Seen/Sheen in Singapore

The presence of the President of the Republic of Singapore S. R. Nathan, Singapore’s minister of foreign affairs George Yeo, the ambassadors and high commissioners of Iran, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Philippines, Jordan and first secretary of the Indian High Commission added a special charm to the stellar Navroz function organized by the Parsi Zoroastrian Association of Singapore (PZAS) on March 18, 2011. With over 350 people in attendance, the Zoroastrian ladies in their garas, men in their daglis, and visitors in their pure silk creations, Armanis and Zegnas, the evening at Orchard Hotel’s Ballroom helped "to forge bonds of new friendships, showcase the wonderful talents of people from diverse backgrounds yet having similar roots and above all usher in a fun-filled spring evening,” noted a report of the event by Minaz Kanga.

Welcoming the guests, the president of PZAS Dilnawaz Zaveri made a brief reference to the significance of Navroz and declared that their organization was on the verge of inaugurating their community center in Singapore (Zoroastrian House was inaugurated a month later on April 17, 2011). To mark the occasion, the traditional Haft Seen and Haft Sheen tables were tastefully set up by Elahe Talebi and her daughters Azam and Isun.

On behalf of PZAS, Zaveri presented Nathan and Yeo a copy of Sooni Taraporevala’s pictorial coffee table book Parsis – The Zoroastrians of India while vice president Russi Ghadiali presented them the first copies of South Asian Link. This issue was specially printed for the Navroz occasion by the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. Tokens were also presented by Zubin Karkaria, chief executive officer and managing director, Kuoni Travel Group who generously sponsored the function and Amin Bagheri, managing director of Shiraz restaurant that created the Persian menu for the guests. The continental dishes were created by the chefs of Orchard Hotel.

(Above, from left): Zubin Karkaria, Amin Bagheri, S. R. Nathan, Russi Ghadiali and Dilnawaz Zaveri; (below) members of the working committee for the function and their spouses with President Nathan

Included in the evening’s program was a slide show on Persian history, art and culture, a traditional Iranian dance and a performance on daf, the popular Iranian drum, by the talented Talebi sisters, a music ensemble from Kazakhstan comprising students from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the Nanyang Technological University performing on their guitars, a belly dance act by the students of Rhythmic Fitness, and a rib tickling fashion show put together by the talented members of PZAS. The lively anchors were PZAS secretary Jasmine Dastoor and Shenaz Dabu.

Thanking the dignitaries for joining in the celebrations, Ghadiali also appreciated the efforts of the PZAS team that had worked for six months to organize this event. There are approximately 110-120 families that are members of the Singapore Association and as per the constitution amended last year to conform to the charity commissioner’s guidelines, the president and secretary can hold office for a maximum two years "to give opportunity to any PZAS member who is keen on serving the community,” Ghadiali had written in a letter to Parsiana in 2010 before he stepped down as president. Freddy Bavaadam serves as the treasurer of PZAS.

After numerous photoshoots and some autographs, the dignitaries were given a farewell but the community members stayed back to enjoy the riveting show by the belly dancer from Shiraz that created the mood for others to jig and jive as the DJ mixed the hip-swinging Iranian and Bollywood numbers until the wee hours of the morning. They promised themselves, "We will come together again next year to celebrate Navroz with our friends from Iran and Central Asia and show to the world that… small is truly beautiful.”