The prickly Parsi

For a community that once took pride in being broad-minded and in the ability to laugh at itself, we Parsis have become notoriously intolerant of late.

Thus, we have self-styled "defenders of the faith” haranguing us about threats to racial purity because of conversion. Or, these same worthies issue a call to the barricades because some liberal Parsi gentlemen decided to allot a couple of rooms in a private residence as a place of worship open to Parsi ladies who (shudder) have married "outsiders.” What next? Will we now petition the Supreme Court to forbid all non-Parsis from contaminating the "purity” of dhansak by eating it?

My wife and I visited Auckland in New Zealand a few years ago. That city has no more than 400 Parsis in total, yet they have managed to organize themselves into two opposing camps, reformist and conservative. It was quite amusing to see one red-capped gentleman cut a lady dead in the street, presumably because she was recognized as the "enemy.”

The latest manifestation of this prickliness concerns the Gujarat govern­ment’s proposal to improve the infrastructure of Udvada, our holy of holies, and develop it as a tourist spot. True to form, our "champions” are shouting themselves hoarse about how this will violate the sanctity of the Iranshah. Mind you, no one is suggesting that non-Parsis be admitted to the fire temple. But their mere presence in the town will supposedly defile something or the other. If this mind-set wasn’t so tragic, it would be almost laughable. It does not matter to them that development would result in an immense improvement of the pathetic lifestyle of the few remaining Parsis in Udvada. No one visiting Udvada would have failed to realize that these unfortunates are suffering not just physical poverty, but a slow mental death due to having nothing to do and no one to talk to. But our trumpet blowers expect them to make some sort of supreme sacrifice for the sake of preserving some imagined sanctity.

I am already nostalgic for the days when bawajis took good natured ribbing in their stride and concentrated their energies on important matters, such as lagan-nu-bhonu. Adi Marazban, please come back. We need you.

FIROZE HIRJIKAKA