“A hornet’s nest”

Seven people sit around a table in the dilapidated hall of the Ahmedabad Parsi Gymkhana (APG) playing cards. A billiard table in one portion of the hall is covered with a large dust-laden cloth. Outside on the open grounds squatters occupy a portion near the barren banks of the Sabarmati river. A waterfront beautification program by the Narendra Modi led Gujarat government has resulted in many of the encroachers on the riverfront lands being evacuated. Though the APG lies in Khanpur in the old part of the state’s commercial hub, the approximately 4,900 square yard property, if sold, is expected to fetch around 40 to 50 crore rupees (US $ 8,000,000 to $ 10,000,000). A proposal for sale is pending before the Charity Commissioner’s (CC) office, but "there is no person behind the table,” laments APG president and prominent Ahmedabad hotelier Jehangir Cama on November 24, 2011 at his Cama Hotel office. A new CC has to be appointed by the State Government. Till then all proposals are on hold.

"Because of the location, the activity of the Gymkhana is going down,” hence the need to sell the property and relocate elsewhere, explained Cama. One attractive site for relocation is the sprawling grounds of the Parsi Sanatorium (PS) managed by the Ahmedabad Parsi Panchayat (APP). The 6,775 square yard plot houses several residential buildings, mostly on the periphery while in the center sits the Sir Navroji Vakil Hall recently refurbished by a handsome donation of Rs 30 lakhs from the Dhunji­shaw and Manijeh Gamir Charitable Trust (DMGCT), around three lakh rupees from other donors and around Rs 20 lakhs from the APP coffers. A tender was floated inviting bids for utilization of the Hall for get-togethers.

Clockwise from below: Exterior and interior of Ahmedabad Parsi Gymkhana, and the refurbished Sir Navroji Vakil Hall

The APG has offered three crore rupees to be treated either as a deposit or donation in favor of the Panchayat and Rs 10 lakh annually for use of the Hall "until finalization of an agreement or an arrangement between the APP and APG.” The APP in return is to grant "free and complete use of the main Hall… all maintenance cost including the electricity bills, etc for the Hall would be borne by APG.” A tender offer of six lakhs received from "a decorator” for utilization of the Hall found favor with four of the five trustees but "providentially” trustee Farokh Kavina "refused to sign the contract,” states APP trustee Navroze Kanga.

In a letter dated April 22, 2011 Cama stated, "APG will not change the structure or use of the original (Hall) building. It will still be used for all possible functions like meetings, lectures, etc by APP, PYLA (Parsi Youth League of Ahmedabad), ZAGA (Zoroastrian Awareness Group of Ahmedabad), etc. APG plans to build a fully equipped gymkhana with all possible activities like billiards, table tennis, library, gymnasium and if possible a swimming pool too for the use of the community... APG is willing to build the entire complex at its own cost with no burden on APP whatsoever.” Any reconstruction required would be "at our cost,” says Cama. If the Hall is not given to them on lease then the APG would require 2,500 sq ft instead of 2,000 of the PS land.

Regarding non-Parsi membership in the APG he clarifies "we can take up to 25 percent of guest members who have no part in the running of the club and no vote.” Non-Parsis may be charged Rs 5,00,000 membership fees. To qualify for membership men and women have to be over 21 years of age. Marrying out of the community "is not a disqualification” for membership, he observes.

Ahmedabad Parsi Gymkhana grounds (left) and Parsi Sanatorium estate

At present the club has no non-Parsi members amongst its 80 or so members, states Arshees Commissariat, APG’s secretary. The APG trustees are Cama, Jehangir Vakil and Rusibhai Bastawala; committee members are R. R. Marshall, Cherag Anklesaria and Cyrus Dastoor; the joint secretary is Darayes Ginwala.

Kanga who favors the shift to the Sanatorium says the new Gymkhana building can be built at the periphery of the land abutting the road. By tearing down the residential Dalal block and relocating it elsewhere on the grounds, the Gymkhana members could enter and exit without encumbering the rest of the PS grounds. He believes the APG should start on a smaller scale utilizing 1,000 square yards instead of over 2,000 asked for. "They can go vertical,” he indicates. With the funds the APP would receive from the APG, a dadgah could be constructed on the grounds for use by the PS residents and others. He would like to see the PS "develop on the lines of Cusrow Baug… It can be used for PYLA communal get-togethers… If we want to do something there is so much we can do.”

His views are shared by his co-trustee Dr Behramgore Anklesaria. "What is better for the community? A beautiful center where we can all get together or some deal” whereby the Hall is given out on an annual tender basis to some event management firm "for a few lakhs” income? "Money apart this is an opportunity for the Parsi diaspora of Ahmedabad to come together and bring a new shine to it… How can we stop such a lovely deal from going ahead?” He spoke of "a political division, which is sad.”

Change of guard

Around January 2007 correspondence mooting the proposal was exchanged between the then APG president Tehemton Babaycon and the then APP president Areez Khambatta. A few months later APP elections were held and Khambatta stepped down. Later Babaycon also relinquished his post and Cama took over.

Cama once again revived the proposal, writing to the APP regarding the shift. The correspondence at first was pleasant but slowly became acrimonious. "It’s coming to a stage where it is stirring up a hornet’s nest,” moans Cama. "It’s become a power play.”

APP president and prominent lawyer Kersasp Shethna did not wish to be interviewed for this article but he thoughtfully provided Parsiana with a file of some of the papers exchanged between the two parties. In a brief chat at the Gujarat High Court library on November 24, 2011 he questioned why the APG could not sell a portion of its land and from the proceeds build a new multi-storey structure on the remaining portion. He felt the location of the Gymkhana on the Sanatorium grounds would create a disturbance to the tenants. He also stated that the objectives of the APG, though a public trust, were "entertainment and to run the club.” The APP in contrast was a charitable trust. Cama asserts the money received from the sale of property will be spent "for charitable purposes.”

In a letter dated May 23, 2011addressed to Cama, Shethna inquired: "How have you arrived at this figure of Rs 3 crores? Arbitrarily?... The market value of 2,000 sq yds, in such a prime locality would certainly be much more that Rs 3 crores. We feel that we should (reckon) with at least Rs 10 crores.” He noted the APP was "unanimous to try and fulfil Gamir’s wishes (regarding the use of the Hall) to the extent possible…

"This board of trustees objects most vehemently to your allegation that ‘the Panchayat is squandering a very worthwhile offer.’”

In a letter dated February 21, 2012 addressed to all the APP trustees, joint honorary secretaries and managing committee members Shethna outlined the APG’s proposals and the APP’s objections to the points made. He noted in addition that "there is a proposal to construct flats for upper middle class Parsi Zoroastrians on the Sanatorium land. If a considerably good amount may be realized from that, why should that aspect not be considered?”

In a telephonic interview on February 25, 2012, APP joint honorary secretary Firoz Davar endorsed Shethna’s sentiments adding that if the land is given to the APG it will not be available to the APP for future use. He talked about a day in the years to come the APP may want to shift their agiary which is in a crowded non-Parsi locality to the PS. Davar claimed that the APG is used mainly for "playing cards” and that even if other activities are offered the young are busy with their studies and will not have time to spend at the club. He also believes that the CC will not pass the proposal to lease the land to the APG should the APP accede to Cama’s proposal. Even if the land is leased and not sold, the APP would not have use of it during the pendency of the lease, he states, adding the APG will receive around 40 to 50 crore rupees for the property of which only three crores is being offered to them.

Davar notes that the hutments that encroached on the APG land have been removed and a new club house could be built there on "their own property with their own unique identity.” He notes that DMGCT has donated a hefty amount so now "how can we give the Hall” to somebody else to run? As regards giving the Hall on a contract basis to a contractor to host functions, Davar says a maximum 20 to 25 functions will be held in a year and the contractor would only be on the premises when there are events. Cavas Sethna is the other joint hononary secretary of the APP.

DMGCT trustee and former APP trustee Porus Karanjawalla who says he was instrumental in persuading DMGCT to donate the amount is sceptical of APG’s financial clout to clinch the deal. "They are talking in the air. Today they don’t even have money to pay the municipal taxes. Nobody takes them seriously. When they have the money let them come.” He termed the APG "a neglected institution… badly encroached” though he adds many of the squatters have been evicted by the government under the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Limited program. He believes the money donated by DMGCT "was not given for the (benefit) of the Gymkhana… It does not even have 30 individual” members. He terms the Gymkhana premises "a gambling den” and notes non-Parsis can be admitted as members.

Karanjawalla believes the APG may be better off buying property elsewhere. For around "10 crore rupees they can easily” purchase a property or an old bungalow though of course the location would not be as central as the PS. Manijeh Gamir reportedly endorsed Karanja­walla’s views on the APG. In a letter addressed to the APP, Gamir also allegedly referred to the club as a "gambling den.”

In a letter dated April 26, 2011 Cama retorted, "People forget that APG is an (over) 100-year-old institution and would not have survived this long if it were just a ‘gambling den.’ Let us not forget that this same institution was once the only place of recreation for the community. (Manijeh) Gamir herself was also a very active member...

"We feel, in this whole episode of Gamir you have completely forgotten the wishes of the original donor (Feroza) Seervai’s family, who in a number of letters addressed to APG has expressed her wish to house APG at the Sanatorium,” alleges Cama.

He states that Seervai from the Lalkaka/Vakil family that donated the PS land favored the APG proposal terming it "a good thing.” Seervai’s great-grandfather was Sir Navroji Vakil. She reportedly was incensed at the APP approach. In a letter Seervai wrote, "I don’t know why you have delayed in telling me about the disgraceful demand of the APP… A letter should issue to the Charity Commissioner exposing the breach of trust with my father ( Behramji Sorabji Lalkaka), and the subsequent extortion attempt, seeking to make money from the trust property... No such chance will come our way and in the way of the community.”

In the draft of the letter prepared by APP trustee Soli J. Unwalla he counters that "when the Sanatorium property was made over to the APP by the original donor, no conditions or stipulations for its future use or for any other matter were laid down.” Unwalla denies the APP is making any demands but states "we are in the process of negotiating with you the offer you have made… The APP is trying to find a proper and a reasonable value for the land.”

In his letter of May 23, 2011 Shethna had stated "our records are quite clear on our positive response to the APG, from day one, as would be collaborated by your office-bearers then …

"I wish to conclude… that with our joint pragmatic, mature and objective approach, we could, we should, and we most certainly would be able to do things which the coming generations of our small dear community here would, forever praise and remember.”

In his letter dated August 17, 2011 addressed to APG members Cama urges them "to please consider this entire issue in a just an equitable fashion and help your community by further request(ing) the APP to bring about a solution to help the Gymkhana in developing a fine institute which would benefit all members of the community and create a unique Zoroastrian Centre for the city of Ahmedabad.”

But with the next election for the five-year term due in June 2012, the issue is certain to be debated between the contesting candidates. The final decision may well be taken by the Parsi voters of Ahmedabad.

APG’s origins

The Ahmedabad Parsi Gymkhana came into being on September 11, 1880. It became a focal place for recreation, sports and pastime for the then small community of 400 Parsi homes.

Starting from humble beginnings through the courtesy of the then collector D. S. Sinclair, the club came into being in a small rented building inside the Gaikewar Haveli.

In 1878 through the generous donation of the great philanthropist Sir Navroji Vakil, the club was settled on the riverside in the posh locality of Lal Darwaja on one acre of land acquired entirely by Vakil, and upon this land he and his brother Jehangirji built a beautiful club house and annexe for the Parsi community of Ahmedabad.

The notable Parsi citizens of Ahmedabad including Framji Pestonji, Navroji Pestonji, Jehangirji Pestonji, K. N. Wadia, P. D. Khambatta, Cowasji Muncherji Karanjwalla, Framji Dara­shaw, Jehangir E. Patel, P. H. Dada­chanji, D. Temulji, S. D. Dhatee­gara and others founded the new club at these premises.

On August 19, 1885, the club was inaugurated by Gilmour S. McCorkel, the new collector of Ahmedabad, with Navroji Vakil as its first president.

To these founders who also formulated rules and regulations for the Ahmedabad Parsi Gymkhana, we, the Parsi community of Ahmedabad, owe a great sense of gratitude and pledge to rededicate our efforts towards the betterment of sports and recreational facilities for the thriving Parsi community of Ahmedabad.

Edited from an APG text dated June 6, 2009.