Extending their expertise

"If Hong Kong has given us so much, it’s our duty to give back to Hong Kong,” declared Purviz Shroff. Even whilst she is permanent managing director of Ruttonjee Estates Continuation Limited she is involved in different philanthropic activities, whether initiated by the family or other committed individuals. Like her there are other successful Zoroastrians in the city who, whilst devoted to expanding the scope of the Zoroastrian Charity Funds of Hong Kong, Canton and Macao, believe in contributing their time, expertise and money beyond their family business or profession to other welfare, professional and sports bodies.

Both Purviz and her 93-year-old husband Rusy, who too serves as permanent managing director of Ruttonjee Estates, are dedicated to the Ruttonjee Hospital. Benefactor Jehangir Hormusjee Rutton­jee (father of Rusy’s first wife Freni) had initiated the Ruttonjee Sanatorium in 1949 in memory of his daughter Tehmi Rustom Desai who died of tuberculosis. The father had then donated two million Hong Kong dollars to transform the old Royal Naval Hospital at Queen’s Road East into the Ruttonjee Sanatorium. Over the years it has been managed by the Hong Kong Anti-Tuberculosis Association (now known as the Hong Kong Tuberculosis, Chest and Heart Diseases Association) where Rusy served as chairman for 17 years. Currently Purviz is vice chairman while Rusy is vice president of the Association that oversees the Ruttonjee and Tang Shiu Kin Hospitals, Grantham Hospital, Freni Care and Attention Home, Rusy M. Shroff Dental Clinic, two Chinese Medicine Clinics, Peggy Lam Health Promotion and Education Centre. The Ruttonjee Sanatorium was converted to a 600-bed general hospital in 1991.

The Freni Care and Attention Home (dedicated to Rusi’s first wife who succumbed to cancer after seven years of marriage) was opened in 1956 as the Freni Memorial Convalescent Home with 110 beds to serve the patients discharged from the Ruttonjee Sanatorium. This home for the aged presently accommodates nearly 250 inmates with the eldest resident aged over 100.

Besides these institutions financed by the Shroff family, Purviz is devoted to her infants at Mother’s Choice where nearly 40 abandoned children are sheltered until they find parents to adopt them. It was the sudden demise of their son Zarir in a car accident in Switzerland that led the despondent Purviz to find a new meaning in life by being a foster mother to these babies whom she considers her precious "pumpkins.” In fact so devoted is she to her "pumpkins” that Rusy bought her a nameplate for her car that reads "PUMPKIN.” Rusy has over the years made time for The Community Chest and served as director of this organization affiliated to 145 agencies that help nearly 1.7 million people every year.

Among the other local charities that the couple supports are Children’s Medical Foundation, ORBIS Project, Society for the Promotion of Hospice Care, Hong Kong Cancer Fund, UNICEF and Riding for the Disabled Association Limited.

Rusy’s multifarious commitments have earned him several honors: Queen Elizabeth II appointed him MBE (Member of the most excellent order of the British Empire); the Hong Kong Tatler awarded him the "Most Charitable Force 2003”; the President of India bestowed on him the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award presented to eminent non-resident Indians worldwide for their contribution in promoting India in their respective adopted countries; the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region conferred on him the Bronze Bauhinia Star.

The Jokhis under their patriarch Keki, have been steadily supporting different community projects in India, particularly in the fields of housing, education and medicine. Besides the construction of Ava Baug in Navsari their substantial contribution helped finance the Jokhi Wing at the B. D. Petit Parsee General Hospital in Bombay. The reconstruction of the R. J. J. School as also Jamshed Baug in Navsari, the Jokhi Agiary in Bombay, the Sir J. J. High School in Navsari are the other testimonies of their ongoing largesse which they openly declare shows their "partiality to India.”

As Justice of the Peace (JP) Noshir Pavri is expected to regularly visit government institutions like hospitals, asylums, remand homes, prisons, orphanages, etc to report on their functioning with suggestions for improvement. He is also required to serve as member of the advisory board of the Ombudsman’s office. The only other JP among the Parsis is Jal Shroff, managing director of Fossil (East) Limited.

Clockwise from top left: Noshir Pavri, Ruby Master, Viraf Parekh, Burji Shroff, Jimmy Master, Dr Cyrus Kumana, Neville Shroff and Jal Shroff (Photos: Jasmine D. Driver)

Policy promoters

On professional bodies, Neville Shroff, managing director of Shroff and Company Limited, is chairman of the Asia and Africa committee of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and is vice chair of its Europe committee. He is also on the manpower committee of Hong Kong which advises and addresses the government on policy issues like minimum wages.

Equally active on business and trade bodies is Viraf Parekh who was treasurer of The Indian Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong, vice chairman of the Indian Businessmen’s Association, Hong Kong, executive committee member of the Hong Kong Shippers’ Council, trade committee member of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, and treasurer of the Overseas Indian Organisation.

Above and right: Keki Jokhi and Jokhi Wing at the B. D. Petit Parsee General Hospital

Whilst taking a keen interest in his father’s firm K. S. Pavri and Sons Limited, Noshir Pavri was invited to serve on the board of Importers of Raw Cotton and Cotton Yarn of the Indian Chamber of Commerce. He additionally served on the board of directors of The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and was chairman of its Africa and Middle East committees.

Contributing significantly to The University of Hong Kong’s department of medicine is Dr Cyrus Kumana who is chair and founding professor of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics. In the context of drug therapy he has been a member and/or chairman of several professional societies and committees constituted by the government, university and the Hong Kong Hospital Authority. The World Health Organisation appointed him consultant and he has participated in workshops related to rational drug prescribing, good clinical practice and clinical trial methodology. The International Union of Pharmacology appointed him regional representative.

The English Schools Foundation (ESF) in Hong Kong, the largest private educational institution in Asia that currently runs over 20 schools, had Jal Shroff as its chairman for 11 years. Besides being the coordinator of Business Coalition on Education, Jal has also served as director of Vision 2047. Currently Neville Shroff is on the board of the nominating committee of ESF.

(Clockwise from top left) View from the Hong Kong Country Club, Mother’s Choice, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Ruttonjee Hospital, Freni Care and Attention Home, The University of Hong Kong and Kowloon Cricket Club. Club photos: Jasmine D. Driver

Social circuit

Both Rusy and Purviz Shroff share an abiding interest in racing. While Rusy is privileged to be an honorary voting member of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Purviz mentions that though they may now both be "racing diehards” there was a time when she did not know that "99 times” referred to a "cold horse” that had minimal chances of winning. Among the horses they had owned over the years were Royal Pumpkin, Royal Panache, Owners’ Glory (a syndicate horse) and their earnings have "always gone to charity. That’s why God trusts us,” believes Purviz.

The only other Zoroastrian voting member of the Jockey Club is Noshir Pavri. As explains Pavri, "The Club has a total of 23,000 members in five different categories and membership is only possible by application through two voting members who also elect the 12 stewards who run the Club. The number of voting members is strictly limited to 200 only so it’s a very desirable category to be in as very special privileges are available to us.”

A founder member of the Hong Kong Country Club, the sports minded Pavri played cricket, tennis, badminton, and enjoyed swimming, rowing, water-skiing in his younger days with his latest passion being flying, a hobby he pursues in Australia, his son Darius being involved in running a flight school and adventure flights there.

Currently serving as honorary president of the Regimental Association and its charitable trust that gives financial assistance to old volunteers in need of medical, housing and educational aid for their families, Pavri was enlisted in the Royal Hong Kong Regiment in 1953 as a private soldier and ended active service with a Queen’s Commission of major, as second-in-command of the force. "This was a part-time military force comprising both men and women tasked to support the police and regular army units at weekends during the riots of 1967. Border duties, finding and arresting illegal immigrants” were some of their other functions, states Pavri. He ended active service in 1980, continued as reserve where he remained active in his advisory and attachment role to various squadrons until disbandment in 1995, two years prior to Hong Kong being ceded to China. Pavri’s association earned him the efficiency medal and bar, the MBE and the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, the last of which he cherishes the most for being the only Parsi and Indian in Hong Kong to win this "once in a lifetime award given to those who have served the crown continuously for 25 years from the date Queen Elizabeth II was crowned until she celebrated her silver jubilee.”

The Hong Kong Indian Women’s Club is yet another organization that has seen a Parsi, Purviz Shroff, as president.

Former president of the Kowloon Cricket Club (KCC) founded by Sir Hormusji Mody, Jal Shroff is known to be a passionate sportsman. A keen cricketer, Jal captained the Hong Kong team for seven years playing with and against the likes of Geoffrey Boycott, Gary Sobers, Polly Umrigar and Farokh Engineer. When the Cricket Club of India visited Hong Kong, the Parsi captains of the two teams, Polly Umrigar and Jal, faced each other at the KCC! This was "probably the first and only occasion outside of India in the history of international cricket,” mentions Jal. The six-foot player was considered the "most consistent batsman” in the post-War Hong Kong cricket scene. One more Zoroastrian to be intrinsically involved with the KCC is Burji Shroff, brother of Neville, who too had served as president of this elite institution.

Jal Shroff: passion for cricket

Committed to the cause of the Girl Guides Association is Ruby Master who was appointed international commissioner nearly three decades ago and is now in charge of business administration. With around 60,000 Girl Guides in Hong Kong, currently most of the working is conducted in Mandarin, the official language of China.

It is not only human causes that the community supports. Jimmy Master takes an active interest in the working of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals which is the largest animal welfare organization in Hong Kong. As executive committee member he has to work closely with animal welfare and fishery department officials. Educational programs, outreach programs and fund­raising constitute the main activities of this organization that has 300 staff members and 40 veterinarians.

Beginning with the next issue, Parsiana will profile the current eminent businessmen and professionals in Hong Kong.