The year in bloom

A joyous occasion needs an appropriate expression. Flowers, the embodiment of love and beauty, are the favorites among members of the community celebrating a wedding or navjote. And it is always natural flowers in their infinite varieties and hues that Zoroastrians use on festive occasions. Seated amidst the galaxy of blooms that cover the screens, aisles, tables… no guest feels ignored. The dainty decorations can serve as the starting point of a conversation and ultimately a take-home reminder of the happy function.

Basking in their love for flowers and the assignments that come their way during the peak season from November to end February, the Zoroastrian florists Parsiana spoke to (see "Favoring the flowers”) referred to the flowers in demand, the trends in decoration, and the highs and lows of their business. Some of them are second generation florists, nurturing the flowering seeds sown by their parents.

"It appears that the ancient Persians had…a language of flowers of their own,” writes Dr Jivanji Jamshedji Modi in his treatise The Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Parsees. "The Bundehesh gives a list of the different flowers which were said to be the special flowers of the different Yazatas… (depending on) the moral qualities or characteristics believed to have been associated with those angels.” Could our preference for a particular flower be the manifestation of angelic influence?

Cause for celebration

Our "Celebrations guide” has attempted to list the gamut of services available under different heads. The primarily Bombay based listing is mainly of Parsi establishments although certain non-Parsis patronized by the community have been included. Where known the outstation facilities have also been included. We realize the list may not be exhaustive and hope to be excused for any unintentional lapses. Those whom we may have overlooked can write in to us and we will accommodate them in the future. Also provided here are the contact numbers of the popular venues in Bombay.

Choose your calendar

The accompanying 12 pages of the Gregorian calendar for the year 2008 provide a ready reference for those who want to know the mah and roz of a select date according to the Shahenshahi, Kadmi and Fasli calendars.

While the abbreviated version of the mah for each calendar is specified at the top of the page (please refer to the list of abbreviations at the end of this introduction in case of doubt), in the case of the rozs (mentioned against each date) the first line bears the Shahen­shahi and Kadmi roz and the second line, the Fasli roz. During the months of July and August when the Shahenshahi and Kadmi rozs do not tally beginning with the first Kadmi Gatha day (i.e. July 15) and ending with the last Shahenshahi Gatha day (i.e. August 18), the first line bears the Shahenshahi roz, the second line, the Kadmi roz, and the last line, the Fasli roz.

From Farrokh Vajifdar we have gleaned that in ancient Iran there were several calendars in use. The earliest time-reckoner was suited to an agro-pastoral society and could be described as luni-solar: it had 12 months of 30 days each with nothing initially allowed for the five or five-and-a-quarter days’ shortfall. Later, on the example of the ancient Egyptian calendar which Darius the Great’s advisers adopted, the five days were added which our priesthood introduced as the five Gatha days or the panjag-i weh — "the good pentad.” It still failed to account for the quarter-day excess. The months in the Old Persian (Darius’) calendar had non-Zoroastrian names, and the days were not named but numbered, states Vajifdar.

The quarter-day intercalation was not recognized until the calendar became noticeably out of step with the seasons. Both the Denkard and the Bundahishn calendar chapters in fact recommend the quadrennial (one day in four years) intercalation.

The ancient Zoroastrians tried to intercalate an extra month of 30 days every 120 years (¼ x 120 = 30 days) but it proved unworkable in practice and was never regularly followed up, and under that system the seasonal drifts became unmanageable in an agro-pastoral society, notes Vajifdar. The last attested one-month intercalation was made in Iran in 375 Anno Yazdegirdi (AY = in the year of Yazdegird) or 1005/6 Common Era (CE). It was not universally accepted there but word of it reached India when the priesthood did attempt a follow-up by a one-month intercalation in 1125/6 CE. No further intercalations were made in India after that. The stagnated Indian calendar came to be justified as the Shahenshahi [belonging to the Iranian (Zoroastrian) emperors]. When Dastur Jamasp (called Vilayati) of Kerman visited India with some precious manuscripts and sound knowledge of Pahlavi, he pointed out the one month discrepancy between the Iranian and Indian calendars. Some Parsis followed Jamasp, broke away from the majority Shahenshahis and in 1745 established their new calendar as Qadimi or Kadmi (the ancient one). This created a rift between the two factions — the Kabisa controversy — causing violent confrontations and even fatalities. The Kadmi calendar has ever since been one month ahead of the Shahenshahi. Both though do not synchronize with the seasons, the gahs and the gahanbars, points out Vajifdar.

When the first rectification of our ancient reckoning was formalized, the year was made to commence with the spring equinox on March 21. That was the Sasanian contribution towards the evolution of a unified calendar.

Our true calendar — called the sal-i-denig or Din-i sal — ("the religious year”) — accurately fixes the dates and sequences of our gahanbars, the seasonally solar months, festivals, muktads and paravs. The prayers with their dedications would then serve a purpose, explains Vajifdar.

The Iranians continue to observe March 21, the spring equinox, as their New Year for it manifests a physical resurrection after the months of harsh winter and hibernation. The Zoroastrians in India who consider Jamshedi Navroz or March 21 as their New Year are the Faslis (Fasli means seasonal in Arabic) who have their roots in the Zarthosti Fasli Sal Mandal founded by Kharshedji Cama in 1906. Following the leap year logic, they add a sixth Gatha day, Roz-e Wahizag, every four years to ensure that their New Year is permanently celebrated on March 21.

Yazdegirdi 1376/77/78 for the Fasli, Kadmi and Shahenshahi calendars, dates back to the coronation of the last Zoroastrian Sassanian King Yazde­gird III in 632 AC. Next to the month line atop every page, readers will notice the year according to the Yazdegirdi era (AY 1376/1377/1378).

Noted op­ti­cians P­h­­ir­oze M. Dastoor and Company who specialize in contact lenses and laser vision correction deserve our special thanks for sponsoring the Parsiana calendar.

Abbreviations of the mahs: Fravardin (Frav), Ardibehesht (Ardi), Khordad (Khor), Tir (Tir), Amardad (Amar), Shahrevar (Shah), Meher (Meh), Avan (Avan), Adar (Adar), Dae (Dae), Bahman (Bahm), Spandarmad (Span).