Between tradition and modernity

Multicolored balloons and firecrackers filled with confetti ascended into a cloudless evening sky as a crowd of 210 Zoroastrian delegates cheered in excitement at the start of the 18th All India Zoroastrian Youth Meet in Poona. Twins Bezan and Behnaz Nanavatti, aged eight, bravely took the stage to recite a poem titled Parsis, written by their father, Federation of Zoroastrian Youth Associations (FOZYA) president, Mabrin Nana­vatti.

The twins’ endearing delivery captivated the audience as the poem humorously espoused the quirks and virtues of the Parsi community. Laughter filled the air nearly on cue when they recited the line: "Parsis have a special laugh, that no one can deny… It’s all because of the dhan dar and pomfret fish fry.”

(Clockwise from top left) Delegates at the festive launch of the Youth Meet backing the dormitory buildings of Dr Erin Nagarwala High School; FOZYA logo and Mabrin Nanavatti, Ervad (Dr) Ramiyar Karanjia fielding questions; Karishma Irani dons a feline look; checking in at the registration table

At the registration table inside the Nagarwala High School compound, the frenzy continued as delegates paid last minute fees in exchange for a token souvenir bag, pen and notepad. Volunteer voices from every corner of the room yelled out Nanavatti’s name simultaneously. Five months of hard work brought him to this day. "My wife should be praised. For the last two weeks I never even saw my family,” said Nanavatti. According to him the three-day Meet would not have been possible had it not been for three essential elements: the 30 dedicated volunteers of the Zoroastrian Youth Association (ZYA), Poona, the Rs 12.5 lakh budget donated by the Poonawallas of the Poonawalla Stud Farm and the Serum Institute of India, and the willingness of the trustees of the Dr Erin Nagarwala High School to host this Meet on their grounds. Held from May 13 to 15, the Meet was open to youth ranging from 18-40 years; however the average age of 90 percent of the delegates was 25 years, according to Nanavatti.

With a welcoming smile and infectious enthusiasm, ZYA volunteer Rohaan Mubarakai, 21, personified the palpable excitement in the air. Hundreds of eager delegates checked in, donned their name badges and seemed anxious to commence the icebreakers, religious discourses and usual masti-majaa (fun and frolic) that comes with this type of Zoroastrian gathering.

(Above) members of four teams stand in queues; and relaxing at Poonawalla Stud Farm for Tandoori Nights

"I grew up in Dahanu where there were a lot of oldies and not as many youngsters,” said Mubarakai. Now living in Poona and working towards his CHPL (Commercial Helicopter Pilot’s License), he has recently become an active member of the local ZYA. "I always wanted to do this, volunteer with the community. It is the only way to get to know Zoroastrians. It is a lot of fun.”

"Parsi youth have been marginalized and this Meet offers an opportunity to join together, stay in the community and promote Zoroastrian ideals,” said Nanavatti in his keynote address during the Meet’s opening ceremony. He said of the larger community, "It seems we are on a process of self destruction… we were once looked up to… today the world laughs at us.” After expressing his dismay over what he considers an increasingly negative Parsi Press, Nanavat­ti concluded, "I plead to the members of the community to contribute and pass on good deeds to others.”

The evening’s chief guest Nainaz Shroff, managing director of Taylor and Shroff Limited, dealers in fine wines and spirits, took the audience on her personal journey from ambitious teenager to successful businesswoman and concluded with a call to arms: "It is a growing requirement that the Parsi youth get together. We need to take charge of entrepreneurship. We need to ask ourselves how have we contributed to our community.”

Youth Hormuz Pundole, president of ZYA, Poona, made a short welcome speech assuring his peers of the fun that lay ahead. Then, Ervad (Dr) Ramiyar Karanjia, principal of the Dadar Athornan Institute took the stage. He began by recounting fond memories of Delhi in 1987, stating that to this day he has friends whom he met at the very first Youth Meet. He spoke of the virtues of eternal youth and with conviction told a sea of young faces, "One thing youth don’t take advantage of is the religion… the religion is something to hold on to. There is a core of our religion we should never let go of.” His parting words on the need for the community to "expand and procreate” received a rousing response as the crowd cheered and applauded his final sentiment.

The next day, the Zoroastrian youth woke up to a back-to-back schedule of events offering an array of activities and religious discourse. According to Nanavatti, the largest youth contingent hailed from Ahmedabad. Other cities represented included Bombay, Surat, Baroda, Bharuch, Nagpur and Nashik. There was also a small group of 17 eager youths from Iran, two from Yazd and 15 from Tehran. They came representing the Zoroastrian Students Association (www.kdz.ir) of Tehran, which was established in 1968, independent from the other Tehran anjumans. Today the group has 120 active youth members and regularly hosts activities ranging from religious gatherings, sporting competitions, social work events and cultural excursions.

exhausted ZYA volunteer Rukhsheen Vajifdar takes a midday catnap;

Yasna Yazdani, 22, studies medical engineering in Tehran and said the main challenge to their community was emigration. "Zoroastrians are emigrating and not returning. It is hard to keep our traditions.” She said of their impetus for coming, "We want to be united, we want to have a dynamic Zoroastrian society.” Yekta Yazdani, 25, a computer programer in Iran shared the same sentiment, "We want them (the Parsi youth) to feel that we are the same, we want to enjoy with them.”

They came to experience India, meet Parsi youth and to promote this year’s 16th annual Mantra gathering in Iran. Held annually in September, the Mantra gathering is amongst the largest religious gatherings for Zoroastrian youths in Iran organized by the Society of Zoroastrian Students. Attendance tops 250 youths, as they compete with each other in either reading the Avesta or writing articles on religious subjects. Supposedly, students take university level religious courses to prepare for Mantra competitions. Yasna and Yekta had a glimmer in their eyes as they spoke energetically of the upcoming event and the possibility of hosting Parsi youth in Iran.

youth mingle through fun activities

The morning’s activities consisted of icebreakers and humorously inane competitions, with one purpose in mind, to get everyone laughing together. Participants were broken up into four teams and raucously heckled each other as they vied for domination. Master of ceremonies Zenia Vajifdar, 22, instructed the teams to create the longest chain with whatever they had with them. In comical unison, half of the young men whipped off their shirts in what became a sea of young bawas in their sudrehs. ZYA volunteer Diana Buhari­wala, 21, of Poona, who just completed her BA in literature from Poona University, commented on the need for such seemingly frivolous activities: "How do you have fun if you don’t know each other? If you are shy and for someone who is quiet, this sort of thing helps. Making friends is the most important thing, the more friends you have, the more you know about the community.” "I can’t make people fall in love, but I can give them a platform to become friends,” Nanavatti had conveyed his rationale for reviving the Youth Meet. The red team took the top prize in the chain game, totalling a length of nearly 105 meters, with the green team getting an honorable mention for the most creative items strung together including a Swiss army knife, sunglasses, waist pouches and even a pair of headphones!

Calm after the chatter

The jovial atmosphere transformed into a more serious tone when Karanjia took the stage. He chose to speak on a topic he had never spoken about: The Power Within. "I’m going to take you from the tangible to the intangible,” he said to an attentive audience. Karanjia emphasized the importance of the inner mind and its powerful connection with prayer. "When we say ‘I’m taking the decision with my heart,’ it is not your heart, it is your subconscious mind, the inner mind which houses all our memories beginning from the prenatal womb. It doesn’t use logic or reasoning.” He spoke with a sense of humility and conviction as he segued into the power of prayer. "Prayer allows your consciousness to shift to a higher consciousness,” this being important because "our lives are so filled with chatter, we are always doing something. We youth get bored very easily; once we start a relationship with our inner self we cannot get bored.”

Karanjia referred to great minds seeing failure as a stepping stone and highlighted that our forefathers achieved great success because of their ability to get to a higher level of consciousness. "Our ancestors were able to tap into that inner power,” he asserted. "Try to use the tremendous power of religion in your own way. Try to bring it more and more into your private life… It (religion) was always meant to be our friend, brother, father and guide. It was never meant to be a burden.”

After the enthusiastic applause died down, the delegates seemed eager to ask probing questions about the religion and many hot buttons facing the community. Hoshedar Havewala, 25, a Bombay corporate lawyer, wanted clarity on what the core of the religion is and what we cannot let go of. "There is the core and there is the periphery,” explained Karanjia. "The periphery is the dress, language, food, customs and traditions. The core is no intermarriage, no conversion and follow the teaching of Zara­thush­tra… The frills you can let go of, but the core is our responsibility and privilege to keep up.”

Piggy backing off Karanjia’s response, a young woman stood up, apologized in advance for the personal nature of her question and asked, "Which is more important to you, your religion or your family?” Karanjia responded, "My religion.” The young woman continued, "Then would you disown your child if he or she married out?”

"I will never disown my children,” Karanjia responded, his voice elevated slightly so that it could be heard above the rustling crowd, "but I will fight to see that they have no religious rights. We have some responsibility to our ancestors. It needs to be a priority. For me religion comes before family.” The audience responded to Karan­jia’s emphatic response with a noisy round of applause and cheers.

Khojeste Mistree addressing the young audience;

Religious rites stirred up one delegate who expressed his outrage over the recent Maloo-D’Souza navjotes and, according to him, Parsiana’s unacceptable coverage of the story. Wanting more action and less talk, he suggested all in the room collectively condemn the navjotes by signing an official document. Karanjia quickly quashed this idea; however, the delegate’s displeasure at the Parsi media garnered emphatic support by many in the crowd.

A scientist in the audience challenged Karanjia’s conviction against intermarriage with the concept of the depletion theory. "We cannot keep inbreeding,” he said. "We are going to reach a stage when there is no progress; the only way is to detour. If we do not change we will be wiped out.”

In a pointed response, Karanjia said, "You are disillusioned if you think you can keep the religion going by marrying out. Studies have shown that 90 percent of children of intermarriage don’t come back to the religion.” The majority of the audience responded with positive affirmation.

Looking at the captivated youth, Karanjia ended the discussion with his thesis thought, "In your heart make a pledge to your religion.”

Noshir Dadrawala concluded the sessions

Not long after Karanjia left the stage he was surrounded by youth hungry for more answers. Jasmine Patel, 45, a parent volunteer, watched the scene with a smile. "I remember Ramiyar as a young mobed,” she said. "Today when I listen to him I think he has matured in a way which can guide youth. It is so nice to see him in that role.” Patel remembers Karanjia from the first Youth Meet in Delhi. She had just finished her master’s degree in child development. She was born and raised in Agra, surrounded by 11 Parsis, "not 11 families, but 11 Parsis,” she emphasized.

Patel grew up during a time without cell phones, Facebook or internet matchmaking. "We couldn’t find anyone back then, our only outlets were local newspapers, family and youth meets.” Patel looked around at the sight of young Parsis mingling and grinned from ear to ear. She began to reminisce, "My parents were adamant that I marry a Parsi. At the First Youth Meet I met Eruch Irani, he was from Poona and dabbled in matchmaking.” After the Meet Patel said Irani introduced her to Jimmy Patel. They soon started dating. "By the next youth congress we were engaged and at the following one I had a six-month-old boy.” Fast forward to the 18th All India Youth Meet and somewhere in the crowd was Patel’s eldest son Shymak, 19.

It took Patel four years to find a match after she began to actively seek a partner. She remembers making yearly pilgrimages to Bombay from Agra with her mother to find a suitable boy. "The youth need to be a bit more flexible with their expectations,” she said. When asked if she saw any distinct differences in today’s young Parsis she said, "They have become more bold and they are not ready to give in. They think more of their individuality. Those days there was no shaadi.com, SMS (short messaging service), no e-mail and we found good life partners. You just need to put in a little effort.”

Karanjia’s speech seemed to ignite lively religious and moral discussions amongst the young delegates all over the hall.

They exhibited their strong convictions at different times during the meet as did Mubara­kai dressed in casual shorts and a red and yellow polo shirt, emblazoned with a ball of fire patch on the front pocket. "I like my religion and I really dislike people marrying out of the community. There are only three things we are asked to do besides good thoughts, good words and good deeds. That is to have your navjote, marry a Zoroastrian and have your funeral ceremony at a dakhma. I don’t see any reason why you should deviate from this,” Mubarakai shared his beliefs.

During lunch, the roar of energetic voices clashed with the clatter of spoons against aluminum plates. Khushnum Motafram, 17, a slim shy girl who sat next to Karanjia expressed her frustration at not being able to pronounce the long Avesta words while she was praying. "Can’t I just pray in English?” she asked earnestly. Karanjia did not offer an easy option. He told her that although the words can be difficult they are important in their construction and pronunciation and create the optimal effects during prayer. Remember "quality not quantity,” when you are praying, he said, take the time to learn the words. She nodded with respect.

Fielding such questions from youth "gives me a lot of hope for our community,” said Karanjia. "Today’s youth have a greater feeling for the religion. There is a desire to be religious deep down. I sense that from the way they talk and the questions they pose.” Motafram’s question was a classic example of this, "she wants to pray, her heart is telling her to pray but her mind is making it difficult. She needs to learn the prayers… to make an effort.” Perhaps why the youth responded so positively to Karanjia was because he didn’t patronize his audience by offering simple "yes” and "no” answers. He offered genuine guidance based from his own life experiences.

"I think he was very convincing,” said Hoshedar Havewala reflecting on Karanjia’s speech. "He is the first religious scholar that I have met. He knows his stuff. He gave me answers to all my unjustifiable thoughts.”

Prof Mahajan (left), trustee of Dr Erin Nagarwala High School and Poona Parsi Panchayat chairman Noshir Nanavatti Photos: Flash Enterprises

Heartfelt relationships

Along with religious discourse came practical advice on how to nurture relationships from Dr Shazneen Limjerwala. A PhD in Health Research from Lancaster University in the United Kingdom, Limjerwala brought the group to a more personal level when she asked people to share their most fulfilling relationships. There was no lack of honesty in the room as slowly people began to open up. A young lady boldly stated, "Guys are stone-hearted in my opinion… why do girls fall for men, get their hearts broken and still go back?” Collective boos and hisses ensued from the male gender. Fortunately Limjerwala had established an atmosphere of trust in the room allowing the youths to express how they felt.

The most heartfelt moment of the discussion came when a young man shared his fondness for a young woman who was not a Parsi. With frankness and practicality he lamented on what would have been, had it not been for his unyielding convictions towards his faith. Soon after a young man broke the heaviness in the room by saying his most fulfilling relationship has been with his motorcycle. "She doesn’t complain or mind if I smell bad, and the maintenance costs are way cheaper.”

Humor aside, Limjerwala emphasized that in order to build a healthy relationship with a human being, you need to give it "time, space and attention.” She left the audience with one last question to contemplate: What relationship do I have with my community?

Confetti firecracker launched to mark the start of the Youth Meet

Committed to causes

Ahmedabad residents Ruzbeh Hodiwala, 16, and Kazvin Khursigara, 18, exemplified the notion of community involvement during their presentation to raise awareness and signatures in support of the conservation of the Bahrot Caves. Situated 15 kilometers from Sanjan, the Caves housed the Iranshah for 12 years when Sanjan was under siege by Alaf Khan in the late 14th century. Today, devotees annually visit the Caves, trudging through six kilometers of treacherous forest, to perform a jashan ceremony. Representing Dr Homi Dhalla, president of the World Zara­thu- s­hti Cultural Foundation based in Bombay, in his efforts to not only conserve the Caves but to make them more accessible to pilgrims, the duo collected a total of 130 signatures and according to Hodiwala "a positive response from people who wanted to help us in this endeavor.”

Two more dynamic youth members dedicated to making positive contributions to the community came representing the WZCC (World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce) Youth Wing of Bombay. Freyaz Shroff and Hoshaang Gotla took an interactive approach in promoting the WZCC whose aim is to facilitate networking and increase the community’s economic welfare. They split the audience into four teams. Each team was instructed to create a viable business plan (including a vision, mission, objective, strategy and action) for a product specifically geared towards the Parsi community. Although late in the day the youth, brimming with energy, took the task to heart and began shouting clever ideas into the air. Shroff and Gotla’s clever approach successfully raised awareness and potentially gained future members for the WZCC Youth Wing.

Darayus Tirandaz and Dilkhush Reporter represented ZYNG (Zoroastrian Youth for the Next Generation), the official youth group of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), whose aim is to connect Parsi Irani Zoroastrian youth. Wearing matching ZYNG branded t-shirts, they shared images of successful youth events and showed the audience how to navigate the group’s website www.zyng. org, which offers a host of interactive sections on topics such as careers, matrimonials, member profiles and future events.

The first full day of the Meet extended into the early hours of the next morning at the "Tandoori Nights” dinner/dance held at the Poonawalla Stud Farm. Four bus loads of formally dressed delegates entered the elegant grounds under an archway decorated with flowers and white string lights. Palm trees towered over the dinner tables draped in white cloth. The setting was a peaceful reprieve from the hustle and noise of the city. Under a starry night sky youth delegates continued to mingle over a continental buffet dinner. And, with no surrounding neighbors to harass, Rocky’s Live Band thrilled the crowd which was packed onto the dance floor, playing a mix of Bolly­wood and Pop music late into the evening.

The brand image and ethics

The delegates showed no signs of slowing down on the second day of the Meet. Their energy, focus and sheer enjoyment was evident in the full attendance for not just the games but for the more serious discussion sessions as well.

"I stand before you a Poona boy,” said Khojeste Mistree, founder of Zoroastrian Studies and a BPP trustee. The room was packed. There was pin-drop silence. All eyes and ears focused on Mistree who offered the youth "an educated religious point of view” based on decades of scholarship. "I see it as an honor to be a part of this religion.”

For what was scheduled to be an hour-long talk, Mistree captived the audience and commanded the stage for nearly three hours. "My job is to make you all proud of brand Parsi Irani Zarthoshti.” Holding claim that Zoroastrianism is "an intellectual religion, not a faith-based religion,” Mistree spoke uninterrupted for over an hour barreling through dense material with the main focus on the concept of death. "Within the concept of death you will understand the concept of evil, of dualism. One God with an opposing force.”

The formal portion of his talk came full circle resting the fate of the religion onto his audience. "You are sitting before me as the torchbearers. One day all of you will be in a position of power. If you radicalize our faith you are playing with fire. Our religion teaches us to be happy within and it demands of us to spread happiness into the environment.” After uproarious applause, Mistree opened the floor to questions, but not before firmly stating: "It is the brand image we have to enhance, so if we marry out it is bad news for our community because we have to maintain our ethnicity.”

One by one delegates raised their hands and sought guidance from Mis­tree. He fielded a range of questions from whether or not tattoos are allowed, why menstruating women cannot enter fire temples, is drinking permissible and can organs be donated after death. "There are no frivolous questions,” said Mistree reflecting, "they (youth) want to ‘be with it’ and most times their parents can only say that it can’t be done. I offer them a voice of authority.”

Farzan Dastur, 24, of Surat was enraptured with every word Mistree spoke on stage. Attending his second Youth Meet, Dastur plans to begin his college education this fall in Toronto. After listening to Mistree, he said, "Today has brought me closer to my religion. It has empowered me with knowledge to explain our religion. Hearing about the sacrifices our ancestors made makes me want to continue the lineage. I am firm about marrying within my community… I’ve been sleeping at 4.30 a.m. and waking up at 7.30,” Dastur exclaimed emphatically. "I love to sleep but this says something about how much I’m enjoying this event. More and more of these events should happen, twice or thrice a year!”

The majority of delegates had a similar traditionalist stance on being a Zoroastrian. However, one young man shared his story with an entirely different approach. He asked to remain anonymous for personal reasons. Now 28 years old, he grew up as a typical colony boy in Bombay. "Everyone around me was Parsi, I never questioned my identity or my faith.” At 23 his work took him abroad, mostly to Europe, where he "realized too much religion can be a bad thing… There are things you come across when you are abroad that make you question things, that make you think there may be a chance that we may be wrong about certain things… I don’t agree with the sentiment that you should be honored to be a Zoroastrian and that we shouldn’t question the decisions of our forefathers. Why not question?”

Kainaz Amaria (left) with Mabrin Nanavatti Photo: Flash Enterprises

Noshir Dadrawala, BPP trustee and an authority on charity management, held the last session of the Meet. He began by asking the audience "What does it mean to be Zoroastrian?” and then transitioned into the "ethics and ethos of the religion.” "I wanted them to realize that you first have to live the religion… that level of engagement is very important,” said Dadrawala. And, by engagement, he means one word: Asha. "Asha is truth, righteousness, purity” and can be exercised at many levels such as "religion, personal ethics and with the larger community.” It was a tall order sustaining the attention of the room after nearly two days of listening, learning and interacting. However, Dadra­wala’s topic was the perfect one with which to end a lively weekend of religious thought.

The Meet closed on a high note with food, dancing and teams competing against one another performing traditional Parsi nataks. New friendships were made, and old ones cemented. As the lights dimmed and most of the crowd retreated into their dormitories, Buhariwala reflected on what was to her a startling sight: young men gathered around Mistree talking until 3.45 a.m. "There were so many guys who were not religious sitting and listening to him!” Back in Bombay, Mistree said he was still fielding questions on different aspects of the religion as well as personal relationships. "There is a feeling of traditionalism in the Indian youth but they are confused because they get such diametrically opposite views. They want guidance and wisdom.”

There were many questions posed during the 18th All India Zoroastrian Youth Meet. Some were answered. Some were left to personal interpretation. Others were relegated back to their internal murkiness, only to be asked again in the future. But, from all the questions asked over the weekend, one fact emerged loud and clear. The Parsi Zoroastrian youth who attended the Meet are a vibrant and fully engaged segment of the community. At this point in our history, their path is not easy. However, they straddle the fine line between tradition and modernity with exemplary maturity and practicality.