Priests register

The data on 556 mobeds registered with the Parsi Resource Group (PRG) Mobeds Association has been collated and presented as the First Mobed Directory, giving details of the mobed’s name, age, marital status, total family members (TFM), address and telephone number. The details were carried in the Jam-e-Jamshed of August 6, 2006 and are also available on the PRG website: www.parsiresource group.org The listing includes priests from Ahmedabad to Vesu, with the eldest being 91-year-old Bahadur Bulsara of Bombay and the youngest being12-year-old Danesh Minocherhomji of Navsari. Just as in his case where the TFM is shown as being one, for 13-year-old Sheryar Bhesadia of Secunderabad too the TFM is one. Does this mean these young boys stay alone? While the norm for TFM seems to be one or two throughout the list, nowhere does it exceed five.

With the maximum number of registrants, 361, being from Bombay, and the second highest, 57, from Surat, the rest are scattered in different states of India. From certain cities there was but one solitary registrant like from Bangalore, Bordi, Delhi, Gandevi, Gholwad, Igatpuri, Kanpur, Mhow, Neemuch, Panchgani, Rander, Saronda, Tarapur, Vadodara and Vesu.

Their pension scheme for mobeds above 65 years showed 153 mobeds as having received their first pension cheque of Rs 2,000 each. Altogether 1,111 have been covered in the mobeds’ cashless mediclaim policy for the priests, their wives and children. Under the mobeds’ children education sponsorship, 258 children up to the age of 24 have been chosen to receive aid of Rs 30,000 per child per annum. Beginning August 26, 2006, a team of 50 mobeds were to be selected as PRO mobeds on the PRG’s payroll.

Since its launch on March 4, 2006 the PRG Mobeds Association "has not only fulfilled these dreams within a short period of time, but has also put to rest all its critics and proved them wrong…” announced a double spread advertorial in the Jamé of July 30.