Obstructionist approach

I was perturbed to read that a Parsi association wants the authorities to notify all agiaries as heritage structures. Many fire temples are unable to make two ends meet and resort to earning money by selling well water to tanker operators, engaging in commercial rather than the religious activities for which they were established.

A few years back, when the Bhikha Behram Well was vandalized by antisocial elements, all that the community could do was to register its protest through a candlelight procession. Three decades from now, when our numbers will have reduced further, what will happen to such places of worship? The thought of antisocial elements encroaching on and using such places for irreligious purposes cannot be ruled out. Would it not be better if the fruits of such community property are enjoyed by us rather than being "bequeathed” to other communities for future misuse? A living example would be the monument near Apna Bazar in Bombay’s Fort area which is in a pathetic condition.

Only those fire temples which are located in the midst of Parsi residential colonies are patronized by devotees. So why resort to an obstructionist approach by preventing development of neglected properties for the benefit of Parsi Zoroastrians? The self-styled saviors of Parsi Zoroastrian interests would render genuine service to the community by adopting such places of worship, carrying out renovation if required and providing funds for kathi, rather than throwing away money for subsidized dinners, paid advertisements in the secular Press and indulging in frivolous litigation.

Many Parsi colonies would never have come into existence had such obstructionist associations existed in the last century.

PHIROZ J. DUBASH

dubashapnd@hotmail.com