“Is this justified?”

In a recent issue of your magazine some very pertinent and relevant letters have been published. The most poignant was the plight of Goolrukh Gupta ("Is this justified?” Readers’ Forum, Parsiana, October 21, 2009). She was born and remains a practicing Parsi even after she married by choice 18 years ago a person who must be wonderful for her to have taken such a step.

I know of another Parsi lady who married a Punjabi gentleman some 40 odd years ago. She gave up her job and worked alongside him until very recently when, due to old age, they shut down a lucrative business. As friends of my family for over a quarter of a century, we have seen their closeness and genuine love for each other and the fondness they shower on all their true friends who never question the religious difference. It may interest readers to learn that the lady visits the fire temple regularly. Her husband, who accompanies her, offers a silent prayer while standing outside the gate while she prays within.

These are true believers who practice their faith and express their loyalty and devotion to Zoroaster. They believe in live and let live in addition to good thoughts, good words and good deeds. To my mind, they are better Zoroastrians than the raving bigots who occupy chairs in the Bombay Parsi Punchayet boardroom. In the general interest of the community, some action should be taken to silence these self-proclaimed saviors of the Parsi community.

JAMSHED IRANI

Calcutta

iranjams@yahoo.in

I have read the letter "Is this justified?” (Readers’ Forum, Parsiana, October 21, 2009), as well as the article, "Talibani­zation of the BPP,” in the same issue. Goolrukh Gupta, in her heart rending letter, has raised pertinent questions which certainly deserve answers. The issue is discrimination. Just as the Shudras were discriminated against by the Brahmins, Parsi women are discriminated against by our fekoo (fibbing) scholars and khota (false) dasturs. If there is only one God as we are asked to believe, common sense and logic say that He will not discriminate, disassociate or distance Himself from mortals who sincerely worship Him. Unfortunately, we have cheaper-by-the-dozen scholars, and dime-a-dozen priests who will misguide and confuse Gupta. The community has been hijacked by fanatics, fascists, frauds, bigots and zealots with half-baked knowledge of our religion.

Jamsheed Kanga, Hoshang Dastoor and Firoze Hirjikaka have come out in favor of the two whipping boys of the high priests and the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), Ervads Framroze Mirza and Khushroo Madon, lending moral support and garnering public opinion in favor of the latter. However, my instinct tells me that the fatwa against these two priests is a damp squib and will fizzle out.

Some time ago a total stranger sent me an e-mail which read: "I just read your article in Parsiana. It brought a smile on my face and solace. I lost my dear husband 15 days back. My husband always said that he should be cremated and not put in that rotting kuwa (well). Respecting his wishes, I cremated him, and all the four days’ prayers were performed by none other than Ervad Mirza. Believe me Behram, fatwa or no fatwa, I do not give a damn. Mirza prayed so sincerely and beautifully that I am 100 percent sure my husband’s soul must be happily sailing towards heaven. But the real satisfaction was when the prayers were performed at my own house where we spent 46 years of happy married life. May Ahura Mazda always bless Mirza and Madon for doing such a poon nu kam (meritorious deed).”

The article "A new beginning-III,” (Parsiana, October 21, 2009), about the recent meeting in Bombay of the Federation of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India, shows that there is ample land and property but an acute shortage of bawas and priests. Sadly, this reality has not yet dawned on the diehard zealots, fascists and fanatics who have buried their heads in the sands of the past like the proverbial ostrich.

Amravati has a 120-year-old agiary with 10 Parsis, and can’t get a priest when needed. Chikhli, with 25 bawas, can’t find a priest. Delhi requires a priest and is willing to pay Rs 17,000 per month (even I don’t earn that much) but there are no takers. Karachi offers Rs 45,000, but sorry, no one is interested. The plight of Agra and Mathura is similar.

We can’t produce priests. There are few students at the Dadar Athornan Institute while the madressa in Andheri has just three boys. All this because in the past we had treated our priests like registered slaves. And also because we introduced a humbug, shortsighted and myopic policy that only a priest’s son can become a priest, which was not the case in madar vatan (Iran).

Khojeste Mistree, as is his wont, flew off the handle and compared a surgeon’s functions with those of a priest. When the situation warrants, this same Mistree will prefer a surgeon to a priest. BPP chairman Dinshaw Mehta stated the cold reality: "There is no money as of now on the horizon.” Jimmy Mistry wanted to draw guidelines to restore agiaries — at a time when there is a shortage of both priests and bawas! And putting the last nail in the coffin Mehta came out with the gospel truth, "We are a dying community. There is no doubt about it.”

In a nutshell, despite our vast assets, we don’t have a clue how to go about things. We are also long on arrogance, false beliefs, ignorance, myths such as ethnic purity, superior race, and have fake orthodoxy in abundance to drive lay bawas insane.

BEHRAM AGA

behram_r_aga@yahoo.co.in