Life in Gandevi

Gandevi, a taluka in the district of Surat, had carved a niche in the history of Gujarat, especially during the reign of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaikwad of Vadoda­ra. At one time there were about 400 Parsis living in Gandevi, some of whom tended fields. There was a textile mill, owned and run by the Homi Mehta group in Billimora, a distance of four miles from Gandevi. Many Parsi youths from Gandevi worked in the mill, earning monthly wages of Rs 20 to Rs 30. The present day generation would scoff at such measly wages, but they forget that in those days living was very cheap and people could even save five rupees each month from these wages.

There was no prohibition in Gujarat. A Parsi gentleman named Kavasha used to run a pub (pithu) selling toddy, while another, Edulji, sold pure mowra liquor (daru) in another pub. When prohibition was enforced in Gujarat all the pubs had to close down. However, the names ‘Kavasha’ and ‘Edulji’ became synonymous with toddy and liquor, respectively! When a person wanted either of these two prohibited stimulants on the sly, he would just ask for either ‘Kavasha’ or ‘Edulji.’

(Left): Three generations of Daruwallas in front of their ancestral house; (above) lunch time at Gandevi’s dharamshala

Among the institutions in Gandevi established by Parsis were Guzder’s free reading room and library and an English medium high school founded by Sir Cowasjee Jehangir. Parsi children were in awe of their Parsi school teacher — Cowashah Gandevia or Cowashah Master, who was a strict disciplinarian. Whenever children indulged in mischief, their parents would merely evoke the name of Cowashah Master and the children would quieten down, much before Gabbar Singh of Sholay fame came on the scene.

There is a Parsi dharamshala in Gandevi. In the good old days it was a hub where the entire community of that village along with Parsis from Billimora, Navsari and other places would congregate when Gandevi’s famous gahanbars were held. Before prohibition, toddy and mowra daru were served at these gahanbars. The food was simple but tasty. The older generation still recollects the taste of cooked rice served from wicker baskets (topli na chawal).

There were many well-known Parsi families in Gandevi — the Gazdars (Jamshed Guzder, chairman emeritus, Bombay Parsi Pun­chayet hails from Gandevi), the Desa­is, Daruwallas, Bha­galias, to name a few.

Alas, with the passage of time, the Parsi population of Gandevi began to decline. Young peo­ple went to Bombay to study or to take up jobs; some even went to far off places like East Africa. Today, the Parsis in Gandevi number not more than 25 or thereabouts. What a fall!

BHIKHAJI M. ADENWALLA