Upgrade dharamshalas

Gone are the days when if you wanted to book a room at a Parsi dharamshala you wrote a post card and waited for a reply from the manager. Now instant booking can be done over the telephone. Railway reservations can be made using the Internet without having to wait in serpentine queues.

Our philanthropic ancestors built places of worship as also dharamshalas so that Parsi Zoroastrian pilgrims could visit the fire temples and also have a holiday at an affordable cost. We are indeed most fortunate to have dharamshalas in as many as 50 towns and cities in India — Abu Road, Agra, Ahmedabad, Ahmednagar, Ajmer, Ankleshwar, Badnera, Bangalore, Bardoli, Baroda, Belgaum, Bharuch, Bhavnagar, Bhimpor, Bhusawal, Billimora, Bombay, Calcutta, Calicut, Chikhli, Dahanu, Deolali, Hubli, Hyderabad (Secunderabad), Igatpuri, Indore, Jabalpur, Jamshedpur, Jhansi, Khandala, Khergam, Lucknow, Madras, Mandvi, Mhow, Nagpur, Nargol, Navsari, New Delhi, Panchgani, Poona, Sanjan, Sholapur, Surat, Tarapore, Udvada, Uran, Valsad, Vyara and Zai Bordi.

Travel has become more comfortable but costly. One can travel in air-conditioned comfort by train; alternatively, friends and relatives can pool together and travel by air-conditioned car/tourist taxi. Some places such as Sir J. J. Dharamshala at Udvada and Bai Manekbai P. B. Jejeebhoy WZO (World Zoroastrian Organisation) Sanatorium at Sanjan have installed generators to overcome power cuts. The Pudumjee Dharamshala, a three-storeyed structure at Poona, has a lift facility. Jamshed Baug in Navsari and dharamshalas at Madras, Khandala and New Delhi also provide air-conditioned rooms. Tahmna dharamshala at Nanpura at Surat and WZO Sanatorium at Sanjan have installed gas-fired geysers so that one can get hot water for bathing at any time of day or night. There are solar heaters at Sorab Baug at Navsari and Pudumjee Dharamshala at Poona but these are not effective.

Travelers are entitled to cleanliness, comfort and care. Cobwebs, dirty mattresses/linen, pests, lizards, rats, ants would discourage them from using dharamshala facilities. The attitude of trustees and dharamshala managers needs to be friendly and helpful to welcome pilgrims and provide them decent facilities. The late Jehangir Irani, manager of Sodawaterwalla Dharamshala at Udvada would befriend his guests while they had their meals and ask them what they would like to eat. He would go to Daman on his motorcycle and bring the bazar himself. He never complained that the trustees are not doing anything. He took the initiative, obtained donations from his family and friends and installed washbasins on the ground and first floors. He arranged for toilets to be constructed on the first floor.

Sir J. J. Dharamshala at Udvada provided lodging for Parsi pilgrims for a mere one rupee per day for nearly 150 years. Even today it, as well as the Katila Rest House at Udvada provide rooms at a nominal cost of Rs 20 per head per day. Most dharamshalas charge Rs 25 to Rs 65 per head for lodging. For full boarding the charges vary from Rs 135 per head per day at Calcutta to about Rs 250 per head per day at most places. Most dharamshalas provide tasty Parsi cuisine.

The Bai Manekbai P. B. Jejeebhoy Sanatorium at Sanjan stands out as a model dharamshala/sanatorium. It has a well furnished kitchen, dining room, generator, water cooler, refrigerators, covered car parking facility, large swings, a beautiful garden with play area for children with slides and swings. Rules are framed and displayed in the foyer. Television sets are provided in the rooms at a nominal extra charge. Daily newspapers are available in the foyer.

Each room has beds, tubelights, ceiling fans, a desk with drawers, chairs, cupboard, luggage rack, clothes stand. Netlon screens on windows and liquid mosquito repellant are provided to keep mosquitoes away. Cool drinking water is provided in a thermal jug along with glass tumblers. Bed sheets, blankets, towels, napkins, pillowcases are provided for a nominal charge of Rs 30 per head per week or part thereof. A Parsi calendar, a Khordeh Avesta prayer book, a wall clock, a large mirror is provided in every room. All rooms have attached bathrooms with shower bath and western style toilets, a bath stool, buckets, mugs, mirror with a lamp above washbasin so that one can shave comfortably, a glass rack for toilet articles, towel rack and hooks to hang clothes on.

Great emphasis is laid on cleanliness. Each room and bathroom is swept and swabbed daily, whether it is occupied or not. The charges are a reasonable Rs 50 per head per day for lodging and Rs 250 per day for boarding, including a dessert after dinner. Cold drinks and snacks are provided at an extra charge. Bachi Dinshaw Tamboly has made these excellent arrangements. Banoo Dubash and her son Mehernosh manage the Sanatorium. A railway timetable, especially of trains touching the station, a map of the locality, places of interest to pilgrims in that town and a shoeshine service are added advantages.

Trustees and managers of dharam­shalas must work to improve facilities by implementing some of these suggestions to attract more Parsi pilgrims. Word of mouth publicity by satisfied customers would improve the occupancy and generate income for both the trust and the manager.

I have published The Zoroastrian Pilgrim’s Guide in 1999 about all our places of worship around the world, as also dharamshalas and sanatoria, and would welcome suggestions. Readers may write to me at Dhanamae Building, 667, Lady Jehangir Road, Dadar, Bombay 400014.

MARZBAN J. GIARA

marzbang@gmail.com