High voter turnout

Except for a few heated verbal exchanges, the first fours day of polling for the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trusteeship election went off peacefully and smoothly. Seven thousand, three hundred and twenty-two Parsis/Iranis cast their ballot with the highest turnout being in Dadar (2,389), the home base of candidate Armaity Tirandaz who is contesting the vacancy caused by the sudden and untimely demise of her husband Rustom. Khareghat Colony saw 1,901 voters. The third highest figure (1,650) was for Cusrow Baug where resides former BPP trustee Maneck Engineer who is re-contesting. Bharucha Baug had the lowest turnout of 1,382 voters.

A fifth day of voting at Rustom Baug in Byculla (April 19) was added at the last moment without consulting two of the six trustees who do not see eye-to-eye with the other four on major issues.

The first day of polling at Andheri’s Bharucha Baug on April 4 saw a heated verbal duel between the camps of BPP chairman Dinshaw Mehta and Engineer supporter BPP trustee Arnavaz Mistry over the presence of a videographer. Mehta claimed a decision had been taken that no videographer was to be permitted at the election venue but others countered it was only in the restricted areas, not the entire baug. After Mehta and his supporters threatened to smash the camera, the videographer withdrew.

Subsequently all photography was banned (except for the Press). Similarly on the penultimate day of the elections at the Dadar Parsi Gymkhana, April 12, Engineer’s supporters objected to photographers from Tirandaz’s camp taking pictures.

Noted community social worker and doyenne of the Mancherji Joshi Parsi Colony at Dadar Mithoo Jesia also unwittingly found herself in a row when she objected to a Tirandaz supporter standing in front of her before the crowded voters’ entrance. An Engineer supporter, she requested the rather boisterous youthful volunteers to not block her view of the voters entering the enclosure. In turn she was subjected to some verbal abuse which made her reprimand the concerned youth to "at least respect my age.” When Jimmy Mistry appeared on the scene and tried to placate his former supporter she spurned his advances noting the behavior of the volunteers was unacceptable.

On the eve of the Dadar poll, a copy of a publication titled Jam-e-Jamsheed (as versus Jam-e-Jamshed) criticizing Engineer, the Alert Zoroastrians Association (AZA) leadership, the Adult Franchise for Progress (AFP) founder Berjis Desai, Arnavaz Mistry and others was circulated to voters in the area. A forged letter in the name of Desai was also circulated alleging Engineer was a liberal and favored a crematorium at Doongerwadi.

The same morning Engineer prepared a letter which was distributed to voters stating "this should not be the way we fight elections… my vision has no place for negativity or for false and dirty campaigning. I believe it is time for Parsi/Irani Zoroastrians to rise above this… I have fought a clean campaign for the last month-and-a-half. I shall continue to do the same till the end of the campaign. My only request to you, ladies and gentlemen, is not to believe the lies that are published by those who do not have the strength of their conviction to sign their names below what they write or the moral and ethical wisdom to fight a fair, honest and clean campaign.”

Candidate Tehmtan Dumasia who unsuccessfully contested the October 2008 trusteeship election noted at the Khareghat Colony polling that compared to last time the "number of volunteers has increased and the number of voters are less.”

Dumasia who has been doing door-to-door canvassing believed amounts spent on lavish election meets of some of the other candidates was "a waste of money. Do something for the poor instead,” he counselled. "Each one is trying to outdo the other.” He said his budget was "not much, very little. Others have supporters. We personally meet voters.” He favors an electoral code of conduct "with some limitation on expenditure.”

From left: Maneck Engineer, Armaity Tirandaz with Jimmy Mistry, Shernaz and Tehmtan Dumasia, Cyrus Dastoor with Adi Gowadia

"I’ve always wanted to do something for the community,” says Dumasia when asked what prompted him to stand. He recalled a resident of Mahim who complained about garbage being dumped near her home. Dumasia says he took two BPP employees and personally supervised the cleanup. Once elected he could see these tasks were done "on a permanent basis… the (BPP) administration needs a little brush up.”

Ervad Adi Gowadia, the fourth candidate who placed his first advertisement announcing his candidature as late as April 12 in the Jam-e-Jamshed said he was standing for election to oppose the proposed redevelopment of Nowroz Baug of which he is a tenant.

A former technical officer at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, the 73-year-old priest states the monthly outgoings per flat will shoot up if redevelopment takes place. "Prior to 1947 developments” are spared taxes that would now amount to an additional seven to eight rupees a square foot per month, he claimed.

Redevelopment would also mean offering 15 percent of the new flats constructed to MHADA (Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority) who would then sell it at Rs 15,000 a square foot. "If 1,000 flats are constructed how will you buy 150 flats” (from the MHADA quota) at over 100 crore rupees? he questioned.

"Leave things as they are,” advises the Bombay born, Udvada trained ("Udvada naa otla per seekhéla”) mobed.

A dispute with the development of the M. J. Wadia Agiary complex at Parel where his grandmother had a bungalow resulted in Gowadia being ostracized by other agiaries, alleges the priest. He offered boi at Cusrow Baug’s Karani Agiary for five years till he was stopped. He now performs the "setranji” (mat) ceremonies such as farokshi, afargan, jashan, faresta and satum as versus the pavi (place earmarked in fire temple for liturgical) ceremonies such as baaj, ijasni, vendidad, etc.

The son of a sizing master at the Wadia’s Crown Mills, he recalled that payments for reciting prayers such as farokshi, afargan and satum used to be eight to 12 annas per prayer (50 to 75 paise) when he first started practising mobedi. Now it is Rs 30 for afargan and farokshi, Rs 225 for a jashan and Rs 500 for faresta.

His main campaign support comes from his wife, Dhun, who spent the long dusty days at the four polling stations in Bharucha Baug, Cusrow Baug (April 5), Khareghat Colony (April 11) and Dadar.

Clockwise from top left: Khojeste Mistree (left) and Yazdi Desai in conversation with Aspi Marker; Dinshaw Mehta (left), Mistree, Yezdi Bhagwagar and Berjis Desai; voter entering the polling booth; Mehli Colah (seated) along with BPP staff

"Blood boils”

Addressing a packed crowd at an election rally at Allbless Baug on April 9, 2009, BPP trustee Noshir Dadrawala stated that the agenda for the meetings are given to him and Arnavaz Mistry an hour after the trustees’ meeting is scheduled to start.

The meetings are supposed to start at 4 p.m. but the other trustees "don’t show up till 5 p.m. They sit in the chief executive officer’s (CEO Mehli Colah) cabin and then come for the meeting. Press (notices) and statements that are sent out are not shown to us.” Board decisions are taken by trustees Mehta, Jimmy Mistry, Khojeste Mistree and Yazdi Desai without consulting either him or trustee Arnavaz Mistry who incidentally garnered the largest number of votes in the October 2008 election (10,300 out of 13,564 cast).

For matters pertaining to housing "only certain trustees” are involved, alleged Dadrawala. "The wives of trustees attend” meetings with prospective housing applicants. Perhaps the spouses were being groomed for a future contingency, he joked. The Doongerwadi Advisory Committee and the Housing Advisory Committee had been disbanded, he stated.

At the Allbless Baug meeting Jesia had said "my blood boils when I hear all these untruths” about Engineer and others. Regarding the canard that Arnavaz Mistry took indigent Parsis to Lonavala for a holiday in exchange for securing votes for Engineer (Mistry’s first cousin) Jesia noted that Mistry had been taking people to the nearby hill station even before her husband’s death over 15 years ago. "Why should we listen to all this?” she queried.

"Enjoy for a change”

The Tirandaz camp held an "Armaity Special 2009” song and dance evening followed by a buffet dinner sponsored by Maneck Davar of Spenta Multimedia at Allbless Baug the next evening where speeches were kept to a minimum. "There has been much speechifying. Let people have fun,” Mehta told Parsiana. Everyone "should enjoy for a change instead of shouting and fighting,” said Jimmy Mistry. Lawyer Sohrab Parekh, who according to compere Ashdin Dodhy is a good singer, penned a couplet for Tirandaz to be sung to the tune of Elvis Presley’s hit Teddy Bear ("Voters let her be/A BPP trustee”).

In a hard hitting letter distributed to voters, printed on the BPP letterhead and signed by Mehta in his capacity as chairman, he alleged "the Jam-e-Jamshed will not print my letter, even as a paid advertisement, hence I have to resort to these means.” (Yezdi Bhagwagar who manages the affairs of the paper on behalf of the Dubash family who owns the journal, refuted Mehta’s allegation. He noted the weekly had carried his letters in the past but had asked him to temper his rhetoric and reduce the length.)

Mehta contended that while eight years ago he may have favored the sanctioning of bunglis at Doongerwadi for funerary ceremonies of those opting for alternative means of disposal to dakhmenashini, "I have already corrected my error in judgment and the community reelected me as recently in October 2008. While on the other hand, Mr Engineer endorsed a cremate-ni-bungli at the Doongerwadi as recently as May 2007 and just six months ago he was part of the reformist AFP panel and was endorsed by Berjis Desai, today he is denying ever endorsing a cremate-ni-bungli!”

A padyatra organized on the eve of the Dadar poll saw Tirandaz supporters walking through the Colony shouting slogans. The group stopped outside Desai’s residence amongst other Engineer supporters and were informed this is the home of the reformer who started it all and formed the liberal AFP panel that unsuccessfully contested the last elections. (Of their seven nominations only one, Dadrawala was elected. Engineer also stood that time, but lost.)

Desai chose to remain indoors watching a video but his mother Mani observed the raucous crowd below while Mehta waved to her.

Singer Gary Lawyer (left) and the Hormuz Khambatta troupe per­-for­ming at Allbless Baug

Engineer’s campaign continued

"We are not ready for another election so soon… As registered voters it is our collective responsibility/duty/right to exercise our vote…especially at this juncture when the BPP board is reeling under crises of epic proportions. The need of the hour is a balanced, healthy board that can represent all sections,” stressed Jesia at the campaign meeting for Engineer at Gamadia Colony on the night of April 7, 2009. In her view both the strong contenders — Engineer and Tirandaz — are people of "status, standing, integrity, honesty…with impeccable records,” but at a time when the "community is at a crossroad, in a dilemma,” Engineer needs to be supported.

Having worked on the Doongerwadi Advisory Committee, prior to and during Engineer’s first six-year term as trustee from 2002-2008, Jesia said she could "vouch that his contribution has been commendable,” contrary to the image being created by his detractors that his contribution was zero. She also appreciated his support as trustee in refusing to develop plot 785 at the Dadar Parsi Colony (DPC) lest redevelopment under MHADA require them to surrender some flats to non-Parsis especially since a protracted legal battle continues to be waged to ensure that the covenant for sale of flats to Parsis only is adhered to at DPC.

She was particularly perturbed that a community that is held in esteem by others is "losing its perspective. Why is it that because you support one candidate you are considered an enemy by the other?” Alarmed by the prevailing tendency to malign others, she beseeched the audience to "think smartly,” respect the Avestan precept to "Listen with your ears these highest truths…then with illumined minds weigh them with care…”

Just as Jesia saluted Engineer for his clean campaign, Dadrawala commented, "To me he is already a winner for contesting the elections courageously, bravely, without sullying the opponents.” Urging the crowd to support Engineer, Dadrawala told them to assess "who is the better candidate?” Considering that four trustees currently on the board are publicly lambasting him for being a spoke in the wheel of Punchayet progress, Dadrawala countered that he was against the Punchayet spending 16-17 lakh rupees on legal fees instead of welfare work. As he told his co-trustees, "I have to work with you but I have to ultimately live with my conscience.”

Arnavaz Mistry too supported Dadrawala’s statement that their co-trustees’ complaint that "hamuné kaam nathi karvaa détaa (not permitting us to work) is all humbug.” Noting that she can assist the Punchayet with medical and educational activities and is always available to the community every Tuesday and Thursday, she added, "But what about the buildings? Maneck Engineer is the best candidate for that work.” Since he was known to be against wanton redevelopment, she assured, "He will see that the rents won’t increase.” She addressed the Punchayet beneficiaries, "Don’t come to us with joined hands. No one (working for the Punchayet) is doing anyone a favor.” Engineer’s candidature number being ‘3’ on the ballot paper, she opined "three is an auspicious figure — it stands for good thoughts, good words, good deeds.”

The pending housing applications can be cleared in four-five years, said Engineer, mentioning that 150 flats could be created at Neville Baug on the Nirlon property of the Punchayet at Goregaon, around 200 in Panthaky Baug, plus more in areas like Dhunbai Wadi at Vile Parle. He referred to his efforts with then chairman Minoo Shroff to reassess the genuineness of the applicants by calling in 60 people each day. At the end of the exercise they felt that one-third of the waiting list was genuinely needy considering that 10 percent never bothered to show up and another 20-30 percent were keen on houses only in certain baugs and vicinities.

"Most important are our youth,” stressed Engineer who felt they should be "educated…qualified with coaching for competitive examinations…avail of seats reserved for them in professional colleges (as in Sangli and Karnataka) so that they can stand up on their own feet.” Industrialists should be approached so that they absorb some of the community youth, he recommended, referring to the time when Naoroji Godrej was a BPP trustee and the company employed 1,100 Parsis as against around 300 today.

Stressing on the intrinsic worth of every individual he declared that each one of us is special: "Never let yesterday’s disappointments overshadow tomor­row’s dreams… (No one) can puncture my armor of Zoroastrian values which I hold so close to my heart.”

Parinaz M. Gandhi

Tirandaz’s campaign mounted

"She’s a chhupaa Rustom,” declared Prof Faredoon Kapadia when commending the candidature of Tirandaz as a worthy successor to the trusteeship seat occupied by her late husband Rustom. "Today nobody wants to be a trustee… dholai kaunné karaavich (who is interested in getting dirty linen washed in public)? She is willing to give time, take responsibility. Vote for her,” he urged the audience assembled on the first floor hall of the Sethna Agiary on April 8, 2009 to hear the "independent candidate” being promoted by the World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthoshtis (WAPIZ), Jimmy Mistry’s Parsi Resource Group and BPP chairman Mehta.

Anahita Desai’s speech was as usual devoted more to denigrating Engineer than praising Tirandaz. If Engineer were to be elected "God forbid, what will he do? Faachar maarsé (create hurdles). His vision is not compatible to the majority on the board who are traditional… Do not vote because of promises at election time but what they have done in the past,” advised the wife of sitting trustee Yazdi Desai. To refer to the "badmaashi (deceptive ways) of these people,” she cited Mehta’s challenge to Engineer to accede to a public debate. "Tamuné badhaané WAPIZ Page maléch (Do you all receive the WAPIZ Page)?” she asked the gathering. On receiving a divided response she went into the details of Mehta’s challenge to Engineer to a verbal duel (conveyed on the WAPIZ Page) and the latter’s response in the Jam-e-Jamshed where the headline read: "I accept your challenge” and the small print in the second last paragraph stated the condition on which he would accept the confrontation: if Mehta steps down as chairman and contests against Engineer for the trusteeship seat. Happily adopting Engineer’s catchline "Think before you vote,” she told the audience, "So think before you vote, and vote for Armaity Tirandaz.”

Rusi Master, an office bearer of the Chikalwadi Association, believed, "The man who comes in next should blend with other trustees so that the function of the trust continues… there is oneness and cooperation instead of hindrance and spokes.” His statement, "I have changed my mind and will definitely vote for Armaity Tirandaz,” won him good applause from the gathering.

"Are you convinced that Armaity Tirandaz is the right candidate?” Dodhy would repeatedly enquire of the audience. Drawing their attention to the innumerable names supporting Tirandaz’s candidature as listed on the last page of her manifesto, Dodhy stated that the additional names of those attesting her candidature could have been conveniently compiled into a volume but reading them out might have then stretched from one gah to another!

From left Mahiyar Dastoor, Maneck Engineer, Noshir Dadrawala, Marazban Mehta, Arnavaz Mistry and Mithoo Jesia singing Chhaiyé Hamé Zara­-thush­ti at Allbless Baug

"I am a fit candidate to be a trustee,” affirmed Armaity Tirandaz to counter the opponent’s campaign that the Punchayet needs professionals. "Everything can be outsourced; only social service cannot be outsourced,” she continued. "Women are not inferior… Aapro (our) woman power can hold a family together… (be) the cementing force… a community is a large family.” Like at other campaign meetings she referred to the reasons for contesting elections and professed her traditional leanings before asserting that matters brought before her will be dealt in accordance with the principles of "honesty and integrity, truth and justice” for she believed, "You cannot enrich yourself if you cannot enrich the life of others, you cannot prosper if you cannot see the prosperity of others… Focus on the whole donut and not the hole in the donut,” she recommended.

Reinforcing Tirandaz’s candidature on the "traditional board,” trustee Khojeste Mistree announced, "We don’t want khoti héraféri (false manipulation). Why do I believe in her? Because she is a thinker, a social worker with integrity. Ladies can think of social service more… With 52 percent women in our community, it would be so good to have a second lady trustee.” In the 350-year history of the Punchayet this would be the first time that two ladies may simultaneously serve on the trust board, he enthused.

"Which trustees in the last 20 years have given service we want to give in the next five years?” asked Mistree detailing the Punchayet’s efforts at the Doonger­wadi in cleaning the dakhmas with 10 litres of taro every four days, introducing pest control at the bunglis, providing 24 hours’ water to the nassessalars’ homes, pumping water from Ambawadi, as also in conducting a seminar for parents, another one in the offing for marital counselling. In two weeks, the BPP Review will come out and will be distributed for the first time to all voters. Jamé né tamé goli maari sakso (You can then forget about the Jamé),” he exhorted. He referred to their plans to build 600 new flats in Panthaky and Bharucha Baugs, well provided with parking space, crèches and homes for senior citizens.

The campaign team repeatedly told the audience to vote for No. 2, showing the two fingers — forefinger and middle finger in a sign of V for victory. Excessive heat, the maid being absent, the possibility of a long queue should not be reasons for not voting, the audience was told. They were even assured of a pick-up and drop facility on election day.

By the time it was Mehta’s turn to address, many walked out, making the chairman abandon his speech and only invite questions from the floor. When one of the ladies complained that the community is not only in baugs, Mehta assured her that the "BPP Review which will be a monthly affair will be sent to every voter.” Another query sought to ascertain whether the trustees are involved in all the legal matters concerning the Punchayet to which Mehta explained that there is a legal department that looks into the cases.

He also took the opportunity to issue a clarification on the subject of seven-year-old Farzin Batlivala’ death, supposedly due to starvation, since the opponents were trying to gain "political mileage.”

"This election is more important than the last time,” stressed Tirandaz’s son Darayus. He stated that he was upset with three criticisms being leveled against his mother — that she will be a rubber stamp for Mehta, that being short and frail she would not be able to withstand harsh criticisms, that she lacks policy making ability. But he was sanguine that "before her term has ended Dinshaw Mehta will be telling her ‘yes ma’am,’” that she "had supported dad through 10 municipal elections, two Lok Sabha elections… When the winds of time change, some build walls and some windmills…”

P. M. G.