Ablaze in Baroda

With the increase in the number of devotees there was felt the need for a more spacious temple. And when the exteriors get a face-lift the 150-year-old sacred fire deserves to be elevated too was the sentiment which resulted in the recent renovation of the Bai Dhunbaiji Dada-bhai Bhimji Umrigar Agiary in Baroda and raising the status of its fire from a dadgah to an adarian.

March 26, 2004 "was a memorable occasion for the 1,100 strong Parsi community in Baroda,” noted Avi Sabavala, trustee of the Shree Parsi Panchayat, Vadodara in her report of the day’s events. The Agiary which is managed by the Panchayat wore a special festive look. Over 250 devout Zoroastrians, young and old, had participated in the celebrations despite it being a working day. They had come to join in the prayers which commenced with a ijashni kriya at 7 a.m. followed by a hama machi when the congregation recited Yatha Ahu Vairyo while the holy fire was enthroned. "It was a momentous occasion for our community to witness this ceremony and many old-timers were nostalgic about the days when the atash padshah was installed in these premises 45 years ago,” wrote Sabavala. After the machi was the jashan ceremony when 20 priests including Dastur Meherji Meherjirana of Navsari, Ervads Aspandiar Dadachanji from Bombay, Fardoonji Turel and his co-priests from Surat, Homi Bhesania, Kersi Bhesania, Homi Kudianwala and a number of young navars from Baroda participated. Special commemorative coins to mark this auspicious occasion were brought out by the Panchayat.

President of the Panchayat Jal Patel presented asodad to all the officiating priests as also a token of appreciation to all those who had helped during the consecration ceremony. He paid special tribute to the two individuals who were the original donors — the late Dhunbai Umrigar and the late Hirabai Shapurji Contractor. The fire had originally been installed in Anandpura, Kothi. When the government requisitioned this land, it was shifted to the old Parsi dharamshala at Fatehgunj. In 1959 with the munificence of Contractor who bequeathed the land and a generous contribution from Umrigar in memory of her husband Dada-bhai, the Agiary was built on the main road of Fatehgunj. Nearly 60 Parsi families reside in this area. Over the years, space in the jashan hall as well as the area in front of the kebla was found restrictive. To expand the area and also provide better lighting and other amenities, it was decided to renovate the premises.

The ceremonies to consecrate the atash padshah had commenced on March 3, 2004 and were conducted under the guidance of Turel and his co-priests from Surat. For the first 10 days the bareshnum nahn was performed followed by the ijashni of the sanctum sanctorum and agiary for three days. The fire for the adarian was taken from four sources — the home of an athornan, warrior, farmer and ironsmith. To purify the fire from each of these sources yajasni ni kriya and vendidad ni kriya was done on the remaining days, Sabavala provided the details. "The consecrated fire becomes a source of divine blessing and spiritual inspiration for us laymen,” wrote Pesi Muncherji, former editor of Zend, the newsletter of the Vadodara Panchayat.

The renovation work was overseen by Rustomji Balsara and Company of Bombay. A record collection of Rs 50 lakhs was raised by the Fund Raising Committee which functioned under chairman Shavak Patel, immediate past president of the Panchayat. This was made possible thanks to the unstinting support and generous contribution of community members and trusts not only of Baroda but from all corners of the world. An amount of Rs 38 lakhs was spent on the Adarian while the balance Rs 12 lakhs will form a corpus to maintain the Agiary, stated the write-up.

Salutations for the seniors

Several individuals had given un-stintingly of their time and efforts to bring this project to fruition, acknowledged trustee Baman Cama. Each of them was honored with a shawl and a commemorative coin at the evening function presided over by Minoo Shroff, chairman of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet. The history of Zoroastrians has been of self-reliance, emphasized Shroff, urging the gathering to instil the same spirit of self-reliance in coming generations.

The community will continue to survive if it adheres to the tenets of the religion and observes the customs and rituals, stressed Meherjirana, impressing on the congregation their good fortune to be born Zoroastrians. Both Meherjirana and Shroff were felicitated after which it was the turn of the doyen of the Baroda community Shavak Patel who was presented a Sanman Patra that evening — a scroll and a silver salver.

Jashan in progress at the recon-secrated Umrigar Agiary (top). Shavak Patel (left) being felicitated by Shroff as Jal Patel looks on. Trustees (from left) Phiroze Patel, Sabavala, Cama, Jal Patel, Hakim, Parabia and Vajifdar

Eighty-three-year-old Shavak Patel had served as trustee of the Panchayat for 42 years from 1958 to 2000 of which 16 years were as president. "He has provided strong leadership to the community and has succeeded in holding our community together through difficult times...He has been an influential opinion maker amongst the Parsis at various forums of the community. Under his able stewardship the funds of the Panchayat have risen from a meagre Rs 2.32 lakhs in 1958 to Rs 83.5 lakhs in 2000. The same period saw an equally phenomenal increase in trust properties from Rs 54,000 to Rs 33.97 lakhs. His acumen in mobilizing funds is unpa-ralleled...He has also obtained a donation of Rs 22 lakhs from the Bai Maneckbai P. B. Jeejeebhoy Deed of Settlement Fund for construction of houses for poor Parsis and mobeds which will be the next project of the Panchayat,” states the press release.

Enumerating "Shavaksha’s immense contribution...for the benefit of the community in general and the Baroda Panch-ayat in particular,” Jal Patel described him as a leader dedicated to community service. Among the present trustees Aspi Vajifdar, Dara Hakim and Jehangir Para-bia too recounted their numerous experiences with him as did Goolbanu Wadia, past president of the Panchayat, Jimmy Havewala, former trustee, and Behroz Elavia, a long-time associate. They were appreciative of his ability to raise funds and his foresight in building properties like the Godrej Hall, introducing merit awards and educational aid for students. "He comes across as an able administrator who has set high standards in running an institution, a down-to-earth person who is a team leader with an ability to reach out to both the rich and poor with equal ease...” was the general consensus.

A keen sportsman, he had captained the Baroda cycling team for four consecutive years and won prizes in national tournaments. He had later founded the Gujarat State Cycling Association and was also the vice president of the Cycling Federation of India. He was instrumental in founding the Baroda Badminton Association and the Maha-Gujarat Table Tennis Association too.

Gratefully responding to the felicitation and recounting the history of the Agiary, Shavak Patel referred to the goodwill of the Baroda Parsis and the donors who have continually supported his efforts.

The evening ended with a gahambar for the Samast Anjuman in which nearly 700 humdins participated.