Faith and felicity

May 11 may well be remembered as the start of the Indian mutiny. But this year the day assumed a different significance for it witnessed the inauguration of the international peace foundation, the ASHA Centre, coinciding with the 60th birthday of its founder Zerbanoo Gifford. In the absence of Baroness Royall of Blaisdon, the leader of the House of Lords who was unable to come due to the demise of her husband, the Centre was launched by the flamboyant Marquis of Bath who, despite being unwell, arrived with his butler, his dog and his consort to show solidarity with the work of the ASHA Foundation.

The Centre is available for hire by corporations, charities and groups of individuals for conferences, retreats and private functions. "All ASHA Centre profits go toward funding its pioneering leadership and personal development projects with young people from around the world whose lives are transformed by the experiences they gain at the ASHA Centre,” notes their website.

Over 250 VIPs gathered in the Royal Forest of Dean to join in the celebrations, noted a detailed report of the function sent by one of the key workers at ASHA, Audrey Munro. The day began with Zoroastrian prayers led by Ervads Rusi Bhedwar and Jal Karkaria who lit the holy fire after which Dr Rashna Writer of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University explained the concept of Asha which has ethical implications of order, righteousness and justice.

In keeping with its ethos of encompassing all religions, respecting different traditions and working to make the world a better place, the bishop of Tewkesbury John Went unveiled the Celtic Cross, specially commissioned and crafted for Gifford’s birthday by the renowned Gloucester­shire sculptor David Lovemore. The bishop’s words on the symbolism of the cross started the interfaith ceremony on the newly planted Peace Grove where specific trees were meant to denote certain religions. As the name of each faith was called out by Rev Christopher Marcus, members of that faith walked up to the assigned tree and recited prayers from their scriptures in unison.

The religious leaders then proceeded to the newly constructed fire pit where they were asked to throw bundles of wood into the fire as a symbolic gesture of purifying the Centre’s work and bringing together the world’s faiths to empower young people to be a force to radiate goodness.

Zerbanoo Gifford (top) and (above) with Marquis of Bath (left) and Ervads Rusi Bhedwar and Jal Karkaria (right); (below) Satish Kumar inaugurating the Golden Tiger Eco Lodge; and (right) religious leaders converge at the fire pit Photos: Marta Demartini

The launch of the Golden Tiger Eco Lodge at the hands of Satish Kumar, the celebrated Jain pilgrim and editor of Resurgence magazine was a worthy reminder of Gifford’s birth that occurred in the year of the Golden Tiger which comes but once in 60 years according to the Chinese calendar. Designed as an educational building, the Eco Lodge will enable visitors to observe nature and wildlife in its pristine surroundings.

Another milestone that was introduced was the Energy Centre that was declared open by Edward Trevor, an ASHA patron from Jersey. The Energy Centre provides green energy to all ASHA buildings and drastically cuts its carbon footprint.

Post lunch, Gifford became the focus of the celebrations with friends, peers and family commenting on her sterling attributes. Author and historian Dr Kusoom Vad­gam gave her credit for being the first non-white woman to be elected to political office in Britain, to stand for Parliament three times withstanding hate campaigns, to be elected onto any governing body of a political party and to chair national commissions.

"Whether she is meeting the most royal or the most ragged, she is never shy or fearful of social encounters because she views the world as an environment of equals,” commented Dr Alison Don-nell, an academic renowned for her expertise on colonial literature. "People like Zerbanoo change the way we look at the world,” observed Carolyn Shaw, retired headmistress of Roedean, the famous girls’ school in Brighton where Zerbanoo studied.

Insights into her personal life were made available by family members. Elder brother Rustom Irani related amusing tales of growing up with a trailblazing sister. She entered the hospitality industry at the age of six, confidently booking in the headmaster of Derby school and his pupils for the Easter holidays at the family’s London hotel, only forgetting to intimate their father Bailey of her self-assumed responsibility! Fortunately the headmaster was happy to continue with the booking for the next 20 years. Although a talented dancer, she chose to study advertising and journalism, became an editor of an international fashion magazine, set up charity shops for Shelter, worked for Oxfam in Fleet Street, authored books on the achievements of women: The Golden Thread: Asian Experience in Post-Raj Britain and Confessions to a Serial Womaniser: Secrets of the World’s Inspirational Women. Her humanitarian work earned her Zee Television’s International Woman of the Year award in 2006.

"Action is one of Mum’s favorite things,” revealed her son Mark Mazda, adding "with characteristic ‘can do’ she (can) set about making it happen.” Acknowledging that "Mother is divine… with her deep compassion, her spontaneous generosity,” he clarified that it did not mean that "Mother is perfect!”

The birthday cake that constituted eight individual heart cakes was enjoyed by the distinguished line-up that included Viscount Bledisloe and his half-Parsi wife Shera, Hollywood producers, representatives from the media, charity, the arts and politics, members of the European Parliament, the newly elected House of Commons and local politicians, mayors and London based diplomats, including a number of High Commissioners and some of the women featured in her book.

The finale came in the form of an astrological dance based on the position of the planets at the time of her birth. Eurythmy choreographer Caroline Liljestrom from Sweden directed 22 of Gifford’s friends who played the part of the planets and 12 signs of the zodiac. The gifts that each planet and star sign brought at her birth accounted for her kindness and generosity of spirit, her extraordinary networking and communication skills, her determination to fight for justice and equality and bring about revolutionary change.

As Gifford told the BBC who covered the day’s events, this extraordinary birthday could be summed up in the words of a timeless song by her favorite Zoroastrian star Freddie Mercury It’s a kind of magic: "One dream, one soul, one prize, one goal, one golden glance of what should be…”