Bombay's Age of Enlightenment

Two institutions and one individual directed the course of study of ancient Iranian languages in Bombay in the mid 19th century. The Mulla Feroze Madressa, established in 1854, inculcated the study of Avestan as it had been traditionally done - via the translation in Pahlavi and modern Persian - with perfunctory regard to the rules of grammar and philology. In contrast, the private class established by Kharshedji Rustomji Cama in 1861 sought to create an understanding of these obsolete tongues through the scientific application of the rules of comparative philology, highlighting the similarities between Sanskrit and Avestan, which he had learned over four years of study under eminent orientalists in Europe. The Sir Jamsetji Jejeebhoy Zarthosti Madressa, which began functioning in 1863, provided an amalgam of both systems of learning.

Among Cama's first batch of students were several young Parsi priests, notably Ervad Tehmurasp Dinshawji Anklesaria, Ervad Edulji Kersasji Antia, Ervad Sheriarji Dadabhai Bharucha, Ervad Kavasji Edulji Kanga and Ervad Khurshedji Minocherji Kateli, who not only produced outstanding publications for the benefit of lay Zoroastrians but went on to be instructors at the above named institutions and at the University of Bombay. The imprint of the first four among them still endures.