Drawn to the Club

Mobeds of all the three agiaries of the twin cities joined in the Dae mah jashan organized at Secunderabad’s Zoroastrian Club on June 11, 2005. The prayers were led by the president of the Club Ervad Kerfegar Antia. After the distribution of chasni (consecrated fruits), the president recalled the "selfless and dedicated service” of the honorary secretary of the Club, the late Shapoor H. Bhathena, who had passed away just two days prior to the function. In fact, until the night of June 8, he was working at the Club, preparing for this get-together, notes a press release from the Club.

Following a game of tambola, the president of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjuman of Secunderabad-Hyderabad, Goolbanoo Chenoy distributed prizes to the winners of the religious quiz competition conducted earlier by the Anjuman. The June 11 function was thrown open to all members of the community as even non-members of the Club were keen to witness the feats of strength demonstrated by the father-son duo, Rumi and Farokh Tatary of Bombay.

Antia (right) presenting memento to Farokh Tatary and (below) Rumi breaks a slab on Farokh’s chest

Farokh commenced the show by lifting a weight of 80 lbs with one finger. Thereafter Rumi broke a huge stone laadi (slab) weighing about 200 lbs placed on Farokh’s bare chest with a sledgehammer. The audience watched with awe as three big sharpened knives were dropped one by one on Farokh’s bare stomach by his father. For the last item of the show, "most of the older ones in the audience closed their eyes,” mentions the write-up. They did not want to see a thick steel rod placed in Farokh’s eye socket by Rumi which when thrust gradually into the eye was completely bent with the pressure of the nose bone and eye socket. Sixty-three-year-old Rumi too appeared to be in good shape for not a single "strong” youngster from the audience could bend his arm when challenged. Receiving a thunderous applause for their acts, the duo were presented flowers as also mementos by Antia and the Club treasurer Pestonji Baria.

The show was compered by the ever popular Nazir Vakil and ended with a subsidized dinner by the famous caterer Abad Wadia.