Jul 1998

t I .* .¦ -:s 1 I- ¦f -- 5 r' t f 9«35flS^& I it ’ ?» • ' -•ix.' W.f/s’-./iV.’i % /xW 1,^ J ¦it5niwiiii*ittm& - ------------ y ¦?SI >•> «• ¦-f A.- g i. t- f \*-=SBS.'i. aMBT^U - -J— ’yi • _ fW^ ¦5^' J, I 0; M.ii.iii'ii.ViUl rfAMseiaffi ¦N Petit - ¦?JI •‘‘^^- mBBE. ——— •** ^’Si Bf- -'^•'5 ¦/ /'¦' ¦ r'- feiO- G ;-4.. : % July-August 1998 Volume 21 Number 1 I? £¦ EDITOR Jehangir R. Patel MANAGING EDITOR Arnavaz S. Mama EXECUTIVE EDITOR Parinaz M. Gandhi SENIOR EDITORS Dina K. Mehta, Hilla P. Guzder ASSOCIATE EDITOR Roxana A. Driver DESIGN Kranti M. Shilotri, Nivedita S. Dhotre MARKETING DIRECTOR Veera Patel ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE Susan Hadvaid FINANCE B. L. Arora MANAGEMENT Jasmine Driver DTP Bakhtavar R. Batliwalla, K. P. Ravi SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER Khurshid Panthaki ASSISTANT SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER Swarupa Kamat ACCOUNTANT Anagha Korde ASSISTANT ACCOUNTANT Varsha Godbole ACCOUNTS ASSISTANTS Indu Pillai, Satwant Kaur OFFICE ASSISTANTS Umesh Poojary, Selvan Mark, Sunil Sakhare, Govind Salgaonkar, Mahipat Jadhav Parsiana is edited and published by Jehangir R. Patel for Parsiana Publications Pvt Ltd at C/o H. L. Rochat, K. K. (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. Processing: Comart Lithographers and Tricolour. All rights reserved. ISSN: 0971-3786. Phone: 2078730, 2072624. Fax: 2074541. For editorial enquiries: 2078183. E-mail: parvo@giasbm01.vsnl.net.in For subscription enquiries and payments: C/o Kaiser-E-Hind Pvt Ltd, 300 Perin Nariman St (Behind Resen/e Bank of India), Bombay 400001. Phone: 2658619,2665661. Fax: 2654585. 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Cheques and drafts are to be drawn in favor of Parsiana and posted to GPO Box 892, Bombay 400001. 2 Readers’ Forum 18 Events and Personalities i 34 Zoroastrians Abroad 44 The BPP trustees and their electors by Arnavaz Mama 50 HPY: “Your brain is your super computer” by Hilla Guzder 57 Prof John Hinnells and Zoroastrian migrations 66 Udvada: Carrying life to the soul by Sarosh Bana 73 Teaching the Zarathushtrian religion by Malcolm Deboo f 78 Remembering Sir Jamshedji Duggan by Capt Hormazdiar Desai i- 82 The shrinking sudreh by Curset Patel 84 Dating Zarathushtra by Sarosh Manekshaw 4' * < 92 A place for the Prophet I 100 Rusi Banker: Built to scale t 104 J. N. Petit institute: A library legend by Parinaz Gandhi i 112 116 K. R. Cama Oriental Institute: One location, many voices Pand Namah: “Listen attentively. Then I can teach” 140 19th century Gujarat Parsis: Near and yet apart - 3 152 Behind the screens by B. K. Karanjia 164 Of patia and papri recipes by Dr Katy Dalal 176 Books 188 Milestones 198 In Memoriam: Sir Dinshaw Petit Cover: Stained glass window panels at the J. N. Petit Institute in Bombay if READERS’ FORUM t------------------------- ¦¦¦ Ml 1 r ters, observed Capt Hormazdiar Desai a founder of the National Associatioi for the Blind, in his keynote,_gddress urging the union and state government to sanction liberal grants for this put® pose. B Yet another project that the instituB is pursuing is the building of a hostel f(S the blind at a cost of Rs 55 lakhs, ad® the release. It is meant to accommodat^B 54 blind persons from the rural area® who have found gainful employment i^y Nariman Sahukar Charity Trust wh® had earlier contributed one lakh rupee® donated a further sum of three lal^K rupees for the proposed hostel, accor^f, ing to the press release. B' Unveiled in court S A portrait of the ‘Advocate of the teiO' ¦ ’i*'1 % J At the unveiling of A. Katrak’s portrait (from left) Bobhate,Sorah Irani, Vimala Dalal, Adi Bhesania,Dosa Dhapla and M. Katrak poor ones. Mistry adding value ft r “He was a As area manager for South Asia aifl| executive vice president at McCanift Erickson (M-E) Asia-Pacific, SoraF^ Mistry ’s area of influence will noi extend to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sft Lanka and Nepal, it was reported in thft Adverti.sing Age International, May 1ft. 1998. For the last three years he hft* been functioning as president and chifft 7^ executive officer of the newly estaft' ' - lished McCann-Erickson India durinft which time the agency was able ft ¦' report an increase in billing from Rs 2ft crore to Rs 200 crore and an improve®,- ment in agency ranking from No 18ft,. No 8, as notes the press release. ft “Sorab ’s accomplishments on bcK half of our clients in India are trulft. remarkable (and) we are delighted to bft : able to expand his responsibilities,'ft Marcio Moreira, vice-chairman of M-ft. Worldwide and Asia-Pacific regionft. director was quoted in the /IdverZijiflft 1 re- 4‘ ® most re- I ,3 spected mcm- I ber of our I Bar... noble of j I heart... very * I pious and re- HH ligious. ” Ka- |H|i ria recalled Hl that Katrak was active in the country ’s freedom struggle. Sunil Samani, a member of the man ­ aging council of the Association, grate ­ fully acknowledged a donation of Rs 15,000 made to the Association by Manckbai, the advocate ’.s widow, who along with her family and Katrak ’.s junior Shridhar Bobhate were present al I i ‘ J I I - ants ’ Ardeshir M. Katrak was unveiled at the Bombay Small Causes Court by the function, the Chief Judge R. R. Gandhi on June 25 in the presence of judges and advo ­ cates of the Court. G. T. Karia, president of the Bombay Advocates ’ Association referred to the numerous cases Katrak had taken up on behalf of the tenants, especially the Another noted lawyer of the Small Causes Court Adi Ripon Daruvala was Age. “I am looking forward to contril felicitated by the Bombay Advocates ’ Association on completing 50 years at uting to the success of my colleague®. ______,____„ - - ,_____ across South Asia. This is all abow the Bar. Daruvala had requested the bringing added value to the table, botij|. function be kept private with only mem ­ bers of the Bar present. ’ f ’I to client relationships and to the agen ­ cies themselves, ” stated Mistry a-^ pet ‘f f 1 ar. 1 ¦' '1 ’ ? S". Burjor Framji 20 Parsiana July-August 1998 & Company Licensed Plumbers Sanitary & Drainage Contractors Marine Mansion, 1st Marine Street, Bombay 400002 Tel: 2083207 4 » tJ< ri * t IL I 4^ K; ¦ ¦ J s. ¦’iI' 3 i ,4he press release. “I want McCann to lead on three fronts — consumer in ­ sight, creativity and un ­ derstanding the fact that in India the medium is as important as the mes ­ sage, ” mentioned Mistry in an interview with Sun­ day Mid-Day, May 17 1998. Following an open management policy. Mistry has been stress ­ ing on moral leadership and integrity. He abol- ished titles for middle- Mistry: moral leadership level managers and be ­ low last year which could have led to an exodus but “people stuck around be ­ cause they knew this was the place to grow, ” explained Mistry. Forty-six-year-old Mistry had joined M-E in Tehran p- — — ___ ; m 1973 following his graduation from ; was , was a S' i India a,s executive vice president. Last year __________ ___ dropped M-E in favor of place it within the top five medi^TpHyl hnttrn T o .. u.., couutry, ” stated a write-up ii|: The Economic Times of June 17, 1998 f “This move obviously preempts the expected arrival of MindShare here: the ' world ’s largest media buying and plan ­ ning company, ” adds the article quot-i : ing Mistry, “The media scene is chang-i . Coke for media buying in India. “To be chris® ' tened InterMedia, the unit ’s combine® Rs 350 crore billings for this year will Chaitra Leo Burnett but, as reported in Business India, June 1-14, 1998, “The loss of Coke has been more or less made 1 up with its new clients. I Post-Coke it has picked I up the Rs 40 crore Reckitt ______ , I mid Colman account, the charge of the situation since the lead f ers in the country, ” stated a write-up i< ing significantly. We decided to take I R.s 15 crore Perfetti ac ­ count, the Rs 12 crore Ponds ’ Vaseline ac ­ count, the Rs 10 crore Motorola account, and Launching a lager the Microsoft, Dabur and L’Oreal ac- / ¦ • ¦ •'P - players aren ’t doing so and to preempi !• the market. This will make us a force to F reckon with. ” - f Attractively displayed spirals of the assffl counts which add up Io another Rs 16 golden brew in king cans and ambe, f more...It is today the fastest growing bottles welcomed the invitees to thfi f agency aiiioiig the top 10, galloping cool confines oftheTaj Ballroom. Brew( f along at 53.8 percent compared to the ing an international partnership witit xronrXAc ‘ Migucl Corporatiou was thd t q rwon several creative awards Bombay-based Associated Breweries | ciore...It is today the fastest growing bottles welcomed the invitees to the as management trainee industry average of 22.5 percent. ” This ri (T 1 1' rrvn ^4 ¦ . t I'_ _ _ * including the coveted Gold Abby for the best television commercial, notes the press release. Mistry ’s recent strategy was to ce ­ ment a 50;50 joint venture with Enter- piise-Nexus (part of the Lowe group) Bombay ’s St Xavier ’s College. He later transferred to M-E London, with JWT in Toronto, Canada for decade, and returned to M-E as vice president in charge of the Coca-Cola account in Canada before coming to San Miguel Corporation was th« and Distilleries Private Limited (ABD) which is, according to tHfeir companj! profile, the only brewery in the worltS owned and managed by women. ThJ three gracious ladies, Mehroo Irani* with daughters Zinia Lawyer ant* ZORO GARMENTS PRIVATE LIMITED (An Eligible Export House Recognised by the Govt, of India) Manufacturers and Exporters of Readymade Garments, Made-Ups & Fabrics DU ^<^4 — tetiiat5.3% — lh^lS.2% WWM [riiflte, Genwaiy 15.0% — 5w»z((ia)ii ¦¦¦I &««« 14.8% ¦¦ S|)!bI4.1% ¦I finlond 13.9% ¦I li««4«ji,Biil8irti1X8% ¦ HungoiYll7% ¦ P«t^13.8% I NeltiMunds 13.2% Ji^f24% USA 12.8% 'Number of over 65 year olds per 100 people of working oge 1871 1880..........9.3 1890 .. 1900 .. 1910 .. 1925 .. 1939 .. 1950 .. 1960 .... 19.3 .24.6 .26.9 .23.6 .24.7 8.9 10.2 .9.6 .9.8 10.0 13.0 16.3 1970 .. 1980 .. 1990 .. 1995 .. 2000 .... 25.7 2010 2020 .... 35.1 ... 46.8 ... 56.2 2030 . 2040 . 32.2 ,1 average age of the population. Similar was the life expectancy at birth among Parsis in Bombay in 1997, averaging at 75 years. “When life expectancy within birth rate, the population pyramid be ­ gins to distort, gradually becoming top ­ heavy, ” reminds the author.f % With best wishes from Farah & i Tanya nition of “an NGO in special consulta ­ tive status with the Economic and So ­ cial Council of the United Nations. ” “He cannot be described, he is an experience, ” maintains Batliwalaof his guru. Referring to his master ’s percep ­ tions of others ’ needs, Batliwala cites a recent example when his father Yezdi was very ill at home. To the chagrin of his mother who was complaining that he was neglecting his family, Batliwala mentally beseeched his guru to take care of his father while he set out to conduct one of his courses. On his re ­ turn, his father ’s health had yet not improved. Just when they were con ­ templating shifting him to a hospital there was an oversea.s call from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar enquiring after Yezdi ’s health and assuring the family that his condition would improve in the next 15 minutes. And it did so happen, relates a grateful son who i.s happy to have “felt guruji ’s hand; to know that there is someone to take care of you. ” In the words of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, “There are only two choices; cither we can be grumbling in the mind or we can be grateful...Prayer is being grateful for all that has been bestowed on you. ” Whether it is Zarathushtra or Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, they ’re both the same, says Batliwala except that one is still alive and can be reached on the phone. “The satisfaction from talking to him is different, ” otherwise “my Zoroastrian values have enhanced and the spirituality inherent in the religion has become more meaningful. ” Similar has been the expe ­ rience of his other Zoroastrian partici ­ pants too. When they pray, when they go to the fire-temple, they are much more sensitive to the vibrations. Now that he has turned a vegetarian as has also his entire family, including his dog, by choice, he is surprised how a peace- loving religion like Zoroastrianism could have non-vegetarian votaries. On this self undertaken mission Batliwala feels “a lot of satisfaction in teaching people something so precious. ” The honorarium that he receives from the ashram is sufficient to meet his needs which are not many. In his spare time he play.s the piano and also teaches maths which was the subject of his specializa ­ tion at the IIT. He is surprised therefore when his associates ask him, “What is your mission in life? ” As far as he is concerned, “I am already living it. ” There something so real in the taste of life t 50 Parsiana July-August 1998 pioneering pediatric surgeon, the dean of Sion Hospital who looks like a che ­ rubic 21-year-old! ” Referring wadia as “ the first name and last word in surgery, ” Tirandaz had no doubt that if he himself were to be operated upon, he would “choose Udwadia from any sur ­ geon in the world! ” In her address, Deshmukh declared, “My presence here shows how much I love the Parsis and how muefrthey love me as they have invited me. ” To the assembled students, she counselled, “Marks are not important to be a good human being. It is the way you behave with people that makes you a good human being. In this computer age, your brain is your super computer, so utilize it prop ­ school life, the adolescents participate erly. Choose your profession carefully in a gamut of enjoyable activities ran^ ing from a fashion show, talent contest, dramatics, elocution and essay competi ­ tions to more serious talks on career options, lectures on Zoroastrianism, ap ­ titude tests, etc. Games like football, cricket and throwball foster team spirit and healthy competition, while the children ’s social conscience is jogged ig- 'g to Ud- and practice it with devotion. May you be ;ranted a ready hand and a watchful eye. ” “As a schoolboy, I was more inter ­ ested in athletics rather than arithmetic. When I passed my SSC, the results of student counselling showed that I could become a surgeon, pilot or author! ” Udwadia recalled. Though he did be ­ come a surgeon, the strange part was, he gl% said, that he took up flying and writing years later! Encouraging the teenagers not to be daunted by failure, Udwadia narrated stories of how even great men often failed at first. “Churchill failed in history in school, yet he made history... the great runner Jesse Owens as a child suffered from scurvy, rickets and bow legs. ” Udwadia advised parents not to hassle their children for higher marks and to spend more time with them on holidays. “I strongly believe in the strength, future and youth of our com- At the inaugural: Lto R(top row) Deshniukh, D. Marfatia, Chubb; (middle row) Tirandaz and Udwadia, Driver receiving a floral tribute with Tamboly and Kavarana alongside; (bottom row) a view of the audience, munity. Our Ashem Vohu prayer tells us that righteousness is its own reward. Such a religion will always rise. You carry the genes of Darius and Cyrus the Great, Dadabhai Naoroji, Jainshetji Tata, Honii Bhabha and many others... The Parsi community will be more than Deshmukh and Taleyarkhan with fulfilled in your hands. ” “Some of us see, but never look, hear but never listen...You have had a tough last two years in school. You will now become a number, a roll call, not a name in college. Accept your freedom with speaking on behalf of the heads of par- Marfatia at center Photos: C.C. Gandevia responsibility, tolerance and understand ­ ing, ” prescribed Bapsy Chubb, princi ­ pal of Cumballa Hill High School, 52 Parsiana July-August 1998< I pealed applause from the students and a At the valedictory function: Lto R (top row) Mistry with proud winners Dadinath and Mistree and Irani and P. Marfatia ; (middle row) Guzder congratulating Bharucha and Sachinvala, with Panthaky at left; (bottom row) Modi, Shroff and Sharma Photos: C.C. Gandevia * licipating schools. Cheers greeted master of ceremonies golden memento of appreciation from Guzder, recorded her 12th year with HPY, the first two years as facilitator, the next 10 as coordinator. Anupama Sharma, as ­ sisting Marfatia for the first time as coor ­ dinator, commended Marfatia ’s “caliber, stamina and seniority. ” Dr Mehroo Priya Bhujwala ’s announcement that the BJPCI, which already had ajunior col lege in commerce and electronic science, would start a senior college in the commerce stream from June ’98. The principal of BJPCI, Roshen Driver was also com- _ mended for her continued support to HPY, Bengalee and Rus tom Anklesaria (former as the program was being conducted in the spacious heritage precincts of the In ­ stitution for the third year in succession. The ever efficient and popular Marfatia, who received warni and the beginning, the person in the back ­ ground, ” lauded Tirandaz) being on the organizing committee with the coordina ­ tors and co-organizers. Lending support with their presence at the program were BPP trustees Silloo Kavarana, Dinshaw Tamboly, Dinshaw Mehta and Dadi En ­ gineer. Marfatia accorded special apprecia ­ tion to the “head, heart and hands of HPY” — its co-organizers, ex-HPYites o' re- BPP trustee and chief executive respec ­ tively) were the architects of HPY, stated _____ Sharma, and the BPP is its backbone, with Bhujwala, Khorram Siodia, Fabian piesent chief executive Behram Laskari Panthaky and Vinifer Gandhi who were and joint secretary Sheroo Master (“from continued on page J 02 54 Parsiana July-August 1998SCHOLARSHIP People are more religious after they migrate ” Researcher and historian Prof John Hinnells speaks of the varying perceptions of Zoroastrians around the world Arnavaz S. Mama readiness for change and innovation as reflected in the Bombay Parsi Punchayet ’.s (BPP) housing and coun ­ seling projects to meet the “fear of assimilation ” in India. A preoccupation with the question of identity i.s “inevitable ” when a community is di ­ minishing: “When there is a perception of being un ­ der threat, it i.s important to know what you stand for, ” notes the professor. More than at any other time in the world, it has become a global phenomenon due to migrations and “Parsis are not the only people to feel threatened by the Ameri ­ can melting pot. The issue is a big one for Jews ” and in England, for the Scots and the Irish. “Identity is becoming a bigger issue as people mix, mingle and migrate. It must be seen on a wider setting, ” he advises. He refers to the dramatic speed of technological change in recent years which has made people everywhere feel insecure. For the Parsis, there is the addi ­ tional change in milieu from British raj to republican India. Hinnells says, “Many Parsis feel they are no longer as influen ­ tial, rich or dynamic. People feel vulner ­ able, insecure. ” Added to that i.s the ceptions with those of their earlier stay “perceived threat to numbers. ” But in India, Hinnells refers to the 19th Hinnells sees a strand of optimism. “A century as the age of great Parsi confi ­ number of people feel secure in the In ­ dian environment. ” An impression has been gaining ground over the past 15-20 years that the Bombay community is a Originally a New Testament specialist whose first love was football, John Hinnells set out to do his PhD thesis on the Zoroastrian influence on Biblical imagery at London University. “I en ­ joyed the Zoroastrians so much. I never got round to the Biblical bit," he laughs. Since then the peripatetic professorhas become the Zoroastrian community ’s most diligent chronicler, historian, favor ­ ite speaker and friend. He could have assumed the role of a messiah but has deter ­ minedly stopped short: “Not for me as an outsider to say... ” is an oft repeated phrase when he feels he is being drawn into commu- riiiinell.w "found Parxis nity controversies. addictive" In Bombay last Janu ­ ary Hinnells gave three lecture.s at the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute. Based on his research for the Katrak Lectures which he gave at Oxford University decade ago, Hinnells spoke from first ­ hand knowledge of the growth of the Parsi diaspora and its contemporary profile. He also gave a lecture under Zoroastrian Studies auspice,s on the Zo ­ roastrian influence on Judaism and Christianity. In the course of his stay, he talked to Parsiana about the community ’s preoccupation with iden ­ tity, the strengths and weaknesses, the educational lacunae and the emerging patterns. He calls the survival of Zoroastrian ­ ism in Iran “one of the great miracles of religious history, ” ascribing it to the community ’s “incredible courage and becomingmorecommercialthanprofes- determination... the strength of Iranian Zoroastrians (in the face of) physical and economic pressures. ” He sees some of those same qualities at play in the been a significant increase in commu ­ nity housing. “1 am told more than 50 percent of Parsis live in charity housin, colonies ” in Bombay. The last census showing an increase of about 6,000 among Parsis in India has also been a source of optimism. “People are feeling more confident about the numbers than they did in the 70s and 80s. ” However, the age struc ­ ture being what it is, “it is inevitable that deaths will outstrip 15irths... (As BPP social worker) Roda Pardivala ’s report implies, all these activities will^ not necessarily overcome the problem. Work pressures, economic consider ­ ations and social life (imply that) wher ­ ever they are. Parsis have small fami ­ lies. This i,s true in Pakistan, America, Britain, Australia. ” Hinnells believes this feature is a part of the process of urbanization and the increase in middle class families. “My hunch is that hav ­ ing Parsi baugs is more likely to pre ­ serve tradition. ” These provide a “sup ­ port mechanism of living as a group. ” He contrasts the situation in Bombay with that of Zoroastrians in North America who are so spread out that there can be no support mechanism. “If you live in a big colony, it helps with marriage even though it may not lead to numbers. ” Comparing contemporary Parsi per- Ig- ig 57 Parsiana July-Augusl 1998 sional. The hypothesis is that “The busi ­ ness people are staying — the profes ­ sionals are migrating. ” Also, in the last 15 years there has dcnce. Before that, in pre-British times Parsis felt secure in obscurity, living in relatively small worlds, by and large unthreatened by their Hindu hosts. On the emerging societies of Central Asia, some of whom have claimed Zarathushtrian roots, Hinnells has “no firsthand opinion. ” Though he has heard reports of them he has met none of them I'{ personally and feels that “though their perception of what priesthood is all about. ” He would be willing to orga ­ nize such a course once in three years provided there were enough students — six at a minimum. But he wonders who religion may go back to Zoroastrian ­ ism, it has changed so much that it may be questionable to think so. ” Hinnells equates ritualism to devo ­ tion and feels the commonly used phrase “performing a ritual ” is unfortunate. “If you use ‘offering devotion, ’ it eliminates the unkind connotations, ” he suggests. While in Bombay, Hinnells made a trip to the Athornan Boarding Madressa at Dadar and “was genuinely impressed ” with the boys. How many of them will go into full-time mobedi he is not sure, adding that the religious duties they learn to perform at the Madressa will probably be worth the effort even if none of them become professional priests. Nonetheless there are “more old priests than young priests (which) indicate.s substantial future problems. ” He says some people from North America had enquired if he would put up a course for young mobeds in Lon ­ don which could include a grounding in religious history with emphasis on Zo ­ roastrianism, social and pastoral coun ­ seling and teacher training with psy ­ chology and economics as options. Hinnells found the suggestion interest ­ ing “because it shows the American “When there is a perception of being under threat, it is important to know what you stand for ” would pay for them a.s the British gov ­ ernment would charge overseas student rates for the course. Having studied the variou.s Zoroas ­ trian communitic.s in the diaspora the places like the USA they are scattered first thing that Hinnells stresses i.s how different they are: The futuristic Boston community with its substantial student body has a young female, president. This information produced “gasps in Hong Kong which is dominated by older men. ” In Vancouver there i.s need to balance Iranians and Parsis and there is more harmony now, he says, with its Persian section and SlwhNiinieh classes. He says he “didn ’t detect much tension there. ” Houston has a large contingent of Parsis from Pakistan wlio are more traditional than Parsis from Bombay “perhaps because of Dastur Dhalla ’s religious education network. Religious education in childhood produces a dif ­ ferent mindset. It seems to have equipped them for life in the diaspora, ” notes the professor. He also observes that when people have children they turn to the tradition. “People are typi ­ cally more religious after they migrate than before. How they perceive the priorities of the religion may be differ ­ ent, but the commitment may be very very substantial. ” Zoroastrians live in many more coun- trie.s now than at any time in the religion ’s history, says Hinnells. Inmost since the towns are spread out and the groups are tiny. “There is a critical mass that any group needs to survive. By spreading the jam too thinly you could lose its flavor... Also, in the modern age with its process of globalization, the maintenance of tiny groups in isolation from each other is swipiming against the tide of history, ” he says, suggesting a pooling of resources with the bigger groups like Bombay, London 'and % With compliments from B. B. GARDA & SONS 10 B. J. Road, Poona 411001 58 Parsiana July-August 1998re- Toronto supporting the smaller ones.. For these reasons a world body is “a really good idea ” and Hinnells hopes the community can “harmoniously solve ” what its nature should be. Whereas a need for good educa ­ tional material has been voiced at all the world conferences, there is still a dearth, opines the professor. Apart from Ava Mehta-Jamooji ’s book for chil ­ dren, The story of the religion: Zoroas­ trianism, and Khojeste Mistree ’s A Zo­ roastrian Perspective there are many other poinN of view that have not been session tor tiinnells with the young vu...v.wii.w aic expiessedm readable form —a lacuna people in Sydney. “There were no old shops, over the decades things do that must be tilled ‘ if you are going to people except me, ” recounts Hinnells. ' equip your young people for the chal ­ lenges of the modern world. A knowl ­ edge of history helps. I don ’t know how Zoroastrians are going to preserve their identity if they don ’t know who and what they are... This is especially true tically religious though they of Zoroastrians in the diaspora, ” says one who has “spent (his) career study ­ ing it ” and is sad that “some Zoroastri ­ ans don ’t think their history and reli ­ gion worth studying. ” The curriculum of study would de ­ pend on age and educational levels, says the academician for whom “what iiiatlers even more is quality teaching" for the teacher inspires more than the curriculum. Aware that what is appro ­ priate for a university course may not be so for a community, Hinnells was all praise for the Sunday school teacher in __ __ ____ Houston wheie he attended a class. “I thing... You are not producing enough I’Ve got anything to teach that teacher how to teach! ” That the youths are thirsty to learn became evident when president Noshir Irani of the Australian Zoroastrian As ­ sociation of New South Wales set up a session for Hinnells with the terrible when the argument is so acri ­ monious and verbal fighting so intense that it alienates young people from the community... Putting a pen in the hand of a Parsi is a bigger threat than any- was learning and enjoying. I don ’t think youngsters and you are frightening away “The session began at 7. Dinner was brought in at 9. No one touched it till 12!” What Hinnells has learnt, and loses no opportunity to get across to the com ­ munity, is that the young arc enthusias- J are ac ­ cused of ignoring their religion: “It is heartbreaking when their religiousness is broken by infighting. ” Though Hinnells is sceptical about the orthodox-liberal divide ever being bridged (“I think if it was bridged it would be the first religion to bridge it ”), what ’s important is respecting some ­ body else ’s right to be different. "It's the ones that are! ” The increasing frequency of con ­ gresses and conferences are a positive and welcome development according to this observer. “Meeting people is crucial to any society, ” he says and though “many conferences are talk ­ change... the housing policy in Bombay, the education policy in North America, networks for marriage, quite a bit of interaction about putting up new build ­ ings and prayer-rooms. Even in 25 years much has changed — some of it due to these conferences. ” Asked whether our diminishing com ­ munity could ever bounce back to a positive growth rate Hinnells ’ reaction was a comparison with the Jews: “After the holocaust who would have thought of the state ol Israel and tffat there would be more Jews active and powerful in the US? But there is the question of a critical mass. If you sink fin numbers) below a 1i Progressives 1 1 ' M/ct-, Ao Distance _ - ¦^'®^once i;-' The lens for uninterupted vision at different ranges distance, mid-distance & reading. Progressives are multifocai lenses without the teli-tale lines of bifocals. Progressives need professional care . For the best results come to Baliwalla & Homi. One of the finest optometrists & contact-lens practitioners in the country. Baliwalla & Homi Private Limited ..I, Ftora Fountain: 365, Dr. D.N.Road, Bombay 400 001 Tel: 287 4916, 287 1762 • Dhobi Taiao: 614, J.S. Setb Marg, Bombay 400002. Tel: 201 4906 Parel: J.Merwanji Street, Parel, Bombay 400 012 Tel: 412 6051 60 Parsiana July-August 1998We never take and ------- certain level, extinction becomes prob- S Matheran 410102 Matheran Telephone 021483-0228 Fax 021483-0595 Bombay telephone 3867776 able. If the scattered groups of Zoroastri ­ ans don t pull together... they may not be able to provide the critical mass. ” A student of London University ’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and King ’s College, Kinnells has a tremendous respect for Prof Mary Boyce: “She was the teacher who in ­ spired me. ” He had started to specialize on ancient Zoroastrian material before he started meeting Parsi.s “and found them addictive. ” He says he is still in close touch with long time UK resident Cyrus Mehta, “the first Parsi I ever met. He and hi.s family made a tremendous impression on me. They are really good people, very gentle, very loving, with family values that I could share... I admired his devotion to his religion. ” Currently occupied with writing Volume II of the Katrak Lectures (Vol I was titled Zoroastrians in Britain) Hinnclls is tracing the development of the Zoroastrian communities of Bombay, Karachi, Hong Kong, East Africa, Europe, Canada, USA and Aus ­ tralia through the period 1947-1990. - Having been through their archives, this historical and social science survey he expect,s to complete by Christmas. With compliments from KABRAJEE GARMENTS 15 Ashok Nagar Main Road Kodambakkam Madras 600024 62 Parsiana July-August 1998i 1 TARAPORE & CO Engineers and Contractors Dhun Building, 827, Anna Salai Chennai 600002 Thereafter he hopes to concentrate on a joint project with Dasthr (Dr) Kaikusroo JamaspAsa which began in 1970 — a history of the Parsis in British India. The Hinnells — John and his late wife Marianne who succumbed to cancer two years ago — have two sons. Mark, 31, with a doctorate in environmental policy has a residential post at Oxford Univer ­ sity where he heads a team to look at government policy following the Tokyo summit. Father and son share a love for football, cricket and photography. Duncan, 28, who has just finished his PhD has written his first book for the Oxford University Press on the musician Vaughan Williams and been commis ­ sioned to write another, says his father. Having reached the top of the British academia as part of the SOAS faculty, Hinnclls was considering a change. He had started his career by making his living as a painter and a teacher of art. Now he was thinking in terms of pick ­ ing up drawing and painting again. It wouldn ’t affect his relationship with the Zoroastrian community. “To me Zoroastrians hav5 always been friendly, supportive, ” he says, adding, - “I wish you ’d treat your fellow Zoroas- Irians as you treat me. ” I With Best Compliments From PENOSH 94-A, M. G. Road, Pune 411001 Telephone 645162-65 Fax 645166 64 Parsiana July-August 1998COMMENT Carrying life to the soul To enhance Udvada ’s popularity, efforts are on by the Youth Wing of the World Zoroastrian Organisation Sarosh Bana numbered only 101 and lived in 40 i J... Z.... _ _______ houses. Ot them, 481 were women, 446 fragmented, there never being enough men and the rest children. ’ ' Today, Udvada stands deserted. Hardly a hundred Parsis still live here on a permanent basis. The 1991 census resist. Even the priesthood has been mobeds to perform the myriad ceremo ­ nies the Parsis are known for. Many have sold off their houses and joined their familie.s elsewhere while others, lUnmglll though not living in Udvada, still retain prop- erties that have fallen into disuse and are in urgent need of repair. In an attempt to turn the situati«n around, sev- era! Parsis have suggested . that houses offered for sale in Udvada be pfir- chased by Parsis so that they are retained within the community. Numer- OUS such time-honored properties have been lost to the community be- cause they have been pur- muunuKtsfcv^i chased by non-Parsis as not enough Parsis were informed about such sales. The WZO Youth Wing has listed such houses that are for sale in Udvada which can be purchased by those interested. The newfound wealth oCthe non- , , , . . , . ¦ ------- r-r- ................. Parsi locals, along with the prosperity to have devised a comprehensive Scheduled Castes (SC), 358. The rest generated in recent years by the setting up ot the Gujarat Industrial Develop- in Vapi, 10 km to the south of Udvada, has helped to better the lot of most of the non-Parsi inhabitants. And it is this very opportunity for work that can reha ­ bilitate those Parsis who either live in a total of approximately desperate circumstances in unaffordable 1,700 pupils between them, do not have places like Bombay, or are keen on a single Parsi child on their rolls. Mostly the aged and infirm Parsis ..... ........................... remain in Udvada, a good many of them veyed the prospects of such job unmarried or widowed, their families Far removed from the drudgery of city life, the 1,500-acre coastal village of Udvada stands as a forlorn reminder of the heyday of this minuscule commu ­ nity. Situated 198 km north of Bombay on the southwestern coast of Gujarat, Udvada ap- * pears to have been caught in a time warp, its rustic houses and picturesque alleyways evoking nos ­ talgia of a past when it was a thriving village in ­ habited by so many Parsi families that it boasted i^|q| of three cricket teams aE comprising Parsi youths. A village built around H|| the most venerated shrine of the Parsis, the splendid Iranshah, Ud- vada is in imminent dan- ger of becoming history ¦Bl if it is denied a chance to rejuvenate Udvada’s picturesque alleyway itself and attain some semblance of development that will motivate Parsis to resettle there. The Youth Wing of the World Zoro- exactly half of them men and' halFof I ¦ Photo: Ashvin Mehta registers Udvada ’s population at 5,284, astrian Organisation (WZO), India, has them women. Scheduled Tribes (ST) been concerned enough by this situa- ' - --- - tion I ' scheme to revitalize Udvada which can succeed only if the community ’s sup ­ port and cooperation are forthcoming. We owe at least this much to Udvada, isoi one rarsi oirtti has been re- which is our most sacred pilgrim resort corded here for the last two decades; the and the last real stronghold of Zoroas- - - trianism in India. The clergy (athornans) outstrip the school, with laity (behdins) in number in Udvada In n ''*1 O" ‘heir rolls. making a break with the past and start- sively on ecclesiastical norms. Accord- Mostly the aged and infirm Parsis ing afresh. The Youth Wing has sur- ing to Shapurji Kavasji Hodivala s Pak remain in Udvada, a good many of them veyed the prospects of such j^ob oppor- H^n "i. ‘heir families tunities as well as nearby Elglish me- „ y 1 T. ‘’‘h® ’' ’¦ei^tives having ventured out dium convents and other reputed schools 1927, 1,353 athornans inhabiting 230 t? grcer.cr passes houses in Udvada, while the behdins better pay-packets was too strong to make up 2,357 of the population and comprise Other Backward Castes t, _________ _________ (OBCs) such as tandels, manghelas and nient Corporation (GIDC) complex i shaikhs. Not one Parsi birth has been P. P. Mistry High School and the Zilla Prathmik Shikshak Samiti ’s primary to greener pastures where the lure of that can provide education for the chil ­ dren of those families intent on settling 66 Parsiana July-August 1998 StJ ^8 i 1 1 Preserving the character and ethos of Udvada Photos: Sarosh Bana there. Thus Udvada offers a ready ha ­ ven to those Parsis keen on trying their hand at a new beginning in a whole ­ some environment free of urban en ­ cumbrances. Though a picturesque village, Udvada is in the proximity of Bombay, Valsad, Navsari, Vapi and Dahanu and well connected by rail and road. Daman airport is just 15 km away, closer than Sahar airport is for most Bombayites. A weekend visit of a 14-member fact-finding WZO Youth Wing team to the village on November 29-30, 1997, provided valuable insight into the present outlook of the residents as well as into the prevalent situation. Most of those spoken to were very enthused by the Youth Wing ’s plans and were of the view that something definitely needed to be done for the village before it was too late. Udvada also has immense potential for developing into an affordable resort for retired or homeless Parsis. Indeed, some of the houses on sale may be converted into homes for the aged, though not necessarily for the infirm. The Damanvala dispensary, in good condition, is totally free for Parsis and there are no consultancy fees. For the initial development of Udvada, it is necessary that small-time vocations such as agro-based activities, poultry-farming, gardening and tailor ­ ing be introduced. Also industrial units could be set up by Parsi entrepreneurs in the nearby union territory of Daman, along the highway approaching Udvada, or even in Vapi for that matter, where members of the community can be gain ­ fully employed and housed in the vil ­ lage. One instance of a highly success ­ ful enterprise has been that of young Sarosh Irani and his wife Kashmira who have set up a broiler farm close to the Udvada bazaar. Through dint of hard work and singular commitment, they have proved beyond doubt that this village holds out promise for even the younger folk. The financial plight ofthe local Parsis is pathetic, many of them constrained to subsist on charity. There are also no trained people to look after the aged and the needy. There is scope to provide them with opportunities of livelihood by engaging them in cottage industries such as those encouraged at Bombay ’s Sir Ratan Tata Institute (RTI). A commune may be fashioned out of available property — which can be purchased by a Parsi philanthropist for just such a venture — where the in ­ mates can live together as in a home with boarding facilities and medical care on hand. There their individual skills or interests can find fulfillment in the making and selling of sudreh, kusti, topis, glass and plastic bead torans, chalk boxes, pugrees, daglis as also Parsi foodstuff and confectionery, and simple garments for religious functions and ceremonies. These could be sold to visiting Parsis in order to create em ­ ployment for the locals. One such plot where a commune of this nature can be established is that of King Hotel that once overlooked the beach and now lies entirely dismantled. The owner is Pesi Patel who, living at Baug-e-Iranshah across the plot, is on the lookout for buyers. Apart from King Hotel, Majestic and Regal Hotels too havq^closed down, all three once renowned for their cui ­ sine, service, rustic charm and location. Their plots are up for sale. > An ambitious project called the Vahishtaad Residential Complex is be ­ ing established on a plot of land behind Dastur Baug not far from the Iranshah. The complex will be the first of its kind in this village, boasting of a swimming pool and a club house, five bungalows, five row-houses, three penthouses, as well as 36 flats. This complex too offers an opportunity to those Parsis wishing to shift to Udvada permanently or for holidays. The Youth Wing ’s desire to revive this moribund village is not the first expression of its kind. There have been, and indeed are, large numbers of Parsis both in India and abroad who cherish Udvada ’s return to its past stature so that it can provide a hospitable and liveable environment for those wishing to make this charming village their home. There are many who believe that for a community so intent on sustaining its traditions and character — referrred to in our native Gujarati as Parsipanu — there needs to be at least one settlement identifiable with our religion. The Youth Wing has also proposed occasional entertainment programs for the residents of Udvada as well as the visitors there. Those who can help in putting together such programs are ear- 68 Parsiana My-August 1998 II ! I nestly requested to get in touch with us at the earliest. The WZO Trust Funds have been assisting needy and disabled Parsis in the villages around Navsari and Surat in southern Gujarat for the past many years. There are a number of instances where the Trust has provided interest-free fi ­ nancial support tnw.ards self-employ ­ ment in areas such as transport, poultry farming, cultivation, animal husbandry, flourmills, cycle repairs, forest nurser ­ ies, tea stalls, brick kilns, refrigeration, provision shops, kusti-weaving, elec ­ tric stores, motor garages, and even sugarcane stalls and gobar gas plants. On January 6, 1998, it also inaugurated a home for the aged in Navsari. The Trust has covered 127 villages so far, assisting 283 families living there, and disbursed as much as Rs 1.82 crore up to the end of 1996. If similar assistance were to be pro ­ vided for Udvada, the village would have an excellent chance of survival. Under its mobed welfare program, the Funds at present give Rs 3,000 every quarter to 15 identified priestly fami ­ lies, and Rs 1,500 per head every quar ­ ter to 27 others in Udvada. But all this lequires finance and we Udvada has been extremely gracious in earnestly urge all Parsis in India and offering the WZO Youth Wing part of abroad to please be generous in this cause. Do call on us for further informa ­ tion regarding the areas where your assistance can make a vast difference. Though the Youth Wing intends to be the nodal agency to through, (he effort is stupendous and Udvada has been extremely gracious in his family ’s Kayoji Mirza Hall in the heart of the village as a place for a permanent exhibition on Pak Iranshah and on Udvada. Indeed, Dasturji Mirza has also offered to put on display some see its scheme of his family ’s own priceless heirlooms and other articles for the beneht ol the viewers. We are planning to set up this dis- needs to be supplemented by all like ­ minded person.s within the community. The Youth Wing has a two-pronged play with maximum help from those of you who may have old write-ups, ar ­ ticles, reports, anecdotes, photographs, memorabilia, artefacts, even memories, of Pak Iranshah or of Udvada village that you may have in your possession. Those interested in knowing more about the Udvada Development Pro ­ gramme and in contributing their mite towards making this schem'e successful may please contact Youth Wing mem ­ bers: president Sarosh Bana, 52, Bakhtawar, N. Dabholkar Road, Off Nepean Sea Road, Bombay 400006. (Tel: 3679717), Mancher Karbhary approach: To create the required infra ­ structure, including work, educational, entertainment and residential opportu ­ nities, for the Parsis of Udvada as well as those desirous of settling down there; and to ensure the retention of Parsi- owned properties within the commu ­ nity and help in their maintenance and conservation. With every death of an aged resident and with every rustic house that is pulled down to make way for an apartment block in Udvada, we witness part of a valuable heritage being wiped out be ­ fore our very eyes. And with each such (8570601 or Pager 9622-312420), . ' -------- J Mehernosh Dumasia (4Q13438), Poras edge it toward.s the brink. Saklatwala (2654670) or Parvez Dasturji (Dr) Hormazdyar Mirza of Panthaky (Pager 9622-319221). event, we imperil our own culture and With Compliments From Victory Theatre 2429 Gen Thimayya Road Camp, Pune 411001 70 Parsiana July-August 1998I A VOICE OF CONSCIENCE continued from page 42 In the early hours of March 22, a man broke into my house, came into my spected my camera, put it back. Fid ­ bedroom, and when I sleepily asked who he was and what was happening, with hand held over his mouth, he ordered me to go back to sleep. Switching on my bedside light, I asked why, hav ­ ing awoken me, he now wished me to sleep. He put off the light, hand still over mouth, hoarsely whispered '"Paisa, paisa (money). ” I had none, I said, but he could take whatever pleased him, and depart. Patting his midriff, he threatened, '"Goli inarega, goli marega (I 11 shoot). ” Go Cowasjee: three coincidences within ahead, I told him. An inquisitive man, three weeks ahead, I told him. An inquisitive man, he wanted to know how I eat without money. My money is with my major ­ domo who feeds me. He could go down ­ stairs, and rob him if he could. He then pulled out my telephone wire. He rifled around the room, opening cupboards and drawers. Intrigued by my hat boxes in one cupboard, he wanted to know what they contained. My cer ­ emonial Parsi pugrees, I told him. Take them. In another cupboard were my panama hats. How many hats do you wear, he asked? He fondled the CD player, the VCR, the receiver. He in- The incident was filed away as a hap ­ penstance. Whilst in Islamabad, I narrated this happening to my retired friend, Khan Roedad Khan, the longest-serv- ing interior secretary of our country who glorified that of- " fice for nine years running. Se- cure in his knowledge and giv- ing me a severe look, he told me not to take the matter lightly, it ¦H was an ‘agency ’ intimidation ploy. How ‘unlightly ’ do I take it, I asked? Shall I double my guard and oil my revolver? Back in Karachi, after the March 25 hearing, due once again in the Supreme Court on April 2, when a further lot of ‘stormers ’ were to give their statements, I pre ­ pared a second affidavit attaching addi ­ dling about on my dressing table, he tional press cuttings in which names of picked up my gold signet ring and my the MNAs (Members of the National watch, padded about a bit, and then left. Assembly), the MPAs (Members of the Not a usual occurrence, but not that Provincial Assembly) and the PML stal- unusual in this city devoid of law and order. The man was a junkie, I con ­ cluded, wanting money for a quick fix. On second thoughts, he was far too of certain prominent ‘stormers. ’ We worked on this on the evening of Marqh 31, prior to flying off to Islamabad on I y * i 2^: warts were mentioned as having been present at the Court on November 28, and in which were printetFphotographs clean for the normal junkie, too well dressed, in a ‘khadar ’ salwar-kameez. 4' FOR BUSINESS FOR STUDIES FOR HOLIDAYS FOR HONEYMOONERS FORA DOZEN EXCITING REASONS Travel plans for INDIA and ABROAD cannot be in safer hands than with ASIATIC TRAVEL SERVICE THE HOUSE OF TRAVEL 51 years in the Travel Trade ‘ATS takes pleasure in taking care of the Traveller ” Opp. New Empire Cinema, 12, Murzban Road, C.S.T, Mumbai 400001 Tel: 2078151 (7 lines) Fax: 022-2073355, Tlx: 011-83151 AIRA IN, Gram: AIRASIA E-mail: atsindia@bom4.vsnl.net.in 70b Parsiana July-August 1998 ¦«AZ 5^ a M A * * ninADTT HADAPTT DADAR T.T. EVERYTHING IN TEXTILE K a R a S55 nlrSAptt HUKAKl Stockist for: Trans Asia Prop. Parekh & Co. Broadway Shopping Centre, Dadar T. T., Mumbai 400014 Telephone: 4120085, 4124820, 4120759, 4140739 Imperial Mahal, Khodadad Circle, Dadar T.T., Mumbai 400014 Telephone: 4121936, 4120926 Fax: 91 22 4146361 No Branches April Fool ’s Day. Finishing late, my G-1 left for her around 23.30. Going up the her compound. He waved a plastic card short ol the British High Commission, one takes a right turn to enter the gate of the block of flats in which she lives. Halting at the intersection, the lanes leading down to the Do Talwar round ­ about were clear. On taking the turn, to slightly double back and drive into the gateway, came an almighty explosion, jostling the creeping car to a halt just having stopped to see the ‘tamasha, ’ the motorbiker decided to lie down on the road and do a bit a moaning and groaning. The ‘heavy ’ used his mobile phone and called a police mobile which duly ar ­ rived. My G-1 ’s further requests for her car key were refused, the ‘heavy ’ handed it over to a uniformed mobileman, mounted the mobile with the motorbike rider, informing all present that he was give her back her car keys so that she could get the car off the road and into Shahrah-e-Iran towards the sea, just at her, would not let her hold it to see exactly what it was, said he was the law, lifted his shirt and pointed to the gun holster he too wore. There was no reac ­ tion to her complaint that the motor bike had no lights. He then walked over to the man on the kerb and spoke to him. After a few minutes, when the normal crowd had gathered, all passing traffic short of the driveway. The left side of the smithereens, shattered glass all over the place. My G-1 got out of the car, leaving the engine running, to find out just what had happened. A motorbike was lying on its side in the middle of the road, with a man getting to his feet. He walked over to the kerb and sat down. Before she could ask him what the hell he was doing riding taking him to hospital. Whilst all this was happening, a few of G- r s neighbors arrived to help. One, a friend of the former DC (Deputy car was in without a light and banging her broad ­ side, a hefty man strode out of the dark ­ ness, switched off the car ignition and __ ___ _ pocketed the key. In the meanwhile, the Commissioner) of District South (to our sorrow recently transferred), raised him on his mobile phone. The cop was . ordered to relinquish the car key. continued on pa^e 2V() apparently unhurt kerb-sitter lifted his shirt to rub his midriff. Around it he wore a belt and gun holster. She requested the ‘hefty ’ to kindly s With Compliments of CPEC LIMITED 1, Industrial Estate, Labaug. Bombay - 400 012. Tel : 413 7353, 7431.0349.412 8387. 1591 Fax : 0091-22-4130937 Pioneer in the tield of manufacture of Mechanical power transmission systems • Helical and Bevel/Helical Gear Boxes * Worm Reduction Gears Inline Helical Gears & Geared Motors ’ Automatic Control Variable Speed Pulleys & Drives * Non-Standard & Custom Built Gear Boxes * Flexible Couplings etc. 70d Parsiana July-August 1998OBSERVATIONS 6i Who will teach the Zarathushtrian religion? To fund the university education of teachers of Zoroastrianism would be an investment in the community ’s welfare, notes the author Malcolm M. Deboo In the article “Mirror Images ” {Par- ( ' siana,September 1997),HillaP.Guzder thushtrian belief has created quotes Ahmedabad-based artist Delna Khambatta: “My parents from childhood instilled the proper values in their three children. I am proud to be a Parsi. The desire to wear a sudreh-kusti, to marry within the community, etc has to come from in ­ side. Unfortunately, not all parents of the past generation have passed on their values to their children, hence the com ­ munity is now faced with a problem of i nc age oiu answer is education, on a increasing intermarriage. Community basic simplistic level for children and property too has not been well looked after and a lot has been lost due to improper planning. On my visits to Bombay, whenever I see the beautiful baugs and so many other structures constructed by the Parsis of yesteryear as well as the statues of eminent Parsis, I feel renewed pride in our commu ­ nity. ” Having observed our community for a number of years, and also been active within my local community association in London, the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (ZTFE), I agree in principle with Khambatta ’s comment. Our religion teaches us that our bad actions cannot be undone. But we cer ­ tainly can learn from our individual and collective mistakes so as to ensure that we perform good actions in the future. As a lay person I wonder, have we as a community forgotten what it is to be a Zarathushti? This process of erosion has not been sudden but has occurred gradually over a few generations. It can be argued that the identity crisis really started towards the end of the last cen ­ tury, when the British Raj was at its zenith, and what we are witnessing today is really the fallout of the changes that took place in our great grandpar- ents ’ generation. This loss in Zara- --------- ---- ----- ------------ -d a vacuum ture have been used to compile our kusti prayers. For instance, it was a mind- within all of us, which has led either to blowing experience when it was first exti ernes in our Zarathushtrian prac- impressed on me that the first two verses tices or been filled by a belief in the ofthe pray er are directly from the Gathas. Just imagine, everytime I untie my kusti I am reciting the very same words that were recited value system that prevails in our sur ­ rounding environment, whether in In ­ dia, Iran, Pakistan or the diaspora com ­ munities of the West such as the United by Prophet Zarathushtra thousands of Kingdom. The question is, what can be done to ensure that we have a better tomorrow? The age old answer is education. years ago! Later on when^I was taught the meaning of the kusti prayers, once again it added a whole new dimension to my understanding of the sudreh-kustj ritual. Here it is very important to impress especially on the parents, more than their children, to make time in their adults, but using adult methods of edu ­ cation for the latter. Using Delna Khambatta ’s “desire to wear the sudreh-kusti, to marry within busy lives to acquire this formal reli- the community ” as two examples to gious education of aZarathushtrian kind extend the same education idea on the and at the same time it should be from Zarathushtrian Iront, not only do the qualified persons. Furthermore, that it parents need to be textually aware, from the Zarathushtrian religious point of view, of the necessity to wear the sudreh- kusti, but it should be impressed upon them that they must wear the sudreh- kusti at all times and should be seen by of our Zarathushtrian religion, heritage *' ' ..................... and culture. Then only they wilTsee the need to send their children to such classes from a tender age, thereby giv ­ ing them a head start, instead of errone ­ ously prioritizing ballet and piano classes, etc. Just as the desire to wear the sudreh- kusti has to come from within so must commu- can takes years of learning to be familiar with any subject, therefore the parents should be willing to spend a good few years on once-a-week evening classes plus further reading, to get a fair grasp * 73 Parsiana July-August 1998 ig their children to be performing their daily kusti prayers at a normal pace, not at 300 mph. Both the parents perform ­ ing the ritual of the kusti prayers daily will automatically go part of the way of ensuring that the child too will wear the sudreh-kusti, because the child is al ­ ready, prior to the navjote, being edu ­ cated by observation. The other part of the desire to marry within the nity. Formal religious education create the initial desire to marry within the community. The growing phenom ­ enon of mixed faith marriages in an urban environment like Britain con ­ cerns other religious minorities too, such as the Jews and even the Catholics who have over a million faithful in Britain alone. How do these communi- learning for the child as well as the parents is by formal religious education of aZarathushtrian kind. The education pertaining to the sudreh-kusti example should cover subject matters on the origin and the correct make-up of the sudreh and kusti, the correct pronuncia ­ tion and the meaning of the prayers, and which sections of our religious litera- Ities tackle it? The mainstream Jews, of Britain, as part of their religious educa ­ tion are taught before they reach the age of 10, by qualified, religiously educated persons, not only how to read and recite the Torah in Hebrew, but also the impact of mixed faith marriages for the future well-being of the Jewish religion, heri- There is no career tage and culture. They are reminded of outlet for teachers of Zarathushtrianism in our community these facts by rituals during their numer ­ ous festivals, where the participation of the family unit is all important, bearing in mind that rituals were developed to complement the religious theology. The reformists and liberal counter ­ parts acknowledge mixed faith marriages, but their rabbis in Britain generally tend not to perform such a marriage nor reli ­ giously bless such a union, although they would be willing to bless the house of the newly married couple. It should be Zarathushlrians under 40 do we have stressed that this message is conveyed in an educational manner by qualified per ­ sonnel, unlike in our case where too often the emotionally super-charged subject of mixed faith marriage is conveyed with racial and bigoted overtones by unquali ­ fied persons and tend to make many of us cringe with disgust. Sadly, Zarathushtrians tend to ob ­ tain their formal religious education from unqualified quacks. The reason is simple. Our community, at the dawn of the third millennium of the Christian era, faces a dire shortage of teachers who are adequately, never mind prop- erly, qualified in Zarathushtrian reli ­ gious education, a shortage which is even greater than the shortage of full- time properly qualified mobeds. Here I education and beyond. Why beyond? would urge the reader to pause for a few seconds and calculate how many today, who have a degree education in a subject which is even remotely related to the Zarathushtrian religion, heritage and culture? One will be hard pressed to find even a handful! This is rellected in the quality of the leadership of our anjumans and association.s not only in India but in the UK and globally. When is the last time during trusteeship and management position clection.s that we heard or read in the bio data that the person who wants to become our leader is familiar with the Zarathushtrian reli ­ gion, heritage and culture? In my opinion, the reason for this shortage is primarily financial. To be precise, there is no career outlet for teachers of Zarathushtrianism in our community. The result is that the Zarathushtrian religious community is losing out. How can this malaise be rectified? In my opinion, a career path needs to be created, so as to invest in candidates who show interest in this field of reli ­ gious education, by sponsoring them from school leaving age, to university Because no employer in the secular world would employ a person who has got a degree in Avestan studies to fill a vacancy which requires to be filled by a doctor, lawyer, engineer or an accoun ­ tant. When is the last time one read in the jobs section of The Times of India, or any other paper, “Wanted a profes ­ sionally qualified person in Avestan- Pahlavi? ” Thus the onlyvavenue for holders of such degree, besides universi ­ ties, will be within community organiza ­ tions. By sending such persons on HOTEL PRESIDENT The Businessmen's Home in Indore Located in the heart of the city ’s commercial and business centre, Hotel President is only 11 kms from the airport. All the 65 luxuriously appointed rooms and suites are air conditioned with direct dial telephone, colour television with 24 hours satellite entertainment. Our health club with a gym, steam, sauna and Jacuzzi is an ideal place to unwind. For the business traveller we have a large conference hall and a travel desk. HOTEL PRESIDENT 163, RNT Marg, Indore 452001 Phones: 528866 (16 lines) Fax: 0731-512230 Gram: ‘President ’ 74 Parsiana July-August 1998further course such as management of charities, social work, data analyzing, etc our community organizations such as the punchayets could have a dynamic ready ­ made professional work force. Naturally, they should be paid on par with other professionals with degree qualification such as doctors, lawyers, engineers and accountants. An employer who pays his workers peanuts gets monkeys. I would consider such sponsorship not as dole money, but a.s an investment. Thus I would urge like-minded people in their respective anjumans, many of whom are in the wealth creat ­ ing business, to sow the seeds now, by investing in endowment funds that will assist in producing qualified teachers ot Zarathushtrian religious education tor tomorrow. It took only one K. R. Cama at the turn of the last century, to encour ­ age individuals such as the likes of J. J. Modi to study, thus becoming a ‘Cama Scholar ’ par excellence of the Zara ­ thushtrian religion, heritage and cul ­ ture. And didn ’t J. J. Modi work as a secretary of the BPP (Bombay Parsi Punchayet) thus providing immense service not only to the trustees who, like today, more often than not were not familiar with Zarathushtrianism, but also to humanity at large? His book TAe Religious Ceremonies and Customs of of our Zarathushtrian religion, heritage the Parsees is still used as a basic text in undergraduate and doctorate degree courses of Zarathushtrianism even at British Universities. Like Delna Khambatta, I am fortu ­ nate to have parents who sent me to have my basic education in Zarathush ­ trian schools, thus creating a desire to learn more. Furthermore, by the grace The first two verses of the Kem na Mazda prayer are directly from the Gathas of Ahura Mazda, I have managed to find teachers, who in my opinion have been qualified, and thus been able to guide me on the textual path for the study of the Zarathushtrian religion, heritage and culture. If people like Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, Manekji Hataria and others like them were able to achieve their aim.s and objective.s against all given to teachers of Zarathushtrian ic- odds then so can we ol the present ligious education today. generation who will be the torchbearers and culture tomorrow. Being an optimist, I believe the tide is turning! Here it would be appropriate to congratulate philanthropists like the Zartoshty Brothers who have raised the profile of Zarathushtrian religious edu ­ cation globally by donating handsomely for this specific cause. Another group that deserves our full praise are the front-line children ’s teachers of the Zarathushtrian religion such as Ervad (Dr) Ramiyar Karanjia, the young prin ­ cipal of the Athornan Madressa, Shernaz Munshi, Firoza Punthakey-Mistree and others of Zoroastrian Studies, includ ­ ing Khojeste himself, who week after week voluntarily go to various schools in Bombay to teach their young pupils about our Zarathushtrian religion, heri ­ tage and culture. Not only should these people be supported, both in terms ot finance and human resources, but more importantly the hurdles put in their way by individuals and groups with vested interests should be removed. We can ensure a better tomorrow if the next generation observes the encouragement 'o A dry earth or a green world. Acid rain. Forest fires ... global warming... Yes. The choice of the future is entirely ours. We at Tatas are ever conscious of the dangers facing the environment And are involved in its presentation. Be it planting of trees. Or installing electrostatic precipitators. So that we can leave behind a beautiful world for our children. 76 Parsiana July-August 1998 It’s for us to choose. TATA ENTERPRISES MAA COMUUMCATONS-BOU-TEIIX AOBSERVATIONS Bringing light into darkness The services of the renowned ophthalmologist Sir Jamshedji Duggan are recalled on his 40th death anniversary Hormazdiar J. M. Desai “Individual blindness must be looked upon as anational calamity .” These words, spoken by Sir Jamshedji Duggan in his welcome address at the sixth conference of the All India Ophthalmological Soci ­ ety, reiterated the commitment of one of the world ’s most reputed eye surgeons to his profession. His concern for the blind was unflag ­ ging. The prevention of blindness was for him not only a professional challenge but also a social responsibility which had to be fulfilled to his satisfaction. And to that end he spared himself nothing. The Sir Jamshedji Duggan Eye Bank — the first of its kind in India — was inaugurated by Vijayalaxmi Pandit, the then governor of Maharashtra in 1963, five years after the demise of this awe ­ some, ambidextrous surgeon. Generously funded by Lady Jena Duggan (whom Jamshedji had married in 1914) this eye bank has been emulated all over the country and blind patients today have access to many such establishments. In his lifetime, honors and awards accrued to Duggan thick and fast. In Dugyaii: pioneering eye surgeon recognition of his meritorious services, the then British government gave him an OBE (officer of the Order of the British Empire) in June 1929, CIE (Companion of the Indian Empire) in June 1933, and knighted him in January 1935. No other professional from India (certainly not an ophthalmologist) had received such rec ­ ognition from his alien rulers in such a short spell of time. In 1929, the Ophthalmological Soci ­ ety of Egypt elected Duggan as its honor ­ ary member, a rare distinction conferred barely on 13 or so of the world ’s best Ophthalmic Hospital, and as professor of ophthalmologists. As his fame in the ophthalmology at the Grant Medical world spread, many distinguished per ­ sons from abroad came to him for consul ­ tation and eye surgery. For students, it was a treat to watch this wizard operat ­ ing. His repute also attracted rulers of the then native states, governors and other high-ranking dignitaries who entrusted their precious eyes to him for treatment. Duggan, who kept in touch with all ad- proached Sir Cowasji Jehangir, Second vances in his chosen field, was always the * Baronet, (whose father ’s generosity had first in India to introduce new ideas and methods and appliances, and never lost his human touch. A ¦”0 1 f brought the C. J. Ophthalmic Hospital into existence), and was successful in getting adequate funds for raising the present commodious three-storeyed building in the corner of the J. J. Hospital compound in Bombay. The Hospital is now fitted with the best and most modern equipment and affords facilities for post ­ graduate studies. Associated with the University of Bombay as its fellow from 1918 onwards and as examiner in ophthalmology for the MBBS and the Doctor of Optometry (DO) examinations for a nurnber of years, Duggan was elected the dean of the faculty of medicine of the Bombay Uni-., versity in 1929; as fellow of the College of Physicians and Surgeons (FCPS) in 1918; and member of the college coun ­ cil, vice president and finally president in 1934-35. He held these high offices with great distinction. Duggan was instrumental in institut ­ ing the ophthalmology diploma in Bombay University on the same lines as the diploma given by the Oxford Univer ­ sity. He also introduced the medicine and surgery diploma for the benefit of licen ­ tiates. Throughout his distinguished career, Duggan played a significant role*in pro ­ moting the rehabilitation of the blind. He was one of the founder members of the Born in Bombay on April 8, 1884, Duggan had a distinguished academic career in the course of which he won several prizes and scholarships. He joined the Sir C. J. Ophthalmic Hospital in March 1906 as its clinical registrar. The post of tutor in ophthalmology was cre ­ ated in 1908 and Duggan was appointed All India Blind Relief Association. He as the first tutor. In June 1912 he received a diploma in ophthalmology from the Oxford University. Duggan officiated a.s the ophthalmic surgeon at the Sir C. J. 'b' College in 1918, and again from 1920 onwards till he retired in April 1939. On his retirement he was appointed con ­ sulting ophthalmic surgeon to the hos ­ pital. As the science of ophthalmology made tremendous progress and a,s Duggan was anxious to keep abreast of it, he ap- also assisted the late Rustom Merwanji Alpaiwala, Bar-at-law, himself blind, in founding the National Association for the Blind on January 19, 1952, of which he was the vice president till his death. In his revered memory, this Associa ­ tion now runs the Sir Jamshedji Duggan Braille Press located in its beautiful build ­ ing at Worli Seaface, Bombay. This Press caters to the educational needs of blind students not only from India, but also from several countries abroad where In ­ dians have settled. The Braille Press prints school and college text books, maga- 78 Parsiana July-August 1998JLala burs DIWALI VACATION TOURS-1998 KASHMIR-12 Days Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam & Delhi DEP: October 14th COST: Rs 16,000/- * i SHIMLA-MANALI 12 Days Kulu, Chandigarh, Parwanoo & Delhi DEP: October 17th COST: Rs 17,500/- * NAINITAL-MUSSOURIE 11 Days Kausani, Rishikesh & Delhi DEP: October 15th COST: Rs 15,500/- * head of the Jain community lived blind person for over six years. He had his sight restored after an performed by Duggan. As their gratitude, the Jain community of Bombay presented an address to Duggan in October 1952. Duggan was a member ofthe Medical Council of India; member of the Rotary International and its president in 1932- 33; a major in the Indian Medical Service (IMS) and thereafter a colonel, which rank he was permitted to retain even after hi.s retirement because of his magnificent work in the IMS. He was also ajusticc of peace as far back as 1916, and was made SOUTH INDIA 12 Days Bangalore, Mysore, Ooty & Kodaikanal DEP: October 16th COST: Rs 18,000/- Efl BRAND LEADER zines and other literature which keep the honorary presidency magistrate in 1918. bl md apprised ol modern global advances and entertains them with light reading material. Sir Duggan was particularly noted for his interest in the blind coming from remote rural and semi-urban areas. He devoted to the poor the same personal attention and time that he gave a million ­ aire. And though a strict disciplinarian, his transparent sincerity and human ap ­ proach to all problems made him popular with all. Here i.s a typical example: Acharya Vijay Vallabha Suriswarji, religious I a.s a He was chairman of the Indian Red Cross Society. Not many today know that Duggan was the first superintendent of the presti ­ gious Tata Memorial Hospital for cancer patients. This is how it came about: The late J.R.D. Tata and the late Sir Ardeshir Dalal persuaded Duggan, on his retire­ ment from the SirC. J. Ophthalmic Hos ­ pital, to ‘give the benefit of his profes ­ sional expertise and vast and varied ex ­ perience as organizer and administrator, to the planning and development of this first ever cancer hospital in Asia. Duggan excelled at picking the right man for the right job. He selected such operation exceptionally capable and outstanding a mark of professionals as the late Dr J. C. Paymas ­ ter, Dr E. Borges, Dr Dady MeherHomji and DrD. J. Jussawala. They were trained under specialists and gave a magnificent start to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospi ­ tal and developed it to its present interna ­ tional stature. Thus Duggan ’s pioneering work has immensely benefitted patients from all over Asia. As long as suffering and blindness, exists, this eminent ophthalmologist will be remembered with gratitude antt es­ teem. With Best Compliments From PACKAGES TO OTHER DESTINATIONS WITHIN INDIA & ABROAD ALSO AVAILABLE M/s PATEL PLASTIC CORPORATION H. K. LALA & CO. Capitol Cinema Building, Opp. New Empire Cinema, Murzban Road, Fort, Mumbai 400001. Tel.: 2075744, 2075094, 2073006 2075082, 2075172 Fax: 2076925 Grams: EDTOURS, Mumbai 4/5. New Nandu Industrial Estate, Mahakali Caves Road, Andheri (East), Bombay 400093 Tel No. 8323754/8300986 Fax: 6431851 E-mail: Silloo@bom2.vsnl.net.in 80 Parsiana July-August 1998 «TRADITION The shrinking sudreh The shape of the sudreh should not be dependent on one ’s whims and the weather Cutset M. Patel Wh Jdn freasl order to fit in even cover the groin. Can one call this a What do you mean? Is there a wrong the choli (blouse). Naturally this will sudreh? sudreh also, someone may ask. Yes, there is. Mini-sudreh, sleeveless sudreh, low-cut sudreh, girda (nape piece)-less sudreh, without tiri sudreh, etc. This question is for those who are orthodox, or think and call themselves ortho- f dox or religious- minded individuals wearing the sudreh and not for those Parsis who do not believe in sudreh, or are not wearing the same. They will have much to pay for and a long way to go in the end. Let ’s put them aside (as we say in Gujarati, abrai per niuki-devo). Here we are concerned with those who be ­ lieve in it, but consciously or uncon ­ sciously, knowingly or unknowingly, wear a sudreh which sometimes is too ridiculous for words. First of all, 60 to 70 percent of per ­ sons who stitch the sudreh are to be blamed. They themselves do not know that the sudreh should be of nine seams, and as far as possible should be stitched by hand and not by machine, its gireban, the tiny bag-like receptacle over the chest, should be at a certain place ac ­ cording to individual measurement. Sudreh tiri — small vertical seam, two right angled triangular seams — should be at the right or left side according to days and occa- the gender of the person. Girdo should sions, or when \" underneath the breast in order to fit in not have any girda or sleeves at all. Can one call this a sudreh? Yet, the wearer of it proudly says: “Oh yes! I always wear the sudreh, I am orthodox. ” Over 60 to 65 percent of Parsis do not know about the tiri, the two side seams. Some do not have the girdo at all, which is of importance in the sudreh, One would think that the passion for denoting that we have come with the weight of obligations from our past life, to be fulfilled in this life by the obser ­ vance of Zoroastrian disciplines. This B lashion is associated with the ladies only, but that i.s not so. The last half of the 20th load we have to bear — the girdo re- century has brought minds us of that. The reason for this in with a bang their stupid omission is not understood. counterpart males. Sleeveless sudreh, small sleeve sudreh, just below the waist with full blown sleeves up to the elbow, sudreh, sudreh which of gireban over that part of the body narrow down (so as where the individual ’s own ravan is not to make a bulge now sleeping (10th plexus of the kehrp}, with the shirt tucked with girdo, tiri, etc? into the pant), etc. In lad the sleeve of the sudreh should be broad with its end touching the el- bow, which was cut in half to begin girdo-, tiny bag-like piece over the chest Where, oh where is the real sudreh the prophet Zarathushtra ^ave us of nine seams, long down to the knees, The sudreh should be made from one whole length of white cotton cloth and have nine seams; the nape piece or with. It then became sleeveless, but or the gireban', front and rear main now they have not stopped there; they parts; two sleeves up to the elbow; feel hot, hence we have the sudreh parallel seams; two triangular seams, which runs down the shoulder with a ~ ' ' ' big arc up to the front ribcage, whereby __ ____ , ___ half its front and rear portions are not pletely circular at the bottom. The sudreh should not be treated like other garments that may be altered cording to the whims and fancies of fashion designer. there at all. The true length of the sudreh, in its sublimity, should be touch ­ ing the knees. Let us be frank, one see.s very few persons wearing such a sudreh as tl u rule. A few wear ' it on important the gender of the person. Girdo should sions, or when be there on all sudreLs compulsorily they pray. The rest wear it at a reasonable len ­ gth which goes half way to the thighs. But some ¦= fashionable ones .7, are only up to the 'ii ) not etc, not to mention the length of the sleeves of the sudreh itself. The mini-mini sudreh mainly ine mmi-mini suoren mainly worn by the ladies must be seen to be be ­ lieved. Just a thin strip of mulmul run ­ ning from the shoulder downwards, having a low gireban, and the cloth going over the bosom and ending just hips, and do 82 Parsiana July-August 1998 The sudreh length should extend from the neck to the knees, and be com- -S w ili ac- a Prophet Zara- ihushtra prescribed I the sudreh of a spe- cific material, de- sign, color and shape, in doing which he has, as it were, reduced the very macrocosm of —V the universe into the microcosm of the ==-• sudreh. ;¦ (Reprinted with permis­ sion fromDm-Avaz, Vol­ ume 23, Number 1) ¦tl1 RELIGION Dating Zarathushtra There is a divergence of opinion regarding the century in which Zarathushtra spread his message Sarosh J. H. Manekshaw fore Xerxes ’ crossing of the Hellespont (an event which took place in 480 BC). In another copy of the manuscript the time between Zarathushtra and Xerxes is given as 600 years. This would put Zarathushtra at either 6480 BC or at 1080 BC. Shahpur Shahbazi (“The Traditional Date of Zarathushtra Ex­ plained, ” Bulletin of the School of Ori­ ental and African Studies, Vol 40, No 1, 1977, pp 34-35) interprets the latter date as the more credible, since it agrees with his own hypothesis. However, Gershevitch (1995, pp 10- 12) believe.s that the correct number in the manuscript should neither be 6,000 years nor 600 years, but rather 60 yeans before the crossing of the Hellespont, which would put Zarathushtra at about 540 BC, a time more in agreement with the “traditional date ” of Zarathushtra. Note that this is but one example where different scholars have found so ­ lace in different numbers which they have used to help pref^e their own hypotheses. Pliny the Elder quoted Eudoxus, a Why is so little known about the early history of the Zarathushti religion? Per ­ haps it is because of its antiquity, its lack of written tradition, the repeated de ­ struction of its texts, or because of a combination of all these factors that there is such a dearth of information on the origins of the Zarathushti religion. This lack of definitive data has led to a great deal of speculation; none more so than that regarding the time and place of its Prophet Zarathushtra. At the outset it may be stated that there is no information contained in the Gathas, the hymns composed by Zarathushtrahimself, which specifically mentions either the time or the place of its composition. In fact, even the extant younger Avestan texts, which include approximately 6500 BC to about 600 the Yasna, the Yashts. the Vendidad and miscellaneous fragments, provide little help in placing or dating Zarathushtra. Needless to say, these texts have been analyzed in detail by numerous scholars who have tried to deduce from their contents a time and place for the Prophet. Of course, these deductions have led to dates for Zarathushtra varying not only over decades or even centuries, but over millennia, and give a place for Zara ­ thushtra ranging from western Iran and Azerbaijan all the way eastwards to Af ­ ghanistan. Knowledge of the early chronology are no longer recognized a.s having any Between 1400 BC and 700 BC ol the Zarathushti religion is critical to historical validity. For a more complete There are numerous scholars who have developing an accurate understanding compilation of the Greek and Roman proposed dates for Zarathushtra, basing their deductions or inferences on vari ­ ous factors contained in the Gathas and the later Avestan literature. In general these dates range between 1400 BC and 700 BC. Hormazdyar Dastur Kayoji Mirza in are saying. ” This article will not attempt to review all the four cardinal points outlined by Gershevitch, but rather it will be limited to reviewing only the materials related to the date and place of the Prophet. Since various dates and locations have been proposed for Zarathushtra, only a few of the more important are men ­ tioned here. It is by no means a complete review; it is merely meant to give read ­ ers an idea of the vast divergence of opinions regarding Zarathushtra ’.s time and place, and hopefully to inspire the more conscientious to research the de ­ tails for themselves. The dates for Zarathushtra, com ­ monly found in the literature, range from pupil of Plato (fourth century BC),'’’as saying that Zarathushtra lived 6,000 years before the death of Plato (348 BC), which in turn would put Zara ­ thushtra at about 6350 BC. Laertius, in the third century AD, quoting Hermodorus (who lived in the e' BC. For the sake of convenience, we can categorize them into three groups: •The earliest dates, mainly from Greek sources, placing Zarathushtra around 6000 BC. •Dates that place Zarathushtra typically third century BC) dated Zarathushtra as at a time between 1600 BC and 700 BC. •The ‘traditional date ’ of Zarathushtra, which place.s him 258 years before Alexander, or some time in the sixth century BC. Around 6000 BC In general, the very early Greek dates are no longer recognized a.s having any historical validity. For a more complete living 5,000 years before the fall of Troy (which took place about 1200 BC). This would place Zarathushtra at about 6200 BC. This same date was also given by Pliny the Elder (first century AC) when he quoted Hermippus (who lived about 250 BC). of the Gathas. Without it, one is left with conflicting opinions and confusion. Ilya Gershevitch (1995 “Approache.s to Zoroaster ’s Gathas, ” Iran, Vol XXXIII, pg I jin fact, states that this chaos is “due English translation of these texts given in “Passages in Greek and Latin relating to Zarathushtra and Zoroastrianism ” by hisbookOut'linesofParsiHistory(\9Sl, Fox, W. Sherwood and R. E. K. Pemberton (1928), Journal of the K. R. Cania Oriental Institute, Vol 14. Diogene.s Laertius quoted Xanthus of Lydia (fifth century BC) as stating that Zarathushtra lived 6,000 ycar.s be- texts which include references to the date of Zarathushtra, see Zoroaster the Prophet of Ancient Iran by A.V.W. Jack- son (1899, Appendix II and VI) and the % mainly to neglect of the compas.s fixing the four cardinal points of the Gathic horizon... The four cardinal points, all of course equally cardinal arc: one, the authorship of the Gathas, two, the time of their composition, three, the space, geographical, where they were com ­ posed, and four, the gist of what they pp 361 -366) reviews the ‘traditional date ’ and various Greek dating assigned to the time of Zarathushtra. Then, based on the Greek evidence, he “assigns very high antiquity to Zarathushtra and shows that Zarathushtra must have appeared not 84 Parsiana July-August 19981 later than 6000 BC. Mary Boyce in A History of Zoroas­ trianism (1989, pg 190) states that both the traditional date ’ of 258 years before Alexander, and the early Greek dates placing Zarathushtra at about 6000 BC, are based on erroneous calculations and that “no reliable tradition exists about this. ” She then goes on to state that: “In the absence of any sound external evi ­ dence, therefore, it seems natural to con- ___________ elude that the prophet lived some time founding of the ZarathuVhtr?ehgion between 1400 and 1000 BC. Thomas Burrow in his article (1973, “The Proto-Indoaryans, ” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, pp 136-139) usc.s a different approach to dating Zara ­ thushtra. He develops a line of logic based on two factors: •The time of the migration of the east Iranians (who first adopted the Mazda- yasnan religion of Zarathushtra) into central and western Iran; which he sets at 900 BC. •The fact that the Farvardin Yasht written before this migration took pl In the Farvardin Yasht, the names of some of the early converts to the faith are stated, and include the family of was !ace. uic siaieu, ano mciuoe tne lamily ot a Saena, the first teacher of the Zarathushti religion, to have 100 pupils. Three sub- sequent generations of Saena ’s descen ­ dants are also named. Now, placing Saena at 100 years after Zarathushtra, and assigning 30 years per generation to the three generations following Saena, Burrow arrive.s at an i ' * years from the time of Zarathushtra to the writing of the Farvardin Yasht. Adding these 200 years to the date of the migration (900 BC) he arrives at the date of 1 100 BC as the very latest, for the ---------- ----- -.jgion. He, in fact, states that it is very likely that this date could be even earlier, by as much as another century. Thus, Burrow would place Zara- thushtra in (he period between 1200 and 1 100 BC. Shahbazi first explains the genesis of Shahbazi then goes on to present his own dating for Zarathushtra. Citing al Biruni, Shahbazi states that the Khwarezmians in establishing their ‘na ­ tional ’ era, adopted the coming of interval of 200 Siyavush as the event to mark that date. This event the Khwarezmians held to be 888 years before Alexander, or about 1200 BC (=888+331). Now, in the Shah Nameh, Siyavush is four generations removed from Zarathushtra. Again, as ­ signing 30 years per generation, this gives a period of 120 (=4x30) years between Siyavush and Zarathushtra. Shahbazi hence places Zarathushtra in 1080 BC (=1200-120). Ghcrardo Gnoli in his very exhaus ­ tive work: Zarathushtra’s Time and Homeland (1980) devotes a chapter to me traditional date of Zarathushtra ’of Zarathushtra ’s time (pp 159-179). He -, ----------1 spends the greater part of the chapter to goes on to show dial it “must therefore disproving the ‘traditional date ’ as be- ing too late. This chapter, like Shahbazi ’ s work gives an excellent review of the bases for the ‘traditional date, ’ aud he then goes on to state why he feels that it is invalid. Gnoli does propose thatThe time and homeland for Zarathushtra “be placed between the end of the second and the. beginning of the 1st millennium BC in 258 years before Alexander, and then be regarded a.s wholly unhistorical, the product ot scholastic combinations which cannot be older than the Parthian period. It must be emphasized that nei ­ ther its attestation,s in certain old works based on Sasanian sources, nor its ac ­ ceptance for a time by some Zarathushti scholar-priests, proves the authenticity of this tradition. ” (1977, pg 34). 4 With Best Compliments From DINSHAW SHAPOORJI & COMPANY 414/3, Kasarwadi, Bombay-Poona Road Pimpri, Pune 411034 Pimpri Phones 794373, 794055 Fax (212)794656 Telex 0146 204 DIN IN Poona Phone 662052 Poona Grams “Truck ” Branch Office: 92C Mohamedali Road Mumbai 400003 Phone 3432497, 3423977, 3435392 Telex OH 76597 DS A IN Bombay Grams “Motor Truck ” TRANSPORT CONTRACTORS LUXURY COACH & STAFF BUS OPERATORS 86 Parsiana July-August 1998 4eastern territories of the Iranian Plateau ____________v--- —. (pg 177).” He bases his arguments for Chronology this dating m large part to the radical social and cultural differences between the Gathic and Achaemenian societies. The Gathic society is based on a tribal and patriarchal society, dependent on stock-raising and elementary agricul ­ ture; while the Achaemenian society is a worldwide monarchy, with a developed economy based on trade and an ad ­ vanced monetary system. Note-. Gnoli has recently retracted this date, and is now supporting the ‘traditional date. ’ Dastur M. N. Dhalla in the History of Zoroastrianism (1938, pg xxxi) states in two very curt sentences: “The time when Zarathushtra flourished is a moot ques ­ tion. The approximate date at which he lived is 1000 BC.” the Zarathushtrian clergy (al Biruni, The Another reference to the ‘traditional date ’ is in thcArda VirafNaniakdiW]^) where there is variation on the date of “258 years before Alexander. ” The AVN, in Chapter 1, gives a date for Zarathushtra as 300 years before Alexander (Dastur Hoshang Jamaspji Sachau translation, 1897, pg 17). While at first glance this appears to be a very precise date, there is consider ­ able uncertainty in it. For example, does this date refer to Zarathushtra ’s birth; ____ the date of his receiving his revelation Asa and Martin Haug, The BookofArda date of his converting Kavi Vishtasp to the ‘Good Religion ’ (at the age of 42); or to his death (at the age of 77)? Also “before Alexander ” begs the question, before Alexander ’s conquest ofthe Per ­ sians, or his death? The number 258 years itself, appears Vishtasp (42), one gets 258 (=300-42), to have been derived from the Bunda- hishn chronology (Behramgore Ankle- saria, Zand-Akasih: Iranian or Greater Bundahishn 1956, pg 307) which gives a 90-year rule for King Vishtasp (who was converted to the ‘Good Religion ’ AD), by Zarathushtra), I 12 for Vohuman, his successor, who was followed by Humay for a 30-year rule, by Daray-i Chihra- zatan for 12 years and by Daray-i Darayan for 14 years. lTomAhuraMazda(attheageof30);the Viraf, 1971, pg 141). There are two apparent explanations for the date of 300 years before Alexander: •That it is a rounding up of the number 258, and •That if one subtracts from 300 the age of Zarathushtra when he converted Kavi which is the ‘traditional date. ’ The ‘traditional date ’ has also been referred to by two Islamic chronolo- gists: al-Masudi (10th century AD) and al Biruni (late 10th early 11th century Between 754 BC to 558 BC • The ‘traditional date ’ of Zarathushtra is ) taken to be 258 years before Alexander (330 BC) or 558 BC (=330-r258). It is f referred to as the ‘traditional date ’be- Darayan for 14 years, or cause it is mentioned in some of the (90+1 12+30+12+14=258), Daray-i Pahlavi texts, and also referred to by Darayan being Darius III, the last 10th and 11th century Islamic scholars, Achaemenian king, who was defeated as the date ascribed to Zarathushtra by by Alexander. Pahlavi texts, and also referred to by Darayan being Darius III, the last 10th and 11th century Islamic scholars, Achaemenian king, who was defeated Numerous scholars have argued in favor of this traditional dating, specifi ­ cally: Hildegard Lewy (1944), Sayyid Taqizadeh (1947), Walter HenViing (1951) and most recently Ilya Gershe- vitch(1995). V Arguingequally fervently againstthis ‘traditional date ’ as being too late in time, arc: Shahpur Shahbazi (1977),- WITH BEST COMPLIMENTS OF Hotel Rutt Deen Ideally located in the heart of the city, with all modern amenities at reasonable rates 21-B, Loudon Street, Calcutta 700016 Tel Nos: 2401878, 2402389, 2403340, 2476911,2475240 Fax No: 91-33-2475210 88 Parsiana July-August 1998With best compliments from SEW ELECTRICALS Private Limited Gherardo Gnoli (1980), Helmut Humbach (1991) and Mary Boyce (1989). Otakar Klima (1959, “The Date of Zoroaster, ” Archiv Orientalni, Vol 27, No 4, pp 557-558) uses a variation of the ‘traditional date ’ to develop his dating. Taking the same Bundahishn chronol ­ ogy given above, and associating Daray- i Chihrazatan with Darius the Great, whose rule started in 522 BC, Klima adds 232 years (=90+112+30) to the starting date of Darius ’ rule to obtain the date of Zarathushtra as 754 BC (=522+232). Electrical Engineers and Contractors ‘ i 104, Shree Hanuman Ind Estate 42-B, G. D. Ambekar Marg Wadala, Mumbai 400031 Sarosh J. H. Manekshaw is directorof environmen ­ tal safety and health at Pennzoil Cornpany. He was a co-chai rman of the Second North American Gatha Conference, in Houston, Texas, in Au­ gust 1996, and served as editor of the Proceed­ ings of that Conference. Manekshaw is'also the Houston vice-chairman of the Seventh World Zoroastrian Congress in the year 2000. (Edited and reprinted with permission from FEZ AN A Journal. Fall 1997.) s With best compliments from SelV^I Vantage 83 C, Hansraj Pragji Building, Dr. E. Moses Road, Shah & Nahar Industrial Area, Worli, Mumbai - 400 018 Phone : 022- 4961703-7 Fax: 022-4951498 E-mail: vantage. bby@gnbom.globalnet.ems. vsnl.net.in Branches at: Bangalore, Calcutta, Chennai, Delhi 90 Parsiana July-August 1998RELIGION A place for the Prophet Whether it is eastern Iran or Azerbaijan, different regions have been postulated as the homeland of Zarathushtra Sarosh J. H. Manekshaw Just as there are numerous hypotheses i '' ....................... for the date ofZarathushtra ’s birth, with king to accept Zarathushtra ’ these dates varying in time over a range of millennia, so too there are numerous hypotheses for the place of Zarathush- tra ’s birth, with locations varying spa ­ tially over thousands of miles. These ; numerous and wide-spread claims have I made it difficult to pin-point f rt I I r* ki * o Im 1 . J_ t Zara ­ thushtra ’s birthplace with any degree of certainty. This uncertainty has been fur- ther compounded in the past 150 years • by various scholars, each strongly cham- i regarding the land of Vishtaspa, the first ’s new mes ­ sage. Zarathushtra was driven out of his original homeland, persecuted by his forgotten by the time of Alexander ’s own people and frustrated by his failure conquest of Persia, in 331 BC. As a to win over converts to his cause (Yasiia result, starting soon after that period (in 46:1: “To what land shall I go, whither the Parthian era), the priests and kings of to flee? From nobles and my peers they sever me, nor are the people pleased with me...nor the liar rulers of the land. ”) He then wandered through different lands until he lound refuge with and a Around these dubious claims, gradually willing ear in Vishtaspa. Here the birth legends were built and documented, and It is most probable that both the loca ­ tion of the birthplace of Zarathushtra and the land of Vishtaspa had been long various different localities started mak ­ ing claims that it was their homeland that was either the original place of Zarathushtra or the land of Vishtaspa. pioning a different location, usually by ol the religion took place, and thus, to an eventually these legends appeared to concentration on discreet pieces of in- extent, Vishtaspa ’s homeland, too, has give an air of authenticity to their claims, formation from either the Avestan, had special significance to Zarathushtis, Many of these legends weffe then re ­ Pahlavi or Greek literature. since it was Irom this area that Zara- corded in the Pahlavi works, by the In addition to the birthplace ot thushtra ’s mission started spreading Greeks and even by later Islamic authors. Zaiathushtra, there is also the question throughout Iran. Most of the modern theories, then. extent, Vishtaspa ’s homeland, too, has had special significance to Zarathushtis, since it was from this area that Zara ­ thushtra ’s mission started spreading throughout Iran. I 92 Parsiana July-August 19981 Exclusive hand em­ broidered pure silver zari borders and Chinese design garas Contact: Rayomand F. Workingboxwalla 6, P. C. Shroff Building Gamadia Colony (Ground Floor) Tardeo, Mumbai 400007 Telephone: 4966679, 4950936 forever destroyed. There is also a legend that the seed of Zarathushtra is preserved in the waters of Lake Kansaoya. That at the right time a virgin swimming in this lake will give birth to the Saoshyant. Gnoli (1980, pp 146-149) examined the geographical names mentioned in the Zaniyad Yasht, and located them in Seistan. He thus concluded that the origi ­ nal homeland of Zarathushtra was in this area. Other locations Without going into details, the follow ­ ing-locations have also made some claim to beZarathushtra ’s homeland, and have some form of legend associating them with the Prophet: Margiana (Marv), Sogdia, Mabug in north Syria (Boyce: 1992, pg 17), and Babylon. It is interest ­ ing to note that the last two locations mentioned do not even lie within Iran, and yet claims have been made that they day soon, this quest will result in aie Zarathushtra s homeland! scholar being able to come up witlj an irrefutable conclusion which will de ­ finitively give us the date and place of Zarathushtra. ’ Conclusion We have listed various dates for Zara ­ thushtra and numerous locations which could have been his homeland. But the important question that we have not suc- asked ourselves is why is it important for us to accurately know these? Henning (1951, pg 35) most cinctly answers this question by stating that: “It is obviously impossible to un ­ derstand anything of anyone without knowing, at least approximately, the time in which he lived; without apprehend ­ ing, by such knowledge, his environ ­ ment, the conditions of life, the cultural situation in which he found himself. To say that the date is irrelevant, shows an abysmal lack of feeling for all history. ” The message of Zarathushtra is time ­ less, however, it is imperative that we continue to strive to accurately pinpoint a date and location for Zarathushtra. Research must continue and, by neces ­ sity, we practitioners of the religion must be willing to face the fact that we will continue to be bombarded with diver ­ gent opinions. Perhaps, however, it is not too futile for us to hope that, some 1 a (Edited and reprinted with permission from. FEZANA Journal, Fall 1997.) !* For Pure Diamonds or JEWELLERS 324, Grant Road, Bombay 400007. Telephone 3099648 Fax 3073483 APPOINTED VALUERS BY THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA 98 Parsiana July-August 1998the Median Raga, the location of the Avestan Ragha is still unknown. Azerbaijan (Atropatene) A.V.W. Jackson (Zoroaster the Prophet of Ancient Iran, 1899, Appendix IV) has argued that Zarathushtra was from Azerbaijan (Atropatene), specifically from the area around Lake Urumiah. Azerbaijan ’s claim is attested to in the Bundahishn (29:12-13), where it is stated that “Eranwez (Airyana Vaejah) is in Azerbaijan. ’’However, itmust be remem ­ bered that the Bundahishn is a post-Sasa- nian work, and that it is probably do ­ cumenting a legend that must have been often repeated by the people of that place. i According to Shahrastani, an 11th peated that Vishtaspa established' century Islamic author (cited in Jack- son, 1899, pg 199) Zarathushtra ’s fa ­ ther, Pourushaspa was from Azerbaijan, while his mother, Dugdhova was from' Ray (Median Raga), and that Zara ­ thushtra himself was born in Azerbaijan. Parthia : The Parthians too, in eastern Iran, made • a strong claim that theirs was the land of Vishtaspa and hence of Zarathushtra ’s ministry. In the Bundahishn (9:37) it is stated that immediately after Vishtaspa accepted the religion of Zarathushtra, he was said to have built a fire-temple, Adur Burzin Mihr, on Mount Revant ’ which was on a hill near Nishapur in Parthia (see Boyce: 1992, pg 10). a hill near Nishapur in Balkh, capital of Bactria T3„ii 1 , , . , . “• ¦ /YVL-wiuiiig lu ncnnii alkh s claim to being the land of Khwarezmia coexisted with Media Vishtaspa is attested to in two different post-Sasanian works. In the Zarathusht Nania, a 13th century work, Zarathushtra is said to have traveled from his homeland in Iran to the court of Vishtaspa, in Balkh. The Shah Nameh also describes in great detail how Zarathushtra traveled to Balkh and there converted Vishtaspa to the new faith. Here, too, the story is re- -__l a tem ­ ple, and founded the Adur Burzin Mihr fire. The 5/!cz/7 Nameh also goes on to describe how Zarathushtra planted a cy ­ press tree that became famous as the ‘Cypress of Kishmar ’ (see Boyce: 1992 pg 12). goes on to I a cy- Khwarezmia (Chorasmia) Among modern scholars, it was Markwart who first put together the hy ­ pothesis that Airyana Vaejah was in Khwarezmia, a land south of the Aral Sea, on the lower water course of the Oxus river (see Helmut Humbach: The Gathas of Zarathushtra 1991, pg 37). Later Walter B. Henning (Zoroaster: Politician or Witchdoctor? 1951, pp 42- 43) interpreting some of Herodotus ’ works identified Khwarezmia as the land of Vishtaspa. According to Henning, an independent state, until Vishtaspa was defeated by Cyrus, and the land annexed into the Achaemenian empire. Again, like most opinions on the place of Zarathushtra, this too has its detrac ­ tors; most notably Frye (1993, pg 41), Gherardo Gnoli (Zoroaster’s Time and Homeland, 1980, pg 99) and Humbach (1991, pg 37), who all strongly disagree with the ‘Khwarezmian hypothesis, ’ and present evidence to refute it. with ties Seistan (Sakastan) Another location with ties to Zarathushtra is Scistan. In both the Zaniyad Yasht (19.92) and in the Vendidad (19.5), there is mention of the Saoshyant —Astvat-ereta — rising out of the waters of lake Kansaoya, into which flows the river Haerlimant (Hel ­ mand). The Saoshyant is the world sav ­ ior who will bring about frasho-keretiy^ the final renovation, when evil will be Makers of fine jewellery since 1936 handcrafted readymade Co. 296. Raja Rammohan Roy Rd. Bombay 400004 Tel: 3611121 t 3677044 FAX: 91 22 8366384 - exquisite jewellery 96 Parsiana July-August 1998I Exclusive hand em­ broidered pure silver zari borders and Chinese design garas Contact: Rayomand F. Workingboxwalla 6, P. C. Shroff Building Gamadia Colony (Ground Floor) Tardeo, Mumbai 400007 Telephone: 4966679, 4950936 forever destroyed. There is also a legend that the seed of Zarathushtra is preserved in the waters of Lake Kansaoya. That at the right time a virgin swimming in this lake will give birth to the Saoshyant. Gnoli (1980, pp 146-149) examined the geographical names mentioned in the Zaniyad Yasht, and located them in Seistan. He thus concluded that the origi ­ nal homeland of Zarathushtra was in this area. Other locations Without going into details, the follow- ing'locations have also made some claim to be Zarathushtra ’s homeland, and have some form of legend associating them with the Prophet: Margiana (Marv), Sogdia, Mabug in north Syria (Boyce: 1992, pg 17), and Babylon. It is interest ­ ing to note that the last two locations mentioned do not even lie within Iran, and yet claims have been made that they are Zarathushtra ’s homeland! Conclusion We have listed variou.s dates for Zara ­ thushtra and numerous locations which could have been his homeland. But the important question that we have not suc- asked ourselves is why is it important for us to accurately know these? Henning (1951, pg 35) most cinctly answers this question by stating that: “It is obviously impossible to un ­ derstand anything of anyone without knowing, at least approximately, the time in which he lived; without apprehend ­ ing, by such knowledge, his environ ­ ment, the conditions of life, the cultural situation in which he found himself. To say that the date is irrelevant, shows an abysmal lack of feeling for all history. ” The message of Zarathushtra is time ­ less, however, it is imperative that we continue to strive to accurately pinpoint a date and location for Zarathushtra. Research must continue and, by neces ­ sity, we practitioners of the religion must be willing to face the fact that we will continue to be bombarded with diver ­ gent opinions. Perhaps, however, it is not too futile for us to hope that, some day soon, this quest will result in a scholar being able to come up with an irrefutable conclusion which will de ­ finitively give us the date and place of Zarathushtra. * (Edited and reprinted with permission from. FEZANA Journal, Fall 1997.) For Pure Diamonds JEWELLERS 324, Grant Road, Bombay 400007. Telephone 3099648 Fax 3073483 APPOINTED VALUERS BY THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA 98 Parsiana My-August 1998HOBBIES COVERSTORY i )S •4:" Built to scale a A *1 1 Si A Former cinema art director Rusi Banker creates miniatures of heritage buildings in paper Hilla P. Guzder -H S ix; s J 2 work from across the palm-fringed swath of the Oval maidan, stand an imposing array of Bombay ’s heritage structures ISSSPI 0’' It 3 section, constructing it in paper and then painting on it every minute detail of design, ” he explains. The model of the Taj Mahal Hotel took him almost a year, he elaborates, and making each of the 36 fluted columns of the Town Hall His home is studded with towers and turrets, hi.s living room showcases a collage of colors. The fawn sandstone of the Gateway of India stands cheek- — the High Court, the University with its Rajabai Clock Tower and the old Secretariat. “My interest in recreating Bombay ’s required the most delicate workman ­ ship. Banker also authentically dupli ­ cates the environment around the struc ­ ture, making miniature palm trees and other foliage, while the model of Crawford Market is complete with its by-jowl with the bright red roofs of the High Court and the Taj Mahal Hotel, the blue basalt of the Western Railway headquarters and the aristocratic white heritage buildings in paper started in fluted columns of the Town Hall. In his little studio on the verandah, 87-year-old Rusi Banker painstakingly fashions in cardpaper a miniature of the century-old Elphinstone College. Built measuring it with my feet as I know that plethora of stalls with a variety of min to scale, it is the latest in his “Bombay each of my paces is about three feet. I Heritage ” series of paper models. Within then photograph the building from vari- view, and lending inspiration to his ous angles. I work on it section by 1994. My first models were truly lilliputian — built on a scale of a quar ­ ter centimeter to a foot. First of all, I visit the building and walk around it, iature merchandise on sale! A second showcase in the living room houses a replica of Noah ’s Ark — 100 Parsiana July-August 1998 I *I MH ijj BOMBAY.) 1 ¦•5 u g: Id Fl I 1 Banker with his model of the Taj I Mahal Hotel. In the background I can he seen the Rajahai I Clock Tower, Old Secretariat and I Stock Exchange; I 2 Bottling Noah's Ark! I 5 Rajahai Clock Tower, Bombay I University; I 4 Bombay Municipal Corporation; I 5 V.T. Station (now Chhatrapati I Shivaji Terminus); 6 Crawford Market (Mahatma Phule Market); 7 Town Hall Photos: Chetan Mistry » I a plasticine and paper model with 56 - I pairs of animals comfortably ensconced in a glass bottle! “This also took me [ almost a year to complete, ” observes i Banker matter-of-factly. Alongside models of ships and airplanes stand paper models of Westminster Abbey, I the Houses of Parliament, Windsor i Castle, Anne Hathaway ’s cottage, the White House, the Capitol and the i Vatican. I “I was bom in Nagpur and my entry into the art world was literally by acci ­ dent, ” he quips. “I intended becoming a doctor but, during the third year of 7 college I was knocked down by a lorry, 6 101 Parsiana July-August 1998 Isuffering a concussion which i required a hospital stay of six months. ” He later opened a I school of handicrafts and fine I arts which proved to be short- I lived. On a visit to Nagpur, I well-known producer/direc- I tor/actor Sohrab Modi ’ s brother I Rustomji spotted Banker ’s tai- I ent in art. After an apprentice- I ship of two years in other film | studios. Banker joined Modi ’s ’ Minerva Movietone. “Sohrab and I were good Oriented building and (below) Gateway of India and Western Railway headcinariers ¦ h lends and we had a long career to- particular period for the set.s and cos- gether. I joined Minerva Movietone from inception in 1934 and served as art director for over 60 films, including classics such a.s Jhansi Ki Rani, Pukar, Sikander, Nawshirwan-E-Adil, Kundan and of course Mirza Ghalib, for which I won a Filmfare award in 1954,” he observes. It was the first lime, he be ­ lieves, an art director had been honored with a Filmfare award. For historical movies. Banker would research each period thoroughly from libraries including the Asiatic Library and then do hundreds of sketches of that 200-strong camel corps. A unit from Hyderabad pro- vided the electrical impulses for the bombs, ” he relates. Unfortunately the studio in- curred heavy losses as the film could not recover from the box- office the enormou.s costs in- curred in its production. When Minerva Movietone closed down. Banker left be- hind the glamor of filmdom and moved to the salubrious climes of Simla with his wife '¦ Pilloo in 1961, running a boarding house called Berodel named after their '¦ three daughters, Beroze, Roda aikl Delna. In 1973, a mild heart attack neccssiiated a return to Bombay. Call- , iiig himself an “old, staunch Parsiite ” whose "shraddha (faith) ” is strong. Banker sadly notes however that much of the earlier prosperity of the commu ­ nity is now decaying and “our high standards are falling. ” Through the years art has continued to absorb Banker, oil painting on can ­ vas being an enjoyable hobby for the dapper artist who has held three one- man exhibitions of paintings. 1 His current interest in miniature pa ­ per models “fascinates ” him, he says. “I make slightly bigger modeks now, on a ' scale of one centimeter to a foot as my house I tumes. He also had his own collection of books on art, architecture, costume- designing, etc. Banker narrates that for Jhansi Ki Rani, the first technicolor film made in eyesight is failing but I hope to com- 1951, the research itsell took almost 12 plete all the 20 public buildings mainly in south Bombay listed by the Bombay an energy and enthusiasm that would put to shame many a man half his age! “I have never sold or cared to sell any of my models, ” he asserts, strongly be- months. An entire fort was recreated in authentic detail on live acres ot land at Heritage Society, ” he declares with Chembur. It was a wooden fort, he reminisces, with 12-14 bastions and the stone elfect of the facade was achieved with goheir (animal dung). “For the lighting scenes we moved to Jaipur and lieving that his daughters will preserve Bikaner, using over 2,000 cavalry and a for posterity his model art. YOUR BRAIN IS YOUR... had however been perlormed in Bombay, a special prize for HormazdDaver), and continued from page 54 Generous donations for the various ac- Tashan Mistree. in chaige ot the nitty-gritties of putting tivitieslromlheZartoshtyBrothcrsFund, “I always thought the bawas and together the lashion show, the literary, the Jamshed and Shirin Guzder Trust, bawis of baugs and colonies were use ­ sports and social service activities, Kavarana, Shroff and others, the contin- less no-gooders — till I joined HPY!” pioject work, etc. Lending a helping ued support ol the guest speakers, re- opined Pashna Munshi, a previous par ­ hand were other HPY alumni whose source persons and judges for the compe- ticipant. HPY, she said, stood for Hail numbers continue to augment the BPP titions were acknowledged with grati- Parsi Youth! “Yes, HPY is interactive Youth Club. Marlatia regretted how- tude by the coordinators. and informative and I recommend it to evei that the three-day social service Walking away with the awards for everyone, ” prize winner Bharucha told tiip to Udvada to be undertaken in the best participants in each of the four Parsiana at the end of the program. “It conjunction with the WZO (World Zo- groups, titled Performers, Enactors, widened my horizons and opened doors loastiian Oiganisation) Youth Wing by Creators and Achievers, were Percy to careers, ” endorsed MeherzadDastoor as the students wended their way to the farewell dinner, bringing to an end their enlightening summer of ’98. ‘g service had however been performed in Bombay. Generous donations for the various ac- ti vitie.s from the Zartoshty Brothers Fund, the Jamshed and Shirin Guzder Trust, Kavarana, Shroff and others, the contin ­ ued support of the guest speakers, re ­ source person.s and judges for the compe ­ titions were acknowledged with grati ­ tude by the coordinators. Walking away with the awards for the best participants in each of the four groups, titled Performers, Enactors, HPY participants had been shelved be ­ cause of the heat and water shortage in Udvada. The navjotes of two children Percy Marfatia and Shahvir Irani (with Sachinwalla and Kaynaz Dadinath, Cherag Dubash and Nazneen Bharucha, 102 Parsiana Ju/y-August 19984 II ’ * A library legend Computerization of its book indexing and restoration of the heritage structure are being planned for the 100-year-old J. N. Petit Institute Parinaz M. Gandhi All the regulars are used to their favor ­ ite chair, be it near the doorway, the windows, under the fan...for it is here in the reading room at The Jamsetjee Nesserwanjee Petit Institute that they Naoroji Road and Pherozeshah Mehta spend a good many of their waking hours, away from the din and conges ­ tion that could otherwise impede their engrossed in the reading material be- fore them. Filling the vast expanse of the reading room are the elderly males who like to recline on the easy chairs near the peripheral walls with a news ­ paper propped before them. Most of the youngsters are seated in clusters around a table poring over their study material. The library is located on the first floor. To the left are the administrative assistants. At the further end facing the entrance is the circulation department for periodicals. To the right are the literary and scholastic pursuits. The popular reading room on the myriad cupboards which house the vari ­ ous books and also serve to compart ­ mentalize the area into cubicles. While second floor of the Gothic structure at the junction of Bombay ’s Dadabhai Road continues to be well patronized as can be seen from the scores of faces Above: The Victorian Gothic Revival architectural structure with its embellishments 104 Parsiana Ju/y-August 1998a couple of individuals seemed to be scanning old newspapers for some in ­ formation, one man was perched on a and painting, repairing the toilet blocks, Ricoh xerox machine from the RWITC high stool trying to retrieve a book of substituting the old electrical wiring, (Royal Western India Turf Club) Chari- > ties Fund which will for the first time in and the the history of the Institute enable mem ­ bers to copy documents of value on the premises besides serving the conve ­ nience of the administration too. A mi ­ crofilm reader printer is also on the vation of the building estimated at Rs donation of Rs 30,000 came from 40 lakhs. There is need for plastering Godrej. Another gift of value is the and painting, repairing the toilet blocks. his choice from a top shelf. Beyond touching up the stained glass windows these cubicles lie the reference room, in the reading room and some more rooms set aside for administrative purposes. Gazing up at one of the majestic appeal for funds, columns while we are still on the first floor landing, our eyes travel upward to notice a gallery reminiscent of old the ­ aters. Here too are seen rows of cup ­ boards titled administration, politics, social welfare...On the same mezza ­ nine floor are the precious books in the Institute ’s custody, kept under lock and InstituteofFashion Designing who were key, and the committee room. The sec- doing a project on the Parsi wardrobe, ond stairway of this palatial building Though it involves a higher cost, the also leads to the reading room but its use is prohibited. To commemorate the 100th year of the ornate building which was given the Urban Heritage Award for the year 1990 by the Bombay Heritage Society, drama, Fundebaj No I, was staged at the Tejpal Auditorium on March 21, 1998 when R. M. Lala was the chief guest. As director of Sir Dorab Tata Trust, Lala had earlier sanctioned a sum of Rs 10 lakhs for the repairs and reno- in the administrator ’s office, and replacing the old lift, it was specified in their “A conservation laboratory is also a must, ” says the administrator Jehangir cards which will permit easy accessi- R. Mody, “otherwise what will happen bility to 129 of their rare and precious to the old books? ” The Institute serves as a research center too drawing diverse candidates, among the recent, Mody recalls, being students of the National a books which were microfilmed and stored on 19 reels by the Congress in the United States as part of their project on the history of India after which a set of positives was presented to the Institute, according to the administrator. Among the precious tomes in the use ol gum to bind books should be library, which boasts nearly 1,20,000 substituted with formalin which can preserve paper, Mody has learnt in the course of his duties. Through the show they were able to raise nearly Rs 2.5 lakhs, and another Rs 4.5 lakhs were received from The Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited earmarked for computerization of the book indexing at the library. But the Nights. Muinbaiche Varnan, written in software program itself costs Rs 3.5 lakhs, explains the administrator. A titles, is a 17th century edition of Firdausi ’ s Shah Nameh — a 10 kg hand ­ written manuscript with luminous min ­ iature paintings, as per a write-up in The Times of India of August 3, 1997. An ­ other interesting work is the original copy of Sir Richard Burton ’s first trans ­ lated edition of A Thousand and One Marathi in 1863, is reportedly in a very fragile form. As per a write-up by Customer is always Light When he entrusts his Household Packing, Shipping, Removal, Storage.... all his problems to B.C. Buhariwala & Sons. Make the right Move, Cali: R Sens Door to door Service 5 J. N. Heredia Marg, Ballard Estate, Bombav-400 038. Tel.: 2615451/3, 2613137 Fax:22-2620785 BRANCH OFFICE: 1310, Pragati Towers, Rajendra Place, New Delhi -110 008. Tel. Nos.: 5711876, 5730795 Fax: 11-5720399 Represented throughout the World by more than 600 offices 106 Parsiana My-August 1998Under the auspices of the MAZDAYASNIE MONASTERIE and the ALL INDIA SHAH BEHRAM BAUG SOCIETY (for Scientific and Educational Research) The one and only ZOROASTRIAN COLLEGE in the world Correspondence address : Mustafa Building, (2nd floor), Sir Pherozeshah Mehta Road, Bombay 400001. India, Tel: 2660214,2662950 after hours: 3644737 Fax: Bombay India 022-2662735-A/c 121 and 3634274 A/c 141 ' DAME DR. PROF. MERER MASTER-MOOS LECTURES IN EUROPE REPORT OF LECTURES, CON­ FERENCES, & AWARDS FUNC­ TIONS EUROPE TOUR OF APRIL - MAY 1998 - ENGLAND, FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, BELGIUM, GER­ MANY, AUSTRIA, POLAND (1) THE MAIN HIGHLIGHT OF THE VISIT TO ENGLAND was the KNIGHTHOOD AWARDS CER­ EMONY in Brighton at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene on 3rd April 1998. The Ceremony was under the auspices of the Royal Order of Natural Medicine, Health Care in England. Some of the trian Religion Courses and books educa- founded by H.R.H. Crown. Prince of Universities such as Exeter and Greens tion with Mr. Shahrokh Shahrokh, the Lithuania, Dr. Leonard CaiT, and Hi.s college at Oxlord are including various College Representative in England. The Grace and Excellency, Deric, Duke of Alternative Methods in their Medical Educational Programs of the College can Bircham, of Clermont Count Palatine, Degrees Syllabus. There are also numer- reach out to the Zoroastrians in England,.. Baron of Dextar. Amongst the persons on whom the Title of Knighthood was conferred, were Presidents of four former French West African Republics and sev ­ eral distinguished Members of the Therapy, Colour Therapy, Chiropractic, Nobelity of Europe. The only person Spiritual Healing, Herbal Medicine etc. from Asia to be conferred the Honour of the Title of ‘DAME’was the Zoroastrian College President, Meher Master-Moos; Glastonbury, in August 1998, it wa.s a formulating special Therapeutic Creams for the Bio-Magnetic field to treat pa ­ tients suffering from many disorders. There was a dynamic meeting of three, with Dr. Alexander Trofimov the Sibe ­ rian Scientist who specially flew out from Siberia to France to meet Madame Melin and Dr. Meher Master-Moos; to discuss setting up Scientific Research Collaboration projects concerning the Earth ’s Geo-Magnetic Field, and the harm caused to human health and life on Earth due to the damaging of the Earth Field. The possibility of a 5 pointed star project in Siberia, England, France,Martinique and India is under consideration. The Siberian Scientists in an earlier experiment had set up mirrors College, Oxford, Dr. Michael Pinto graphs of the changes in the Aura pro ­ duced by the sound of Avesta Prayers vibrations: working with the ladies prac­ tising as Healers and with Thornton Streeter, Mrs. Meenal Mehta and Mrs. Eileen Oldfield. Through Dr. Harry Oldfield & Thornton Streeter ’s collabo ­ ration with Zoroastrian College, there is the possibility of a good development to introduce Crystal Therapy into India. (7) It was a special joy to discuss Dushinsky, amongst others. Whilst vis­ iting Rev. Dr. Fred J. Fox in Liverpool just after Easter, wintry weather set in with four inches of snow within 24 hours in the wettest April of the Century. (4) Whilst visiting the Editor of the International Journal of Alternative Medi ­ cine in London, and Dr. G. Bodekar at Green ’s College, Oxford, it was hearten ­ ing to find that there is a growing public demand tor Alternative Methods of the development of the Avesta & Zoroas- Health Care in England. Some of the Universities such as Exeter and Greens Alternative Methods in their Medical Degrees Syllabus. There are also numer ­ ous Societies, Academies and Institutes especially for the continuing of our Reli- offering a wide range of short Courses in gious Heritage and Culture for the younger a variety of Alternative Medicine Meth ­ ods ranging from Acupuncture, Aroma generation. (8) The highlights in FRANCE were first the visit to Nantes to meet Madame Gisele Melin, iheFounder of the Melin Method of aura automatic Pen % (5) With Dr. Carol Bruce, who is organising the Healing Summit in diagnosis and her great Research work in the First Lady in the history of the Parsi special experience to visit the King Community to be conferred this Title. (2) It was also a great privilege to be invited to speak at Zoroastrian House Colony of the Ancient Sumerian Civili ­ on the occasion of the Jashan & Gahambar Function arranged in pious Yadgari of Late Meherwanji Shapurji Sepai and Late Mr. S. Mody; and have a happy re-union with Parsi friends in England. (3) It was a special joy to meet dear family members and old friends in En ­ gland, amongst whom were Rusi Singporewala and his family, Jehan & Rukhshana Master and family, Mrs. Sheroo D. Keeka and family, Mrs. Joyce Les Bastien, Mrs. Pervin Badshah, Dr. raphy live video Aura Photography ob- Joyce Penn, Dr. Card Bruce, Thornton Streeter, and his family. Dr. Rev. Fred J. Fox, Janice Bray, Dr. Harry and Mrs. Eileen Oldfield, Mrs. Meenal Mehta, Mr. & Mrs. Peter Hore, Mr. & Mrs. Shahrokh Shahrokh, Mrs. Heidi Ram, Mrs. Ruth Deech, Principal of St. Anne ’s special joy to do this work taking photo- Arthur ’s Round Table Zodiac on the Earth in Summersetshire, formerly a zation and ascertain the exact location of the centre of the 6 Leh Lines which converge al the centre of the Zodiac. This is a very powerful Earth Chakhra Centre which was known to the Sumerian Athravans, the highly enlightened As ­ trologer Fire Priests, who built the Stonehenge Observatory/Sun temple. (6) With Dr. Harry Oldfield, it was an eye opener to observe his clinical taking work with the Poly Information Photog- Siberia, serving the Chakhras and Energy flow ­ ing through the Acupuncture Meridians pointed to star constellations at of the patients: diagnosis with the Stonehenge, the Carnac Megaliths in Chakhras Sound Levels Machine: and France and Stone circles at their Siberian treatment with the help of Healers and Laboratory and pulled out of the Akashik Alternative Medicine Methods. It was a records thousands of characters in Sumerian Ceneiform script of SumerianCourtesy Mr. Jamshed N. Guzder Astrology. (9) In Paris thanks to the graciou.s hospitality of the French Scholar Dr. Eric Phalippou and his charming wife Martine, and Prof. Kasra Vafadari, President of the Iranian Zoroastrian Anjuman in France,there wa.s a very lively Lecture Meeting with Slide Show on Ancient Iran, Persepolis and An ­ cient History and Culture given by Dr. Meher Master-Moos at the residence of Prof, Kasra Vafadari, to a group of Therapy equipment set with the original Iranians residing in France. It was a Nosodes of Dr. Morrell and Colour speical joy to develop the Zoroaslrian Therapy Equipment in his Clinic, which College Avesta and Zoroastrian Reli ­ gious Scriptural Studies Dept, work through both these scholars in France through .... -. -.. . ---- College Representatives in Basle, Ma­ dame Simone Buhler and Herr Ruedi Brauning. The Blumen Brauning Hot Houses have grown 14 years successive generations of orange and saffron Mari ­ golds from seeds taken from the Col ­ lege garden at Sanjan. It was a privilege to visit Madame Marina Passet to pay respectful condolences on the passing away of her late father; and to visit the bedroom where he passed away in his home in Basle; and also see the large set of equipment in his Clinic, whilst en ­ joying her gracious hospitality over din ­ ner. It was a special joy to be with Simone and Ruedi in their colourful blossomful abode; and to be made aware of all the Natural Health Care Methods that are flourishing in Switzerland es ­ pecially through Maharishi Maheshyogi ’s European Research Uni ­ versity. (11) With Madame Elizabeth Sauter it was a special pleasure to visit the Headquarters of the Anthroposophical Society at the Gotheanum at Dornach near Basle. The Ancient Cosmic Wis ­ dom and Mazdayasnie TXirathushtrian Ilm-e-Khshnoom Wisdom has much in common with the teachings of Dr. Rudolf Steiner. It was very satisfying to develop a collaboration between the Zoroastrian College Library and Courses with the Gotheanum special Library collection of Anthroposophical books; for the benefit of the European Members of the Domach centre. BELGIUM (12) Prof. Dr. Francis Dessart is a most distinguished and Internationally renowned Educationist connected with the International Association of Educa ­ tors for World Peace and many other European Union Universities Education Organisations. He is also the Zocoastrian College Representative and International Advisory Board Member. He had very I 1 4 and Iran. Eric is putting the finishing touches to hi.s Magnum Opu.s Film The ­ sis on the Iranian Zoroastrians in India kindly arranged an Inter Faith Peace and Iran. A visit to the new Wing of the Dialogue discussion Meeting with Rev. Louvre Museum Oriental Antiquities Section revealed many new additions under the Pyramid of the Museum. (10) The visit to Basle SWITZER­ LAND was for a very special puipose. Zoroastrian College late patron Dr. Rudolf Passet, had a complete Mora Marc Broomberg and Rev, Moos at his residence in Namur. There was discus ­ sion concerning future development of the work of this Dept, of our College; especially the possibility of an Inter Faith Peace Conference being arranged in In ­ dia in 1999. Madame Wanda Dessart, a renowned Artist in Moldavia provided gracious hospitality at home with her children Christina and Richard. A Lec ­ ture scheduled to have been held in Antwerp on 6th May could not take his daughter Madame Marina Passet, had graciously donated to the Zoroas ­ trian College through the kindness of the place. IINSTITUTIONS One location, many voices Whether scholarship or cookery, the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute provided vintage fare Arnavaz S. Mama How do the five major diasporas of the current Zoroastrian world differ from each other? What is the philosophy of the Zarathushtrian faith and how does it differ from other views of the world? Who are we and why are we so con ­ cerned about our identity? These were some ofthe themes resounding through the KRCOI (K. R. Cama Oriental Insti ­ tute) library hall in the first quarter of 1998. Leavening the intellectual fare was an exhibition-cum-recital of the highpoints in the life of the three Parsi baronets and the launch of a cookery book with the promise of high tea that virtually amounted to a hearty lunch! A wealth of information regarding major Zoroastrian settlements around the world was conveyed by John Hinnells, professor of comparative reli ­ gion at the London University ’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). To deliver the prestigious Katrak Lec ­ tures in 1985 — held once a decade at Oxford University on Zoroastrian themes — Hinnells had traveled to vir ­ tually every Zoroastrian community, examining their archives and undertak ­ ing a worldwide postal survey that net ­ ted 1,800 responses which translated banking and had a role in the establish- into 200,000 pages of computer print ­ out. A distillate of the strenuous scho ­ lastic task was conveyed to the KRCOI audience in three lectures. “The more I study Parsi history the more it seems to me that to know what happens in Bombay one must know what happens abroad, ” declared Hinnells, adding, “Few Bombay Parsis have made fortunes or achieved power by remaining in Bombay. ” While the popular concept of the diaspora refers only to groups fleeing oppression, Hinnells distinguished such refugee diaspora from its educational and eco ­ nomic counterparts. Dating most Parsi settlements back to 1756 because of scant earlier records, HinnelLs noted that Parsis had reached China before the British though they arrived in Hongkong in larger numbers after the establishment of the crown colony. Though no records survive of factory, bank, post office, school, dis- the associations in Peking and Penang, pensary and fire-temple. His son there are Parsi graves in Macao which Hormusji branched into Zanzibar where was “used by South China Parsis as a holiday center. ” The dead were victims of disease or had drowned in typhoons, he noted. A quarter of the funds for Britain ’s person to build Aden, ” Hinnells cred ­ ited to him the construction of the first floating dock, desalinization plant, ice the community had arrived prior to him and “the three Darukhanawalla broth ­ ers there employed more Parsis than everyone else. ” It was the post- 1896 building of the East African railways from Mombasa to Kenya, to Lake Victoria, to Uganda, to Nairobi that led to vast professional recruitment in Bombay. The East African^ettlements with their professional character dif ­ fered from the wholly commercial com ­ plexion of the Hongkong diaspora. Also, ’ while East Africa was a source of indi ­ vidual wealth for Bombay families there was no comparison to the affluence generated in Hongkong with the lone exception of the Cowasjee Dinshaw family. The third diaspora Hinnells exam ­ ined concerned the migration of Parsis to Hyderabad in Sind and thence to Karachi. Here the Parsi businessmen came as suppliers to the British Army locked in the Afghan Campaign and the ment ot the Hongkong and Shanghai Edulji Dinshaw, Ghadiali andMinwalla Bank; the Hongkong Land Company was set up by Sir Hormusji Modi and the Hongkong University was his brain ­ child, noted Hinnells. Other Parsi pre ­ occupations there were the Star Ferry that connected the island to the main ­ land and the institution of horse racing. An affluent and charitable group, few Zoroastrians took their wives to Hongkong in those early years and the settlement continues to be male domi ­ nated. The Zoroastrian diaspora to East Africa began with Aden, a watering hole for British troops in the Abyssinian Campaign, which became more Indian than Arabic. Describing Cowasjee Dinshaw as “the single most important The higher the level of education the less likely is the Zoroastrian to preserve tradition J 4 g' 112 Parsiana July-Au gust 1998 Indian administration came from taxa ­ tion of the China trade financed by opium from Calcutta which was also the basis of Sir Jamseljee Jejeebhoy ’s fortune and the source that funded the foundation of two of Bombay ’s atash behrams, said Hinnells. But Zoroastri ­ ans in Hongkong were also active in families enjoyed considerable success. “Unlike Hongkong and East Africa, Karachi was seen as a place to settle, ” said Hinnells. In 40 years they had established two dar-e-mehers, two dokhmas and two schools. “By 1872 a third of the pupils were girls ” (perhaps because being dynamic and flexible minded they were more open to the idea of female education) and in 1875 a varasiya was transported there. Dispen ­ saries, a hospital and a college followed a.s their liquor trade zoomed 700 per ­ cent, noted Hinnells. Religious infra ­ structure was “coherently and ratio ­ nally developed by Dastur Maneck Dhalla who “was loved even if people disagreed with him. ” Pakistan ’s early I? cabinet meetings were held in Dinshaw Avail ’s Beach Luxury Hotel and “Parsis believed they had contributed substan ­ tially to Moslem Pakistan, said their cooks with them. It was a Zoroastrian education thanks to Hinnells. Bhownaggree who broke with the tradi- Dhalla. The most traditional ones are In contrast to these commercial ------------------- —--------------------------- those who have gone west from East diasporas, the settlement in Britain be- nortniQ Africa whence they felt uprooted due to gan as a largely educational diaspora. IVIUlU peupitJ... political strife. “If people see the new The British “records are greater and in deSCrlbCd themSClveS ‘Country as alien, they tend to preserve cnirtp n/oe kn.vn ” . I-.- • r .1 I. as Canadian Zoroastrians than as American Zoroastrians ” were the order of the day. They were the direct result of the early food restric ­ tions which required travelers to take Bombay because oftheir early access to their cooks with them. It was Bhownaggree who broke with the tradi- the west, yet people from Karachi are more traditional than people from some respects the impact was huge. ” Rustom Sett, winning his case against the East India Company, was the first visitor. In the mid 19th century came three memhers of the Wadia family to study engineering, followed by Jamsetji Tata. In the 1860 and 70s the rolls in the law, medical and engineering colleges were full of Parsi names, note.s Hinnells. “Few went to make money. (It was the) acceptance of knowledge as power. ” Dadahhai Naoroji and Muncherjec Bhownaggree, in search of political in- tluence, were elected to the British Par ­ liament, the former “idolized in the community, ” the latter “denounced as antihero ” for currying favor with the establishment. SirDhunjibhoy Bomanji settled in the UK as a supplier in the Boer War and First World War. Wherever the Parsi,s went they set up their clubs where liquor, food and card.s politan citie.s prepare people for life in tion and used social life to show British society that Parsis were not like other Indians by inviting British dignitaries to Navroze and Pateti dinners which he as president of the Parsi Association organized at elite restaurants. While Parsi women were unable to move around in Chinese society, in Britain ethnicity! Parsis took their wives and daughters with them, emphasized Hinnells. When, whence and why people mi ­ grate determines how they settle in the new country, said Hinnells. Cosmo- traditions; if the new culture is seen as welcoming, they are less likely to cling to old values. Indians in India sec them ­ selves in a homogenous culture and are therefore more open to Hindu influ ­ ence. East Africans and Pakistanis come from cultures where the boundary i.s maintained, ” argued Hinnells. Also, the higher the level of educa ­ tion, the less likely is the Zoroastrian to preserve tradition. Hinnells has noted a strange attribute among postgi ’aduates, however: doctorates in arts show a pro ­ clivity towards the religion, doctorates in science are more likely to preserve Young people follow the religion of their parents while at home but drift away at the university. Hojvever, they revert to the religion when their chil ­ dren come. More young people in the continued on page 133^ Saal Mubarak BUILDTECH INDIA Engineers and Contractors For Restoration, Renovation, Rehabilitation, Waterproofing, Guniting, Grouting, Epoxy Treatments, Polymer Treatments, Plastering, Plumbing and Painting of Multistoried Buildings and Structures 27, Kailas Darshan, 7th Floor, Kennedy Bridge, Nana Chowk, Mumbai 400007 Telephones: 3890912, 3890913, 3893364 114 Parsiana July-August 1998HISTORY Listen attentively. Then I can teach” The wisdom of the Pahlavi text PandNamah authored by Dastur Adarbad Marespand in the fourth century AD is still relevant today Capt Hormazdiar Desai Referred to as Atunpad E Manuspandan or Atunpat in Pahlavi and Adhurbadh in English, Dasturan Dastur Adarbad — a great lover and able exponent of the religion of Zarathushtra — lived during the reign of Shapur II (309-79 AD). A firm believer in ethical teaching, in righteousness, moral behavior, trans ­ parent character and purity, in good thoughts, good words and good deeds, Adarbad was an orthodox dastur to the core. He did not agree with the Zervanitc and order were most important, bearing in mind that the soul ha.s to prepare for its journey to the world hereafter. We Haug Prize of Rs 200. may find some of his counsels — dos and don ’ts — rather elementary. But lar urging Zoroastrian bodies and indi- they were for a young son. Our youth viduals to buy copies of the book in would greatly benefit from them. He large numbers and promised to plough has consistently laid great stress on wisdom —• using one ’s intellect, avoid ­ ing anger and vengeance, avoiding bad company. In his counsels, he has given to the youth of all generation.s the quin ­ made an excellent effort and the essay deserved, from every point of view, the The late K. R. Cama issued a circu- sect which believed that man was powerless against fate or time and thus opposed Zarathushtra ’s teaching that hu ­ man beings were free to choose between good and evil and that Asha — righteousness — was the best for them. To vindicate his stand, Adarbad Marespand underwent the ordeal of having molten brass poured on his bare chest. His emergence from the back the profits by offering prizes for translations of other Pahlavi works. In his excellent booklet, printed in 1869, Ervad Bharucha has in addition to an explanatory preface, explained how to read the Pahlavi text; indicated the pronunciation o,;^ the words in Gujarati and in Roman char ­ acter; offered a Gujarati transla ­ tion; and given notes, explain- - ing various abbreviations and Pahlavi terms. The only English translation of the Pahlavi Pand Namah that the author is aware of is the one printed in 1956 in the informa ­ tive book entitled The Teach- ¦n ordeal unscathed was hailed as a m i racle. The King decreed that he would not tolerate false religions. Several prayers in the Khordeh A vesta are the compositions of Dasturan Dastur Adarbad Marespand. They speak He even advises them to enjoy life, and College, volumes for his vision, foresight, righ- to make merry, indulging moderately Adarbad starts the Pand Namah in teous character and practical and bal- in the good things of life. the name of the Holy Creator — the anced approach to all problems in life. There are 149 such counsels. For the giver of good health to us all. He told He named his son Zartusht. His coun- benefit of our youth, I will briefly his son; “Listen attentively. Then I can seis to his son, wherein he claims to translate them from the Gujarati ver- teach (give) you the best knowledge. ” teach him civilized behavior, is a su- sion of Ervad Sheriarjee Dadabhai He states; perb code of ethics — and true even Bharucha who was a Sir Jamsetjee •Think of (doing) good deeds. today nay for all times. Jejeebhoy Fellow and Zend teacher in •Do not (ever) think of (committing) sins A pious, righteous, truthful, wise the Sir J. J. Zarthoshti Madressa. His — for man does not live eternally. Good and practical religious head, Dasturan was the only entry for the essay compe- deeds only lead to the highest heaven. Dastur has greatly emphasized the fun- tition organized by the Zarthoshti Dinni •Do not forget what is honorable to do. damentals of the good religion. For Khol Karnari Mandali requiring candi- By this, your status in both the worlds is Adarbad, wisdom, intellect, experience, ' ‘ ‘ Do not have vengeance in your mind towards someone through whom you have suffered tessence of the religion of Zarathushtra. ings of the Magi, A Compendium of Zoroastrian Beliefs by Professor R. C. Zaehner, Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at the University of Oxford and Fellow of All Souls to make merry, indulging moderately in the good things of life. There are 149 such counsels. For the benefit of our youth, I will briefly translate them from the Gujarati ver ­ sion of Ervad Sheriarjee Dadabhai Bharucha who was a Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy Fellow and Zend teacher in the Sir J. J. Zarthoshti Madressa. His was the only entry for the essay compe ­ tition organized by the Zarthoshti Dinni Khol Karnari Mandali requiring candi ­ dates to translate the Pand Namah I higher. Adarbad Marespand. A panel of judges faith, knowledge, sound common sense, good behavior, character, integrity and consisting of the Poona Dastur Now ­ honesty, moderation, balance, reason ­ ableness, foresight, opposition to evil at all times and at all costs, abstaining from lies, vice and vengeance, justice shirwanji Dastur Jamaspji, Dr Martin Haug (philologer) and Dastur Hoshangji Jamaspji Dastur was appointed. In Janu ­ ary 1866 they declared that ,he had •Do not grieve or indulge in sorrow for what you (feel) you have not received from the Creator. •Be a lover of elders and chieftains. •Never be disrespectful. •What you consider not good for your- 116 Parsiana July-August 1998 Iself, do not do unto others. •Be one in mind with elders and friends. •Do not be a slave to any man. Stay well away from those who behave with you in anger and vengeance. •Always, and at all times, have hope (faith)inGod and love only those who may be in ­ terested in you and benefit you most. •Endeavor, and be ready, to sac ­ rifice your life for things dear to God and the Do not mock a poor man, for some day Ameshaspands. •Do not reveal your secret.s to women. •Do not respect what you have heard as if you have yourself seen it. •Do not let yourself, your wife, children and your countrymen remain unedu ­ cated so that you have not to suffer grievous hurt and unhappiness and have not to repent. •Do not indulge in undue laughter at inappropriate times. •In all matters, after duly considerin, you too may become poor g ive balanced replies ig everything — the past and the future. •Do not mock or jest al anyone. •Do not tell your secrets to a fool. •Do not keep company of persons who get angry. •Do not enter into arguments with per ­ sons who do not believe in reli ­ gion. •Do not (make a habit) of dining with rich people. •Do not even dine with drunkards. from an evil na- luredmanorfrom one with a base lineage nor lend to them, for you will have to repay powerful people, heavy interest — not only that but that man will send al your doors persons to collect the amount from which you would suffer grievous loss (in reputa ­ tion). •Do not summon an evil person to your help. •Do not show your wealth and property to a jealous or envious man. •Do not make false declarations in the presence of kings or those in higher positions. •Do not listen to those who indulge in calumnies or lies. •Do not have vengeance in your mind towards someone through whom you have suffered. •Do not have enmity towards your soul i.e. do not anything by which your soul may have to go to hell. •Do not beat or hurt any man. •Do not strive or quarrel to take a higher seat in public meetings. •Seek the advice of dignified and hon ­ orable persons, wise, intelligent and •Do not borrow good naturcd people and make them your friends. •Be wary and afraid of the world so that you do not have to face heavy disgrace. •Keep well away from vengeful and •Do not have enmity with scribe,s (jour ­ nalists). •Do not tell your secrets to thoughtless people who speak at random. •Always respect elders and wise people. Seek their advice and listen (act upon) what they say. •Do not lie to any person.^ •Do not take (buy) goods from a person who has no shame. •Do not have the intention of taking and- Wishing All Our Patrons A Very Happy And Prosperous New Year M/s Framji Rustamji Choksey Estd: 1850 (Partner Sorabji Eduiji Cooper) Goldsmith & Art Jewellers (Approved Valuers by Govt of India for Jewellery) Shop: 253, Sheikh Memon Street, Bombay 400002 Phone: 3425422, 3442639 Residence; 585, Khan House, Chira Bazar, Bombay 400002 Phone: 2051118, 2063099 118 Parsiana July-August 1998keeping anything from anyone nor pledge any of your things with them. •Do not indulge in taking oaths, whether you are in the right or in the wrong. •When you desire to construct a house, take the advice of a well experienced person in building construction. •For yoLii own sake, love your own wife. Do not cast an evil eye on other women. •If you have wealth, first buy land and plan thereon irrigation facilities, wells. Do not indulge in undue laughter at lakes and agricul ­ ture. Though you may not get immediate results, still it will give moderate produce. •Do not use bad words and make people unhappy. Do not be vengeful and do not attempt to cause harm to them. •Do charity from your own resources. •Do not cheat any person. Then you too will not be too unhappy. •Hold the elders of your tribe in great esteem — rather consider them greater and accept whatever you hear from them. ifuippropriate times •Do not take any debt from strangers, (those) who are not your relatives or friends. •Love modest women and get them married to intelligent and wise persons, for the intelligent and wise persons are reading and writing is like another see- like good land (earth) w Inch yield good ing eye. produce and ex ­ cellent food and fruits, once the seed ha.s been sown. •Be frank and open in your speech. •Do not indulge in conversation with people who do not think. •Do not lend money to people lacking character. •Be a friend of educated and modest women and wish to make one such your wife. •Make only him your son-in-law if he is good natured, without blemish and ex ­ perienced, even if he be poor, because some day the Creator would give him wealth. •Do not mock a poor man, for some day you too may become poor. •Do not imprison a sinner with status but make an elder and intelligent man a warden over him. •Should you have a son, send him to school from childhood for the art of •Sharp speaking should be done only after due deliberation — sometimes it is better to speak firmly and at other times it is better not to speak at all, even so, it is better not to speak than to speak. •Make your messenger only one who speaks the truth. •Do not consider a rank outsider as trustworthy i.e. do not place more con ­ fidence in a man looking only to his outward appearance and without know ­ ing his inner inclination. •Respect a famous person as per the prevailing custom. •Be courteous in your speech. •Keep your speech sweet. •Always think good thoughts. •Do not ever praise yourself — that you only do good deeds. •Do not expose yourself as a guilty person in the presence of'kings and chieftains. •Seek advice and guidance from elders and from good people. * Neville & Tanaz Godiwalla Wish All Parsi Patrons A Very Happy and Prosperous New Year For the tastiest food in town, with moderate rates too; none to beat the Godiwallas! Just give us your budget and we'll fit you in. Telephone Nos: 3775842, 3775360, 3742065, 3717036 120 Parsiana July-August 1998•Do not take from or give anything to thieves. Make them powerless. •Punish others after due consideration for fear of hell. •Do not be proud of any unlawful per ­ A Jl I of hell. •Search yoi'r soul i.e. often think good thoughts, peak good words and do public meetings, do not sit at a higher good c'eed.s so that you may go to heaven. •Be generous so that you may go to the bad character. •Whenever you sit at banquets or at place so that you are not asked to make room for higher ups and asked to take a lower seat. •Do not be proud of the wealth and treasure of this world because it is like a bird which flies and sits from one tree to another and is not stable on any tree. •Be obedient, listen to and do as your parents order, as man is like a lion, who is not afraid of any one in the jungle, so long as his parents are alive. Those highest heaven. •Do not seduce or spoil other women, for if you do that, your soul would be the sin ­ ner. •Do not consider mean persons de ­ serving, for they whose parents are not alive are like shall not be grate ­ ful or thank you. •Do not harm your own soul by anger and vengeance. •While saying or doing something, be sweet and humble for no backs are broken by exercising humility and no mouth smclLs bad by asking sweetly. •Do not talk during the very first con ­ versation with anyone with an evil or angry face. •When you sit in an assembly, do not sit next to a person with bad characteristics so that you too are not considered as a son or possession with you. •Be good in obe ­ dience for thus you will be good and profit. •Be without sins — thus you will be without fear. •Be always grate ­ ful — thus you Do not consider a rank outsider as will desire the best. •Be friendly to all his outward appearance and without — thus you will knowing his inner inclination be famous. •Be truthful — thus you will be trust ­ worthy. •Be wise — thus you will have many friends. •Have many good friends will have good reputation. •Be of good repute — thus you will lead a good life. •Be a champion of your religion — thus you will profit and be free from the fear trustworthy i.e. do not place more confidence in a man looking only to thus you widowed women who are unwanted and whom men despise as low. •Get your daughter married to a wise and intelligent man for such men arc like good land, which when planted with good seeds, give ample produce. •Do not abuse any one if you do not like to hear abuses from others. •Do not speak aggressively or inconsid ­ erately, because a person who speaks rudely and without due consideration is like a fire which sets ablaze a tree forest, killing all animals and insects. •Do not work with a person with whom hi.s parent.s are distressed and unhappy so that you do not deserve reprimands.' gi ** MASTER MARINE SERVICES Surveyors Licence No: SLA 19207 Surveyors and Consultants Ship, Cargo and Marine Surveyors, Loss Assessors, Technical Consultants, Container Terminal Superintendents and General Contractors, Container Repairers Reefer Cargo/Container Surveyors 22/D, S.A. Brelvi Road, Fort, Mumbai 400001 Phone: 2873567/2832145/2870716/2886642/43 • Cable: ‘MOORINGS’ Telex: 118-2119 MMSB IN • Fax: 91-22-2870139 • Email: g=mms/s=bom/p=gems/a=vsnl/c=in Internet: mms. bom@gems.vsnl.net. in Branches Ahmedabad — Calcutta — Jaipur — Kandla -- Ludhiana — Nhava Sheva -- New Delhi — Surat 122 Parsiana July-August 1998 I•Do not surrender your soul to hell out good for their subjects. •Intellect helps mankind greatly. Wealth may be lost and cattle may die, yet intellect remains. Secondly, strive to have full faith in your religion for what is the greatest satisfaction? It is wis- of modesty or shame. •Do not speak in a way which could be interpreted in two different ways. •When you sit in assemblies, do not sit next to a liar so that you may not become unhappy. •Be alert and vigi ­ lant so that you may realize your good wishes. •Arise dawn, so that your work becomes easy and is soon completed. before •Do not make an /)o //oz /e/iJ money to people lackin}’ old enemy your character new friend for an old enemy is like a black serpent who does not lorget to take vengeance even after a long time. ' ¦' •Renew friendship with your old (and trusted) friends for an old friend is like keep your led away from idlcnes.s and old wine — as it becomes older, it keep your mind away from vengeance for whoever practices good deeds ob ­ tains good reward and whosoever sins gets punishment. •Whosoever digs a well for his cnemie.s will himself fall into it. •A good person will be happy but the evil one will suffer hardship and great pain. becomes better and better for kings to drink. •Keep your heart happy by praying to the Creator for thus you will get more bounties from Him. •Do not speak ill of the rulers, for they ensure the security of the town and do dom. And what i.s the greatest? Hope for the best in the next world. •At all times think of your soul. Endeavor, so that you get happiness in the life hereafter. •Do not forsake your good work tor if you arc without work, your pres ­ tige will suffer and people will hate you. •Keep your hands away from stealing. 'to' •Marry a young woman. •Drink wine in moderation for whoso ­ ever drinks wine beyond moderate lim ­ its commits many ill deeds. •Though you may know several ways to catch snakes, do not frequently attempt it for if it stings you, you will die on the spot. •Even if you know well to swim, yet do not frequent rivers and deep waters for the same water will one day carry you away and you will die at the same spot. •Under no circumstances break your promise so that you do not invite disre ­ spect. •Do not rob the property of others or add it to your properly for, with it your own properly will vanish (text incomplete). •The person who strives and does good deeds and docs not refrain from being industrious, that person, with the help of good fortune, becomes a man of status. •That person who is not proud and grieve.s over the smallest sins, he has not to seek remedies for the salvation of his soul. •Those who do not use their limbs and senses, they unnecessarilytblame their bad luck. •One who endeavors for getting ben ­ efits, fortune favors him. The idle re-' main disappointed. 'c PRUDENTIAL SHIPPING AGENCIES PRIVATE LIMITED Shipping agents, cargo brokers and container operators 55A/63A, Walchand Hirachand Marg, Opp G.P.O., Mumbai 400001, India Tel: 2692787 (lO Lines), Fax: 2652841, Tlx: 11 82307 PSAB IN Email: g=pmdential / s=bom / p=gems / a=vsnl / c=in Internet: prudential. bom@gems.vsnl.net. in Registered Office: 77, Mint Road, Fort, Mumbai 400001, India Tel: 2694203, 2659055, 2658396 B ranches Bombay — Nhava Sheva — Kandla -- New Delhi — Ludhiana — Ahmedabad 124 Parsiana My-August 1998•I have experienced that wisdom alone can keep away all ills in this world. •Wisdom alone can solve difficulties and find appropriate remedies. •Wisdom gives a man higher position and status and saves him from all ter ­ rible difficulties. •Wisdom gives happiness in life and preserves it. Wisdom frees the body of pain and helps it. •Wisdom is good even if you are rich. Even when you are poor, wisdom pro ­ tects you. •Wisdom is your best help in this world and wisdom alone gives you support and protection in the world hereafter. •Wisdom is a very strong weapon. •Wisdom gives respectability to your name. •Wisdom leads to charity and generos ­ ity. •Wisdom helps very greatly. •Wisdom alone secures dignity and de ­ corum for the family. •Wisdom and knowledge arc the best qualities for promoting religion. •Wisdom in all matters comes easy with intellect. •Wisdom makes all persons work harder; one with wisdom does good deeds; one who has wisdom has wealth. A solution for every good deed comes through keep death away at that time. •After death the corpse remains for a while on the bier and from there, in sorrow, remains at the permanent last ­ ing place. •At that stage, your family will be one with other families. •Wealth and power will pass on to others and the widow will think and grieve for her husband. •Wealth and property will go to the heirs. •Soul remains separate, the body lonely and dogs and bird,s of prey will descend with vengeance. •Whether big or small, whether master or servant, whether a beggar or a gener ­ ous person, whether a person with sta ­ tus or lower status, they all have to pass on to the world beyond. •Those who break the dictates of pious person.s and indulge in disobedience, when they reach the world hereafter, like the boys who disobey their parents, after undergoing a mountain of repen ­ tance and pleading for justice, after passing over the great and bright Chin vat Bridge, they will reap the rewards of whatever they may have done when their souls were within their bodies (in thi.s world). a wisdom. •Even if one lives for a hundred years in this world, he has ultimately to cross the bridge. •Hence you ponder. At that time your relatives and family members will not accompany you; rather they will sepa ­ rate from you. Whatever gains you have acquired through wisdom and good deeds, that alone will stand by you. •A wise person recognize.s and knows all problems from the beginning but fool knows them only at the end, when it is too late. •When health breaks down and the body cage gives way, then the soul forgets the body and marches on. The soul discards the body and the body cage i.s useless. At that point, the soul becomes restless for deed.s it ha.s done when the body was intact. •When once the eyes finally close, they are never to open again. •At that stage, the soul in sorrow will not move further. •The hand, which has broken thcn,iwill not work again. •The leg, broken at that time, will not work again. •The walks of several fortresses will not 126 Parsiana July-August 1998I (I >i » * a ¦*’1 . I*?* <• 1ft OHVifli ill 4 «* « *1 \ LIBRARY LEGEND continued from page 109 1 I > '.I It Clockwise: Bust of Jamsetjee N. Petit outside main reading room; stained glass windows on second floor; stained glass window and frieze of orien tal scholar Kharsedjee Rustomjee Kama on staircase; books stacked on shelves on first floor; main reading hall of library 129 Parsiana July-August 1998 f I IMATRIMONIAL Good-looking, fair, educated, working girl, 26 years, invites alliance from boys upto 31 years, educated, well settled, having own accommodation and good income, preferably Mumbai. Write full details with photograph (returnable) to: The Advertiser Parsiana, Matrimonial (July-Aug/13-98)* GPO Box 892, Bombay 400001 ‘Please make sure the reply envelope bears the reference number cited here. publications. There is a book and magazine com ­ mittee headed by Patel and assisted by tenary souvenir. Until its golden jubilee celebrations in 1948, the Institute had been growing in strength and reputation as witnessed from the congratulatory messages on their 50th anniversary. “I have no doubt yours is the biggest sub- handicap the Institution for the last nearly 50 years, as recorded in the cen- MATRIMONIAL Parents of M.A., B.Ed. girl, aged 36, working as vice principal in a leading institution in Bombay invite correspondence, view matrimony, from good cultured boys. Please reply with details and photograph to: The Advertiser Parsiana, Matrimonial (July-Aug/14-98)* GPO Box 892, Bombay 400001 ‘Please make sure the reply envelope bears the reference number cited here. some members of the committee and other well-read personages like D. D. Damodar, Govind Kasbekar, Ardeshir Mulla and Shantaram Rege. As per their last annual report, 765 volumes were added during the year of which scription library in India, ” wrote S. R. 237 were received as gifts. Altogether Ranganathan, president of the Indian 197 periodicals were subscribed to by Library Association. “Though the Im- the Institute of which 153 were Indian perial library at Calcutta is the biggest titles and the rest foreign. To accommo- public library in India, the best public date the new tomes on their premises library in India is the Petit library, ” acknowledged G. Hanmantha Rao, li ­ brarian of the Mysore University Li­ brary. “It is a wonderful example of what enlightened charity and prudent they have a special weeding out com ­ mittee with Boga and some other mem ­ bers of the book and magazine commit ­ tee at the helm. Depending on the con ­ dition of the book, the number of times trusteeship at their best can achieve, ” it was issued, the contents of the book and its value for scholars, they decide whether or not to retain the copies, narrates Mody. Three kinds of disinfec ­ tion are regularly conducted on the Institute ’s premises by B. Kaikhushroo and Company. There is the general disinfection, the special treatment for white ants and cockroaches, and yet another treatment for rodents, explains the administrator. Paucity of funds has continued to he added. According to B, S. Kesavan of the Imperial library, “The Petit fam ­ ily has done for Bombay what Carnegie has tried to do for Europe and America. ” The library on its present palatial premises was opened for use on May 1, 1898 after it was registered as The J. N. Petit Institute. It was made possible thanks to a munificent donation of Rs 2,50,000 from Dinbai Nesserwanjee Petit who was keen to erect an edifice in memory of her predeceased son - SONARCH INTERNATIONAL (Exporters and Manufacturers) 91, Nagdevi Cross Lane, 1st floor, Mumbai 400003, India Tel: -t-i-9 1-22-3411163, 3449746, 3401603 Fax: +-b9 1-22-3441758 E-mail: tejass@hotmail.com 130 Parsiana July-August 1998 ISuccessful environmental protection is never an after-thought: it is always the result of intelligent planning SOLI ARCEIVALA NERGISH ARCEIVALA Best compliments from SMITA STATIONERY MART Manufacturers and suppliers of plastic, stationery and gift articles, specialist in computer stationery 17/23/25, Tawa Lane 2nd Floor, Mumbai 400003 Proprietor Mr Dilipbhai Shah Pager: 9622-311898 130b Parsiana July-August 1998 Jamsetjee. The land on which the Insti ­ tute stands was reportedly obtained from the late industralist Jamsetjee N. Tata and the government of Bombay. Prior to that they were operating from a big hall on the first floor of a house in Churchgate Street under the name of could have easy access at the cheapest The Jamsetjee Nesserwanjee Petit Fort rate, its reading room has been made the Reading Room and Library, following chief resort of literary amusement. ” a donation of Rs 25,000 endowed to The Fort Reading Room and Library by Jamsetjee ’s father. Jamsetjee, who was a life member of the Library and elected premises which was then only one storey one of its directors, is known to have high. “A graceful combination of art taken a “most lively interest in its wel- and utility with perfect harmony of fare and progress until his premature design and perspective, ” was under ­ death in 1888” at the age of 32. The Fort Reading Room and Library had its genesis in the Fort Improvement Library, opened on April 1, 1856 thanks terrace above it was meant to afford “a to the collective effort of a dozen Parsi students of Bombay ’s Elphinstone Col ­ lege, among whom was J. N. Tata. By pooling the books in their possession, they formed a mutual lending library, operating from the fourth floor of a residential quarter in the Fort area. At dence that the birth of Jamsetjee and the the end of the first year there were 115 genesis of the J. N. Petit Institute took members, all Zoroastrians, with class place in the same year, 1856,” accord- one members paying eight annas per ing to an article by the late B.K.Boman- month, and second class members, five Behram, former mayor of Bombay and ‘ annas. In 1857 it moved to a more spacious building in Rampart Row. At its second annual general meeting in 1859 the president claimed that “this institution being the only one of its kind in the Fort to which all classes of people In fact, this objective of the reading room was retained when the new one was planned atop the J. N. Institute taken in 1938 at a cost ofRs 2,31,000 as per the centenary souvenir of the Insti ­ tute published in 1956. The large tiled panoramic view of the Northern Bombay...ideal for open-air functions. ” The ornamental turret serves as a cul ­ mination of the architectural grandeur of the building. “It is an interesting historical coinci- % I t 3 With compliments from P. A. DARUWALA & COMPANY Engineers • Contractors • Builders 53-C, Meherzin, 109-A, Wodehouse Road, Colaba, Mumbai 400005 Telephones: 2181352/2187778 Fax: (91-22) 2188952 Piroja Mansion, Ground Floor, Opposite Grant Road Station (E), Mumbai 400007 Telephones: 3092974/3088231MATRIMONIAL Wanted a tall Parsi/lrani girl preferably 5’6” and above, aged between 22 and 26, for a tall, good-looking Parsi boy, 30 years, residing abroad, with high academic qualifications and doing consultancy business in company ’s finance with excellent earning. Apply to: The Advertiser Parsiana, Matrimonial (July-Aug/15-98)* GPO Box 892, Bombay 400001 ’Please make sure the reply envelope bears the reference number cited here. MATRIMONIAL Alliance invited for good natured, tall, fair and handsome son (27/5’11 engineering professional well employed, living permanently in USA visiting India December 98, from good looking, tall, pleasant natured, educated, homely Parsi girls willing to settle abroad. Please reply with full details and a recent full length color photograph (returnable) to: The Advertiser Parsiana, Matrimonial (July-Aug/16-98)* GPO Box 892, Bombay 400001 ’Please mSke sure the reply envelope bears the reference number cited here. chairman of the Bombay Parsi deavor of the present managerial team. Punchayet, reprinted in the centenary The atmosphere and ambience prevail- souvenir of the Institute brought out in ing at this Institute cannot be found at any 1998. With a passion for poetry, other library, believes India ’s attorney Jamsetjee could compose effortlessly, . general and the Institute ’s committee rhymes as also blank verse in Gujarati, member Sorabjee who as a teenager was although he had mastery of the English fairly regular here. The senior members language. One monumental work which of the committee at the J. N. Petit Insti ­ tute who have availed of the facilities here during their youth would like to ensure that the coming generations too look forward to climbing up the spiral stairway; an ascent that could lead them to books, to knowledge, and to wisdom. deavor of the present managerial team. souvenir of the Institute brought out in ing at this Institute cannot be found at any 1998. With a passion for poetry, other library, believes India ’s attorney rhymes as also blank verse in Gujarati, f .1_______________ although he had mastery of the English fairly regular here. The senior members he undertook was a compilation of nearly 10,000 Gujarati sayings and proverbs. A student of Zend as also Persian, he had reportedly translated parts of the Zend Vendidad as also works of some Persian poets. He was required to forego his academic career at the Elphinstone College when his father required assis- Errata tance from the only son in the manage ­ ment of their commercial enterprises. With his shrewd judgment of commer ­ cial matters he was soon made director of seven companies. According to the write-up, “It was Jamsetjee who con ­ ceived the idea of founding the two magnificent institutions — the J. N. Petit Institute and the J. N. Petit Or ­ phanage. ” He is even said to have re ­ fused medical treatment on his death ­ bed until he received an assurance from his father that the means for founding the orphanage would be provided. To keep alive his dream is the en- Through an oversight, the cover story on Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy (Parsiana, April ’98) was titled “The benevolent Baron ’’ instead of “The benevolent Baronet. ” A baronet holds a rank of honor below a baron and above a knight. We thank our reader Dr Viraf Dhalla for pointing out the error. The contents page of the April ’98 issue stated February-March instead of April and Volume 20 Number 7 instead of Num ­ ber 8. The errors are regretted. •st With best compliments from AAKAAR FLUXES PRIVATE LIMITED Manufacturers of Submerged Arc Welding Fluxes E-mail no. silico@bom2.vsnl.net.in 130d Parsiana July-August 1998 IONE LOCATION, MANY VOICES continued from page J i4 UK today object to intermarriage (though a growing minority is marrying out) and enjoy visits to the old country as compared to the 1960 migrants. The Europe) committee members to attend highly educated, particularly the scien ­ tists, the career highfliers, those born in the west, those who came in the 1960s or live in scattered group.s lend to marry out, especially the men. Business oriented Hong ­ kong is becoming more pro ­ fessional as the young people go west for higher educa ­ tion. An extremely wealthy anjuman, it is still “more tra ­ ditional than any other com ­ munity I know (with) emo- | tional ties to Bombay and s Navsari. ” With its full-time | priest — Hongkong is the | only center with one, accord- ing to Hinnells — it practices purity laws regarding women and non-Zoro- astrians. There are more Zoroastrian scien ­ tists in the US than anywhere else and the most highly educated. Also, levels of career achievement in the US are higher with 50 percent at executive levels compared to 25 percent in the UK. Also the US population is gener ­ ally younger with “virtually no East Africans. ” Canadian Zoroastrians are predomi ­ nantly of Indian origin except tor symbolic. If you lose the tics both groups they cooperated, ” revealed Hinnells ’ Vancouver which has a substantial Ira- lose out; keep together and both stand to research. Together they pleaded the Ilian community; are more highly edu- gain. ” cause of Iranian Zoroastrians and cated than their British coreligionists One of Hinnells ’ lectures was de- worked for community affairs in En- ihough less than the US community. voted to restoring the image of Sir gland. There are “memories in Zoroas- More people... described them- Muncherjee Bhownaggree, the estab- trian House of Bhownaggree cutting selves as Canadian Zoroastrians than as lishmentarian who had succeeded Sak (Labor MP Shapoorji Saklatvala American Zoroastrians, because of the Dadabhai Naoroji, the popular liberal who was said to have undergone bap- Canadian government s multicultural promoter of India ’s “swaraj, ” to the tism) in meetings and Sak walking out policy [“the Ontario government gave a British Parliament. Variously denigrated in protest. ” But it was during as “Busybody Bhownaggree ” and “Bow Bhownaggree ’s presidency of the Lon- and agree ” by the Indian Zoroastrian intelligentsia, Hinnells noted that while navjote took place and permission “Naoroji was remembered for his later, more radical stance, Bhownaggree was remembered for his earlier pro-British stance. ” Why did Bhownaggree get a clear majority, as a conservative, from a la ­ bor constituency? Hinnells described throughout his life Bhownaggree worked for the Zoroastrian Parsi Asso ­ ciation (as the London association was ! ar- against British influence in India on tides and memorandum of association matters of education: ‘a nation of liter- 'o I hypothesized the professor reflecting on how the globalization process has led FEZANA (Federation of Zoroas ­ trian Associations of North America) According to Hinnells Bhownaggree and ZTFE (Zoroastrian Trust Funds of campaigned for the building of rail ­ ways which Naoroji had opposed on the basis of high costs but which Bhow ­ naggree saw as access to markets. He was, said Hinnclls, an active campaigner for justice: qualified In ­ dian medical staff in the UK was denied promo ­ tion and received low salaries; the impact of the salt tax on the poor was termed ‘intoler ­ able; ’ he wanted free education and medical s care for laborers ’ chil- I dren in South Africa — g a recurring theme of his s second term in Parlia- s ment being the cause of Indians there. Though Bhownaggree was commissioned to write “The verdict of India ” in 1916 to counter German propaganda during World War I, he had reservations, term ­ ing “many effects of British rule avoid ­ able and unavoidable. ” In his letClw executive council meetings of the Fed ­ eration of Parsi Zoroastrians Anjumans of India. Citing the funding of the B. D. ary scholars was not one to advance in prosperity... If India could advance in technology it would be less dependent. ” ?1^ Hinneils (left) and Irani: networking the diasporic Zoroastrian community Rfl .V-’j 140 Parsiana duty-August 1998 mother and the child. Elaborate were the marriage rituals too and as noted therein, the poorest Parsi could hardly marry his son for less than Rs 400 or his daughter for less than Rs 250. Most of the practices accompanying death rites seem to be preserved to this day a.s will be indicated in the last instalment. There were some noticeably different customs too: for three days after a death no food was cooked in the house of mourning, except for dogs. To save the soul of a : Parsi man who died without a male issue, it wa? mandatory T to announce an adoption on I the uthamna day. Often too h were donations to charitable I causes made on this day. k .. ? t *;¦ Cliilcireii in theii festive best they were also enjoined to observe a eode of behavior that preseribed wear ­ ing of sudreh-kusti and eovering the head and feet at all times, thanking God before every meal and keeping silenee whilst eating! The customs aceompanyin pregnancies, births, navjotes and mar ­ riages will be detailed in the fifth instal ­ ment. When a much awaited male child was born, instead of the child, some cowdung was shown to the mother, g First The Parsis are one of the fair ­ est, and, especially the village Parsis, one of the most vigor ­ ous classes in Gujarat. In most Parsi faces the eyes are large, black, brown or occasionally grey, the nose is long, straight and sometimes hooked, and the mouth and chin well cut. On the whole they are better looking and seem better fed and better off than the ’feulk of their Hindu and Musalman neighbors. Most ofthe younger generation are free from the marks of small-pox by which many of their elders are disfigured. On the other hand the complaint is general that espe ­ cially in towns the young men and women are less robust than their fathers and mothers. Neither men nor women ever leave off either the sacred shirt called sudreh or the girdle called kusti. The men always cover the head with a skullcap and the women with a white headcloth called mathabana. Among the men, the village Parsi generally shaves the whole head except the topknot, wears a care- IStately demeanor of a young hoy; (Below) ]9th century ivory statue, Parsec girl Courtesy: Prince of Wales Museum heavy native shoes without stockings. Most of the younger men wear coats of cotton, silk or wool cut in European style, use silk or woollen trousers of European make, and stockings and boots of English pattern. The hair is worn short in English fashion. Most have whiskers and mus ­ taches but almost all shave the chin. The priests may at once be known from other Parsis by being dressed wholly in white including the headdress, by wearing a full beard, and by not shaving the head. The dress and ornaments of a rich man are worth Rs 450 to Rs 2,000; of a middle-class man Rs 120 to Rs 270; and of a poor man Rs 30 to 35. All Parsi women wind a white piece of muslin round the head and gather lheir hair in a Grecian knot at the back of the head. Over the sacred shirt and cord village women wear a tight-fitting sleeveless bodice. The trousers are gen ­ erally of colored cotton. Over all they wind a silk robe or sari round the body, passing the skirt back between the feet and drawing the upper end over the right shoulder and out of doors over the right temple like the higher class Hindu women of Gujarat. On great occasions village women wear trousers of silk instead of cotton and silk robes. Slip ­ pers are worn out of doors and occa ­ sionally in the house. On high days their ornaments are a gold necklace, gold or silver bracelets, and gold earrings, but except that widows change them for gold or silver their only everyday orna ­ ments are glass bangles: chitals. The dress of women in cities and large towns does not differ from that of village women except that in towns they do not older and poorer keeping a topknot and draw the skirt of the silk robe between two ear-locks. Of face hair they keep the legs in Hindu fashion, but wear it whiskers and mustaches but shave the hanging in loose folds so as to hide the beard. The turban doe.s not differ from that worn by Bombay I who dislike change, both among the rich and the poor, generally wear a white longcloth coat, and sometimes a broadcloth or lessly wound headscarf, a short white cotton coat reaching to the thighs, loose Parsis. The old and those cotton trousers drawn up to the calves, and native shoes or sandals. At home he lays aside his short coat, and instead of his headscarf wears a skullcap of colored cotton or silk. On great occasions he puts on a roughly folded cloth turban in shape other woollen coat made like a Bombay Parsi ’s or Surat Vania ’.s headdress and a long white cotton coat. Town Parsi.s wear indoors a skullcap, a waistcoat, fine cotton trousers and slip ­ pers without stockings. Out of doors they put on a well-folded turban of dark Masulipatam or Bandri, that is Masulibandri cloth spotted with white. They wholly or partly shave the head, the shoes. The poor use thick in native fashion, and na ­ tive-shaped longcloth t)r silk trousers. The well-to- do use light well-made na ­ tive shoes with or without stockings, and in a number of cases I ight Engl ish boot.s take the place of native trousers. Middle-class and rich town women always wear silk robes and silk trousers, and in many cases use a sleeved polka instead of the bodice. They also wear slippers with stockings in ­ doors as well as out of doors, and in a few cases English shoes. Their or ­ naments are costly, of dia ­ monds and pearls as well as of gold. Diamond and pearl earrings have almost taken the place of gold earrings, and in very wealthy families, pearl necklaces and pearl and 142 Parsiana Juiy-August 1998? a. _____ 1 4 numbers of Parsi youths learn English not only in Gujarat high schools but in the colleges at Ahmedabad, Bombay and Poona. The Farsi Zarthosti Madresa in Surat and the Tata Madresa in Navsari have been founded to teach Zend, the diamond-studded bangles are also worn. A rich woman ’s wardrobe and orna ­ ments are worth R,s 3,000 to Rs 10,500, a middle-clas.s woman ’s Rs 620 to Rs 1,300, and of a poor woman ’s R.s 1 10 to Rs 200. After they are six months old, chil ­ dren are clothed in a frock mjahhtan of cotton if the parents are poor and of silk if the parents are well-to-do. As they grow older, cotton or silk trousers are added, and between seven and nine, when the initiation or navjote ceremony has been performed, chi Idren are dressed like grown men and women. As far as they are able, parents are fond of deck ­ ing their children with gold or silver finger rings, pearl earrings, gold brace ­ lets and silver anklets. The wardrobe and ornaments of a child of rich parents Bombay University. In the cities and are worth Rs 300 to Rs 400, of middle ­ class parents Rs 150 to Rs 250, and of poor parents Rs 60 to Rs 70. Gujarati is the home tongue ot all boys and girls prayers in Gujarati and and requirements. The furniture in a rich man ’s house varies in value from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 or even more. It includes sofas. Dress and decorum comes to the fore in a family portrait Parents are fond of decking their children with gold or silver name in common use for the language of the Parsi holy books, and Persian which most Parsi youths choose as one of their classical languages at the trance and higher examinations of the en- Most of them can read and write Gujarati and work simple sums. Among the well- to-do and educated the higher educa ­ tion of women is encouraged. Houses of town Parsis are generally large and well built, one or two storeys high, with walls of brick and mortar and tiled roofs. Village houses have gener ­ ally mud walls and tiled roofs except in Ichhapur near Surat and Elav near Broach, where are a few two-storeyed houses as good as those in Bombay. All have a front veranda, and inside of the veranda a large hall filling the whole breadth of the house. All have a sepa ­ rate cooking room and a sick or lying- in room. Poor houses have only one more room or two more at the most. In rich houses the number of rooms varies towns and even in some of the larger villages the local and Bombay Parsi Punchayet or council schools teach both from six to 10 according to space, means Gujarat Parsis. Most Gujarat Parsis can speak Hindustani and a few in the south of the province know Marathi. Large they learn as girls in primary schools. Zend. The education of poor and middle ­ class Parsi women is limited to what 144 Parsiana July-Au gust 1998chairs, tables, clocks, cabinets, mirrors, pictures, carpets and cushions, and in bedrooms bedsteads, boxes and ward ­ robes. In a middle-class house the furni ­ ture, including bedsteads, a few chairs, two or three wooden stools and a few boxes and cupboards is worth Rs 100 to Rs 500. In a poor house the furniture dry dates, turmeric, fresh green grass, ’ including one or two bedsteads, one or ' ‘ two boxes and one or two wooden stooLs is worth Rs 10 to Rs 20. A rich man ’s house has silver water- vessels, copper and copperbrass cooking and water-vessels, cups, dishes and trays, and silver and bras.s goblets, worth altogether Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000. Ina middle- class house the corresponding vessels are worth Rs 100 to Rs 500 and Rs 20 to Rs 30 in a poor bouse. ¦¦ Though the knowledge of the original object with which they were done has passed away, the following Parsi observances on ¦¦¦ the occasions ofbuilding a house and of digging a well are valu- able examples of the widespread belief in the place spirit and the fear that evil will happen to the |^H| builder or digger unless the place BH spirit is either pacified or scared. The freemason ’s practice of lay- m ing under a foundation-stone grain, oil, wine and coins, four of the greatest spirit scarers, seems like these Parsi obser ­ vances have been handed down from times when the place spirit was one of the most dreaded of fiends. When the foundation of a Parsi house is to be laid, at the bottom of the first pit that is dug a small copper box contain ­ ing panch-ratan, literally five jewels, is placed but in practice the box holds small piece of jewelled metal made of gold and silver mixed with atoms of diamonds, rubies and pearls. Besides the piece of jewelled metal which costs about Rs 1*4^ the copper box contains a betelnut and betel-leaf, turmeric, fresh green grass, red powder, coriander seed and raw sugar. After the box is laid in the ground the sides of the pit are built up and its mouth is closed with brick and mortar. Over the mouth of the pit are strewn betelnut and betel-leaves, dry dates and Howers, a coconut and an egg are broken on it, an urn with burn ­ ing frankincense is waved over it, and pieces of the broken coconut and some raw sugar are handed to the workmen. a 146 Parsiana July-August 1998 At the lime of fixing the first door the words ‘Help of Ahurti Mazda ’ arc writ ­ ten in red paint on the door frame, a rupee is nailed at the top ofthe frame, a garland of Howers and two unhusked coconuts are hung from it along with a silk bag containing betelnut and leaf. are engaged to recite prayers in honor of Avan Ardvisur, the water-spirit or angel who presides over water, and to perform ceremonies in honor of Aspandarmad, the earth-spirit or angel who presides over the earth. With Parsis, eating and drinking are religious duties, because apparently, food and drink help to drive off the evil spirits and visions which haunt the fast- H ing and weakly and which it is ¦ one of the chief objects of the H Parsi religion to keep at a dis- H tance. Rich and middle-class I Parsis take three meafs a day, at B morning, noon and night. Their S morning meal or breakfast, ¦ which they take between six S andeight, consists of tea, wheat B or rice bread, eggs or minced “ mutton, and butter. Their mid ­ day meal or dinner consists of cooked rice, split pulse dal, fish or mutton, pickles, with espe ­ cially among old men, a glass of niowra Bassia latifolia li ­ quor. Their eveiyng meal or supper, which they take between seven and nine, consists of ; wheat or rice bread, one to three . or more dishes of mutton or || fowl cooked with vegetables of I different kinds, fish, pickles, I and inowra spirits or English 1 liquor and wines, followed oc- I casionally by fruit. The poor before going to work break their last with cold thick millet bread pre ­ pared the night before and chhaas or curds. At noon they have cooked rice with split pulse or curds and pickles, and in the evening millet bread with some vegetable, cooked peas and pulse, men. The same ceremony is performed and occasionally mutton or fowl. Mowra when the topmost beam or itiohh is laid spirits are generally taken with the mid- red powder, raw sugar and coriander seeds; an urn with burning frankincense n p Cove lilt of heads was deemed necessary for adults and children is waved near the bag; a coconut is broken, and the pieces together with the raw sugar are handed among the work- ¦ ¦ <» when the topmost beam or inohh is laid ; _ ’ __ ____ into which in addition the well-to-do day and evening meals. In seaside vil ­ lages, fresh or dried fish forms the prin ­ cipal article of food; in other places dried fish, chiefly dried humalo Harpodon nehereus, is used as a relish at all meals. Gujarat Parsis generally cat seated on a cloth from a copper or brass plate on which the whole dinner is drive a silver nail. When the house is finished the front gate is marked with turmeric and red powder, garlands of Howers and green leaves are hung on it, in one ot the rooms is set a goblet filled with waler with a coconut marked with turmeric and red powder in it.s mouth and garland of Howers over it. Priests piled. A few well-to-do families, in imitation of Bombay Parsis, use chairs and tables and eat off china plates. Most eat with their fingers. The well-to-do use mutton almost every day especially at the evening meal. Tadi or palm juice is a favorite drink at almost all meals and especially at feasts. The monthly cost of food in a rich family of six are asked to read prayers and perforin ceremonies especially in honor of the 33 yazads or angels, and friends and relations are called to a feast. When a well is to be dug, at the center of the ground marked for the well, How ­ ers are strewn, a coconut is broken and its water sprinkled on the ground, and priests II are persons is ordinarily estimated at Rs 85, in a middle-class family at Rs 50 and in a poor family at Rs 10 to Rs 20. Feasts or rather large dinners given on three chief occasions, on the fourth day after a death, on marriages, and at the religious national festivals called gambhars. At all public dinners the guests are seated in rows on long the mouth and again recite the sacred- strips of cloth about half a yard wide, spread in the streets, in long verandas, or in public places specially built and further prayers or to take a light break ­ set apart for the purpose. On the ground fast, and go , to work or visit in front of each guest is laid a large friend.s or ’’X, the plantain leaforplates made of the banian , or other leaves called patravals. In some cases when feasts are given by the rich, chairs and tables in English fashion are used. The first course is rice or wheat bread, one or two vegetables, meat, fresh fish, and pickles. Mowra spirit is handed round to all who wish it. ^^rWle The second course is rice and pulse washed down with tadi instead of mowra spir- _____ its. Of animal food Parsis eat, of quadrupeds, only the flesh of goats and sheep. Of birds they generally eat only the domestic hen, but have no rule or feeling against eating other birds. They do not cal the cock after it has begun to crow, because from that time the bird is held sacred, the belief being that its crowing has the temple. At noon they dine, take a short effect ofdriving away evil spirits. Parsis do not smoke tobacco. The cost of a feast for 50 persons is: Rice Rs I'/i; pulse 8 annas; wheat 12 annas; butter Rs 2 74; meat Rs 4; spices 12 annas; vegetables Rs 2; leaf-plates 8 annas; liquor Rs 6; miscellaneous Rs 2; cook ’s wages Rs 3V2; total Rs 24*4 or an aver ­ age of about 8 annas a head. The Parsis of Gujarat, both men and women, are early risers. The religious, who make a point of reciting prayers between three in the morning and dawn at which the Parsi day begins, leave their beds between three and four, and most others are up a good while before sunrise. All, on rising, standing at the foot of their bed, loosen their sacred cord kusti and recite the kusti prayer. When the prayer is finished they take some cow ’s urine nirang in the palm of the left hand, and while reciting a short prayer, rub it on their face, hands and feet and afterwards wash with water the parts rubbed. The devout and those who palm liquor parties of men and women have leisure bathe at once daily after the nirang prayer. The poor bathe once in three or four days. Every time they take through the sacred-thread and cow-urine a bath, that is before they commence to wash the body with water, they rub the urine three times over their whole per ­ son. After washing the body they clean bring the day ’s supply of freshwater from the well, sprinkle with water the whole house, the entrance, and the street in front of the house, and draw lucky chalk-marks on and in front of the thresh ­ old. In families which have several women, while some sweep the house and make the chalk-marks, others neatly dressed go out to fetch drinking water which is sometimes brought from a distance. By seven they have pre- pared tea and breakfast for the house, and cooking and other housework keeps them busy till about noon. When the family is not large or when there are more 1 than one woman, they BL find time, in pri^tly families, to spin wool and weave sacred thread.s or in luy families to weave cotton tape and cloth. After the male members of the family have dined, the women dine, clean the dishes, rest or bathe, and spin or weave till about three. At three the house is again swept and cleaned and sprinkled with water, and at about five those who did not bring water in the morning go to fetch it. On returning home they light the lamps and carry over the whole house a small metal urn of burning frankincense, and, especially on new-moon day, hang garlands of sweet flowers round the lamp. They next bake the bread and make ready the other articles which have to be cooked for supper. They sup, when the men have done, clean the dishes, look after the children, see that all in the house is right, and go to bed. In rich families where servants are employed women do not fetch water or clean dishes. They pass their leisure in sewing, chatting, reading and visiting. When about five years old, Parsi cord prayer. They are now ready either to recite fast, and go friends or fire- 149 Parsiana Juiy-August 1998 Velvet robe for the well-to-do Courtesy: Prince of Wales Museum are often arranged. Parsi women rise about four, go prayers, wash, sweep the house and part of the street in front of the house, clean the vessels to be used during the day. * nap or go back to work, or, in the case of leisurely or retired people, play chess or cards. Clerks, shopkeepers and trad ­ ers have luncheon sent to them at their shop or office. Of the well-to-do, those that stay at home have tea between three and five, and in the evening go to the market, the river side, or any other place where they can meet friends and gossip. They return home at about seven. Traders, shopkeepers and clerks stay at their offices or shops till about seven. On returning home they wash their face, hands and feet, recite the sacred-thread prayer, and sup either at once or after reciting the night prayers, beginning with a short prayer before the lamp. After supper they play chess or cards or boys are sent to primary schools kept by Parsi priests or Hindu masters. The Parsi priests teach their pupils the chat for an hour or two, or at once go to bed. After every call of nature all Parsis wash the face, hands and feet and recite Gujarati alphabet and the portions of the sacred-thread prayer. In places where palm liquor is plentiful as in Navsari and in the villages round Surat, tadi or the Zend Avesta which a child should know by heart for the sacred-thread ceremony which takes place when the Ichild is between seven and nine. About seven, a boy goes to the public school to learn Gujarati and English. IF he is lhe son of a priest, lhe boy continues to attend the priest ’s school both morning and evening to learn lhe portions of the Zend Avestci required for the lierhad or ordination ceremony, lhe rest of the day being devoted to secular education in the ordinary schools. The boy becomes an under-priest or herhad at 12 or some- They fear that evil will happen to the builder or digger unless the place spirit is pacified or scared times, later. By this time he has gained fair knowledge of Gujarati, arithmetic, and geography, and is able to read a little English. He is then taken from the public school and placed almost wholly under a priest from whom he learns the portions of the Zend Avestci required for the maratab ceremony by passing which an under-priest or herhad becomes a full priest or mobed. The compulsory educa ­ tion of Parsi children in lhe Zend Avestci extends to lhe portion required for the sacred-thread ceremony. Except for lhe sons of priests who mean to enter the priesthood any further knowledge of lhe Zend Avesta is optional. All that a lay ­ man requires is to be able to recite or to read lluently from books printed in Gujarati character lhe portion of lhe Zend Avesta used in daily prayers. A Parsi girl when about six years old is sent to the girls ’ school where she is taught lhe Gujarati alphabet, the por ­ tions of the Zend A vesta required for the sacred-thread ceremony, and sometimes if she belongs to the priestly class, to spin wool. After the thread ceremony, till she is about 10 years old, a girl generally continues to attend school from 10 to five. She attends school to a later age if her parents desire her to pursue higher studies. During lhe rest of the day she helps her mother in house ­ work. She is generally married between five and 12 and till she comes of age she goes to her father-in-law ’s house occa ­ sionally and on holidays. After she comes of age she is a member of her father-in-law ’s family and occasion ­ ally visitsherparents ’ house. Marriages at a more advanced age are becoming less uncommon. a APPOINTED VALUERS OF JEWELLERY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA GAZDAR PRIVATE LIMITED Taj Mahal Hotel Bombay Tel: 2023666, 2023366 Ext 3204 Telegrams: “MANUSCRIPT” 151 Parsiana July-August 1998 ICINEMA Behind the screens In the earlier days Parsis were more involved in the production and distribution of films than in their creation B. K. Karanjia A fact not often acknowledged is that Parsientrepreneurwhomarkedcinema ’s Parsis have made a notable contribution to cinema in India. The same initiative and enterprise that marked their partici ­ pation in various businesses and indus ­ tries also distinguished Parsi involve ­ ment in the Indian film industry, con ­ fined not merely to producing films but boy at Calcutta ’s Corinthian Hall, later also to distributing and exhibiting them. Their contribution was not restricted to feature films, but included in its purview documentary films and even children ’s films. It was not confined merely to the three major sectors of the industry, but extended also to artistes and technicians. No one illustrated this more dramati ­ cally than the late veteran, K. M. Modi, who in his heyday was known as ‘the J. Arthur Rank of India. ’ Keki won re ­ nown as the country ’s biggest distribu ­ tor and exhibitor owning as many as 120 cinemas all over the country. The pride of place in this galaxy belonged to the New Empire Cinema in Bombay which he purchased in 1935. Keeping up with the times, Keki reno ­ vated the cinema in 1947. In the same tradition, his worthy son Roosi, achip of the old block, celebrated the 50th year of the country ’s Independence by once again renovating this Cinema, which has become a landmark in the Bori Bunder area. Roosi took utmost care that while installing the latest equipment like Dolby Digital Sound, the old nostalgic ambi ­ ence of the theater (as one that catered to the entire family) was scrupulously maintained. The woodwork, which im ­ parted a warm, rich look of sophistica ­ tion and elegance, has been retained and outstandingbignameattractions.Ameri- polishedtolookasgoodasnew. So also, can films formed the staple of most the old-fashioned push-back tip-up seat.s Madan Theatres. have only been made more comfortable with padding, and the air-conditioning system updated. The work was carried passed to his five sons — BJ, FJ, JJ, PJ out by the well-known architect, Hoshedar E. Carnac. Keki himself was inspired by another Great Britain, France and Germany. It is interesting to note that for one of the theaters in the Madan chain, a Werlitzer pipe organ was installed at the then fabulous price of Rs 65,000. Entrance prices at Madan Theatres ranged from two to three annas to two rupees. There were two or more shows every day. Unfortunately, this giant among cin ­ ema owners came to a sad end. After the death of its founder, J. F. Madan, the company underwent a reshuffle at the top, but before long J. J. Madan, the third of the five Madan sons, became managing director. ThoiJgh disagree ­ ments between the brothers caused in ­ termittent difficulties, JJ soon appeared to be giving effective leadership. Under his management, the chain of theaters continued to expand. The company had owned or controlled 51 theaters in 1920; these grew to 85 in 1927, and to 126 in 1931. Throughout these years, rumors per ­ sisted that Madan Theatres would be sold to an American film company. These rumors had a basis in fact. During the course of his many trips to Europe and America, JJ did begin negotiations with Carl Leammle, president of the Universal Picture Corporation. They agreed on sale terms, but owing to dif ­ ferences among the Madan brothers, nothing came of it. In December 1927, during the inves ­ tigation of the Indian Cinematographic Committee, JJ testified for two full days on behalf of Madan Theatres, denying the charge of monopoly practices. The fact, of course, was that the Madan orga ­ nization was merely more experienced and alert than its competitors who made these charges. During a visit to America, JJ saw Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer and witnessed at first hand its impact on film-goers, and RJ Madan. At that time, 90 percent Hollywood was in a state of turmoil. JJ of Madan imports came from the United States, the remaining 10 percent from transition from tent to theater — J. F. Madan (1856-1923) who became inter ­ ested in cinema at a very early age. At that time Calcutta, along with the larger industrial cities, was experiencing a re ­ birth of theater. Madan started as prop- travelled to other cities of India as an actor, and eventually purchased thecom- pany in which he had started. Along with various relatives, Madan was in ­ volved in innumerable enterprises — import of liquors, foods and pharma ­ ceutical products, and dabbling in insur ­ ance and real estate. Throughout his life he combined such activities success ­ fully with his theatrical interests. In 1902, having purchased film equip ­ ment from an agent of Pathe Freres, he launched a bioscope show in a tent on a maidan, The Green, in the heart of Calcutta. This was the beginning of what was to turn into a film production-distri ­ bution empire, a powerful factor for three decades, not only in India but also in Burma and Ceylon. At that time American films were the rage in India. Universal became the first of the American production-distribu ­ tion companies to establish an agency in India in 1961. Prior to them, however, Pathe India had been established in Bombay as early as 1907 as the conces ­ sionaire for the films of Pathe Freres. During the 1920s, the productions of some of the other American companies were imported by Madan Theatres Lim ­ ited . It appears to have purchased Ameri ­ can films in wholesale lots to secure the In 1923, on the death of J. F. Madan, control of Madan Theatres Limited caught the fever, ordered sound produc ­ tion equipment and headed back for 152 Parsiana July-August 1998^0 Clockwise jioni top left: J.F. Madan; Ardesliir Irani tit his Jyoti Studios with son Shapoor; M.B. Billinioria with Jawaharlal Nehru; Sohrab Modi in Sikander,- J.B.H. Wadia India. In 1929, Madan Thc- atres ushered in the first talk- | ing picture in India by pre- miering Universal ’s Melody j of Love at the Elphinstone Pic- ’ ture Palace. JJ also proceeded to con ­ struct a soundproof studio on the out ­ skirts of Calcutta atTollygunge, soon to be dubbed Tollywood. An ambitious sound production schedule was planned. Eric Burnouw and S. Krishnaswamy in Indian Film, the most authentic book on Indian cinema published thus far, viv ­ idly describe how things didn ’t go ac ­ cording to plan. In the autumn of 1929, the New York stock market crashed lead- ingtoaworldwidedepression.Thestudio physicist Sir C. Raman, and so on. built by Madan Theatres was completed Eight Madan pictures were released in on schedule and production plans were launched, but their success would depend on the conversion of the chain of theaters to sound. The cash position ol the Madan producers. Finally, it wa.s sold. So it brothers was threatened as never before. The theaters reported declining revenues. The situation became so desperate that JJ began to sell his theaters in 1931. In less Bombay was said to be the first fully air- than two years, only one Madan theater remained — the Regal in Calcutta. In the meantime, Madan Theatres had become the first Indian film organi ­ zation to release sound films. It made a Rangoon which included the Capitol (in number of short films and in March Bombay). Framji ’s ‘sleeping ’ partner 1931 put on a program of these. They included a hymn chanted in Sanskrit by lady worshippers at the Temple of Siva, a girls ’ school chorus singing a Tagore song, a speech by Indian Nobel Prize More significantly, it was the first to instal the wide Cinemascope screen when it presented The Robe and triumphantly screened The Ten Commandments for 31 houseful weeks! It was Lord B rabourne who suggested to his friend Shiavax Cambata to buy the land that was vacated when the Churchgate-Colaba leg of the BB and CI Railway (now Western Railway) was wound up. In those days the sea swept conditioned theater not only in India but in Asia and was the star of Framji Sidhwa ’s Globe Theatres — a chain of cinema houses in Bombay, Caletitta and was Kaikhushroo Kooka. Functioning on the maxim, “nothing but the best, ” the Regal was the first to provide an underground car park and neon signs. 154 Parsiana July-August 1998 1931, 16 in 1932. The following year brought a slowdown in its produetion. The studio was offered on rent to other happened that the Madan empire simply went out of existence. The 64-year-old Regal cinema inR E B i L. ( I t ¦ HIRO L FLYNN A WIVE CH LINDFOIk ¦ fii- ¦ u- up to the area where the Vulcan Insur ­ ance Building now stands and there were some defunct tennis courts, remembers his daughter Dhun Nargolwala. Cambata visualized an entertainment complex with a theater cum cinema, a ballroom, restaurant and skating rink surrounded by apartments and a shopping mall. Cambata had taken his family on a world tour in 1936. They had visited Holly ­ wood and there Cambata ’s ideas were shored up with practical technicalities. He ordered equipment for the theater and the steel framework of Eros Cinema became part of the Bombay skyline. It was again a Parsi, Ardeshir Irani, whose Imperial Film Company was the pleted Alam Ara. The film was no artis- first to release a sound feature A lam Ara (Beauty of the World). Born in 1885, Irani had started out in his family ’s mu- I ¦ sB.a Bombay’s Regal; Eros (inset Shiavax Cambata); renovated foyer of New Empire; Alongside from left: (top) K. Modi and Peshotan Kuka; (below) K. Kooka and F. Sidliwa sical instrument business, grown rest ­ less, gone into distribution of foreign up avenues for films in regional lan- films and finally joined with tent show ­ man, Abdulally Esoofally, in buying the Alexander Cinema in Byculla in 1914 and building the Majestic Cinema at Girgaum four years later. After invest ­ ing in several other companies, the Im­ perial Film Company, jointly owned by Irani and Esoofally, won the sound race among Bombay producers. The equip ­ ment Irani obtained from the United States was virtually junk but somehow, via its single-system process, he com- tic triumph but its impact was tremen ­ dous. Majestic Theatre was besieged, tickets disappeared into the black mar- A. * ket — four anna tickets being sold for four and five rupees. Alam Ara was followed by 22 other films, all of which made money. Simul ­ taneously in 1931, films were made in Tamil, Telegu, Marathi, Gujarati and so on. Alam Ara did two things: it opened guages and it marked the inclusion of songs in Hindi films. Alam Ara had almost a dozen songs. A popular genre of films in that era were mythological and stunt films. Stunt films stemmed from the worldwide suc ­ cess of Douglas Fairbanks and the seri ­ als of Pearl White, Eddy Polo and oth ­ ers. It is interesting to note that Eddy Polo, now almost forgotten in the United States, was one of the most popular figures in India in the early 1920s. Among the persons inspired by him was J. B. H. Wadia whose education in ­ cluded an MA in English and a law degree. He was a tutor in English at St 157 Parsiana July-August 1998 * IXavier ’s College in Bombay before tak ­ ing up heroic films. His brother, Homi Wadia, joined him, directed Hunterwali and many others with success. Hunterwali, featuring “fearless Nadia, ” was an outstanding box office hit in 1935. It tells of a princess who starts out to rescue her father, held captive by a schem ­ ing minister. She disguises herself as a man and roams the countryside robbing the rich to feed the poor. Meanwhile, she meets a peasant boy and they fall in love. They fight side-by-side against over ­ whelming odds and eventually rescue the king. Hunterwali and many such films made by Homi Wadia commanded a vast audience in several language areas. Al ­ though basically stunt films, they had political and sometimes social overtones. One such.^lm, Jai Bharat, pleaded for Hindu-Muslim unity, anticipating the Film Finance Corporation (FFC)- tinanced Garni Hawa by four decades. When communal riots broke out sud ­ denly in 1936 this film was actually revived and re-shown at the (then) Lamington Cinema in Bombay. The theater ’s management was somewhat worried that in the tense atmosphere the lilm would spark a riot. It was therefore produced a children ’s film, a feat un- a pleasant surprise that the audiences appreciated the sequences of communal camaraderie and the film had a highly successful repeat run. Along with stunt films the Wadias pursued a notable side interest. Like a number of other producers, they made film. Modi, after studying at the Univer ­ sity of Bombay, entered the film world in 1914, hand-cranking a projector in a small cinema in Gwalior. He left to become a stage actor, but after the com ­ ing of sound, returned to films as an actor, director and producer. Minerva Movietone specialized in historical spectaculars. Its greatest suc ­ cess was Sikander — the story of Alexander the Great ’s campaign to the border of India where he had to turn back. Made in Hindi in 1940 and re ­ leased the following year, Sikander was approved by the Bombay Censor Board but later uncertified. Some of the the ­ aters served army cantonments, and the mutiny of Alexander ’s soldiers was ap ­ parently not suitable entertainment for Another great movie-making con ­ cern was Minerva Movietone founded by Sohrab Modi , an actor who had toured for years in a Hindi (Urdu) version of Hamlet, which in 1935 became a sound A terrible outcry against their participation in films was raised by the orthodox section of the community occasional topicals — newsreel items and other short films. Their practice was to provide a newsreel free of charge to every exhibitor booking a whole fea ­ ture. AH thi.s paved the way for the promising role JBH was to play in the Second World War in the field of gov ­ ernment-sponsored newsreels and other Empire troops! documentaries. During 1930, the Wadias produced in Hindi, Tamil and Tclegu an average of three to four film.s a year. They even licai il of in those years. While Sikander had rousing battles and was rated by a British writer “well up to the standard of the dtd masterpiece Birth of a Nation." its portrait of history • was a shallow one of posturing heroes. However, its appeal to nationalism Ax^as The Nat Steel recipe for a satisfied customer O Take some Kitchen Equipment. O Marinate in Quality. O Add lots of Commitment. O And garnish with a Smile. 'It Deep Fat Fryer Serving up a range of Kitchen Equipment, each spiced with Quality, Reliability and Customer Service - that’s Nat Steel. For over 50 years, Nat Steel has been in the hot seat. Developing total expertise in core areas. Offering quality-conscious clients a comprehensive range of services. Right from designing, consultation and equipment supply, to installation and final commissioning. All backed by Nat Steel ’s reputed after-sales service. Standing testimony to our superlative performance, are prestigious clients like Maruti Udyog Ltd., MRF, Nestle, TVS Group, ACC, TISCO, Siemens, Mahindra & Mahindra, among others. Each adding Nat Steel as an essential ingredient in the finest cuisine they serve. Plate Warmer ¦ Kitchen/Canteen Equipment ¦ Laundry Equipment ¦ Hospital Equipment Mdt Nat Steel Equipment Pvt. Ltd. Registered Office: G. D. Ambekar Marg (Naigaum Road), Dadar, BOMBAY - 400 014. Tel : (022) 414 7068, 418 6040. Fax : 413 3481. E-mail ; natsteel.eqpt@gems.vsnl.net.in CALCUTTA - Tel : (033) 282 3266. Fax : 282 4187. DELHI - Tel : (011) 751 2182 Fax • 751 7423 MADRAS - Tel : (044)827 7667,827 5721. Fax : 822 4783. BANGALORE - Tel : (080) 661 1969. Ifaknaz) Equipment manufactured by our group company FARNAZ APPLIANCES, BOMBAY &TD1NGA 158 Parsiana July-August 1998among these I ( Top row: A scene from Pestonjee, with Shahana Azmi as the bride and (right) Naseeruddin Shah on the set with author Karanjia (left) and Farokh Mehta (seated) Second row: Homi Sethna: the making of On Wings of Fire with, from left Zubin Mehta, Khojeste Mistree and (center) director Bharucha Photo: Persepolis Production. Inc. Below: Kurush Dehoo in Percy, (inset) Ruby Patel and director Merwanji so direct that it remained popular for years. It was revived in Delhi in 1961 during the Indian march into Goa. In the sphere ofthe documentary too, Parsis made a notable contribution. Out- standing among these was J. Bhownagary who became chief pro ­ ducer of the Films Division. Another notable name was Fali Billimoria, whose The House That Ananda Built is recog ­ nized as aclassic among documentaries. In 1965-67 Bhownagary, who had gone to UNESCO (United Nations Educa- Division caught the ‘cinema verite ’ fe ­ ver that was sweeping all continents. One of the recommendations of the Film Enquiry Committee of 1951 was to establish a Film Finance Coiporation. Unfortunately, in its earlier years theFFC entered the box office race with commer ­ cial film-makers, losing heavily in the process. Chaired at this time by a former income tax commissioner, pefhaps the FFC wanted to establish a businesslike record with some outstanding films like SalyajitRay ’s Charulata,Nayakax\d Copy Gyne Bagha Byne. But most ofthe films financed by it lost heavily and almost the entire authorized capital of the FFC was wiped out. In the 1960s, when B. K. Karanjia became its chairman, the FFC shifted its policy to favor low budget, experimental proposals, based on the works of our own eminent writers in Hindi and various national languages. This policy paid off handsomely and the lional, Scientific, and Cultural Organi ­ zation on a special post, returned as chief advisor to the Films Division and generated an adventurous spirit. He took FFC was recognized a trendsetter in In ­ part in planning material for the 20th anniversary of Indian Independence. Under his inspired leadership the Films Chatterjee ’s Sara Akaash and Kantilal dian cinema. And Mrinal Sen ’s Bhuvan Shame, Mani Kant ’s Uski Roti, Basu 160 Parsiana July-August 1998For best Dhanshak Kabab in town every Wednesday and Friday Many more Parsi dishes We also serve Chinese IDEAL CORNER 12/F/G, Hornby View Gunbow Street Fort, Bombay 400001 Tel: 2621930 Rathod ’s Kankoo marked a watershed in the history of the FFC. In lhe distribution field also. Parsis made their mark. The two topmost dis ­ tributors of films in India were M. B. Billimoria and Sons, and Evergreen Pic ­ tures. The Billimorias were among the earli ­ est to devise the minimum guarantee scheme for distribution of films in India. The work ofM. B. Billimoria is still being carried on by his sons and grandsons. Evergreen Pictures were not only dis ­ tributors but also distribution financiers and sponsored almost all the films of Prakash Pictures. One of the outstanding films ’of Prakash Pictures was RaniRajya, produced and directed by the veteran Minocherhomji sisters changed their Vijay Bhatt. Prominent among the ex ­ hibitors wa.s K. M. Modi. Notable among other veteran exhibitors were lhe Kuka documentary film-maker Homi Sethna brothers -Peshotan and Eruchsha-who owned the Novelty and Dreamland Cin ­ emas in Bombay. Coming now to lhe creative field. Two Parsi actors — the Billimoria broth ­ ers — played leading roles in Hindi films of the pre-Independence era. Two Khorshed and Maneck Minocherhomji — were among the ear ­ liest to provide playback songs for Hindi films. The first film for which they pro ­ vided songs was the Bombay Talkies film Jawatii Ki Hawa. A terrible outcry against their participation in films was raised by the orthodox section of the The mutiny of Alexander ’s soldiers was apparently not suitable entertainment community, spearheaded by a popular Gujarati daily. Ultimately, the name to Sarasvati sisters. Some years ago, the well-known sisters made a film called Garam Coat featur ­ ing Bal raj Sahani. It is interesting to note that one of the financiers of the film was the house of Godrej. The film was a failure at the box office. Still later, a film entitled On Wings of Fire featuring Zubin Mehta and purporting to*portray the dialectics of the Zoroastrian faith was also financed by renowned companies, like Tata, Godrej, and other well-known Kermani Transport Service Truck Owners & Contractors H. O. & Admn Office: Guru Himmat ‘A’ Wing Dr Mascarenhas Road Mazagaon, Bombay 400010 Phone: 3723333,3712715 Booking Office: Opp Jakeria Masjid 7-C, Dhobi Street Bombay 400003 Phone: 3420271, 3420272 Branches: Delivery Godown: B-Anjirwadi, Mount Road, Mazagaon, Bombay 400010, Tel: 3725002/3724273 Thana: (1) Chitalsar, Manpada, S. V. Road, Next to Tatwadyan Vidhyapeeth, Tel: 5344823 (2) Puma Village, Thana Bhiwandi Road, Near Uttam Roadways, Tel: 34698 Vapi: Near R. T. O. Check Post G. I. D. C., Tel: 30037/32766/32767 Valsad: Kamla Nehru Road, Tel: 53294 Billimora: Gohar Baug Road, Tel: 53175/53397 Navsari: Opp Central Bank, Tel: 5900819 Delivery Godown: Zaveri Sadak, Tel: 1601 Udhna: Road No 2, Tel: 678612 Surat: Delhi Gate, Dangi Sheri, Tel: 35428-35712 Delivery Godown: Ring Road, Near Surat Textile Market, Tel: 621774 UNN: Near Bus Stand, Tel: 872807 162 Parsiana July-August 1998 IKERSI CHINOY Restaurant & Bar CHINESE • MOGHL Al • CONTINENTAL Empress Mahal, Khodadad Circle, Dadar T.T., Bombay 400014 • Tel 414 3683 houses. The film was directed by a young Parsi, Cyrus Bharucha, working in Cali ­ fornia. The film did scant justice to the Prophet and his teachings. Among technicians also, Parsis have made their mark. B. M. Tata, chief tech ­ nician of Raj Kamal Kalamandir, is one of the most respected technicians in the industry. So was Homi WadiaofBombay Film Laboratories. In early Hindi films. Parsis were in- The management was worried the film would spark a riot >- OAMaaan r. MITHAIWALA k <*> MITHAIWALA Only at; Harganga Mahal, Khodadad Circle, Dadar T.T., Mumbai-400014. “Sweet ” Talk on: 4144226, 4143980 troduced as cartoon characters in the name of providing comic relief. The earliest film devoted entirely to Parsis was Pestonjee directed by VijayaMehta and based on a story by B. K. Karanjia. This film won the national award for the best Hindi film in 1989. Percy, directed by Pervez Merwanji, was declared the best feature film in Gujarati at the na ­ tional film awards in 1990. At least two other films, one based on B^sy Sidhwa ’s novel The Ice Candy Man and the other - on Rohinton Mistry 'sSuch A Long Jour­ ney are now in production. WiF 4^' With best compliments o I W) Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited The Friendly Housing Loan People Registered Office Warden House, Sir P. M. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400023 Tel no: 2047092, 2047093 Fax: 2871985 Corporate Office “Madhava, ” Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (East), Mumbai 400051 Tel: 6400004 (5 lines) Fax: 6443630 162B Parsiana July-August 1998 IFOOD R • V ¦‘WJ 'W ~ 5 4 Dhan dar and Chamna-ne-kolmi-no- patio SQ\yxQQ‘ Jamvd Chaloji "<1 r. K * . ¦Bp .» L T ^3 It p! ‘t *> • W. V *¦ *> ‘V I preserves, breads and rice, fish, chicken, I eggs, brain/liver/mutton, vegetarian I food and sweet dishes add their aroma I to the other pages. I Although an archeologist by train- I ing. Dr Katy Dalal who taught Ancient I Indian Culture at different colleges in " Bombay has put her special skills in cooking to good use. From small begin ­ nings, sending home tiffins, to catering at the Freemasons Hall, Princess Victoria Mary Gymkhana and Ripon Club, she has established herself as a I Parsi caterer at navjotes and weddings. ’ Some of the recipes from the book carried here were selected by Dalal for Parsiana readers. Of patia and papri Generations of experience and creativity surface in the cookbook Jamva Chaloji Don ’t do everything the cookbook tells 'OU. If your fancy is caught by some FALOODA This wonderful drink must have been brought by Parsis from their homeland in Iran. Its wonderful composition con ­ sists of rose sherbet or syrup, sweet milk, little black tukmaria seeds, cooked wheat milk drops, cream or ice-cream. My mother makes Falooda faith ­ fully every March 21 and I must admit it beats the Falooda made in the best of all restaurants. Preparation time: 10 mins Cooking time: 40 mins Serves 16 Rose syrup (1 bottle) Ice-cream (strawberry or vanilla — 1 block) Rose water (‘/2 cup) Milk (12 glasses) Sugar (2 cups) Tukmaria seeds (% cup) Wheat-milk powder (300 g — dried) Soak the tukmaria seeds in four cups of water in a small vessel the day before and place in the refrigerator. Soak the wheat milk in a large vessel in two cups of water, half cup sugar. xotic recipe, read it over twice,” cau- Included in this 1998 publication in two cups of water, half cup sugar, from Vakils, Feffer and Simons Lim- half cup rose water and when dissolved ited are recipes for all-time Parsi favor- place over a medium flame. Stir non ­ ites, traditional ones like dhansakh as stop till you get a thick glutinous gel. ions the author. Dr Katy Dalal, in her i itroduction to Jamva Chaloji — Parsi well as novel dishes like leeli keri ne This will tak^ 30 minuted to cook. elicacies for all occasions. A caterer of vengnani akoori. Don ’t be surprised if, on opening the sub-title ‘Ravo,’ you find ingredients listed to serve 50! This Break two kilos of ice and place in the 144-page book, priced at Rs 195 is dekchi along with two cups of water. epute in Bombay, she has learnt “that pod cooks are bom. At the same time, ven an uninspired person who is to- Keep prepared beforehand a dekchi over which you can place a colander. illy ignorant of kitchenlore, if suffi- enlivened by color photographs and has As soon as the wheat milk is cooked iently motivated, can leam how to roduce good, wholesome meals. ” a variety of sections beginning with as thick as possible, place it in the ‘The Parsi Wedding Feast.’ Pickles and colander and stir it with a ladle so that 84 Parsiana My-August 1998 IDrumsticks (4 — cut into 4 pieces each) refrigerator. Take the milk, add sugar to it, mix and heat in a large vessel. Keep stirring till the milk thickens and remove after 20 minutes or so. Cool and refrigerate. To assemble the Falooda, take 16 fancy, tall glasses. Place one table ­ spoon of swollen tukmaria seeds in each glass. Then place one tablespoon of wheat milk beads over the seeds. Then fill one inch of rose syrup in every glass. Pour milk in the glass till it is three-quarter full. Top with a scoop of ice-cream and serve. CHAMNA-NE-KOLMI-NO- PATIO (Prawn and Pomfret Patia) Preparation time: 15-20 mins Cooking time: 35-45 mins Serves: 6-8 Prawn.s (300 g — large, deveined) Pomfret fish (10 slices) Onions (2 large — chopped) Tomatoes (4 large — chopped) beads of wheat milk fall into the icy Cherry tomatoes (10) water and firm up immediately. If you Baby brinjals (10) do not use ice the beads will disinte- r ' ' " grate and become a soggy mass. When Capsicums (2 — sliced) all the mixture has been used up, place Vinegar (*/2 cup) the vessel containing the beads in the Jaggery ('/2 cup) Coriander (*/2 cup — fresh, washed, chopped) Curry leaves (1 sprig) Green chillies (4 slit) Sesame oil (I cup) Refined oil (1 cup) Salt Grind together in 1/2 cup vinegar Kashmiri chillies (12 large) Coconut (*/2 — freshly grated) Cumin seeds (2 tbsp) Garlic (1 large pod) Black peppercorns (8) Parsi dhansakh masala (1 tbsp) Mustard seeds (I tsp) Raw mango pickle sambar powder (1 tbsp) Wash pomfret and prawns separately, apply salt and set aside. Grind coconut, garlic, Kashmiri chil ­ lies, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, pep- percorn.s and masalas with the vinegar on a grinding stone or in a mixer. Put the sesame oil, onions and curry leaves in a heavy tlat-boltomed vessel yellow Parsi dal and white rice. and allow the leaves to crackle. Cook till onions are soft. Add chopped toma ­ toes, the ground masala, slit green chil ­ lies to the pan and cook over gentle heat. When a tantalizing aroma arises out of the masala, add the prawns and cook them over a slow fire. Add two cups of water. When the prawns are cooked, add the fish and crushed jaggery . Roll the dish from side to side by hold ­ ing the vessel with two cloth pieces. Do not stir with a spoon. Add more salt only if necessary as the pomfret and prawns are already salted. Add cherry tomotoes. Remove from the fire. Cut the brinjals into four pieces. Retain from the stalk. Place in salted water. Cut the capsicums into slices. Heat one cup refined oil in a frying pan or kadhai. Fry the baby brinjals and allow the oil to drain on a plate. Put the capsicum slices in the same pan and remove immediately from the oil. Boil the drumsticks in salted water and set aside. Chop the coriander. Serve the patia fish by placing the prawns, fish slices and gravy on a flat dish. Decorate it with the fried baby brinjals, capsicums, drumsticks and coriander. Serve with hot parathas or '•t With compliments of ADI B. SAGAR ELECTRICAL CONSULTANTS ENGINEERS AND CONTRACTORS BOMBAY 400005 166 Parsiana Ju!y-August 1998 4 IGOVARSING-NE-GHARAB- NO-PATIO (Sweet and sour cluster beans cooked with bhing fish roe — traditional favor ­ ite from Gujarat) Preparation time: 45-50 mins Cooking time: 25-30 mins Bhing roe (2 pairs — fresh) Govarsing (500 g) Chilli powder (1 tsp) Tunneric powder (1 tsp) Tamarind pulp {V2 cup — thick) Jaggery (Vi cup) Tomatoes (4 large — finely chopped) Onions (3 large) Curry leaves (1 sprig) Coriander (1/2 cup — finely chopped) Salt to taste Oil for cooking To be ground finely in half a cup of vinegar Coconut (V2 — grated) Sesame seeds (1 tbsp) Cumin seeds (1 tbsp) Black peppercorns (I tsp) Cinnamon (V2” piece) Cloves (2) Badiyan or star anise (1) Garlic cloves (1 whole pod) Green chillies (4 seeded) Kashmiri chillies (5 red) roes very TuiTneric powder (I tsp) Wash the two pairs of fish r"-"" ¦¦¦'“¦ carefully and separate each of the two parts with a knife. Marinate the fish roe in salt, one teaspoon of turmeric pow ­ der and one teaspoon of chilli powder. Set aside in a cool place. Grind the required masala to a fine paste on a stone mortar with half a cup of vinegar. String the govarsing and cut or break into three pieces each. Boil in a pot of salted water and when soft strain through a colander. Place the curry sprig and chopped onions along with one cup of oil in a large, thick-bottomed vessel and cook the onions until soft. Add the ground masala, tomatoes, tamarind pulp and jaggery and cook for 10 minutes over a low fire. Meanwhile place an iron skillet or non-stick frying pan onto a stove. Add one cup oil and deep fry the four large pieces of roe and then cut each piece into four portions so that you will have 16 pieces. Fry well until golden brown. To the masala gravy add the boiled govarsing and stir. Spread the veg ­ etable evenly in the pot and place the pieces of fish roe on top. Cover the vessel and gently cook over a low fire. After 10 minutes uncover, turn the roe pieces over and cook for five more minutes. Top with the chopped corian ­ der. Serve with rotlis or parathas. LASAN-NE-KOTHMIR-NU- BHEJOO (Brains with fresh garlic and coriander) Preparation time; 20 mins Cooking time: 15-20 mins Serves 6 Sheep brains (6) Onions (4) Turmeric powder (1 tsp) Coriander (3 cups — freshly chopped) Ginger-garlic paste (1 tsp) Garlic (1 pod — finely sliced or 3 bunches fresh garlic) Salt Oil Grind together with 2 tbsp water Cumin seeds (1 tbsp) Green chillies (6) Black peppercorns (8) Wash the brains and remc^ve all the skin and red portion in the brain. Wash well, apply salt and cut each brain into five pieces. Marinate in the ginger-garUc paste and set aside. With Best Compliments Of HOSHANG J. BUCHIA & CO ENGINEERS & CONSTRUCTORS 4/24, Tata Mills Co-op Housing Society Ltd Elphinstone Road, Bombay 400012 Tel: 4112539 168 Parsiana July-August 1998STERLING AND WILSON ELECTRICALS Private Limited Leading Electrical Engineers & Contractors City Office Esplanade House, 2nd Floor Hazarimal Somani Marg, Fort, Mumbai 400001 Telephone: 2074177, 2071882 Fax: 2073741 New Delhi Office Flat No 202-205, G K House 187/A Sant Nagar East of Kailash New Delhi 110019 Telephone: 6233381,6236320 Fax: 6486282 Bangalore Office 183/C K H B Colony, Sth Block, Koramangala Bangalore 560095 Registered Office 70, Nagindas Master Road (Meadows Street), Fort Mumbai 400023 Telephone: 2653287 170 Parsiana July-August 1998 Cut each onion into two pieces and slice finely. Deep fry along with the sliced garlic (if using dried garlic) till golden brown and set aside. Take three tablespoons of oil in which the onion.s were fried and place the oil in a large frying pan. Fry the ground masala and turmeric in it and if neces ­ sary add half a cup of water. When the masala is cooked add a pinch of salt, coriander, fresh garlic if using it and the fried onion. Make an even level of the pan ’s contents, turn the flame low and drop the pieces of brain on top. Shake the pan from side to side and cover till the brains are cooked. Taste for salt. Remove with the help of a spatula onto a serving dish and eat immedi ­ ately. cut into chunks) BADSHAHI KESRI PULAO (Emperor ’s Mutton Pulao) Preparation lime: 2 ‘/z hrs Cooking time: 1 hr 15 mins Serve.s 8-10 Multon (I kg Basmati rice (500 g) Saffron (2 g) Silver leaves or vark (4) Curd (300 g — thick) Onion.s (2 large — finely sliced) Onions (2 large — finely chopped) Tomaloe.s (4 large — finely chopped) Potatoes (4 large - skinned and cubed) Bay leave.s (4) Ginger-garlic paste (F/z tbsp) Wheat flour (1 cup) Salt Oil or ghee Grind together Cinnamon (1” piece) Shahjeera (1 tsp) Badian (I) Clove.s (3) Black peppercorns (12) Kashmiri chillies (4-6) Cardamom and nutmeg powder (I tsp) Badisonf or fennel (1 tsp) Coriander and mint (2 tbsp each — fresh) Wash lhe chopped meal, apply salt and marinate in lhe ginger-garlic paste. Grind all the spices in a mixer. Heal the saffron on an iron skillet till crisp. Crumble between your finger lips, add to the curd and whip it lightly. Add the spices and the curd to the meat. Keep in a cool place for two hours. After two hours heal half cup oil in a pressure cooker and pul chopped on ­ ions. When they become red-brown, add the mutton mixture and allow to HOMI & Company Opticians and Contact Lens Clinic Authorised dealers "It of Bausch and Lomb Raybans and soft contact lenses and solutions. Varieties of frames, lenses - CR39 plastic multifocals, photochromatics tinted - high index and UV for ultra violet protection from computer glare. For complete eye-care, a - trusted name for over 50 years. Only at Grant Rd; tel 3823980 Peddar Rd; tel 3861073 Girgaum Rd; tel 3879629 3823564With the compliments of DAKS COPY SERVICE PRIVATE LIMITED Apeejay House 3rd Floor 130 Apollo Street Mumbai 400001 Phones: 2844672, 2844862 172 Parsiana July-August 1998 sizzle. Cook for five to seven minutes, add two to three cups of water and the tomatoes, close the cooker. Cook the mutton till soft. Fry the sliced onions till golden brown, then the cubed potatoes and set aside. Boil the rice and bay leaves in salted water and strain through a colander before it become.s soft. Take a large dekchi with a fitting lid. Place some oil about a quarter cup at the bottom. Then place a layer of rice at the bottom ol the vessel. Then a layer of mutton on top. Spread some potatoes on the meat. Make these layers till all your rice, meat and potatoes are covered. Sprinkle on top sliced onions, cover with the silver piece.s and close the lid. Knead the flour with a little water till you get a thick dough. Roll out into a thick rope and place it on the lid and pinch it along the rim so that the vessel is firmly scaled. Then place the dekchi on a very low llame for half an hour. When you are ready to eat, remove the wheat dough and serve the pulao with kachumber and if preferred with dhansakh dal. 150 g) SURTI-PAPRI-NU-UNDHIOO (SuiTi Bean Casserole — a heavy tradi ­ tional medley of beans, vegetables and bananas in green tangy masala and ghee gravy) Preparation time: 1 — I*/? hrs Cooking time: 1 — 1P? hrs Serves 15-20 Field beans or papri (500 g) Baby brinjals (150 g) Tendli (tiny Purple kamodio kand or yam (150 g) Sweet potatoes (150 g) Yam or souran (100 g) Papri seeds/beans (100 g) Bananas (S large — sweet or better still raw panchdhari bananas each washed and cut into 4-6 pieces) Ajwain seeds (I tsp) Turmeric powder (2 tsp) Sambhar masala (2 tsp) Asal'oetida (1 tsp) Curry leaves (2 sprigs) Cooking soda or baking powder (a pinch) Grind together Coconut (*/2 Green chillies (10 — seeded) Ginger (I'/z tbsp — chopped) Garlic (I ‘Z? tbsp Black peppercorns (15) Cinnamon (1” piece) Cloves (6) 5' ;ratcd) chopped) GLOBE THEATRES Pvt Ltd Established April 3, 1915 Pioneers of Show Business in India for the last 82 years We rededicate ourselves to the ideals we have cherished and practised all along - namely to show NOTHING BUT THE BEST to our ever increasing number of Patrons Controlling: REGAL BOMBAY CAPITOL BOMBAY GLOBE CALCUTTA All the above Cinemas have now been equipped with nnioOtBYSTB^ Sound System Iand lastly the fried bananas with their skins on. Stir very carefully so as not to break up the vegetables and hold the vessel with both hands and shake it from side to side. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes and then serve after tasting for salt. Green cardamoms (3) Nutmeg (V4) Cumin seeds (2 tbsp) Sesame seeds (1 tbsp) Mustard seeds (I tsp) Coriander (I cup — fresh, finely chopped) For the muthias: Gram flour (150 g) LAGAN-SARA-ISTEW Onion (I small — finely chopped) (Vegetable Stew) Fenugreek spinach (1 bunch — large Preparation time: I hr leaves) Limes (2—juiced) Sugar (2 tsp) Soda-bicarb (I pinch) Sall Pure ghee (450 g) Clean and prepare the vegetables. If using tiny papri keep whole and string it from both side.s and place in sailed waler. Cut the brinjals into four and deep fried) leave intact at the stem and place in salted water. Cut the sweet potato into thick slices and the yam into I %" pieces. Soak'all three separately in sailed waler. Wash the bananas and slice at the end of lhe preparation. Slit the tendlis into fine strips and soak in salted water. Grind the masala to a soft paste with a little water. Prepare the muthias by placing the gram Hour in abowl. Add salt, fenugreek leaves, washed and finely chopped, onion, a pinch each of turmeric, soda or baking powder, the lime juice and sugar. Mix well and with the help of a little Pepper powder (2 tsp) waler — half a cup or so — make a stiff dough. Make even sized balls, about 20 lo 25, and take each in your right hand and form in the shape of a fist. Heat a Apply salt to lhe carrots, potatoes, yam little ghee in a small kadhai and fry over medium flame till golden brown. Set aside. Boil the papri in salted water, drain and set aside. Deep fry the baby brinjals, tendlis, kamodio kand, sweet potaloe,s and yam, separately, till cooked. Pres ­ sure cook the beans with salt, a pinch of turmeric and when cooked drain in a colander. Take a large vessel and put the ghee in which the vegetable.s had been fried. Heat over a medium-low flame and add powder and salt. Add two tablespoons lhe ajwain seeds, curry leaves, turmeric, sambhar masala and asafoelida and af ­ ter two minute.s add the.ground masala and any leftoverghee if necessary. Cook the masala over a low fire for seven to 10 minutes, add two cup.s of water and when the gravy boils add lhe vegetables in this order —-beans, papri, yam, tendii, muthias, sweet potatoes, kamodio kand With best compliments from 175 Parsiana July-August 1998 finely diced) Cooking time: I hr Serve.s 8-10 Double beans or val papri (I cup boiled) Carrots (I cup Sweet potatoes (I cup — finely diced) Yam (I cup — finely diced) Potatoe.s (I cup Lady fingers (I cup finely diced) finely sliced. French beans (I cup — finely diced, boiled) Green pea.s (I cup — boiled) Vinegar (‘4 cup) Black currants or raisins (bi cup) Sugar (*4 cup) Onions (4 large) Tomatoes (4 large) Coriander (b4 bunch) Ginger (2 tsp — chopped) Turmeric powder (2 tsp) Chilli powder (I tbsp) Date.s (bi cup — stoned and chopped) Nutmeg-cardamom powder {Vi tsp) PHIROZE KARAKA &CO Sanitary engineers and fire fighting specialists Carraway seeds (I tsp Sall Ghee roasted) and sweet potatoe.s and deep fry them separately. Drain and remove. Lightly salt and fry the boiled french beans. Soak the black curranl.s in vinegar and sugar. Chop the coriander and to ­ matoes and keep aside. Reserve some fried lady fingers and green peas. Chop the onions and fry in four tablespoons of the leftover ghee till brown. Add the chopped ginger, tur ­ meric and chilli powders, pepper, Carraway seeds, nutmeg-cardamom more ofthe ghee, the tomatoes, corian ­ der and after live minutes add all the fried vegetables, double beans, the boiled green peas, the soaked currants, date.s and the vinegar mixture. Stir back and lorlh till the vegetables have ab ­ sorbed all the masala. Cover and keep on a low heal for 20 minutes. Top with the reserved pea.s and lady fingers. Contractors for large projects undertaking drainage, plumbing, water supply installation, fire fighting, sewage treatment plants, swimming pools works 27, Tamarind Lane Block No 11,1st Floor Rajabahadur Compound Opp Allahabad Bank Apollo Street, Fort Bombay 400001 Phones: 2650066, 2652986 Fax: 091-022-2655834 % IBOOKS A pilgrim ’s portrait B. K. Kafanjia It was in 1962 that he consciously broke free of his past. In a letter to Hoskote four years later, he recalled this moment when, suddenly, the land ­ scape lighted up and yielded its secrets to him: “I discovered the suitability of “Pilgrim, Exile, Sorcerer: The Painterly Evolu- Noblesse oblige. landscape first, almost by wilful acci- tion of Jehangir Sabavala by Ranjit Hoskote. In his formative years, according to dent. For me, it was a liberation, for the Preface by Richard Lannoy. Published by Emi- Lannoy, Sabavala laced two challeng- first time, from the various disciplines nence Designs Private Limited, C/oSnehSadan ing problems: one, to find a mode of and schools of painting which were my Graphic Services Private Limited, Cecil Court, depiction subtle enough to express the equipment. I felt instantly at home with Landsdowne Road, Bombay 400001. Pp: 184. complexities of his inferiority; and the a scene that could be molded into what- Price: Rs 1,900. other to clarify his conscious identity ever form that I wished it to take. This eventually developed into my moun- tain/cloud/sea/dune forms. These be ­ came distinctly mine and not as de ­ picted by anyone else. So that the idiom Noblesse oblige. In his formative years, according to Lannoy, Sabavala faced two challeng ­ ing problems: one, to find a mode of o' complexities of his inferiority; and the other to clarify his conscious identity in relation to India. Sabavala ’s training began under the Charles Morgan described a portrait a,s the image of one spirit in the mirror of discipline of cubism and its master, the another. Pilgrim, Exile, Sorcerer pre- renownedAndreLohte.Itsstylishman- sents the image ofthe well-known painter nerisms may not have been anathema began to be personalized and now is in two “mirrors ” — one held by Richard to Sabavala, but he did find them sin- Lannoy, the established English painter, gularly constricting. “Abstraction was photographer and writer, who has known Sabavala both as artist and friend, and the other by Ranjit Hoskote, a poet him ­ self, gifted with insight and felicitous lyrical expression. There is a third “mirror ” too, held by the book ’s subject to himself, which in some ways is the most revealing of the key to his inner na- three. Both Lannoy and Hoskote suggest that with his distinctive look.s and pres ­ ence, Sabavala might well have been an actor rather than a painter. In fact his redoubtable mother Bapsy ’s fascination for the stage was well-known, and young Jehangir was made to take elocution lessons and acted in several amateur driving up a blind alley, and this was theatricals. Then again, Sabavala ’s nu ­ merous quotes on his life and work, interspersed throughout the book, hint also at a rare sensitivity that might have helped him to become a writer of dis ­ tinction. Lannoy suggests in his preface that the young painter to plumb more deeply quoted as commenting: “I couldn ’t give what particularly drew him to young into the wellsprings of imagination a damn where a picture comes from. A Sabavala when they were students at the and explore his own personality for critic ’s business is to judge a painter as Heatherley School of Art in London, some unexpected, hitherto unrevcaled a painter, not as a descriptive or a was his critical prowess. Lannoy lauds facets. dramatic storyteller. In Europe they him as possessing the most penetrating Now Paris beckoned him. Seeking think my work is definitely Indian, in critical faculty from among his genera- to break away from cubism (1961-64), India they think it is European! ” tion of Indian painters. Sabavala found the remedial alterna- In this context the noted art critic D. Sabavala in fact was brought up — five in the works of Lyonel Feninger: G. Nadkarni stresses: “It is essential to long before he was trained as a painter “Through Feninger ’s pure, precise and understand that Sabavala ’s art is as — to be a sensitive and caring human yet very delicate and personal render- much Indian as the now traditionally- being. As a member of a family of rank ings ot cloud and boat and sea, I discov- motivated folk art with which Western and distinction, he was always to re ­ member that in addition to following beauty and clarity of light. I became the calling of his choice, he would to fulfil certain responsibilities that fell to him by virtue of his birth. alien to me, ” he is quoted as saying, “I was the master ’s worst pupil. ” Yet the mysterie.s of cubism, of structure, propor ­ tion were paradoxi ­ cally to provide the ture. Besides, cubism imposed on him a discipline that was to stand him in good stead in later years. Sabavala, under Lohte ’s training, soon began to fear that he might be extensively so. ” This marked his gravitation to the theme of the visionary landscape. As Hoskote puts it in ­ imitably: “The iden ­ tity of light as splen ­ dor, i^ith its inten ­ sity assuming a spiri ­ tual dimension was to become Saba ­ vala ’ s enduring theme. ” Hoskote de ­ tects a latent Zoroas ­ trian feeling for fire and light which “seems to flame within Sabavala as the canvas gains amplitude, glowing with a luminosity that emanates from within itself. ” Admitting that both he and others of his group then present in Paris, like Akbar Padamsee, Laxman Pai and Ram Kumar, could never really find the roots confirmed during an encounter he had with Charles Fabri, the expatriate Hun ­ garian archeologist and artist who met him at one of his early exhibitions in Delhi. “And where will you go from here? ” challenged Fabri, counselling they were looking for, Satlavala is 176 Parsiana July-August 1998 ‘g into the wellsprings of imagination and explore his own personality for some unexpected, hitherto unrevcaled facets. Now Paris beckoned him. Seeking to break away from cubism (1961 -64), Sabavala found the remedial alterna ­ tive in the works of Lyonel Feninger: “Through Feninger ’s pure, precise and yet very delicate and personal render ­ ings of cloud and boat and sea, I discov ­ ered the joys ol extending form into the galleries seem to be familiar. The dif ­ ference is that Sabavala ’s work travels beneath the surface and catches visu ­ ally the spirit of this ancient mass of land called India. interested in the source of light, its direc ­ tion, its effect. Through these experi ­ ences, gradually my work changed. ” ** IV a I '¦ W ¦¦ ‘ .v* Sabavala (right) with brother Sharokh in the garden of Readyinoney House (Below) Portrait of Shirin, J 949 “It is not surprising that in effect he projects a universally valid image of nature itself. It is interesting to note that despite Sabavala ’s multilateral predi ­ lections for the exuberances of the French and the Italian countryside, it is in the soil of India that his later paint ­ ings are moored, ‘more drawn to the sea and sky of the western seaboard and to the ridges and dunes of our land. ’” It was his French training that in ­ duced him to look beyond the national to the universal and the eternal and seek the underlying structure behind nature ’.s beguiling surfaces. This, according to Lannoy, was to combine with his deep empathy with the art of ancient India to make him a true classicist, his appeal being to India ’.s immemorial capacity for absorption in the niurti, aided by his almost uncanny ability to communicate in paint and in words. I currents of life are circulating all the I time. ” (Lannoy) I It is the story of the pilgrim ’s progress I all over again: “Horizons widen and I recede, and I am the pilgrim, ” writes I Sabavala, “on a long and arduous jour- I ney of joy and sorrow, moving towards I unknown vistas. ” I What makes this book a joy to read I is that the biographer and his subject are I ideally matched. The writing bears luminosity similar to that which char ­ acterizes the paintings. In Shakespeare ’s telling phrase, “light, seeking light, doth I light of light beguile. ” Sabavala, the I man of great intelligence and taste, I urbane, distant but courteous, curious I but politely so, comes alive in these pages, and Hoskote ’s annotation.s on his paintings (several reproduced in the section entitled ‘Gallery ’) help to a better understanding and deeper appre ­ ciation of them. Endearing details as, for example, how Sabavala and his newly married wife Shirin organized their first show at • the Prince ’s Room in the Taj Mahal Hotel, enliven the narraffve. The young couple had to locate crate-makers, su- ' i pervise the printing of the invitation I cards, despatch them to the Press. And I to cap it all, when the Taj management did not permit nails to be driven into lheir walls, the couple had to cover them with hessian before they could i hang the paintings. , As the great-grandson of Sir Cowas- ; jee Jehanghier Readymoney and the words: “A line is all that divides grandson of Sir Jehangir Cowasjee Jchangir, the responsibilities of Sabavala ’s heritage intruded on his pas ­ sion to be above all else a painter. As he wrote in 1985 to Lannoy: “And then there have been numerous exhibitions, truly a plethora of them when one wanls to pull in, to be left ¦«w to work and think 1 again, to plumb , one ’s own depths, such as they are. Not easy, when out- W„ J wardly you carry a ‘so- t'»*•¦ ¦ 178 Parsiana July-August 1998 The final transition in Sabavala ’s work was from landscape to cosmos, fully accomplished in the 1960s. In hi.s own man between cosmos and chaos: order and harmony on the one side and hyste ­ ria and madness on the other, ” he muses. “I opt and fight for the former, which is so very demanding and so much more difficult than the latter. You only have to let go and almost at once you are on the uncontrolled shore." Finally, the decade '*¦ 1983-93 marked the arti.st ’.s return to the hu ­ man figure “long ban ­ ished to the margins of the commanding vision ­ ary landscape. ” Hi.s fig ­ ures monks, villagers, mads “are not like any human being one knows but beings totally ful ­ filled and realized, pos ­ sessing a repose in i which, nevertheless, the I • .9 =1! of and just cial ’ load which can ’t be anchorites, no- t J >« 1 > totally ignored, placed as one is, in a city such as , this. But little by little, I fight to work again, co- coon myself against the B onslaughtoflivinginthis turbulent country with one ’s hopes and fears and dreams. ” Sabavala takes his ex- IJ r/ie Sabavalas at an early exhibition; (Below) B. Sabavala with Sharokh and Jehangir hibitions very seriously — he has held over a hundred of them — because he wants his view- ers, even if not informed about art, to derive the maximum en- joyment from their visits. For him a work of art becomes a living reality when a dialog i.s ^^B established between the painter, the painting and the public. No resident of some distant ivory tower, the country ’s interests are al ­ ways close to his heart. Its overwhelm ­ ing problems cause him anguish. Again and fight to improve the standards, from in a letter to Lannoy in 1982, he write.s of the need to have the “strength to participate and battle the terrifying age- old problems, without destroying one ­ self in the process. I have the deepest, but the deepest, admiration for those plete, and on page.s 80, 81 and 83 cer- who attempt to meet India, understand tain paragraphs which have already ap- and selflessly sacrifice their lives to its peared on pages 76 and 77 are repeated. 180 Parsiana July-August 1999 quite overwhelming problems. One would have to be made of sterner stuff than most, and there really are very few — but they do exist — who live, work. grassroots levels upwards. ” The reader, totally absorbed in this unveiling of a remarkable portrait, i.s rudely jolted when on page 79 C. R. Mandy ’s appreciation is left inconi- Must indifferent proofreading always be the bane of good writing? For the rest, the book has excellent production values, dra ­ matically designed and ex ­ ecuted. Each of the chapters is strikingly entitled and intro ­ duced with appropriate photo ­ graphs and drawings and pref ­ aced by the evocative words of great philosophers and poets, past and present. Surprisingly, no price is marked —on second thoughts, not so surprising, for what price would you attach to the love and care, the imagination and expertise that have gone into writing, designing, printing and pub ­ lishing Pilgrim, Exile, Sorcerer. This review couldn ’t do better than end with Hoskote ’s own summation of his subject; “It is the traveller who gains in awareness; the exile who came back as a pilgrim, to become, in time, a sorcerer, a master of the alchemical processes of transmutations. ” « IREADERS’ FORUM continued from page 16 have the whole list of voluntary sub ­ jects and help students select what is best for them. According to the Butler Act 1947, in England every school was compelled to maintain a record of the ability and aptitude test of each pupil from a young age. Our Parsi schools would do well to Elphinstone Institute in 1852/3). Con- study modern methods prevailing in England and elsewhere and employ those that suit local conditions. We should insist upon small classes, qualilied teachers and devote some time accomplishment. “The Top Ten” I would like to nominate Dadabhai Naoroji to the Top Ten of Parsi/Zoroas- trians in the 19th century for the follow ­ ing reasons: •He was the first Indian or ‘native ’ from anywhere in the subcontinent to be ­ come an assistant and then full profes ­ sor at a center of higher learning (at the thing to do so. •He continued to speak up and speak out against the ways of the authorities for 50 plus years which shows the resil ­ ience and dedication in his character. •He was the first native to bring the message to the people of Britain. At first his message was for proper rights for natives, at the end it was both that and demands for self rule. •He created a second front for India ’s millions, in a single-handed manner. . > groups in the UK in the 1860s and 70s, to bring a fresh understanding of how Britain ruled and misruled at that time, so that he could get British people to also cam ­ paign for Indians. In this effort he was very successful and he became the un ­ official ambassador foprindians living in the UK. •He investigated the finances of India. His works were unique, in-depth stud ­ sidering that he was born and grew up in relative poverty, the only child of widow, and took just a decade or so to gain this position, it is a creditworthy a in the company of our children at least on Sundays, holidays or certain days in a week so as to inspire our wards. To bring education to half of India ’s popu- implement this, scliooLs should drasti ­ cally curtail homework for children so that evenings can be spent in the open air for physical exercise, games, etc. Simple, nourishing food for children is of paramount importance to have more energy and improved health. This computer age provides a wide range of choice in various faculties. The Education Times every Monday provides very useful information and guidance. BAHADUR M. BHARUCHA •Whilst striving tor himself, he and lew others (the ‘Sisoti ’ boys) strove to a allow him to short change customers or pass on errors rather than account for them himself, nor trade in questionable goods (e.g. opium). •He showed his patriotism by begin ­ ning at that time to campaign for Indi ­ ans ’ rights and seek redress for their needs, when it was not a fashionable lation, namely the women and girls of his day. Despite opposition, from 1849 onward.s they almost single-handedly By himself he set up campaign did the impossible; from teaching in private homes permanent schools were then set up. •He came from a colony to the greatest trading nation in the world of that day and with two others established the first native company in Britain (in 1855). •When he left the firm three years later it wasn ’t because of poor management but because his character would not With best compliments from DIANA SOAP COMPANY Diana hand washing liquid soap ideal for clubs, hotels, restaurants and hospitals Sussex Road, Pallonji Compound Near Victoria Garden, Byculla Mumbai 400027 Phone (Res) 3747624 Phone (Off) 3723779, 3720863 Fax: 3720863 182 Parsiana July-August 1998 Iies in their own day and are still referred to nowadays (e.g. by the United Na ­ tions). He was lhe most prominent In ­ dian to turn to on financial matters and helped shape a future generation ’s think ­ ing. He also set about reforms for entry to the Indian Civil Service. He encoun ­ tered stiff opposition but saw lhe im ­ portance of having natives involved in running their own country. •He became the first Asian and in fact the first non white person anywhere- in the western world to gain a seat in an election. His result in 1892 wa.s the fruit of seven years ’ hard campaigning, some of it spent rectifying lhe dissuasion of his own party. •He went on to establish a Royal Com ­ mission and then became the lirsl Asian to sit on one. •He was called the ‘Grand Old Man of India ’ by his compatriots. He earned that title and il was given with heartfelt recognition by millions of people, in ­ cluding Mahatma Gandhi, M. A. Jinnah and other leaders of his day. •He was always open to people and gave of his time and efforts even when he held important positions. He could not be called proud or arrogant — he believed in “good words, good deeds, good thoughts ” and served his fellow men. •He encouraged the youth ol his day and did not discourage them. Not that he would accept bad behavior, but he reckoned that they could do just as good a job as him. This was not a view held by many of his contemporaries. •He provided an example in terms of his behavior and speech. He wouldn ’t use bad language or try and throw mud at an opponent. He ’d answer with reason and thoughtfulness. He kept lailh in his fellow men, even though that was very severely tried at times. •He was a Parsi/Zoroastrian of the first order and should be awarded “The or ­ der of the outstanding Zoroastrian. ” OMAR RALPH London. UK nounce the name of the one and only Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, First Baronet as the greatest human being of these two bidding started with one pie. There was a great commotion as the Wadias and Petits kept on bidding against each other. I •g Contributions to “The Top Ten ” will make interesting reading and also be educative, especially to the rising younger generation of Parsis who hardly know anything about our Parsi ancestors and elders who contributed to Parsi and Indian society. 19th century top... I am quite sanguine that the entire Parsi community would join me il I pro ­ centuries. Just go to the J. J. Hospital The other sethias intervened and ad- and see the lamps and incense sticks all around his statue, as if he is lhe saint who blesses all who bow down in rever ­ ence at hi.s feel. A person so simple, so religious and so humble, he established hospitals, educational institutions, shel ­ ters for destitutes, homes for senior citizens of all castes and communities. There is an interesting story about ‘Sir Saheb, ’ that even if a person was sen ­ tenced to death, if ‘Sir Saheb ’ would turn his horse-carriage and pass by the ing the poor Parsi families at subsidized jail, the sentence of death was changed to life imprisonment. The next name that comes to my mind is ofDadabhai Naoroji also known Nesserwanjee Petit Orphanage (since the Hiiid-na-D(i(la. He was lhe first and the only Parsi president of the In ­ dian National Congress. Next i.s a woman who designed and unfurled the first Indian national flag. Her name is spoken with awe, rever ­ ence and dignity Cama. The only ‘lion ’ that really roared in Bombay was Sir Pherozeshah Mehta, who still stands erect with dignity and honor outside the Bombay Municipal SirSassoon spalace. Thus came Masina Corporation offices. A very simple but unparalleled busi ­ nessman of deep insight and foresight was Jamsetji Tala who established lhe industrial empire of Talas. Here was a soul so pure and serene, yel uncompro ­ mising on principles. The field of education, which was almost closed to women of yesteryear, was opened up by two Parsis, Mr Sorabjee Shapurjee Bengali and Mr Byramjec Merwanjee Malabari, both of whom stood firmly for womcn ’.s emancipation. A learned judge who stands erect at Byculla (Ubha Parsi), was none other than Manockji Curscljec. The names of Jamsetjee and Manec- (1903). kji Petit, and so also another woman Bai Jerbai Wadia, will continue to be re ­ membered for ages to come. According those years the Madon^jaf Calcutta to one interesting story lhe government .................. ' ’ of those time.s had put up a very large vised the two not to raise their bids as it was not going to benefit either of them or Parsi interests. A compromise was made and the plot was divided equally by the two families at a cost somewhere below one anna per square yard. The beauty of this high drama sale was that they both had purchased and shared this plot, only to be utilized for charity and not to amass their family ’s wealth. The Wadia family utilized the land for hous- rents and established the Jer Baug and Nowroz Baug at Lalbaug, and the Petit family established the Jamsetjee 184 Parsiana July-August 1998 as Madame Bhikhaiji relocated at Poona) for poor Parsi chil ­ dren, and provided shelter, gopd food, clothing and top class education. The Petits also established a spinning and weaving mill at Lalbaug for poor Parsis to earn their daily bread. (The Petit Mill changed to Digvijay Mills.) The miraculous touq|i of the late Dr Hormusji Masina cured the beloved daughter of Sir David Sassoon. As an ' act of gratitude Dr Masina was gifted Hospital to Byculla from its original birthplace at Nagpada. Shirinbai Muncherji Cama (a rep ­ lica of Mother Teresa and Florence Nightingale combined) was a mother to the entire poor Parsi society of those years, and was called ‘Maijee. ’ She and Dr Masina had an understanding that lhe Parsi patients who were treated in lhe hospital were to be sent to Bandra where women, old and young, girls and even boy.s below 10 years were to be provided with good nourishing food, good shelter, change of aif (sea face), and even medical treatment at a Conva ­ lescent Home at Bandra founded and established at the turn of the century There was a time called “Silent-no- zamano. ” There were no talkie films. In virtually had more than 100 theaters all over India and they also produced silent plot of land for sale by auction. Some films (Madon Theatres), very well-to-do, famous Parsi families of the Wadias, Petits, Dadyseths, Ca ­ mas, Banajccs and more had gathered together at Lalbaug at the lime ol auc ­ tion. (In those days 12 pics made one anna and 16 annas made a rupee.) The In the field of militancy there was Ardesar Kotwal who was a military general of a Nawab ’s army at Surat. Having fought against the ‘Pandharas ’ and other antisocial elements, he had achieved fame for his military adven- f*tures. People sing folk-songs about this pital in Bombay, valiant Parsi warrior. 20th century top... I could not think of any person other than the man popularly known as JRD. A man who presided over the destinies of the business empire of Tatas for 50 years and over. He was a staunch patriot both in spirit and words, a jovial person, a rare intellectual of international name and fame. A businessman of exemplary Scylla Vatcha, doing her work silently, character and discipline, he was ever helpful to his subordinates and col ­ leagues. Nuclear science owes its advance ­ ment to the vision and scientific wis ­ dom of Dr Homi Bhabha. He was lost in the snow valleys of the Alps, a victim of a fatal aircrash. Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, a witty wounded soldier, is a living leg ­ end, a Zoroastrian to the hilt, and an (April 14, 1944) that exploded almost inspiration to the rising generation of Parsi youths to join the defence forces. The Jokhis of Hongkong, Bai Ava- bai and Fakirji and family came all the burning chamber of the bunkers of a way to India (Navsari) and gave away much to the poor Parsis and established a huge housing complex Avan Baug at Navsari (Gujarat) and also gave a large, magnanimous donation to a Parsi hos- of our Parsi community during the trag- Sorabji Pochkhanawala, a doyen of edy at the time of the arrival of the the banking industry, was the founder of the Central Bank of India with branches all over India and even abroad. In yesteryear, the ‘dhansakia ’ Parsis dominated the Central Bank because of the generosity and helpful nature of this (with God within the name) family, and simple but scholarly banker. There is one very quiet old lady. Prince of Wales (Edward VIII) and the unfortunate incident of the same era (of Govenji Vassenji) which had put the Parsi families in great jeopardy. The abracadabra, both for the Godrej also the Parsi families who worked in the small and large factories, was their chavi chhap (key brand). Slowly their giving away large sums in charity to Godrej empire expanded (with soaps, hospitals, to home.s for senior citizens, and many other institutions. Her chari ­ ties, running into crores, are given to good causes and yet few Parsis have heard about this lady. For dauntless bravery and for devo ­ tion to duty the name of Sohrab religious, honest and hardworking and Palamkote will be remembered along with the ‘Great Explosion ’ of 1944 cosmetics, locks and keys, steel cup ­ boards and steel furniture, and now computers and other requirements of the modern age). The doyens of the Godrej industrial empire, Seth Pirojsha and later Seth Naoroji Godrej were both an inspiration to others. If through oversight some have not come to my failing memory today, their one-fourth of Bombay along its harbor descendants may please pardon this (Godi-no-dhadciko). He was the chief humble author for any lapses, or uninten- fire officer who daringly entered the warship that had heavy explosives to be transported to South East Asia during the Second World War. Sir Dhunjibhoy Bomanji (Dhanju Kalfati) led our Parsi braves in defence tional failures. It would be now interest ­ ing to read about more and more other stalwarts from far off countries across the seas in other parts of theVorld. PHEROZE ARDESHIR BANA (VATCHA) - Edited by Parinaz M. Gandhi ? Sawn Timber * Doors & Windows PREPARATION FOR ENTRANCE TEST INTO ISC SCHOOLS. ? Kiln Seasoning ? Chemical Preservative Treatment CONTACT 2150989 BEFORE 8.30 A.M. OR AFTER 5.30 P.M. MONDAY - FRIDAY ? Packing Cases & Pallets Furniture Components With best compliments from B. F. Wadia & Sons 142, Reay Road Bombay 400010 Tel: 3721934, 3720235 Fax: 3739373 Tlx: 11-74571 BFW IN NARGISH ART PRINTERY Private Limited Mumbai 400007 Phone: 3888096 186 Parsiana Juiy-August 1998 IMILESTONES The age of Zoroastrian brides in Bombay (as listed in this issue) ranged between 20 and 42 years, the arithmetic mean (the total number of Individual ages di ­ vided by the total number of brides) being 28 years. The cor ­ responding figures for the grooms were 23 and 46 years, averaging at 32 years. As compared to 81 Zoroas- trian.s who were consigned to the Towers of Silence in to the community. The Zoroas ­ trian life expectancy at birth, in Bombay, in June was 74 years. The data on births, marriages and deaths has been compiled from information supplied by variou.s newsletters and anjumans in India and abroad, courts and hospitals. Thi.s infor ­ mation is not always complete or consistent; we are unable to carry data from areas where the anjumans do not furnish the Bombay in June, there were 14 particulars; the birth figure.s for babies born. The major killer — Bombay are supplied by four heart ailment — claimed 33 hospitals — births in suburban patients ot whom 16 were above hospitals and private nursing the age of 80. The other killers were cancer (10), pneumonia and lung disease (nine), old age and general debility (eight), sep ­ ticemia (seven), brain or head injury (three). Two victims fell prey to hyperpyrexia (very high fever). The isolated causes of death in June were: tuberculo ­ sis, Alzheimer ’s disease, Parkinson ’s disease, cerebral malaria, diabetes, cirhossis of the liver and Duchennels Mus ­ cular Dystrophy. The coroner ’s report.s were awaited in the cases of two deaths. The eldest to die was a 96-year-old man and the youngest, a 10-day-old baby girl. Three youths in their 20s and a 35-year-old lady were also lost AHMEDABAD DIED Bachoo Jamshed Lalkaka, (70), residing at D-6, Ushakiran, Opp Khanpur Gate, 380001 on May 3, 1998 BOMBAY BORN A girl to Eiroza and Zarir Dalal; April 9 A boy to Sanaya and Zal Sethna; April 11 A girl to Lata and Vispi Patel; April 12 A girl to Lada and Ricky Lamba; April 22 A boy to Azmeen and Behram Irani; April 29 A girl to Persis and Godrejh Daruvalla; June 1 A boy to Shernaz and Jamshed Mistry; June 7 A boy to Earzana and Percy Bharucha; June 9 A boy to Rohiqa and Cyrus newsletters home.s are not included unless individuals send us information together with a copy of the birth certificate. There may be an in ­ advertent repetition of names in the marriage list when a civil marriage precedes a religious ceremony. In the breakup of death.s 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 ofthe report would be required. We are sure our readers would appreciate this requirement and cooperate with us. Mistry; June 10 A boy to Banoo and Dinshaw Bhanclari; June 11 A girl to Armin and Nozer Irani; June 11 A boy to Arnaz. and Phiroze Soonawalla; June 12 A boy to Sanoher and Kersasp Patva; June 13 A boy, Jal, to Nilufer and Rahul Cowasji; June 14 A girl to Gulrukh and Behrain Sahawala; June 15 A girl, Sanaya, to Benaifer and Vispy Engineer; June 16 A girl, Dilnaz, to Roxana and Aspi Driver, sister to Dinaz; June 17 A boy to Dipa and Minocher Darukhanawalla; June 26 A girl to Shanaz and Sarosh Buhariwala; June 28 MARRIED Anahita Bamansha Vakil and Naryosang Jamshedji Icchaporia; April 27 Nilufer Dinshaw Davar and Rohinton Noshir Nariman; May 12 Melter Nozer Limbuvala and Percy Nadir Pavri of Pune; May 14 Shaheen Adi Irani of Dahanu and Varzavand Aspi Muharakai of Dahanu; May 15 Anahita Soli Irani and Neville Jal Bacha; May 16 Kamal Keki Wankadia and Nozer Abadan Irani; May 17 Tanaz, Minoo Engineer and Aspi Minoo Driver, May 19 Pervin Jehangir Dover and Ezadvar Behram Irani; May 21 Mahahokhtar Kersi Khadiwala of Navsari and Darayus Shapur Broacha; May 31 Arinaity Bomi Palshetia of Pune and Syrus Behramji Dharwar; May 31 Daisy Kersi Khodaiji and Khushrow Dinyew Songhadwala; May 31 Eiruzi Minoo Bardoliwalla and Ears hash Hoshang Nava; June 4 Khurshid Aspi Screwvalla and Hoshi Homi Ragina\ June 4 Pervin Dara Panthaki and Farhad Minoo Narielvala; June 5 Shernaz Minoo Tarapore and Rohinton Bakhtyar Panday; June 5 Maharukh Sam Patel and Farokh Minoo Mistry; June 7 Delbar Kersi Dotiwalla and Adil Dady Mehta; June 14 DIED Rati Rustoinji Bhiwandiwalla (70), residing at Parsi Punchayet Qtrs, Kemp ’s Corner, Malabar Hill, 400036; May 29 Dinyar Pheroze Miller (45), Mohammed Kesar Bldg, 14th Lane, Khetwadi, 400004; May 31 Mehernosh Eruch Bharucha 165), D-17, Rustom Baug, Victoria Rd, Byculla, 400027; June 1 Kaikhasroo Khodadad Irani {.(¦)^), “Om ” Guest Hse, Jain Bhavan, 18-21, Lam Rd, Devlali Camp, 422401; June 1 Ardeshir Jehangir Laher (87), C/o Dr G. C. Nagarwalla, 15, Pushpa Milan, Off B. Desai Rd, 400026; June 1 Pesi Vikaji Patel (65), Sai Baba Hotel, Post Dehri, Umbergam, Dist Valsad, 396170;June 1 Rati Behram Patel (80), Empire Terr C, N. Petit St, Balaram St, 400007; June 1 Adi Phirozshah Wadia (61), Cambata Aviation Ltd, Hanger No 3-A, Juhu Aerodrome, 400054; June 1 Khorshed Rustom Cama (88), B-33, Pipewala Bldg, 4th Pasta Lane, Colaba, 400005; June 2 Boman Rustomji Daruwalla (69), 46-Panday Sanatorium, Wodehouse Rd, Colaba, 400005;June 2 Maneckshaw Behramsha Kodia (71), Talukdar Bldg, Marzban Clny, Dr Nair Rd, 400011; June 2 Sherhanu Peshoten Movdawala (82), 648, Kaka Bldg, Firdausi Rd, Parsi Clny, Dadar, 400014; June 2 Rustomji Nusserwanji Suntoke (96), Patel Wadia Bldg, Wadia St, Tardeo, 400034; June 2 Dolly Eramroze (Eramji) Tata (80), 583, Chira Bazar, Opp Vijaya Bank, 400002; June 2 Najoo Maneksha Bhada (80), 39-Panday Sanatorium, Wodehouse Rd, Colaba, 400005;June 3 Kayomarz Naval Ghadiali (25), 258, Bazargate St, Fort, 400001; June 3 Ereny (Jini) Hormusji Tampal (80), H-21, Cusrow.£aug, L B. Rd, 400039; June 3 Percy Rustomji Basta (75), 3, Daruwalla Bldg, 3rd Marine St, Marine Lines, 400002; June 4 Pesi Framji Mistry (80), 695, Dr Dinshaw Master Rd, Parsi Clny, Dadar, 400014; June 4 Dhun Keki Rudina (70), G-2, S. B. Bharucha Baug, S. V. Rd, Andheri (W), 400058; June 4 Bomi Manekshaw Anklesaria (65), Motibai Bhavan, Proctor St, Grant Rd, 400007; June 5 Maneckbai Shapurji Avari (90), C-28, Gilder Baug, J. B. Nagar, Andheri (E), 400059; June 5 188 Parsiana July-August 1998 IKhorshed Kaikobad Dastur (91), 602-C, Indu Villa, Lady Jehangir Rd, Matunga, 400019; June 6 Mani Maneck Bhagat (89), Soonaji Bldg, 51, Forjett St, 400036; June 7 Behram Rustomji Daruwalla (67), 275 C, Old Master Bldg, Zoroastrian Bldg Fund Est, 400007; June 7 Ratan Rustomji Mehta (54), Q-14, Dalal Estate, Lamington Rd, 400008; June 8 Dorah Ardeshir Surti (66), 2/27, Saraswati Sadan, Ram Mandir Rd, Kher Nagar, Bandra (E), 400051; June 8 Shcrhanoo Nadirshaw Colabawala (95), Shroff Villa, Plot No 3, Malcolm Baug, Jogeshwari, 400102; June 9 Minoo Burjorji Sanjana (75), 104-B, Shalimar Apts, 571, Cumballa Hill, 400036; June 9 Darahshaw Pirojsha Anklesaria (84), F. S. Parukh Dharamshalla, 34, Hughes Rd, 400007; June 10 Aloo Burjor Dastur (76), Malegamwala Bldg No 1, Mahim, 400016; June 10 Burzin Hoshang Buhariwalla (20), 642, Parsi Clny, Rd No 9, Dadar, 400014; June 11 Godaj'rid Boman Irani (68), 3/8, Rustom Baug, Victoria Rd, Byculla, 400027; June 11 Dhunhai Hormusji Master (82), Nicolson Bidg, Wadia St, Tardeo, 400034; June 11 Goohnai Jehangirji Randeria (81), Parsi Sanatorium, Kemp ’s Corner, 400036; June 11 Darcdrsha Navroji Daruwatla (90), 5/4 B. S. Panthaki Baug, Andheri (E), 400069; June 12 Goolbanu Faramroze Govadia (92), Mota Mans, Tardeo Rd, 400007;June 12 Female child of Beroze Firoze Mistry (10 days), 43, Jamasji Apts, Sleater Rd, 400007; June 13 Banoo Fall Bharitcha (70), Petit Widows ’ Chwl, Mody St, Fort, 400001; June 14 Pilloo Dossabhoy Bulsara (79), 3, Skyscraper A, 74, B. Desai Rd, 400026; June 15 Soli Ralanshah Meherji (72), 56, Botawalla Bldg, Bomanji Master Rd, Dhobitalao, 400002;June 15 Mani Minoo Mehta (74), Taj Bldg, C Block, Gowalia Tank, 400026;June 15 Melieroo Fakirji Mistry (74), Mackanee Mans, 7, Rustom Sidhwa Marg, Fort, 400001; June 15 Gool Janisbed Bliarucha (58), 20/6, B. S. Panthaki Baug, Andheri (E), 400069; June 16 Ardeshir Ratanji Dainania (88), B-506, Sunbeam, Raheja Vihar Complex, Andheri (E), Powai, 400072; June 16 Kersi Jehangir Khajotia (64), 62A, Grand Paradi, August Kranti Marg, 400036; June 16 Riistomji Dhunjihhoy Batliwala (84), 14, Dharbanga Mans, Carmichael Rd, 400026;June 17 Jal Manchersha Dadina (68), Bhiwandiwalla Terr, E Block, Dhobitalao, 400002; June 17 Noshir Sorabji Madan (76), 631-A, Meher Villa, M. Joshi Rd, Parsi Clny, Dadar, 400014; June 17 Aloo Frainroze Bhagat (85), El-Cid, Dr Ambedkar Rd, Near Pali Hill Naka, Bandra (W), 400050; June 18 Byram Manekshaw Kanga (79), Seth Hse, 31, Agiary Lane, Bazargate St, Fort, 400001; June 18 Diana Peshotan Mirza (82), Accord Society, A-704, Lokhandwalla Complex, Andheri (W), 400053; June 18 Hilla Rustomji Mistry (71), Gool Mans, Homji St, P. M. Rd, Fort, 400001; June 18 Mani Jalejar Deboo (80), A-39, Godrej Baug, Off Nepean Sea Rd, 400026; June 19 Freny Frainroze Motivalla (81), 730, Vimadalal Rd, Parsi Clny, Dadar, 400014; June 19 Khorshed Maneckshaw Padar (94), A-15, Shapur Baug, V. P. Rd, 400004; June 19 Hillainai Kaikhashru Pastakia (88), 91, Mariam Manzil, Trinity St, Dhobitalao, 400002;June 19 Gool Soli Tukina jj 1), Petit Block 1, Jamshedji Petit St, Grant Rd, 400007; June 19 Tehinurasp Rustoinji Dalal (76), 4, Carmichael Rd, 400026;June 22 Ruby Adi Ghandhi (35), 9, Modi Hse, Padamji Rd, Near Dreamland Cinema, 400004; June 22 Homai Vicaji Panthaki (79), Suleman Manzil, Dr Ambedkar Rd, Dadar, 400014; Jals 5 •f Detective and Protection Services, Mazda Security Services & Jals’ Consultancy Services Conducted and Operated By Jal B. Contractor Proprietor Dy. Commissioner of Police, Bombay (Retd.) No Branch Office We provide all your requirements for: Confidential investigations, security-guards, bodyguards (armed and unarmed) in plain clothes. Armed guards in uniform for property protection. Cash/ valuables escorts, dog squads with handlers for land-patrolling, etc. Well trained, disciplined and experienced staff. Reasonable rates, round the clock services. Contact: Office: Jer Baug, 293, Dr Ambcdkar Road, Byculla, Mumbai 400027(Under the Fly Over) Tel: 3711642, 3711670, 3775707, 3728549 Residence: G-l, Fariyas, Cumballa Hill, Kemps Corner, (Next to Shalimar Hotel) Mumbai 400036 Tel: 3634161/3641581 190 Parsiana Juiy-August 1998June 22 Sheroo Frain Joshi (63), Mohmadi Hse, 34/38, Jijibhai Dadabhai Lane, Fort, 400001; June 23 Nariman Burjorji Kasad (64), 2/14, A. H. Wadia Baug, Parel Tank Rd, 400033;June 23 Coomi Minocher Mistry 11, Mithaiwala Bldg, 20/A Ropa Lane, Chandanwadi, 400002;June 23 Dhanjishaw Cawasji Davierwalla (84), Nimakwala Bldg, J. D. Lane, Fort, 400001;June 24 Homai Kaiky Karanjia (Ruslomji) (84), 660, Parsi CIny, Rd No 12, Dadar, 400014;June 24 Perinhanoo Boinansha Jassawala (80), India Hse, 4, Kemp ’s Corner, 400036; June 25 Piloo Jehangir Pocha (80), 163, Rewa Apts, B. Desai Road, 400026; June 25 Soona Kaikhiishru Dastur (82), Meher-Khushro Villa, 105, Swami Vivekanand Rd, Khar (W), 400052; June 26 Kaiki Shapurji Tata (88), 2-B, Ashoka Apts A, Arthur Bunder Rd, 400005; June 26 BIRTHS Boys Girls MARRIAGES Parsi INTERCOMMUNAL Males married out Females married out DEATHS CONSIGNED Males Females CREMATED Males Females FIGURES AT A GLANCE Bombay This issue 1 1998* India This issue 1998* World This issue 1998* 10 9 17 39 44 49 42 26 14 141 14 17 240 266 57 45 20 18 ?Running totals for 1998 (January-July-August issues) Overseas deaths are listed in the consigned column as Parsiana does not have a breakup of those cremated. *These figures pertain to information provided to or collected by Parsiana. They do not represent the total number of births, marriages and deaths in the Zoroastrian community in India and abroad. 7 4 4 3 1 1 3 3 5 6 4 1 1 5 1 With Best Wishes J. M. SHROFF TRANSPORT Private Limited TRANSPORT CONTRACTORS For Bulk Liquids, Petrochemicals, Petroleum Products, Acetic Acid and other Chemicals all over India. Special Fleet of Stainless Steel “MINI-TANKERS” for loads upto 6.5 KL or 4.5 KL Sita Estate, “A” Wing, 1st Floor, Unit No 1, R. C. Marg, Chembur, Bombay 400074 Tel: 5555425, 5519359, 5567175 Fax: 5566907 Branch: BARODA: Tel No 792924, 7918“'8 192 Parsiana July-August 1998 IHira Nusserwanji Toddiwala (65), 672, Sherevar Bldg, Parsi Clny, Dadar, 400014; June 26 Hoini Jehangir Taleyarkhan (81), Currimbhoy Manor, 41, B. Desai Rd, 400026; June 27 Nargish Shavakshaw Tainpal (40), C/o Dara S. Mahuvawalla, 3, Marine Chmbs, Sir V. T. Rd, 400020;June 27 Jaloo Jehangirji Devadhvala (79), Gajendra Niwas, Karelwadi, Thakurdwar, 400004;June 28 Amy llomi Doctor (68), F. S. Parukh Dharamshalla, 34, Hughes Rd, 400007;June 28 Ardeshir Ernchshaw Mehta (84), Jaswanti Niwas, Modi St, Fort, 400001; June 28 Soli Eredoon Mehta (74), 705, Cumballa Crest, 42-A, Peddar Rd, 400026; June 28 Mehertrai Ardeshir Irani (85), 749, Mithoo Villa, Parsi Clny, Rd No 6, Dadar, 400014; June 29 Jal Riistomji Mistry (94), 13- 14, Ahmed Bldg, Gunpowder Rd, Mazagaon, 400010; June 29 Bomansha (Bond} Biirjorji Sethna (81), Wimbridge Hse, 20-D, Noshir Bharucha Rd, 400007; June 29 Dhunjishaiv Manekji Daritwalla (15), 13, Lam Bldg, 173/B, N. M. Joshi Marg, Lower Parel, 400013; June 30 Jal Soiabji Engineer (73), 141, Ashoka Apts, Nepean Sea Rd, 400006; June 30 Anahila Rohinlon Irani (21), 11, Todiwalla Bldg, 284, Soparibaug Rd, Parel, 400012; June 30 SURAT DIED Pirojsha Kawasji Bhathena (93)', Rustompura, 395003; May 1 1 Nariman Manekshaw Doctor (72), Bibi-ni-wadi, Sayedpura, 395003; May 28 Bahadur Rustumji Patel (75), Choki Street, Nanpura, 395001;June 1 Homai Rusi Chiidwata (73), Chandramani Soc, Magdalla Road, IJdhna, 394210; June 2 Hillamai Ardesher Chiniwala (81), Palia St, Nanpura, 395001; June 18 CANADA British Columbia BORN A boy, Nikiel, to Shafique and Behin Dhanani', December 2, 1997 Vancouver MARRIED Cheryl More and Cyrus Homi Driver, December 20 DIED Khodarahm Kiaiii (6'!'), husband of Houri, father of Nooshin and Shirin; January 12, 1998 IRAN Tehran DIED Mehrhanoo Zarloshly, wife of Feraydoon, mother of Paridokht, Homayoon, Iran and Farangis; January 29 NEW ZEALAND Auckland BORN A girl, Farrah, to Edwina and Darius Mistry, March 6 SOUTH AFRICA Durban DIED Rustom Rustomjee, husband of Khorshed and father of Zaver, Cyrus and Sohrab; June 5 UK London BORN A boy, Rushad, to Delna and Viraf Dooinasia', January 8 USA California DIED Burjor Colah, husband of Sarah, father of Roshan Motiwala; November 20, 1997 Arhah Rostani Anoosheh, hus ­ band of Banoo, father of Khasha- yar and Mandana; May 17, 1998 Houston BORN A girl, Serena, to Fiona and Rustoni Setna, sister to Kevin; May 9 A girl, Frey a, to Laila and Raymie, sister to Zal; May 16 DIED Noshir Mama, husband of Banoo; May 11 With Best Compliments From MUSTANG COTTON SOCKS r K Casual/Dress and Sports Socks for Ladies Gents and Children 9 Manufacturers: MUSTANG ENTERPRISES 219, Milan Industrial Estate, T. J. Road, Cotton Green, Mumbai 400033 Tel: (91) (22) 4147453 Fax: (91) (22) 4146319 194 Parsiana July-August 1998 IMaryland BORN A boy, Zain, to Cathy and Cyrus Bamji; January 16 A girl, Jessica Lynn, to Benaifer and John Devine, sister to Sarah Nicole; April 2 Michigan BORN A girl, Natasha, to Jasmin and Adit Dalal; February 23 Minneapolis BORN A boy, Darius Matthew, to Susan and Farhad Patel; February 22 Missouri BORN A girl, Dinaz, to Yasmin and Diniar Shrofj, November 7, 1997 New York BORN A boy, Cyrus, to Nawaz and Hoshi Merchant; January 8, 1998 Compiled by Bakhtavar R. Batliwalla Prof. Sohrab M. Wadia Scholarship Parsi Panehayat of Vadodara invites applications for the above scholarship from Parsi or Irani Zoroastrian Stu ­ dents pursuing Under-graduate, Post ­ graduate or Research studies at Doc- torate/Post-doctorate level, for aca ­ demic year 1998-99, at any of the un ­ derstated institutions: 1. Any Indian Institute of Technology (I.l.T.) 2. Any Indian Institute of Man ­ agement (I.I.M.) 3. Tata School of So ­ cial Sciences, Bombay 4. Indian Insti ­ tute of Science, Bangalore 5. Depart ­ ment of Chemical Technology (UDCT), Bombay 6. Engineering Uni ­ versity, Roorkee 7. Dhanbad School of Mines 8. Bhabha Atomic Energy Centre (BARC) 9. Any National Labo ­ ratory or Institute under Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) 10. Any All India Institute of repute 11. Any Foreign University or Institute of repute Write to: The Secretary Shree Vadodara Parsi Panchayat Hira Baug, Post Office Road, Fatehgunj, Vadodara 390002 VICKY & KHURSHID J Wish one and all a Happy Pateti and a Prosperous New Year Always Remember VEEKAY CATERERS Last date for receipt of applications 30th September 1998 For buffet or sit down meals with exquisite and grand decorations, for Weddings, Navjotes, Birthday Parties and Socials to be a grand success Tel: 4968138/4944898* Sr Gompli/nenis rrom The Anti-Virus Specialist Systems and Software Head Office: #105, OM Chambers, 123 A. K. Marg, Kemps Corner, Mumbai - 400 036 Tel : 022-368 0512/ 17/ 18 Fax ; 022 - 368 0513 Email : redalert@giasmd01.vsnl.ncc.in Visit us at : http://www.nandn.eom A Neville B u I s a r a and Nadir Karanjia Venture! 196 Parsiana My-August 1998 9IN MEMORIAM A legacy of philanthropy Parinaz M. Gandhi Died: Sir Dinshaw Manockjee (born Naswanji Dinshaw) Petit, fourth bar ­ onet, 63, president of several Petit Chari ­ ties which monitored the affairs of fam ­ ily instituted schools, widows ’ homes, dispensary, sanatorium, gymnasium, on March 30, 1998 in Amsterdam follow ­ ing cardiac arrest. “We shall mis.s Sir Dinshaw for all photo.s of him taken during his numcr that he stood for and particularly his guidance and leadership, ” noted a con ­ dolence letter from the Bai Awabai F. Petit Residuary Estate Trust. He took a “very keen and active interest in all our trusts, was always very sympathetic and kind not only to all of u.s at the office but also to the poor and needy who looked to our trusts for help, ” further acknowledged the letter recall ­ ing the “Hurry of activity during the few months that Sir Dinshaw spent in Bombay when he took the opportunity of overseeing the workings ofthe trusts and meeting members of the staff. Sir Dinshaw had great vision and many plans, some of which have remained unfinished. ” Though he is known to have guided all the institutions which fell within the purview of his administration, his “two pets were the schools, ” mentions hi.s elder son Jehangir, who is now the fifth baronet. Both, the Avabai F. Petit Girls ’ High School in Bombay and lhe J. N. Petit Technical High School in Pune which house boarders on their spacious premises, had earned his love and devo ­ tion. Being technologically oriented himself, he was instrumental in upgrad ­ ing the schools ’ science laboratories, in introducing computer laboratories, re ­ counts his son. Every winter when he was in India, he would invariably give an inspiriir talk to the girls at the A. F. Petit School on at least one occasion. Playing cricket with the boys at the J. N. Petit School was an annual event too when he would captain one team, and the director of the school the opposite team, recalls Ralan Lalkaka, chief executive of lhe Petit Charities who during his nine years of association with Petit regarded him as a “very good leader, an excellent man, very fair and just. ” To relive their memories of the presi ­ dent, on the occasion of the uthamna prayers organized at the Pune School ’s premises, they had put up a large notice board displaying three blown up pic ­ tures of Sir Dinshaw surrounded by good and illustrious successors not only kept the same rolling but were vigilant to increase the utility and maintain the (f ’Tn standard of efficiency attained. ” the needy and deserving, be it an insti ­ tution or an individual, ” mentioned a condolence resolution passed by the trustees of the Surat Parsi Panchayat. As pointed out the resolution, “Sir Dinshaw Petit, the first baronet, started the ball of charity rolling and his equally 198 Parsiana Juty-August 1998 Ig k . A; 1 i Petit: kind direction mid vision ous visits to the School, wrote Commo ­ dore L. S. Mehta (Retd), director of the School. The previous day, Mehta eulo ­ gized Sir Dinshaw ’s contribution when addressing the staff and students, after which the hymn Abide with me and the School anthem were sung. An unexpected tribute to Sir Dinshaw came from the members of the D. M. Petit Gymnasium at Khetwadi which is over a hundred years old. Although there is not a single Parsi member there today, Lalkaka noticed on one of his visits that they had hung a framed por ­ trait of Sir Dinshaw next to that of Lord Hanuman and had even instituted a memorial trophy in his name. Despite hi.s wealth and fame he was “unassuming, easily approachable and ever willing to extend a helping hand to “He had a great vision for our trust and wanted to do a lot for them (the beneficiaries), ” confirmed Lalkaka. Realizing that the fixed income of the trust and the mounting expenditure was a financial strain, he was always keen to raise the revenue, hop^g that the mon ­ eys generated from a sale of some unutilized plot of land could be plowed" into improving the facilities for ihcir existing institutions. “I have to run my charities as a non ­ profit business, ” said Petit in an inter ­ view with Parsiana (“This business of charity, ” February-March 1997). Dis ­ appointed when his plans for construc ­ tion of cosmopolitan ownership flats on a part of the F. D. Petit Sanatorium at Kemp ’s Corner were stalled. Petit had reasoned, “What ’s the harm in selling Hats outside and taking in money to benefit the community?...My duty as a trustee is to get as much (money) for my trust as possible. ” While many Parsis avaH of the fa ­ cilities at the two widows ’ homes run by the Petits at Thakurdwar and Fort, Sir Dinshaw ’s dream project was to build a home for the aged in the suburbs where the old inmates could stay com ­ fortably and enjoy the greenery of their surroundings, relates Lalkaka. Com ­ mending his “kind direction and forth ­ right vision, ” architect and urban de ­ signer Harshad Bhatia whose firm had undertaken work for him regarded him as “a truly committed and concerned leader who looked at the well being of the people first and foremost in his decisions. ” The workings of the B. D. Petit Parsee General Hospital were of con-cern to him too and when he was in variably spent at his bungalow in Bombay he would give priority to at ­ tending the managing committee meet ­ ings on Saturdays. He was also very fond of the Sakarbai Petit Veterinary Hospital at Parel, says ball, rugby, squash, tennis and enjoyed for her car papers, or driving license, or the fifth baronet, and had served as trustee s ’ of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty helped many Parsi boys and girls come to Animals. A love for dogs has been a up in sports and business. His main perpetual feature with the family, their regret though was that the boys in the beautiful home on Napean Sea Road community were not as hard-working playing host to some 10 to 15 canines. Following the third baronet ’s de ­ mise in 1983, when the mantle of Lalkaka. baronetcy fell on him. Sir Dinshaw dedicated himself exclusively to the progress of the family ’ s numerous chari ­ table trusts. Prior to that, he was with the Philippine General Sales Agent as manager of Benelux, France and Swit ­ zerland. Before this four-year stint, he had been associated with Air-India for nearly 17 years, joining as district sales manager, Nice and resigning as man ­ ager, Benelux. After his early schooling at the religion and was writing a book on the Bombay Scottish Orphanage and Cam- subject, believes the fifth baronet. De ­ pion, Petit had studied at the Prince of spite his liberal inclinations he respected Wales Indian Military College, Dehra Dun, and Malvern College, UK. At the age of 20 he took on his first job as engineering apprentice with Vickers Armstrongs UK after which he was with Chester Goldman and Company in thoughts, good words, good deeds ’ he New York as executive sales person in real estate. Full of good humor, the late baronet expected us to live up to that as well. ” “loved the good life and always did justice to good Parsi food, ” remembers Lalkaka. The Christmas week was in- A VOICE OF CONSCIENCE... Mahahleshwar when every morning continued from page 7()d Not once was my G-1 asked her name, where she lived, or what had would see him walking for two to three hours. Besides cricket he also played foot- happened. No lawmen present asked swimrning, as notes his bio data. He had expressed the slightest interest in the event. No questions, no hint of investi ­ gation. The motorbike too was taken away. The whole matter ended there, in the middle of the road in the middle of the night. No queries, no follow-up. as the girls who liked to avail of oppor- the night. No queries, no follow-up, tunities that came their way, states nothing. This also was filed away as a ---- coincidence, one of three within the space of three weeks... Lastly, to the man who relieved me of my watch and ring. The ring has gone, melted down by now no doubt. Known to be a liberal who would have liked to see the community more progressive, he always had “the inter ­ ests of the community at heart, ” notes Lalkaka. Sir Dinshaw ’s mother Sylla Many years ago in England, a burglar ' was the industrial magnate J. R. D. cleaned out the flat of King George V’s was the industrial magnate J. R. D. ~ ---• - -- Tata ’s sister, his maternal grandmother jockey, Gordon Richards. Richards therefore was the French ‘Sooni ’ whose controversial navjote led to the famous Davar and Beaman judgment. He was studying the history of the gold cigarette case presented to him by the King, which bore the engraving “George V, R. I.” as it had great senti ­ mental value. The burglw obliged. Now, please will my night visitor... return to, me my 40-year old Vacheron Cons ­ tantin, specially made for me with lov ­ ing care, shaped and sized to fit my wrist. I will compensate him. the religious ceremonies and customs. “He preferred us to but never forced us ” to wear the sudreh and kusti, says Jehangir. The message of the religion was more important to him. ‘Good wrote to the press, telling the burglar that he can keep all the rest of his booty but would he consider returning the 4i “would keep drumming into my head, ” conveys the son. “He abided by that and Asgh;ir Khan, first chief of the Paki ­ stani Air Force and later of Pakistan International Airlines, wrote to Dawn, In response to this article Air Marshal The fourth baronet is survived by his Dutch wife Elizabeth, and sons Jehangir (April 17, 1998) from Islamabad: and Framjee by his first wife Nirmala. Zarin R. Mistry August 3, 1958 - August 5, 1998 Ardeshir Cowasjee ’s column (April 12) in which he has described his expe ­ rience... should be of concern to those who value one of the few voices of conscience in the present state of our chaotic society. It is also qujje possible that the “King ” or one of his men thought it desirable to warn Cowasjee to use his pen discreetly when criticizing those in power. Whatever the truth about the mo ­ tives behind the two incidents, Mian Nawaz Sharif would do well to see that no harm comes to Ardeshir Cowasjee. In the lawless society in which we live, the Prime Minister would be well ad ­ vised to ensure that Cowasjee is pro ­ tected as well as he is himself. Should any harm come to Cowasjee, it could have serious consequences for the gov ­ ernment and reduce its dwindling cred ­ ibility further to a dangerously low level. Compiled by Arnavaz S. Mama 200 Parsiana July-August 1998