HPY’s silver lining

Despite a change of date and an unfortu- nate accident the night before the Holi- day Programme for Youth

(HPY) 25th anniversary bash, the gala event turned out to be a sleek, well choreographed evening with a surfeit of song, dance and food. Those who had assisted the program over the past 25 years were felicitated [barring of course Parsiana, courtesy the Bombay Parsi Punchayet, (BPP)] at the Seth Jeejeebhoy Dadabhoy Agiary at Colaba on November 17, 2010.

The two-hour event "showcased the best of HPY” entertainers over the past quarter century, stated the evening’s comperes, Vinifer Gandhi and Hoshaang Gotla. The show stealers were duo singer/ musicians Hormuz Ragina and Peshotan Kapadia and sensual songstress Shah- zneen Arethna. Natural performers, they animated the 1,000 or so crowd with their perfectly modulated voices, selection of songs and ease of movement. But the real star of the show was HPY’s coordinator over two decades and now "mentor,” Diana Marfatia or "Dee” as her adoring HPYites refer to her.

"Each passing year (the program) has grown in size,” Marfatia told the gathering. The program "was envisioned” by former vice chancellor of Bombay Uni- versity and erstwhile BPP trustee Dr Mehroo Bengalee, said Marfatia. Dr Ketayun Madon headed the fledgling organization in the initial two years, 1987 and 1988.

"We are blessed to have a (great) team. Many months of meticulous planning” went into making the quarter centenary function a success, the mentor recalled. The night before the event when rehearsals were on some helium filled balloons burst causing burn injuries to the faces of three of the leading organizers, namely Azmin Mistry, HPY’s chief coordinator, Huzan Forbes and Khorram Siodia. BPP chairman Dinshaw Mehta told the startled audience that the three suffered 15 percent burns over their faces and arms but their eyes were spared damage. "They were unbelievably enthusiastic,” said Mehta and were insistent on being present for the function. But they will have to remain at the Masina Hospital Kharas Burns Unit for at least a week or two. They were shifted there from Bombay Hospital. "Their faces are covered with gauze and their hands with bandages,” mentioned Mehta who later told Parsiana the BPP would bear the cost of their hospitalization.

We could "never have found a better home” than the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Parsi Charitable Institution school where the HPY program is held each year, noted Gandhi. The heritage school premises "are provided free of cost,” noted Gotla.

The evening’s fare was provided at a subsidized rate by noted caterer Tanaz Godiwalla. When the organizers told her they had a limited budget but wanted a sumptuous menu she replied, "Guys you quote the price and I’ll (provide the fare),” related Gandhi.

To commemorate the silver anniver- sary, the organizers published The HPY Chronicle containing articles by various persons associated with the program. "HPY isn’t just an acronym for a program. It is a feeling. One that captures every possible emotion a 16-year-old can go through over the course of one power packed month,” noted the opening page of the souvenir edited by Burzin Mehta, a 1991 HPY graduate. The program is meant for students who have appeared for their 10th standard school leaving examina- tion. The first HPY program was of two weeks’ duration and had around 80 par- ticipants. Assisting Madon were Marfatia and Kamal Shroff (now Damania), notes the booklet.

The Chief Justice of India Sarosh Kapadia in a message published in the Chronicle exhorted the youth "to be alive to the challenges which our minus- cule community faces and to contribute to the progress of our nation. We cannot live on past glory.”

Aside from messages from several of the prominent Parsis and past partici- pants the Chronicle also included an interview with Marfatia where in response to a question on a similar program for different age groups the former coordinator stated, "I would be only too happy to have another program for a slightly older age group.” But with the current program being conducted during the summer vacation "it becomes impossible to have another one” at the same time.

HPY’s greatest achievement, Marfatia says, "is its seamless continu- ity. It just seems like an unwritten law that it will happen every year. I certainly can’t see it ending anytime soon.”