Lunching at Harrow

The Harrow Zoroastrian Group (HZG) held one of its two annual jashan and lunch get togethers on July 3, 2005 at the Pinner Youth Centre. Its other activity is an annual subscription gahambar. A local body with family membership, it is said to have approximately 80-90 families on its rolls. "The ZTFE (Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe) coming to Harrow was facilitated by the example of the Harrow Zoroastrians,” notes ZTFE president Dorab Mistry. The HZG is said to have got going nearly 20 years ago and has established the credibility of the Zoroastrian community in the area. In fact the Pinner Centre is available to it at a concessional rate.

With Ervad Rustom Bhedwar as chairperson and Zerbanoo Gifford as president, the Group currently has Kobad Avari as treasurer and Hilloo Daruwala as secretary. The others, all referred to as committee members, include Ervad Jal Karkaria, Cawas Deboo, Gev Buhariwala, Dinoo Medhora, Shehnaz Mistry, Dinyar Master, Percy Writer, Amy Bhedwar and Savak Makhania.

With average salaried income in the community ranging between £ 18,000 and 20,000 per annum, enough to live comfortably, as notes R. Bhedwar, the Group donates regularly to create charity funds, largely for Indian beneficiaries. The money goes to the Navsari orphanage, meals for the needy in Bombay’s Dadar Parsi Colony and the Health Unit run by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet at Gamadia Colony. Until last year the work of maintaining accounts and distributing funds had been looked after by Mahiyar Ardeshir and Katy Bajina, says Bhedwar. Now the committee members have taken over the function, he notes. "There is a lot of synergie – love and respect for India . We feel we are part of the greater family in India,” adds ZTFE trustee Noshir Avari.

There are said to be very few Iranians in the area — about 100, of whom around 30 participate in the community activities. The majority of Iranians who have come to London have eventually emigrated to Canada or California. Among the Parsi settlers, only one or two families have returned to India while a few have emigrated to the US, informs Mistry. Families from Manchester or Birmingham sometimes join the Group. On this occasion there were Filly and Banoo Petit with their children who were comfortable at the prospect of taking a train back later in the evening.