“The Parsi stamp”

Books like Parsi Zoroastrians on Stamps — Religion, History and Culture are not expected to bring any monetary gains to their authors who feel amply rewarded for their labor when they read reviews of the type written by Homi J. Rogers ("The Parsi stamp,” Parsiana, June 2004). Such reviews enable authors to bring out a second improved edition of their books.

I would like to clarify some misconceptions in the review:

Rogers writes that it is disputable whether Cyrus the Great was a Zoroastrian. A stone cylindrical edict of Cyrus, excavated in Babylon in 1879, is now in a British museum. It reads, amongst other statements, "I implore to Ahura Mazda to make me successful.” What is the dispute?

Regarding the inclusion of certain stamps the note on page 4 clarifies that all stamps are illustrated in full sets even when others may not relate to Zoroastrian culture, as this is the normal practice. Still Rogers refers to Zanzibar, where only one out of the set of four stamps relates to Zoroastrian culture. This is the stamp regarding religious tolerance. A friend, who had spent his youth in Zanzibar, drew my attention to this stamp as it also illustrates an agiary. I had to hunt for this set for over four months — which is the joy of philately. Similarly on the next page is the full set of six stamps and only one of them relates to Cuneiform — Iranian script. Can any one understand his objection to including the full set of 16 stamps issued by Iran on the occasion of Ferdowsi International Congress, Tehran — 1990 when Ferdowsi and Shahnameh are household words in all Parsi homes?

The entire review relates to "stamps” only, whereas it is stated in the book that stamps, instead of photographs, have been used merely as illustrations for the book on Zoroastrian history and culture.

NOSHIR M. LAM