The time at KZBM

"In the good old days the Parsis of Karachi celebrated Navroz evening at the Clifton beach. People traveled there by horse-carriages, camel carts, in buses and a few by cars. At the time, there was a rickety long plank-wire-and-rope pier, which took people to the sand dunes where a band played or a soldier or two dressed up as clown/s tried to entertain the crowd.”

Octogenarian activist Behram Rus­tomji’s recollections in the chapter on "Navroze Traditions” hint at the flavor of Sunnu Golwalla’s history on the Karachi Zarthosti Banu Mandal (KZBM) which celebrates its 90th anniversary this month. Currently KZBM’s vice president, Golwalla’s book, titled Sands of Time, traces the KZBM’s raison d’être of Seva anay sakhavat (service and charity) from its inception in 1912 up to 2000. Its role in the two World Wars and national calamities, felicitous occasions when Rabindranath Tagore, Eleanor Roosevelt and prominent Zarathushtis were honored make for stirring memories.

KZBM has its own website and book society and often conducts workshops in the care of the elderly, special education, medical problems and income generation schemes. It interacts with other Zarathushti associations in Karachi and their brief sketches are woven into the story of the Mandal.

But the history goes back to the arrival of the Parsis in Sind and how they settled there in the early 1800s, forming various associations to meet their needs. Considering how the small community has fanned out, it is likely that a reader in New York, New Zealand or New Delhi may encounter a forefather in the narrative.

The jacket design by Tannaz Min­walla and 200 photographs and illustrations make for a pictorial journey through time. Priced at US $ 15 (or £ 10 sterling) plus shipping charges, the book may be ordered from Golwalla (sunnu@ cyber.net.pk) or Aban Rustomji (aban@coatingengineers.com).