Ostowari’s spirit

Died: Nawzar Ostowari, 82, veteran community leader, in Sydney on November 21, 2006.

"Few will dispute the fact that but for Nawzar and Akhtar Ostowari, there would have been no Darbe Meher in Sydney… Nawzar personally and single-handedly supervised the construction of our Darbe Meher, the kebla and the beautiful landscaped gardens with the water fountain at the entrance. He was at the Darbe Meher from early morn to late at night and on July 24, 1994 a proud community had the inauguration of the Darbe Meher at 196 Annangrove, but Nawzar was not present. He had quietly worked behind the scenes and asked for little in return.”

Nawzar Ostowari: single-minded persistence

The Australian Zoroastrian Association (AZA)’s tribute to Nawzar Ostowari in Manashni, the newsletter of the Sydney based association of New South Wales, records his commitment to their "place of our own” project, conceived in the early 1980s, that had only taken off when Nawzar and his wife Akhtar donated a munificent amount with no strings attached, and used their personal contacts to raise more funds abroad. Together with the funds contributed and collected by the local community, there was just enough in the kitty to get the construction started.

Settling in Australia in 1967, the Ostowaris had opened their home to later Zoroastrian migrants — their residence in Lindfield was the venue of the first meeting of what was to become the AZA, a meeting Nawzar chaired. His label printing press was well known for employing new Zoroastrian migrants. For years he ran the press from its factory in Marrickville and in later years was helped by his son Kai­koshrow and daughter Putli and son-in-law David Johnston.

The lifetime of support earned Nawzar the gratitude of the community which it tried to demonstrate with a ‘Zoroastrian of the Year’ award. Publicity shy and innately humble, "he was not present to receive the honor,” notes the tribute.

"Some people are endowed lucky and whatever Nawzar put his mind to, he made a success of. Nawzar mastered the computer and was a dab hand with spreadsheets — a source of great amazement to the young people who had a chance to come in contact with him. He dabbled in some reasonable property deals. Got an inkling to go farming and set up an orchard, growing citrus fruit. Maybe it was not all luck but his single-minded persistence which was the reason for a successful life,” notes the retrospective on his mode of living.

Born in 1924 in Poona, Ostowari was an avid glider pilot and flying was his love and passion. He migrated to Tehran to set up a gliding school for its flying club where one of the benefactors was the Shah of Iran. Nawzar’s son Cyrus, who has inherited his father’s love for the sport, builds light airplanes at his farm as a hobby.

The AZA’s Rustam and Morvarid Darbe Meher (right) and the billabong (above) on the property, developed by ‘Busy Bee’ members

His sense of adventure subsequently led him to Australia, with a young family in tow. His beautiful wife Akhtar had left her native Iran at the age of 16 to marry him in Poona, gamely learning Gujarati. For her too Australia was a cultural adventure and she is described in the tribute as a "pillar of support.”

Nawzar was "always a cheerful soul, even (on) his hospital bed… On a visit he smiled at a group of us and gave us a rendition of the Hindi song Door hato, door hato dooniya wallo, Hindustan hamara hai (move away, move away you people of the world, India is ours) and we all joined him for a sing-song.

"It has been said that it is more difficult for a rich man to go to heaven than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Nawzar has accomplished the impossible.”

Ostowari is survived by his wife Akhtar, sisters Shera and Mani, brothers Homi, Shahriar, Bahman and Behram, and children Cyrus, Kaikoshrow, Putli Johnston and Shahnaz Mia Ostowari.