji Zoroastrian is community priorities, perceptions, Chandra Sekar, Dr Malini Karkal and Dr Ketayun Gould who present an un­ biased, stark picture of our statistics. The Zoroastrian community accelerating towards a demographic standards and behavioral patterns? catastrophe - extinction. Every fifth The trustees are political-cum- Parsi is over 65 years of age; only ev- elective bodies who must nourish their generally overlooked amidst the com- ery eighth is under 14 years. We are own electorate which is basically munity’s petty preoccupations, both, an aging and a dying community, orthodox, introspective, narrow/local The housing shortage has nothing to in vision and unable to comprehend a The Bombay Samachar has consistent do with it. If it is any further comfort, concept of the current worldwide so- courage of conviction but can devote in recent years, in at least two major cial flux. Their implicit thrust on hous- limited though effective space in “Par- centers of Parsi population, annually ing has little effect on the regeneration si tari arsi, ' which however is lost in its twice as many died as were born! of the community. widely non-Parsi circulation. So it At that rate, perhaps by the first quarter of the twenty-first century, their own hereditary or traditional That leaves Parsiana as the last resort, and certainly by the end of the second positions (with some exceptions) and but with little political clout to effect a quarter, we will have decimated exercise it through their monopoly on social change with any authority, ourselves as a distinguishable ethnic rituals as well as through the mod- So where do fve look for a new lead­ group. Do these stark facts cause any ulated training of mobeds at the mad- ership that can still muster public re­ ripple of concern in the community? In ressas, imparting a strict ritual-based sponse and hopefully save the com- our continuing petty quarrels are we concept of religion which bears no munity from extinction? It has got to losing the forest for the trees? When change. They could possibly have no be the people themselves. They have four blind men were asked to describe love at all for social change which got to come up with well-thought-out an elephant by touching it in different would only hurt their position. five-year and 30-year social and com­ parts, they described it as a pillar, a The Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian munity restructuring plans. These hose, a rope and a fan. All were right Anjumans of India is a recent body in plans have nothing or little to do with in their limited approach, yet wrong a formative stage, with little executive financing. They have everything to do on the concept of the total form. Is this power; the trustees are a part of it. with attitudinal and self-preservative what is happening in our community? Once the Federation gets firmly changes. They have to proceed on the Even if a change in attitudes and assimilated and accepted as the voice presumption that some community is habits can, by some miracle, save us of universal Zoroastrian conscience better than no community; that Ahura from extinction, then as any sociolog- around the world, it has the potential Mazda will only help those who will ist will affirm, the individual or family to guide social change. In fact it may actively help themselves with intelli- is not likely to heed the counsel. Offer then transform itself into a world gence (vohumana) and faith (daena). of incentives to produce more children Zoroastrian body in partnership with They have to be progressive plans with will have marginal effect. Social and other federations. true Gathic ethics as their basis and attitudinal changes cannot be ordered The scholars, greatly respected for compatible later tradition as their , - they can only be sympathetically their research on the Avesta, are un- guide. Moreover, they should be pre­ channelized. The entire community fortunately neither able to speak with pared to ride roughshod over all re- must work towards that goal. If so, one voice of conviction, nor sustain a gressive, postiGathic ukases, outdated who should take the leadership and uniformity of meaning on the essence rituals and homemade traditions of provide overall guidance? The anju- of the Gathas. Recently, they also hap- convenience, formed throughout the man trustees? The high priests? The pen to be,a majority of non-Zoroastrians Sassanian and Sanskrit hegemony. Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anju- and therefore either inhibited from which have become a source of much mans of India? The media? Or should speaking out or shunned as not being in irritation and communal disharmony, the community at large produce a new tune with traditional thought. This is necessary because now it is a leadership overriding all these hitherto Finally, there are skilled demog- questionof survival, not of who is right ineffective institutions to reorder our raphers like the late Sapur Desai, C. or wrong. In so far as the media is concerned, of the community. The high priests must safeguard reaches only limited Parsi households. Finally, there are skilled demog- questionof survival, not of who is right ii- I i# <9 85 Parsiana March 1988 4i ! J 4 ¦1 r.i j i.i if r< 1 *• . : P i i j,1 ’1 I' • in the fifth year, acceptance of non- panelists. The desired change should Zoroastrians by proselytization, sub- then be voted in. * ¦ The topics for example could be: • the preparation, reorientation, tim­ ing, standards and conditions required for inducting new initiates into the reli- acceptance at par, provided both pa- • review the possibility of incorporat- gion; rents agree and support; ing within the community, the one- • the fundamentals of research and • Similar acceptance of adopted chil ­ dren where both parents are Zoroas­ trians or in case one is a non- Zoroastrian, then subject to approval on northern Iran, Armenia, Afghanis- of both parents; , —------ ---------------- ’ — • acceptance of other categories like dayasnis of Europe and the USA. orphans, widows, divorcees, single pa- f" ¦* *- »*'— rents, etc who were originally Zoroas- yvuu --------------- . i „ trians whether offshoots of mixed process should be launched, supported tees, priestly class, scholars, media marriages or not; by Gathic and compatible younger and the community m promoting this • in the third year (gestation period) Avesta, Pahlavi/Pazand and Sanskrit social change, of the plan, the initiation and social scriptures, so as to bring out cleyly • the mechanics and struc- acceptance at par of non-Zoroastrian the pristine message of Zarathushtra ture of a Federation spouses, whenever so requested, pro- regarding the universality of our faith, trian Associations which can then , reg- hA/chf* appAnts Zoroastrianism as ethics, philosophy and religious prac- ulate and govern the regenerated The short term plan should for ex­ ample progressively consider: ... • the immediate acceptjmce of all chil- ject to a panel evaluation of their dren of mixed marriages where any sincerity, motive, conviction, study one spouse is a non-Zoroastrian, both and practice of the religion in a pre­ fer initiation by navjote and for social scribed manner; time Zoroastrian communities, known standards necessary to induct new in­ to reside in various parts of Iran, the itiates and the funding of such research republics of Soviet Union bordering abroad; “¦ ’ • the measures, reforms and loosening tan, north-west Pakistan, as also Maz- of traditional practices to be under- > vzx ______ .1- US- -. taken to encourage marriages among Independently, through these five Zoroastrians leading to more children, years and later, a strong educational • the new role of our institutions, trus- •* _ MMM. . « ____________1___xl.. r by Gathic and compatible younger and the community m promoting this acceptance at par of non-Zoroastrian the pristine message vided he/she accepts Zoroastrianism as ethics ,^philosophy jnd reh^oi^ prac- his/her only religion in future; ' • initiation of those of former Zoroas­ trian descent, going back to two or three generations, if they can so prove and desire; Old Crockery Cutlery & Glassware wanted Single pieces or sets plates, bowls, jugs, vases, bottles, glasses, etc Please reply to GPO Box No 402 Bombay 400001 86 Parsiana March 1988 tices. This should be done by holding world Zoroastrian community; annual world Zoroastrian symposia. • the socioreligious reforms necessary (Our congresses, with few exceptions, to ensure a better adherence to the re­ vent a decline in their own faith and reversion to other non-Zoroastrian annual world Zoroastrian symposia. • the socioreligious reforms necessary (Our congresses, with few exceptions, to ensure a better adherence to the re­ consist of stereotyped invitations to ligion by all Zoroastrians so as to pre- scholars to read papers but produce no acceptable solutions or guidelines.) In­ stead, the future world, European or faiths and practices. North American symposia should The media should help in wide- focus only on one specific objective - spread disseniination of the results of survival. The recommendations should these symposia throughout the world be progressively fed into the two community. The trustees, high priests, plans. scholars, media, professional business- A committee of highly respected men, industrialists, associations, ‘neutral’ individuals from India and mobeds, youth and women should all abroad, known for their competence be invited to jnin the panels and the and integrity, should be elected at a floor discussions. The process should samast sabha to conduct the symposia, be completely democratic, voluntary. Individuals like Nani Palkhivala, serious, intellectual and unpressured J.R.D. Tata, Neville Wadia, Farhang by violence or vitriolics. Mehr, Kaikhosrov Irani could be cons- If this idea meets with the approval idered The venue for these symposia of your readers and the community at should also be neutral e.g. The Tata large, I am sure we could work it out in Institute of Social Sciences at Chem- greater detail in consultation with the bur. The organizers should be profes- Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anju- sionals like Armaity Desai, Noshir mans of India, the trustees of the Kaikobad, Ketayun Gould, John Hin- Bombay Parsi Punchayet, the World nells, Mehroo Bengalee, Vera Mehta. etc. The topics f... -------- ’ be oriented to produce step-by-step feeding into the next symposium, and that niany other like-minded people all modulating the two plans. Each will join forces with him. ___________ topic should have one paper pro­ change and one paper anti-change. A panel of six to eight distinguished com­ munity experts should be invited to __ comment on the two papers in an open and author of the publication Oh Whither forum. Questions from the floor would Parsis? Placate and perish or reform and be directed to the lecturers and the flourish. -j—i__ ______ I ^he media should help in wide- focus* only on one specific objective - spread dissemination of the results of industrialists, engaicc , v via ivivuud, Zoroastrian Organisation and the Fed- for discussion should eration of Zoroastrian Associations of - 1-p North America. The writer is available recommendations, each for any assistance and feels sanguine About the author: Homi Minocher-Homji, a former member of the Pakistani civil service, is a past presi­ dent of the Zoroastrian Society of OntarioTHE CHALK THAT CHEERS... continued from page 68 r t from us,” notes Dinoo but then goes on to explain that when interested per­ sons were intimated of their 4 a.m. work commencement schedule the en­ thusiasm began to wane. Though requests for more designs keep coming in for the Dumasias, they don’t expect the younger generation Parsis to take to this “tiring job.” According to Behroze this is a “back- breaking task where after three hours your legs feel jammed. In a design re­ quiring some minute detail to be filled in, I have to literally hold my breath lest my hands shake while filling in the color...No one wants to do mehnat (exert).” For the Dumasias and Behroze it is not the monetary motivation that makes them want to excel each time, but the recognition and appreciation conferred on them. Usually they are never at the venue of the function, when the guests start trooping in, to gauge their reactions, yet there is a certain element of conviction that the hosts and guests though full of care, will have the time to stand and stare... c r- ¦ ‘f ; ¦ i ciwnin? macliiqe^ f 1923-1988 Sixty-five years of clean service! f; J? 1* I DIANA-ECLIPSE For all your carpet and upholstery cleaning. ? "Parag" 27, Peddar Road Tel; 4941987 i } SORABJI RUSTOMJI & CO. LARGEST EXPORTERS & STOCKISTS OF SANDALWOOD, SANDALOIL, OTHER SANDALWOOD PRODUCTS LOBAN & AGGARBATHIES SALES DEPOT & CORRESPONDENCE ADDRESS Durlab Bhavan Shop No 4, R. M. Roy Marg Chami Road Junction Bombay 400004 Tel 351637 Cable: INSANDAL SALES DEPOT & FACTORY Hooseinabad Compound Off Champsi Bhimji Road Old Anjirwadi, Mazgaon Bombay 400010 Tel: 8728346 8513869 ii -n it f* ¦^1 k 88a Parsiana March 1988 IJ • iR-:-- I? A I-'- BOOKS No kidding Homi J. Rogers Piloo Nanavutty's reader and Pareen Lalkaka's activity book simplify for the • children the message of Zarathushtra I An illustration from Zarathushtra and Me by Tenaz Irani Our Religion - Book I: Zarathushtra by Piloo Nanavutty. Pp 20 (illustrated). Our Religion - Activity Book I: Zarathushtra and Me by Pareen Lalkaka. Pp 28 (illustrated). Both books pub­ lished in 1987 (Zarathushtra was first printed in 1979) by the Delhi Parsi Anjuman, and printed ago, Pareen Lalkaka wrote a book, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, New Delhi. Price Rs 10 each. attend Nanavutty’s class in religious instruction in Delhi. The children have I understood the language, Lalkaka I confirms, and in a few casts, according ! to the feedback received, the author I has suitably altered the words, though over-simplification has been ruled out ! if it would alter or dilute the point being made. Zarathushtra is a 16-page book of around 500 words, written in clear bold letters like those employed by a into books being written solely for the teacher writing on a blackboard. The Zoroastrian child. Amar Chitra Katha story of our prophet is told in simple brought out a comic book on the words. His message is explained suc- prophet and, well over two decades cinctly. There is no bigotry or fanatic- , ~ ’ ism in impressing children with the at Indraprastha Press, Children ’s Book Trust, 4 Zarathushtra: The Golden Star, which greatness of their faith. And yet, with narrated the prophet s life and ^mes- a simple line, “Zarathushtra gave sage, and some stories from the Shah mankind for the first time the idea of Namah. one God,” Nanavutty stresses the wis- Now, Piloo Nanavutty, Pareen Lal- dom and foresight of our prophet, and Writing children ’s books is no child ’s play. Short sentences. Simple words. Even simpler concepts. And to make kaka’s sister, has re-issued her text the fact that Zoroastrianism is the old- the mix truly appealing, visuals that (first published in 1979) compiled from est monotheistic religion in the world, plead for repeated viewings. “ A book on religion for children, and • especially on Zoroastrianism, is an ex­ tremely difficult proposition. Kids love to be told of, or read to about, mira­ cles. Our religion offers few. Our activity book based on the reader, as a scholars have played down the drama, ‘..................... . if any existed, in our religion. There is what they have read better.” The piece to Nanavutty’s work. The child, no immaculate conception, no resur- books are mainly aimed at the pre- having read and understood rection, no flight from tormentors, no navjote kids, between the ages of six Zarathushtra, is invited to work out parting of waters...and no command- to eight years. Nanavutty’s reader has the activities devised by Lalkaka; a ments, either. been tested, Lalkaka informs, on chil- mixed fare of coloring, word puzzles There have thus been few forays dren of the above age-group who with Jumbled words and pictures as material loaned to her by the Zoroas- Yet in the economy of words used to trian Association of Metropolitan Chi- express ideas, a sentence like “Zoroas- cago and Lalkaka’s book, as the first in trianism is the first religion of the a series of children ’s readers. Lalkaka world based on Zarathushtra ’s inner has corroborated by preparing an vision” seems to convey little. Lalkaka’s activity book, Zarathush- “workbook helps children to recall tra and Me, is designed as a companion books are mainly aimed at the pre- having 89 Parsiana March 1988 f I 4Ij J ' clues, and even a maze creatively titled ble to condense them. The ‘execution’ “Find the path leading to Ahura Maz­ da.” Children love to draw, and the activity book provides a page to draw your (italics ours) Zarathushtra, and good deeds. The workbook is an innovative idea, and though the nature of activities co­ vered seems quite minimal, Lalkaka informs us, in the course of an inter­ view, that the book under review is the first in a series of four < (along with the readers) that she has worked on. books have different activities, and I, for one,- hope that they make up for the lacuna in the present book, by in- QadI DaTQ DriVST S eluding activities like join the dots, or • paint a picture with colors as indicated booklet in areas by numbers, and even a snakes-and-ladders board game that children can play, with the ladders Handy Booklet on Zoroastrianism - A Lofty I (?>• is thus amateurish. Mention must also be made here of the very poor quality of proofreading. Errors in spelling abound, even alter­ ing the intended meaning: “His (Zarathushtra ’s) growing success spelt disaster for the wicked chiefs and hypocritical priests who prayed upon the ignorance and creddulity of the people.” And what should one make of “instead of crying, this infant smiled at birth and, according to the scrip­ tures, nature also smiled with him in sympathy ” (sic). A chapter “Beyond Zoroastrian Death ” warrants attention by its title. But, beyond explaining the rites that take place once a Zoroastrian is dead (as lifted from Modi’s work). Driver fails to explain whether Zoroastrian­ ism recognizes reincarnation or not. A being ascended for a good deed done. Topic in a Small Volume by Capt Dara E. Driv- lot of verbiage does not offer the read- or a question answered rightly, or a er. Published in 1987 by Rumar Publications, er any clear answer. - Driver however, must be com­ mended for placing the age in which Borrowed thoughts The fundamental beliefs and practices iiv ivauvia) that shc has - _ . The forthcoming three ot Zoroastrianism are outlined in i 1 j t : is i i er. Published in 1987 by Rumar Publications, ... , 424, Anand, Flat No 6, Khar Danda Road, prayer recited properly. Bombay 400052. Pp 68. Price Rs 12.50. The possibilities of activities in a . _ _ workbook are endless. With a little Captain Driver’s Handy Booklet the prophet preached at the court of more ingenuity, and the use of a better (should it be handbook?) on Zoroas- King Vishtaspa at around 1,500 B.C., color scheme, Lalkaka could have trianism at first glance seems a sincere as against the orthodox and more given Zoroastrian children, through and well-devised effort by a member traditionally-held date of 6,000 B.C. the introductory volume itself, a rip- of the laity taking an interest in the But, here again. Driver offers no ex- roaring time, learning about their reli- religion, and explaining it through 14 planation for choosing this date. Prob- gion. But despite the colors seeming chapters, which encompass its rites ably, he quoted it because his source --- - -- • ....... . . , material had it so. calendar. Compact, 68 pages, it has no Even more commendable is Driver’s laborious footnotes at the bottom of essay on “Why do the Parsis not admit every page, or a long bibliography at aliens to their fold?” Here, Driver the end. It is, one feels, a personal puts forth the legal verdicts of the view of the religion by Driver - one. Lady Tata (the Davar-Beaman judg- not necessarily meant to create new controversies or fuel old ones, but ex­ plain to the layman, the concept of fire parentage from Rangoon whose nav- worship, the need to wear a sudreh- jote was performed, and who was kusti and their significance, and in- brought to the fire-temple there (in form him of the Zoroastrian cere- 1915) by her foster father, Shapurjee monies of birth, marriage, death, nav- Cowasjee, to buttress the contention jote, navar and maratab (initiation that “there is nothing in the tenets of into priesthood), and the liturgical ser- the Zoroastrian religion which pro­ vices. hibits any person or any race or any But, alas. Driver’s dismissal of foot- nationality from becoming a Zoroas- awkwardly (Alph-abet), Lalkaka’s notes and bibliography is the result of trian.” While the views put forth book should strike the right chord no such originality. More than half the would please the reformist. Driver amongst children. Being an educa- book is a direct lift from Sir Jivanji should have stated the traditional Driver’s handy booklet is one which a serious student or a layman could do without. Is Driver’s purpose in writing The possibilities of activities in a 1 dull, and a shade too light at times, and rituals, its theologies, and its calendar. Compact, 68 pages, it has no There is no fanaticism in impressing children with the greatness of their faith ment) case, and a comparatively lesser known case of Bella, a girl of mixed I and a word broken up rather tionalist and a vocational guidance Modi’s classic work. The Religious viewpoint too. counsellor, Lalkaka knows the minds Ceremonies and Customs of the of the young. And that she reaches out Parsees, which was first published in to them, is apparent from the very title 1922, and reprinted in 1986. There is _ _ itself: Zarathushtra and Me. The pro- no attempt by Driver to present any- this book to explain the religion to . ¦ non-Zoroastrians who are not aware _ _ _____________ of the faith? Or, is the concluding sent- And that is what Driver has deleted many lines from the ence just a vague suggestion, more in noun used would set the grammarians thing new, either in thought or word, fretting, but give the child a feeling of Of course, to make the book “handy, ” identification. /—J .1.... 1. - - • - ... . . .. counts. original work, but not taken the trou- the nature of a faint hope, to suggest 90 Parsiana March 1988I that the community may have to lars and professors...are desirous of SPREADING THE WORD accept initiates from other faiths? “If, going abroad for higher education, but continued from page 24 however, new fire-temples or Towers they lack information regarding fore- ~ of Silence are dedicated by fresh trust ign universities, their names and pended on gift scholarships to 350 Par.- deeds for the benefit of all, there may addresses, system of education, . _ be no legal bar. Law respects the method of instruction, admission re­ wishes of donors who have a right to quirements, cost, financial aid avail- lay down the scope of beneficiaries of able in India and abroad, foreign ex- For postgraduate studies abroad, 42 a trust.” Homi J. Rogers change regulations, visa requirements, students were sanctioned gift scho ­ larships of Rs 1,99,000 and loans of Rs 1,50,000. To encourage participation in international sports and medical meets, participants were awarded free Information grants of Rs 20,500, the press release A sum of Rs, 1,68,250 was ex- si college students in India. For voca­ tional and technical education, 100 students were given help of Rs 85,800. i V. Dollar scholar Homi J. Rogers change regulations, visa requirements, etc.” To these students. Dr Dina Dalal, a student coupsellor at U.S. Educational Foundation in India and secretary. Foreign University Bureau, provides a chock-full of in- provided the statistics for the year formation through her slim but ex­ tremely useful Handbook for Study Abroad. The book concentrates on the cur­ rent Mecca of higher studies - the Un­ ited States of America. A complete their own merit have been arranged by statewise list of universities, and rec­ ognized colleges is given in the book. It also lists over 200 American col­ leges, universities, foundations and arranged for students who had philanthropic organizations. appeared for their school leaving ex- Not that it neglects other equally aminations, the BPP will organize a good centers of education. With a view similar program this year, to being useful to any student seeking suitable specialization after gradua- professors and college students who tion, the handbook includes names had volunteered their services to fight and addresses of institutions in the drug addiction was convened for the UK, Australia and Canada too. Full first time in November last under the information about the educational sys- chairmanship of Dr Mehroo Bengalee, tern, academic standards and require- Follow-up measures will now be initi- ments for admission have been pro- ated. Meanwhile the BPP is continuing with its curative program, helping 12 What further enhances the appeal of boys with detoxification (at Bhatia Forthose aspiring to study abroad, Dr Dina Dalal's booklet provides some interesting data 1987. Coaching to students appearing for the civil and defence services examina­ tions as also those planning to enter the medical or engineering stream on the BPP. Enthused by the feedback received on the last summer’s holiday program A preliminary meeting of the Parsi Handbook for Study Abroad by Dr Dina Dalal. Published in 1987 by Institute of Management Studies, Bombay 400034. Pp 86. For over half a century, a foreign vided by the author. education meant a degree from the t-- — portals of Oxford and Cambridge. The the Handbook is the inclusion of a list Hospital), outdoor aid (at Hope Cen- Master of Arts in English literature, of over 500 sources for financial help, tre in Bombay) and indoor treatment who could quote King Lear at the drop available to Indian students for study- (at Seva Dhan in Goa) depending on of a hat, attracted attention at work ing abroad. Two Parsi-funded trusts the needs of the addicts. and in matrimony. appear in this list: the R.D. Sqthna Gradually, as science and technolo- Trust and the J.N. Tata Endowment A-hum with housing activity gy started to shape the future, the Fund. Sixty ownership flats at the Pun­ attention shifted to across the Atlantic Dalal’s Handbook is a labor of love chayet ’s Gibbs Road building are Ocean. A doctorate in the sciences for the betterment of youngsters and awaiting installation of ele’ctricity. from the technical institutes in the of the country. Her tips to help one When it was brought to the trustees’ USA was the pinnacle of high educa- select the right university, especially in notice that a further delay by a couple tion. And as business management, an age of specialization, would be wel- of months would amount to. a breach side by side, became the ‘in’ career, corned by any reader consulting the of contract, Anklesaria said, “It’s both scions of industrial families and those book. A comprehensive index listing ways. Despite the rising costs, we have aiming to rise in life flocked to the subjectwise the courses available, kept our price the same.” The house at management schools. If once, battles opens up vast avenues of career oppor- ’ , tunities, even for a casual reader. The Handbook is heartily recom- Gibbs Road being built on a rocky were won on the playgrounds of Eton, tunities, even for a casual reader. terrain, they had reportedly to lay today’s corporate wars (and The Handbook is heartily recom- one and a half times the regular found- friendships) were wrought in the clas- mended for Parsi students who, fired ation to ensure a solid construction, srooms of Harvard and Princeton. with zeal and ambition, wish to escape At Godrej Baug, two more build- How does one go abroad for higher the mediocrity of settling down as ings are nearing completion and work studies? And which institutions offer bank clerks. Uncle Sam (and for that on six more is progressing. At courses in what disciplines? “Many matter, John Bull) are not that inac- Khareghat Colony, one new own­ postgraduate students, research scho- cessible. Homi J. Rogers ership building of 10 to 12 flats will be with zeal and ambition, wish to escape 92 Parsiana March 1988i housing work, Golwalla intimated the osed to sound out the scion of the Press of the BPP’s decision to appoint Wadia family, Neville Wadia. one architect for each colony. Should the BPP, as the landlord. constructed. At the Dadar Parsi Col­ ony, two more floors will be added to one building by September 1988. one architect for each colony. The Punchayet was represented by While construction of 274 flats at Should the BPP, as the landlord, trustees Dr Aspi Golwalla, Eruch De- Panthaky Baug will be stalled until the recognize Dr Dina Patel as a direct sai, Jamsheed Kanga, Homi Ranina, High Court resolves the dispute be- tenant? Should the BPP oppose if Dr Jamshed Guzder and Minoo Shroff, tween the BPP and P.D. Jilla who is Patel were to file a declaratory suit in chief executive Rustom Anklesaria, claiming ownership rights there, at court? (A subtenant at Jer Baug, Patel and joint secretaries Hormusji Kapa- Bharucha Colony, 12 two-room kitch- ’ ' r. en flats and eight one-room kitchen flats are awaiting occupancy certifi- tenant? Should the BPP oppose if Dr Jamshed Guzder^and Minoo Shroff, Patel were to file a declaratory suit in ’ ' “ was never given the option to change dia and Gool Tata. The Press was rep- her status to that of a tenant when the resented by The Bombay Sarr^char, BPP confirmed Dr Rajan Bhonsale as cates. Further 160 ownership flats of the new tenant in place of Dr N.R. two-room kitchen are to be con- Zunwerkar. Though Patel reportedly structed there. When Poncha enquired did not make an application for tenan- if some of these could be converted cy at that time, the BPP’s decision en- into tenancy flats, the explanation raged many sections of the commun- given was that the land being in short ity.) The BPP has decided not to pro­ supply there, they had planned a 10- ceed in this matter until Bhonsale inti- storey structure for which the cost of mates them of his plans. At an earlier construction would be higher and ’ "" therefore would need to be borne by the owners. This made Golwalla reiterate the need for the Punchayet to buy more land whether at Thana or Jogeshwari that all the seven trustees the BPP for additional housing activities for the community. Construction work on the BPP land at Sanjan has shown no further prog­ ress and a new architect was appointed seeking the mandate of the other com- there. To ensure a smooth pace of mittee members, Golwalla first prop­ meeting with the trustees, Bhonsale had pleaded for some time before committing himself. In the meanwhile, as per a sugges­ tion made by Shroff, it is proposed be appointed on the Wadia Committee of Management instead of the present practice of the three seniormost trus­ tees representing the Board. Before ¦11 ¦t I Jam-e-Jamshed, CER’s The Zoroas­ trian, ZS’ Ushta and Parsiana. i' I Statement of Ownership & Other Particulars about Parsiana: Form IV (See Rule 8) Place of Publication: Bombay Periodicity of Publication: Monthly Printer, I^blisher, Editor: Jehangir R. Patel Nationality: Indian Address: 285, J. Dadaji Marg, Bombay 400007 Proprietor: Parsiana Publications Pvt Ltd 39 A.K. Nayak Marg, Bombay 400001 Directors: jehangir R. Patel, Veera J. Patel and Rustom P. Thanavala I, Jehangir R. Patel, hereby declare that the particulars given below are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. Sd. (Jehangir R. Patel) 1 March 1988 i t h 1 t Kermani Transport Service Truck Owners & Contractors H.O. & Admn. Office; Guru Himmat ‘A’ Wing, Dr. Mascarenhas Road, Mazgaon, Bombay 4(X)010 Booking Office: Opp. Jakeria Masjid, 7-C, Dhobi Street, Bombay 400003 Phone: H.O. 872-3333,851-2715 Bkg. 320271-72 Branches: Delivery Godown: B-Anjirwadi, Mount Road, Mazagaon, Bombay 400010, Phone: 872-5002/872-4273 Thane: (1) Chitalsar, Manpada, S.V. Road, Next to Tatwadyan Vidhyapeeth, Phone: 594823 (2) Puma Village, Thana Bhiwandi Road, Near Uttam Roadways VapitNear R.T.O. Check Post, G.I.D.C. Phone: 887 Valsad: Kamla Nehru Road, Phone: 2284 Billimora: Gohar Baug Road, Phone: 2493 Navsari: Opp. Central Bank, Phone: 4008/4009 Delivery Godown: Zaveri Sadak, Phone: 1601 Udhna: Road No. 2 Phone: 88611-12 Surat: Delhi Gate, Dangi Sheri, Phone: 29995 — 35428 Delivery Godown: Ring Road, Near Surat Textile Market. Phone: 24026 95 Parsiana March 1988k I EVENTS AND PERSONALITIES continued from page 12a “The nightshirts are mostly in stripes or polka dots, though some may be in different designs. The bridal collection in light pastel shades has a bed jacket which is waist high, ” she informs. Pervin says she likes her sales points to be beauty parlours “as a woman should be completely at ease operated for cancer at the B.D. Petit while buying sensual nightwear. ” P .................................. Talking about her first encounter going post operative treatment at the November 12, 1987. with the public, Daver says, “I display- Tata Memorial Hospital, ed my first set of about 50 garments, when my aunt (gara designer, Naju Among the 22 entrepreneurs and ex- Daver) was holding a sari exhibition, ecutives of the Ladies’ Wing of the In­ Fifty percent of my nightwear was sold dian Merchants Chamber who were captured eight wickets for r9 runs to and I got about 20 orders.” due to tour Bangkok, Taiwan and help his school score a victory over St In future, Daver plans to design Hong Kong in February was Ms Gul Anne’s (Orlem) who were dismissed maternity gowns and bed linen. M, Engineer, notes the Mid-Day of for 75, notes a report in the Indian Ex- opQTi February 2, 1988. The team was to press of January 8, 1988. study the scientific and technological progress and trade possibilities in Dadrawala: com­ munity activist journalist Noshir Press Journal of December 1, 1987. Dadrawala is ex­ pected back at his Gulshan Sunawalla won the women’s desk as executive javelin throw at the inter-collegiate secretary of the athletic meet at the University Sta- Centre for Advan- dium, Bombay. A student of the Gov- cement of Philanthropy after being ernment Dental College, Sunawalla ¦ " ~ 7 3 threw the javelin to a distance of 31.64 Parsec General Hospital and under- meters, notes The Times of India of Meet held at the Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Bombay, notes the Free In the Harris Shield inter-school crick­ et tournament, medium pacer Darayas Shroff of Sir Cawasji Jehangir School On the occasion of the Republic Day of India, Wg Cdr Homi Faramroz the^e countries. Buhariwala was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal by the President of India, L " notes the Indian Express of January emerged as “the fastest man and bay, notes the Sunday Mid-Day of 26, 1988. woman on wheels ” clocking 13.37 and November 15, 1987. 16.25 seconds respectively at the Community activist and freelance thirty-sixth annual State Cycling Track The men's title in the above 85 kg class at the inter-collegiate judo competi­ tion was won by Dinshaw Billimoria of Kerman Framna and Jasmin Arethna the Government Law College, Bom- Compiled by Roxana H. Kaka I il fi 1 97 Parsiana March 1988 YEZDI YEZDI 350 CC TWIN YEZDI 250 CC “C” MODEL ROADKING YEZDI 250 CC “DE LUXE” MODEL YEZDI 250 CC “CL II” MODEL YEZDI 250 CC “CLASSIC” MODEL YEZDI 60 CC “COLT” For ready delivery contact our nearest dealers Manufacturers: IDEAL J AW A (INDIA) PRIVATE LIMITED Industrial Estate, Yadavagiri Mysore 570020 i |!MILESTONES ( il t! The data on births, marriages alphabetical order, and deaths has been compiled from information provided by died in Bombay, 26 fell victim Tannaz Keki Khan and Out of the 78 Parsis who HoshangJehangirji ¦ “ ¦ . ............ 1 Nikorawala-, February 2 . various anjumans in India and to heart disease (including Freny Sapurji Saher of abroad, courts and hospitals, hypertension), while old age The list of Parsi marriages was a.— ------ ------------ 1 made available to us by the Bombay High Court. The list of including pneumonia (nine), inter-community marriages will be made available to us from the Registrar of Marriages only disease (four), and accidents in May, courtesy Ms Silloo Kavarana. The information gathered is not always uniform. For exam­ ple, the list of Bombay deaths pertains overwhelmingly to those who were consigned to the dokhmas, and there too, though the addresses were known, the names of the family thenticity of the data, Parsiana members were not. From other only accepts information for anjumans we have gathered publication if it is received from names of family members but an anjuman, renowned Parsi no addresses. The information largely pertains to the preced- ment authority, ing month, yet in case of outsta­ tion anjumans we have in- ' ............. _ ; Billimora and Jamshedji and anemia claimed 11. The Ardeshar Chivalwala-, other killers were lung disease February 4 Ava Burjorji Gimi and Farokh Savak Ghadiali-, February 4 Roshan Rustomji Kolah and Maneck Nariman Pithawalla-, (three, including two youths of February 4 20 and 25 years). A centena­ rian also breathed his last. This breakdown of the causes February 5 of death is limited to Bombay Nazbanu Daryush as Parsiana has received no in­ formation on the subject from other anjumans. In order to ensure the au- diabetes (six), cancer (five), kidney failure (four), brain an anjuman, renowned Parsi institution, court or govern- When a deceased is cre­ mated, Parsiana would appreci- corporated news of happenings ate if the family members could which may be considered approach us directly with the dated. Marriages of intercommunity couples as well as children born of such unions are listed. The data is being presented ity of the report would be re- city-wise, the events being quired. We are sure our readers listed in the city where they will appreciate this requirement occurred, in chronological and may information. If readers have any informa­ tion they would like published, some proof to ensure the verac- and cooperate with us. Baria-, February 27 A boy to Bakhtavar and Percy MistryFebruary 28 BOMBAY Born A boy, Viraf, to Shernaz and Bomi Boyce on November 7, 1987 A girl to Firoza and Rohinton Arif-, February 8, 1988 A boy to Meher and Keki Panthaki-, February 9 A boy to Parvin and Khodaram Mehrabani-, February 12 A boy to Anahita and Bahadur Nalladaru-, February 14 A boy to Hutoxi and Aspi Engineer, February 16 A boy to Kamal and Rustom Irani-, February 17 A child to Maharukh and Aspi Cyrus Dorab Pavrb, Toddywalla; February 17 A boy to Erzaan and Cyrus Pare/; February 21 A boy to Homai and Darayus Married Dolat Nariman Sagar and Feroze Jamshed Contractor-, December 26, 1987 Nergish Firoze Batliwala and Zarir Dara Govekar-, January 24,1988 r Parizad Jal Mistry and Darayus Noshir Bajan-, February 1 Khushnum Soli Manekshaw of Kathmandu and Vistasp Sam A/e/i/a; February 1 Zinobia Purvez Bhesania and February 1 Roshni Pestonji Bhathena and Kersasp Minoo Aibara-, February 2 . Maharukh Homi Kapadia and Khurshed Dosabhai Paliwalla., Bozorgmehry and Soorosh Behram Radmanesh ', February 6 Parivash Shahrokh Babakhan and Mehraban Rostam Mehrabani-Zartoshti', February 6 Annahita Adi Engineer and Pesi Keki Sidhwa; February 1 Naaz Sohrab Foroogh and Shahzad Behram Doneshwar, February 8 Binaifer Minoo Deboo and Aspi Tehmurasp Hilloowala-, February 8 Feroza Sam Joshi and Yezdi Fram Unvala-, February 8 Zarin Eruch Madon and Darius Noshirwan Ghaswalla\ February 9 Jasmine Bapuji Patrawalla and Sarosh Dadiba Banaji', February 11 Manaaz Behram Faredooni of Deolali and Noshir Faramroz Irani (Mehershahi) \ February 11 Sherna Jimmy Sidhva and Sharukh Dinshaw Bharucha-, February 13 Ruby Rustom Bhagal and VispiJemi Bhagwagar-, February 15 Zarine Nariman Panthaky and Jimmy Behram Elavia-, February 15 Mahanaz Behram Farhadi (Irani) and Kioumars Rashid Azargoshsebi-, February 18 Tanaz Adi Sarkari and Adil Gustad Katrak -, February 19 Nilufer Khurshed Shrojfoi Kalyan and Dady Kersasp Wadia; February 19 Behnaz Ratan Mehta and Nariman Ardesher Kolah of Daman; February 20 Parizad Homi Patel and Adil Minoo Mistry, February 21 Zenobia Jehangir Balsara and Burzis Keki Pateb, February 21 Shirin Soli Behram-Kamdin and Cyrus Rattan Gazder, February 22 Armin Eruchsha Bastawala and Kerman Khushru Sukhia-, February 22 Navaz Minocher Dumasia and Rumi Keki Umrigar, February 22 Aban Mahiar Dastoor of Akola and Rohinton Aderbad Billimoria-, February 25 Katy Rusi Langarana and Neville Khurshed Kapadia-, February 25 Kashmira Shivax Billimoria and Noshir Darayes Pestonji-, February 26 Shirin Jimmy Framroze and Vistas Dara Vesuwala-, February 26 Nawaz Shapoor Taraporewala and Ruzbah Jimmy Guard; February 29 Perviz Jangoo Mandroina and Sharukh Firoze Rumwalla-, February 29 Died Mithan Sohrahji Contractor (87), residing at A-14 Flower Queen, Veera Desai Rd, Andheri (W), 400058; January 31 Roshan (Alamai) Manchershah Randelia (78), F.S. Parukh Dharamshalla, 34, Hughes Rd, 400007; January 31 Homi Phiroze Ratnagar (90), Above New Empire Cinema Bldg, Fort, 4000ioi; January 31 Piroja Darabshaw Thuthi (84), 59, Queen’s Rd, 400002; January 31 Naval Fardoonji Ghadiali (77), 3-A Navsan Mitra Hsg Soc, Nagargaon, Lonavla; February 1 Katayun D. Machhi (92), 17 Hendre Bldg, 8, N. Bharucha Marg, 400007; February 1 Kaikhushroo Dosabhai Chinoy (89), Engineer Bldg, 815, Jame Jamshed Rd, Parsi Clny, Dadar, 400014; February 2 Dinshawji Sorabji Hilloo (82), 1A5, Tata Clny, Sir Ratan Tata Rd, 400034; February 2 Dhanjishaw Sorabji Patel (15), i i i 98 Parsiana March T988I i I (1 i I 1 Cavarana Bldg, Cross Rd, Dadar, 400014; February 2 Khorshed Ratanshaw Gandhi (69), 6/17 Panthaky Baug, Andheri (E); February 3 Bamanshaw Dorabji Turner (87), 124/B Madhuban Apts, A.G. Rd, Worli, 400018; February 3 Bomanshaw Phirojshaw Umrigar (90), 8 Commiseriat Bldg, Khareghat Clny, Hughes Rd, 400007; February 4 Katy Homi Patel (39), AXKilA. Ketayun Mans, Vile Parle (E), 400057; February 5 Behram Jehangir Gandhi (67), G-12 Shapurji Bharucha Baug, Andheri, 400058; February 6 Roshan Jamshedji Pardiwalla (60), 4 Dr Kerawalla Bldg, Tata Clny, Bandra, 400050; February 6 Goolcher Ratanshaw Billimoria (80), Hormuzd Bldg, Sleater Rd, 400007; February 7 Jamshed Framroze Billimoria (60), Petit Sanatorium, August Kranti Marg, 400036; February 7 Jerbai Dhanjishaw Madon (94), Hormuzd Baug Bldg, Kasinath St, Tardeo, 400034; February 7 Jerbai Maneckji Tatna (93), Marine Chmbs, Marine Lines, 400020; February 8 Jehangirji Rustomji Vazifdar (59), C-2 Jyoti Complex, Murbad Rd, Kalyan; February 8 Shirin Cowasji Gobhai (91), Marble Arch, 52 Peddar Rd, 400026; February 9 Najamai Hormusji MinocherHomji (87), H, Nowroze Baug, Lalbaug, 400012; February 9 Jal Kharshedji Pardiwalla (72), 111 Diamond Court, B 40 Napean Sea Rd, 400036; February 9 Cooverbai Behramshah Patel (75), Hirabai Petit Bldg, Grant Rd, 400007; February 9 Homi Maneksha Chargeman (53), Minocher Block, Balaram St, Grant Rd, 400007; February 10 Sanober Phiroze Elavia (25), Cosy Bldg, Gowalia Tank, 400036; February 10 Rusi Phirozsha Italia (76), Italia Bglw, Dahanu; February 10 Jaiji Nadarsha Patel (94), M/11 Nowroze Baug, Lalbaug, 400012; February 10 Homai Khodardm Irani (80), Dina Manzil, Ramwadi, Dahanu Rd; February 11 Ardeshir Eduljee Damkevala (82), 2 Lam Bldg, Lower Parel, 400012; February 12 Doosanmai Meherwanji Hataria (78), 9/5 Tata Clny, Tardeo, 400034; February 12 Banoo (Mamai) Dadiba Ichhaporia (91), 276 Princess St, 400002; February 12 Bacha Keki Screwalla (85), 26 Old Khareghat Clny, Hughes Rd, 400007; February 12 Ratanshaw Dorabjee Sepoy (70), 44/46 Karani Bldg, Opp Cama Baug, 400004; February 12 Virbai Nariman Zavri (82), 73 Piroja Villa, Malcolm Baug, Jogeshwari, 400060; February 12 Khurshed Cawasji Driver (72), Windsor Chmbs, Cawasjee Patel St, Fort, 400001; February 13 Tehmurasp Nusserwanji Gorewalla (68), Motiwalla Bldg, Patanwala Marg, Byculla, 400027; February 13 Baji Beramji Antea (82), C-9 Shapur Baug, V.P. Rd, 400004; February 14 EracKshaw Shapurji Mistry (83), Ram Nivas Bldg, 16 Khambatta Lane, Khetwadi, 400004; February 14 Eradshaw Naswanji Pastakia (82), Q/4 Dalal Est, Lamington Rd, 400008; February 14 Motamai Burjorji Sanjana (84), A Harbour Heights, Colaba, 400005; February 14 Kety Bapuji Sarkari (63), C-12 Rustom Baug, Victoria Rd, Byculla, 400027; February 14 Behram Dhunjisha Mehta (57), Bottawala Bldg, 239-A Tardeo Rd,400007; February 15 Darabsha Bomanji Mistry (87), Katy Ter, 7, Sleater Rd, 400007; February 15 Khorshed Nadir Tumboli (88), M/11 Cusrow Baug, Shahid Bhagat Singh Rd, 400039; February 15 Bamanshaw Darabji Fatakia (72), 6 Parsi Anjuman Bldg, Doodh Naka, Kalyan, Dist Thane; February 16 Banoobai Sorabji Dalal (76), C/o Nergesh F. Dumasia, Taher Manzil, Mehella Patel Agiary Lane, Grant Rd, 400007; February 17 Najamai Navroji Elavia (72), D Block, Dinbai Petit Chawl, Balaram St, Grant Rd, 400007; February 17 Faredoonji Dorabjee Seervai (75), R/3 Shapurji Bharucha Baug, Andheri (W), 400058; February 17 Eruch Nussurwanji Chhoi (11), 5 Sea-View, First Pasta Lane, Colaba, 400005; February 18 Alamai Boharamshaw Gotla (76), Parsee Fire Temple, Tilak Rd, Hyderabad; February 18 Jehanbux Hoshang Kavarana (20), 9/8 Patel Bldg, Gamadia Clny, Tardeo, 400007; February 18 Homi Sorabji Sadri (85), 39 Dev Chaya, Haji Ali, 400034; February 18 Vistasp Jehangir Contractor (60), C/o Ms R.J. Ghandhy, Ranjit Villas, Dadisheth Lane, 400007; February 19 Piloo Navroji Desai (71), Master Chmbs, Cinema Lane, 400020; February 19 Soonamai Aspi Mistry (74), A/19 Cusrow Baug, Colaba, 400039; February 19 Shapur Nadirsha Rabadi (69), 21 Dubash Bldg, Khareghat Clny, Hughes Rd, 400007; February 21 Pouruchisti Yazadiar Taraporewala (92),Jeradi, 115 Prof Almeda Rd, Bandra, 400050; February 21 Ardeshir Khodadad Irani (75), 73 Dawoodi Manzil, Gogha St, Fort, 400001; February 22 Keki Ardeshir Madon (68), 33 Tardeo Court, 251 Tardeo Rd, 400007; February 22 Aspandiar Khoduram Yazdani (71), Multani Bldg, Khambata Lane, Khetwadi, 400004; February 22 Khurshedjee Nadirshaw Kias (74), 505 Lotlikar Bldg, Chira Bazar, 400002; February 23 Female child of Rustom P. Dubash (premature); F-11 Cusrow Baug, Colaba, 400039; February 24 Jamshed Ardeshir Khariwalla (69), Daulat Manzil, 607/A Dr Ambedkar Rd, Dadar, 400014; February 24 Sheramai Darabsha Parakh (86), 22, Petit Widows’ Chawl, 133 Mody St, Fort, 400001; February 24 Cyrus Jehangirji Dadachanji (63), 62 El-Cid, B.G. Kher Marg, 400006; February 25 Maneck Bomanji Mehta (69), 101 Sagar Darshan, Worli Sea,, Face, 400025; February 25 Navrooz Dinshaw Minochehr- Homji (75), 44, New Marine Lines, 400020; February 25 Rati Ratansha Mistry (64), 36 Adi Marzban Path, Ballard Est, 400038; February 25 Nariman Shapoorji Shroff (82), Hira Chmbs, Tembi Rd, Thane 400601; February 25 Homi Cawasji L/mrigir (83), Gandhi Mans, Wadia St, Tardeo, 400034; February 25 Dolat K. Dastoor (59), 66, Worli Hill, 400018; February 26 Piroja R. Jhabwala (80), F.S. Parukh Dharamshalla, 34, Hughes Rd, 400007; February 26 Rustomji Savakshaw Bhathena (74), 8 Master Bldg, Contractor Baug, Mori Rd, Mahim, 400016; February 27 lehangir Rustomji Meherhomji (100), 1/B Tata Mills Co-op Hsg Soc, Parel, 400012; February 28 Hilla Erach Mehta (78), A/3- 33, New Khareghat Clny, Hughes Rd, 400007; February 28 Shera Rustomji Palkhiwalla (80), E-37-38, Jer Baug, Byculla, 400027; February 28 Kaikhusroo Sorabji Engineer (77), 241-A/l, Jolly Maker Apts, Cuffe Parade, 400005; February 29 CALCUTTA Born A girl, Karishma, to Jasmine and Mehernosh Baria; January 31 Died Pestonji Nowroji Chowna (87); father of Jimmy,’Russi and Piloo Dinshaw Kotwal; February 13 CHICAGO Born A girl, Roshni, to Kashmira and RumiJamsetjee; January 27 KARACHI Died Faredoon Boman Abadan (61); January 5 Hirabai Virji Divecha (87); January 30 1 1 Compiled by Roxana H. Kaka 100 Parsiana March 1988