Scholastic supremacy

A respected scholar and prolific author who is credited with writing over 70 odd books besides innumerable essays, articles and research papers, Dr Ervad Jivanji Jamshed­ji Modi had a distinctive style of preparation. With his illegible handwriting he would ask his daughters to keep paper and pencil handy to record his flashes of inspiration. When he had to do his own writing, he would never sit down to pen his thoughts but wrote on blank sheets kept on a high stand or scribbling block while standing, reports Marzban J. Giara in his book Shams-Ul-Ulama Dr Sir Ervad Jivanji Jamshedji Modi.

Not surprisingly this 88-page book has 12 pages devoted to his life sketch as against 20 pages summa­rizing the different essays and books he had authored in his 79-year life spanning 1854-1933. His expertise on varied subjects be it the Zoroastrian religion or scriptures, the customs of the Parsis, Tibetans, Ger­mans, Arabs, the tribes of India, folklore, beliefs and superstitions among Persians and Indians, freemasonry and Hindu mythology made him a valued contributor to the journals of the Royal Asiatic Society of which he was honorary member and the K. R. Cama Oriental Insiti­tute (KRCOI) where he was president and secretary at different times.

"He was for many years secretary of the Parsi Punchayet in Bombay, a post that gave direction to his main line of study,” noted an obituary write-up in the Times of London of March 29, 1933. "He was preeminent among those followers of the Zoroastrian faith who are learned in its origins, literature and teaching. There were no students of Iranian culture in any part of the world who did not admire his scholarship and place reliance on his informed judgment,” added the write-up referring to the academic distinctions that were con­ferred on Modi by Indian and European universities: Officier d’Academie Fran­caise in 1902, Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1925, the LLD degree from the Bombay University in 1931. The Government of India made him an honorary correspondent of the Archaeological Society in 1914 and bestowed on him the title of Shams-ul-Ulama. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire in 1917 and knighted in 1930.

When the Bombay University conferred on him its highest honor of LLD in 1931, Sir Ernest Hotson, the governor as chancellor of the University, referred to Modi as "the mainstay of both the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society and the Bombay Anthropological Society, not to mention other learned societies in Bombay. He has long been world famous as a scholar of the Sanskrit, Persian and above all, Avesta tongues and he is unquestionably the greatest living authority on the ancient history and customs of the Parsis...”

Despite his large family of five sons and six daughters born from his two marriages (to Aimai and following her demise to her sister Shirinbai), he was wont to travelling alone on his innumerable sojourns abroad. But he always felt that "God was my companion and guide and by his grace I have returned enjoying my journey and richer in knowledge.” Considering that Giara has sourced his knowledge from eight other works, some more quotes by Modi would have educated the read­er.

In G. Natesan’s book Famous Parsees written in 1930 he writes, "Few hard-working travellers would have been at pains of visiting out of the way places and remote nooks and corners as Jivanji did to gather together the scattered threads of history and to unrav­el the tangled skeins of literary controversies. Every­thing he saw gave him fresh food for reflection, every person he met, every place he visited he subjected to his scholarly scrutiny and in that way from day to day his knowledge grew. Such unwearing energy, such immer­sion in work even during holiday tours, such moral earnestness and such extraordinary versatility of his scholarly tastes and output as was evident in his lectures and addresses filled his friends in Europe and other parts of the world with admiration.”

That the spacious hall on the ground floor of the KRCOI is named after Modi may be well known; that his portrait adorns the Durbar Hall of the Asiatic Library, the hall of the Atash Behram in Navsari and the Anjuman Atash Behram in Bombay may also be familiar but that he was supposed to be the moving spirit behind the erec­tion of the Memorial Column (Stambh) at Sanjan in 1920 one comes to learn on reading Giara’s book. Besides serving as treasurer and secretary of the Jarthosti Dharma Sambandhi Kelavni Apnari Mandali he was asso­ciated with the Gnyan Prasarak Mandali, Jarthosti Dhar­mani Khol Karnari Mandali, Mullan Feroze Madressa, Rahnumae Mazdayasnan Sabha and the Parsi Lekhak Mandal.

Bringing to life the persona, his family and institutions with which the savant was connected are the 36 pages of photographs which add value to this book priced at Rs 150 and published by Din Publica­tions, 306, M. B. House, 3rd floor, 79, Janmabhoomi Marg, Bombay 400001, Tel: 2846521/22. Dedicating this book to the scholar, Giara who is the author of such works as the Global Directory of Zoroastrian Fire Temples, the Zoroastrian Pilgrims Guide and Parsi Statues notes, "May his life inspire the present and future generations to serve their fellowmen.” A humble scholar constantly in pursuit of wisdom, Modi had once acknowledged, "We have so much to know and learn in this world that what we know is inconsequential.”

PARINAZ M. GANDHI