Mar 1992

il i: -V^5. i 4 ¦^1 1*^ *»« b”'^ •MIf M W -W: ’i;>- >* SJ ifiii g ’ L i. • ¦ >¦ i ¦i-i It' I' tt EDITOR Jehangir R. Patel MANAGING EDITOR Arnavaz S. Mama EXECUTIVE EDITOR Parinaz M. Gandhi ASSISTANT EDITOR Roxana A. Mirza DESIGN Kranti Shilotri, Varghese Fernandez MARKETING DIRECTOR Veera Patel ADVERTISING MANAGER Zarin Mistry ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE Cheryl Sequeira CHIEF EXECUTIVE Rustom Thanavala FINANCE B. L. Arora EDP Rohinton E. Daroga CIRCULATION Behram Umrigar MANAGEMENT Minoo Patel, Jasmine Driver OFFICE Rajendra P. Nayak, Khurshid Panthaki, Patricia D'Silva, Bakhtavar Bqtliwalla, Nowzer Batliwala, Bindu Pillai, Sugatha S. Kurup 3 Readers* Forum 19 Events and Personalities 30 Zoroastrians Abroad: The Kurds* Story March 1992 Volume 14 Number 9 42 Nelly Sethna: Many A Splendored Weave by Gustasp Irani 47 Richard Frye: “What is Zoroastrianism...** by Arnavaz Mama 55 Infamy for bigamy by Dosabhai Karaka 58 Tata Memorial Hospital: Haven of hope by Noshir Dadrawala ---------------------------------- ———----------------------------------- --------4------- 71 Mahabaleshwar Pars! Gymkhana: Fencing In the land? 74 “People don’t wear daglis anymore** by Farhad Desai OFFICE ASSISTANTS Umesh Poojary, Selvan Mark, Sunil Sakhare, Pramod Patil, Kishor Rajguru 76 Parsee Medical Amateurs: Operation theater 83 Calcutta*s Adi Rabadi by Parinaz Gandhi 86 Dr Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital: The fiift of sight 95 Pioneering neurologist Dr Eddie Bharucha 103 Popularizing Pars! Cuisine 106 Books 110 Milestones Cover: Nelly Sethna ’s woven wall hanging (6’x9’, enlarged from a Rajput miniature) commissioned by Air India 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 Kaiser-E-Hind Pvt Ltd, 300 Perin Nariman Street, Bombay 400001. Covers printed at Malti Art, 320, A-Z Industrial Estate, Ganpatrao Kadam Marg, Bombay 400013. Color processing. Comart Lithographers; and black and white processing, Samir Process. All rights reserved. Phone: 2048730 Fax: 2042922 For editorial enquiries: 2048183 Telex 11-85710 RABO IN Annual inland subscription Rs 100 for one year (12 issues); Rs 180 for two years (24 issues). 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Cheques and drafts are to be drawn in favor of Parsiana and posted to GPO Box 892, Bombay 400001. s ! itlr I ¦ if i; L k READERS' FORUM ». * • . » * » i • ? » # » > I > » i » t > 1 » 4 •»? t«t • I. t »>» I»11, > tf t it' < > » > f » * » » ? * » * * M » » , .» I- I » J ? 1 » V » > » ¦ ft * 1 , s »J . , f» » » f » I > » % • t * * ? ? « '**!>•«* , > ( m*!* i 'Iff«11 (f» Ilf Hl **p*.**tl*l^ ii'j; »»» ® priest refused to perform, or tried to ing whether there was any sense in pro- It has to be clarified that this documen- ghl wedding the behdins would say a tan- tary has been screened in London, New plu darosti', for a bay, they would put loban York, Chicago, Detroit, Washington, arul do the cto/u; if the priests refused to Toronto, Londrai (Ontario), Singapore, bdidins would pray the Sarosh baj, the managing committee of the WZO have nyayish and the patet and carry the body given talks at the screenings and an- tothedokhma. The trouble also spread to swered questions that have been asked. It Surat, and on many occasions the Parsis is as a result of these efforts on behalf of of both places defled the priests and per- and by WZO that funds for this project formed the ceremonies themselves. are pouring in from all parts of the world What is signiflcant here is that all this and awareness has been created. happened in Navsari 260 years ago, when Parsis were more orthodox and religious- minded. Here, in the Nilgiris, we have no projecting such an image abroad, the agiary, dokhma, priests or even navars. WZO London committee feels that it is On the occasion of a death two men of very important to project facts as they ex- the community say the prayers and the isL The WZO remains committed to pro- other men carry the coffin to the burial jecting this grim picture in all parts of the ground. We ate sure the soul of the de- world where Zoroastrians reside, ceased is none the worse off for the lack of priestly ministrations. , prevent, a ceremony, then it would be car- jecting such an image abroad. ? tied out without the priests. Thus, for a wedding the behdins would say a tan- darosti; for a baj, they would put loban York, Chicago, Detroit, Washington, do the co^mony for the dead, then the Sydney and Hong Kong. Members of the 3 I 5 With due respect to the opinion of some members of the Federation who wondered whether there is any sense in t ¦g J It may also be mentioned that pursuant to the documentary Unbelievable,, a sec ­ ond part has also b^n shot in the villages in February 1991 to show Zoroastrians _____ ... ........ project to rehabilitate the poor throughout the world the progress made. te sent to'^he "Edltor,'"RMdws" Fo7um, Zoroastrian farmers of south Gujarat was ~ r ----------- , “ . ¦¦ ¦ ¦ ____ ____________ Zoroastrian Anjumans of India tee members of WZO from UK, Austra- without an address wifi not be published. HOMTREDUIJEE Ooucamund 8 $ R«ad«rs’ views are weleome on any aublect of Interest to the oommunity and should _ , . be sent to the Editor, Readers* Forum, Zoroastnan farmers of south Gujarat was The third edition has also been shot Psrsians, G.P.O. Box 892, Bombay 400001. discussed at the meeting of the Federation recently (in January 1992) when commit- space and clarity. Unsigned letters or those * held at Calicut {Parsiana, December lia, accompanied by donors from UK and 1991). Malaysia visited the villages to review the •It has been mentioned in your report that work done. This edition of the video is “just the freight, clearance and inland expected to be ready shortly and thereaf- transport costs...would have depleted the ter the same will be screened worldwide, resources of the subcommittee had not the “The Federation at, Your report on the executive council resources of the subcommittee had not the Ht has been mentioned that some partici ­ meeting of the Federation of Parsi ' good offices of Airfreight and Kermani pants in the meeting wanted to know Zoroastrian Anjumans of India last Sep- been put to use ” to clear the 101 cartons whether the recipients were genuinely tember (“The Federation at Calicut, ” of old clothes that were shipped by the Zoroastrians. Parsiana, December 1991) refers to the World Zoroastrian Organisation {WLO), discussion on what was to be done if London, priests refused to perform the funeral rites at the doongerwadi over the body of a is deeply appreciative of M/s Airfreight atash bahram or agiary at Bombay or Zoroastrian woman married to a non- * ~ Zoroastrian. Capt Dandiwalla asked if the the docks and M/s Kermani Transport trustees would ^low the body to rot, and Service who transported the cartons from shot in August 1990, three of the indi- Mr Eruch Desai retorted: “Do you Bombay to Surat, free of charge, the viduals featured in the film have left their expect the trustees to wear the pugree and freight for shipping the consignment from menial jobs in the atash bahrams and do the ceremonies? ” The answer to Mr Desai ’s question Zoroastrian of UK. was given by the behdins of Navsari and Surat 260 years ago. In 1733 the customs duty in view of the efforts of Mr respect. Bhagaria priests of Navsari raised their H. J. H. Taleyarkhan, chairman of the ex­ fees for performing the various ceremo- ecutive committee of WZO-India. nies. This so enraged the laity that they "It has also been mentioned that the WZO “Remembering Aibsra” resolved that they would pay the priests video documentary Unbelievable vras not I fully agree with Ms N. K. Plumber ’s only according to the rates flxed in 1686. approved by all and some were wonder- thoughtful, sincere suggestions on re- It may be clarified that each and evoy Zoroastrian shot in the documentary Un- I would like to clarify that whilst WZO believable, was at that time wOTking in an who have cleared the consignment fnxn Navsari. The conclusion is obvious. Happily, since the documentary was London to Bombay was borne by a agiaries in view of rehabilitation meas ­ ures provided and are now tending their This consignment was exempted from lands and beginning to live with self- DINSHAWK. TAMBOLY Member, Managing Committee, WZO ^‘Remembering Aibara t 3 Parsiana March 1992 ¦APPOINTED valuers OF JEWELLERY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA membering Ervad Aibara (Readers ’ Fo­ rum, Parsiana, December 1991). The Ervad saheb has done yeoman service to thousands in our community. He was a sincere soft-spoken man whose heart bled to see his community suffering. I, for one, waS given prayers by him which I recite daily, and have found great strength by doing so. As Ms Plumba* has suggested, his name should be added near to that of his Saheb ’s, Dastur Jamshed Kookadaru, in our prayers. m, shqun merer cooper Seciindenbad I j ¦I 1 I GAZDAR PVT. LTD. Taj Mahal Hotel Bombay Tel: 2023666 2023366 Ext 3204 Telegrams: MANUSCRIPT’ »», “Mobed shortage” The problem of mobed shortage accord ­ ing to Ervad P. D. Magol of Karachi, Pakistan is purely monetary (Readers ’ Fo­ rum, Parsiana, November 1991) and not the unwillingness on the part of young mobeds to lead a hard and disciplined life as pointed out by this writer (Readers ’ Forum, Parsiana, April 1991). Ervad Magol argues in support of his view, that the full-time mobed is not assured of regular work load and since the mobed is paid on inadequate piece- rate basis, it is not economically viable for a full-time mobed to survive in this day and age. It has been pointed out in my earlier write-up (April 1991) that very few mobeds are capable of performing pav- mahal (higher liturgical) ceremonies, with the result that the laity finds it almost impossible to arrange fw these ceremo ­ nies on all important occasions and par ­ ticularly during four days after death when these ceremonies are considered most important and till recently these ceremonies used to be performed invari ­ ably in Udwada, Navsari or Surat, if not at the place of death, on payment of charges levied by the mobed. There is no dearth of work of performing other ceremonies that could be entrusted to them. Thus a full-time mobed can earn a very decent income if he is prepared to lead a regu ­ lated disciplined life and the charge that they do not earn adequate income is to ­ tally baseless. The Bombay Parsi Punchayet pays a monthly stipend of Rs 100 to mobeds working full-time in atash bahrams and agiaries in Bombay and not serving any ­ where else. Payment of this stipend and the stipend of Rs ISO to Rs 100 to Udwada mobeds has not induced them to perform pav-mahal ceremonies. Religion is a matter of faith and faith is WHAT? NEVER HEARD OF PARAGON TOY SHOP? MY GOODNESS! I j It’s a shop with a good selection of TOYS, DOLLS CYCLES, SCOOTERS, PEDAL CARS, EDUCATIONAL TOYS, PRESENTATION BOOKS, PUZZLES, NOVELTIES, ETC -J Established in 1943 in Calcutta Branch in Boipbay since 1971 A shop known for reasonable rates & good service. Many families have been our regular customers for 3to4 generations now ADDRESS No 108, Heera Panna Shopping Centre (With car parking space) Bhulabhai Desai Road (Old Warden Road) Near Haji All Bombay 400026 4 Parsiana March 1992t not a commodity available at a pice. It has to be inculcated from the very child ­ hood for which the right type of atmos- phere must prevail in the household of the mobed which unfortunately does not exist with our present life-style. Hence despite the incentives offered by the trustees of the Cama Athoman Madressa at Andheri and the efforts made by the Athravan Educational Trust, thecommunity has been unable to get mobeds of yaozdathregar category. Creation of funds for supple ­ menting income of mobeds is not likely to induce them to take to this hard disci ­ plined life. The late Mr Jehangir S. Ch- inivala often usetf to say that the profes ­ sion of a mobed enables one to earn one ’s livelihood as well as spiritual develop ­ ment Today we have become so materi ­ alistic that we have no time to pay heed to such lofty ideals. Being a behdin the writer has no axe to grind with athravans; but having been brought up in a staunchly orthodox family he is conversant with the problems of athravans and has always tri^ to encour ­ age young mobeds capable of working in the yaozdathregar category but has not met with success so far. SOHRAB NAVALSHAW PATWA Donations received The Surat Parsi Panchayat publicly thanks its munificent donors; •The executors of the estate of Bai Jalloo Darukhanawala who have donated two lakh rupees towards Nariman Home and Infirmary in memory of Bai Jalloo and Seth Jassi Hormusji Darukhanawala; •Adi Sorabji (Poonawala), an ex-inmate of our Surat Parsi Orphanage and his wife Perin who have donated two lakh rupees, the interest whereof will be utilized for maintaining a boy scholar in our Boys ’ Orphanage and a girl scholar in our Nari ­ man Girls ’ Orphanage. (We are so proud of Adi, and greatly appreciate his kind concern for his alma mater); •The Narielwala Trust, through the World Zoroastrian Organisation (WZO) for two lakh rupees to be utilized towards the on ­ going project for the amelioration of rural Parsis in south Gujarat jointly undertaken by the Bombay and Surat Parsi Punchay- ets, thfe WZO and the Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumansof India; •The WZO which donated about one lakh rupees for taking boys and girls of our orphanages on tours. The boys have just returned after visiting historical places like Delhi, Agra, etc and the girls from 1 Parsiana March 1992 “Lift out of order again"" “We don"t want a new lift"" “CoM Concord"" t. “Concord services old lifts “Concord converts them to electronic elevators"" w **But ours is ancient"" “Our push 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 400001avaid shudan. When Parsis left Iran for India and found themselves within a non-Zoroas- Hyderabad and Secunderabad. The girls caste, color or racial descent He ac- have submitted a detailed report of their cepted whoever was intelligently ready, tour wherein they speak of ^e love and by choice, to pursue his vision of one affection showered on them by the Parsis God, Ahura Mazda, and the path of Asha, than milieu, they started building social of the twin cities. We are so thankful to and was willing to discard his/her existing walls for protection from the overwhelm- all those who were so kind to our boys beliefs and faith. Thus he accepted Irani- ing Hindu and Muslim masses, lest they and girls. ans of all shades and even Turanians, the be absorbed and lose their identity in the Under the auspices of our Zoroastrian traditional enemies of Iran, and to some subcontinental culture. With the Partition Club the Parsi Cricket Team of Surat par- extent even Brahmins from India (e.g. of India and a general acceptance of secu- ticipated in the cricket tournament re- Chandra Ghachha). This broad outlook larism and freedom of religious practices cently held at Hyderabad-Secunderabad. was tinged by subsequent political exi- for the minorities, this fear is now extinct; We have also received several dona- gencies, recurrent forays from other yet we keep our guard up, allow no ‘ac ­ tions of lesser amounts and fully appieci- concurrent faiths, as well as a strong ec- ate the kind thoughts of the ladies and clesiastical reversion towards pre-Zoroas- gentlemen concerned. DtSams . bhacca than rituals. New ceremonial impositions gions! simultaneously through Despite these social walls, young Par­ sis are manying out into other religions at a prolific rate and we are fast losing our ceptance* within die religion but continue to pray for its spread over the seven le- Dr SAM S. BHACTA President. PirriPanchiy.t, Sunt continued simultaneously through . . o Achaemenian and Sasanian times but it Who IS a Zoroastrian? never stopped the inclusion within the re- This question needs to be answered in ligion of numerous subjugated races of a demographic count, since conversely we clear terms. It assumes urgency in view variety of faiths; nw did it stop the royalty will not accept spouses from other of the fast dwindling Parsi Zoroastrian from marrying princesses of different religions. population on the one hand and a resur- races. In fact we even sent missionaries Orthodoxy is so sanguine and well en- gence of personal faith in Zoroastrianism abroad, to spread our religion in China trenched in India that, as is usual with among many non-Zoroastrians, particu ­ larly Iranians. When Asho Zarathushtra proclaimed ies as heroes and even today we continue class, which survives on cxlhodoxy and his vision of a perfecting world, he did not pick and choose his listeneis or fol ­ lowers on the basis of their current faith. races. In fact we even sent missionaries and the southern states of the USSR. On Parsis, it will not change till it is too late, their return we honhet, which is keshvar zamine, aidoon baad — man ano Asha and a minimum of rituals. In an- With best compliments from Fag Precision Bearings Limited Manufacturers of "NORMA" ball and roller bearing^, in collaboration with M/s Fag Kugelfischer Georg Schaefer KGaA, Germany World renowned manufacturers of TAG' make ball & roller bearings Works & HO: Post Maneja, Baroda 390013 (Gujarat) Tel: 42651-2-3-4 Telex: 0175-280, 0175-222 Gram: "FAGBEAR" V 8 Parsiana March 19921 1 5 With best compliments from NARIMAN NALLASETH Pvt Ltd ENGINEERS & CONSULTANTS 27, Tamarind Lane Rajabahadur Compound Apollo Street Bombay 400023 Phone Nos: 270066 & 272986 swering the question “Who is a Zoroas- trian? ” the orthodox will continue to state “bom of both Zoroastrian parents with due performance of a navjote in the tradi- tiond sense. ” They will continue to ig­ nore the many initiates who flout all Zoroastrian principles in life and revere sadhus, saints and shrines, some even en ­ couraging the practice of black magic, yet occasionally visiting the agiary, indica ­ tive of double standards. The englightened liberals will ‘accept ’ children bom of mixed marriages, where one parent is a Zoroastrian (preferably fa­ ther) and followed by a regular navjote; but will not accept the non-Zoroastrian spouse. That can only generate dissen ­ sion within the family and perhaps loss of affinity. Nor will it substantially solve the problem of demography or faith. The Iranian Zoroastrians have already advanced to the stage of ‘accepting ’ those historically pedigreed Zoroastrians who wish to revert to our faith, based on cer ­ tain guidelines, selective mles and re ­ quirement of ethical standards in line with what Zarathushtra has prescribed. This method is good and creditable and saves us from a drastic demographic decline. But to really save ourselves from this predicament, we have to take bolder measures and drastic reforms, now, be­ fore it is too late. That is the function of the radical reformist to whom a Zoroas ­ trian is an individual who: •belives in one God, Ahura Mazda the Lord of life and wisdom •intelligently and by choice accepts the religion propounded by Prophet Zara ­ thushtra and enshrined in the Gathas and renounces all other religions and beliefs •undergoes the sudrch-pushin ceremony to publicly announce his acceptance of, and obligations to; the Zoroastrian reli ­ gion •throughout life follows the principles of Asha •to that purpose works towards perfecting the universal society by actively advanc ­ ing good thoughts, words and deeds and actively resisting all forms of evil •believes in the divine judgment of one ’s actions in this life, which will guide his/ her destiny in life hereafter. HOMIB. MINOaiER HOMJl Ontario, Canada Our share in world chaos Nineteen-year-old Ms Sanaea Antia of Patiala seems to feel that we should ac ­ cept the views and dictates of the ortho- io Parsiana March 1992 With best compliments of * Starlite Electrical Works * Electrical Engineers & Contractors * 104, Shree Hanuman Ind Estate 42 B, G D Ambekar Marg Bombay 400031i I I i i ! dox without question, because they are son and his edacity for compassion. Jus- Zmoastrians of North America beccming not as severe in their demands and their tice, honor and mercy have no place in a global attraction “as the world wonders dealings with the Parsi community as are such situations — only cruelty and who these ‘UFOs ’ are and what they be- the demands made by the leaders of other shame. f religions, e.g. the Sitos in the Punjab and the Muslims of Iran (“An injustice at.. ” Readers ’ Forum, Parsiana, July 1991). Must we deny Ourselves the principal churches, temples and gurdwaras. There teachings of our holy prophet: the call for were interfaith services in churches where shown that old customs and traditions are nobility of mind, a pure conscience and Christians, Jews and Muslims, as well as not sufficient to hold the community to- good purpose? Must we deny ourselves Zoroastrians came together to pray for gether, and that these are the very aspect the spiritual strength which enables a peace. During the service held in West- of our religicm which is driving away human being to choose the path of right- minster Abbey the reading for peace and many Zoroastrians to other religions. The eousness, because others have denied harmony was entrusted to Ervad Zal attitudes of the orthodox towards those of these to their coreligionists? ~ When Sikhism was first founded, it drew to itself folloj^ers from the two war- stantly raised against the non-Zoroastri- ring communities of Hindus and Mus- ans ’ participation in our prayers — even lims. They began as “a fellowship of when these non-Zoroastrians are praying ber 10, 1991 was a truly impressive and devotees whose goal was a sense of union for their Zoroastrian loved ones, their moving sight Every year one experi- with God, through worship and medita- husbands and fathers. Believing as he ences the same feeling of pride mingled tion. ” Eventually this peaceful religious does, how could Ervad Zal Sethna have with a great sense of sadness as one community was forced to take up arms allowed himself to be persuaded to par- watches the young and the old, with all against aggressive neighbors in order to ticipate on this occasion? How could he their memories. Fexty Commonwealth protect themselves, and thus become a have risked the contamination of his pure High Commissioners laid their wreaths military force with military symbolism. prayers by the presence of the druj? for their dead in the two World Wars, and Fanaticism of any kind only results in more evil, and religious fanaticism is the (“Zarathusti: My Past.. ” Parsiana, July gether were the Commissioners of India worst kind. Man loses his power of rea- 1991) Ervad Darius Sethna writes of the and Pakistan. I wdhder if the thought of lieve in, if anything at all. ” Such juvenile During the war sparked off by Iraq ’s remarks may be expected from spiteful invasion of Kuwait, there were services and immature minds, not from serious and prayers for peace all over Britain, in and mature human beings. ~ Our present situation has clearly Sethna, the brother of Ervad Darius other religions only add to the general un- Sethna. The Sethnas ’ voices are con- rest and outright conflict all around us. The annual ceremony of remembrance at the Cenotoph in White Hall chi Novem- prayers by the presence of the druj? In a letter criticizing Dr Ali Jafarey among the first of them who went up to- MERIND committed to improve the QUALITY OF LIFE WATCH OUT for our next PATH-BREAKING CONTRIBUTION IN HEALTH CARE MERIND LIMITED, New India Centre, 17, Cooperage Rd, Bombay 400039 13 Parsiana March 1992 1 * r ! rf t B. F. WADI A &SONS * ? * * * * Timber and Sawmilling Kiln Seasoning Chemical Treatment Doors and Windows Packina Cases and Pallets Mouldings 142, Reay Road, Bombay 400010 Tel: 8721934/8720235 Fax: 8558873 Tlx: 11-74571 BFW IN 15 Parsiana March 1992 the thousands of innocent men, women and children who have died, are still dying, and are yet to die entered their heads for even a moment. Asho Zarathushtra did not say that the traditions or race of the Persians was the only means by which one could come to Ahura Mazda. What he did say was that the path of righteousness was the only true path. The only right path was (and still is) the path of Asha. Today the world needs the divine light as never before. When Zarathushtra prayed that Ahura Mazda may grant him the strength to bring peace and harmony to the world, to the universal soul, he clearly set us that duty as well; and we cannot fulfil this duty by isolating ourselves from the rest of humanity, or by abusing others, and by forgetting that Ahura Mazda’s creation is good and divine, and that we are only a part of his creation. Ms PERIN DIVECHA Kent, England Oh for a Parsi President! A recent news item refers to Janata party leader, E>r Subramaniam Swamy having expressed the view that the next President of India should be either a Christian or a Parsi, in order to reassert the country ’s secularism. Fot once. Dr Swamy is right. Because he is law-abiding, tolerant, has a sense of humor and respects all communities and their religions, a Parsi President would be an asset to the country in these turbulent times. BHIKHAJIM. ADENWALLA Katrak’s slide show On Etecember 21, 1991 when the Parsi residents of Thane gathered on the occa ­ sion of a ghambar at the Patell Agiary they witnessed Mr Pervez Katrak ’s slide ­ show of the cities of Iran. His interesting running commentary was a special feature of the show and was highly appreciated. We hope other associations and anjumans will avail of Mr Katrak ’s free services for the enlightenment of the community. R. M. CURSETJI, P. B. BHESANIA Trustees, The Thana Zoroastrian Charity Fund Community attitudes Those who know something about Iran ’s past tell me that the mobeds had their say in everyday matters and they were hand in hand withthekingsoftheirtime. It ’s a pity that we amongst ourselves create problems, even in democratic India (where a Parsi girl married to a respected non-Parsi is not allowed her last rights). 2 BETTER WAYS TO KEEP YOUR PRECIOUS POSSESSIONS SHINING BRIGHT. ilver Instant Silver Cleaner Silver Sparkle' cleans, polishes and removes tarnish faster than conventional polishes. Just dip and rinse. 'Silver Sparkle' cleans and polishes without removing silver. ‘ Silver Sparkle' is a real labour and time saver. I ! o m <0 <£> Mso avatoWe lAade » • A handy, eon'-- Cloth l*>»© . on 70^^ to si\vct- JHAVERI BROS. 19M • 5,Metro House,Dhobitalao,Bombay 400 020. Tel ; 29 14 23,29 70 26. • 345,Abdul Rehman St.,Bombay 400 003. Tel : 32 00 65, 32 61 96/97.1 1, i 3 HOTEL KELL’S Near Left Bank Canal. Ukai Dam 394660 Dist Surat (Gujarat) Cable: KEL'S Ph: 27.91.92 With luxury, homely comfort and modem facilities, with AC/non-AC rooms, wall-to-wall carpet, attached balcony and bathrooms with running hot and cold water, T.V. in lounge. Overall ABE-ROOZ RESTAURANT Serving a la carte and Pars! varieties YOUR SATISFACTION IS OUR MOTTO ESTD1850 JEWELLERY Well-reputed firm for buying guaranteed gold ornaments & jewellery. We pay highest price for old gold & jewellery ornaments. (Approved Valuers by Govt of India for Jewellery) There are about 25 Hindu families / mostly Sardars and Sindhis holding Iranian passports but the Islamic Government does not declare holidays for any minority. We also have Armenians who ’ve come in the past and are still coming to Iran and settling down first as mechanics and draughtsmen who don t even know the Farsi language. Once here their elders help them by employing them and teach them the trade. Working on their own, they ’re their own bosses and Muslims come to them for help in repairing their cars. Once the Armenian starts earning after he ’s picked up the job, he goes for a wife and in due time has even bought himself a house where he does not pay any rent. There are no BPPs here! The Jews mix with the Muslims in the bazaar and it ’s a known fact that on every Satur ­ day when the Jews observe their religious holiday Tehran ’s bazaar is paralysed. Affluent Zoroastrians should create opportunities for our youth by building a 12-storey high complex where the first four floors should be converted into me­ chanical workshops. The ground floor should be for car mechanics where well- to-do Parsis could bring their cars for re ­ pair. Self help is the best help. Our youths should go for technical lines in case they find it difficult to study. I’m sorry to say that Irani hoteliers or industrialists have not put together their resources in build ­ ing one such building for Parsi/Irani Zoroastrians. Once a boy starts taking interest in work he ’ll become serious in life and should be advised to marry soon. In fact elders should speak on these matters rather than on wearing the sudreh and kusti or muktads or ghambars. Only when a person is happy and well fed will he stick to religious rituals. f . m. abrishami Tehran, Iran living in Tehran, Zahedan and Shiraz, « A • _ JL:- 1* a! an /y but the Islamic stick to religious rituals. Wanted Exporters in Handicraft Items, Garment and Leather Goods. Sample of goods required. Write to: Cosmopoliten Import Lensmann Haaversen 6 2020 Skedsmokorset Norway Telephones: 033-18273 06-875518 ^tfi Best compliments from BENNETT & COMPANY Auctioneers & Valuers M/s Framji Rustamji Choksey 253 Sheikh Memon Street Bombay 400002 Tel 325422/342639, Resi 251118 Scripture for a horse? It was very shocking and insulting to read in the sports column of the Indian Express of February 1,1992 that Pratap Reddy has trained a horse for the Hyderabad winter season which he has named ‘Zen- davesta, ” I request all our community members to see that this is rectified as soon as possible. BURZIN atashband Hyderabad 120 Bombay Samachar Marg Bombay 400023 Ph: 242720-242914 16 Parsiana March 1992 Edited by An»vaz S. MamaI I I Events and Personalities Republic Da|^ honors The list of nation^ civilian awardees, announced on India ’s Republic Day, was headed by the 87-year-old indus ­ trialist Jehangir Ratanji Dorabji Tata who was conferred the Bharat Ratna, read the banner headlines of many dai ­ lies of January 26, 1992. Three other Parsis were named for the Padma Shri awards: statesman Homi J. H. Taleyarkhtm, gynecologist Dr Burjor Cavas Dastur and boxing chief Aspy D. Adajania. J.R.D. Tata was the popular chair ­ man of Tata Sons for 53 years until 1991 when he handed over the reins to his successor Ratan Tata and preferred to settle for the chairman emeritus and _____ director ’s position of the parent body and other Tata concerns. However, on the academic endowments and fellow- y ships founded by the Tatas, JRD con- tinues to retain his active involvement. Above: Bharat Ratna winner Tata This participation extends to institu- Below: Padma Shri recipients tions like the fata Institute of Funda ­ mental Research (TIFR), the Atomic Energy Commission and the Indian Insti ­ tute of Science, Ban ­ galore, having nur ­ tured these science centers over many years, mentions his bio data. Recognized the founder of civil aviation in India, JRD is the first from this ale, the Edward Warner Award from the house surgeon, resident anesthetist cum country to qualify for a pilot ’s licence. He also founded India ’s first national car ­ rier — Tata Airlines in 1932, subse ­ quently renamed Air India. Several awards has he won from aero ­ nautic institutes like the gold medal from member, conferred on him different ranks and at the Parsi Lying-In Hospital, the Federation Aeronautique Intemation- or bestowed on him the doctorate degree. h; I jii Sh] Sin as 19 Parsiana March 1992 the bio data further informs. Known both within and outside In ­ dia, on the national front'Taleyarkhan has served as governor of Sikkim and cabinet minister of Maharashtra hold ­ ing portfolios of health, housing, food and civil supplies, national savings, fisheries, tourism, printing industries and family planning, his curriculum vitae notes. In the international sphere he has sought to promote India ’s inter ­ est as the IndialK ambassador to Italy and Libya and its representativedo the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. Until recently senior member of the Minorities Commission, Taleyarkhan is also active within the community. He is chairman of the Indian chapter of the World Zoroastrian Organisation V (WZO), and has been made a perma ­ nent invitee to the Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India. Adi- vasi and tribal welfare is another issue to which he has de ­ voted his energies, mentions his cur ­ riculum vitae. Dastur is a mem­ ber of the Medical Education and Drugs Committee of the Government of Ma­ harashtra. He has had considerable ex­ perience working as obstetrician and gy­ necologist, resident Taleyarkhan Dastur Adajania International Civil Aviation Organisation, pathologist and resident medical officer Over the years his achievements have of different hospitals at different times, earned him awards and citations from He has worked as honorary obstetrician almost 35 bodies. Additionally several and gynecologist at the Masina Hospital, institutions have made him honorary the B. D. Petit Parsee General Hospital The 74-year-oId doctor is the firstI Parsi to receive the Prince of Wales gold medal and scholarship for standing first at the Doctor of Medicine examinations conducted by the Bombay University, mentions his bio data. His research work with different experts in his field of medi ­ cine culminated in the discovery of the ‘Shaw Dastur ’s Cells ’ and the ‘Shirodkar- Dastur Sling Operation, ’ it is reported. Adajania, the president of the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation, has been credited with the organization of the MRF Sixth World Cup Boxing Tournament 1990 in Bombay. Reportedly the first In ­ dian to be appointed on the jury of the Olympic Games ^n boxing in 1984, Adajania has also been invited as referee at various other international boxing meets whether at the Olympic or the Asian Games level. He was the first Indian representative on the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur, reports the Indian Express of January 26,1992. li ' ii' the need for a community hall, houses for An exposure to the Zoroastrian religion the economically weaker sections, and belter transport and communication facili ­ ties. Sixty-five Parsi families are believed March for peace Dressed in daglis, phetas and shawls sev ­ eral Parsis took to the roads of Delhi on tics. Sixty-five Parsi families are believed the celebrated Dsstur Mcherji Rana, that chilly day, February 15,1992. Walk- to have settled in Vasai some of whom known for impressing Emperor Akbar ing ahead of an artistically decorated tab ­ leau that exposed the Zoroastrian faith to and others arc employed locally as teach- the man on the street, the Zoroastrian team was participating in a multi-faith march for a Spiritual World Order for the 21st Century, writes Lt Gen Adi Scihna, president of the Delhi Parsi Anjuman Talcyarkhan, an announcement conccm- (DPA). ing death formalities came as a relief to Starling at the Fatehpuri Mosque, the the Vasai residents. Formerly a death in procession wound its way to the historic Chandni Chowk as thousands of specta ­ tors looked on with interest. The Parsi tableau was the work of Nari Taraporc ichsildar of the area, the Jury House and gious and Charity Funds (CZCRCF) for and Ms Dhun Bagli, credits the news re- finally the Gamdevi Police Station all be- several years, reads a write-up in the Oc- lease. The march ended at the Brigade cause Vasai falls within Thana district tober-November ’91 issue of Calcutta Parade Grpund where Sethna explained, and the doongerwadi at Kemp’s Corner Gavashni. through the depictions on the tableau, the within the city limits. principles of Zoroastrianism and the work Talcyarkhan ’s intervention and the coop- of some Zoroastrian stalwarts for the free ­ dom movement in India and for national unity thereafter. The following day, the organizers con ­ vened a seminar when Zoroasirian Gamdevi Police Station about the death, plants. Metallurgist Dr Dara Antia was prayers were recited by Ervad Cawas Ba- - - - .................... gli and translated into Hindi and English by Ms Piloo Jungalwalla. Thereafter Selhna spoke on world peace interspers- Nalla Sopara was then acquainted with ing his talk with quotations from the the 32-bcddcd Nowrojee Clinic and Hos- Zoroastrian scriptures, notes the write-up. pital founded by Parsis and presently run by the municipality. Vasai’s new association Barely four months old, the newly consii- 15 CalcuttanS feted tuled Vasai Parsi Association has realized To mark the 400th death anniversary of tercd accountant ’s expertise is foreign al the mulli-failh march commute to Bombay for reasons of work with the Zoroastrian philosophy, the Par­ sis of Calcutta gathered at the Olp^vate ers, informs a press release. Memorial Hall on November 2, 101 iO When the Association was inaugurated felicitate 15 select Zoroastrians for their in November last year by former member noteworthy achievements. The fittiction of the Minorities Commission Homi J. H. Started with a jashan and ended with a ghambar. In between came recognition for the awardees in Use form of a scroll and a medallion presented by chief guest Vasai, to be interred al the doongerwadi, Ms Najoo Ballivala, widow of the late necessitated obtaining a death certificate Ardeshir Ballivala who was trustee of the from the doctor, clearance from the Calcutta Zoroastrian Community ’s Rpli- oh' In the steel and metal line recognition came for Dr Minu Dastur, founder and eralion of the officials concerned the lime chairman of M. N. Dastur-nnd Company, lost before interment has now been re- the consultancy firm advising Indian and duced such that after obtaining a death foreign governments and multinational ccriificaic from Vasai and informing the concerns on the constmetion of steel Thanks to the body can be brought to the Bombay felicitated for his work as secretary in the towers of silence, the release informs. The gathering from Vasai, Virar and Department of Planning and later as di ­ rector of metals under the Government of India. On the business and economic scene the following contributors were acknow ­ ledged; Pesi Narielvala, senior partner of S. R. Batliboi and Company, and director of several public companies. The char- 21 Parsiana March 1992§ i r r t 1 collaborations, the write-up reads. Stay On shifting of fire Behram Rustomji ’s specialization in * foundation engineering enabled him to the fire-temple in question from its pres- ' ' ’ ----- 3-..- ent location in Bharuch to any other the Naoroji Pirojsha Godrej Memorial write-up reads. Stay on shifting of fire Godrej’s watermark . ' I “The trustees are... not to remove or shift Confronting us is a spectacle of nearly 50 loundation engineering enabled him to the fire-temple in question from its pres- gaily colored boats holding center stage at start his own firm Pile Foundation Con- ent location in Bharuch to any other the Naoroji Pirojsha Godrej Memorial structions Company (India) Private Lim- place outside Bharuch. ” V. Vasvada, Boating Station. The peripheral space on ited and to execute a number of jobs in- joint charity commissioner, Baroda divi- the ground floor is assigned to a sail re- cluding deep sea wharfs, jetties, etc, <’ . . • - - ... - notes the write-up in Gavashni. Doongaji Agiary fire by his order dated gymnasium, stores. And the dormitory Taking Tip public causes is Cusrow January 3, 1992. The next hearing was accommodation on the first floor is in ­ joint charity commissioner, Baroda divi- the ground floor is assigned to a sail re- sion thus stayed the relocation of the pairs loft, a boat repair and building bay, Doongaji Agiary fire by his order dated gymnasium, stores. And the dormitory Irani who has been chairman of the Press scheduled for March 6. Trust of India and was reelected chair- The trustees of the man of the International Press Institute in Agiary were planning 1991. His abiding loyalties with The to bring the fire to Statesman and his knowledge of law has Bombay’s Godrej Baug enabled him to ^hampion the cause of where a new fire ­ press freedom. tion for law as an advocate of the Cal ­ cutta High Court and the Supreme Court has enabled him to aid the community on by Sam B. Sethna and legal issues, in particular with the diffi- eight others against culties of the Mehta Atash Adaran when Bejanji Lakdawalla and his advise was sought to surmount finan ­ cial barriers, the write-up notes. Widen ­ ing the silent world of the deaf is Ms grant^ on the grounds Dhun Adenwalla who started the Oral that the Agiary is fre- School for Deaf Children in Calcutta but quented by the Bharuch is now settled in Poona where she works Parsis, there are suffi- with young deaf children and travels to Bombay to lecture at the National Insti ­ tute for the Hearing Handicapped. A re is a mobed toperform partner in , his father ’s electrical firm the boi ceremony, reads Hoshang, Tangree and Company, a report in the Jam-e- Khurshed Tangree is known for his phil- Jamshed of February 2. anthropic bent of mind whether giving financial, manpower or moral support to joint charity commis- . those in need. A pioneer in the concept sioner ’s decision, a of outdoor advertising was Rusi Gimi maachi financed by the whose commitment extended to improv ­ ing the health in rural areas and addition ­ ally serving as chairman of the St John Ambulance Association. Now deceased, Agiary in the presence Gimi was also the sheriff of Calcutta. In sports, acclaim was showered on: veteran athletes Jehanbux Kapadia and ceremony as also the Admiral Rantas inaugurating the Godre/ Boating Ms Prochy Mehta who have won medals religious talk that fol- Station (top) while Soonu Godrej looks on for India at world meets; basketball lowed on “The status of champ Ms Shirin Kiash who was on the the fire in nature and its great deeds ” by selection committee of various basket ­ ball and hockey associations; Russi Jeejeebhoy, the first Parsi from Calcutta to be appointed selector by the Board of the Godrej Baug agiary has once again Control for Cricket in India (since de ­ ceased) and oarsman Sam Medora who keen that the family ’s sacred fire have has won several regattas and now taken to umpiring the event. Bringing melody into the lives of Cal ­ cutta Parsis is Vistasp Balsara through not be released in the absence of the his vocal and instrumental music. Popu- Gujarat charity commissioner ’s sanction, lar in the film industry and other circles, Balsara has also cut gramophone records, the Gavashni write-up further informs. campion the cause of where Pesi Ginwala ’s reputa- temple is under con ­ struction. On an appeal filed 'esi Ginwala ’s rcputa- six others managing the Agiary, the stay was cient funds to maintain the fire temple and the- To celebrate the Sethna brothers — Noshir, Sam and Minoo " was performed in the ' of several Parsis who had come to attend the 23 Parsiana March 1992 Si Sri if ¦ ‘*4 tended for the youths associated with the Kersasp B.Makihatana and Ervad Pervez Sea Cadet Corps (SCC), a movement in- D. Mithaiwalla, notes the Jame report. With this development the progress of adolescents. The chief of the naval staff Admiral L. been impeded. The Doongaji family was Ramdas was there to inaugurate the 1,1(X) sq ft Boating Station. Also in attendance were a host of service officers, industria- tended to widen the nautical horizons of better patronage. They had even prom ­ ised Rs 10 lakhs towards the cost of the lists, members of the Godrej family, par- new agiary building but the monies could Four years since the foundation stone laying of the agiary, the outcome of the project is still not known. ents of the cadets and well-wishers who were invited to witness the Admiral in ­ spect the cadets ’ guard and band before the commissioning on November 10, 1991. Seated in the shade of the cement and concrete Training Ship Jawahar in'A I 1 South Bombay, the visitors had only to | look left for a view of the 25-year-old I Jawahar„ and right, when they wanted a vision of the Boating Station, these two " structures lying almost adjacent. X As Jawahar serves as the SCC na ­ tional headquarters, it is put to use not only for the 900 cadets currently enrolled ? with the Bombay unit but also for the total I strength of 2,000 throughout India, as I notes the Corps ’ 1992 souvenir. With the I SCC increasing in popularity and activi- I ties, Jawahar's area was occasionally 1 found to be constrictive. This had been a I subject of concern for the Sea Cadet I Council, i public charitable trust admin- I istering the activities of the SCC. I Way back in 1974, industrialist I Nawoji Godrej, one of the trustees of the Council to whom youth welfare and yachting were equally dear, offered to f^und an extension to the prevailing yachting and other training facilities Thereafter it is strict discipline. Every Sheriff Ms Bakul Rajni Patel(standing) from the Pirojsha Godrej Foundation, in- Sunday without a break the Bombay ca- inaugurated, on February 21,1992 ' i a special five-week course for ladies the morning and then follow five arduous offered by the Davar's College of hours of training in the skills of water- Commerce^ Banking and Language Studies on "How to Manage Money Matters." Next to her is Dr (Ms) ¦0 ¦ 1 s I •¦i M il i I I Sunday without a break the Bombay ca- f(»Tns Capt Rabi Ahuja. In recognition of dets have to report at Jawahar at 7.30 in Godrej ’s financial and conceptual com ­ mitment to this project the Council de ­ cided to name the Boating Station after manship. There are also training camps the late industrialist who had endeavored to steer the project ahead. Prominently displayed at the Boating will come in useful at such times. Station are the names and sailing / ..... . - . achievements of sea cadets who have Corps relies on donations, advertise- won national and international awards ments in its souvenirs over the years so as to inspire each suc ­ cessive crop of cadets. Among the its activities. They receive no govern- news by Alfred Sommer, dean of The names are international yachtsmen Lt ment grants although support does come Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Fardch Tarapore and Cyrus Cama who forth: as for example, the land for the Public Health vide his letter dated De- were introduced to this sport as fledg- Boating Station leased by the govern- cember 23, 1991. This was on the occa- lings of the SCC, mentions Ahuja, cap ­ tain superintendent of the SCC. one rupee per year, Ahuja informs, when past heroes were listed in a specia During the 54 years of the SCC there With the governor of Maharashtra as the edition of their publication Publu have been other Parsis too who have president of the Sea Cadet Council, the Health. gained from the self-discipline, morality chief minister as the senior vice presi- “ and leadership training imparted at the dent, Sumatiben Morarjee, Major Gen- four-year courses. The foundation they eral B. G. Shirely and Air Vice Marshal tion in New Delhi, Jungalwalla has beet to attend and the dormitory at the Boat ­ ing Station with a capacity of 100 beds Khorshed Madon, principal of the College founded by her father Prof A voluntary civilian organization, the Sohrab Rustom Davor 92 years ago. in its souvenirs and the health. ’’ Dr Nowshir Kaikobad Jungal- community ’s largesse to continue with walla of New Delhi was conveyed this Among the its activities. They receive no govern- ----- Boating Station leased by the govern ­ ment for 99 years at a nominal rent of sion of the School ’s 75th anniversarj one rupee per year, Ahuja informs. Founder-director of the National Insti ­ tute of Health Administration and Educa have received has given them confi ­ dence in their subsequent careers whether in the navy, merchant marine, business or industry. While for some this miral R. K. S. Ghandhi, Jamshyd N. course serves as a hobby, to others the - - grooming is the beginning of a future vo­ cation, it is mentioned. Enrolment is open to boys and girls in the 10-18 age-group irrespective of class, creed or religion on a nominal annual Aye Ready. ’ subscription of Rs 50. If the students conform to the age requirements, are ‘HcrO of publlC health’ Bharat Kumar as the vice presidents, the mentioned in four international Who’, others on the trust board are Vice Admi ­ ral H. Johnson, Vasant J. Sheth, Vice Ad ­ Who as well as in a national one, inform: his wife Piloo. Another distinction tc come his way was when he was named i member of the Order of the British Em pire. On the WHO he served as adviser ii venereal diseases, on the Indian Healtl Godrej, Rear Admiral A. Tandon, S. G. Kale and K. M. Sheth. Together they navigate the Corps. It is for the cadets to steer the charted course adopting the SCC motto, ‘Ready Ministry in New Delhi he was senior pub lie health adviser and from 1957-60 wa: director of the All-India Institute of Hy giene and Public Health in Calcutta. / physically fit, have a baSic knowledge of “We chose you as a ‘hero of public fellow of the All India Institute of Medi English and can convince the interview ­ ers that they are genuinely interested, they are welcomed aboard the SCC. Paiinaz Gandhi health ’.., for your years of service to the cal Sciences, the doctor was also ap World Health Organisation (WHO), the pointed convener and honorary treasure Indian Health Ministry and for public of the Indian Council of Medical Re 24 Parsiana March 1992in- 79- fi i j search, forms his bio data. The year-old health enthu ­ siast who re ­ tired from all public duties in 1980 is credited with giving New Delhi an em- -r ergency tele- (From left) Health enthusiast Jungalwalla, metallurgist Irani, social worker Ghadiali and sportsman 1 arapore ber whe^e ambulances can be sum- demv of Sciences, the All India Manage- Cnckct COSCll fctcd moned posthaste. galwalla was bom in Rangoon, Burma appointed on the board of directors of the Kirmani, B. S. Chandrashekar, -G. R, 4___ -J______ - _ -- - -- College of Physicians in London. He later Steel Institute, further notes the bio data, joined the Indian Medical Service as a gynecologist and was in active service as colonel in the Sudan and Egypt, reads his bio data. Representing Rangoon University in cording to his curriculum vitae. rowing, Jungalwalla ’s interest in sports started his career as a senior scientific of- known naany rewarding experiences extends to swimming, tennis and squash, ficer at BKRA in Sheffield and joined ' further adds his bio data. r. i « i i. The son of a port health officer, Jun- demy of Sciences, the All India Manage ­ ment Association and the Institute of Cricket coack Keki Tarapore who has Standards Engineers. Irani has also been groomed well-known players like Syed and qualified as a member of the Royal Brussels-based International Iron and Vishwanath and others who have made it — - - "—. to the international scene was recently A postgraduate in geology from the conferred the Rajyotsava Award by the Nagpur University, Irani subsequently Government of Karnataka, notes a press went to the University of Sheffield from release, where he did his M. Met and PhD, ac- T During his career as cricket coach foi He more than three decades, Tarapore ha: TISCO five years later in the research and development department. ‘Steelman’ Irani The Steelman of the Year recognition came to Dr Jamshed Jiji Irani, joint ma- CcTmp^y Limited (TISCO) in November recognitions in the form of Full^ght last. Educationist feted As an educationist, Ms Dina Rattanshaw naging director of Tata Iron and Steel Ghadiali of Surat had received umpteen scholarships twice, a merit certificate dent ’s medal for the Best Teacher of the UJ WIW >> _—-------------------o~ -------------------- -----1 reports The Afternoon Despatch social worker, honor came her way re- ourier of November 26. cently when she was conferred a special Noteworthy contributions to the development and growth of the steel in ­ dustry qualified Irani for the award con ­ ferred by the Indian and Eastern Engi- Country by the Indian government As a neer, i and Courier of November 26. Earlier it was the Ministry of Steel award by the All India Women ’s Confer- and Mines that twice honored him with ence, Gujarat branch, for her devoted so- the National Metallurgist Award and a platinum medal in 1974 and 1988 respec ­ tively, reads his bio data. Keenly in- . volved in the Total Quality Movement, Shree M. G. Singapuri Girls ’ High Irani is seeking to improve quality cul- 1 _ _ . . from the Government of USA, a presi- cial work for over four decades, informs a press release. Since her retirement as principal of the School, Ghadiali has been working for ture in TISCO^and the different institu- the Sheth P. T. Surat General Hospital, tions with which he is connected. He is for the blind, deaf and dumb schools, the president of the Indian Institute of Metals Union Education Society and the Narmad orary service to the BEd College, Surat, imparting to the trainees methods of teaching English as a foreign language. Mistry: dance dedication the release notes. The first lady member on the board of Only last year at a conditioning camp i (IIM), chairman of the Metallurgical Sahitya Sabha. Besides, she renders^hon- Engineering Division Council of the Bu- ' reau of Indian Standards and adviser to the India Society of Engineers. Sixty-five-year-old Irani who is chair ­ man of Tata Refractories Limited and the , . Tinplate Company of India Limited, also the Surat Parsi Punchayet, another insti- Bangalore before the Indian team left ft serves on the board of other companies tution to benefit from her commitment is the England tour, skipper Molmmma and various research councils. the Guides movement where she has Azharuddin presented Tarapore his whil The organizations of which he has served as State Commissioner for floppy hat autographed by all the India been made fellow are the Indian Aca- Gujarat, the write-up mentions. players, informs the release. 26 Parsiana March 1992i ! At the All India camp organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India in Bangalore, Tarapore ’s was a familiar face assisting the national coach in training promising players like Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Shivlal Yadav, besides others. At matches like the Ranji, Duleep and Irani Trophies played in Bangalore, it is Tar- apore who gives the commentary on All India Radio. His interest in cricket started during his school days in Bangalore. He was the captain of his school and college cricket teams and qualified for the Ranji Trophy national championships. After attending a three-week camp for prospective cricket coaches, he has been officiating as one. His first jfcsting was in Jaipur in 1960. Within six months he was trans ­ ferred to Karnataka where he served till his retirement in 1990, notes a write-up sent by the family. He shares his interest in cricket with his elder son Shavir who has represented the Kamatak state in the Ranji Trophy and his younger son Kaizad who is vice captain of the Bangalore zonal team, fur ­ ther informs the write-up. TARACHANO & Co % { Mistry’s integral dance For eight years Ms Benaifer Dinyar Mis ­ try arduously imbibed the technique of Bharat Natyam from her mentors before making her debut as a dancer. The 16- year-old ’s arangetram performance at the ISKCON Auditorium on December 8 last year reflected her dedication to this vis ­ ual form of Indian culture, informs a write-up in the Blitz of December 28. A distinction student from St Louis Convent, Andheri, Mistry is presently a first year student at Bhavan ’s College. In addition to her dance training under Krishnankutty and Ms Ammukutty, she also finds time for sports and social work. Through dance she hopes to bring integration within the country, the Blitz notes. SPOTLIGHT State weightlifting champion Neville Daroga was selected to lead the Maharashtra team at the Senior National and Inter-State Weightlifting Champion ­ ships in Bangalore in February last. The team coach was Viraf Panthaki, informs the Jam-e-Jamshed of February 16,1992. Compiled by Roxana A. Mirza 29 Parsiana March 1992 ¦’i H: t >1 Suppliers of the Meatiest of Venky’s/Mafco’s/ Al Kabeer’s/Shalimar’s Non-Veg. Delicacies This Side of Town K & D Distributors Exclusive Suppliers of Venky’s for South Bombay ! 1 I t 80, Sleater Road Grant Road (West) Tel 3883691/3889531 C. D. Coelho ServicesI 5^ 7C)R0ASTRIANS ABROAD Are the Kurds Zoroastrians? Political conditions have propelled little-known people of Zoroastrian heritage to the consciousness of the world t Reports on surviving Middle Ea^ Sdexc^tsfto';^ *“0^ to? J^i“e3"oLr Step and the Yazidi, rc«.nl,ng the pt^h“ “f weteep ss"Sd^:“Ss^sts?SS So"-“X^S";ss Zoroytrians squirm amid then own Arfa-ees, we may arrive at a series of broadly. ’¦““S'trian society of Ontario Yazi'th Wng a^Suon of the tX7-»«- has set up a fund to aid the sultog ®'^“"^SX'h^ve fgnored timated total of 1.5 million. In Turkey, X'ma»iKhuSSS EcSwgt^^^^^^ ""S” “^.SeetSNioS ’Sename ^^‘di communities alsoS in Istanl^. !gftrrp.tary to the Protection Officer at the < sub-ofFice of the United Nations High i Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in i oHwo of the refugees. States Amaria, writes Esma’U, “The Kurd refugees have affected me, ’ ¦¦**¦ ' mainly because they have claimed to be Zoroastrians and/or their grandparents the massacre are Zoroastrians. I feel strongly for my community and most importantly I feel that we, as one of the smallest communi ­ ties of the world should at least be aware of what is happening to some of the un- fortunate community members, that hail Islamicized and ^^Howed^ to f^°^I Sed to beUeve that most of these were obliged either to abandon many of shah region. Kurd-Iraqi refugees have converted from our rites and ceremonies or to give them Zoroastrianism to Islam, due to excessive pressure, sometimes rather violent, from the Arab fellow citizens. Nearly all the cultural hibernation... present younger generation refugees that “In the 12th century, at the start of the I have come across, claim to be Muslim Ottoman ascendancy in the region, an es- converts, with grandparents still being timated 80 percent of the Kurds were ei- Zoroastrians. Some of them still pray L—--------- - - - from the Avesta, without making it pub- still. Today, the same percentage de- lic knowledge. Their mannerisms and scribe themselves as Moslems... ______ outlook towards life is predominantly natnmllv. no alike ours. ” Ushta, the quarterly publication of places Zoroastrian Studies (ZS), in each of its mvp four issues of 1991, carried excerpts from ... —o- - j* • * The the book To Us Spoke Zarathushtra by prefer to ignore our ewsteiKX^or (hmimsh Prince Emir Muawiyyah ben Esma ii Yazidi, recording the practice of Zoroas ­ trianism by the Yazidis in exile. The three million Kurds speak Arabic and Kurdish, notes Ushta. Emir Esma’il refers to his people as the Azda ees. The Zoroastrian Society of Ontario Yazidi being a corruption of the term. them as “heathens, ” “others, ” “etc. ” “For centuries, violence in the name of religion has been a main feature of life and Ankara. ¦ in the Middle East Even today all the “Next to '^^ey, it is Iraq wtach h^ main political conflicts in the region are the biggest Yazidi communities. To- calm the angry masses and detract their attention from their misery better than Shaikhan, Dohak, Mosul, El-Quosh and „ .....V.,------- -------- Zakho. One of the holiest spots for the of a few Yazidi or Alawite Yazidis is also situated in Iraq, at Jaba Lalesh, near Mosul, where many Emin are buried. “Iran ranks third as far as the numbe of Yazidis there are concerned. To illages in the name of the True Faith. “It was during this long history of per ­ secution that our original name as the Azda’ee was corrupted into being read as - ----------- «iiunn th, Yazidi We were considered as vaguely tailing just under half a million, th _ _ ¦ ¦¦ • » survive on the fringes of history, as it were... We V! Yazidis of Iran have their strongholds a Targever and Margever and the Kerman ‘In Syria, the Yazidis are estimated t ^seudo- ’lsFamTc coloring. This strange number over 200,(W living in JeUl -- -------------*3 Kurdagh, Aleppo, Ras al-Ayn, Hessa and Ghamshli. “An estimated 25,000 Yazidis als live in Soviet Armenia. And the Yazit community in Yemen is believed t number nearly 10,000. A further 10,00 Yazidis live in a variety of other coui tries in Europe and the Americas as we as the Middle East. “Although fully aware of our distin rites and ceremonies or to give them a t situation forced us into what amounts to In the 12th century, at the start of the grandparents still being timated 80 percent of the Kurds were ei ­ ther secretly or avowedly Zarathushtrians •‘There (are), naturally, no accurate statistics concerning the Yazidis. In most we are ! simply grouped together ethnic and cultural identity, we neverthi 30 Parsiana March 1992I 'n r ’¦*^25 fr‘ v.'^; •J- Jt • Aiikan >>-^- Young Kurds flanlAhe Kurdistan Cultural Center’s sketch map of the area U.1S.R. II <7 US ANON T^rin SYRIA •AlWpO ON Fa DwnHCU*^ JORDj Sil [1 I UN Bacbamania. “The young girls I spoke to were at ; once tense when a non-Yazidi Kurdish j ,--------- person came into the room where we J The Creator they called ‘Yazdan, ’ and dery, paintings, handicrafts, etc) or those were sitting. They immediately stopped P13). ‘Zaradhust ’ the messenger of ‘Yazdan. ’ They asked me a lot of questions about the Zoroastrians in India and their cus ­ toms. The girls had some knowledge of very simple without much fanfare or ritu- Friedrich Nietzsche ’s Thus Spake als. Friends and relatives give money, _____ ___ _____ _____ „ _____ _ Zarathustra of which they seemed to rather than objects, as “presents to the they are not free to practice their religion 1 possess a copy in German. couple. - - “They informed me that they had only — . .. . ...... a small ceremony when a boy reaches similar to that of the Muslims. However, two to four years of age. The priest came the treatment of the body before burial -------------- -------------- ---------- _ - J _• « /»/• « « • . ------ small lock of the boy’s hair. There was no body is bathed with water by relatives of tory of their persecution, not unlike that not undergo a navjote ceremony they do shroud. Ornaments (if any) are removed not wear a sudreh and kusti. and handed over to the family members. things which she has saved for her mar- talking and a video film showing their riage. The wedding ceremony, performed rituals in their holy town in Iraq was by a priest, takes about half an hour and is switched off. It was started once more after this person left and they had se- Z cured the door. Hence it seemed that I couple. or customs or talk freely with strangers Z ‘‘The disposal of the dead is by burial, (or foreigners) and are always suspicious 4 ' ' .............................. , of outsiders (non-Yazidis), ” Damania is ? 1 conscious of the emotional currents. * and said some prayers and chopped off a resembles the Zoroastrian practice. The This is not surprising considering the his- ? small lock of the boy’s hair. There was no body is bathed with water by relatives of tory of their persecution, not unlike that j ceremony at all for girls. Since they do the-same sex and then wrapped in a white faced by the Zoroastrians of Iran after the J Arab conquests, he adds. j continued on page 98 | not wear a sudreh and kusti. 40 Parsiana March T992 I fART COVER STORY Many A Splendored Weave Gustasp Irani Despite her handicap the late Nelly Sethna ^continued to weave masterpieces and inspire local artisans Though ctMifined to a wheelchair, Ms i “ * . lustrates what kind of person Nelly Was; Jehangir Art Gallery on the opening and “The limits of art today are not con- sLw « Jvtviuiiiivu T ‘ °f her and Ms Roshan Mullan ’s fined by one ’s nationality. Nelly ’s work mentions her husband. ’ exhibition of handwoven, handcrafted . - — . creaticMis and then retired ^m the lime- u ? . • Withm a fortnight of that she rejected tradition, but she was would walk barefoot to school in Malad the closmg of the exhibition, she died on ------- " . ... March 1, 1992 at her residence in Bom­ bay following cardiac arrest. With re ­ markable willpower she had been ward- _________________ ____ _____ ing off multiple sclerosis that invaded draw our inspiration from tradition her system more than two decades ago. i ' ' . __________ __________ Critically acclaimed as a weaver of who acknowledged Sethna as her mentor. national and, international repute, Seth- ~ - -- na s work had been recognized with a bond. To understand their relationship ^dma Shri by the Government of India you’ve got to understand that Nelly was a 1950s, she joined the Bornbay Dyeing T AW excellence by very poor teacher, ” says Homi. “She did and Manufacturing Company and was ra®WOTld^ Zoroastnan Organisation in everything on her own and expected her singlehandedly responsible for starting 1991. Dunng her 59-year life span, the student to do the same. ” * .................... invited to participate in Nelly never sought to find the easy way two books, Shal - weaves and embroi- wala who had known Sethna since their deries of Kashmir and Kalamkari, were student days at London, their personal both well received. Other distinctions to and professional relationship enduring till come her way was her appointment as the end. Together they had travelled to textile design consultant to the National Kuteh as part of a delegation to study the Institute of Design, Ahmedabad and the crafts of Gujarat. Homi Bhabha Fellowship that she used f ' 2__ 1,.^ _ __ _ to revive Kalamkari, the rare art of print- A qualified textile designer from the Be­ ing and painting with vegetable and earth gent Street Polytechnic, London, she dyes. ! ' - —. _ „ A simple, unostentatious life-style is Cranbrook Academy of Art in the USA. what the artist believed in. “I take every- Gn nti msi uay ai uic /\eaaemy sne was lonporary. un tier return she was corn- thing from nature, ” Sethna was wont to placed in front of a loom and told to do missioned by the Ford Foundation to do a tell her husband Homi and admirers. Her her own thing. “Though she had studied long hanging which, according to her exhibitions in different parts of India re- textile designing, this was the first time husband, adorned the three-storeyed fleeted her emphasis. Through her dis- she was confronted by a loom, ” says stairway well of their building in New plays she helped lift the traditional craft Homi. Seeing her despair, a fellow stu- Delhi. to the realm of art. Several artisans dent from Finland showed her the ropes Then in 1969, un expected ly, Nelly working under her also benefitted from — make that the threads — and how they lost vision in one eye for a week. It was the patronage and awareness that her ----------- ' ' — • - - work created within and outside India. “Her work is in the classical mold, it will working on the loom. The next nnoming never go out of fashion, it ’s eternal, ” when the other students came to the class Mys^Ms Shireen Gandhy of Chemould she had her first piece woven on it. “It il- “The limits of art today are not con- she was a determined fighter all her hfe, ” She fought her way up in life from very modest origins. As a little girl she As a student at the Sir J. J. Institute of - . .r - ------------------- ---------------- India Handicrafts Board and a longtime daring to oppose the professor's arbitrary ................ ... . ...... , . -____ studies she took up jobs, whether through broiderers) or even menial work as a was international. She did what she felt was honest; she broke new ground. Not never bound by it, ” says Ms Roshan Kala- ____________________ _______ _____ __ pesi, designer, former member of the All Applied Art she had to b^ the brum for India Handicrafts Board and a longtime daring to oppose the professor ’s arbitrary admirer of Sethna ’s work. “Though we evaluations. When^abroad, to finance her -----------* our studies she took up jobs, whether through work is very contemporary, ” says Mullan the firm of Hartnell ’s (the Queen ’s em- - ¦ .1 •; ; ________ __ “Nelly and Roshan had a very special maid. ' On her return to Bombay in die late very poor teacher, ” says Homi. “She did and Manufacturing Company and the World Congress of Craftsmen. Her out, remembers designer Ms Mini Boat- * iz> _ __J ___ I___ _¦ .. _1_ « a aa M a • ... Hardworking the company ’s textile design department tkfl aoc, time no textile mill in Bombay had an independent textile design depart ­ ment of its own, ” says Homi. Her understanding with the employ ­ ers, the Wadias, was that along with her commercial commitments to them she would keep in touch with her artistic pur ­ suits and her weaving, -^he wove tapes- Sethna learnt^ weaving the hard way. tries for Air India and other comm^ial houses. Later she wcxi the Ford Founda ­ tion Travel and Study Award which fi- Mbs^uendy won a Fellowship to the nanced her global trip to study the craft 1.. and art of weavers, traditional and con- On her first day at the Academy she was temporary. On her return she I missioned by the Ford Foundation to do a I textile designing, this was the first time husband, adorned the three-storeyed gHa U/dG o Izxzxwi ** nnnA xl 1_ 1 »¦ plays she helped^ lift the traditional craft Homi. Seeing her despair, a fellow sto- Deihi.~^ i Then in 1969, unexpectedly, Nelly , " - 1___ i were strung across the loran. That night the first inkling of the crippling multiple Sethna did not go home but spent it sclerosis that would waste her petite phy- .u. ixx— TTi.-------------------------- gjqyg years, mute hw when die other students came to the class voice, making even simple speech an ef- Several artisans dent from Finland showed her the ropes 43 Parsiana March 1^2 I hl ! i 11 i aS*''men. They would sit at her feet and call fort This disease was over the years men. They would sit at her feet and caU wk slowly going to eat into her system and her ‘amma (mother). ’ But she would pro- but in threads rather than paint ” confine her to a wheelchair by 1975; a r-* — ------ • ............................. - ’ disease that was eventually going to tear one of the country ’s most acknowledged and creative weavers away from her loom ’’y ^987. ... Sethna and Mullan ’s partnership weaving magic together < * * ’ • - - - — . - nosed a victim of multiple sclerosis. The Mullan was able to match senior artist tightT symmertM// shall 1 II the belief that that body would deal leniently with him. In this he was destined to be disap ­ pointed. The Punchayet immedi ­ ately convened another meeting of the Parsis, at which the fol ­ lowing humiliating resolution, which must have been particu ­ larly exasperating to Jamshedji, was passed: ‘That the said Jam­ shedji Beramji Laskari should take (Mie of his own shoes in his hand, and with it strike himself five times on his face, in tHe presence of the community which would be assembled for the purpose of witnessing the punishment; The judicious and vigorous proceed- and further, with a halter round his neck. » !!!....... “Further, any person going out of Bombay to take unto him ­ self a wife at Thana, Karanja, or at any town or village, while his first wife is alive, shall be turned out of caste by the Punchayet on his return to Bombay. “Further, whoever marry a second wife by permis ­ sion of the Punchayet, the mar ­ riage ceremony of such person, if he be a Shehenshahi, shall be performed by Da^ur Kharshedji Jamshedji himself, or with his order by priests under him; and if he be a Kadmi, by Mulla Firoz, or under his order by priests under to marry a second wife. ” him. If any other priests shall perform the — - - - ceremony, the Punchayet will not ac- ings of this Punchayet, which insisted ask the pardon of the priest whom he had knowledge it and shall not allow the of- upon implicit obedience to rules and regu- assaulted, and of the ^nchayet which he fending party to enter any fire-temple; nor lations (July accepted by the community, had insulted, and recoup to the Punchayet shall any persons give to priests officiat ­ ing as above, without permission, dona ­ tions in funeral and other ceremonies. Any one not acting according to what is above stated shall be further punished as the Punchayet shall think proper. “Further, any person attending the the manner in which the law was executed Parsis were assembled, Jamshedji was nuptials of any individual who shall by the Punchayet in the case of an erring made to carry out the requirements of the marry a second wife without permission Parsi who defiantly committed bigamy a resolution, which must have been felt as from the Punchayet shall also be pun- few days after the passing of the new particularly degrading by a man of his ished by the Punchayet as they think caste rules. The delinquent, Jamshedji temperament. His penalty did not stop proper. “ - - - - “Further, any person having no chil ­ dren, and his wife not past the age of de ­ livery, shall not marry a second wife, even though he should promise to satisfy newly-elected Punchayet. Relying on his the Punchayet with a halter round his his first wife, and obtain her consent to wealth and connections, he boldly vio- neck to solicit pardon for his transgres- do so. On the other hand, he shall not al- lated the rules of his caste and married a sion, to deliver up to his first wife all her low his wife to take unto herself another second wife while the first was still alive, jewels and property, and to deposit with man for her husband; and the Punchayet The Punchayet thereupon summoned a the Punchayet a sum of two thousand shall not acknowledge any writing or meeting of the whole “anjuman ” or com- rupees for her mainteoance. It was only agreement for the mutual discharge of munity, which resulted not only in the ex- after complying with all these conditions marriage vows, and shall not allow him communication of Jamshedji and his that he was readmitted into the commu- to take unto himself'another wife, nor the newly-married wife, but in his father nity . woman to take unto herself another hus- being compelled to expel him from the “ band; and all who do so without the per- paternal home on pain of being himself this first breach of the regulations of the mission of the Punchayet shall be turned excommunicated. When Jamshedji saw Punchayet was punished inspired awe and out of caste, or shall receive such other the Punchayet was determined to make terror among those who might otherwise punishment as the Punchayet shall deem an example of him, he was so annoyed have as readily committed the offence proper. ........................ - - - • • ................. ... “Further, any person obtaining permis ­ sion from the Punchayet to take a second proclaiming his excommunication. The the lifetime of the first, wife (his first wife being alive) shall offender was therefore summoned before be subject to the payment of such a sum a police magistrate to whom Jamshedji of money for charity as the Puncha- expressed his regret for what had oc- yct shall deem him able to afford; and curred and his willingness to abide by Punchayet may give him permission award him. He made this submission in ¦ ¦ ’il ’ k K" i i ii ...FURTHER, V>iE, the WHOLE PUNCHAYET .NOW ASSEMBLED, HAVE THI$ WRESOLVEP, that YOU CAN NOT DIVORCE YOUR PRESENT WIFE— JO$T 86CAU$e YOU no NOT like her COOKINQ.^" were for scxne years attraded with most the cost which it had incurred in engaging salutary results. Its decisions were re- counsel for prosecuting the case against spected and admired because strict justice him .” was administered to all without fear, fa­ vor, or distinction between the rich and the poor. The following is an instance of 1818, and at which a large number of At a meeting ®f the community held in Dadiseth ’s fire-temple on June 16, Beramji Laskari, had recently returned to here. Further humiliation was in stare for Bombay from Calcutta with a large for- him, and in expiation of the crime of big­ tune, and it may also be explained that he amy itself he was ordered, after undergo- was related to one of the members of the ing certain ceremonies, to appear before The rigor and promptitude with which and irritated that he assaulted the priest themselves, and followed the example of to whom the duty had been delegated of Jamshedji in taking a second wife during Dosabhai Framji Karaka, a scholar and author, was also chairman of the Municipal Corporation and sheriff of Bombay. He was a presidency after the payment of such sum the such punishment as the Punchayet might magistrate and chairman of Her Majesty's . Bench of Justices, Bombay. 57 Parsiana March 1992INSTITUTIONS TATA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL * haven of hope Noshir Dadrawala Enshrining the spirit of Sir Dorab Jamsetji Tata, the 50-year-old institution expands its fight against cancer 1 $ Cancer for me wa.s not a remote disease brunt of about one-third of the total num- whose mysteries were periodically un ­ ravelled in brightly-worded newspaper reports. Two decades ago, in the outpa ­ tient department (OPD) of the Tata Me­ morial Hospital (TMH) brimming with basic research in cancer in this part of the patients. Dr J. C. Paymaster had an- ........................... nounced my mother had cancer. Seven ­ teen years later I had sat in the same OPD as one more patient, with doctors probing into my medical history and ask ­ ing me dozens of questions. Restored to procedures will be done in the outpatient primary care at the hospital; others come for consultation and return to their base; 70 percent are treated free of cost. ” De- ber of cancer patients treated in India. “Its 370 beds make it the largest in Asia and the Middle East. Its Cancer Research spite a small expansion during 1976-77 Institute is also the largest institute for the 1941-built facility is overcrowded. “ Involved earlier with the planning and world, ” Desai furnishes the facts. development of the Hospital, Dr D. J. Jus- An important golden jubilee project of sawalla who retired as directed of the Tata the TMH, according to Desai, is to have Memorial Centre (in 1966 the Tata Me- a new OPD complex in a new building, morial Hospital and the Indian Cancer “Most of the diagnosis and treatment Research Centre fused into the Tata Me- t morial Centre) in 1980, sees the proposal health and strength under the advice of department, thus drastically reducing the for a new center in New Bombay as a step Dr Praful Desai, director of the TMH, I duration of hospitalization, ” avers Desai, in the right direction. To be called the was once again at the renowned cancer “The outpatient department is the “Advanced Centre for Treatment, Re­ institute, researching for an article on the nerve center of all clinical activities in the search and Education in Cancer, ” it will occasion of its golden jubilee. I’ ~ Although there are quite a few cancer telling figures; of the 25,000 patients who hospitals in India today, the Tata Memo- visit the clinics of the TMH annually. Illustration of the Tata Memorial rial — one of the largest comprehensive nearly 55 percent or 15,(X)0 patients have Hospital cancer centers in the world — takes the cancer; nearly 60 percent of them receive Courtesy: Mario Miranda, The Heartbeat of a Trust Dr Praful Desai, director of the TMH, I duration of hospitalization, ” avers Desai. “The outpatient department is the nerve center of all clinical activities in the Hospital, ” mentions Desai, quoting some be deemed as a university where further visit the clinics of the TMH annually. Illustration of the Tata Memorial ¦3 I i ¦ ¦ I ¦ H t- ' 'K BliTJiSSiSLiSi 58 Parsiana March 1992 cancer; nearly 60 percent of them receive Courtesy: Mario Miranda, The Heartbeat of a Trust ¦BL Si B ¦ lid i MMiimiiiiwiwim •"‘''’Hill fill ZS ¦¦¦ SsH! iB 1 ¦ * .i bl' Surgical removal of a tumor at the Tata Memorial Hospital. ‘•^fight). Radiation therapy widely used to treat cancer (above). The medical team attending to a child patient at the Tata Memorial Hospital I 59 Parsiana March 1992studies, in cancer can be undertaken. than double the number, ” she said. “Be- Even chicken and mice develop the The Hospital is viewed as a catalyst sides, ” she continued, “almost 80 percent dreaded disease. rather than as a magnet. There is a grow- of those who take radiation therapy re- “Research is throwing up pointers to ing emphasis on training doctors from ceive this expensive f«m of treatment to- the likely factors that may set the complex other regions in every aspect of cancer tally free of charge. ” She bemoaned the process of uncontrolled malignant cell treatment “At any given time, ” says De­ sai, “there are 15 to 20 medical profes ­ sionals, scientists and technicians from present number is just 160. various parts of the country training in different departments of the Centre. R. S. Rao who has been with the Tata a part of the normal growth controlling Roughly, 70-80 postgraduate students Hospital for nearly three decades, the genes. When these specific genes some- from the Centre do their master ’s w doc- Hospital presently operates on a budget how get ‘turned on ’ they produce a pro ­ torate with the Bombay University, mak- of Rs 26.42 crcres as against a budget of tein that causes the cell to begin growing ing it a large postgraduate training center, just 0.05 crores in 1941. The number of in an abnormal fashion. ” It is only when Whenever assistance is required any ­ where in India to establish a cancer hospi ­ tal or a cancer wing in a general hospital, the Tata Memorial makes its knowhow available. ” “As many as 20 senior surgeons and 50 young trainees at different levels util ­ ize the 11 modern operating rooms every day of the week, Monday through Satur ­ day,” observes Dr M. R. Kamat, a senior surgeon at the Tata Hospital. “Nine thousand major operations and 14,000 minor operations are performed per year, ” he continued. A very active and modem department of anesthesiology of those who take radiation therapy re- fact that although a country like India re- growth into motion, ” avers Desai. “One quires at least 700 radiation machines, the of the most prcwnising lines of research involves oncogenes. Each cell craitains According to TMH superintendent Dr 30,0(X) to 50,000 genes... Oncogenes are ¦'I The chances of being cured of cancer are often better than surviving heart disease the immune system fails that the cells go awry. It is for science to identify the ‘switching on ’ factor. “Our tumors are a reflection of our life-styles, ” states Rao. “Nearly a third of cancers are preventable, if we are will ­ ing to change our habits. ” The inclusion of ‘life-style ’ in the list of causes is impcxtant. Social and cul ­ tural habits vary widely and directly in ­ fluence the distribution of the disease. In Parsis, for instance, rates of cancers of the pancreas, prostate and bladder are relatively high (consumption of alcohol and a western dietary pattern are likely causes for these cancers). Hindu men. I supports this busy department of surgery, beds too have increased from 80 in 1941 Besides expert professionals, the depart- to 170 in 1962 and 370 at the moment whose addiction to paan (betel) and to ­ ment has a state of the art critical care The Hospital spends nearly 48.45 percent bacco is common, suffer from cancer of unit, an emergency laboratory for analy- of its resources on patient care, 21.80 per- the oesophagus (food pipe), while in sis of blood gases and blood chemistry, a cent on operation^ requirements, 13.68 Muslim men cancer takes its toll on the pulmonary function laboratory and a res- percent on basic research. lungs, oesophagus, tongue and hypophar- piratory therapy unit. ynx areas. Christian males who smoke Nearly 60,000 X ray diagnoses are car- What is cancer? and drink are known to contract cancers ried out by the department of radio-diag- Put simply, cancer is an abnormal, unre- of the stomach and lungs. Alcohol and nosis every year. The department has a strained new growth in cells and tissues tobacco are therefore definitive causes number of high-performance X ray ma- that produce deleterious, often fatal, ef- for the onset of cancer, chines with facilities for image intensiO- fects. If their growth is not checked, cation, TV monitors and fluoroscopy ar- these cells infiltrate and destroy contigu- causes of female cancers in different reli- rangement, CT scan and ultra sound rou- ous tissues, often transporting the cancer- gious groups. The low rate of cervical tinely used for accurate detection of early ous cells to other parts of the body where cancer in Muslim womgn, as compared cancer and the extent of its spread. Early they grow as colonies called metastes. detection of the disease is very important and, according to Jussawalla, “Cancer made references to “tumors and ulcers of sion in the Muslim males. An equally check-ups provide the possibility of pre- the breast ” with an added warning that low rate of cervical cancer in Christian venting 80 percent of all cancers that may “bulging tumors ” have no cure. Mum- females (as compared to Hindus) is a re ­ arise if neglected. ” mies from the Gizeh Pyramids were suit of late marriages. The Parsis — who “Radiation therapy, ” according to Dr found to have cancer of the bone. In the are educated, westernized, belong to a (Ms) K. A. Dinshaw, head of the depart- Upanishads, the fountainhead of Indian higher socioeconomic strata and marry at ment of radiation oncology, “is a major philosophy, cancer has been referred to form of cancer treatment for nearly 60 as “urphada.” percent of all patients. ” Dinshaw who has been connect^ with the Hospital for the lular chemotherapy unit of the Cancer uterus and the ovaries mainly because of past 17 years feels the TMH’s is the most Research Institute informed us that hu- late marriages. Conversely Hindu overworked radiation oncology depart- man beings alone are not prone to cancer. ment in the world. The Sloane Kettering Tumors can develop in higher animals children and live in conditions of poor Memorial Hospital in New York treats and plant species too. Certain fish in that hygiene, commonly suffer from cervical 200 patients a day and feels it is over- most romantic of rivers, the Nile, have cancer. Because of their paan and to- load^. Here at TMH we cope with more been known to develop lymphosarcoma, bacco habits, they are also susceptible to Various factors are implicated in the to that in Hindu women, has been attrib- Early Egyptians (3,000-2,500 BC) uted to the religious practice of circumci- a late age — have the lowest rate of cct- vical cancer. They are, however, prone Dr Manik Chitnis who heads the cel- to cancers of the breast, body of the late marriages. women who marry early, have several 60 Parsiana March 1992 i V i S - ?F i MATRIMONIAL Parsi consultant, 54 and fit, residing in a large, fully furnished Warden Road flat with a library reflecting his tastes in the arts and humanities, business matters and social issues, looks forward to marrying a healthy, cultured, Parsi girl who would grace her home and husband ’s life. Support and encouragement will be readily given to enable her to pursue her talents and lead a full, rich life. Out-of-Bombay (and India) respondents also welcomed. Please write in sufficient detail to: The Advertiser Parsiana Matrimonial (March/14-92) GPO Box 892 Bombay 400001 cancers of the buccal cavity, pharynx, medical oncology. “The expert team of stomach and oesophagus, which are not medical oncologists at the Hospital had so common in Parsi women. performed the first bone marrow trans- “The high evidence of breast cancer plantation in India (1983) on a young girl among Parsi women, ” said Jussawalla, of 10 years to cure her from leukemia “is mainly due to late marriages and the which was potentially lethal. ” He also late first child. The first child at the age imputes a major advance in the fight of 20 greatly reduces the risk of breast against cancer to modem drugs. cancer. ” Dr (Ms) Z. S. Bharucha connected Homeopaths believe when a person ’s with the blood bank at the Tata Hospital, vitality or internal resistance gets lowered said, “Over 10,OX) units of blood are sup- as a result of extraneous factors, disease plied annually, ensuring safety of donors results. Cancer, according to eminent and recipients. ” The department also has homeopath Dr Farokh J. Master, “is not a the facility to fractionate blood into dif- local ailment but a manifestation of a gen- ferent components for better preservation eral or systemic disease. Hence treatment and optimum usage. Amongst other ac- must cater not only to the affected part but tivities are an AIDS surveillance center to the patient as a whole. ” and a transfusion medicine training cen ­ ter. Progressive treatment “Pathology, ” according to Dr (Ms) R. “We have come a long way from where F. Chinoy, “is the basis of cancer diagno- we started, ” said Dr Gopal, a doctor of sis and treatment Each year, the depart ­ medical oncology at the TMH. “Leuke ­ mias and other cancers we couldn ’t cure in the past are well within our compre ­ hension today. Genetic engineering and search developments, Desai notes, “To- monoclonal antibodies also show great day cancer is recognized as just another promise. In the current situation, we can serious disease confronting modem soci- say that there is reasonable amount of ety — one that is sometimes cured, some- hope, ” he notes optimistically. times chronic and sometimes fatal. ” Al- At the Cancer Research Institute lo- though a magic medicinal cure isn ’t in cated within the precincts of the Hospital sight, cancer, if diagnosed and treated at complex, 10 divisions specialize in stage one — when the tumor is localized studying different aspects of cancer. The to the organ or original site — the cure main thrust of the research is on preven- “" “ tion. “Alleviating cancer pains, ” observed cent) if detected at stage four when the Dr L. J. De Souza, a brilliant surgeon and cancer spreads. pioneer of the hospice (home for the ter ­ minally ill) movement in India, “is vital for the patient. The department of anes ­ thesiology incorporates an active Pain Clinic with modem facilities and exper ­ tise to relieve acute and chronic pain, not heart disease — nearly half of those who only through oral medications, but also by suffer acute coronary "attacks die immedi- nerve blocks and epidural and sub-arach- ately or within 30 days. noid (within the thin membrane of the brain or spinal cord) injections. ” Explaining the rapid progress in con- cancer therapy. After surgery, the trolling the scourge. De Souza continued, chances of a cancerous lump growing “Today, with sophisticated instrumenta- back again either in the same place or in tion, we are able to give high doses of some other place can be minimized by radiation therapy without burning normal proper constitutional homeopathic treat ­ tissues. In the past, surgery was the only ment. There are also homeopathic drugs answer. Now with chemotherapy and to counter the side effects of radiation brachytherapy, we are able to preserve and chemotherapy. “More people die the organs. The emphasis is on limb and from the toxic effect of chemotherapy organ conservation while controlling the and radiation than from cancer, ” said an disease. ” eminent homeopath who did not wish to “Marrow transplantation will soon be disclose his identity. Master, however, is performed routinely at our Hospital, ” says disillusioned by the scant respect doctors Dr S. H. Advani, chief of the division of at the Tata Hospital have for homeopathy ment reports on over 50,000 tissue biop­ sies and fine needle aspiration smears. ” Prompted by a cascading series of re- rate is between 75 to 95 percent The chances dwindle (between five to 20 per ­ Advises Desai: “When the specialist confirms the presence of cancer, there should be no cause for panic and confu ­ sion. ” The chances of being cured of can ­ cer are often better than those of surviving Homeopathy, according to Master, can be of some use in every aspect of cancer therapy. 62 Parsiana March 1992 [ ! ? I Iand those who practice this system of lastic leukemia and was just beginning to to thousands of cancer patients. ” medicine. “If only a very small part of pick up the threads of normal living, was the millions of currency notes being spent all praise for Advani and the division of patients who liken the portals of the Hos- on cancer all over the world were to be medical oncology. “But for a balanced pital to the gateway of death. “If you ex­ utilized for homeopathic research we could come close to man’s triumph over this disease, ” he said with dismay. Desai ’s answer was simple, “Be it ayurveda or homeopathy, we need to have scientifically document^ proof about the efficacy of a system in fighting a given disease, ” treatment using a combination of chemo- There are, however, a large number of Patient reactions R. M. Lala, author of several books docu ­ menting the progressive Tata spirit, has himself been battliffg the malignant cells with chemotherapy for the past two years. "If you expect human feelings in this place, you are sadly mistaken" pect human feelings in this place, ” said a frustrated parent of a 12-year-old child suffering from leukemia, “you are sadly mistaken. In almost every department for the past two weeks I had to endure rank indifference. The man-hours lost at the Hospital defy calculation. What can be achieved by commonsense is frustrated by the application of needless procedures. Movement from one department to an ­ other, from one test to another, the intervening lunch hours and weekend holidays lead to a colossal waste of time. ” This, despite the TMH’s computer depart- sans surgery or radiation. He feels that therapy and radiation I would have been ment providing facility for integrated pa- the treatment prescribed at the TMH is on finish^ by now. I found the doctcxs and par with that in more advanced countries like the USA and UK. There is however variance in terms of frequency and dos ­ age. “My personal opinion, ” said a young Along with his dedicated team of doc- Glen Almeida whom we found patiently tors, he treats some 250 patients daily, bility at the Hospital is both limited and awaiting his turn in the OPD “is that doc- “Dr Advani, ” said an admiring patient, “is uncertain. Most top surgeons, for in- tors at the Tata Memorial tend to over ­ drug you with chemotherapy. ” A young Ms Geeta Rao, who had ear- tient information, handling hospital regis- nurses both sensitive and alert ” tration, investigations, treatment and fol- Advani, himself a paraplegic, requires low-up. a wheelchair to go about his business. The doctors who normally treat pa­ tients are highly qualified but their availa- “Dr Advani, ” said an admiring patient, “is a true profile of courage and a source stance, have just four hours for outpatient of inspiration to millions. Setting aside consultancy and thi^s grossly inadequate his personal pain, he is a man who has for the teeming number of patients. The lier been treated at the TMH for lymphob- dedicated his life to bringing relief surgeon might be available on, say Wed- 64 Parsiana March 1992 I 1 '3HI REPUBLIC DAY 1992 A ‘Bfiarai ^tna award to J. R. D. TATA ••toff*' *2^^ aP'Wr' * TATA ENTERPRISES Ir With Best Compliments Frbm White Cloud Filter Pads Pvt Ltd L Pioneer Manufacturers of Finest Quality Machine Made Filter Pads in the Country. 412 Gultekdi Road, Pune 411037 Phone: 448942 Gram: Filter Pads 66 Parsiana March 1992 nesday and Friday for two hours each surgeons, radiologists, pathologists, dieti- day. If, however, anything happens to the cians and nurses. Years later Manshardt patient in the meanwhile, he can invoke only divine favor. Other doctors at the , ________ Hospital will not touch patients under the with the hospital project during the years care of a fellow doctor. of its planning will ever know the “The inner strength patients develop amount of hard work that went into the once they reach our doorstep is incred- making of the Tata Memorial Hospital, ible, ” acknowledges Dinshaw. “TheHos- Only those who shared in the ups and pital administration may have its own downs, the disappointments and suc- problems, but a hopelessly sick person — cesses, can realize the human anguish a cancer patient, in particular — would that went into the institution. As a lay- like the facilities to be better and the treat- man, I had been inclined to idealize the ment a little more humane, ” concluded medical profession, but long before my the father of the little boy with leukemia, education in medical politics had been before taking him on a wheelchair to the completed, I realized that doctors engage department of medical oncology. in the same kind*of feuding that is found in less exalted professions. It is true that Resourceful beginnings American professiwial consultants, with- When Lady Meherbai Tata died of leu- out adequate knowledge of Indian condi- kemia, ^^wntes Lala in The Heartbeat erf a tions, did make errors of judgement in re- Trust, “Sir Dorab, who always had an spect to organizational details of the Hos- interest in the fight against disease, was pital, but strong nationalistic feelings on stirred to do something about the treat- the part of a group of Bombay doctors, ment of cancer... Details were being who had considerable influence with the worked out when Sir Dorab died in June 1932. In 1933, Sir Dorab ’s secretary, N. kemia, ” writes Lala in T/je Heartbeat of a was to record: “‘Only those who were associated the part of a group of Bombay doctors. trustees, did not make the task of arriving at a working mean any easier. Anunder- M. Muzumdar, made a fervent appeal to taking of the magnitude of the Tata Me- t*" ---------- * " ------------- _ " ¦ • - - - - ordinary which the average run of philan ­ thropy does not touch or cannot reach; , _______________________ something yith a future ’ as a memorial to under which we were working in Bom- Sir Dorab. ’ bay, required imagination, energy, pa- Sir Nowroji Saklatwala, a trustee of tience, pertinacity and obstinacy. ’” the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust expressed his The Hospital was opened on March 1, eagerness to launch on a comprehensive 1941 by the Governor of Bombay, Sir cancer institute. In this he was supported Roger Lumley. The magnificent seven- by J. R. D. Tata. storeyed structure had taken exactly four “The trustees, ” according to Lala, years to complete. The site at Parel, for- “had on their hands a hospital project of merly marshy and waterlogged, had to be dimensions much larger than any private drained before excavation. “The choicest organization in India had till then taken material was used in its construction, the on entirely on its own; it had no precedent best possible equipment had been pro- from the Suez to the'Sea of Japan; and the cured from round the world, though it was field was highly specialized. The trustees wartime... The architectural features of were mainly men of industry, men who the Hospital were designed, and the con- knew the nuts and bolts of steel manufac- struction was supervised, by the firm of ture but nothing about radium, X rays or Gregson, Batley and King, ” informs Lala. cancer. There were many pulls and pres- Prof Regaud of the Curie Institute and Dr su^ on them as they greened evwy little James Ewing of the New York Memorial Hospital were the two experts who played conditioning equipment. a great role in advising the Hospital. T. .« .1 . ” “The name of Tata is known through ­ out the world as a house of great industri- the trustees to do ‘something out of the morial Hospital would have been difficult in any country, but to rear an institution of this kind, in the face of the limitations struction was supervise, by the firm of cancer. There were many pulls and pres- Prof Regaud of the Curie^Institute and'or detail from the nurses* call system to air- conditioning equipment. “It was in diese circumstances, ” con ­ tinues Lala, “that Dr Clifford Manshardt... was requested to undertake the duties of alists and as a family of great philanthro- director of the Trust, primarily to help in * ' " ............................. the execution of the cancer hospital proj- he advised that the Trust ’s foreign schol ­ arships should, for some time, be re ­ stricted to scholars who were going pists; but of all of the philanthropic proj- tne execution ot the cancer hospital proj- ects connected with that name, none ect. Anticipating the needs of the project, would attain a greater importance, or re- flect greater credit on its founders, than the Tata Memorial Hospital for cancer, ” „ „ said the Governor. “This Hospital is the abroad to train for the cancer hospital — first large contribution of India to the in- 'r '1 ‘ ftemational fight against cancer. ” When Dr Homi Bhabha intervened, the The two top surgeons when the Hospi- task of running the Hospital was entrusted Cancer Society in 1951 and three years tai opened were Dr John Poole and Dr to the Indian Atomic Energy Department, later was elected founder member of the Roy Cohn. “Nine months after the Hos- emulating the US Atomic Energy International Cancer Central Commis- pital was opened, ” observed Lala in The Commission ’s experience in running a sion. He became a director of the Tata Heartbeat, “The US entered the war number of cancer research hospitals in the Hospital in 1972. Attempts to interview Paymaster and geon in 1948. He founded the Indian s against Japan in December 1941 and both USA. “This decision, ” according to Lala, / “ ______ _ “saved the Hospital. On its board, since Meher-Homji also met with failure. Both 1963, came outstanding men like Bhabha, politely but firmly expressed their inabil- two more years. The Dorab Tata Trust Atomic Energy Commission, Dr Vikram 1 3 ’4 1 surgeons were called back to the US Armed Forces. Dr Cohn left a year after _ ______________ , ____ _______ _ _ ___ _ ___ the Hospital started. Poole continued for and, later, successive chairmen of the ity to comment, even over the telephone. two more years. The Dorab Tata Trust Atomic Energy Commission, Dr Vikram had in the meanwhile ensured the training Sarabhai and Dr Homi Sethna. They Keeping pace with cancer research of four young Indian doctors who, within brought to the Hospital not only their ex- three years of the opening of the Hospital, perience and the prestige of their office, were in total charge of the surgical side: Dr J. C. Paymaster, Dr^. J. Borges, Dr D. R. Meher-Homji and Dr D. J. Jussawalla. The department of pathology was headed ____________ _______________ by Dr V. R. Khanolkar and of radiology rial Centre, its governing council has been Every month nearly 150 journals arri^ t" T'- ‘ ........................ ....... ... . _ „ administrators was Col Sir Jamshed Dug- Energy Commission. With three repre- i 'sentatives on the council, the Dorab Tata the retrieval of any reference within "" ”------- minutes. The library, according to Jus- Jussawalla, 76, spoke endlessly about sawalla, is the nerve center of all aca- modem advances in the diagnosis and dem ic activities. 1 Tome after tome has been dedicated to any comment on the Hospital. After ob- the science of oncology^ and yet man is as taining his master ’s degree in surgery in • • 1941 he had been appointed resident sur- “The explosion of new knowledge in the field of cancer requires an up-to-date but also the considerable resources that library, ” says Jussawalla, “and at tfie were available to the Atomic Energy TMH nearly 15,000 books and journals Commission. ” keep the staff and students abreast of Since the formation of the Tata Memo- modem developments around the world. by Dr K. P. Mody^ Among the senior headed by the chairman of the Atomic at our desk with new information about cancer. ” A computer data search allows gan. With very few exceptions, like the i I two top surgeons, the staff of the Hospital Trust continues to steer the Centre, from the start was entirely Indian. TTiree years later it was totally Indian. ” Lauding the commitment of Paymas- treatment of cancer but tactfully evaded ter, Borges, Meher-Homji and Jussawalla, Lala says, “It is a measure of the dedica ­ tion of these four surgeons that they de ­ voted the rest of their working careers to gical registrar at the Tata Memorial in the the Tata Memorial Hospital, for which same year. In 1944 he was selected as ___ _ _______ purpose they had been trained. They ^sistant surgeon and on completing the whole life process, ” says Desai. “Nature . - away its secrets so easily. ” close to the knowledge of a cancer cure as he was four decades ago. “That mag'ic cure isn ’t forthcoming. To find the rea ­ son for cancer would be the key to the n ¦g i 1 ’ / e it e e h I spumed many a lucrative opportunity to FRCS, was elevated to the post of sur- work abroad. ” From 1941 to 1948, the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust ran the Hospital entirely on its own. In 1949, the Bombay government sanctioned an annual donation of one lakh rupees. Seventy-five percent of the beds were free and the Trust had poured into this Hospital one crore rupees by 1957, the highest contribution to a single project by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. Said Jus ­ sawalla, “had the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust not started the cancer hospital it would have been another 15 years or more be­ fore the government could have under ­ taken a project of this dimension. ” “By 1957, the Trust realized that the pressures on the Hdspital were enormous. The trustees had to choose be­ tween holding down its growth or seeking assistance for expansion. This, they felt, could come on an adequate scale only from the government and in May 1957 the Hospital was handed over to the nation, ” writes Lala. Though the Union Ministry of Health took charge it was unable to provide the means needed for its sus ­ tained growth. Even the routine function ­ ing of the Hospital fell prey to financial constraints and bureaucratic delays. The author's health battle It was October 1987.1 had just turned vealed that I had cancer and immediate 26 and taken up employment with the surgery was considered necessary. My Centre of Advancement of Philan- reaction to the news was one of total thropy. Life seemed secure and happy disbelief: how could cancer afflict some- with a devoted wife and a four-year- old son. The appearance of a dark, ominous cloud was soon to shatter the illusion of joy. It started with my developing an in ­ nocuous cough which was accompa- aggressive 90-day chemotherapeutic nied by bouts of vertigo and mild fe- treatment Those were painful days I ver. For the next three months or so I spent at TMH. But at the end of three sought treatment for these apparently months, the doctors were able to in ­ harmless symptoms which I learned duce complete remission. (Complete later were manifestations of something deeper and more serious. By March 19881 had lost 20 kgs of weight. I was or has ever had, cancer.) Outside the put through a battery of tests, X rays. Hospital gates I kicked my scooter to hormone studies, CT Scan and the life, thinking the Big C (Cancer) seems usual blood and urine tests. They re- to have lost much of its sting. one so young? I was a health freak, exercised regularly, never srffoked... The tumor within me had to be sur ­ gically removed with a painful slit in my abdomen. What followed was an remission means finding no evidence in laboratory tests that the patient has. It in ^- ts )f se )f ir­ is al 1- y. IO 68 Parsiana March 1992INSTITUTIONS Bombay industrialist Pranlal Bhogilal strives to protect the land of the Mahabaleshwar Parsi Gymkhana from misappropriation Hotel Siddhartha, says a large signboard as you enter the drive ­ way of the Mahabaleshwar Parsi Gymkhana (MPG). Inside the rooms are plush i^th color TVs, intercoms and other amenities. Once a social watering hole, with membership exclusively for Parsis, the MPG has undergone a radical metamorphosis. Now it functions largely as a hotel for its cosmopolitan members and their guests for whom it also or ­ ganizes disco dandias every Sat ­ urday and Sunday on its prem ­ ises. But it is the food served here that reflects the transfonna- tion — pure vegetarian. The story of the MPG is one of community indifference on one hand and intrigue on the other. Once a lively social gath ­ ering place for members of the community on holiday at the hill station, the prime four-hec ­ tare property of the MPG was largely neglected a few years after India won its independence in 1947. Then in 1972, the trus ­ tees amended the membership laws and permitted non-Parsis to become guest members in an effort to revive interest in the Gymkhana. power the trustees to proceed with the le- The rejuvenation of interest in the gal, technical and other aspects of the MPG took place in the late 1970s. In scheme. 1978 a circular was sent to all members in which the managing committee la ­ mented over the past neglect and pro ­ posed a scheme to construct buildings on the property “so as to procure for the Gymkhana a good return by allotment of tions passed and other documents relat ­ ing to the scheme. He also instructed his obtained a commitment from the I trustees to give 15 days ’ notice * to all members before any meet- E ing of the MPG. I According to Bhogilal, the I functioning of the MPG manag- i ing committee was most irregu- I lar. For years no notices were I sent to members, no annual gen- I eral meetings held, no accounts I submitted and the proposed I housing scheme was sprung I upon the members without tak- j ing them into confidence. I By 1979 the letterhead of the I MPG had changed. Under the I masthead ’^ read: “Open to all I communities ” and the office ad- I dress was given as the address of I Shantilal N. Shah, a well-known Bombay based builder and real estate developer. Meanwhile, the lease on the MPG land, as also on most other land in Mahabaleshwar, had ex­ pired in 1977. The lease was renewed in 1983 subject to cer ­ tain conditions that restricted construction on the property to only 12 percent of the total land and a FSI of 0.15. Furthermore membership was to be kept open to the public, “irrespective of caste, creed or religion.^ ’ Concerned by the developments in the MPG and on the urgings of Bhogilal, a Pranlal Bhogilal, noted industrialist number of prominent Parsis, including and life member of the MPG however, people who had bungalows in the hill protested. He wrote to the chairman of station, wrote to the Gymkhana seeking the Gymkhana and asked to be provided membership, but in vain. Parsiana spoke * to two prominent Parsis who confirmed that they got no response to their applica- said flats to the members or (those) who ing to the scheme. He also instructed his tions. “Even eminent persons like (in ­ should like to become members of the lawyers Matubhai Jamietram and Madan dustrialist) S. P. Godrej and others have Gymkhana of any community on such to write to the authorities in Mahabalesh- not been able to get membership forms terms and conditions as may be agreed war, Satara and Wai not to sanction the on some pretext or the other, ” says by and between the trustees and the pro- plans to develop the Gymkhana property Bhogilal. spective members of the premises to be j • • • -• Accompanying the pro- tees ’) powers and authorities and as such S’ 1^ I j. 1 ¦1^- d ¦ SfflUy X Fencing in the land? Gustasp Irani with die minutes of meetings, the resolu- to write to the authorities in Mahabalesh- war, Satara and Wai not to sanction the According to him, the as it was “beyond their (the MK3 trus- Gymkhana is controlled by a small cote- constructed. ” Accompanying the pro- tees ’) powers and authorities and as such posal was another circular seeking the illegal and bad in law. ” Further he filed At the entrance of the Mahabaleshwar members ’ consent which would em- a case at the Bombay City Civil Court and Parsi Gymkhana’s prime property 71 Parsiana March 1992 k_LJil1 m of persons, someof whom were build- eral public; no longer is it only for the MPG. According to Sethna, every club ere md architects from Bombay, who do Parsis, nor is it to be used to build houses has a right to select its own members and not want to lose control over the Gym- ft'* ’ momkarc _ ________ .-x .¦_____ khana. After the renewal of the lease in 1983 the managing committee devised a new scheme to build cottages on the land and sell them to members of the Gymkhana. The matter was brought to the attention of Jamsheed Kanga, secretary of the Ma- harashtra Public Services Commission and trustee of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet. The then secretary of the revenue department, Kanga made inquir ­ ies with the concerned authorities. "Z found that an application was made by which the Gymkhana proposed to con- --------------------------------- struct buildings for its members. It was l ___ _ Z ’ * " r^y a means of tr^fening Gymkhana the benefit'of 'a'fw. ” And so the MPG recetles into the foot- ~ 1.? Pn™® individuals who wot The MPG managing committee mem- notes of Parsi history, a victim of the members of the club, says Kanga who bers remain largely non-committal, community ’s indifference. As Kanga wrote to the auJonties to prevent such When contacted at his farm in Pan- observes: “As for the Parsis, they do iwt transfers from t^ing place. chgani, the acting president of the MPG .seem to be interested in the Gymkhana ” building scheme of the Minoo Sethna informed us that the trustee Bhogilal, however, sums it up when he as a violation of government trust, and managing committee of the MPG laments: “What ’s wrong with the commu ­ te govemrneni, he points out, renewed had advised him to tell us to direct all our nity? Can’t you all even look after what inquiries to Jal Heerjibehedin, former edi- your baap-dadas (forefathers) left for Gymkhana stands for the use of the gen- tor of Kaiser-E-Hind and president of the you?” eral public; no longer is it only for the MPG. According to Sethna, every club for a few members. “From the govern ­ ment ’s point of view the land was given it is to these members that they are ac ­ countable and not the general public as long as they do not violate the laws of the land or the constitution of the club. Heerjibehedin, when contacted the phone, stated that he was still the president of the MPG but because of a fracture he had suffered he was not in touch with the MPG’s activities and thereby unable to discuss the matter fur ­ ther. As a result of the MPG managing committee ’s tight-lipped response, no one seems to know for certain what plans they have for the Gymkhana apart from the* fact that the property is currently used as a on trust and it should not be misused for jxemise for Hotel Siddhartha. The MPG managing committee mem- - --------- —0—7 non-committal, wrote to the authorities to prevent such When contacted at his farm in Pan- -• chgani, the acting president of the MPG “I Every club is accountable to its own members and not the general public over 3 i. inquiries to Jal Heerjibehedin, former edi- ; _ _ tor of Kaiser-E-Hind and president of the you?” TheX hardworking office furniture from 5 I Steelage is here What used to be exclusively manufactured for leading banks, now comes to add efficiency to your office. Steelage range of office furniture. Steelage chairs and tables in various models and Servall steel cupboards. S Steelage Industries Bombay New Delhi Madras Calcutta Bi 72 Parsiana March 1992 ? a a I Ltd. Bombay New Delhi Madras Calcutta Bangalore Hyderabad Bhopal Lucknow Jaipur BhubaneswarI TRADITION tt o utside, the storefront sign boldly reads in Gujarati: “N. 1?. and Sons. ” Large, brown, wooden cabi ­ nets with glass enclosures line the walls. All are filled with cloth, garments, home slippers, prayer caps, bed sheets and reli ­ gious artifacts. H^ging on the walls are large photographs of Zarathushtra, the store ’s founder Nuserwanji Mulla and his wife Jerbai. Darabshaw Mulla is one of the last dagli makers left in Bombay. “What do you want to know? ” he says impatiently from behind the sandalwood counter where he is seated with a cat on his lap. We had been warned about the 83-year- old Mulla: about his reprimanding chil ­ dren for biting their nails, about not tol ­ erating loiterers, about having no pa­ tience with people who do not know what they want. “There are one or two others who make them (daglis) but I am the last Parsi who makes them, ” states Mulla. “There ’s not much demand for it now. People don ’t wear daglis anymore, they wear suits now. ” He pauses, jutting his lips out in an exaggerated pucker, then scrunching them back in again. Mulla appeared to show no regret in the demise of dagli makers and the dwin ­ dling interest in daglis themselves. Had there ever been a ‘Golden Age’ in dagli sales, we asked: a time when he was not surprised if someone came to the store and asked for a dagli; a time when the sales of daglis alone could sustain him financially. But he informed us that daglis have always been a side business ever since he started. “It ’s not a very paying concern. It never has been. The orthodox dress is disappearing. On an average I sell ap­ proximately 15 daglis per month. Kustis and sandalwood are the main sellers. We are one of the largest suppliers of sandal ­ wood in the area. ” People don't wear daglis r stitch it. ” When asked about his choice of material his answer is equally ambi­ guous. “There are only two or three types of cloth (for making daglis) — terrycot, terelene and cotton. I don ’t recommend any one over the other. They are all good. Whatever the customer wants, I give him. “When I first started, I had Gujarati . tailors working for me. But eventually I learned from them and started takin g or ­ ders myself. Now I have a Christian tar- lor to do the stitching for me. “My father started this business 99 years ago. He only sold cloth and ready ­ made garments, like sudrehs. Until 1932 I worked in an office as an auditor. When I joined my father ’s business, I included I sandalwood with the other items we sold. I Now my wife Dolet and son Noshir work I with me as partners. ’? I As more and more people enter the I store, asking for Mulla ’s assistance, the > interview seems to be over. He never re- I ally seemed to understand why it was I occurring in the first place. His busy I schedule is partly because of the store I being located directly next door to the H. I B. Wadia Atash Bahram. In fact, the Mullas have provided an “express counter ” facing the temple from where I many people buy sandalwood before I going in to pray. There are a few other [ fire-temples nearby and Parsi Dairy Farm is also just across the street The area I around his shop (Dhobitalao) used to be more of a Parsi locality, bringing in a constant stream of visitors. However, I many Parsis moved away to colonies in the suburbs, allowing the neighborhood I to become more cosmopolitan. In spite of all the changes he has seen over the years, Mulla has a great deal of confidence in his business, and in the en ­ tire Parsi community living on for years to come. Wearing daglis or in a new guise? The last of the Parsi dagli makers, Darabshaw Mulla is witness to the growing disenchantment with this once popular mode of dress N. D. Mulla anymore Farhad Desai n A J • Malias; tailoring to community needs “Making a dagli is very simple, ” he says nonchalantly. “You select the cloth. We take the measurements, cut it and H Parsiana March T 992 “express I Pi. si I I » 1 5 X ir-’ 'I IDRAMA Operation theater I The annual production of the Parsi Medical Amateurs is a popular event in the community Gustasp Irani I .1 ? ¦T •* .1 I f k * >¦ r ( Clockwise from above: Dilnavai Gamadia, Thrily Nalladaru and Bond Pardiwalla in Manchoo Macbeth; a bemedalled Jimmy Sidhva hand in hand with T. Nalladaru, Gamadia and Marzban Nalladaru in Asia Fasia; Homi Dordi. Shirin Irani-Mirza, Rustom Patel, Nalladaru and Sidhva in Manchoo Macbeth 1 1 4 t ¦ '•j ii! ¦/! l' i I 1 I .Jf ( r* a 2. s t h e d ii IS re e- at 3n ;rs >us i! its is ‘la ,h 9< 1The next time you need an X-ray taken auspices the plays and charities operate. . role in the 1991 play Manchoo Macbeth would you go to a Parsi who thinks he is Sidhva, one of the chief motivating forces — - Macbeth? Or have your cataract removed and a lead performer in theatric opera- by an over-grown boy? Or your chest tions, has now taken to scripting nataks pains checked out by a witch? Or your for the PMA too. Dr Fardoon Soonawala, tooth filled by another witch, and a sexy noted urosurgeon and former vice presi- ____ ____ one at that with mini skirts and halter dent of the PMA, has taken over as presi- directed by Sam Kerawalla. neck blouses? Or in general entrust your dent since last year. He succeeds cardi- *’®alth^ to a motley collection of charac- ologist Dr Aspi Golwalla, presently chair- you do, you probably in the very best held the post since the inception of the or- This host of reputed Parsi doctors have The play, in a way, was a break from tra ­ dition for it was the first time that the PMA did something that was not written by Wadia. The PMA's 1992 production was a variety review, Doctor5 on Parade, Beginning 1917, Wadia wrote a series r . . a V. ~ ‘ -------------- ----------'------ of parodies in which he personally took a 0/ Bombay Parsi ^nchayet, who lead part. His inspiration was the bard . r . - * -------------- -------------------- himself — Shakespeare. According to medical hands m the city of Bombay, ganization. Sidhva, Wadia got the idea of doing a This host of reputed Parsi doctors have Bombay has not been the sole benefi- parody on the Parsis while watching a been enter^ning au^ences « . * performanceofRomeoanrflu- over the last 20 years with farci- ¦¦ . ... ... cal plays that spoof the Parsi community. The amounts rais ­ ed at these shows go towards different charities. Let ’s sample the humor they serve. A noted gynecologist and car rally driver checks up a ¦ patient and car, both Padminis, I and gets their reports mixed up. I As a result, the husband going I through his wife ’s medical re ­ port is taken aback when he is | informed that she has remark ­ able headlights which he is ad ­ vised to get polished by his ser- ? vant regularly. However, her I exhaust gases are a cause for I concern... Elsewhere, there is a I reference to a noted Parsi sur- | geon who uses a new method of surgery that permits him to make a small Rohinton Talati (left) and Sidhva in slit on your body and a big one in your Madhouse nu Mehmaan in1970marked pocket. Lest we dismiss such triviality, let us liet by a visiting Shakespearean troupe from London. As a re ­ sult he wrote Ghotala ma Gosh, a Parsi version of Romeo and Juliet. Bewafa Bairi, based on Hamlet, followed, and thereaf ­ ter there was no stopping his creative outpourings. In those days too, Wadia tapped the Parsi medical fraternity for his actors. However, since the medical profession then was largely a male bastion, the fe­ male parts were played by the wives and family members of I doctors. After Wadia, the tradi- I tion lapsed; the doctors re- I stricted their performances to I operation theaters. I Then one day in 1969, at a “ gathering of Parsi doctors and their guests, ophthalmologist Dr Soli Cooper mentioned Wadia. “Who ’s Jehangir Wadia? ” two medical students . enquired. The query led noted jurist Pali clanfy: there is a method in this mad- ciary of the doctors ’ entertainment and Nariman, sitting next to Sidhva, to ob- ness. Through their nataks, the doctors charity. The medical men have taken serve: “They don ’t know who Dr Wadia have collected over Rs 50 lakhs for vari- • • ¦ - _ . . OUS causes to date. The beneficiaries in ­ clude the Indian Cancer Society, the Mas- ina Hospital and of course the B. D. Petit histrionics. Parsee General Hospital (PGH). They have also established a Dr Jehangir Wa­ dia Memorial Book Fund in memory of played by Parsi doctors, ’ the man who originally started this medi- That is excluding the one occasion when, cal theater way back in 1917. The Book according to Sidhva, they had to rope in one or waaia s piays. Madhouse nu Fund gives Parsi medical students finan- their non-medical wives who publicly Mehmaan,” recalls Sidhva. But who cial aid to meet the costs of text books thrashed their spouses on stage. “Only would direct it? Adi Marzban was too and other educational expenses. “We because the script required it, ” Roshan, busy, so they approached Homi Tavadia. give something to every applicant even if Sidhva ’s wife, clarifies. “From then on he stayed with us till the “It ’s great fun; we do some ghela day he died, ” says Sidhva. Tavadia ’s first elected vice president of The Parsee And, it ’s for a "good cause, ” adds Sidhva M 9 y if 4 the revival of the tradition ciary of the doctors ’ entertainment and Nariman, sitting next to Sidhva, to ob- their shows to Poona, to Baroda and even was! It is a shame! It is like a lawyer not t* " ¦ ¦ * ' . * ................................. for local charities and causes with their to Karachi where they have raised funds knowing who the late Jamshed Kanga fnr IfV'fil chiiritiAC and ronoAc ti/itli The next day Sidhva met Golwalla and they decided to revive the memory of “In all these 20 years, in all our per- _ _ _ _____ formances, all characters have been Wadia by enacting a few scenes from his ~ ' says Sidhva. plays at the next annual gathering of Parsi doctors. “We managed to get a script of one of Wadia ’s plays. Madhouse their non-medical wives who publicly Mehmaan” recalls Sidhva. »« ‘We ^ause the script required it, ” Roshan, busy, so they approached Homi Tavadia. it is a token amount, ” says radiologist Dr ' ' „ " . Jimmy Sidhva who has recently been ganda (ftxjling around) on the stage. vote of confidence in the acting talent of the Parsi doctors was to suggest that they Medical Amateurs (PMA) under whose who wrote, directed and played the main do the entire play rather than just a few 77 Parsiana March 1992With Best Compliments From A Well Wisher 78 Parsiana March 1992 J scenes. Like Tavadia, a number of non- perating from a bad back, he decided to medical Parsi professionals have helped fill his time with trying to write a play as backstage as the doctors braved the lime- per the Wadia mold. Using Macbeth as light and the audience. Among the regu- his backdrop, Manchoo Macbeth was the lars, supporting PMA productions from fruit of his labor. the wings over the years, are Ms Katy Tavadia, the late Ms Hilla Nariman, Dali keeping with the true Wadia tradition in Palkhivala, the late Goody Seervai and ways other than that it drew from f ¦ ’ ’ ” ’ ’ ¦ '¦ " ~ ‘ ¦ ¦ awalla and the late Sarosh Mody. Center all the roles were played by Parsi doc- Wadia ’s plays it was filled with scHigs and it did not shy away frtxn The play, according to Sidhva, was in r his son Jangoo, Sarosh Bhabha, Sam Ker- Sh^espeare, was a Parsi spoof and that stage stalwarts include PGH assistant medical superintendent Dr Marzban Nal- ladaru and his wife Dr Thrity, Dr Dinyar digs at Parsi eccentricities and the com- Gamadia and his wife Dr Dilnavaz, Dr Rustom Patel, Dr Homi Dordi, Dr Noshir f~... Gandhi, Dr Dara Gandhi, Dr (Ms) Pervin Mody, Dr (Ms) Pouru Bhiwandiwalla, the late Dr Sohrab Mehta, Dr Burjor Pardiwalla, Dr Bomi Pardiwalla, Dr Dar ­ ius Anklesaria, Dr Tehemton Bhathena, Dr Nusly Pocha, guest performer Dr Aspi Golwalla... and, of course, the Sidhvas — not only Jimmy but his late father Nadir- shaw who took part in the original Wadia munity ’s leading personalities. Like the productions, and now Jimmy’s son Sorab. In January 1970 Madhouse nu Emergencies always take priority over play practice » 4 a reference to a Parsi doctor who would not operate on Behram ro/: **Tih dara par Mehmaan was performed on a makeshift gosh kem kap^ (How can you cut meat on stage — courtesy the late Pali Pavri — “ without stage props at the annual gather ­ ing of the fraternity of Parsi doctors. Word of this event seeped out “Show us sell the tickets at the Parsw General so we lay people what you doctors can do,” the know who will be sitting where in the community clamored. So they hired the audience, ” says Sidhva and that allows Bhulabhai Desai Hall, pegged their high- them to adapt the script in advance. Oc- est seats at the then exorbitant price of Rs casionally the members of the audience 100 and decided to give the proceeds to hit back. In one play a character on stage, chanty — more specifically, the B. D. about to be stripped of his clothes. Petit Parsee Generd Hospital. Dr Homi pleaded he be spared the ordeal to protect Mehta, resident medical officer of the the sensitivities of a particular lady in the Hospital at the time, voiced his reserva- front row. Up popped the spirited lady in tions about the venture. “Aye soo gela the audience and shot back: “I have paid ganda tam^ log karoch (what is this non- Rs 100 for this ticket. Surely I am en- sense you are doing)? ” Sidhva recalls titled to see the whole show. ” his protest. But once Mehta saw the re ­ sponse of the public who filled the hall to performers have had to overcome over capacity and the accolades the play re- the years. Sidhva recalls how during one ceived, he was converted. Every year af- performance he was suspended over the ter that he would personally go around stage in a basket and the rope and pulley collecting advertisements for the bro- mechanism got stuck and he could nei- chure, the frailty of his own personal ther go up nor down. There was another health being used to persuade hesitant occasion when the person responsible for donors. the stage props did not show up and the Year after year the PMA put up two performance was staged “in keeping with shows; the first for the annual gathering tfie modem trend of theater ” against a of Parsi doctors and the second for the plain black backdrop. On another occa- general public. The plays they did were sion the audience heard a backstage assis- all written by Wadia till the supply ran tant wail, “Khotto l^gho'p^ri gayo (He ^y. So the next year they selected the has worn the wrong pyjama and gone on them together with a loose story line. The effort was, in a way, a good exercise for Sidhva. The next year, while recu- that day)?” Even the individuals among the audience are not spared, leading to a lot of ad-libbing on stage. “Our wives There have been other hurdles that the tant wail, “Khotto l^gho'p^ri ni gayo (He „ ------------------ jon best scenes from dl his plays and strung stage). ” The one left behind would not fit the actor whose cue it was to go on stage. “Our one fear is that one of our doctors may be called away on an emergency on •> -the final day,” says Sidhva. To date, they caution, he wanted to do it three times a entered the fire-temple a local Parsi resi- have not had to face such a situation, day. “I get great relief dipping a piece of dent marched up to him and enquired, “If During rehearsals though, it occurs fre- cloth in hot water and applying it to my you should die where would you like your quently. Emergencies always take prior- eyes, ” the patient elaborated on the com- body to go? The aramgah or the ity over play practice. fort he obtained from "seks (hot com- dokhma? ” Parsi farces, according to Rehearsals are held in the evenings in press). ” Sidhva, are a form of documentation of the Parsee General.Hospital ’s administra ­ tive offices after the doctors have finished their consultations. Occasionally patients or their relatives would stroll in to investi ­ gate what was going on and stumble on these dignified men behind the stetho ­ scopes engaged in a lot of hullabaloo. Sidhva recalls one lady who came to his clinic a day after a performance and observed, “You look very different from what you looked on stage. ” “Naturally, I Gujarati is a good language for farces and patronizing their plays, expect I would, ” ne retorted. “The stage comedies. “It is easily understood by ev- ’*• is fun, the clinic is work, ” but there is eryone and not only the Parsis for, one- humor in the clinic too. Like the time a third is Gujarati, one-third is English and patient emerged from behind the curtains one-third is swear words. ” with the X-ray gown upside down; his legs through the armholes. Then there was an eye surgeon who of the community itself. Members are Adi Marzban, paid them the ultimate was confronted with a baffling problem, constantly fighting over some issue or the compliment He observed that should any The 70-year-old man from whose eyes he other and this provides fodder for natak of them, for any reason, tire of the medi ­ cal profession, they could come to him; he had seen enough acting talent to ensure No wonder, Sidhva observes, Parsi the burning issues that have occupied the community through the years. Equally important for a Parsi farce to succeed is the audience and for all its squabbling and fights the Parsis, accord ­ ing to Sidhva, know how to laugh at themselves. “I must say this for the Par ­ sis; they are a sporting community. ” And over the years the community has encouraged the doctors in their efforts by “The Parsis are a sporting community ” Yet it would be folly to dismiss the PMA as a unit which is allowed to get by with a lot of blemishes. In this genre of theater they are a competent outfit and none other than the noted theater person- Equally important for the success and none other than the noted theater person ­ humor of Parsi farces is the eccentricities ality and former editor of Jam-e-Jamshed, - - . Marzban, paid them the ultimate had removed a cataract wanted to know writers. Sidhva recalls his visit to Banga- if it was okay to have sex the very next lore years ago when he was 17 years old day. Brushing aside the doctor ’s call for and had gone to the agiary there. As he that they did not Starve. ZORO GARMENTS PVT LTD (An agMe Export House Recoffiised by the Govt, of buna) Manufacturers and Exporters of Readymade Garments, Made-Ups & Fabrics Address: C-3, Industrial Estate, Ambattur, Madras 600058 Phone: 652416/652497 Telex: 041-22059 ZORO IN Fax: 6257789 80 Parsiana March 1992 I .* u-a BUSINESS We have to review our systems n Parinaz Gandhi Commercial or community progress requires an open mind, says finance planner Adi Rabadi For India, “I see a great future if the present trend of liberalization is allowed to proceed without a hitch. ” For die Parsi commu ­ nity, “I only see numbers dwin ­ dling. We have to be optimistic, but with dwindling numbers and mixed marriages I don ’t think there will be a Parsi identity left after 35 years. ” Adi Bapuji Ra­ badi of Calcutta, vice chairman and joint managing director of the reputed engineering consul ­ tancy firm of M. N. Dastur and Company, and a trustee of the Calcutta Zoroastrian Comm­ unity ’s Religious and Charity Funds (CZCRCF) made known his views while on a business trip to Bombay at the turn of the ye^. Rabadi (right) receiving the Glory Financial planning, management and of India International Award from the industrial cost accounting are the areas in Indian Ambassador to USA which Rabadi specializes and in which Dr Abid Hussain he earned two distinctions in 1991 — the Viyay Shree Award and the Glory of In- cerned finance — management account- pursue the commerce Tine. Migration to dia International Award and gold medal ing, industrial reconstruction. But his Bombay and overseas in search of job conferred by the International Friendship most enduring commitment has been with prospects as also the trend towards Society of India. And before Rabadi M. N. Dastur and Company with which smaller families has left Calcutta with could bask in the publicity of the second he has been associated for 28 years ever barely 120-150 Parsis below 25 years of award presented to him in Washington, since he joined as administrative officer age, informs Rabadi, himself a migrant. Rabadi received a letter intimating him' of the Bombay branch, was appointed The only difference was that while most that he had qualified for the Vijay Rattna company secretary within four months, are drawn to Bombay, Rabadi ’s career Award from this Society. Rabadi rises ~ from the settee in his room at the Taj In- joint managing director ’s designation was tercontinental to bring us the letter. His chubby face breaks into a smile and there chairman ’s rank came to him two years countancy diploma course on which only is bemusement reflected in his eyes. thereafter. And during these years he has chartered accountants were eligible to en- On advisory panels, appraisal commit- prepared studies for evaluation of iron rol. He was one of the first two CAs to tees, review councils and national com ­ missions, Rabadi ’s counsel has been sought. The subjects have always con- curriculum vitae. In particular his social he was employed with Associated Ce- 99 cost-benefit research for the Syria Steel Plant earned him ap­ preciation from the World Bank, he mentions. “India could be among the five most industrialized coun ­ tries in t|^e world if the Indian entrepreneurial spirit is allowed to flourish ” uncramp^ by clauses which restrict economic activity and motivate tax eva­ sion, believes Rabadi. As an ex­ ecutive entrusted with many of the Company’s modernization and expansion projects he has been a witness to the crippling effects of the “licence-and-per- mit raj. ” Business instead of employ ­ ment in commercial houses should be the aspiration of Parsis, believes Rabadi. In C^cutta itself he observes many young ­ sters employed in banks and hardly any opting to be entrepreneurs although they and director at the end of five years. The with M. N. Dastur led him to Calcutta. The headstart in Rabadi ’s career fol ­ io follow 20 years later, and the vice lowed his success at the management ac ­ and steel and industrial projects not only pass this course which required intensive in India but 20 other countries, as lists his study in financial management Initially 83 Parsiana March 1992BOYS’ TOWN Public School Nasik 2 Recognised as a Public School by the Department of Educa ­ tion for Indian Merit Scholars. Excellent Climate — All- round Education: All Academic Subjects — Technical Subjects: Work ­ shop Technology, Mechanical & Electrical Maintenance, Car ­ pentry & Fanning. Training in Self-Government through Elected Boys’ Office bearers. Games —Physical Training I —Daily Assembly with Con­ gregational Prayers — Weekly intensive Zoroastrian —Geeta —Koran classes — Ex­ cellent Modem Kitchen and Dining Room facilities —Airy Dormitories. Moderate Fees. Concessions Students. 10 Deserving Apply to THE MANAGING TRUSTEE P. N. MEHTA EDUCATION TRUST Cooks Building, 324Dr. D.N. Road, Bombay 4(XXX)1. 84 Parsiana March 1992 ment Companies where he continued for five years before shifting to M. N. Dastur. la An. interest that Rabadi earned forward of the community ~ from Bombay to Calcutta is sports. It Of the total 1,000 odd, “many Zoroas- wrninenced dmng his school days at trians in Calcutta are on the wrong^de f crossed the 60-year milestone The and arts from Podar CoHege. A one-time youth are limited in number and ro too residentof the h^cherji JoshiParsi Col- are the priests. They have five full-time Sith p ^^hadi remembers teaming and one part-time pri^t but their searchto with Farokh Enginwr, PoUy Umrigar and find mobeds for cScutta is proviSffi- others who, pursuing sports as a career, cult despite offering Rs 3 000 as^salarv went on to becommg well-known names plus frd housing ^d fo^ in the cncket field. Presently he ic k; ’ ” ' ¦ ' * volyed in an administrative cqiacity offi- n --- J _ _ MM* ... Federation (West Bengal). He has*^*so of the Cncket Association of unteers whose assistance i, « .k. As do many other families who want a change from their work schedules, the Rabadis too frequent the popular Cal ­ cutta Parsi Club were Rabadi has been president for the past six years. About 150-200 Parsis are known to assemble there oyer the weekends and the Club ’s are nn tno “¦e^arriage issue nest m Calcutta, the president insists. ‘ ¦ ¦ - Rabadi is happy that his entire family, in ­ cluding daughter Sharmin, a class IX stu ­ dent, and son Kaizad, a class VI student also visit the Club when their study schedule permits. Wife Bapsy too sup ­ ports his interests but she is largely in ­ volved with welfare activities, working as _ _____ 11,0 ouun, HOi, Kunui s^yoftheCalcouaZoroasttianSnee ailo|X in his di verse, rote from an econc,; “The relations between different Parsi even the youngsters showing an avid in ­ terest of late, is raising the consciousness -----------— so too are the pnests. They have five fuU-time and one part-time priest but their search to IS Ul- volyed in an administrauve capacity offi- tioning as trustee of Calcutta ’s ^Mehia ciah.®^I^sideiu of the Office Sports Atash AHara n There are neither vultures nor unteers whose assistance is sought at the time^ of a funeral. And yet the anjuman continues with the dokhmenashini sys- t^ on the advice of a high priest who has given them to understand that a dokhma and an aramgah cannot coexist despite the prevailing practice in other regiems like Bangalore. “J^e^cutft P^is are liberal on the live with this problem, ’” informs the practical trustee. Even then, they have not succeeded in permitting non-Parsi spouses membership of the Calcutta Parsi Club. “I am also a traditionalist but I feel we have to review our systems and change according to the times, ” he ob­ serves. The stand that Rabadi likes to ------------ 1 an econo ­ mist to an activist is “it is preferable to organizations fin wk •— v™® unanimous decision than harmonious have dissension and dispute — no infighting nr nntiii/'c Tka r-oi,,.,..- uiapuw. . in- stu- — no infighting or politics. The Calcutta Parsi community is very compact, ” maintains Rabadi, one of the three trus ­ tees of the CZCRCF on which devolves the responsibility of administering the fi­ nancial affairs concerning the Zoroastrian community. The Calcutta residents “like to get to ­ gether often... ” Rabadi has noticed dur ­ ing his eight years as trustee. The occa ­ sion could be a natak, a regular event among the Calcutta Parsis, or a dinner. The Rabadis ’ spacious mansion too has accommodated many a social function be it in honor of the all-India delegates at ­ tending an executive council meeting of the Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India, ot the community youdis who had converged in Calcutta to participate in the all-India youth fest. Organization of religious talks and semi ­ nars at the trust ’s Olpadvala Hall, with to- »» Statement of Ownership Particulars about Parsiana; Form IV (See Rule 8} Place of Publication; Bombay Periodicity of Publication; Monthly Pririter, Publisher, 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 Sh^eholders holding more than one percent of the total capital; Jehangir R. Patel, Veera and Simin J. Patel, address same as above. I, Jehangir R. Patel, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. Sd. (Jehangir R. Patel)1 March 1992MEDICINE The gift of sight Arnavaz S. Mama Three generations of the Shroff family have been providing honorary ophthalmic service i ( \ ( j providing honorary opht to the poor of Delhi ¦ It is a vast complex, its stone and brick those who combine honorary work with lakhs almost since the Hospital s incep- architecture reminiscent of the colonial private practice, informs Dr Minoo tion. Another Rs 20,000 come from the ; era. The subdued bustle of 300 plus out- Shroff, managing trustee of Dr Shroff s New Delhi Municipal Committee annu- j patients each day has an undertone of Charity Eye Hospital Trust and honorary ally. The Tamwati Ram Gopal Founda- expectation — of relief from pain, of res- chief medical officer of the Hospital. tion supplies free spectacles fpr poor pa­ toration of sight, of healing... The Hospital ’s financial needs are only tients. The Godrej Memorial Trust do- Amidst the poverty of Daryaganj — nominally met by the meager fees it nated an Argon Laser used in retinal sur- the div idin g line between new and old charges. The rental of a plot of open land gay wcffth 8.25 la to rup^s. Hel^ge In ­ Delhi — Dr Shroffs Char- ity Eye Hospital is the me- j dium and the message of its founder whose credo it was that “the gift of sight should not be the prerogative of the rich. ” Thus, 62 of the 78- year-old Hospital ’s 94 beds are devoted to the free treat ­ ment of the poor, its 19 spe- | cial rooms where charges i vary from Rs 50 to Rs 200 per day contributing to some of the cost, while 13 other beds — two or three to a cubicle — generate Rs 30 per day inclusive of bed, board and all medical charges. The Hospital offers in ­ traocular lens implantation (the planting of an acrylic lens in place of Dr Minoo Shroff examining a patient the removed cataract), retinal and vitreous through the slit lamp surgoy which takes care of detached reti ­ nas, vitreous hemorrhages and other dis- 1 , orders like the correction of squint and a night contributes. But it is the govern- 2,70,000 approximately. The Shroffs are muscle imbalance. The doctors, all post ment grants and the largesse of other at pains to impress that each donation of i categories of practitioners — those who institution to survive. The Delhi Munici- moval, inclusive of four-day hospitaliza- dia,MISEREOR — a German social service organization — - and the Lt Governor of Delhi contributed equipment and funds totalling almost 10 lakh rupees. The contribution of Sir Dorab Tata Trust (Rs 1.5 lakhs), the Godrej Foundation (Rs 50,000) the Dastoor Con ­ tact Lens Laboratory (Rs 51,000) woe augmented by another Rs 2.45 lakhs by Dr V. s Sagar 11^1989. Large and small donations amount to nearly seven lakh rupees a year. ! Faced with an annual deficit < of approximately 3.25 lakh rupees and the need to maintain the Hospital building, upgrade patient facilities and medical aids, led the Trust to issue an appeal for a Hospital Development Fund co-signed by some of Delhi ’s most re ­ spected citizens. As against a target of Rs for weddings and functions at Rs 1,100 50 lakhs, the Fund has collected Rs j J 'f i graduates in ophthalmology, include three trusts and donors which have helped the Rs 250 pays for the cost of catar^t re- i are totally honorary, the full-timers and pality provides an annual grant of Rs 1.5 tion, for one poor person. Donations to 86 Parsiana March 1992 L JI ¦> S' I® ‘'iff. W » * wai On the campus of Dr Shroff s Charity Eye Hospital Below: Dr Cyrus Shroff working on the fundus camera Below 2: Dr Noshir Shroff in the process of an intraocular lens transplant the Hospital are tax exempt under section Hospital with about six 80G of the Income Tax Act Cheques doctors and eight ancillary may be drawn in favor of Dr Shroffs staff working on operation Charity Eye Hospital, and mailed to the days, creating conditions managing trustee at XI/5026 Kedamath for aseptic surgery and en- , i Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110002. As with most charity organizations the Hospital has to deal with those who do throat) department was | not deserve charity but want to get things added in 1967 and treats | for free. The Shroffs demand no declara- about 24,000 patients a tion of income: “People don ’t give their year in the OPD (outpa- correct income anyway but those who tients department).Though | cannot give anything are obvious more than a 1,000 ENT op-| enough, ” says Minoo. The Hospital sup- erations take place each plies hard contact lenses for Rs 300 a pair year, the Hospital is unable ? as against Rs 600 to Rs 800 outside; to provide separate beds for | muscle imbalances and squint, which ENT patients. I cost over Rs 3,000 for correction to each I eye, are done at the Shroff Hospital for History I anything between Rs 105 and nothing. Sorabji Shroff was “not a I Similarly the patient pays Rs 105 for a normal person. He was a cataract operation which costs more than Rs 180 to the Hospital. The pride lies in doing high quality ordered, ” remembers Jus- work irrespective of financial returns. The rewards are diverse. The only eye chief justice of the Delhi hospital in Delhi in 1962 when the Inter ­ national Congress of Ophthalmology was Hospital ’s board of trustees, held. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru provided it a large grant for renovation and equipment. “The foreign ophthal- and surgery from the University of Punjab be treated in OPD. When philanthropist mologists attending the Congress appre- and, after earning his Fellowship of the Haji Mohammed Ishaq placed an entire dated the work done at the Hospital and Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh floor in his newly constructed building at the dedication of its staff, ” notes Minoo. (FRCSE), chose to settle in Delhi in 1913 the disposal of Shroff, the Hospital began At the intraocular lens implant workshop as a practising eye specialist Devoting a accepting a few indoor patients for opera- conducted by noted US surgeon Dr Y. Y. large part of his time to treating the eye tions like cataract glucoma, etc. Even so. King at the Shroff Hospital in 1984, it problems of poor patients free of charge, during the 13 months spanning October was Minoo ’s son. Dr Noshir Shroff who by 1914 Shroff had founded the Hospital 1916 to November 1917, he had treated was chosen to assist. that bears his name in a large room in Eye camps are a regular activity of the Lala Laxmi Narain ’s dharamsala. Work- Suring post-operative care. An ENT (ear, nose. 89 Parsiana March 1992 w man of God, doing God’s bidding as though he was ff' nrdp.rftrt ” rpmpmhpN Tiis. tice Prakash Narain, retired 'T ff -S I’J Os K J .1 w High Court and presently chairman of the ing entirely on his own, the treatment was largely confined to diseases like tra- The Bombay-born Shroff received his choma, conjunctivitis, comeal ulcers, re ­ licentiate in medical science, obstetrics moval of foreign bodies, etc which could 16,771 patients. The present premises in Daryaganj <¦fl i Countess Reading laid the foundation stone, heading the list of donors with a became functional in 1927. It absorbed grounds that the government had rejected most of his time, devoted freely, private their advice in the first place. Thus op­ practice being restricted to a few hours posed by its own nominee, the furious gift of one lakh rupees followed by the outside the Hospital to meet the needs British government blacklisted Shroff af- government ’s own Rs 50,000, the Delhi of the family. By 1922 Shroff had tCT his term was over, rejecting his appli- Municipality, Sir Ratan Tata Trust and a established a public trust with an initial cation ftx land for the Hospital, not once host of others convinced of Shroff s dedi ­ donation of Rs 5 lakhs to ensure the future but three times. It was only when Rever- cation. Once cordial relations were re- of the work. Individuals of the eminence end Hale (archbishop of Delhi) intervened stored with the government, however, J there was no looking back. Shroff be­ came a regular invitee to official func ­ tions and in recognition of his social and humanitarian w(xk was awarded the Kai- ser-e-Hind Gold Medal in 1933. For 12 years Shroff guided the destiny of the Delhi Parsi Anjuman (DPA) as its president, acquiring the land for the Men- gusi Dharamshala. It was during his ten ­ ure that the DPA’s constitution was drafted. Subsisting on boiled rice and paneer (cottage cheese), as remembers his of the industrialist and philanthropist Sir Sri Ram and Delhi Mayor Nuruddin Ahmed have served as chairmen of the board. “What a man he was — nothing ever shook him! ” says Narain. Shroff ’s son Minoo recalls his father ’s stint as the Brit ­ ish government ’s nominee on the Delhi Municipal Souncil: In 1919 the Duke of Connaught, member of the British roy ­ alty, was expected to visit India. The Delhi Municipal Council advised the gov­ ernment against the proposal to invite Connaught to Delhi, but to no avail. Delhi broke into riots and there was bed ­ lam all around. The embarrassed govern ­ ment sought to even the score with the work ” that the government, after dragging had instructed that muktads ftx* him be Delhi citizenry by imposing a fine of Rs its feet some more to assuage its wounded held for one year only, says Minoo. But 40,000. Declaring that he would vote ego, gave about three acres of land on a he fired his family with his own penchant for humanit^an service so that not only his son Minoo who inherited the manag ­ ing trusteeship of the Hospital from his "Nobody compelled us. We just naturally went into ophthalmology" with the vicereine. Countess Reading, daughter-in-law Mehroo, Shroff was al- convincing her that “Shroff was not inter- ways an unorthodox man. “Bored by ested in politics but only in humanitarian dogmas, ” averse to controversies. Shroff “according to the dictates of my con- 999-year lease and the Hospital was es- science, ” Shroff opposed the fine along tablished in its present premises in 1927, with other Council members on the narrates Minoo. Cusimner is —always Light When he entrusts his Household Packing, Shipping, Removal, Storage,,., ail his problems to B,C. Buhariwala & Sons, Make the right Move, Cali: Sufiaf/ufafa Sons 5 J.n. Heredia Marg, Ballard Estate, Bombay-400 038. V Tel.: 2615451/3, 2620735 2613137 Tlx.: 011-75139 BCB IH. BRANCH OFFICE: 1310, Pragati Towers, Rajendra Place, Hew Delhi-110 008, Teh Nos,: 5711876, 5713540. Tlx.: 031-61928 BCB IN Represented throughout the World by more than 600 offices Doot to door Service 90 Parsiana March 1992fatho", but Minoo ’s two sons Noshir and hard nut to crack! ” Cyrus have continued the Shroff tradition as leading ophthalmologists, freely giving and Amarchand wards were built when also fffovide honorary sovice to tfMTHos- their time to the Hospital ’s patients. Nor the Hospital was built The Daya Ward, pital. is the Shroff family the only one in its the administrative block and a new block third generation of service at the Hospital, for diagnostic purposes and special rooms Hospital and the subject of eye care. The tradition is shared by other workers were added later. Today a ward would Noshir Shroff says, “Nobody conqt^ed as well. ( .... --- ¦ Nonetheless the Hospital has had to against its 1954 cost of Rs 25,000, as- mology. face a couple of strikes. During the first sesses Minoo. ~ one in 1946 “Papa gave in, ” recalls Mi­ noo, but subsquently “in 1966 we did not until 1979 was given up to provide quar- ract removing technique requiring a very give in. ” That strike was restricted to the ters for five others while the Shroffs small incision which permits the patent .............................. * to go back to work in two to three days. The system has been around in the world for over a decade now, says Noshir bm is comparatively recent in Iixlia, its two welfare adviser. ” Similarly Dr H. S. 'Dne- The municipal, Tata, Wadia, Reading han and his team of four ENT surgeons Associated from childhood with the cost more than 1.5 lakh rupees to build as us. We just naturally went mto ophthtd- The environment grows on sesses Minoo. The chief medical you...” Noshir specializes in implant sar- officer ’s house which the family occupied gay and phacoemulsificMion — a cata ­ ract removing technique requiring a very »» ics so their two sons Darius md Kersey have two Helds to choose between. Cyras specializes in retinal and vitreous surgery. His wife Rukshana lectures in the depart- non-medical staff — the doctors and shifted to their new joint family accom- nurses continued to work. The men had modation at Kailash Colony, lined up, shouting slogans, when there was a power failure at the Hospital. The The Shroff factor old generator required to be cranked and The Shroffs are the “only family in Delhi known Zoroastrian practitioners being Dr Minoo was all set for a bout of physical truly interested in helping the poor, ” Kelde Mehta in Bombay and himself, labor when two old-timers broke rank and eulogizes Dr M. K. Srivastava who joined Noshir ’s wife Niloufer is a PhD in phys- said to him, “Saab hut jao (Sir, please the Hospital as honorary officer on ' • • - • step aside). ” They started the generator, special duty after retiring as accounts offi- then went back to their sloganeering! cer, central revenue. The Hospital ac- Though the labor had been incited quired the land in three plots in three in ­ to ask for municipal or government stalments. Says Srivastava, “So much ment of English at the Lady Sri Ram Cd- wage scales, Minoo emphasized, “We sacrifice, but nothing for themselves, lege. Their two children are Zubin and just didn ’t have the funds. ” He held Even now there are four persons giving Rushad. Thus the odds are 15 to one in firm, leading the labor commissioner fully honorary service to the Hospital favor of a fourth generation ShrdT M Dr to remark, “He looks mild but he is a including Mehroo who is the honorary ShrofTs Charity Eye Hospital. Dairy Products and Indian Sweetmeats PARSI DAIRY FARM ? ? 261-63, Princess Street, Bombay 400002 ESTD: 1916 TEL: 313633-34 93 Parsiana March 1992MEDICINE Pioneering Neurologist ¦ IS Dhanvantari awardee Dr Eddie Bharucha ’s study reveals a record high incidence of Parkinson ’s disease among Parsis Gustasp Irani ij; by the State Government when he was hut, from house to house, to find and treat presented the Dhanvantari Award by patients, ’’ he says. '. Sudhakarrao Naik, chief minister of Maharashtra. “The award was not one of the things I Vasai taluka, 100 km from Bombay. In all was aiming for but I was pleased to get it he examined 16,300 people and discov- nevertheless, ” says an unassuming Bhar- ered 78 cases of unreported epilepsy. The ucha. More rewarding was the response undertaking was part of a World Health and good wishes from colleagues and stu- Organisation (WHO) study which aimed dents, past and present, that poured in as a at estimating the extent of the disease in result of the award. “I am overwhelmed Indian villages. From village to village, from hut to hut, by their warmth, ” says the neurologist. The response however is not surpris ­ ing. When Bharucha returned to India in When this rhythm is disturbed you get an F B And that was just what the doctor did when he covered of the 22 villages in “The brain has got a rhythm of its own, like the heart has got a beat of its own. from colony to colony, and from flat to flat. Dr Eddie P. Bharucha, noted neu ­ rologist, surveyed first the adivasis of 1953 after specializing in neurology at the epileptic fit, ” Bharucha explains. The Vasal taluka in Thana and then the Parsis Institute of Neurology, University of Lon- disturbance in the rhythm can be caused of Bombay, detecting and treating neuro- don, at the Presbyterian Hospital Univer- by a number of reasons, like tumors logical disorders. Bharucha is not a proto- sity of Columbia, New York and at Har- which may cut oxygen supply to the brain type of a barefoot doctor, but he definite- vard University, there were barely three or through diseases like jaundice or ly is a pioneering one whose contributions to neurology in the country are many, countryandjusttwosmallneurologycen- He was instrumental in opening the de- ) " --- - - partment of neurological studies at result of Bharucha ’s persistent efforts Bombay’s King Edward Memorial there are about 250 qualified neurologists rologist states that there is little that a lay (KEM) Hospital in 1953, the first in west ­ ern India from where young Indian doctors could qualify in Ais branch of medicine without necessarily having to the study and treatment of disorders in the go abroad. In addition to this and other significant work, Bharucha has over 200 chord and the nerves that come out of advises: “Turn him over on his side so publications in journals and textbooks, there. Symptoms of disorder can take the that he does not choke on his own saliva, is the president of the Neurological form of visual disturbances, squints, an See that he does not get hurt by any sharp Society of Indu, vice-president of the inability to chew and, of course, epileptic objects around. You should let the fit T-.j -r XT ___ . ___ ____ wear itself out” secretary general of the Indian Epilepsy eight million cases of epilepsy in India. The other major research project un ­ Association. “The trouble in India is that people do not dertaken by Bharucha was a neurological On November 3, 1991, Bharucha ’s know that epilepsy can be controlled and study of the Parsis. Here his son Nadir, a contributions were officially recognized ueated. You ’ve got to go from hut to qualified neurologist himself, assist^ to four qualified in this field in the entire meningites which can upset the metabo ­ lism of the brain. “Epilepsy is not heredi- ters at Vellore and Calcutta. Today, as a tary, ” Bharucha clarifies. J Contrary to popular belief, the neu- in India, 15 hospitals and six postgraduate person can do when someone gets an epi ­ institutes with neurology departments. Neurology, according to Bharucha, is the fit by putting the soles of one ’s foot- ! wear to the patient ’s mouth or some nervous system, the brain, the spinal metal, like keys, in his hand, the doctor leptic fit in public. Rather than try to stop World Federation of Neurology, and fits. In Bharucha ’s estimate there are secretary general of the Indian Epilepsy eight million cases of epilepsy in India. 95 Parsiana March 1992 f i Jr T 5 him in the task. Together the father and son team covered 15,000 Parsis in a num ­ ber of colonics in Bombay. The highlight of their finding was the high instance of Parkinson ’s disease in the community — I' ! ¦ * With best wishes for Porsiana's success From T P K 192 per hundred thousand. “Ireland is supposed to have the highest instance of Parkinson ’s disease — 172 per hundred thousand. Ours (the Parsi count) is even higher than that' These statistics, Bharucha is quick to point out are misleading at best One rea ­ son for the high rate of this disorder in the community might be a high proportion of aged members in the community. “In In ­ dia only 12 percent of the population is over 50. For Parsis, the figure is per ­ cent We have an inverted pyramid, ” he observes. One problem with Parkinson ’s disease is that it is not easily recognizable and its symptoms — trembling limbs — are of­ ten dismissed as part of the aging process. The disease is caused by the premature demise of certain brain cells. However, to date there is no effective cure cw control for the disease. “There is treatment for Parkinson ’s disease up to a point and then it beccxnes worse, ” says Bharucha. “There is no strong her^tary factor in Parkinson ’s disease, ” mentions Bharucha. In fact in the survey of Parsis conducted by him, he noticed a surprisingly low oc-^ currence of hereditary diseases, especially* so since there is a high rate of intra-family marriages in the community. “I am not too concerned (about intra-marriage). It also brings out the good points of the community, ” observes Bharucha. Accord ­ ing to him, it could be one reason for the Parsi success story. But it is a story that is threatened by extinction. Bharucha is perturbed by the declining Parsi population. One reason, as he sees it, is that Parsi women tend to marry Tate because they value higher education and their careers. “If things continue (like this), in the next 100 years there will be vay few Parsis left. Our community is a vwy good one; it will be sad if it disappears, ” he laments. One admittedly drastic solution, accord ­ ing to the doctor, would be to get daugh ­ ters married once they reach the age of 18 or 19. But for Parsi girls to get married early is probably in the realm of fiction and Bharucha is no stranger to this world. He enjoys reading novels. “I like spy sto ­ ries, ” he says, lightheartedly adding: “be­ cause neurology is a little like a spy story. ”I I I I I RATAN SURVEYOR & Co. Engineers & Contractors of Repute For Construction Work o| Good Quality Piramal Mansion Dr Dadabhoy Naoroji Road Fort Bombay 400001 Phone 2619670 ARE THE KURDS... continued from page 40 “The girls told me that they are taught Islam compulsorily at school. They are very eager to learn a lot more about Zar- adhust and their own religion but even their parents discouraged them from gain ­ ing this knowledge. It may be because the parents do not know much about it them ­ selves. Or, more likely, it may be to pro ­ tect the youngsters, since the latter come in daily contact at school and at work with non-Yazidis, and might say something inadvertently about their own religion which might be labelled subversive, ” speculates Damania. “I was told th^t they are also not allowed to assemble in a large group in public. ” Some Yazidi males have migrated for work to Germany and Azerbaijan, for ­ merly in the USSR, returning to marry from among their own community. Some of those settled abroad marry locally. Hence some Yazidis have German wives. They also speak of Yazidis living in the USSR. Claiming a more or less static popula- Burjor Framji &Co Licensed Plumbers Sanitary & Drainage Contractors GOO Marine Mansion 1st Marine Street Bombay 400002 Tel: 313207 i With Best Compliments From TRIKA AGENCIES Quality Printers & Suppliers of All Kinds of Stationery Items Tel Off: 2613953/ 2612734 Res: 3675375 Address: 41, Manek Abad 5, Setafwad Road Off Nepean Sea Road Bombay 400036 98 Parsiana March 1992 tion figure with an average four or five children per couple, Damania says, the Yazidis seem not to be too worried about their numbers, the loss to the community on account of intermarriage and migra ­ tion. If upon marriage a woman is found to be not fertile the man usually marries again and the first wife either continues to live with the husband or returns to her parents on divorce. A woman whose husband dies prematurely is discouraged to remarry by her in-laws, although there is no objection to remarriage of widows on religious grounds. In addition to Ain Dara, 15 other vil ­ lages around Aleppo where Yazidis still live include: Khatma, Buffelore, Ashk Kebar, Bussufan, Kemar, Taramdar, Ghazaoui, Iskan, Burgilkaz, Kubashin, Barad, Gundimazan, Nayer, J al am al, Kastel and Fakhira. Many of these vil ­ lages, in the past, were totally inhabited by Yazidis. But today only 50 percent of the original population remains. Another upper middle-class Yazidi family in Aleppo whom Damania met subse ­ quently, spoke of the Kurds and Kurdis ­ tan being originally part of the Persian Empire. Later, when the Arabs invaded, some Kurds became Muslims or Chris ­ tians but many continued to follow the Zoroastrian religion. However, the Kurds were suppressed, particularly the Zoroas ­ trians. The Syrian Yazidis claim to have been living there since over a 1,000 years I... . .1.. ""f'f il- . ...... pj !Wi!rl,tn.. * ... ... ii 11. h' 'hiikjii.i ", *.... I .... . vl^ HOMELY COMFORTS CHARNI ROXkO, GRANT ROAD JUNCTION. BOMBAY-400004. TEL; 351028 rr I I I I I 1 but are not permitted to practice their reli- ample, one perturbed individual has for- gion. In fact very few families even have warded to Parsiana xerox copies of rele- pictures of Zarathushtra or have any idea vant pages from the Encyclopaedia Bri- of what he looked like. They do not have tannica, the Encyclopaedia of Religion any religious books. “They confirmed and Ethics, the Encyclopaedia of Living my suspicion that the younger generation Faiths, etc which concentrate on the is purposely kept ignorant of the differences between Yazidi and Zorbas- community ’s history and religion in order trian practices. States the Britannica to avoid discrimination, persecution and (1986 ed): antagonism at school, college or place of work. When asked by outsiders they ad- combination of Zoroastrian, mit that they are Yazidis of Kurdish ori ­ gin, beyond that they do not say any- Islamic elements. thing, ” adds Damania. “The chief divine figure of the Yazidi The Yazidis believe that Zarathushtra is Malak Ta’us (Peacock Angel), was Kurdish since he was bom within the worshiped in the form of a peacock, borders of theirVi-called Kurdistan which He rules the universe with six other an- at present forms part of Iraq, Syria, Tur- gels, but all seven are subordinate to the key and Azerbaijan. They are said to be more nationalistic than religionist, want ­ ing their own independent ‘Kurdistan ’ more than the freedom to practice Zoroas- pented of his sin of pride before God, he trianism! was pardoned and replaced in his previ ­ ous position as chief of the angels. This Pars! Zoroastrian fears myth has earned the Yazidi an undeserved Latent fears of being swamped by num- reputation as devil worshippers. ” bers perhaps leads Parsi Zoroastrians to take an exclusivist attitude. As an ex- “The Yazidi religion is a syncretic Mani ­ chaean, Jewish, Nestorian Christian and supreme God, who has had no direct interest in the universe since he created it. The Yazidi relate that when the devil re- Compiled by Amavaz S. Mama SERSON Electrolytic Capacitors For 100 Parsiana March 1992 MATRIMONIAL Matrimonial alliance invited from a good-looking, cultured, educated, domestically trained Parsi girl for a Parsi boy of 35 years, tall and good-looking, fond of music, travel and outings, highly qualified, self-employed in family industries, having good income and good accommodation. Write with detailed r^sum6 and photograph (returnable) to: The Advertiser Parsiana Matrimonial (Mar/15-92) GPO Box 892 Bombay 400001 X All Electronic Applications From 12 VDC To 350 VDC Mani/facttffm: Serson Industries Pvt. Ltd Pimpri PJFJP.O., Poona-lt. Cable: EtcUoil Poona>lS. Phone: 82379FOOD Popularizing Parsi Cuisine Time-honored Parsi recipes and tempting contemporary concoctions from Jeroo Mehta's new book Have you tried bhaji ma bheja (brains International series The Good Cook. Garlic (6 cloves) grind to a with spinach), or-t prawn and cabbage Cooking for the family is another publica- Ginger root (3/4" piece paste ~ A /.....-in fion to hcr Credit. Her efforts to popular- —fresh) __ I 1 tsp ize the Parsi cuisine are said to be well- Green chillies (4 — finely chopped) foogad, or com akoorij Offering an as- tion to hcr credit. Her efforts to popular- — fresh) __ I 1 tsp sortment of 101 non-vegetarian and ize the Parsi cuisine are said to be well- Green chillies (4 — finely chopped) vegetarian dishes, desserts, pickles and received by reputed hotels and restaurants Green chillies (4 — slit down the center) snacks is Ms Jeroo Mehta in her re- Cabbage (7,kg — finely shredded) cently released Enjoyable Parsi Cook- Coconut (8 tbsp — fresh, grated or 6 ing. Published by Vakils, Feffer and tbsp desiccated) Simons Ltd, the 147-page cookbook, Salt (7^ tsp) priced at Rs 150, serves as a sequel to .. ?.........................- - her earlier award winning 101 Parsi Recipes which saw three reprints. “What is special about Parsi cook ­ ing is the ‘Caspian experience, writes Mehta in the introduction to her S new book. She perceives Parsi dishes S as a blend of “the original flavors from I the shores of the Caspian Sea (whence 9 the Parsis migrated) with the diverse 3 ones of India. ” B The “little-known but delightful ” 9 Parsi cuisine which all can enjoy has I been tastefully presented by her with I color photographs to increase its ap- 9 peal. Nineteen dishes are offered un- 9 der the rice section, providing the U maximum variety. The meat section 9 lists 16 recipes, the vegetarian 14, the 9 fish and eggs 11 each, and the chicken * nine. Additionally there is a choice of ___ _______ ^ht^ pickles, chutneys and preserves, and cabbage foogad (top right) the Parsis who have a large percentage of diabetics. I’ The neat compilation makes easy have adopted her recipes and reading, with pages earmarked for a gios- ........................ sary, weights and measures, substitutes, hints and suggestions. “This book proves once again the mastery of Jeroo Mehta ’s tesy Vakils, Feffer and Simons Ltd) will tion to her credit. Her efforts to popular- — fresh) ... Vegetable oil or ghee (2 tbsp) Heat oil or ghee and fry onion in it for 2 minutes. Add garlic-ginger paste and chopped gre^n chillies. Blend well and cook 1 minute. Add prawns. Cook 2 to 3 minutes and when they curl up add the cabbage, slit green chillies and salt. Mix well, then add coconut and mix again. Add 7^ cup water and bring mixture to a boil. Cover and cook on low heat 10 to 15 minutes till cabbage and prawns are cooked. Uncover and cook on medium heat 5 minutes or till mixture is almost dry. SPINACH PULAO (serves 6) Layers of vegetables and rice, baked, help to blend the flavors dominated by the sweet and sour spinach. Assortment of Mehta's dishes with prawn Spinach (palak, 72 kg) . —i-r ¦ Onions (4 medium — fiftbly sliced) The desserts are seven — just as well for Photo: Apu sista, Enjoyable Parsi Cooking Turmeric powder (72 tsp) Chilli powder (72 tsp) throughout the world, many of which Worcestershire sauce (17^ tsp) I J u Sugar (172tsp) nouncing Parsi specialities on their menu Potatoes (250 gm — peeled and cut into cards. 7^ cm cul^) The three recipes that follow (cour- Carrots (100 gm — scraped and cut into - -- -J i/^cm cubes) style of writing perfect recipes... ’ notes give Parsiana readers a sample of Mehta ’s Rice (2 cups — soaked in water 7, hour) the back cover of the book. EnjoyableParsiCooking. Chicken stock (1 cup or 1 chicken soup Mehta, who studied journalism at cube dissolved in 1 cup hot water) New York University, was the former as- PRAWN AND CABBAGE FOOGAD Salt (2 \ tsp or to taste) sociate editor of Eve s Weekly and a (serves 4 to 6) Vegetable oil or ghee (as needed) regular contributor of recipes to several Prawns with cabbage and coconut make Remove thick stalks of spinach then magazines in India. International recog- an unusual but tasty combination. ~ nition came her way when some of her Prawns (2(M) gm — shelled and cleaned) recipes were included in the Time-Life Onions (2 medium — finely sliced) Enjoyable Parsi Cooking. PRAWN AND CABBAGE FOOGAD finely cut the leaves and tender stalks. Wash very thoroughly. In a pan heat 6 tbsp oil or ghee and fry onions in it till 103 Parsiana March 19921 I I I 1 Remove brown. Remove excess oil. three quarters of the fried onion and keep aside. To the onions in pan add turmeric powder and chilli powder and cook Vj minute. Add spinach and mix well. Cook, covered, on medium heat till spinach is cooked. Add Worcestershire sauce, sugar and Vj tsp salt and cook, covered, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Keep pan aside. In a frying pan pour oil or ghee to a depth of 1 cm and heat to hot. Add pota ­ toes and fry till cooked. Remove and keep aside. In the same oil fry the car ­ rots. Remove and add to potatoes. Add V4 tsp salt and mix. In another pan heat 1 tsp oil or ghee. Drain water from the rice and add to the oil and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add 3 cups water and P/^ tsp salt. Bring to a boil then lower heat and cook, covered, till all the water has been absorbed. Divide rice into 4 equal portions. Put one portion of rice at the bottom of a large pan and place half the spinach over it. Spread half a portion of rice over spinach then sprinkle half of the potatoes and car ­ rots and ’4 of the fried onions over it. Over this spread one whole portion of rice and repeat layers as above. Sprinkle re ­ maining fried onion evenly over the top layer of rice and pour 1 or 2 tbsp oil or mqlted ghee over the surface. Pour soup over the rice and cover and place in a moderately hot oven (190°C, 375°F or Gas Mark 5) for 30 to 40 minutes or till rice is cooked. [Serve with plain or spiced curd (yogurt), your favorite table sauce or mild curry.] BAKED VERMICELLI PUDDING (serves 6) An unusual way of preparing vermicelli. Vermicelli (100 gm — fine) Milk (2V2 cup) Sugar (3’4 tbsp) Vanilla essence (1 tsp) Cardamom powder (’4 tsp) Nutmeg powder (^4 tsp) Eggs (2) Almonds (12 — blanched, peeled and finely sliced) Vegetable oil (VjCup) In a large pan heat die oil to medium hot. Add vermicelli and fry till light brown in color. Remove at once with a perforated spoon allowing as much oil as possible to drain away. Put vermicelli into another pan. To the vermicelli add 1 cup milk and the sugar. Cook on medium heat till milk is almost absorbed, then add remaining milk and cook about 5 minutes or till an ­ other cup of milk is absorbe d. Do not let the mixture get dry. Remove pan from heat and add vanilla, cardamom and nut- | meg. Taste and add more if desired. Mix ] well and allow mixture to cool 5 minutes. Add eggs to mixture and blend well. 1 Butter a baking dish and pour mixture into it so that the mixture is about cm deep. Bake in a moderately hot oven (190®C, 375°F or Gas Mark 5) till set. In a small pan heat 2 or 3 tablespoons vege ­ table oil and fry almonds in it till golden. Sprinkle almonds on pudding and serve hot or warm, with cream if desired. 4 * 1 THE PARSIANA BOOK OF IRANIAN NAMES cieanws ttiachW f 1923-1992 Sixty-nine years of clean service! DIANA-ECLIPSE For all your carpet and upholstery cleaning ? "Parag" 27, Peddar Road, Bombay Tel: 4941987, 4945302 The Iranian names of boys and girls along with their meanings which originally appeared in Parsiana have now been reprinted in an attractive 24-paged third edition. The booklet .priced at Rs 25, will shortly be available on sale at Kaiser-E-Hind 300 Perln Nariman Street, Behind Reserve Bank of India, Fort, Bombay 400001 Faredoon and Burjor Sandalwood Shop Princess Street Union Press 13, Homjl Street, Bombay 400001 L 104 Parsiana March 1992BOOKS I I ‘Charity never faileth” says trusts have been in existence for well over a century. They would surely have provided us with lessons on how to create trusts so that their objects do not fail, and even perhaps how they should or should not be administered. The various aspects of a trust — such as it ’s trappings, the role, duties and responsibilities of a trus ­ tee and the role of the Charity Commis ­ sioner — are set out in brief. People are not really aware of the on ­ erous responsibilities of being a trustee, following dismaying findings were re ­ Hand Book on Administration of Trusts by and how easily a casual approach might corded: N°shir H. Dadrawala. Published in 1991 by cause a person to be in breach of a trust “Educational trusts are paying taxes The Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy, ~ f j o C/o J. N. Marshall Pvt Ltd, Mistry Mansion, 4th floor, 107 M. G. Road, Fort, Bombay 400023. Pp: VIII + 85. Price not stated. Shirin Bharucha t Dadrawala: trust insights Jamshed (of the Zoroas ­ trian Community Development In ­ stitute of which team Dadrawala had also once been a part) the Modi cause a person to be in breach of a trust There are many people who consider because the scholarship money is not dis- being a trustee a ‘status symbol ’ and after tributed. Sixty trusts with a corpus of their appointment take little interest in the 2.64 crores earn an interest of only five work of a trust This is a clear dereliction percent when the minimum return avail- of duty and all the more regrettable as the able is nine percent By investing the cor- beneficiaries are neglected. “Such trus- ------- -------------- tees do more harm than good.” Dadra ­ wala rightly reminds us that it is a mis ­ taken notion that a breach of trust is com- In the incessant race for advancement and things material, we should pause to share our gains with the less fortunate and disadvantaged. This seems to be the philosophy and guiding principle of Noshir H. Dadrawala in the writing of his Hand Book on Administration of Trusts. Actually,^ Dadrawala handles the subject of charity and its necessity with not just a philosophy or principles but with almost a religious fervor and zeal. The religion he draws strength and example from is, happily, not just his own faith. In the context of the need for smoothing, if not altogether blurring, the distinction be­ tween people from differing faiths, his inspiration comes from the many relig ­ ions of India, the Egyptian Book of the must be scrupulously carried out. pendently; and the change of a trust ’s ob- the ancient Greeks and Romans. Relevant sections from other laws as jects when the original ones have failed. ,-Dadrawala provides, as the title of the applicable to charitable trusts, such as the These are areas where quick help is book suggests, a sort of a ready reckoner Income-tax Act, the Industrial Disputes for the setting up and managing of trusts. He commences from the very basics — _____ ____ ___ ___________ the meaning of charity, which according find this a helpful primer. Perhaps, the to him denotes “all the good affections ____ _ " ;___ that men ought to bear towards each jf Dadrawala had fleshed out the chapters other. The concept of charity has gone of his book with some,of the problems, well beyond this very broad and rather delays and difficulties one faces in set- vague definition, and now encompasses a host of projects and purposes which in the eye of the law would amount to char- . .... , returns, checks, inspections and surveil- this path? What roadblocks can, without A rather sketchy outline is given of lance, trusts are still mismanaged? Why detriment, be removed and procedural the early history of trusts and their regu- ---------- - ....... . lation. It would have been of more than just passing interest to know how and for what esoteric objects charities were cre ­ ated in the past, especially as Dadrawala People are not aware of the onerous responsibilities of being a trustee puses of these trusts at only two per cent more, an income of 5.28 lakhs can be gen ­ erated. ” Has the picture changed for the better since the study? It would appear not. Par ­ sis are not what they were either in num ­ bers or in economic strength. Dadrawala can, most definitely, help institute a change in this by succinct advice ad- 1 dressed to ailing and inoperative trusts so that the needs and wants of the commu ­ nity can be better met, a suggestion which can perhaps be taken into account when this handbook is expanded into a book. Two very important questions are dealt mitted only if there is misappropriation of with, but all too briefly: the amalgamation the trust property — the terms of a trust of trusts when they cannot function inde- must be scrupulously carried out. Relevant sections from other laws as jects when the original ones have failed. needed to rescue a fond from lying fallow Act, are there, put in a nutshell. and becoming, on this account, eventually People who wish to create a trust will moribund. This would certainly have fur- ~ ' thered the cause of the Centre for Ad- picture would have been more complete vancement of Philanthropy under whose aegis this book is written. From a person like Mr Dadrawala, so steeped in the cause of trusts, readers may have liked to know how people could ting up and managing a trust, particularly i‘ the encounters with officialdom. Why is be further encouraged to set up trusts, it that despite the many rules, regulations. What incentives could take them down returns, checks, inspections and surveil- in many cases do trustees permit trusts to simplifications instituted so that the social needlessly pay taxes or not get the best conscience of people is roused for the return on their investments? common good and charity is made a way In a study done on Parsi trusts some of life? After all, “charity never faileth ” years ago by Hormazdyar Dalal and Dr is the Biblical aphorism. 106 Parsiana March 19921 The fragrance of truth Hormazdyar S. Dalal Parimal by Bejon Desai. Published by Navaz Rustomji Desai. Publications. Available at N. M. Tripathi Pvt Ltd, Shamaldas Gandhi Marg, Bombay 400002 or Ashram Road, Ahmedabad. Pp: IX 168. Price: Rs 90. nimity. The painful events taught Desai to value truth, led him successfully to the path of knowledge, and thence to spiritual learning. Once, the Desai family was affluent, but Bejon was not fortunate enough to enjoy the fruits. He with his mother had to face pecuniary hardships. Two anxious days and nights had to be spent by this young boy seeking ways and means to raise Rs 15 for his matriculation examina ­ tion fees. Unknown to him, they were providentially paid by the family priest. With such lessons in generosity, Bejon came to Bombay, in quest of fur ­ ther toowledge at St Xavier ’s College. Six years of university life helped him cultivate his interest in the languages — The jvesent generation has achieved Gujarati, Prakrit, Sanskrit and Avesta- much in the last 50 years or so, but has Pahlavi. Also, it brought him in touch lost the values of life. Bejon Desai ’s with Dr Irach Taraporevala, Behramgore Parimal is a pointer to this loss. • - - - — A collection of 40 essays in Gujarati, Parimal recounts the personal experi ­ ences of a child-like, honest man. It is not _ __________ ___ _____ _______ a catalogue of mere names of personal!- lUce Sant Muktanandji who taught him t' ----------------------- *¦* *-------- Desai but a bouquet of goodness, human- (Best Compliments (from Anklesaria, Jamshed Unvala and many other Zoroastrian scholars. More important, it cleared the way for acquaintance with enlightened masters ties or holy men who have influenced that “the thinp'oftfiis worid^merely Desai but a bouquet of goodness, human- tempt us but lead us nowhere. ” Swami ness and other higher qualities he has Gangeshwaranandji taught him to value imbibed from them. Its fragrance — Pari- devotion: learn to renounce and (you) will /Mfl/ — wafts through (xie’s senses, fw jjg able to make better use of the gifts of those who care to enjoy it - ¦ As an educationist and former princi- ______________________________ pal of Boys ’ Town Public School, Nasik, but to be free from the desires of life is n God. “To decide to renounce is one thing, . . . -------- --- _— ________ -J Desai is well-known. But, his friends the ultimate truth, ” said Shankracharya know him better as a gazalkar, a poet He of Dwarka whom Desai had met. Mataji I Anandmayi whose sermons he at- H tended once said, “Man like the n fish ever lives in the divine waters of life, still he fails to know the E Brahma. Not even an effort is H made to know Him.” Bejon trans ­ lated such sermons into life. His guru Kaniu Baba guided I him to control anger. “Be humble 1 in life ” was his message. The same lesson he learned from the selfless spirit. Jamshed Mehta of Karachi. This saintly being advised him “not to complain against injustice. ” “Do not misuse power, ” was another advice Baba gave Desai when he was to take began writing poems at a very tender age, charge of Boys ’ Town. Other moral tales encouraged by his teachers. like those of Buzurgcheher jor Hazrat Ali Those who sought to build his charac- have had an influence on Desai also. ter would punish him severely, at times . No mortal soul is above trials and brutally. It was not for commission of tribulations, not even the saints. Shri crimes or for dereliction of duties, but for Raman Maharshi or Ramakrishna Par ­ raising doubts, for questioning... The eld ­ ers were however honest enough to apolo ­ gize for their weaknesses. Essays 2, 19 tion that constantly plays on his mind is and 23 are fine examples of such magna- I i if55 Dadasheb Potnis releasing Parimal by Desai (far left) Photo: New Bains studio t09 Parsiana March 1992 1 amhans were the victims of cancer. Why not, then, a Bejon Desai? Thus a ques- “Who am I?” * * * A ^dl-l^isher ¦ f I j f t t I’i ii i MILESTONES I I 1 The age of Zoroastrian brides — as listed in this issue — ranged between 22 and 32 years, the arithmetic mean (the total number of individual ages di­ vided by the total number of brides) teing 25 years. The cor­ responding figures for the grooms were 23 and 40 years, averaging at 29. There wer# 28 births in Bombay in the month of Febru­ ary as per the list from four hos­ pitals. Of the 92 2^oastrians who died in Bombay, 27 suc­ cumbed to heart disease, seven of whom were above the age of 80. The other killers were old age and general debility (10), pneumonia and lung disease (nine) and cancer (six). Four patients each fell prey to acci­ dents, brain disease and hyper­ tension; three to stroke; and two patients each to bronchitis, diabetes, asthma, tuberculosis, liver disease and hypovolumic shock (sudden fall in blood sup­ ply). The isolated cases regis- tCT^ last month were: gastro-in­ testinal bleeding, osteoporosis (loss of bone density due to ex­ cessive absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the bone), sqiticemia, ddiydration, arthri­ tis, acidity, atherosclerosis (deposition of fatty substances in die arteries), anorexia (loss of acidity, AGRA Married Jenn^er Pesi Kaka and Porus Hosang Debara on February 22,1992 AHMEDNAGAR Born A boy, Zeyn, to Mani and Rustom Kermani-, November 13, 1991 BOMBAY Born A boy to Fenin and Rohin Kongo-, February 1, 1992 A girl to Frenny and Zerxis Lokdawollo-, February 1 A girl to Lily and Rustom Koroi; February 2 A girl to Pervin and Vistasp or disease, appetite), angina (sense of suffocation or constriction), Parkinson’s disease, tumor, haemonhage and uremia. A 36- year-old youth was also lost to the community. In the case of one death, the coroner’s report was still pending. The youngest age at death was four months as compared to the oldest: 98 years. The data on births, marriages and deaths has bear compiled from information supplied by various newsletters and anju­ mans in India and abroad, courts and hospitals. This information is not always complete or con­ sistent. For example, the birth figures for Bombay are supplied by four hospitals; births in sub­ urban hospitals and nursing homes are not included unless individuals send us information together with a copy of the birth certificate. In the breakup of deaths according to illnesses, especially of the elderly, death is often due to a combination of several diseases. If readers have any births/ marriages/deaths they would like published, some proof to ensure the veracity of the report would be required. We are sure our readers would appreciate this requirement and cooperate with us. Si^oriwoUo-, February 3 A girl to Ffeny and Gev Jabulee', February 3 A girl to Tonaz and Lokesh Koul-, February 4 A girl to Aban and Percy Domomo-, February 5 A girl to Roshna aM Soli Desoi; February 5 A girl to Farida and Jamshed Hodiwala-, February 5 A girl to Nilufer arid Peter Fernandes-, February 8 A girl to Silloo and Aspi Irani-, February 8 A boy to Firuzeh and Kaikhushroo Vacha-, February 8 A girl to Dinaz and RoUnton Dastoor, February 11 A boy to Jeroo and Kayumars Mehta-, February 11 A girl to Behroze and Adi Gara; February 12 A girl to Behroze and Kersi Nazer, February 12 A boy to Azarmi and Sam Billimoria; February 14 A girl to Pervin and Noshir Daruwalla; February 14 A boy to Taruiz and Neville Shroff; February 14 A girl to Farida and Navroze Nanavaty-, February 15 A boy, Hormuzd, to Khurshid and Mahiar Panthaki; February 16 A girl to Farida and Dinyar Damania; February 20 A girl to Zenobia and Meher­ nosh Karkaria; February 20 A girl, Shara, to Huzan and Rustom Sethna, sister to Kyrus; February 21 A boy to Nilotffer and Jehangir Shroff, February 23 A boy to Daisy mid Cyrus Patel; February 24 A boy to Roshni and Pahali Sumariwalla; February 24 A girl to Veera and Farokh Bhot; February 28 Married Havovi Faredoon Mobed- jina and Rohinton Behram Bharucha-, December 29, 1991 Amy Hoshi Merchant and Urvaksh Naval Hoyvoy, January 12, 1992 Dilruzvaz Rusi Pithawala and Rohinton Nariman Jamshedwala-, January 19 Maharukh Sorabji Kasad and Mehernosh Phirozshaw Billimoria-, January 27 Shirin Noshir Choksy of Baroda and Farokh Cawas Poonawalla; January 28 Tuli Dadi Patell and Zubin Rusi Sethna of Georgia, USA; January 31 Bakhtavar Keki Khambata and Darius Minoo Katrak-, February 4 Daisy Jal Dharanyturiwalla and Kersi Dara Bhadha-, February 6 Shirin Ardeshir Chhapgar of New Delhi and Marazban Nariman Zaiwalla.-, February 7 Zeruibia Farrokh Dtdal and Firdosh Sohrab Babara-, February 9 Maruzheh Kekhosro Goshtasebi Hasanabadi of Poona and Shidirukh Sohrab Irani; February 9 Goobun Minoo Pardiwalla and Barjor Dorab Mevawala; February 9 Oofrbh Erachshaw Bhathena and Vbtasp Dhunjishaw Contractor; February 10 Pervin Cavas Bhaisa and Hosidar Shi^focv Daji; February 10 Rasna Pestonjee Degamwala of Bulsar and Rohinton Jalejar Medhora; February 11 Roshni Homi Bhivimdiwalla and Hormazd Parvez Sanga-, February 13 Vabiz Dali Sadri and Darayas Pesi Dastoor; February 14 Persb Kersi Dhondy and Dinshaw Hoshang Bilimoria; Februiry 15 Naznin Faramroze Khambata and Sharukh Dorabshaw Govadia-, February 16 Parvin Hormusji Pithawala of Surat and Jahabux Dhunjisha Dumasia of Surat; Febnury 17 Dilshad Framroze Patel and Firoz Noshir Behramkamdin; February 18 Susan Jehai^ir Dotmasia and Darayus Burjor Dastur; February 20 Roshcm Jehanbux Tavadia and Khurshed Erach Bacha; February 21 Rashna Noshir Byramji and Sorab Rotan P2 Died Soli Pestonji Bulsara’ , December 5, 1991 Hilla Jamshed Tangree, mother of Tduni Bilimoria, Beroze Bilimoria and Shenaz Dut; February 4,1992 Rusi Burjorji Gimi, husband of Zarin and father of Freny Daroga, Prochy Meua and Tehnaz Bahadurji; February 21 Ardeshir Hormusji Sabawalla, husband of Jalamai and father of Soli and Mini; February 29 KANPUR Died Aran Dastoor of Calcutta, wife of Jehangir and mother of Yezdezard, Tehnaz and Kaikhushroo; January 20 NAGPUR Died Tehmi Navroji Bhathena; Janatay 14 POONA Died Katty Keki Irani (62), 895, Synagogue St, 411001; January 7 Noshir Ardeshir Press (84), 952, Nana Peth, 411002; January 9 Khodadad Boman Irani (78), 880, Boottee St, 411001; January 11 Framroze Sorabjee GtuiswaUa (70), 14, Mody Clny, 411001; January 31 GooZbonoo Framroze Jijina (iO!), 514, Nalini Apts, Sholqnir Rd, 411001; February 3 Sorabji Fakirji Jdchi (Tl), 1939, West St, 411001; February 5 .Meher Jehangir Pavri (91), 850, Dastur Meher Rd, 411001; February 17 SURAT Died Banubai Pirojshaw Bhathena f94), Popat Mohallo, Nar^ura, 395001; February 3 Dinshaw Pallonji Bodhanwala (83), Unwalla Bldg, Nanpura, 395D01; February 3 Hillamai Naoroji Lashkari (79), Gaurang Apt, Naiqmra, 395001; February 13 Doll^^fen Doshabhai Tadiwala (70), Bungalow No 8, Vrindavan Society, Athwalines, 395001; February 18 Jerbanu Jamshedji Turel (68), Turelwadi, Saiyedpura, 395003; February 26 CAUFOBNIA Married Bakhlawar Elavia and Rayomand Bhadha’ , December 28, 1991 CHICAGO Bom A girl, Tina, to Munira and Farrokh Siganporia, sister to Farrah; February 7, 1992 A boy, Justin, to Patty and Farahunand Kadkhodtuan, brother to Armand; February 8 KARACHI Bora A girl, Farizeh, to Shirin and Mazditar Ogra’, Sq)tember 22,1991 A girl, Natasha, to A^azneen and Percy Bharudur, Nov«(nb« 12 A girl, Zora, to Kashmira and Freydun Bhader', November 14 A boy, Timur, to Tenoz and Aspandiyar Mimvalla', November 26 A girl, Nasha, to Niloufer and Adil Mavalwalla", December 12 A girl, Anushae, to Kermin and Soli Parakh-, Dumber 17 Married Tushnameuty Aspi Trombaywala and Jamshed Mirtwalloi September 12 Rukshana Jamshed Bhapoo and Aspi Dinshaw Charna, September 19 Delara Sam Jamasji and Sheryar Minoo Hirjikaka-, Octoba 23 Merengiz Iraru and Hoshang Irani-, October 25 AnUa FaredunfMistry and Sovak J. Meherhomji; November 11 Anita Faram Karanjia and Rustom Noshir Asli-, Deceipber 16 Shirin Behram Kavasji and Rayomand Hoshedar Kotwal-, De^mber 19 Armin Jimi Mobed and Yazdi Jimi Mehta-, December 26 Shernun Polad and Cyrus Nodiirwan Cowasjee-, December 27 Sonita Lawyer, dihighter of Zarin and Hoshang, and Rustom Amaria, sen of Lily and Pesi; January 30, 1992 L J s Died Jer Piroshah Lawyer (78); December 31, 1991 I PENNSYLVANIA Bora A girl, Freny, to Lily and A^i Dastur, January 30, 1992 I •J s CORRECTION A boy, Misharr, was bom to Binatfer and Rusi Rutnagar on December Tl, 1991. The father’s name was mistakenly printed as A spi in Parsiana, ]aaaaiyl992. The error is re­ gretted. I I s'* -----------hM-W®’’’"m-II’® ft TOTALS (for this issue) Born: Boys 14, Girls 27 Married: Parsi 40 Intercommunal 1 Died: 112 ft Compiled by Roxana A. Nfiiza 116 Parsiana March 1992