June - July 2000

JUNE-JULY 2000 Rs 35

June-July 2000

Volume 22 Number 11

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 SENIOR DESIGNERKranti M. Shiiotn DESIGNER Nived1taA. Potdar MARKETING DIRECTORVeera J. Patel

2 Readers' Forum

8 Events and Personalities

18 Zoroastrians Abroad

20 7WZC: "Kisseh Houston" by Arnavaz Mama

22 Delhi Parsi Anjuman'splatinum jubilee celebrations

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Govind Salgaonkar, MahipatJadhav

27 Kaizad Tarapore:Of fire, faith and friends

30 A Gandhian 'Gen' Manchershaw Avari by Dilnavaz Bhagwagar

35 Worldwars? by Rumi Sethna

44 Books

46 Milestones

Cover: Manchershaw Avari at the spinning wheel, circa 1923

Parsiana is edited and publishedby Jehangir

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READERS' FORUM

relished but not gorgedupon and then vomited. Consider the beautiful for­ mula we should all recite beforewe take our meals: "Here, in this place, we praise Ahura Mazda who createdcattle for our sustenance, who created Asha, the truth and cosmic order, who created the sacred watersand plants. the heav­ enly lights, the earth and all good cre­ ations (Haptan Yasht, Ys. 37.1)."

Sex is sacred, not to be desecrated. Marriage is sacred,the two partners being requested to "love one another through Ash a, truth (Ys. 53.5).'' Friend­ ship is sacred and not to be betrayed. All nature is sacredand to be protected by man. Hence the expression, "the sacred waters and plants." The animal king­ dom must also be cared for, specially cattle, and the dog,man's friend, and the link between the material and spiritual kingdoms.

Moreover, Zarathushtra insists that gitig, the physical world,and menog, the mentalworld, arc one world, two sides of the same coin, and both are

holy. Thus he emphasizes the unity of

awards and scholarship functionw which he was invited as the chief guest and opines that Manekshaw is the man of the millennium, not for us Parsis alone hut for all Indians ("The millen­ nium man.'' Readers'Forum, Parsiana, March2000).

Further on, she quotesManekshaw as saying, "Twopeople I was always scared of: one was IndiraGandhi, the other, my wife (Silloo).''

There is, however, anotherstory that tells us that it was Manekshaw whom Indira Gandhi fearedmost. There were rumors floating that the army under Manekshaw would take over the coun­ try. Gandhi, who was then the prime minister, was very much perturbedand is said to have summoned Manekshaw to her residence to verify the rumors.

Manekshaw, unflappable as always. calmly replied, ''Madam,do yourjoh o1 running the country and I will do mine of running the army."

Much has been writtenabout the multifarious activities of Sam Manek-­ shaw hut, unfortunately,thereisno

Readers' views are welcome on any subject of interest to the community and should be sent to the Editor, Readers' Forum, Parsiana,G.P.O. Box 892, Bombay 400001.Letters are subject to editing for reasons of space and clarity. Unsigned lettersor those without an address will not be published.

"Researching the Gathas" I wish to thank Nergis Dalal for her sympathetic review of my translation of The Catha.\' of"Zarathushtra (''Research­ ing the Catha.\·," Books, Parsiana, March 2000).But I take strong excep­ tion to Juan Mascaro's dismissalof the faith as highlighting only "moral is­ sues." All the major religionsof the world condemn murder,rape, arson, etc. What Isunique about the teachings of Zarathushtra is his insistence that each individualthinkfor himself and

then choose the Good Religion. To think for oneselfis exceedingly diffi­ cult, but immenselyrewarding. No­ body can bully or cajole one into what he/she feels is true.

Secondly, Zarathushtra is the only prophet in history who believedthe material world and its delights are for enjoyment but with the proviso that ev­ erything is first offered to Ahura Mazda forHis blessing. Food is sacredand to be

2 Parsiana June-July2000

being. He also states that "silent medita­

tion is best for man (Ys. 43.15)." As Zarathushtis, we are expectedto fight evil wherever we may be placed. Silent meditation upon our scriptures and the words of our Prophet helps us to fight evil and overpowerit. In this way each one of us can contribute to the fra­ shokereti, the wondrous renewal of ex­ istenceyet to be. PILOON.JUNGALWALLA

New Delhi

"Conception to..."

Your issue (Parsiana, March 2000) com­

memorating the consecration of the Shapoorji Fakirji Jokhi Agiary was fan­ tastic and deserveskudos from the com­ munity. Only missing was a photograph of the different officers and

taH me,wJ-,ex 'Nh. h.c.d ?""t_.

in a lot of efforts to seethat the consecration was a great success. B. T. DASTUR

Chief executiI'C, Bombay Parsi

Punchayet

''Millenniumman'' Roda D. Hakim of Baroda writes glowingly about Sam Manekshaw who was felicitated by the Baroda Parsi Panchayat at their

authoritative biography of this outstand­ ing personality, either by a Parsi or a non- Parsi. The Bombay Parsi Punchayet and/or Zartoshty BrothersFund should take a lead and commission such a work.

To sample his sense of humor: Soon after retirement in 1973, the much-deco­ rated Field Marshal showed up unan­ nounced at a vintage car rally at the Worli Stadium, Bombay,and took ev­ eryone by surprise. Finally, a journalist summoned enough courageto ask him how he was suddenly interested in vin-

Bombay ParsiPunchayet staff members who helped onwniz.ethe Jokhi Ag/(/n consecration

tage cars. At this, Manekshawsnapped back:"Of course, I am now interested

-because I have just been allotted one

by the government for my personal use. BHIKHA.Il M. ADENW ALLA

"The three Parsi myths"

I refer to the letters ofDr P. D. Sunavala, DaliJ. Gundeviaand DrM. D. Disawalla under the heading ·'The three Parst myths'' (Readers'Forum, Parsiana, July-August 1999). Withoutgoing into the argumentfor and againstdokh­ menashini, I would just like to say to those who object, why can't they re­ spect and abide by the tenets of our religion as laid down in our holy scrip­ turcs'1

Why not learn from the Catholics and the Muslims who respect and observe strictly and faithfully the teachings of their respective religions? Also, do we not know that there arc certain do's and don'ts in each religion?e.g. Non-Hin­ dus are not allowed in all the temples of Kcralaincluding the Guruyayurtemple. Catholics do not offer "host" to non­ Catholics duringtheir mass and Mus­ lims do not allow non- Muslimsto enter the Kaaha in Mecca.

So why should certatnParsis stir up

trouble every now and then hy making their own conjectures and by professing changes their limited earthlyminds can think of? Parsisshould leave this bad habit of doubting our religious scrip­ tures/religious customsas our human mind,with its earthlylimitations, is in­ capable of fathoming the spiritual se­ cretsof the universe.

ABAN fl. COLABEWALLA

This refers to the views expressed by some regarding the sanctity of dokhmas and the mode of dokhmcnashini.

Scientifically, the mode of dokh­ mcnashini is the most perfect system. A dead body immediately begins to de­ compose. If thrown in water, it con­ taminates the life-giving water source. If buried, it contaminates the earth and takes up spacewhich could otherwisebe used for agriculture and other useful and productive means.Vendidad 1.13 strongly condemnsburial as a deed com­ mitted by Angre Mainyu to destroy the good creationsof Ahura Mazda.

Decomposing bodies increasethe amountof carbon dioxide and ammonia causing the air around cemeteries to he contaminated. Putridcontagion seeping from graves also polluteswater passing

4 Pars1ana June-Juiv 2000

through subsoil. One only has to recol­ lect how the black plague in Europe (Modena) startedwhen graves were dug up to clear land for other uses. This proves that comagion in the form ofdruj i nashush is presentand lethal in and around cemeteries even after many cen­ turies! With ihc influx of population, many cities arcexperiencingshortage of burial spacl: ,md usc the 'tier' system of burial!

If a corpse is burnt, whetherby wood fire or electricity, the microorganisms arc spread in the air through gaseous molecules (throughchimney in case of an electriccrematorium). Cremation is expressly forbidden in Vendidad 8.73-

74. Besides, in spite of the long process of burningby wood or electricity, chips of bones are alwaysleft unburnt. In electric cremation, ashes arc generally mixed up with those of the previous corpses.

Dokhmcnashini is the only mode of disposal that is uniquelyunpolluting to the clementsand completely in harmony with nature. When trees and animals die, naturereclaims its own through expo­ sure to the sun. the most powerful de­ contaminating. sterilizing agent. Accord­ ing to the immutable laws of nature (Asha), throughsolar exposure, the life­ Coree ( ushran J is reclaimed by the sun and putrid mallcr is quickly irradiated. Behind the mode of dokhmcnashini is the practice of Khurshcd nagirashni or exposure to the sun. Vendidad 5.12-14 enjoins only /waredaresya or Khurshcd nagirashni and devouring by birds. Even in the absence of birds, Khurshcd nagirashni disintegrates the body unless the sun's rays arc unable to penetrate due to corpses being crowded or piled, or when surrounding trees and buildings preventthe direct rays from enteringa dokhma.A dead body is stronglyfor­ biddento be placed in a dokhma after sunset ( Vendidad 2. 14 and 8.4). It is further stated that it is sinful not to expose the corpse to the sun.

Dokhmcnashini coupled with Khur­ shed nagirashni has been practicedfrom priorto the advent ofAshoZarathushtra. Firdausi mcnliunsin the Shah Nameh that at the auspiciou birth of our Prophet, even the dokhmas were bright­ ened by divine glow,meaning all dn(j was destroyed 1 In A vesta,dokhma is called uzdana or a container that burns (eliminates contagion) through solar exposure. In Pahlavi,it is called ostodan or ossuary. In Achcmcnian times, the

remains of Cyrus,Darius, Xerxes, Arta­ xcrxes were consigned to astodans. In post-Sassanian times,as pomted out hy Dastur Mirza in Some Religious Proh­ lems Facing the Parsi Cnmmumty, ossua­ ries arc expressly called en dakhmak or "t.his dokhma."

Dokhmas arc built of stone and iron only and no bricks or wood in any form arc used. As explainedby Ervad (Dr) M. Karkhanavala, Dr F. Chiniwalla and Jehangitji Chiniwalla in their various writings on the subject of dokhma, iron is a magnetic materialand is easily mag­ netized. Withinthe dokhma, the conta­ gion or kaslz is containedin the smallest possible area through a magnetic field which the dokhmas providedue to the stoneand iron structureand magnetiz­ ing thesethrough powerful swot (electro­ magnetic sound waves). It is then quickly isolated and eradicated through the natu­ ral processof solar energy.

What we, as a community. must real­ ize is the fact that it is not the dokhma system that has failed us, rather it is we who have failed the system that is intrin­ sically borne out by nature! To create housing for Spcnta and Godrcj Baug, several tall trees that served as a natural habitat for vultures were uprooted in Bombay. Other tall buildingsarc emerg­ ing in the vicinity.

According to Bundalzishn and

Shayast-la-Shayast, there are three kinds of other birds besidesvultures that de­ stroy JWSLt. These are crow, mountain kite and eagle. The mountain kite and eagle can be raisedin captivity to com­ pensate for vultures.

Some suggestions which wuldhe

implemented:

•Transport and transplant tall trees frurn suhurhs. Irthe environment existsand is preserved, birds or prey will stay.

•These birds could perhaps be bred in captivity as some kind of an ornithologi­ cal enterprise.

•Since Khurshcd nagirashniis coupled

with dokhmcnashini, instal solar panels that will decontaminate the nasuand perhaps also hide the interior of the dokhma from public gaze from ncarhy skyscrapers if properly positioned. So­ larpanels arc the best substitute for solar exposure and they ·burn' (dehydrate) the nasu through solarradiation without polluting fire or air.There is no wood or electric fire involved in this; only the natural laws of klwstra and fwrej arc employed to disintegrate and eliminate druji 1wsu as recommended by the

C!u!Jivala !Jar-e-Meher in Madras

A \'esta.Khastra meanslaw of thermo­ electro-magnetic forces or currents working throughout the visible and in­ visible realms in countless different forms. Solar radiationis a form of this natural khastra. Barej meanslaw ofthermal energy of heat of different rates and intensity that exist in nature.Again, solar radiation is in conformity to barej, a natural energy that can be employed to eliminate druj. Our ancestors knew these natural electro-magnetic forces of nature and attributed the sun as the source of all different energieswithin our solar system.

•Reopen dokhmas that are currently not in use in the suburbs.This will distrib­ ute the number of bodiesconsigned to Doongerwadi alone. Zarathushtis liv­ ing beyond Andheri can use these other dokhmas once these are cleaned,per­ haps also reconsecrated to some extent and the bunglis are renovatedor built to afford some comfort to the relativesfor four days if they desire to stay near the dokhma till the chahrum as is the com­ mon practice.

Nothing is impossible if the will is there to make it work. Why must we, Zarathushtis, try and run down so per­ fect a system about which even the learned non-Zarathushtis have ex­ pressed the highestadmiration? Re­ fonnists can build their own crematori­ ums or buy a burial plot far away from Doongerwadi, but the followersmust have their privileged right to followand adhereto traditions and rituals that are time honored and religiously enjoined.

PERVIN J. MISTRY

Toronto, Canada

Madrasfire-temple is 90

The year 2000 is of special significance

6 Parsiana June-July 2000

to the Parsis of Ma­ dras. Our fire­ temple, Jal Phiroj Clubwala Dar-e­ Mchcr, was conse­ crated in 1910. In July 2000, we arc celebrating the 90th anniversary of our atash adarian which is the only place of worship for the Zo­ roastrians of Tamil Nadu,Kerala and the union territory of Pondichcrry.

With the passage of time our mash

adarian buildingis showing signs of age, requiring major repairs to the roof inside, steel girders,etc. A considerablesum of money is required to restore the structure. To focus attention on this aus­ picious occasion, we have decided to host the next executivecouncil meeting of the Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India in Madras on July 15 and 16, 2000.

Consequently this fervent appealto our generous heartedcommunity, trusts, industrial houses and well-wishers to donategenerously to enable us to com­ mence the much needed repairsand renovations. Donations will be exempted from income-tax under Section 80G (2)(B) of the Income Tax Act,1961.

Your cheque/demand draft may be madein favor of "Jal PhirojClubwala Dar-e-Meher Renovation and Repair Fund" and sent to the honorary trea­ surer, B. P. Byramshaw. 19/9, West MadaChurch Street, Royapuram, Chen­ nai 600013. NARIMAN F. MOGRELIA

Chairman. Jal Phiroj Clubwala Dar-e-Meher

Message for the millennium Are we not wise disciplined Parsis? Please, resolvenow, please!

Then why waste time in

controversies?

Can we not think with calm mind and

ease? We know how to adjust with others,

And live with peace with non-Parsi

brothers.

Then why shouldwe dispute without

advantage,

Argue childishly and degrade our

heritage?

Everyone has a right to have personal

opinion,

And think how to proceedin the new

millennium.

But why should we insist that we arc

always right And others wrong;then start a fight?

KarmaYoga in Gathas is our

religiousmessage,

To control tongueand act more like

a sage. Peaceful unity will help us to survive.

Please, find out ways amicablyand

strive.

Cut short debatesand cultivate

our ancient fervor, Pride for our heritageand faith in

Minai favor. Argueif mml, '' ithout degrading any. Try to solve:

problems, and

not create enemy.

Never discard Parsi cultural

heritage, And never have preju­ dice, ego and

rage. Come to some conclusion

and overhaul.

Think positively, and never have

depression and fall!

NOSHIR DABOO

Ahmedabad

"We can't just wait ..."

A long time ago, when our ancestors

left dear Iran.

About I ,400 years ago, they came fromthe province of Khorasan,

In order to save their Mazdayasni religion from the invading

Musalmans,

And landed on the shores of peaceful

Hindustan, Where they were grantedprotection by Jadav Rana, the great ruler of

Sanjan.

To render their thanksfor shelter in the new land and bring Him fame,

A special fire was consecrated by the Parsis in Lord Ahura's name.

For hundreds of years they remained

happyand gay,

Until some Muslims came, and forced

them to run away.

Along with their holy shrine,the

"Iranshah" llame,

Our forefathers took refuge on Bahrot

mountain, A truly harsh terrain!

Then followed even more dreadful

continued on page 45

Events and Personalities

Edifice of education

The PillooHomi Irani Women's Col­

lege for Arts and Science is yet another educational institution pledgedby the Irani family ofGulbarga to the Karnatak People's Education Society (KPES). At the foundationstone laying functionon February 12, 2000, Mallikarjun Kharge, home minister, Government of Kar­ nataka, lauded the munificent donation from the Irani family, the only Zoroas­ trian family based in Gulbargaand com­ mended the contribution of the Zoroas­ trian communityto the cause of women'seducation, mentions a press release.Among the other dignitaries to grace the function were the chiefjustice of the Karnataka High Court BhaskarRao, the chief justiceof the Rajasthan High Court Shivraj Patil,members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and representatives of the KPES which manages around 25 centers of learning.

Just before his death on May 19, 1999, Homi Muluk Irani had pledged a substantial sum to build a women'scol­ lege for arts and science in memory of his latewife Pilloo, notes a familysource. This mission will now be accomplished by his two sons Neville and Navroze who are both postgraduate engineers.

Nearly 25 years ago, Homi Irani had built the Muluk Sheriar Irani College in memory of his fatherand handed over themanagement to the Hyderabad KarnatakaEducation (HKE) Society which runs about 45 educational institu­tions in North Karnataka, accordingto a write-up from the family. Alongwith the late member of Parliament Mahade­ vappa Rampure,Homi Irani had co­ founded the HKE Society in the 1950s

on their self-undertaken missionto de­ velop the educational facilities in Gul­ barga city which is the divisional head­ quarters of North Karnataka. Today the

M. S. Irani Junior Collegeand M. S.

Irani Collegeare aided by the Govern­ ment of Karnataka and are prominent institutions in the city, statesthe release.

During the last 50 years Homi Irani was involved in the construction of many landmarksin Gulbarga, recalls a family source. The PDA Engineering College and hostel, M. R. Medical Collegeand hostels, Government ITI and Polytech­ nic, K. B. N. Engineering Collegeand hostels are some of the institutions he had erected.In recognition of his ser­ vices to societyhe was conferred the Karnatab Raj-yotsava Award. Being a commandant of the Home

Guards, GulbargaDistrict for 36 years, he had also received the President's gold medal.

Homi Irani'sassociation with Gulbargagoes back to the year 1950 when he had built a bridge at the outskirts of Gulbarga on the River Bhima, according to his life profile. This was on his re­ turn from the StanfordUni­ versity in USA where he was

Top row (from left): Homi and Pilioo Irani, NevilleIrani being felicitared by Kharge

Below:M. S. Irani College in Gulbarga

8 Parsiana June-July 2000

Glimpses of the Zoroastrian religion and lifestyle at Ahmedabad's City Museum

pursuing higher education after his elementary training in Poona. The first professor

in civil engineering at the Engineering College of Gulbarga,Irani had served for 15 years as senate memberof the Gulbarga University.

Minorities at the Museum Thenewly inaugurated City Museum at Ahmedabad's Paldi Sanskar Kendrapor­ trays the cultural heritageof different communities. The space providedto the Zoroastrian communityhas been optimally utilized by the Ahmedabad Parsi Panchayat (APP) to depict the fun-

10 Parsiana June-July 2000

damentals of the religion and the lifestyle of its protagonists, writes Noshir Daboo who was entrusted the responsibility of projecting the Zoroastrian image.

A woodenkebla(sanctumsanc­

torum)withcarvedbullsonthetwo

Assyrian pillarsand a figure of the farohar draws the viewers'attention. The continually lit flame on the silver afringan with a plastermodel of a full­ sized mobed are the main attraction in the Museum,mentions Daboo. Those interested in learning more of the reli-

gious practicesassociated with Zoroas­ trianism would gain from the other ex­ hibits on display:ajanter with a woven kusti; the requisites of a ses that marks all auspicious occasions; the elementsof the ijashni ceremony;a plaster model of a dokhma completewith underground drainage and wells; the dress apparel of the communitywith typically embroi­ dered borders;some artefacts like toran which adorn a Parsi home; the Khordeh Avesta; and 20 pictorial charts giving lucid explanations of the exhibits.

Specially commending the effortsof Ervad Curus Mobedji, Daboowas ap­ preciative of the cooperation extended by the co-artists, the learned priests and scholars,the donors and theMuseum management. The patronage of the APP was also noteworthy, remarkedDaboo. One year ago, the secretary of the PanchayatF. D. Makhania had referred to thisproject (see "Upcoming museum," Events and Personalities, Parsiana, April 1999) as involvinga lot of hard work and expenditure.

ThePanchayat had appealedfor funds to proceed on this missionof occupying 200 sq ft floor space assignedto the community which as per their estimates would have exceededtwo lakh rupees. Ultimately, the expenses totallingRs 1,45,000 were borne by the APP, writes Daboo.

Calcutta Club's reunion "Many a match has been won on the maidan by the Club; many a match, successful and lasting, has been made in the Club," notes presidentBurjor F. Modi in his commentsin the souvenir brought out by the 91-year-oldCalcutta Parsec Club (CPC) on the occasion of its Mil­ lenniumReunionoverafortnightin December 1999-January 2000. The cel­ ebrations were kicked off with a dinner­ dance at the Olpadvala MemorialHall on December 31, 1999, the program for theevening including a fashion show produced by Zarin Chaudhuriwith some of the model participants coming from the Oral School for Deaf Children.

Ajashan, children's fancy dress con­ test, exciting sports events,the annual grand Parsi Bazar, songs, skits and gags, a sound and light show were someof the other attractions. The souvenir also car­ ries the mouth-watering menu on offer during the different days of the celebra­ tions which concluded on January 15 with a sit-down patra dinner for a crowd ofover 350. The 21 pagesof colorful

Top row (left) Zarin Gimi lighting lamp at Calcutta's Millennium Reunion as Modi looks on; (right) cricket stalwarts of 1918

Below: married women participating in arace in January 2000

visuals hring to lifethe gaiety and glamor of the proceedings.

The organizers made special effortsto invite over 350 ex-Calcuttans to the

program and were disappointed that fol­ lowing the initial positive feedback

barely 60 outstation memberspartici­ pated. The 15-memberorganizing com­ mittee toiled for months and as notes the souvenir,"Differences we had, but we had our priorities right and all of us have tried to ensurethat we provideto you the best in sports, entertainment, food ... If we succeed eventually, it will only have been because we all believethat 'It's amazingwhat can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit."'

The CPC managing committeefor the year 1999-2000 includedModi, vice presidentsCyrus Confectioner, Prochy Mehta, Beji Bulsara, BahadurPostwalla, general secretaryJimmy Vatcha, assis­ tant general secretary KhursheedAr­ deshir-Vatcha.honorary treasurer Kersi Mogrelia and ground secretaryKersi Engineer.

Starting as a Club for men playing just the game of cricket,the CPC has expanded to become an institution for

12 Parsiana June-July 2000

all membersof the Parsi commu­ nity residing per­ manently or tem­porarily in Cal­ cutta with addi­ tional sporting activities like hockey, football, basketball,ten­ nis, badminton, table tennis, carrom, chess, athletics and an­

nual socialevents. From a tiny tent on the maidan lit with kerosene lamps it has shifted three locationsto its present one on Mayo Road (Guru Nanak Sarani) where its largetent is lit with electriclamps and floodlights and has space enough for two table tennis tables,tables for chess, carromand a canteen, men­ tions Modi in thesouvenir. The Club aims to keep all Parsi boys and girls fit and active by offering a host of sports activitieswhich come at an abysmally low rate ofRs 5.50 per month. For elders not desirousof participating in games, the fees are Rs 2.50 for gents and Re 1 for ladies. Donations from Club mem­ bers, the willingness of some to become patron members by paying Rs 1,000, or life members at Rs 650 for men and Rs 350 for women, plus financial supportfrom the trusteesof the Calcutta Zoroas­ trian Community's Religiousand Char­ ity Funds has enabled the Club to sur­ vive with its present corpusstanding at Rs 11 lakhs."We are targetinga figure of Rs 30 lakhs from whose interestthe Club's annual expenses may be met during the next decade," writes Modi recalling the substantial commitment of

many past and present membersinclud­ing the "father of the Club -the late Motabhai C. Guzdar."

Messages from erstwhile residents of Calcutta, an introduction to the Club's founders and past presidents, and 32 pages of text and photographs in the souvenir,giving a detailedhistory of the Club, highlightits significant accom­ plishments and activities.

Sorry, Banaji Agiary

The Zoroastrian community in Calcutta

is hopefulthat West Bengalgovernor Viren Shah will be able to resolvethe present impassethat has resulted in the city's oldest fire-temple, Banaji Agiary, being closed for the· last 17 years. "We are not askingthe owner to give it up. We are only asking them to allow us to restore it so that we can once again start praying there," B. M. Modi was quoted inthe Calcutta editionof The Times of India of March 28, 2000.

Their earlierapproach to assistthe present trustee Maneck Banaji met with naught. "Herefuses to let us help him. He told us that he doesn't want any help from the community," said Dinshaw Surti. They are particularly perturbedsince vendors are doing brisk business selling electrical goodsin the premises with merchandise being dumped all over the Agiary, accordingto the news re­ port. On the rear side of the temple are quarters allegedly being used for im­ moral traffic and bootlegging which the police expect to raid soon,states the news report.

Built in 1839 by Rustamji Cawasji Banaji, one of the most prosperous Parsis of those days, this Agiaryon Ezra Street continued to be frequentlyusedeven

when the new one on MetcalfeStreet Lame up in 1912, it was revealed.

Colossus of charity

As a boy he had never been to school,

teaching himselflater the rudimentsof reading, writing and simple accounting. Yet when BombayUniversity was es­ tablished in 1857, Sir JamsetjeeJejee­ bhoy was appointedone of the first five Fellows of the University. On April22, 2000, his portraitwas unveiled by Dr P.

C. Alexander, governor of Maharashtra who is also chancellor of the Univer­ sity, to be mstalled permanently in the readingroom of the University Library.

At tlzejimction (top l tor): Modi,

no road or chowk named after him. many of us do not even know that the J.

J. in J. J. Hospital and J. J. School of Art and Architecture stand for Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy!"

"Sir Jamsetjee' s portrait will be trea­

sured by the University and will act as a guiding torch to young students," said Dr Snehalata Deshmukh, vice chancel­ lor, speaking on the eve of her retire­ ment.

Sohrab P. Godrej,chairmanof the

Clodrejgroup of companies(who passed

---- away subsequently in May 2000) narrated in soft toneswhat his father Pirojsha had told him many decades ago when he handed the young man his first pay cheque. "This cheque is in your name, but it is not meantfor you, it is to be kept in trust." Godrejempha­ sizedthe concept that wealth entails social ob­ iigation.

Earlier, Sir Jamsetjee

Jcjeebhoy. seventh baronet, who is the

Fittingly enough, the portraitwas painted by Vishal H. Deorukhkar, a stu­ dent of the Sir J. J. School of Art which was endowedbythefirstbaronetin 1857 at a time when formal educationin the sphere of art and architecture was unheard of in India. The painting is a replica of an original by M. F. Pithawalla. "Before I took up my assignment many years ago asgovernor in Bombay I had this feeling that all Parsiswere rich!" asserted Alexander. "Iknow now that thoughthe community is well-to­ do, there are many poor people, but it has gladdened my heart that those who have made it to wealth haveremem­ beredto contribute to the upliftmentof the poor of all communities." Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, he noted, gave one lakh of rupees in thosedays to establish the J. J. School of Art, and over four lakhs ofrupees towards the endowmentof the Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy Parsec Benevo­ lent Institution (SJJPBI) in 1849,fol­ lowing it up with a succession of schools

in Bombay and Gujarat,including

schools for girls. "Atthat time even great Parsi familieswho desired to edu­ cate their daughters had to do it in se­ crecy at home, ensuring that no one knew of the arrival or departure of the tutor!" he said. Jejeebhoy's donations were unique becausethere was "noop-

14 Parsiana June-July 2000

Chandrachud. Jejeebhoy, Alexander,

Ackamma Alexander. Godrej, Deshmukh, Guzderand (below) unveiling the first baronet's portrait

Photos: Naazneen K. Vajifdar

portunity for ordinary men to acquire education in those days."

In a frank and hard-hittingaddress,

Alexander lamentedthe sad state of university education in India today.The empowerment of women is imperative, he stated, but most femalestudents still opt for the humanities. Historyand economics are no longer enough, he elaborated, we need more women doc­ tors, engineers, computertechnicians, etc.The dearth of good, qualified teach­ ers willing to serve in semi urban and rural areas had contributed to the de­ cline, not in numbers, but in the quality of education. Malpractices in examina­ tions are rampant,he observed, "be­ cause parents encourageand teachers connive," leading to the degradation of society in general.

Guest speakerY. V. Chandrachud,former chief justice of India, portrayed Jejeebhoy as a man of integrity. "Knowl­ edge without integrityis worthless. Un­ fortunately integrity has become a dirty word today," he declared, his thoughts in tandem with Alexander's."There is

chairman of the SJJPBI, traced the life

and deeds of his illustrious ancestor. Jamshed Guzder, chairmanof the Bombay Parsi Punchayetwho is also a trustee of the SJJPBI, expressed his grati­ tude to the University for displaying the portrait. The functionbrought to a close the !50th anniversarycelebrations of the SJJPBI.

Hilla l'. GuzdeT

Height of hospitality

In the Macleod Gunj areaofUpper

Dharmashala, at a height of 1,982 m in the Himalayan state ofHimachal Pradesh (HP), is the lone Parsishop owned by Nowzer and Mani Nowrojeewho de­ spite their age (Nowzer is 90 plus and Mani is 80 plus) exudeenergy and en­ thusiasm, reports Gopinath Bhalekcrin his profile of this daringcouple.

The shop, doing business in general

merchandising, estate agencyand manu­ facture of soft drinks (which is tempo­ rarily discontinued), was started in 1860 by Nowzer' s great-great-grandfather Nowrojee. Oblivious of the presenceof the customers, Nowzer continues to en­ gage in his work inside a small room while Mani, a sprightlylooking lady, takes care of the customers seatedin her

easy chair in the hall surrounded by fine

old wooden furniture, writes Bhaleker.

With their two sons settled out of Dharmashala(one is generalmanager of a tea estate in Assam while the other is divisional manager in Pest Control of India, Delhi) there is presently a couple helping out in the running of the shop.

Macleod Gunj was bustlingwith busi­ ness activities until the Partition in 1947, reported Nowzer. It started gaining in importance when the exodusof Tibetan refugees started coming to Dharmashala and Nowzer reminisces about the role he played in helping

them settle down here.

He also enjoys an ex­ cellent relationship with the Dalai Lama whose palatialresi­ dence happensto be just a stone'sthrow , from the shop whichis

a favoritejaunt for for­ eign tourists,mentions Bhaleker.

The residence now accommodates the

school of Tibetan studies,the Tibetan

institute for the performing arts and a handicraft center. In fact, in MacleodGunj, the Tibetanrefugees have recre­ ated a Tibet with their settlements sell-

Mani and Nowzer Nowrojee at their shop at Dharmashala

ing carpetsand handicrafts, and their food serving as a majordraw for the tourists. The Tibetan mon­ astery with the giantprayer wheel

and the serene statue of Lord Buddha are

ofimport to the tourists too. According to Nowzer's observation, those from western India visitDharmashala from

March to May, those from the eastern states in October-November, with for­ eign touristspreferring the months of July to September. "If one happensto visit HP, one should make it a point to visit MacleodGunj in Dharmashala and enjoy the hospitality of the Nowrojees ..." concludes Bhaleker.

Magnetic relief

"Disease is basically a biomagnetic dis­

turbance. It is represented as change in cell vibration. The correct application of the poles of magnetshelps diseased cells to regaintheir natural frequency of oscillation," writesDrNevilleS. Bengali in his 10-page booklet Magnet­ Therapy, Chromo-Magnet: Instructions for Application which is in its third edition, being first published in 1982. "Dr Bengali is a consulting homeo­ path and one of India's leadingresearch­ ers in magnet-therapy ...The results of Bengali's extensiveclinical trials have been very encouraging, giving magnet­ therapy a wide scope of application in therapeutics," states Dr Ram S. Ahujain

hisintroduction to the author.

For inflammatoryconditionslike arthritis, spondylitis, lumbago, sciatica,

continued on page 45

INGERSOLL-RAND

Ingersoll-Rand (India) Limited, RhcSne-Poulenc House, S. K. Ahire Marg,P. 0. Box 9138, Mumbai- 400 025. Tel: 022-493 6765, Fax: 022-4950516.

16 Pars1ana June-July 2000

ZOROASTRIANS ABROAD

FEZANAAGM

Framroze Patel, presidentof the Federa­

tion ofZoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA) has been reelected to a second two-year term. Patel secured

32.3 votesagainst challenger Dr Farrokh Mistree' s 25.7 at the 13th annual gen­ eral meeting (AGM) of FEZANAheld in Houston, May 24 and 25, 2000.Dr RustomKevala was reelected unopposed as treasurer and Diana Balsarawas electedunopposed as assistantsecre­ tary. Only 14 ofFEZANA's 23 member associations attended the meet, informs a brief report from Patel.

On the agenda was the issue of form­ ing a world body. Since the 1999 AGM, a meeting of the regio11s, held in Bombay in January 2000, had declared certain clauses of the reconstituted World Zoro­ astrian Organisation (WZO) in need of further amendment and, in the mean time had advocatedthe formation of the World Council of Zoroastrian Federa­ tions which wouldbe merged with the WZO at a later date (see "A world body of federations," Parsiana, February 2000). This development had been hotly contested by WZO representatives at the meet and by its presidentRumi Sethna in a letter thereafter (sec "World wars?" pg 35). After "a spirited discussion of the major issues that arc still outstand­ ing" FEZANA'smajority vote accepted the Apri\2000 draft of the WZO charter and directedits executives to negotiate directly with WZO and proceed to join WZO' s Counci Iof Federations after fur­ ther modifications as required by mem­ ber associations and other regionsare incorporated into it, writes Patel.

Another cantankerous subject at the

AGM was the bitterlyfought issue of who may (or may not) be allowedto speak at the SeventhWorld Zoroastrian Congress (WZC)."You are awarethat WZC 2000 ExecutiveBoard has the sole responsibility relative to the pro­ gram for the forthcoming Congress," writes Patel. A 'request of motion' was put forward by the Zoroastnan Associa­ tion of Metropolitan Washington Inc (ZAMWI) president MehranKhadivi (seconded by the Zoroastrian Associa­ tion of Greater New York- ZAGNY) seeking that Dr Ali Jafarey be inciuded as a speaker at the Congress. After a long and protracted discussionon this motion, a secondarymotionwasput

18 Parsiana June-July 2000

forward by the Zoroastrian Associationof Quebec (ZAQ), secondedby the Zo­ roastrian Society of Ontario (ZSO),to "indefinitely postpone" the ZAMWI mo­ tion. The Quebec motion was carriedby a vote of 29 to three with five absten­ tions. ZAMWI and the Persian Zoroas­ trian Organization (PZO) walked out when the ZAQ motion was introduced, notes Patel.

The WZC 2000 is facing a "signifi­ cant shortfall in fund-raising" with reg­ istration charges barelycovering the food andoccupancy costs. While all Con­ gress projects are in need of funds,the Zarathushti field project, that aims to sponsor 30 studentswho would be fi­ nancially restrained from attending the Congress without communitylargess, is specially targeted for fund-raising. The shortfall will hopefullybe made up by donations and advertisements. FEZANA has announced a donation of $2,500 towards the SeventhZarathushti Games which are scheduledto precede the Con­ gress.

FEZANA received donations of

$88,000 in cash and appreciated securi­ ties during 1999 for welfare, scholar­ ship and criticalassistance funds, as per the report of treasurer Kcvala.The Federation's assets grewtoover

$2,00,000 during the past year. Dr Jerry Khcradi, the new chair of the Funds and Finance Committee, foreseesa bright outlook for 2000, further notes Patel.

ZAMC and the WZO

The Zoroastrian Association of Metro­

politan Chicago(ZAMC) has changed its existing annual membership of the World Zoroastrian Organisation (WZO) intoa permanent one, informs a press release issued by WZO presidentRumi Sethna.A large and respected associa­ tion, ZAMC is generally believedto followa middle-of-the-road policy. ZAMC becomes the seventh North American (NA) association to opt for permanent WZO membership. EightNA associations, all members of FEZANA (Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America) are simultaneously members of the WZO.

Big on BBC

"It wasn't so long agothat shewas

relatively unheardof and now she's an award-winning comedian and actress,"

writes Zeena Moolla of Nina Wadia in OK! TV Guide (February 25, 2000). The clipping of the UK magazinewas brought to Parsiana' s notice by reader and friend Rashid Khosravi.

After numerousminor stereotyped Asian roles Wadia is simultaneously filming the new BBC situationcomedy Perfect World and the third series ofthe award-winning BBC comedy Goodness Gracious Me. PlayingMaggie, a Bom­ bay girl settled in London in the 'perfect world' marketing officeof Bob Slay, Wadia told Moolla,"I went in to do a reading for the part and between myself and the director we agreedthat she would work well as some sort of ethniccharac­ ter."

With the success of Goodness Gra­

cious Me came requests for support from variouscharities which Wadia, with her Parsi upbringing, was loath to deny. Wadia wed her long-term boyfriend Raiomond Mirza in a Parsi weddingin Montreal a year ago, informsMoolla.

Creative advertising

"It's raining trophiesin Farrokh Mad on's

backyard," wrote Vivck Kamath in BombayTimes (March28, 2000). The advertising whiz kid, now workingfor Saatchiand Saatchi at Singapore, had reaped scvera! international profession a I awards while freelancing. Not being af­ filiated to an agency then, he enteredfor the awards under the name Galaxy Ads. Theheady harvest led to Galaxybeing classified among the top 20 agencies by Campaign Brie.fAsia magazine. Kamath records Mad on's chuckle: "The agency doesn'teven exist and it got listed in the top 20!"

Madon quit his job at Bombay'sEn­ terprise seven years ago, optingto mcwe to Singapore. Thencehe went to Amster­ dam for two years beforereturning to Singapore where he works 14-hour days, sometimes includingweekends, records Kamath. Though not averse to returning to India, Madon told the columnisthe docs not considereither the qualityof work or the quality of life available here as tempting enough.Not for now.

Beautician Dotivala

A licensed cosmetologist from New Jer­

sey, USA, Arnaz Cyrus Dotivala is an official Hair Fashion Committee educa-

continued on page 26

7WZC

"Kisseh-Houston" The orthodox-liberal divide widens over the questionof including Dr Ali Jafarey as a speaker

Arnavaz S. Mama

The SeventhWorld Z\lroastrian Con­ gress (7WZC) was supposed to be all inclusive when preparations began in 1997. The avowedintention to ensure that each sessionpresents a balance of opinion is being honored. However, theissueof inviting Dr Ali Jafarey,co­ founder of the Zarathushtrian Assem­ bly, as a speakerhas caught the Con­ gress Executive Board (EB) in a hind. Though initially willing to accommo­ date liberalopinion, the EB was prob­ ably unprepared for the orthodox back­ lash. And now that they have decided to keep Jafareyout (see "'FEZANA AGM" Zoroastrians Abroad. page 18), theyface the wrath of the liberals.

An early salvo appears to have been fired by Zoroastrian Studies founder Khojeste Mistree hy his e-mailmessage to Dolly Dastoordated February 2, 2000. In the course of his letter Mistree notes, "I am at a loss to understand as to why a non-Zoroastrian who is on the outer periphery of our community, is being allowed to be a divisive force within the confabulations of the Congress.

"'I am referring to the possibleinclu­ sion of Jafarcywhom I gather may be allowed to participate and indeed to speak at this gathering. Over the years, Jafarey ·s words and deeds have sought to insult and malign our clergy, demean our customs and traditions and deni­ grate our prayersand rituals ...

''.Tafarey and his supporters seek to promotean ideology whichin no way adheresto classical Zoroastrianism as practised over the millennia ... In fact, his active policy of conversion should he cause for grave concern to your EB, as an invitation from your Congress committee will conveyto him and his cult followers. a sense of approval and legitimacy which they arc so desper­ ately seeking. We have thousandsof IranianZoroastrians living in and around the environs of Yazd, whose lives I fear

20 Parstana June-July 2000

will be put in jeopardy, if Jafarey is invited to the Congress. Moreover,it will give a clear signal to the Iranian government (specially as this World Congress will receive widespread pub­ licity in the Indian newspapers) that the Zoroastrians arc actively endorsinga proselytizing policy in direct conf1ict with Islam ...

"I now gather, via the Internet, that some members of your EB have sought to honor Jafareyfor his alleged scholar­ ship by surreptitiously obtaining letters from those who have been misled through guile and deceit. I am indeed shocked and saddened as to how and why some organizers of the World Con­ gress 2000 can be so short-sighted and insensitive as to felicitatesomeone who has alwayshurled insults with malice onourreligion and on members of the Parsi Zoroastrian community!"

"On behalf of a group of concerned

Zoroastrians againstJafarey' s inclusion at the WZC 2000" Ervad .TalBirdy, TMZA(Traditional Mazdayasni Zara­thushti Anjuman) memberandpresi­dent of theNorth American MobcdCouncil, presented a five-page note "why Jafarey should not be includedinthe 7WZC."Excerpts: "In earlyJanuary 2000, Jafarey and his followersinitiated a move on the ZoroastrianListBot, and through privatee-mails, to force his inclusion on the program of the 7WZC. "Soon a worldwide,grassroots, coun­

ter movementof immense proportion arose to oppose the inclusion ofJafarey in the Congress.

"As a result.we recognize that the

EB of the WZC2000is facing the di­ lemma of being pressurized from both sides, and is having to face the possibil­ ity of having to make a controversial decision, on which may rest the future direction of the Zarathushti religion.

''We urge the EB of the WZC2000 to

pay heed to the grassrootsopposition to

Jafarey, from the now vocal majority. and not to fall prey to the machinations of the Jafareyites. We stronglyurge the EB to keep Jafareyout. ..

"In order to help the EB make their

decision, and to present to the Zarathushti world "the dangersof including Jafarcy.we arc presenting the followinglist of reasons for his exclusion.

"The EB of the WZC2000 has al­ ready decided that this is a Congress for Zarathushtis, by Zarathushtis. As such, it decided that non-Zarathushtis would not be permitted to speak or make any form of presentation at the Congress... "Jafarey is a horn Muslim.He does

not meet the above requirement and.

thus. cannothe included withinthe WZC2000.

"Some of his cult followers claim

that Jafareyisa'Zarathushti-hy­ choice.' ... Has Jafarey ever publicly declared himself to he an apostate. and that he has renouncedhis born-into. Islamic religion in favor of becoming a Zarathushti? Even if he has. the basic fact remains that 'Once a Muslim. al­ ways a Muslim,'and by Islamic tenets. there is no possibleway that .Tafarcy could ever be considered a Zarathushti ... "Jafarey would have his followers believe that he is the saoshyant pre­ dicted to restore the Zarathushti reiigion to its pristinepurity, but little do they realize that he is doing it by deception and distortion of our sacred scriptures and thereby duping hisfollowers and his audiences. His most recentdistortion of our sacredFravardin Yashtwas exposed by us a few days back and posted to the ListBot alias controlled by .T afarey's fol­ lowers. This exposehas not been al­ lowed to air on that alias as yet. IBirdy has criticized .Tafarey's rendition of the Fravardin Yasht for omitting its refer­ ences to Zarathushtra as "a priest of highest caliber.''] This is just one more

continued mz page 40

ANJUMANS

Thedynamics ofDelhi

The liberalnorthern Anjuman celebrates its 75th anniversary with religious fervor and intellectual zeal

"Our predecessors built up this Anjumanfrom scratch. We had no ancestral wealth, nor large properties or funds. But wedo have a wealth of human resources which we have tried to nurture and a host of friends who extend their help to us in cash and in kind," stated Delhi Parsi Anjuman (DPA)presidentLt Gen (Retd) Adi M. Sethna addressing the gathering at the Mengusi Parsi Dharamshala com­ plex's BhiwandiwallaHall on January8 this year on the occasion of the Anju­ man' s platinum jubileecelebrations.

"Which anjuman can boast of in its

membership a sitting chief justice of the High Court, a sitting judge of the Su­ preme Court, a three-time attorneygen­ eral, a sitting Member of Parliament (MP), two Padma Vibhushans, four Padma Bhushans,a Sahitya Academy award winner and a host of national if not international award winners, not to mention the Federation (of Parsi Zoro­ astrian Anjumans of India) award win­ ners from this Anjuman," continued Sethna. "While remembering their achievements with pride let us also re­ call those who made this Anjuman and created its ethos: our past presidents, our founder presidentDr Nowroji Kapadia followed by Dr Sorabji Shroff, Khusro Rustamji and my immediatepredeces­ sor Shiavax Nargolwala."

Aside froin providing intellectual leadership the DPA is also amongstthe most liberal anjumans in the country with membership open to non-Zoroas­ trian spouses and their children. The non-Zoroastrian spouse however can­ not worship in the agiary, be interred in the aramgahor become a trustee.

Thejubilee celebrations, which com­ prised talks by eminent scholars,an au­ dio-visual presentation and the founda­ tion stone laying ceremonyfor a reading room in the Dharamshala complex, started with an open-airjashan led by Ervad Cawas Bagliheld under a canopy between the Kaikhushru Pallonji Katrak Dar-e-Meher andthe Bhiwandi wallaHall.

After thejashan, whichwas televised

22 Parsiana June-July 2000

by Zee TV, noted scholar and author Piloo Jungalwalla laid the foundation stone of the Dr Nowshir Jungalwalla Memorial Room on the first floor of the MengusiDharamshala building. Do­ nated in memory of her husbandNow­ shir, the author was keen the Anjuman have a place where people could study, noted Sethna. Jungalwalla noted the Room was "going to be used as a com­ mittee room for thetrustees and as a classroom for the Young Farohars(Zo­ roastrian children who are taught the basics of their religion and heritage) and interfaith seminars." The Room will seat 50 to 60 people. It will be an all-purpose room, and would be equipped with "au­ dio-visualand computer assistedequip­ ment," noted Sethna.

The 75th anniversary issue of the DPA publication Dipanjali wasreleased by the Federation presidentJamshed N. Guzder who is also the chairman of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet(BPP). The 148-pagejournal printed on glossy pa­ per with several pagesof color photo­ graphs was edited by Brig (Retd)Adi K. Sahukar. The publication containsa wealth of information on outstanding Zoroastrians of Delhi plus articleson various aspects of the community in India.

Adirectory of Delhi Parsis was re­ leased by noted industrialist SohrabP. Godrej, chairmanof the Godrej group of industries. The directory lists around 600 names in Delhi divided into 15 different zones and around 180 outsta­ tion members including21 overseas.

A booklet by noted jurist Fali S.

Nariman titled Zoroastrianism- The Faith of the Pars is in India based on a monthly lecture serieswas distributed by the Anjuman as an anniversary me­ mento along with an Asho Farohar lapel pin.

DPA trusteeand honorary secretaryFarrokh Rustomji read out a message from the Prime Minister of India Atal Behari Vajpayce which commended the community for being "inthe forefront in

themaking of modernizedIndia."

Dr Zareen Karani Araoz,whose fa­ ther Col N.D. P. Karaniwas a trustee of the DPA at the time of the Dar-e­ Meher' s inauguration on December 31, 1961,said she had preserved the ribbons cut at the inaugural of the fire-temple: a whiteribbon for the outside and a red one for the kebla. She presentedthe ribbons to the Anjuman.

Several distinguished speakers par­ ticipated in the seminar that was part of the platinum jubilee celebrations. A sum­ mary of the proceedings, preparedby the Anjuman, is reproduced here:

"Matters of great concernto the com­

munity were discussed during the well attended seminaron both days," states the write-up.BPP trustee Dinshaw Tamboly chaired the keynotesession in which Dr L. M. Singhvi,MP and former High Commissioner oflndia in the UK, spoke on the "Relevance of the philoso­phy ofZarathushtra in the creationof the Parsi Zoroastrian psyche." He explained how the teachingof Zarathushtra had sunk deep into the Parsi Zoroastrian psyche influencing the individual Zo­ roastrian's behavioral pattern. He pointed out the outstanding and wide ranging contribution ofParsi Zoroastri­ ans in all fields of human endeavor based on their understanding and prac­ tice of the Good Mind (Vohu Mano) and the concept of Asha which stood for order and justice. It was a spiritual and ethical dimension which influenced them not only at the personal level but in their professional relationships. He went on to say that next best to being a Parsi is to be a friend of the Parsi community.

Jungalwalla, chairingthe session on "Interlinkages of culture" introduced the speaker, ProfLokesh Chandra, director of the International Academyof Indian Culture. He explainedin detail these interlinkages with many examplesand explained how the cultureoflran had its effectnot only on India but on countries ranging from Chinain the East to Greece in the West. He mentioned how on a

Top: Jashan in progress; from left (center row): Sorabjee,Nariman, Andhyarujina and Cama; (bottom row): Moegiadi. Varadcm jan, Singhvi,Chandra and Karani Araoz

Tibetan map of the second century BC, Iran was shown at the center of the world. Iran meant "the land of nobility;" in the Iranianperception it was not only nobility of birth but of the mind. The best exampleof this greatness was Em­ perorCyrus who is recognized in his­ tory as the emperor who made tolerance a part of state policy.Other facets of Iranian 0rigin,in medicine, music, art

and culture,continue to exist through the Parsi Zoroastrians about which much more awareness needs to be created.

Tehmtan Andhyarujina, former so­ licitor general of India, in his introduc­tory remarks to Nariman's presentation on "Parsi law and its effecton Parsi society" stressed the necessity to mod­ ernize Parsi law and make it compatible with modernconditions.Nariman,a

newly nominated member of the Rajya Sabha, stated that "Parsi law" is the personal law of the Parsis and covers matters relating to marriage, divorce, inheritance and the like.Although the FundamentalRights chapter of the Con­ stitution of India declaresthat all laws in force which infringed the equality clause or which discriminated against women were void, in1952 a bench of the

24Pars1i:ma June-July 2000

Top (left):Guzder releasing Dipanjali and Godrej (standing)releasing the directory Below (from left): Sethna, Dadi Mistry,

Godrej, Guzder, Jungalwalla, Tamholy and others

Bombay High Court held that the Fun­ damentalRights chapter of the Consti­ tution did not apply to personallaws because they were not "laws in force." (Only laws made by legislative bodies and applicable generally could be de­ scribedas "laws in force," saidthe Court.) In a speech fullof wit and humor Nariman delineated the pitfalls of Parsi law and kept the audience in fits of laughterwith his description of matrimonial and other cases. His advice was "Keep off the law" because you do not know where it will land you. Before making a legal attempt to changepersonal laws, it is necessary for the community to arrive at a meaningful consensus, concluded

Nariman.

Soli Sorabjee.attorney general of India, chairingthe valedictory session entitled "The future of the community" pointed out the problems of"the dimin­ ishing priesthood." He wanted them to be given better grounding in theology, providingthem financial supportand holding them in respect.He deprecated the decreasing representation of young Parsis in diversefields such as the ad­ ministration, services,science, etc and opined that this too needed serious at­ tention. He spoke categorically against"Reservation" for Zoroastrians who could well stand up on their own merit. The strength of the community was in

their spirit of toleranceand he urged the communitynot to lose its sense of hu­ mor, to laugh at its own foibles and not give up its many eccentricities.

Muthusamy Varadarajan, former sec­ retary to the Government of India and member of the National Commission for Minorities, laced his talk with many quotations from various scriptures. He extolled the community for having achieved so much butwent on to say that "all is not primrosesand daffodils." He referredto the hiccups which were the declining population and the policy to­ wardsconversion. He suggestedurgent attention to both these problems and quoting from the Zoroastrian scriptures

25Parsrana June-July 2000

stressed, "Maythe knowledge extendmuch in every field of human endeavor and fame of the commandments of the was in dangerof disappearing. The work excellent religion of Mazda ever in- done included collection of data through crease in the world." He also pointed to a questionnaire which brought in excel­ the palpable declinein the passionate - lent response from all over India, and adherence to the

religion. He ended with a quotation from DrAnnieBesant: "I dream of a day when the breath of the great Zarathushtra shall sweep again

though his

temples, fanningthe ashes from the altars of those an­ cient flames ... and from Heaven the answering flames should fall, mak­ ing the religiononce more a bea­ con light to the souls of men."

Guzder had earlier made men­

port was required from the commu­ nity, the country and the world. Prof Moegiadi, directorUNESCO- Delhi, and deputyambassador of the Islamicblic of Iran, in summingup the

presentationspoke of it as a "model pro­ ject."

The finale of the celebrations was the hilarious Parsi­ Gujarati comedyen­ titled Kutra-ni­ Puchdi- Wanki-te­ Wanki enacted by Yazdi Karanjia and histroupe from Surat. Members of the Gujarati Sabha, spe­ cially invited,also enjoyed the play.

"All in all, the DPA lived up to its multiculturalism byusingtalent and re­ sources, and getting help from its friends who made this func­

tion of the demographic pressures on the

community for whichreason the "third child scheme" had been introduced by the BPP, pledging financial support to the third child of a Zoroastrian couple right up to adulthood. He also went on to explain the Parsi conceptof charity and how it should be used for the betterment of the less fortunate membersof society,

DPA 's board of trustees (from left,

standing) Adil Nargolwala, Yazdi Pithawalla, Yazd Kapadia, Keki Daruwalla, F. Rustomji and Behram Dumasia; (sitting): Ava Khullar,Dadi Mistry, Sethna,Nergish Nargolwala and Bhicoo Manekshaw

latterly, through the Internet from all

tion possible throughtheir donations and advertisements. All this was made possible by quiet teamworkof all members of the smallbut vibrant Delhi Parsi community," noted the report, adding, "It was indeed a fittingex­ ample of showingthe way into the next millennium through its own ac­ tivities and efforts."

asalso in supportof good causes and

over the world. This byitselfwould

institutions. He then announced a dona­ tion of one lakh rupees to the DPA and wished them all success in their ven- tures.

Theother highlight of the celebra­

tions was the audio-visual presentation on the UNESCO assistedproject for preservingthe Parsi Zoroastrian culture and heritage.The DPA is one of the institutional supporters of this project as are a number of other communityand national organizations.

The20-minute audio-visual entitled

Glimpses brought out very vividlythe history and philosophy of the religion and both its tangibleand intangible heri­ tage. UNESCO had appointed Dr Shernaz Cama, one of the membersof the Anjuman, its consultant as they had

need considerable documentation and would provide a solid databaseon the sociological conditions of the commu­ nity. Another major gain of the project was in the preserving and recording of the treasure-trove of rare manuscripts of the First Meherjirana Library at Navsari.The presentation also brought out most vividlythe demographic prob­ lem facing the communityby explain­ ing how, unlike other communities, the Parsi Zoroastrian community of India has an increasingly older population and unless somethingis done to reverse this tendency the community would dis­ integrate.In the words of Guzder,"We may well becamea tribe by the year 2015 and lose all the benefits which accrue from being a community in

ZOROASTRIANS ABROAD

continued from page18

torof the National Cosmetology Asso­ ciation (NCA),in­

forms a write-up from Noshir Daboo of Ahmedabad. She was also recently appointeddirector of the Hunterdon and Warren county

affi 1iateoftheCosmetologist

NCA. Dotivala

Dotivala repre-

sents the secondgeneration in the big-time beautybusiness being the daughter of renowned Ahmedabad beautician ArmaityTaraporewala, notesDaboo.

come to realize that this smallbut vi­

multicultural India." UNESCO had only

brantcommunitywhichhad done so

26Parsiana June-July 2000

given seed money but much more sup-

Compiled by ArnavazS. Mama

RELIGION

Of fire, faith and friends

The ember from Nagpur's atash padshah that set aflame Ervad Kaizad Tarapore did not dampen his faith in the holy fire

Dilnavaz E. Bhagwagar

On thatfateful Tuesday eveningin March the Parsis of Nagpur, like Parsis the world over, were celebrating mah Avan, roz.Avan, a day on which we revereone of the most important elementsof our environment, water. On the elevated verandah of Nagpur'sbeautiful Bai Hirabai N. M. Mulla Daremeher over­ looking the GandhiSagar Lake, the head priest Ervad BamanshawVazifdar, as­ sisted by Ervad Kaizad Tarapore (Taraporwalla), performed ajashan cer­ emony. The sonoroussounds of the prayers and the sweet fragranceof san­ dalwood and myrrh filledthe air. Ladies in pretty kor ni saris, children in their velvet and zari caps, men engaged in convivial bantermade it an evening of gentle peace and harmony.

Jashan over, the congregation on the verandah broke up. Some went into the agiary to pray, others helped to cut the chasni fruits,while some stoppedto buydar ni poris.

Since there were many people in the

agiary that evening, the offerings of sandalwood were plentiful. Vazifdar asked junior mobed Tarapore to feed the sukhad to the atash. The ever obliging Tarapore went into the sanctum sanctorum to do so. With piety and de­ votion, Tarapore arrangedthe sukhad on the afargan and smoothed the sur­ rounding ash with his chamach.He turnedaround to come out when aflying emberprobably fell on his jama. Tarapore was unawareof it but the la­ dies praying near the doorway shouted ')amosalgi gayo (your robe has caught fire)!" Instinctively, Taraporeran out of the kebla. The whirring fans in the hall whipped the flames to a frenzy. Within seconds, the young boy was a burning inferno, the flames from his body reach­ ing as high as the crystal chandelier that swung from the ceiling.

Calmly cuttingfruit on the verandah, Tarapore's mother Yasmine heard the shouting and commotion from within

27 Parsiana June-July 2000

the agiary. "Some old person has fallen down," she remarkedto her companion, as they hurriedto investigate. The sight that met her eyes froze her in shocked disbelief!

Vazifdar, usinghis presence of mind, flung Tarapore ontothe carpet and rolled him in it to dousethe flames. There was no fire extinguisher, there was general panic and hysteriaand there were as many suggestions as there were Parsis. One person broughtwater; the other said, "Water, never. He will be full of blisters." A third suggested cloth wrung out in vinegar;still another said, "Oil." Amid the confusion, Jchangir Doongaji did the best thing by phoning Prakash Nursing Home, to be ready to receivea burnspatient. Willing hands gently guided the dazedbut conscious Tarapore to a car.

Within 15 minutesof the horrendous accident, Tarapore was receivedby the emergency staff of the NursingHome. Newsof the accident spread like wildfire. Parsis from far and ncar began pouring into the hospital. The communityrose likea protective wall around the Tarapore family, with offersofblood, money, medi­ cine, manpower and moralsupport. Tarapore's parents, Yasmine and Homi, maintained a stoic calm, drawingupon the inner reservesof strength. Talking about those first fewhours anddays, Yasminesaid, "I wouldnot allow my mind to wander to unpleasant thoughts. I focussed all my energyand conscious­ ness on praying io God to help our son."

Tarapore's initial reactionwas more of shock than pain. "Iwondered why everyone was running around, why the doctors looked so grave, why (an oxy­ gen) cylinder was brought." Tarapore's jama and pugree had been torn off at the agiary itself. The sudreh and padan cov­ eringhis face had burnt and stuck to the skin. Waist down he was mercifully unscathed. As the doctors gently exam­ ined the 19-year-old priest, hisinitial

shock gave way to excruciating pain. "I felt as if I was holding live coals in my hands and that same red-hotheat was searing my body," recalls Tarapore.

"Fifty percentburns, some of them very deep," said the doctors after the preliminary examination. "Plenty of cold water poured over the burns immedi­ ately would have greatly reducedthe intensity of the damage."

The team of doctors attending on Tarapore includethe very competent and well-known plastic surgeon, Dr Syed Ilyas, anesthetist Dr LcenaBalla], physicians Dr Sanjay Jain and Dr Sanjeev Chugh.

Thus began the long, painful ordeal for Tarapore and the anxiousvigil of his parents. His elder brother Jimmy, assis­ tant mobed at Calcutta's Mehta Agiary, flew in the next day to be by his brother's side.

Good-natured and helpful, Tarapore

had become a navarat age 11 and maratab the year after, both under the benign guidance of Ervad Aspandiar Dada­ chanji, at the Vachaghandhy Agiaryin Bombay.After completing his SSC in 1996 Taraporebegan helping with the muktad and other prayers. At the time of the accident, he was preparing for his BCom II exams.

After two skin graftings,Kaizad suf­ fered a setbackby contactingjaundice. "It could have been drug induced or due to blood transfusions but most likely itwas an infection that had set in beforethe accident. In any case,it delayed his recov­ ery by a couple of weeks," said Chugh.

In the first few days after the acci­ dent, the exorbitant cost of medicines, injections, dressings and blood transfu­ sions made the Tarapores nervous.Homi workedin a bank and they Ii vedasimple but happy life in the Anjuman Blocks. This tragedy, however,was a bolt from the blue. Individual Nagpurians were spontaneous and generous in their help but the Nagpur Anjuman, caretakers of the community, fell woefully short of

expectations by gtvtng a meager Rs I0,000. The Calcutta Anjuman, among the first to respond, sent Rs 50,000. Ahmedabad and Badnera followedwith Rs 10,000 each and Ban galore sent Rs 5,000. Scylla Vatchafrom Bombay sent the largestsingle donation ofRs I ,50,000. Through the good offices of Dinshaw Tamboly,the World Zoroas­ trian Organisation despatched Rs 1 ,00,000. Bombay Parsi Punchayet chairman Jamshed Guzdersent Rs 50,000 from his personaltrust within three days of the accident.

To Adil Govadia, a onetime Nagpur

resident, now a netizenof Bangalore, goes the creditof flashing the news of the accident and making a simultaneous appeal for funds toParsis around the world, via the Internet. Theresponse came as a tlash floodof money, good­ will, prayers and support that exceeded

28 Parsiana June-July 2000

everyone's expecta­ tions. From USA, Canada, England, Australia, New Zea­ land, Dubai, Aden and Hong Kong money and messages poured in and continue to do so.

Yasmine and

Homi are truly llVerwhclmed by the messages and pi1one calbthey have been getting from •otai str<: ngers across the world. "Him11wt raoklw.Dheerqj roakho(Be brave and patient)," "God is great, all will be well." Prayer meetings and tandorostis for his recoveryare be­ ing held. "Wereally appreciate this and know that the prayers have helped Kaizad," said the father.

Closer to home, friends have been

wonderful. Neighbors Shernaz and her husband Navroz Davar, managingdi­ rector of the Maharashtra State Hand­ loom Corporation, have beenarchan­ gels in guidingand helping the family, every stepof the way. Tarapore's best friend Cyrus Major has steadfastly stood byhimandhelpedease thepain. Khushroo Poacha and Sharrukh Cassad have helped procure bloodwhileDr Jerestine Watchmaker, a pathologist, has

Kaizadbefore and qfter the event(clockwise ji·om top left): Six weeks toter; with Jimmy infi'ont of the Nagpur Agiary with Dadachanji in the background; flanked by parents Homi and Yasmine at Jimmy's weddin{?

given freely of her services. Yazdi Daruwalla, a medi­ cal representative, has got expensive medicines at cost price. The list is end­ less. What it underlines is the respect and the affec­ tion the community has for its mobeds. We often de­ cry the lack of respectfor our priests. Tara pore's tragedy has proved that the conscience of the commu­ nity is not dead. It might at times appear to be sub­ merged but it is alive,sen­ sitive and responsive to the problems of its priestsand its people.

Fifty anxiousdays,

sleepless nightsand three skin graftings later, Tarapore and his parents are able to talk about the accidentwithout any bitterness. I suggestedthat some feel­ ings of anger at the unfairness of it might be justified. He suffered in the service of God. '"Why me?'' could have been an anguished cry. Instead,with one voice Taraporeand his parentssay "Dadar Ahura Mazda ni ghani, ghani meherbani (We thank God for His good­ ness and mercy in saving the life of our son)."

One moreskingraftingandlong

months of physiotherapy and trauma treatment lie ahead of Kaizad. A year of college lost will have to be made up. The Tarapores have kept an accountof all money receivedand spent. They are firm in their intention of returning any unused money to a trust or organization that would use it for similaremergencies in the future.

The two things that were untouched

and unblemished by the fire were Tarapore's kusti and his faith in Ahura Mazda. The kusti is surprisingly white andundamaged. Kaizad's devotion to the atash padshah is as strong. The first thing he wants to do as soon as he is well and able is to offer a maachiwith his own hands.

HISTORY

COVER STORY

A Gandhian'General'

A Gandhian and ardentpatriot, 'General' Manchershaw Avari spearheaded the freedom strugglein Nagpur

Dilnavaz E. Bhagwagar

A flowerbedecked truck, bearingthe body of their beloved leader, wound its slow and sad journey through the streets of Nagpur,as 20,000 voices chanted '"General' Avari amar rahe(May 'Gen­ eral'Avariliveforever) ...

Theprocession came to a halt before theParsi Dharam­ shala.

Manchershaw Rustamji A vari had died the previous day, on July 1, 1974. Not only Parsis but all of politi­ cally conscious Nagpurwent into mourning as news of his death spreadlike wildfire through the city. Aware that non-Parsis would not be al­ lowed to see and pay final homage to their leader once the lastrites were performed. the hysterical crowd stoned and obstructed the mobeds who tried to reach the Avari home. It took saner heads from among the grief stricken people to appeasethe multitude. An all-night vigil was held, with inter­ religious prayersrecited by pundit, priest and maulvi, before the reveredbody, taken in procession, was handed over to Avari' s co­ religionists for the sachkar and other funeral prayers,relates the General's son Gev.

Born in 1898 in a village in the Surat

district of Gujarat, Avari had his early education in Gandevi and Bulsar. In 1917 he graduatedwith the secondbatch of mechanical engineering studentsof the University of Bombay,standing second in the order of merit. That same year he set sail for Detroit,USA, to gain work experience at Ford Motors.A vocation in motor mechanics, however, was not in his destiny.

On his return from Detroit, his uncle, the well-known andwell-to-do Khan Bahadur Jamshedji Avari,sent him to Zanzibar to oversee his vast stud farms and a flourishing trade in cloves.

Avari: principles and ideals

During a casual encounterwith Jamsetjee Tata's son Ratan, the latter asked Khan Bahadur what his US re­ turned nephew was doing. When told that Avari was looking afterhorses in Zanzibar,Sir Ratan Tata was of the opinion that the job was a waste of the young man's intelligence and educa­ tion. He suggested that Avari come to work as an engineer at Jamsetjee Tata's

first industrial venture, the Empress Mills at Nagpur.

It was a handsome, elegantlysuited,

young man bronzed by the African outback whopresented himself to Mr Dara Kamdin, general man­

ager of Empress Mills,

Nagpur, in 1919. A boxer and a body builder, as fond of the good life as any true­ hlooded Parsi, Avari had no interest in and little taste for Indian politics,at that time.

His search for accommo­ Jation in a new city led him to stay as a paying guestwith a Mr Mahajan, a staunch so­ cial and Seva Dal worker. That was Avari's initiation into the turbulent world of Indian politics.

Itwas a time in our his­ tory when patriotism ran high. MohandasGandhi was an emerging hero, Jawahar­ lal Nehru,a rapidly rising youth leader.Fiery speeches rent the air, stirringup India's anger against subju­ gation to a foreignpower. In this politically surcharged atmosphere, the Indian Na­ tional Congresssession of 1920 was held in Nagpur. Avari, then a curious and impressionable 22-year-old, wanted to see the great lead­

ers. Mahajan suggestedhe enrol as a volunteerwhich Avari did.

At first meeting,it was Nehru with

his patricianfeatures and aristocratic bearing who impressed Avari, says Gev. At the end of each day's session,Gan­ dhiji would have his meal not with the other delegatesbut with the volunteers and grassroot workers.On seeing a vol­ unteer somewhatdifferent in bearing and dress from the others, he asked Avari hisname and was surprised to

30 Parsiana June-July 2000

While Avari was Gandhian in thought, his soul was still Zoroastrian and continued to be so till the end

know that this was the nephewof the very pro-British Jamshedji Avari.

Avari on his part was not impressed by the uncharismatic Gandhiji, believes Gev. Years later he would recall that the thing he remembered most about his first meeting with Gandhi was the chappals that Gandhi wore!

But in the days and weeks that fol­ lowed Avari found himself drawn mag­ netically towards the philosophy and ideals of the great man. In 1921 when Gandhiji gave a call for an all India videshikapde ki holi,(bonfire of foreign apparel) Avari, albeit with a twinge of sadness. threw in all his hats, suits and tics. With that symbolic gesture,he burnt his boats behind him. From then on, therewas no looking back.

Avari's growing involvementwith

politics displeased the management of Empress Mills, relatesGev, and they finally served him a noticeof dismissal. By then Avari considered patriotism a sacredduty, not a crime. He went on a hunger strike in front of the Empress Mills gate sayinghe would willingly give in his resignation but refused to be dismissed. He won his victory in his first non- violent satyagraha. Many more were to follow.

Among the unpopular measuresim­

posed by the British on the people ofthe land was a ban on carrying the Indian flag. It inflamed the pride of the entire nation but it took a few courageous people to publiclydefy it. In 1923 Avari spearheaded the jhanda satyagraha. He led the morchawith the fluttering tri­ color held proudly aloft.Gandhiji had warned Avari that there shouldbe no violence. What transpired that morning in 1923was like a scene from Atten­ borough's Gandhi.As thousands of people marched with the Indianflag through thestreets of Nagpur behind Avari, narratesGev. British tommieson horseback ripped through the peaceful procession, landing baton blows on the marchers. Even as blood mingledwith sweatand dust, Avari exhortedhis fol­ lowers to remain calm.Thousands of people werepushed intopolice vans, taken to the outskirts of the city and

32 Parsiana June-July 2000

released later. Wanting to make an ex­ ample of the defiant Avari, the authori­ ties tied him to a horse and dragged him beyond the outskirtsof the city. The incident was narrated to him, says Gev. by another freedom fighter who waswitness to the scene.Instead of acting as a deterrent, this inhuman treatmentby the British rousedthe local population and Avari became their hero.

Between 1923 and 1947, Avari was in and out of the jails of Central India, often sharing his cell with Gandhiji, Nehru, Ravi ShankarShukla and other leaders.

Understandahly, Avari'sfamily was

very unhappywith his increasing in­ volvement with Indian politicsand the dangers and hardshipsit involved. This was not the future they had in mind for their US returned son. When their pleas had no effect on him, Avari' s father and his uncle went to the Sabarmati Ashram to meet Gandhiji. They accused him of having hypnotizedtheir son. Gandhiji called the freedomfighter and gently chided him saying his first duty was towards his father."Mei tamne mara bapa manyach (I revere you as my father)." Manchcrshaw Avari replied

simply. RustamjiAvari was lividand disinherited his son publicly,cutting him off from any sharein the family wealth, maintains Gev.

Avari was unperturbed. He had al­ readydisciplined his body and mind to endure frugality and hardship. From the day the British imposed a tax on salt till the day he died, not a grain of salt entered his mouth.He ahstained from meat and liquor and slept on a hardwooden hed

Avari making a fieryspeech (facing page) and carried on horseback during a victory procession (alongside); (above) Dater Banu (circa 1936)

with no mattress. Wealth and possessions meant nothing to him. He lived and breathed Jove for his motherland and a burningdesire to see her free.

Theold Bhonsle fort atop a knoll in Nagpur had been turned into a British garrison.In 1926, Avari led a lightningguerrilla attack on the fort, bringing down the Union Jack and unfurling the Indian flag amid shouts of "Hindustan zindabad! Inquilab zindabad (Long live, India, long Jive the revolution)!" His audacious act raised questionsin the British Parliament, to which Churchillreplied, "Some upstart named Avari raised the Indian flag for 24 hours in the Central Indian town of Nagpore."This is recorded in the archivesof debates in the BritishParliament and was read by Gev in the House of CommonsLibrary when as a memberof Parliament he was part of an Indian delegation at an inter parliamentaryunionin1977.

Hearing of Avari's daring,Gandhiji

is said to have exclaimed at a public ineeting in Nagpur,"If I had a hundred generals like Avari in my army, we could win independence!" The title stuck and he was known as 'General'Avari thereafter.

My first and only encounter with Avari was in 1972. Erect and impres­ sive, with a white walrus moustache and a red khadi shirt, he strode into the Nagpur Parsi Dharamshala hall, where

33 Parsiana June-July 2000

Field Marshal Sam Manekshawwas to be felicitated.

In the course of conversation Manek­ shaw confided that one of the reasons he was eager to come to Nagpur, was to meet the other renowned Parsi General! A white Gandhi topi and a red khadi shirt were Avari' s insignia. The red shirt was symbolic of his admiration for Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan. The Khuda-1- Khidmatgars, as the followers of the Frontier Gandhi were called, wore red.

While Avari was Gandhianin thought, his soul was still Zoroastrian and continued to be so till the end. However, from the day Parsi priests admonished him when he came to the agiary in a red khadi shirt and white topi for an uthamna ceremony, Avari pre­ ferred never to step into the agiary again, says Gev.

The injusticeofIndiansnotbeing

allowed to carry arms in th:cirown coun­ try Jed to the nationwide shastra satya­ graha in 1927. Gandhiji was unhappy because he saw a potentially violent situ­ ation. But by then, the people had a voice oftheir own and could not be stopped. Tension mounted as determined Indians surreptitiously gathered arms. The Brit­ ish were on full alert. The dayof the satyagraha, whenthousands of defiant people marched throughthe city streets with unsheathed swords, ended in an­ other blood bath. All over the country,

leaders and agitators were packed into jails.

For Avari, who led the satyagraha in Nagpur, it was to usher in the most horrific period of his life, believeshis son. On chargesof sedition, he was sentenced to four years in jail. Failing to break his spirit in prison, they then threw him into a lunaticasylum. The atrocities and inhuman treatment meted out to Avari would be unbelievable if one were not to read of it in his own words. He went on a hunger strike because he was not given khadi to wear. Reduced to a skeleton of his formerself, the authorities feared he mightdie on their hands. They tried to force feed him by breaking his front teeth and, failing that, through the anus, a fact Avari himself noted in his book Raysfrom the Asylum.

In a long letter written to his brother. Sohrab living in Bombay, Avari gave a vivid, first-hand account of the torture he was subjected to. "Onthe 75th morn­ ingof my fast," he wrote, "the civil surgeon camewith hisassistants and the asylum staff to my cell. My hands were tied and a vein cut open to inject saline water. I started myusual yoga practice which stopped the beating of the nerve and the blood circulation. Failing once,theycutopenanother vein and repeated the process. Finally, frustrated at their inabilityto thrust the

"feed" at the cost of so much troubleand torturous intervention, they took off the needles, untied me, ordered the lunatics to get offmy bed and body and left me once for all."

Jal Vazifdar, an old-timer who re­ members Avari in his heyday,had an amusing anecdote to relate. Once,when ordered to pull out the weeds and clean thegarden of the British jail superinten­ dent, Avari cleaned out everything in­ cluding the rose bushesand carefully manicured hibiscus hedges!According to Vazifdar, "Avari was a very prin­ cipled, very honest man. He had his eccentricities and a flairfor the dramatic but these only added to his appeal."

Manchershaw Avari married Daler Banu Zaiwallaof Bordi in May 1936. Daler Banu'solder brother Minoo,also a staunch Gandhian, had met Avari in jail and it was throughhim that the two met. WhenAvari came to Nagpur with his young bride - she was 15 years younger than her hus and -there was a tumultuous reception awaiting them at the railway station.

Itwas not long before Daler Banu

realized the harsh realitiesthat went with the heady adulation of being mar­ ried to a public figure. All the jewelry the young bride had brought with her at her wedding,declares Gev, was given away to Gandhijifor the freedommove­ ment. She was allowedto keep only two gold bangles on each hand. Her home was always open house for party work­ ers and the public.

Daler Banu boretwo children in quick succession:Jer and Hoshang. The next two, Zarineand Gev, were born after an

eight-year gap. In between,she threw herself headlong into active politics.When Gandhiji and Kasturba were in Nagpur, the morningprayer meetings were always held at Daler Banu's house.

Nehru was a frequent visitor.

Manchershaw Avari never took a salary for any post he held in the service

of his motherland. While his gesture was noble, notes his son, the burden of running a home with four childrenhad to be borne by Daler Banu. Finding no other avenue of income,she gave the main house on rent and moved the fam­ ily into the outhouse.Food was never a problem because people would leave sacks of grain, basketsof vegetables, milk, curds and ghee on their doorstep.

After Independence, husbandand

wife fell out on the issueof her growing involvement in politics, narratestheir son. Avari felt the children were being neglected.They took their problem to Gandhiji. Daler Banu asked Gandhiji if she did not have the right to work for the country, just because she was a woman? Gandhi is said to have replied, "Desh siva karvi hati, to parni sha mate (Ifyou wantedto serve the country, why did you get married)?" Stung by his reply but bound to obey, Daler Banu, who was by then an elected member of the Nagpur CongressCommittee, never made a public appearance or speech again. However, out of respect.asserts Gev, an empty scat was alwayskept for her next to Avari, at every public func­ tion.

Avari, as vice president ofthe Nagpur Municipal Council,worked tirelessly to alleviate the problems of the common people. He started what became known as the Ghanta (bell) Darbar. In the sprawling Kasturchand Park, a tent was set up with a bell on a rope in the door­ way. Anyone seeking justiceor redress to their complaints could ring the bell and get a hearing.

"Avari was a man of actionrather

than words, not hesitatingto use force where it was necessary," says Vazifdar.

"One harassed person complained of an illegal construction on his land. Before the man reachedhome that evening,the structure had been demolished!"

After Gandhiji' s death. Avari became disillusioned with the party and left the Congress. Along with stalwarts like Acharya Kripalani and J ayprakash Narayan, he formed the Praja Socialist Party (PSP). No matter what party he joined or what cause he espoused,his idealism and honesty remainedun­ scathed. In the first general elections in 1952, he contestedand won on a PSP ticket. He was a major opposition leader in the erstwhile Madhya Pradesh (MP) Assembly. In 1956, Nehru sent him a proposal to make him chief minister of MP, if he along with his groupofMLAs (members of the Legislative Assembly) crossed the floor of the Assembly, an article in a local newspapear had stated. Avari turned down the offer on a matter of principle.

In 1965 Daler Banu died. Four years later, in 1969,Avari'selderson Hoshang died in a motorbikeaccident. While the 'General' remainederect in gait, his soul and spirit had suffered.

In 1974 Avari died of cancer.Remi­ niscing about his father,Gev, who in 1976 was the youngestMember of Par­ liament at age 26, said, "My fathernever aspired to fame or fortune.He lived his whole life in financial and physical hard­ ship and expected the same of his fam­ ily. Reverenceby the people was his only reward and that he got in ample measure."

In1947, after the declaration oflnde­

pendence, Avari was taken in a victory procession throughthe streets ofNagpuron an elephant. In 1974, the same crowd that adored and admiredhim followed him in grief on his final journeythrough the same streets.

AN APPEAL

We, the Trustees of Deolali-Nasik Parsi Zoroastrian Anjuman and Bai Ratanbai JamshedjiChinoy Agiary Trust humbly appeal tothe benevolent Parsi community to help us with your kind and generous contribution for repairs and renovationof the holy Dar-e-Meher.

The Trusteesand the Zoroastrians of Deolali and Nasik will be ever so gratefulfor your generousgesture and for that you will receive in returnthe blessings of the Atash Padshah.

The Donations should be sent by Cheque or Demand Draft in favour of The Trustees,Bai Ratanbai Jamshedji Chinoy Agiary.

Address:

Bai Ratanbai J. Chinoy Agiary, 216, Lam Road, Deolali 422401

34 ParsianaJune-July 2000

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COMMENT

World wars?

The World Zoroastrian Organisation challenges the decision of regional representatives to form the World Councilof Zarathushti Federations

Rumi Sethna

ties and decide on them by a simple majority or its 16 members;

•Both councilsarc to complete elections in time for those elected to assume of­ fice at the end of each WZO annual meeting, so that such a meeting deals onlywith formalities like approvalof annual accounts,secretary's reports, etc;

•The 16 members of each council sit together as a 32-person international hoard to decide hy a simple majority on WZO'sconsolidated annual accounts

i\ few determined individuals from a

lew regions decided in January 2000 in 13om bay to register a second Zarathushti world body in India, the World Council of Zoroastrian Federations (WCZF).

That action(sec ·'A world body of Federations," Parsiana, February 2000) has provoked anger within the substan­ tial ··silent'" majorityin the Zarathushticommunity throughoutthe world which has gently, yet persistently, indicated to all segmentsof the community- asso­ ciations, anjumans, individuals and fed­ erations - that it wants them to unite behind the restructuring of the World Zoroastrian Organisation (WZO) and make it even more cfTcctivc.

WZO' s 20-ycar record of servingthe community includes:

•Protection of Zarathushti rights;

•Securing political asylum in western countries for Zarathushtis fleeing their home countries;

•Support of our priesthood and places of worship;

•Fostering in-depth research intothe

faith and disseminating widespread knowledge ol it

•Educating theneedy andsuccouring

the sick and the poor.

These have all been achieved throughthe work and financing providedby individual Zarathushtis, their trusts and the few associations who have been its members.

Nevertheless, the few determined in-

•dividuals from a few regionshave stri­ dently and doggedlypersisted in their quest to create a freestanding world body for associations and federations (WCZF). Their action in Bombay in January2000 is the culmination of their quest which was first signalledat the 1993 Chicago meeting,which tried to mobilize sup­ port for a separateWCZF to do every­ thing which WZO had been doing since its birth, and to relegate WZO to social

35 Pars1ana June-July 2000

amelioration work alone.

•A consensusat the Tehran W oriel Zoro­ astrian Congress in 1996 made clear that the community did not want two world bodies. It wishedto retain WZO as its only world body by restructuring it in a manner that harnessed the energies of the many new associations and federa­ tions horn in recent years.

•The North Americans so indicated in December 1997 when a majorityin the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America(FEZANA) rejected the proposal to become WCZF' s founder member and calledfor the incorporation of WCZF's majorobjectives and prin­ ciples within a restructured WZO.

WZO respondedto both calls by dialoging with WCZF sponsors and, based on principles agreed upon in that dialog, produced the 199R discussion draft constitution for its restructuring.

That draft detailed the following fea­ tures:

•A federation membershipfor federa­

tions/associations in eight regionshav­ ing a significant Zarathushti presence, and an individual membership for every Zarathushti person, spouse and child;

•Division of all WZO objectives and responsibilities into two sets, one re­ necting WCZF's key objectives and the other renecting the residual ones;

•Creation of a16-mcmbcr federations council, each region electing two repre­ sentatives to handle the first set autono­ mously;

•Each region to have one vote for every

500 Zarathushtis living in its geographi­ cal jurisdiction, the regional representa­ tives can split and cast personally or by mail in order to decidematters before thai councilby a simple majority;

•Based on the number of individual

members in each of the eight regions, individuals also elect a 16-person indi­ vidualcouncil to handle its rcsponsibili-

and only those policy/strategy matters which the presidents of either council refer to it at their discretion;

•WZO chairperson to he electedby the board, in rotation between the two coun­ cils;

•Three of its officehearers oversee a small professional secretariat in London (to comply to UK law) which supports the work of the two councils and WZO as a whole, a less expensive and cum­ bersome solution than having four re­ gional secretariats.

Thus, the proposed structurescrupu­

lously and fairly balancedthe interests and responsibilities of federations/asso­ ciations and individuals, to create an environment in which all of them can contribute separately and (get) together in harmony.

If WCZFsponsorsagreethatthe

board only deals with non-substantive statutory matters like approval ofWZO's consolidated accounts, exchange of in­ formation and coordination of the work of the two councils, in which case the question of more or equal votes forfederations/associations becomesan immaterial issue, then WZO will re­ spond positivelyso as to end this tiring debate in our world community and maintain solidarity within it.

WZO will respond furtherby ensur­ ing that federation and individual mem­ bers carry an equal numberof votes even on legal formalities like approval of accounts and reports at WZO annual meetings, or at special meetings-in­ cluding those dealingwith future con­ stitutional changes.

It will do both, because WZO listens,

and has listened so far to all sensible suggestions offered by various regions on its discussion draft and incorporated them in its October 1999 final draft.

But will the few individuals from a

few regions who only want a separate

WCZF listensimilarly to end that debate and give the community a singleworld body that it wants?

Perhaps, recognizing that WZO had listened and respondedto their con­ structive suggestions, Australasia, Eu­ rope,Iran, Pakistan, Singapore/Hong Kong endorsed WZO' s final draft. So did the pundits, leaders and the Press in Australasia, India and North America. All of them made their endorsements known to the WCZF sponsorsin re­ sponse to theircall to hold a "meeting of all regions" in January 2000 in Bombay, based on a mandateto Rohinton Rivetna which was ramrodded in the latenight at

conveniently forgot that they had them­ selves invited Ardeshirito represent Iran at the Bombay meeting. (Sincethen, Ravani has writtenthat as the Iranian community had entrustedArdeshiri the responsibility to speak on world body

Thus, the "meeting of all regions" was

only a meetingof the

few individuals from India, NorthAmerica, UK and Sydney

1999, they had themselves sent papers relating to the world body to Kolsawalla.

•Toxy Cowasjeewrote that four out of five associations in Pakistan supported WZO's final draft andthe remaining one had not bothered to respond. Al­ though WCZF sponsorshad invited herto represent Pakistan, they simply ig­ nored its majority view as inconsequen­ tial.

•Rusi Ghadiallyaccepted the invitation to represent Singaporeat the meeting. But realizing what was afoot,he did not come because his community had previ­ ously endorsed WZO'srestructuring proposals. WCZF sponsorsthus had no

the FEZANA annualgeneral meeting

alternative but to dismissthat support as

(AGM) in June 1999.

The endorsement of WZO's final draft by so many regions, and their pointed non-attendance of the Bombay meeting, obviously posed a major di­ lemma for WCZF'sdetermined spon­ sors:

•Dr Mahyar Ardeshiri wrote, after con­ sulting all anjumans, that Iran endorsed WZO' s final draft. Butthe WCZF spon­ sors dismissed it, on the grounds that Parviz Ravani -the past representative of the community in Iran's Majlis - couldalone speak for that country.They

matters, all communications on that topic

had been forwarded [Ardeshiriinsists that WZO be located in Iran -Ed] to him.)

•Dr Purviz Kolsawalla wrote, after con­ sultation with Australasian leaders, that a majority consensuswas for WZO's final draft. So the WCZF sponsors took the line that he had no authority to do so, byexaggerating the supportto WCZF by Noshir Sachinwalla, who represented the Sydney association alone, as the view of all associations in that region. They conveniently forgot that until mid-

inconsequential. Hong Kong simply chose to ignore the invitation, letting its munificent, but quiet,donations towards WZO's activities speak aloud. Natu­ rally, such support to WZO by the sec­ ond most populouscommunity in the Far East was ignored.

•ThelargeSwedishassociationsup­ ported WZO's restructuring proposals; similarones are expected from those in France and Germany.These three asso­ ciations today speak for over 4,000 Ira­ nian Zarathushtis in Europe, who have nothing to do with UK'sZoroastrian

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36Parsiana June-July2000

Trust Funds of Europe (ZTFE) which claims to represent all UK and European Zarathushtis. As such a large Iranian Zarathushti presence in Europe under those associations undercutsthat claim, and they supportWZO' s proposals, WCZF sponsors chose to deride it as irrelevant.

•Believing that North Americansdid not want two world bodies, some of their leaderswrote to the FEZANA presi­ dent that WZO' s final draft was sound and the June 1999 AGM's resolution merited reconsideration. Of course, they too were ignored.

Thus, the "meeting of all regions" was only a meeting of the few individu­ als from India, North America,UK and the Sydney association, who were all determined to create a separate WCZF. Some of the WCZF sponsorslaunched attacks on WZO's finances and leaders, and aired their erroneous perceptions of its delegated method of operationin different parts of the world. Predicated on misunderstandings of its final draft, they questioned the proposed voting methods for electionsand the annual meetingprocess.

Except for that, no detailed list of the

draft·s inadequacies appearedat the meeting, much less discussed there with Dadi Engineer and Dinshaw Tamboly who represented WZO.

They were nevertheless asked to sign a pre-prepared resolutionstating that all

regions disagreed with WZO's final draft, several changeshad been discussed with them at thL: meetingand further ones (none specified) would be dialoged with WZO. When Engineerand Tamboly naturally suggested amendments to re­ flect that many regionshad indeed al­ ready endorsed the final draft, but WZO would happilydiscuss what only a few regions believed needed changing,they were charged with noncooperation.

Within a few minutestheir suggested amendments were rejectedand the spon­ sors announced their decision to recom­ mend the immediate establishment of a new Zarathushti world body, WCZF, in Bombay based on its June 1997 draft.

Having thus flaunted the silent majority's continuing desire for a single world body in the form of a restructured WZO, they nevertheless sought to pro­ tect their flanks hy disingenuously say­ ing that they too want a single world body and were willing to see WCZF and WZO merge when the lattermet their demands.

This disingenuous line of the WCZF sponsors should not lull the silent ma­ jority. It must realize thatby creating WCZF, a second world body will have beenlegally and effectively horn. There is simply no way to go aroundthat fundamental reality. The silent majority will undoubtedly also realize that once any bodyis born, its sponsorsacquire vestedinterest in keeping it alive and do

everything possiblenot to merge, par­ ticularly with a body it has resistedfor years.

The silentmajority in every region should now make it known unambigu­ ously that it rejects the Bombay deci­ sion. The NorthAmerican community will need to lead our global community by rejecting it in the same wise manner that it did three years ago in December 1997. By doing so, it will back Iran's continuing bold stand to endorsea re­structuredWZO based on the final draft.

Together with similar unswerving support from the less numerousZara­ thushticommunities in other regions, the day can he won.

Otherwise, our tiny globalcommu­ nitywill be saddledwith the spectacle of havingtwo competing world bodies­ an irresponsible legacy to leaveto our young ones in the new millennium.

Rumi Sethna, a senior partnerin a firm of chartered accountants. has been a commit­

tee memberof the World Zoroastrian Organisation (WZO) since 1986 and was its joint honorarysec­ retary before becom­ ing its president in 1998. His early lifewas spent in Mombasa,

Kenya after which he moved to London in the 1960s.

Agreement reachedby all parties-present at the meeting of regionson January 11 to 13, 2000

In implementing the Federation of Zo­ roastrian Associations ofNorth America (FEZANA)'s resolution of June 1999 a meetmg of the regions was arranged. Subsequent to the resolution passedat theFEZANA meeting a final draft, dated October 1999, of Memorandum and Articles of Association of the World Zoroastrian Organisation (WZO) was received. This draft was considered at themeetingoftheregionsonJanuary II and 12, 2000, and sets of broad based comments were preparedand will be submitted to WZO.

At the meetingof the regions on Janu­

ary II, 2000 the world body issue was discussed with WZOrepresentatives:

38 Parsiana June-July2000

A two-pronged approach was pro­ posed:

•To continue to developthe charter for a

restructured WZO with the regions;

•To formulatea council of federations within the contextof the restructured WZO, withoutformation of a separate corporate entity.

The proposal to develop the charter

with the regions was accepted while the proposal to formulatecouncil of federa­ tions within the contextof the restruc­ tured WZO was rejected.

Our readingof the situation is that

this exchangewill continue for a pro­ tracted period of time. Even if an under­ standing is reachedwith WZO, it will take some time thereafter to develop a viable functional organization.

Presented with this quandarywe are left with no alternative but to recom­ mend as follows:

•Establish the World Councilof Zara-

thushti Federations (WCZF) immedi­ ately with registration in India as pro­ posed in the June 1997 draft with the proviso that it be merged if and when the restructured WZO is established;

•Establish a committee ofWCZF to dia­ log and work with WZO to developa restructuredWZO.

The merit of this approach shall be·

that:

•The agony of waiting will be over.

•The community's resourcesthat are spent in wastedefforts will be conserved.

•The worldwide community will be able to move forward as one world body.

Regions: Australia: Noshir Sachin­ walla; Europeand UK: Dorab Mistry; India: Jamshed Guzder,Minoo Shroff, Silloo Kavarana, Dinshaw Mehta, Rus­ tom Tirandaz, Keki Gandhi; North America: Rohinton Rivetna, Framroze Patel; WZO: Dadi Engineer,Dinshaw Tamboly.

"KISSER-HOUSTON"

continued from page 20

reason why we do not want anything to do with Jafarey or have him anywhere ncar our community gatherings.

"In late January-early February 2000, there was a grassroots outpouringof sentiment from the world'sZarathushtis againstincluding Jafarey in the WZC2000. Some of the organizations include:

•The High Priests, Dasturs Hormazdyar Mirza, Kaikhusroo JamaspAsa, Firoze Kotwal,and Nadirshah Unvalla.

•The Bombay Parsi Punchayet- repre­ sentingthe single largestconclave of Zarathushtis in the world.

•TheZoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe

-representing anotherextremely large body of Zarathushtis in the UK and Europe.

•Bombay Zoroastrian JashanCommit­

tee- again representing a large number of Zarathushtis in India.

•Traditional Zarathushtris MailingList...

"The WZC2000 is a harmonizing event... Yet Jafarey causes fractional­ ization and disharmony. His writing consistently exaggerates the differences between the 'liberals' and 'traditional­ ists' ... 'Iranian Zarathushtis vs. Parsi Zarathushtis.'

"Jafarey had publicly stated that he is willing to convertany individual who wishes to be a Zarathushti into the faith. This has resulted in his converting sev­ eralIranian Muslims. The end result of this is that the IranianMajlis is investi­ gating Jafarey's proselytizing movement and is beginning to associate Jafarey's movement with all Zarathushtis in Iran, and there is the strongpossibility that Jafarey may put Iranian Zarathushti lives in danger and their libertyin jeopardy.

"Jafarey's cult followers claim that he is a popular figure in the Zarathushti community and should hencebe allowed to speak at the WZC2000... If Jafareyis so popular, why ... did he not attend the Sixth World Zoroastrian Congress in Tehran, Iran? In fact, he was not even invited to that Congress ...

"In March 2000, Jafareycelebrated the 1Oth anniversary of the foundingof hiscultic group. One would have thought that with his "great popularity," at that event (there)would be standingroom only. In fact, only approximately 100 peopleattended the sessions(there were about400people at the banquet) ... (Then)

40 Parsiana June-July 2000

Jafarey proudlyand publicly boasted that he had not and would not invite any traditionalists? We saw no outpouring of rage or indignation at Jafarey's exclu­ sionary practices from these self-same, hypocritical, equal-opportunist ele­ ments.

"Jafarey's cult followers claim that he is a renowned scholarand should be accorded a place of prominence at the Congress ... (But) no peer-reviewed jour­ nal has ever publishedhis works. He has also not taught at any accredited univer­ sity.

"Two of the most prominent Zarathushtis of NorthAmerica, Prof K.

D.Irani and Mobed MehrabanZara­ thushti, both individually approached Jafarey to requesthim to gracefully with­ draw. ButJafarcy's pride and arrogance rejected their pleas for harmonyand unity,and instead he has insistedon continuing with his disruptive tactics.

"He has openly publisheda threat on

the Zoroastrian ListBot that he will be present at the Congress and will not be responsible for the consequences of what happens there.''

Birdy's above letter was posted on the Traditional Zoroastrian List with the request that it be forwarded along with the e-mail endorsement of fellow think­ ers to Dastoor and Homi Davier toreach before May 25, that is in time for the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA)annual general meeting (AGM).

"Kisseh-Houston," a long drawncam­ paign for "the principle of inclusion" by authorand professional publicspeaker Meher Amalsad and author/translator Shahriar Shahriari on the Internet to generate a change of heart led to sub­ stantial participation for and againstfrom the community on both sides ofthe Atlantic. It was set at naught when FEZANA at its AGM opted by a major­ ity of 29 to 3 to "indefinitely postpone" a requestof motion tabled by the Zoro­ astrian Association of Metropolitan Washington Inc (ZAMWI)and sup­ ported by Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York (ZAGNY) to include Jafarey as speaker. Amalsadand Shahri­ ari, two community activists billed to makepresentations at Houston,have withdrawn their support and noted that they will not be attendingthe Congress.

Their reasoning was spelt out in a four-page communication on the Internet on May 30, 2000. Excerpts:

"At the FEZANA AGM 2000,the EB of FEZANAand WZC2000have now officially decided to discard the principle of inclusionatthe WZC2000 ... "Since Shahriar and I stand for I00 percent inclusion, our integrity dictates that we cannot sanction any event where there is official exclusion. It is therefore with heavy hearts that we arc informing all of you in our community that we no longer support the EB of FEZANA and

the WZC2000.

"Furthermore, we withdraw our pro­ posed presentations from the WZC2000, and will not be attending the Congress in Houston.

"We arc neither boycotting the Con­ gress, nor are we asking anyone else to do so. You all have minds of your own. Each of you can appeal to your own Vohuman and decide for yourselves what you wish to choose...

"On the surface, the Houston meet­ ing became a battleground between two principles. The meetingaligned the prin­ ciple of harmonyagainst the principle of inclusion -and the sad part was that those present at the meeting actually bought into the idea of this hattie.

"How can we possibly have inclu­

sion if there is no harmony?Inclusion does not mean that we simply force two people into a room, and have them turn their backs to each other and have no dialogue with each other. What differ­ ence docs it make where the physical bodies are located,if the hearts and minds still exclude?

"And how can we possibly have har­

mony if we are not willingto include another in our midst? In the extreme,it is like saying if two brothers arc con­ stantly fighting with each other, then in the interest of harmony,we should kill and eliminate one of them. What kind of harmony is that?

"Both disharmonious inclusion, and·

exclusionary harmonyare merely self­ contradictions ...

"If we look at the state of that meet­

ing more closely, we will observe some­ thing more fundamental- which again, is sadly nothingmore than a reflection of the presentmental state of our com­ munity. What really happened at that meeting was neithera battle between inclusion and harmony, nor a battle be­ tween good and evil, but a battle be­ tween two operating paradigms.

''In that meeting, the old mind frame

was facing its extinction, becauseit was

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being replacedby the new mind frame of our community and our world.

"It was simplya battle between theold and the young world-views. The old operating paradigmof the society has been ...patriarchalcontrol.Father(boss,president,ruler) knows best. He should simply take controland run the show. And in Houston, once again, the patriarchal model took over, at the expense of excludingthe young and the women's voice. "The new paradigmthat was striving to take hold was the

model of coexistent communication.

"Yet the ·fathers' of our communityused the typical approaches of the control paradigm:namely, meandering, maneuvering and manipulating to 'shelve the principle of inclusion indefinitely,' and conveniently stifled its voice.

"Yct by buryingtheir heads in the sand, theyfail to look at

the reality of our world today ... (which)clearly shows us (that) what is more successful and more fulfilling than control is communication: Communication of ideas, of world-views, of approaches, even of opposites. Diversity is the fertile ground upon which communication grows and succeeds.People, in all areas of life, arc sharing ideas, and discussing things with those whom they agree with, and those whom they oppose. Dialogue and discussion has taken the place of debate. And the result has been an explosive expansion of progressive consciousness- in all areas of life. Every time the 'fathers' of our community gain another victory for control. .. they alienate their own children stiil further. What they arc blind to is that if they cannot communicate with those of their own generation, how can they possibly communicate with those of their children's generation? ...

With Best WishesFrom

MrRusy M. Shroff, M.B.E.

and

MrsPurviz R. Shroff

42 Parsiana June-July 2000

"It is apparent in our world today that: We cannothave harmony, if we arc unwilling to communicate; we cannot have inclusion, if all we do is turn our backs to others; we cannot have our youth come back to us, if all we want to do is to control them;we cannot have the respect and the car of our children, if we arc unwilling to respect others andlend our ear to their pointsof view; we cannot have a communitythat survives, if all we do is kill off our membersone by one; we cannot have a WorldZarathushti Congress, if we are not willingto have dialogue with all segmentsof the Zarathushti world; we cannot haveunity, if our only means of getting there is through splitting the community; we cannot have progress, if we are not will­ ing to stretch ourselvesas a community and take risks; we cannot have a future as a community, if we are destroying our community in the present. There are times that one must take a stand, even though it may have temporaryrepercus­ Sions.

·'The lessonof Kisseh-Houston is ...

in how changecan be embraced and implemented, rather than avoided or resisted.

"We now have a great choiceupon

us. We can choose to embrace commu­ nication and use the new paradigm to benefit our community as a whole,or we can choose to divert our resources and energies into resistingcommunication, and hang on to control, with the inevi­ table outcome of a split community, struggling with itself, in discord and disharmony.

"It is not too late to choose with wisdom. It is never too late to choose with wisdom."

.Jafarey vs the traditionalists

Reacting to a 26-pagepacket titled "A global protest compiledby Zoroastrians worldwide" dated February4, 2000 Jafarcy responded on March 16, 2000 to the "more or less 13 allegations made." The two-part responsewas forwarded to

. Parsiana by Yezdi Rustomji of Hous­

ton.

"All lettersshare, more or less the following points. With the deceptive exception of 'three (misconstrued) samples' given by the TMZA,evidently the push behindthe entire move; none has given my alleged statements within true quotes and in their full contexts. They are the sentences and phrases com-

43 Parsiana June-July 2000

posed by the senders of the 'protest letters,' and/or fed by their mentor/s. They arc not by me,"writes Jafarcy. He goes on to quote the charges and an­ swers them. Excerpts:

•Jafarey has held our priesthood in con­

tempt.

"I have praised the priests for serving and preserving the Good Religion.1 have censuredthem for institutionaliz­ ing the progressive religion into a rigid institution in the past eras. I have eulo­ gized the earlyteachers for their high knowledge. I have lamented for those of the decadenceperiod for their igno­ rance. I criticizethe present parrotsfor theirnominal knowledge of the Good Religion ...

"However, if the allegationmeans

that the protestor traditionalists align their priests with the prc-Zarathushtrian priestly order, then it becomes entirely a new matter... Then it is Asho Zara­ thushtra who condemnsin clear terms the Karapans, the only priestlyclass mentioned by him in his divineGatlws...

•He calls Asho Zamthushtra "not an

athravan," "not a prophet" and "anti­ priest."

"It is AshoZarathushtrawho does

notcallhimselfan(athravan)inthe Gathas... He gives hisfull name.He mentions himself as ratu,manthran, and saoshyant but never an (athravan). The composers of the post-Gathic "Later Avesta" are the persons who have called him (athravan) ... Sec my researched rca­ sons in "The Zoroastrianpriestin the

A.vesta" on theZarathushtrian Assem­

bly homepage (www.wroastrian.org). '"Prophet' literally means 'one who

prophesies.' Zarathushtra does not

'prophesy' doom or deliverance like biblical "prophets" to qualifyfor this title. He has a uniqueconstructive and progressive divine message...

"Again, it is Zarathushtra who is the

foremost outspoken·anti-priest.' He has nothing but opposition to the priestly class. Zarathushtra has no place in his Gathas fdr the contemporary priests ...

•Hehas termed ourfire-temples asplaces

where women are broughtfor sensual pleasuresof the priests. He calls ourfire temples precinctsfor prostitution, his dirty, filthy, twisted mind putting the argument that women did not go to the fire-temples during theirmensesbecause prostitution was practiced by priests there.

"In my essay "Woman in the Gathas

and the Later Avesta" of sevenpages, of 51 paragraphs and over 5,000 words,

*the subject of "temple prostitution"

belongs to page I and paragraph 12 of the pre-Aryan period of Part I of the essay and has no connection whatsoever to the "Woman in the LaterAvesta" of Part II, which begins on page 4 and is the 25th paragraph of the essay - over I,870words later!

*The term fire-temple does not occur in the entire essay ...

•He calls our consecrated nirang:

''bullpiss."

"I do not usc slang, particularly vul­ gar,in my speech and writing.I have always used consecrated bull 's urine for nirang, and bull's urine or unconsecrated bull's urine for taro. And I am fully aware of the fact that the urine of any healthy animal, if not contaminated while passingthrough the urinarycanal, is naturally free from bacteria with or with­ out any "consecration" whatsoever ... I am proud that my hygiene-minded an­ cestryused this disinfectant thousands of years ago. Science has provided us today with much better and cleaner dis­ infectants, and when in need,I usc them like all modernpeople do.

•Hehas sought todenigrate our scrip­

tures as forgeries. He callsHormazd Yasht a forgery.

"Never! All I state is that with the exception of the Gathic partof the A. vesta, theyare compositions-cum-editions by unnamed pre and post Gathic compos­ ers - priests, poets, poet-priests, and lay priests. Their texts arc the best testi­ mony that they are all told by "third" persons. The only person who speaks directly to us is Zarathushtra through his divinely inspired Gathas..."

•Hewas actively involved in performing

navjotes of Moslems and that was likely to have serious repercussions for Zoro­ astrians now living in Iran under the Islamic regime.

"A false alarm and a hollowhoax raisedonly by certain Parsi traditional­ ists. It amountsto an insult to the intel­ ligence of thewell-awake, well-informed Iranian Zoroastrians as if they arc quite unaware of the grave danger they are facing. It alsoamounts to an insult to the Parsi leadership worldwide as if theytoo have been unaware of the lurking dan­ ger threatening the very existenceof theircoreligionists in Iran for the last I 0 years and are being now informedof it by a few traditionalists ..."

BOOKS

A tale of words

This reviewdoes not attemptto sum­ marize the book. That would deprive an anxious reader of the charm of reading it or studyingit. Still, a few Iranian words

Ramyakatha Shabdoni (Pleasant tales of

words) by Bejon Desai. Publishedin March 2000 and distributed by Navaz Publications, D'Sai, 111, Shivgiri D'SouzaColony, Hanpratha College Road, Nashik 422005. Pp: 18 + 134. Price: Rs 100.

Bejon Desai spent the greater part of his life as an educator.When he retired from the daily routineof teaching, he decided to de-

vote his time to · writing books in En­ glish and Gu­ jarati. Ram­ yakatha demonstrates his skillas an experienced writer and thinker.

Ramyaka­

source languages.

Take the word Narmada forinstance. The name of the river is composedof two words, narma plusda. Narma meanspleasure and da means the giver. Nar­ mada, therefore, meansthe giver of plea­ sure. Watch the river flowingregally and it will give you nothingbut anand, pleasure.

Sanskrit is the motherof all Indian

languages, ex­ cept to some extent the lan­ guages used in northern India, chiefly be­ causeof the Moghul raj in the countryfor nearly 300

years:1480 to

1757, from the time of Baber

used by us in daily life are worth noting. Of the words khud and Khuda, khud means one's self. and Khuda means God, the Almighty.YaKhuda, 'Oh God,' is the daily invocation in our life.

The Indian deity Ganpati is fairly known to us, but not its meaning, per­ haps. Can means a group of people, pati meansleader. And, GaneshChaturthi, the fourth day of the first bright half of the month Bhadrapaal, is considered to be a most auspicious day.

Finally, the four shortand sweet chap­ ters on "Spooner and Spoonerism" in­ cluded in the book by Desai are worth noting. You will read them with glee. All in all, a delightful and educative book. HORMAZDYAR S. DALAL

Avestan texts

TheZoroastrian Religion In TheA vestatrans­ lated from the GermantextofDr Karl F.

tha Shabdoni ArvindInamdar (center) flanked by Novo: und

is a storehouse Bejon Desaiat the book launch

of knowledge

tothe year of

theBattle of Pla-ssey, when

Geldner by Jehangir C. Tavadia. Published in 1998 by the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute,136, Bombay Samachar Marg,Bombay

and ideas.Here Desai has applied his

knowledge of philology in the best pos­ sible way. Originally, the matter pub­ lished in this book appeared as weekly articlesin The Bombay Samachar.They attracted the attention of writers and students of linguistics. This reviewer was one of them. Though seven decades have passedsince then, my mind is still anxious to learn the root or originof a word or words.

Howmany of us know the value of

words used in daily life? Take, for in­ stance, the word andhyaru usedby Parsis. Where does it come from? The original,a Sanskrit word, adhvaryu means a person who performs religious ceremonies, a Brahmin. The word adh­ varyu has changed into af!dhyaru.

In the English language,most words have originated from Latin. Our Indian languageshave their roots in Sanskrit,also in Persian, Arabic, Urdu and other languages. Nothing wrong in that, as such a process enriches a language. Desai has by and large collected his material from Persian, Arabic and Sanskrit as

44 Pars/ana June-July 2000

RobertClivedefeatedtheNawabof

Bengal. Even the well-known shlokas addressed to the Rana of Sanjan were written by our learnedpriest in Sanskrit.

Arabic and Persian were to some extent adopted by Hindu courtiers who became proficient in them. Some Parsi scholars also turned out to be experi­ enced writers in Persian and Arabic. For the common people Urdu and Hindi remained the languages for day-to-day usage. The Parsi community, even to this day, has retained a fairly high per­ centage ofUrdu and Hindi words in their writtenand conversational lan­ guage.

For example,the word makan, is commonly used for a house or resi­ dence. Sejdo is anotherword. It meansnamaskar, respectful salutation. Kitab is the word often used for books,pustak in Gujarati, and so on. The word paidust used by usfor funeral servicesmeans to walk hand-in-hand in procession; and is a combination of two words,pai and dust. Pai means feet, legs; and dust means hands.

400023. Pp: 80. Price: Not mentioned.

Inview of the magnanimous donation given to it by the Zartoshty Brothers (Faridoon and Mehraban) Fund, the K.

R. Cama Oriental Institute(KRCOI) in Bombay has undertaken to get its own previous significant publications re­ printed. Accordingly, this book, first published in 1933 as Publication No 10 of the KRCOI, is a reprint.

It consists of a selection of A vesta textson various subjectstranslated by the celebrated Avesta scholar Dr Karl F. Geldner (1852-1929). Prof Geldner' s translation in German [Die Zoroas­trische Religion (Das Avesta)]was pub­ lished in 1926. This treatisewas pre­ sented to the KRCOI and rendered into English by another well-knownAvesta scholar, JehangirC. Tavadia of India. This work was alsofirst printed in Jour­ nal No 24 of the KRCOI.

The selection of A vesta passages has been taken from the existing Avestatexts like the Yasna, the Vendidad, the Gathas and the Yashts,

and on subjects such as Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord, Zara-thushtra's mis­ sion,the Ahwza Vairya,reward and punishment in this world and the other, confession of faith of the Zoroastri­ ans, the strugglebetween Ormazd and Ahriman, the good spirits (yazatas), Yima (Jamshed), Jaw of purification of the Mazdayasni religion, useful animals (dog, cock,etc), the soul after death and so on. Interestingly, the last selection about resurrection is taken from the Pahlavibook of Bundahishn.

The major shortcoming of this work

is that only the literal translation of the Avesta passages is given with very mea­ ger footnotes. It would have been better ifthe work were to be on the linesof the A vesta Readersbrought out periodically by Prof A. V. William-Jackson (1893), Hans Reichelt (1911}, Dr I. J. S. Tara­

Bombay! Yes it's true, we are so very few,

But if we work together we can still save Zoroastrianism from disappear-

ing into the blue.

We can't just wait, for a miracleto

take place, For otherwiseit might be too late and our dear Mazdayasni race, Might just vanishwithout a trace.

So wake up all Parsis, we have been

sleeping too long. It's now time for us to reform and save the Zarathushti religion before

it is gone.

If each of us do our part and help

increase the birthrate,

By not marrying outside our own

faith,

Then I can proudlyraise my head and say that my Mazdayasni faith is

EVENTSAND PERSONALITIES

continued from page16

painful menstruation, cataract, chronic headache, insomnia, mental retardation, skin ailments, ringworm,tumor ...appli­ cation of the blue south pole on the affected region for 15 minutesto half an hour, twice a day, is recommended. The red north pole is recommended for para­ lyzed and weakenedmuscles, impotency

and sterility, constipation ... Drinking of magnetized water report­ edly improves blood circula­ tion, helps in dissolving kid­ ney stone and regulates meta­

porcwala (1922) and, very recently,M.

F. Kanga ( 1988). In these works, the authors have giventranslations of the selected Avesta texts together with copi­

truly very great

And it will remain on this earth until

the last date!

FARZAN B. MAZDA

Bengali applying

chromo-magnet to

treat tongue tumor

hdic activity.

Certain do's and don'ts whilst applying

ous explanatory notes on severalimpor­

Dahanu

magnets and taking good care of them

tant words or glossarial indices. As Tavadianotes in the beginning:

arc listed here. Patients are forewarned about using large, high-power magnets

·'The reader will find therein a classified

selection from the Avesta. Geldner' s version, which he calls literal and not free, differs in many cases even from that of Bartholomae. but unfortunately only a few of the passages are further explained in the notes, and therefore it is not always easy to understand his point of view. In any case, I have tried to translate his Germanquite literally, sometimes even with reluctance: and although I often consulted the originalA vesta, that was with the view of assur­ ing myself about his meaning,and not with that of controlling, much less cor­ recting it. HenceI am not responsible for the translation as a whole,nor for any details, for instance, like the treatment of technical terms."

ERVAD (Dr) ROOYINTAN P. PEER

READERS' FORUM

contmuedfrom page 6

days, but our forefathers followed their Zarathushti faith through storm

and rain. For I,000 long years,they managed to maintain their special identity,

And they could easily be distinguished by the average

Hindustani! However today, I am afraid to say,

Addendum

In the article "The tusslefor trustee­

ship" (Parsiana, April 2000) we had noted that "anangry Hormuzdiar had refused to comply withRustom

Tirandaz's late demand (10 minutes before closing time)" for a count of the voters at Dinshaw Tamboly'selec­ tion in October1996.

For the benefit of our readerswe elucidate that the election president Rustom Hormuzdiar had held on that occasion that accordingto the Repre­ sentation of the PeopleAct, 1950, only the contestants or theirrepresentatives havethe right to demand such informa­ tion. As neither Tamboly nor Mehroo Bengalec, the two contestants, nor their representatives-which included the late politician-diplomat Homi Tale­ yarkhan and socialworker Mithoo Jesia

- sought the information, it was not

produced. Bombay Parsi Punchayct trustees have no locus standi on this

ISSUC.

To avoid any repetition of the event Hormuzdiar had ensuredat the March 2000 election that each candidate's rep­ resentative was posted at the entrance to the voting bay to check off the namesof voters as they registered themselves. This ensured a smooth election.

without consulting a qualified practitio­ ner. The immediate and short-term alle­ viation of symptoms may be attributed to immediate alignment of the disori­ ented cells which may be a mere sup­ pression of symptomsand not a cure. On the contrary it could result in side-ef­ fects like dizziness, depression and in­ explicable psychosomatic disorders.

''The incorrectapplicationof mag­

netic energiescould cause constitutional disturbances," Bengali was quoted in The Afternoon Despatchand Courier of March 6, 1995. While conventional medicine disputes the efficacy of alter­ native systems of medicine such as mag­ net therapy, Bengalinotes, "Each thera­ peutic system has its advantages as well as its drawbacks."

There is yet anotherbook, Magnet­

Therapy in Theoryand Practice which Bengali has authored and is now in its fourth edition. His latest work is based on his research on ExtremelyLow Fre­ quency (ELF) magnets,a recent devel­ opmentwhereby a patient'sdiseased tissue absorbs only those waves that arc in sync with their own healthy resonant state, preventing any excessive absorp­ tion of magnetic energy, it was explained in The Sunday Free Press of August 29, 1999.

we might be one of those specimens

put in the Prince of Wales Museum.

45 Parsiana June-July 2000

Editedby Parinaz M. Gandhi

Compiledby Parinaz M. Gandhi

MILESTONES

46Parsiana June-July 2000

47 Parsiana June-July 2000

DinyarRustamji Pavri (87), 6, Four Oaks Crescent, London, Ontario, Canada;May II

Perin Me!JeJji Fouzdar (83), F.

S. ParukhDharamshalla, HughesRd. 400007; May 12Savak Edu!ji Pithawalla(80), F/27, Nowroz Baug, Lalbaug, 400012; May 12

Minocher RustomjiDaruvala

(84), 275 J, New Cama Bldg,

Tardeo Rd, 400007; May 13

Aloo Keki Bharucha(85), 299, May Bldg, Princess St,

400002; May 13

GaolBomanji Bhavnagri (96), 630, Gemfrina.Khareghat Rd. Parsi Clny, Dadar, 400014; May 13

Baby ofYasmcen Berges

Kalapesi (I day), 1/8, Rustom Baug, Victoria Rd, Byculla, 400027; May 14

Pestonji Kawasji Kerawalla (89), King's Bldg, Dr Ambed­ kar Rd. Parel, 400012; May 14 RustomFramjee Dhondy (90), M-20, Cusrow Baug, S. B. Rd, 400039; May 15

Klwrshed (Lilly) C. Gandevia

FIGURES AT A GLANCE*

•Running totals for 2000 (January2000-June-July 2000 issues)

Overseas deaths are listed in the consignedcolumn as Parsiana doesnot have a breakup of those cremated.

*These figures pertainto information providedto or collected by Parsiana. They do not represent the total number of births, marriagesand deaths in the Zoroastrian community in India and abroad.