Prime time for the Zochild

For the children, it is a two-day great escape from libraries and laboratories. The Eighth Zochilday, organized by the Zoroastrian Children’s Foundation (ZCF) at the Shanmukhananda Hall in Bombay on December 5, 2010, once again saw a congregation of around 2,500 Zoroastrian students from schools and junior colleges from different parts of India. Making common cause with their roots and heritage, they jabbered and they chattered, clapped, cheered, ate, drank and learnt as the 8.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. program unfolded on stage!

"The Zochild is every child — rich and poor. There is no distinction, whatever schools they come from. All are equal and all are equally loved,” stated Kyoshi Vispy Kapadia, maker of the Zochild melody, painting Zochild’s big picture. Surmounting acne and awkwardness, the youngsters performed with glee, though for many it was the first time they were on such a huge public platform. The turns and twirls of roller skating, the elasticity of gymnastics, the skill and concentration of karate were interspersed with plays and skits and the high voltage gyrations of boys and spicy girls in saucy, shimmering costumes!

With today’s teens (and those much younger!) hooked to their handsets and exchanging tweets, guest speaker Dr Swati Bhave put forward some important messages on social networking. "Stay smart online,” she advised. "Anonymity on the web is a myth. Every time you click you leave behind digital footprints which can be retrieved. Your online behavior should be the same as your offline behavior. Do not use bad language or post inappropriate photos.” Everything you read on the web is not gospel truth, she emphasized. "The 14-year-old boy you think you are chatting with may be an adult and many children are lured into gambling and other unsuitable activities. Do not visit adult sites. Trust only sites which are official, like those of the IITs (Indian Institute of Technology), the Government of India, Government of Maharashtra, etc,” she said. The ‘cut, copy, paste’ culture is plagiarism if you take the information from sites which have copyright. "There are sites free for download, but it is better you do not copy word for word. Just take the idea and give credit to the person…” she told the students.

(Top) ZCF chairman Kyoshi Vispy Kapadia; the vast Shanmukhananda Hall and (right) sweet melody of monajats

Bhave also touched upon the dangers inherent in Facebook. "On Facebook the whole world knows when you had breakfast, a bath, when you went to sleep… having 10 friends is enough, 800 (virtual) friends are not necessary! Do not tag photos or put funny photos you may regret tomorrow. Employers check. Your ma-in-law may check Facebook! Be very careful on Twitter,” she exhorted. Bhave also explained terms such as phishing, grooming, password cracking, cyber bullying… "Never use your birth date, nickname, etc in your password and take help from parents or teachers if there is something you don’t understand. Never open attachments which come from strangers,” she counseled.

Seeking to strike an emotional historical chord with youngsters more familiar with the avatars of Hollywood and Bollywood than tales from history, the Mancherji Edalji Joshi Memorial Trust Dharmagyan Class presented the classic story of Rustom e Sohrab from the 60,000-verse epic, the Shahnameh. The choice was apt, with the year 2010 designated by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) as the Shahnameh Millennium, marking 1,000 years of the composition of the Shahnameh by the Persian poet Firdausi Toosi. "My littlest performer (a girl aged around five) ‘walked’ for a month for this, just to be a soldier in the army and a face in the crowd!” stated director Mithoo Jesia, commending the commitment of the large cast, comprising mainly schoolchildren and adolescents, as well as the crew backstage.

(1st row): Dancing queens (left) and the charm of child actors; (middle row): Fine balance (left) and the cast of Rustom e Sohrab with Mithoo Jesia at the mike (far right); demonstrating the art of self defence

The ZCF also draws annually on contemporary power lists to felicitate achievers. This year’s choices were economist and management expert Minoo Shroff who is a former chairman of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), solicitor Burjor Antia who has seen 50 years of legal practice and was also on the BPP board, eye surgeon Dr Keiki Mehta who was awarded the Padma Shri three years ago, Delhi Parsi Anjuman stalwart Dadi Mistry who is a founder member of the WZO (World Zoroastrian Organisation) and the WZCC (World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce), Ervad (Dr) Ramiyar Karanjia, principal of the Dadar Athornan Institute and Prof (Dr) Zarin Turel, expert in nuclear chemistry and radiochemistry who has the rare distinction of receiving the highest award of DSc (Doctor of Science) from Bombay University. Indian Administrative Service officer Dr Yashwant Bhave, who is a cabinet ranked secretary and has been a friend of Kapadia’s for 30 years, was also honored with a shawl and memento. The ZCF also unfailingly acknowledges donors and supporters like Scylla Vatcha and Persis Madon Vatcha, Zarir Bhathena, Hormazdiar Chenoy, Feroz Patel, Khodu Irani, Cyrus Irani, Vistasp Katrak, Noshir Dadrawala, Hoshedar Khambatta (who has anchored all eight Zochildays) and many more.

It was also prime time for this year’s 14 youth awardees. Benaaz Billimoria was a winner at the 2010 Indo-Sri Lanka throw ball championship. Firdaus Bilimoria was shortlisted for the Rajya Puraskar from the 16th East Bombay Zoroastrian Scout Group. Vaishta Cooper is into district and state level athletics. Zenrookh Davar stood first in boxing and second in shot put at the DSO (District Sports Office) 2010 meet and qualified for national level. Natasha General is a district and state level athletics champion. Hera Havewala is a state level winner in javelin throw. Burzin Katrak won the best speaker trophy from 2007-2010 in the Dadi Engineer Elocution Cup. Vishtasp Kothavala took first place at the Mayor’s Cup karate championship and was also a winner for solo dance at the ZYNG (Zoroastrian Youth for the Next Generation) dance competition. Feroza Master is a state level athletics champion. Yazdan Master was a winner at an inter school judo competition and at the Dr Homi Bhabha Bal Vaigynanik contest. Parinaz Marolia received a bronze award in the class D category at the Royal Commonwealth state level essay competition.

Shaun Motashaw was a bronze medalist in rink hockey at the roller sports championship in Taiwan and a silver medalist at a roller hockey championship abroad. Anaheez Patel obtained the 66th rank at the national maths Olympiad exam, 16th rank in the Maharashtra state scholarship exam and has secured distinction in all the grades at the Trinity College, London elocution exams. She has also had a short story published in RobinAge, a newspaper for children. Urman Zaiwalla participates in district and state level athletics.

For the first time, the boys of the boarding section (many of whom come from the interiors of Gujarat) of the J. N. Petit Technical High School in Poona performed on stage, starting their hip hop number somewhat nervously, gaining in confidence as the lengthy and difficult dance progressed. The large boarding contingent of Bandra’s Bai Avabai Petit Girls’ High School, with PETIT emblazoned on the backs of their T-shirts, rolled along merrily on wheels and off, tumbling on mats, jumping through hoops, forming a double bench pyramid, with a "little blooming bud” (nursery boarder) high on top!

Students from Surat and Navsari and from the various baugs and schools of Bombay displayed their acting and dancing talents, while Kaiwan Fatakia, Jehaan Sabavala and Vahishta Kapadia, all experienced karatekas who have taken part and won in championships outside India, performed advanced katas which are the backbone of karate.

In a departure from tradition, young Sanaya Kapadia presented a vote of thanks. "Two glorious days of activities (children from places like Nagpur, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Surat, Navsari, Dahanu, Poona, etc had arrived a day earlier) have been preceded by six months of hard work,” she stated, thanking the ZCF trustees and committee members and the large support cast who put the event together. As the program came to a close 20 minutes before the scheduled hour, ZCF’s founder chairman took the mike to share his thoughts: "I would like to thank the entire Parsi community. Every Zochild we spend around twenty lakhs. The entire community is spending for it as we have regular, diehard supporters (who donate in cash or kind, ZCF being a registered public trust with 80G exemption). Our dream is to build a large corpus and we hope to realize this soon.” ZCF is not a political organization; we are not part of any punchayet, nor do we have any trusteeship ambitions, Kapadia added. On the ZCF board are Vispy’s wife Shiraz, herself a karate expert, social worker Perviz Dotivala (who overcame an illness to attend), principal of Activity High School Perin Bagli and Zenobia Daroga, who is the chairperson of ZOSTA (Zoroastrian Student-Teacher Association).

"In my committee I have almost 15 people who are 70-plus, yet they religiously come to the meetings and provide very good inputs! Some are 80-plus, yet their affinity for children and total loyalty to the community prompts them to work genuinely and selflessly year after year,” Vispy Kapadia told Parsiana later. Many are principals or retired principals, so dealing with large numbers of youngsters means doing what comes naturally! With a plethora of youth groups in the community, "competition is welcome,” says the seventh dan karate black belt, but deliberately fixing youth functions on the same day as Zochild is not!

"They love the whole package,” laughs Lily Patel, principal of the Sardar Dastur Boys’ High School in Poona, speaking about the children’s response to the program. "Khavanu bouj soju utoo (the food was fabulous),” chorus her students Varaj Pardiwalla and Jal Irani of Std V. Asked for their free and frank comments, the duo said that they found this year better than last year by way of facilities, but that the volunteers should scold them less! Requesting for more of Mumbai Darshan ( a tour of the sights of Bombay), the youngsters were quite thrilled to see their cousins from Ahmedabad among the outstation crowd! Very interesting was the talk on internet and the dangers of Facebook, they commented, "though we don’t have internet at home.” "Yes, they do learn a lot. We have put forward suggestions in the past also to make the program more informative and interesting and include things like a talent search, quiz on Zoroastrianism, etc. The trustees are amenable to suggestions. We do understand, however, that all this takes a lot of time to organize,” states Patel. Among the ZCF’s annual activities are swimming, karate and dance classes in the vacations for the Bombay students, with the organization shouldering all the expenses.

When so much is being done to secure the children’s future, do you think the factionalism and public unpleasantness in the community is affecting their psyche and pushing them away? we ask Zochild’s founder. "Yes, there will be some adverse impact, though it might not actually push them away,” Kapadia replies. "The parents have to play a leading role in guiding them. As far as intermarriage is concerned, I believe marriage is largely a matter of destiny. I have observed over the years that families that ostracize their children for marrying out generally call them back when babies arrive. Honestly, there must be very few families in the community where someone or the other is not married out!” We have to secure the future by bonding, he believes.

Zochild’s "when you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands” syndrome will go a long way in achieving that goal.