Governor on Sanjan Day

The presence of Gujarat governor Pandit Naval Kishore Sharma at the Sanjan Day celebrations was appreciated by the 1,500 Parsi Zoroastrians who convened there on November 19, 2006. Hailing from Maharashtra, Gujarat and other parts of the country, they came to express their gratitude to Dastur Neryosang Dhaval who had brought our forefathers to Sanjan from Iran steering them through many hardships, and to Jadi Rana for permitting the refugees to live and prosper in India. Sharma said that he was happy to be at the place where the Parsi community had settled some 1,300 years ago. India is fond of the Parsis because of their contribution to the freedom movement, because they are talented people, because they live here as peaceful citizens, Sharma said.

A two-minute silence was observed in memory of the late Rohintan M. Daviervala who had served as president of the Sanjan Memorial Column Local Committee for 24 years. His wife Bapsy, who has succeeded him as president, said that Sanjan Day was special to her because of her husband’s untiring efforts in making past functions a success. Rich tributes were paid to Daviervala by prominent speakers.

From left: Jimmy Mistry, Peshotan Mirza, Burjor Antia, Naval Kishore Sharma, Bapsy Daviervala, Khurshed Dastoor

Burjor Antia, solicitor and Bom­bay Parsi Pun­chayet (BPP) trus­tee said many people leave their country to earn a living or because of calamities. In 641 AD some Parsi Zoroastrians left Iran to save their religion and landed at Sanjan Bundar. Dastur (Dr) Peshotan Mirza remarked that though the Parsis left Iran they did not leave the Iran spirit behind. To maintain their spiritual link and thoughts the atash padshah at Udvada was named Iranshah. Two jashans were performed, one by the mobeds of Nargol and Saronda, and another by Dastur Khurshed Dastoor of Udvada, Mirza and others.

Dara Vervadewala of the Committee thanked the Western Railway for permitting the Flying Ranee and Gujarat Express to halt at Sanjan. He also thanked the BPP for their continuous support, Firoze Sethna for the soft drinks provided every year, Paris Bakers, Bombay, Agnee Bakers, Vapi and Dotivala Bakers, Surat, for their delicious biscuits and cakes, notes a press release on the event.