“The forgotten frontier”

I have read "The forgotten frontier” (Zoroastrians Abroad, Parsiana, May 21, 2008) in which Jal Shroff, president of the Zoroastrian Charity Funds of Hong Kong, Canton and Macau has provided information about the Parsi graveyard at Whampoa.

Among other interesting facts, the item mentions the name on one of the 14 graves at Whampoa as being that of "four-year-old Ruttee Bilimoria,” which prompted me to write to you. Ruttee Bilimoria, daughter of Manchersha, was my sister, three years my senior. She was born in Hong Kong in 1919 and expired in Shamian in 1923. I was too young to remember this but my elder sister Mehroo remembers and she told me about it.

We thank Shroff for this information. It was a great feeling to know that our sister’s grave at Whampoa has survived the ravages of time over a period of 85 years. The Chinese government also deserves full credit for restoring the graves at its own expense.

We were residing at Shamian and visited the grave in Whampoa before we returned to India in 1929.

BURJOR M. BILIMORIA

Khandala