Muscle men

Glistening bodies and rippling muscles earning them brawny points from the judges and cheering crowd, Zoroastrian body builders vied once again for the title of Mr Zoroastrian at the Third All Zoroastrian Body Building Competition. Of the 14 competitors from Bom­bay, Surat, Canada and UK, the youngest, Jimmy Italia was just 14 while Jimmy Marker was all of 80 years of age!

Organized as part of the golden jubilee celebration of the Sir Ness Wadia Club (SNWC) at Rustom Baug on February 20 and 21, 2004, the event was sponsored by philanthropist NarYman Dubash. Ervads Jal Kootar and Pashyn Sethna of Rustom Baug conducted the jashan before the finals on the second day.

Yazad Daver: steely sinew

The steely sinews of Yazad Daver of Bombay earned him the title of Mr Zoroastrian 2004. Daver also topped in his weight group (65-75 kg), with Bombay’s Viraf Driver and Canada’s Keki Panthaki standing second and third respectively. Kaivan Panthaki of Surat, who had stood second in the under 65 kg slot last year, topped the 65 kg category this year, with Bombay’s Aresh Mehershahi runner up and Surat’s Rayomand Sarkari third. In the 75 plus kg class, Shahzad Daver, Yazad’s brother, took top honors, with Bombay’s Rushad Khambatta and Surat’s Ruzan Bastawala second and third respectively.

Kaivan Panthaki’s well-knit masculinity earned him the Prof Tehmurasp Sarkari Trophy for the Best Poser, an award donated by Viraf Chiniwala. An on-the-spot prize from H. J. Commercial Printers for the best upcoming body builder was won by Shahzad Daver.

Voicing his enthusiasm for the event, 45-year-old Keki Panthaki who lives in Vancouver, Canada says: "I have always had a keen interest in body building, weight training and doing daily workouts from a very young age. Even today I still continue to go to the gym daily and workout for almost two-three hours. It is perhaps due to this that I have been able to participate in the body building competition at the age of 45 years with competitors aged in their 20s and have managed to secure the third place.”

Entertaining the goodly crowd with his exceptional muscle control was Mr Universe 1952, Mano-har Aich of Calcutta, now in his 90s! An exhibition of muscularity by body builders of national and international caliber provided additional interest.

SNWC’s president Dr Porus Turner expressed special appreciation for the help the Club and Rustom Baug have received from the World Zoroastrian Organisation through Dinshaw Tam­boly, from Dubash as also Jamshed Guzder and his trusts, Nusli Wadia and the Sir Ness Wadia Foundation and the trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet.

"The entire event would never have been possible without the tireless efforts of Viraf Panthaki. The contest has become an annual feature in the SNWC calendar, thanks to the leadership of Turner and a dedicated team of committee members, in particular Rustom Jasoomoney, Hutoxi Doodhwala, Aash­din Billimoria, Darius Randelia and Dara Doomasia,” states a press release from Rustom Baug.