The calendar of your choice

In a community known for its mauj-masti and hospitality everyone looks forward to a celebration. Be it the child’s first birthday, a navjote, first wearing of a sari or a wedding, any and every occasion is a good cause for feasting. And when the venue is Bombay, the high-key celebrations are usually marked by greater color, noise and revelry.

Since every guest has to play host some time, in this, our calendar issue Parsiana has attempted to list the gamut of services offered on auspicious occasions by enterprising individuals from within and outside the community (see Celebrations guide below). From catering, chalk,daglis, floral, invitation cards, jewelry, music, photography/video, pugrees, saris to ses polishing the readers can scan the lists to see the choice available before making their final decision. The Bombay based listing — mainly of Parsi establishments, although certain non-Parsis’ have also been included where we know they are patronized by the community — may not be exhaustive and we hope to be excused for any unintentional lapses. Those whom we may have overlooked can write in to us and we will accommodate them in the future. Also provided here are the contact numbers of the popular venues in south and central Bombay.

The accompanying 13 pages of the Gregorian calendar starting with January 2003 and ending with January 2004 will, of course, provide a ready reference for those who want to know the mah and roz of a select date according to the Shahenshahi, Kadmi and Fasli calendars.

Accommodated on each of the 13 calendar pages are the corresponding mahs and rozs of the Shahenshahi, Kadmi and Fasli calendars for the convenience of the different sects within the community. While the abbreviated version of the mah for each calendar is specified at the top of the page (please refer to the list of abbreviations at the end of this introduction in case of doubt), in the case of the rozs (mentioned against each date) the first line bears the Shahenshahi and Kadmi roz and the second line, the Fasli roz. During the months of July and August when the Shahenshahi and Kadmi rozs do not tally beginning with the first Kadmi Gatha day (i.e. July 17) and ending with the last Shahenshahi Gatha day (i.e. August 20), the first line bears the Shahenshahi (Sha) roz, the second line, the Kadmi roz, and the last line, the Fasli roz.

Before the three calendars came into existence, the sole one used was in tune with the seasons, with the New Year being observed in spring. To ensure this harmony with nature and to synchronize it with the solar calendar of 365¼ days, the ancient Zoroastrians intercalated an extra month of 30 days, Spandarmad, every 120 years (¼ x 120 = 30 days). As per the existing records, the last time a month was intercalated was somewhere between 1125 and 1131 AC. This correction in the religious calendar was apparently done by the community in India, without the knowledge of those in Iran. The difference of one month was realized some six centuries later when Mobed Jamasp Velayati visited Surat from Kerman.

Around the mid 18th century a group of priests from Surat decided to adopt the Iranian calendar and called themselves the Kadims ­— the ancient ones. The others chose to refer to themselves as the Shahenshahis — following the royal calendar. Both the groups were insistent that theirs was the right calendar. Thereafter neither group intercalated the additional Spandarmad month with the result that the Shahenshahi New Year is now in August, and the Kadmi New Year observed by the Iranis in India is in July.

The Iranians observe March 21, the spring equinox, as their New Year for it manifests a physical resurrection after the months of harsh winter and hibernation. The Zoroastrians in India who consider Jamshedi Navroz or March 21 as their New Year are the Faslis who have their roots in the Zarthosti Fasli Sal Mandal founded by Kharshedji Cama in 1906. Following the leap year logic, they add a sixth Gatha day, Roz-e Wahizag, every four years to ensure that their New Year is permanently celebrated on March 21. Besides the New Year, the devotional gahambar days too would then be appropriately observed in the correct seasons.

Yazdegirdi 1371/72/73 for the Fasli, Kadmi and Shahenshahi calendars, dates back to the coronation of the last Zoroastrian Sassanian King Yazde­gird III in 632 AC. Next to the month line atop every page, readers will notice the year according to the Yazdegirdi era (AY 1371/1372/1373, where AY stands for Anno Yazdegirdi = in the year of Yazdegird). As rightly pointed out to us by Dr Jehan Bagli, the Fasli calendar changes its AY in March, after the Kadmis and Shahenshahis do so in July/August. Hitherto Parsiana had been showing the change in the Fasli year in the preceding March. Parsiana regrets the error.

Noted opticians Phiroze M. Dastoor and Company who specialize in contact lenses and laser vision correction deserve our special thanks for sponsoring the Parsiana calendar. Their largesse has enabled us to maintain the same cover price of the issue as last year.

Abbreviations of the mahs: Fravardin (Frav), Ardibehesht (Ardi), Khordad (Khor), Tir (Tir), Amardad (Amar), Shahrevar (Shah), Meher (Meh), Avan (Avan), Adar (Adar), Dae (Dae), Bahman (Bahm), Spandarmad (Span).