Soldier’s swan song

Titled Lt Gen Adi Sethna – A tribute, the August 2007 edition of Dipanjali, journal of the Delhi Parsi Anjuman (DPA), commemorates the multifaceted personality of the late doyen of the community in the capital. Sethna was president of the DPA for over 20 years. Compiled in the form of a biographical narrative interspersed with some of his own articles and the comments of people who interacted with him and knew him well at different stages of his varied life, the volume attempts to "capture and keep alive the memory of an extremely dynamic and humane person,” the introduction notes, adding, "The collection of tributes from a cross section of people ranging from nine to 90 highlights the impact he made on all those he met.”

The volume traces Sethna’s life from childhood, youth, the Army years, his tenure as leader of the Parsi community and role in public life. Poignant personal memories are shared by family, friends and fellowmen. Included are extracts from tributes paid at condolence meetings held in Delhi and Bombay. An amazing range of photographs adorns the volume, the earliest being of Sethna taken a few months after his birth on November 11, 1924 and the most recent taken a short while before his demise on October 17, 2006.

The handsomely produced volume is the result of the combined effort of Sethna’s daughters Niloufer Shroff, Rukshana Shroff, Dr Shernaz Cama and Shireen Baria-Sethna and the legion of well-wishers who lent them a hand.