“The New Year gift”

Your issue of March 21, 2010 took me some time to read. "The New Year gift” (Editorial viewpoint, Parsiana, March 21, 2010) raises a few issues. According to Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) chairman Dinshaw Mehta there is a conspiracy. Naturally he sees ghosts everywhere and reasons are not far to seek. He blames the Parsi Press, not out of ignorance but hypocrisy. The Free Press Journal and The BPP Review are orthodox propaganda mouth organs of the BPP and the World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthoshtis (WAPIZ). I presume that Mehta refers to Parsiana as the Parsi Press without having the guts to name it.

Oh yes, it was a great victory in court as the BPP’s fatwa was upheld by it. But this is purely on paper, and no one gives a damn. Priests continue to perform funerary ceremonies for cremated bawas, as can be seen from The Times of India’s obituary columns which clearly reveal that the uthamna ceremony will be performed at such and such place, maintaining silence about the paidust — a clear indication that the body was cremated/buried.

As for the poor Russian Mikhail Chistyakov, Meher Master-Moos made a mess of it all. If she doesn’t have finance and muscle power she should desist from such activities.

Religion is only a front, an excuse, a façade to fool the world. The real issue is the baugs, the garages, swimming pools and towers to be built for the filthy rich. Today the baugs are monopolized by the wealthy with hardly any poor and lower middle class Parsis living there.

In "Readers’ Forum” there were some hard-hitting letters from people disgusted with the Sanjan natak. But the most interesting one was by Ervad Framroze Mirza, the turncoat and blackleg. Of course he will be re-invented and rehabilitated in course of time. He comes out as the face of our orthodox clergy, with their half-baked knowledge of religion, who have misled the akkal na dushman, pachcham boodhiya (enemies of reason, wise with hindsight) bawas, resulting in the decline of the community. I find him more confused, or perhaps more ignorant than the others.

Time and again Jam-e-Jamshed Weekly has published articles stating that the Zoroastrian religion is for all mankind. History has recorded that conversions took place during the days of the Iranian empire and the religion spread to all corners of the world. The matter is res judicata as decided by not one but two courts, which have come out saying that the Zoroastrian religion enjoins conversion. Also, it is part of bawa history in India that the navjote of a French woman was performed, and upheld by the courts and many priests. One of the six Parsi Popes, Dastur (Dr) Firoze Kotwal has converted Christians. This was touted as the exception, and we were also told that there is no such word as "conversion” in Avesta.

In view of these historical and religious facts it is now up to the conscience of right thinking priests to decide whether to be carried away by Mirza’s letter and the six Parsi Popes’ misleading humbug, and let the community go to the dogs, or in the true spirit of the religion take up the challenge to spread the word of Zarathushtra and Ahura Mazda throughout the world.

On Jamshedi Navroz bawas had two extra Parsi pegs, two extra chhamna ni poochhri (pomfret tails) and two extra marghi naa paag (chicken drumsticks). Reason? UNESCO has declared Navroz an Intangible Heritage of Humanity. What role did the Seven Samurai of the BPP, the khota dasturs and their chelas (followers) and chamchas (hangers-on) play in this? None. It was the Central Asian countries which have far greater ethnic purity than the bawas who deserve much of the credit. Need we require more proof that the Zoroastrian religion had spread all over the world and is in no way monopoly of the bawas who have done nothing to promote it.

So when bawas follow the Bo tribe into oblivion (we are next on the list!) whether I am in hell, heaven, perdition, or back on earth, I shall sing: "Those were the days my friend, we thought they’d never end...” Yes bawas, those were the days of palav daar, tareli machi, sali boti, lagan nu custard. All this will come to an end sooner or later.

BEHRAM AGA

behram_r_aga@yahoo.co.in