“Gracious gesture”

I read about Queen Elizabeth II’s reply to Farokh Deboo on receiving his book, My Philosophy ("Gracious gesture,” Events and Personalities, Parsiana, February 21, 2011). More than 80 years ago, one Ardeshir Narielwalla sent his autobiography, written in Gujarati, to King George V. He, too, received a reply from the King’s secretary saying the King was very pleased to receive the book and thanked him very much.

Years later my uncle Ardeshir (Cursetjee) sent a small bust of Prince Albert to the Duke of Edinburgh, and he also received a similar reply.

Perhaps many other Parsis have sent gifts to the British royal family and received gracious acknowledgements.

SHERYAR OOKERJEE