Dar-e-Meher’s salgirah

The community should preserve Parsipanu and its traditions and values which alone will help it to survive for ever, exhorted Bombay Parsi Punchayet trustee Yazdi Desai to those gathered to celebrate the 138th salgirah of the Seth B. M. Mevawala Dar-e-Meher at Byculla. Chief guest on the occasion, Desai rued that though there is high literacy in the community, we do not follow the advice of our high priests. He also lamented the high percentage of mixed marriages in the community which would be detrimental to its very existence in the years to come, mentions a write-up sent to Parsiana by Ervad Parvez Bajan, the panthaky of the Dar-e-Meher.
On May 1, roz Srosh, mah Adar, the Dar-e-Meher wore a festive look, with chalk designs, flowers and illumination. That morning a Havan gah maachi was offered by the trustees of the Dar-e-Meher, followed by a jashan in honor of its foun­der, led by the panthaky. That evening another thanksgiving jashan was performed by Ervad Darayus Bajan along with other priests. A hambandagi was led by Pourush Kerawala. Chairman and managing trustee Soli Billimoria welcomed Desai and his wife Anahita. Also present were the other trustees of the Dar-e-Meher, Dr Aspi Mehta, Maneck Engineer and Burzin Wadia.

(Clockwise, from top l): Dr Aspi Mehta, Burzin Wadia, Soli Billimoria, Yazdi Desai, Maneck Engineer, Ervads Darayus and Parvez Bajan; jashan; Mevawala Dar-e-Meher; children from Alexandra School with Marazban Wadia and P. Bajan; senior citizens from Rustom Baug; P. Bajan giving speech

Parvez Bajan recounted the tale of the exodus of our forefathers from Iran to India to preserve the Aryan lineage and to protect the religion from the invading Arabs. The existence of race depends on how rigidly and tenaciously its members follow their time-tested customs, traditions, usages and practices, he stressed. He quoted Persian verses from the Kisseh-i Sanjan written by Bahman Kaikobad in Navsari in 1599.
Musicians Marzban Mehta and Marazban Wadia sang monajats and devotional songs while Khushnaaz Kerawala and Ro-shan Dastoor recited extracts from the Shahnameh. Zerxes and Jehan Bajan rendered a monajat, Parsionu Iranthi Avvu, about the advent of our ancestors in India. Senior ladies from Rustom Baug, trained by Hutoxi Doodhwala and supervised by Kumi Daroowala sang monajats for which the audience gave them a standing ovation, the write-up states. Young girls from The Alexandra Girls English Institution, dressed in Parsi costumes, sang a thought-provoking song on the eccentricities of Parsis which was conceptualized and choreographed by their music teacher Gulnar Tafti.
Darayus Bajan proposed a vote of thanks while Billimoria presented flowers and a shawl to the chief guest. The efforts of all those who had put their shoulder to the wheel to organize the event were appreciated — Daroowala, Doodhwala, Tafti, Mehta, Wadia, Shar-min Dumasia for the rangoli, Feroze Sethna (of Feroze Foods) for soft drinks, Kersi Guzder and his wife of Grub Corner for the snacks, all the priests, workers and the Parsi Press.