“Mahava’s merry...

I read with great sadness about the death of Silloo Mahava ("Mahava’s merry missions,” In Memoriam, Parsiana Oc- tober 21, 2010). She was a great social worker and did a yeoman service for poor Parsis living in the rural areas of Gujarat, among other charitable causes.

I once accompanied her as an ob- server on a trip of The Young Rathestars to the villages around Navsari. She had a "can do” attitude and a great sense of humor which made the hard task of distribution of assistance in the interiors both simple and fun. She also had true grit which showed us that perseverance pays when one is in the right. On the way back to Bombay, despite having reserved seats on the train from Navsari to Dadar, there were other persons (probably daily commuters) occupying our seats from Surat itself. Mahava called the ticket collector (TC) — no mean task when the train is moving. The TC (perhaps in cahoots with the rascals) said he could do nothing, put up his hands and left. But Mahava persisted, and ultimately the shameless usurpers of our seats gave up and left. Only then were we able to sit down.

The Young Rathestars, the poor Parsi farmers in rural Gujarat and all Parsis will miss Mahava dearly. Too bad she passed away quietly at a place far away from the Dadar Parsi Colony where she was a great pillar of strength to the community.

Dr ARDESHIR B. DAMANIA

Davis, California, USA

abdamania@yahoo.com