'Bonding the fabric'

Forty buses with over 900 Parsi children from schools located in different corners of Bombay - from Colaba to Borivli to Nalasopara - thronged Allbless Baug on November 23, 2003 to celebrate the first Zoroastrian Children's Day. Two hundred and fifty children who gave a belated response which unfortunately reached the organizers just a couple of days prior to the event, had to be turned down due to lack of space. Nevertheless a few Parsi children were present with their parents at the Baug's gate at 6.30 a.m., anxiously waiting for some passes to attend the function. Without hesitation, a man gave away the passes which he had reserved for his own family. The man was none other than the brainchild behind Zoroastrian Children's Day himself, Kyoshi Shihan Vispy B. Kapadia, the man with an iron will to unite Parsi children from all walks and strata of society.

The aim behind celebrating Zoroastrian Children's Day is the same as behind celebrating Children's Day in India on November 14, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's birthday - to give importance to children as they have a rightful place in the world. The day and date do not have any relevance to the Zoroastrian religion. It so happened that Allbless Baug was available only on that day. Kapadia adds: "As a Zoroastrian, I felt that at every level things are being done for Parsis except for our children. Also, there is so much of bickering within our community; I wanted to bring in a breath of fresh air. What better way to do that than to involve our children! I decided to start a Zoroastrian Children's Day."

The essence of Zoroastrian Children's Day is not just fun and frolic, but to "bond the fabric of our children," to bring about an awakening in the Parsi children: "I want the sanctity of the Zoroastrian religion to be preserved. Parsis must wear a sudreh and kusti. It is sad that the Parsi youth discard these at the drop of a hat. Every Parsi child should pray every day at home. Grooming our children and imbibing in them the right values at a tender age is very important. What they learn at a young age will remain with them forever and they will automatically (learn) the good things such as caring for fellow Zoroastrians, supporting their kith and kin, respecting elders and teachers. Today, it is shocking to see children disregard their parents and teachers. You may go abroad, evolve in many ways, but you mustn't forget the Zoroastrian traditions," stresses Kapadia.