Baroda's centenarian

The oldest Parsi lady in Baroda, Goolbanu Sohrab Wadia was accorded a special felicitation by the Shri Parsi Panchayat Vadodara on her completing 100 years on November 5, 2005. Her friends and well wishers, both Parsi and non-Parsi, gave her a standing ovation at the function at Hira Baug presided over by Ranjitsinhji and Sub­han­giniraje Gaek­wad from the royal family.

"Goolbanu’s was a fine example of ‘how to stop worrying and start living’ and ‘how to win friends and influence people’ which would have even made Dale Carnegie proud,” wrote Pesi Mun­cherji, erstwhile editor of Zend, the quarterly housemaga­zine of the Panchayat, having profiled the lady in the first issue of Zend and having interviewed her on the completion of her centenary milestone.

Trustee of the Pan­cha­yat for 29 years, and its president for 14 years, Wadia has been given credit for drafting and passing the first constitution of the Panchayat. When the agiary from Anandpura Kothi had to be shifted to Fatehganj, Wadia succeeded in acquiring land and putting up a building there. She also managed to acquire land for a Parsi dharamshala in Fatehganj and had started a ladies’ hostel for school and college students in Baroda, writes Muncherji.

Besides serving as chairperson and trustee of Seth Jamshedji Sohrabji Mediwala Parsi Education Trust for engineering and technology students as also for bright and deserving school students, Wadia officiates as chairperson of Seth Pestonji Contractor Educational Scholarship Fund since the last 45 years. Member of the senate of the M. S. University, and member of the advisory committee for Remand Home for Juvenile Convicts of the Gujarat government, Wadia made time for other activities too. She was the treasurer and president of the All India Women’s Conference (Baroda branch), secretary and executive committee member of the Maharani Chimnabai Stree Udyoglaya, founder member of Baroda Women’s Cooperative Society, secretary and treasurer of Maharani Chimnabai Ladies Club which she visited three times a week to unwind with her friends, president of Jerbai Contractor Sewing and Cutting Class for women… Committed to the cause of poverty she procured and distributed old clothes to the needy, wool to those who could spin kustis and went on door-to-door fund collection drives to distribute essentials to the underprivileged.

A keen sportswoman excelling in badminton, tennis, table tennis, bridge and carom Wadia had the guts to play a match when she was six months pregnant with her youngest son Gustad. At the age of 43 she learnt driving, being only the second lady in Baroda to drive a car which she continued doing till she was 75. When at the age of 91 she broke her thigh bone and was hospitalized for 40 days, after six months of physiotherapy she was on her feet, sums up Muncherji.

Centenarian Wadia receiving memento from Gaekwads as Jal Patel looks on; with family (from left) Phiroze, Gustad, Lenna, Sohrab and Farhad

The centenarian now spends her time reading newspapers and hearing the news on radio and TV, watching National Geographic, Animal Planet and Discovery Channels, and of course Amitabh Bachchan’s quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati.

From the time Goolbanu’s father Gustadji Mediwala was sent to England for further studies by Maharaja Sayaji­rao, the relationship between the two families has been close, reminded the chief guest. Among the others who paid tributes to her self confidence and exceptional will power were the president of the Panchayat Jal Patel, past president Shavaksha Patel, well known obstetrician and gynecologist Dr Thakorbhai Patel, Dr Gopal Shastri, Gujarati poet, story writer and dramatist, Dr Anita Verma, acting vice chancellor of the M. S. University where Goolbanu ’s husband the late Prof Sohrab Wadia was head of the department of English. Goolbanu’s education was at Surat’s Mission School after which she was one of the first two females to be admitted to the M. T. B. College in Surat from where she did her BA in English and Persian.

On behalf of his mother and two brothers Noshirwan and Gustad, Dr Phiroze Wadia thanked the Panchayat and the congregation for the grand function to honor her centenary.