Jamnagar’s agiary

An engineer by profession, I was recently in Jamnagar, Gujarat, for some work with Reliance Industries Limited. In the heart of that city, adjoining the main road called Town Hall, I found a wonderful, very well maintained agiary. It is a beautiful structure, but suffers from certain problems regarding its maintenance that will provide food for thought for pious Parsis concerned about the uncertainties facing our community.

A dharamshala in the compound of the agiary was under the care of a competent Parsi caretaker who had two sons gainfully employed in a local industry. Since there had been hardly any visitors in the past few years, making it impossible to generate enough funds for the upkeep of the fire temple, the dharamshala was closed down. A part of the compound was utilized for construction of a cosmopolitan three-storeyed building, made available for commercial purposes as well. Being fully tenanted, the building provides a regular source of income which helps to keep the agiary in excellent condition.

Sadly, however, the trustees are facing a serious problem. Though they are prepared to pay a handsome monthly salary of Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 for a properly qualified priest willing to settle down in Jam­nagar and tend to the agiary, their proposal has found no takers. The former elderly caretaker of the dharamshala has taken it upon himself to keep the agiary going to the best of his abilities, at no charge.

The ultimate irony, especially for those pious Parsis who bemoan intermarriage, is that both sons of the caretaker, who had waited for years and years hoping that Parsi girls would be willing to settle down with them, failed in their quest. Finally, they married girls from outside the community, are happy and well settled. How’s that?

JEHANGIR S. GOTLA