A living legend

On learning that kirtankar and social activist Pervez Katrak, aged 86, had suffered a mild paralytic stroke and been admitted to the B. D. Petit Parsee General Hospital I went to visit him after a week. He was seated on the veranda of the Hospital, smiling and talking though his speech was somewhat affected. He knew that I am his great admirer and although I am 89 years old I had made it a point to attend all his programs in Bombay. I had even arranged for him to present kirtans on Asho Zarthost and Sant Kabir at my village of Saronda, near Sanjan when I was a trustee of the Saronda Parsi Zarthushti Anjuman.

Katrak attributed all his achievements and success to the grace of God — a healthy body, long useful life, good personality, strong voice, art of presentation, musical sense, devotion, determination, dedication and inspiration to use his talents for the betterment of society. He was grateful for the opportunity to meet inspiring persons like Mahatma Gandhi, Perin Captain, Mother Teresa, Jamshed Mehta of Karachi, Burjor Bharucha, Dasturs Khurshed Dabu and (Dr) Hormazdyar Mirza, Gujarat’s famous kirtankar Karsandas Maneck, Hindi kirtankar Pan-dit Dalili and poet Ardeshir Khabardar.

The kirtankar was thankful to all the associations, punchayats and anjumans who had organized shows for him, to all the singers and musicians who accompanied him, to audiences who encouraged him, to the print media, radio and television in India and abroad who wrote about him. He said that even criticism inspired by prejudice and jealousy helped to add vigor to his work. In 1990 Katrak went to Iran and shot colored photographs of Zoroastrian significance. He has presented over 100 slide shows with running commentary without charging a paisa.

The Katrak Charity Foundation was established out of his own small resources in 1990. It distributed exercise books and small scholarships to poor school children. During the last 20 years Katrak has awarded gold medals and trophies to 100 sincere social workers and distributed two lakh rupees to poor Parsis. Part of Katrak’s social work involved visiting old people’s homes, widows’ homes, orphanages, poor people in hospital wards and performing kirtans and musical programs there before distributing sweets, biscuits and cakes to the inmates to help dispel their loneliness.

NARIMAN P. BALSARA

Saronda