Imprint and exhibits

At the world renowned Lincoln’s Inn in UK, a bronze bust of Cornelia Sorabji donated by Dr Kusoom Vadgama was unveiled on May 21, 2012. This is reportedly the first time that a bust of an Indian woman adorns the world’s oldest law society. Lady Brenda Hale of Richmond, the seniormost lady judge in the history of the UK who did the honor, referred to her admiration for the life and work of Sorabji, her British connection as also her contribution to India, noted a write-up on the event by the organizers.
The bust, sculpted by S. Unavane, bears a plaque that describes Sorabji as "The first woman to study law at Oxford (1889-1892). A pioneer woman lawyer who campaigned for the rights of Indian women and children.”

It was 120 years ago that Sorabji, born in Nasik in 1866, the first female graduate from the Bombay University, created history by becoming the first woman to be allowed to sit the examination for the degree of bachelor of civil law, recounted Dipankar De Sarkar in his write-up in the Hindustan Times of May 25. "She was not of course able to take her degree or be called to the English Bar for another 30 years,” recalled Hale, the only woman judge of the British Supreme Court.
The momentous event was hosted by the treasurer of Lincoln’s Inn, Dame Janet Smith who recalled the Indian lawyer’s association with the prestigious law organization. The deputy high commissioner of India Rajesh Prasad lauded Sorabji’s commitment to uplift the underprivileged and indirectly promote Indo-British ties. Among those present to pay their tributes to Sorabji’s life and work were judges, members of the legal profession, academics, historians and office bearers of the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe.
Also garlanding Sorabji’s bust was Zerbanoo Gifford, founder director of Asha Centre in England, a charity promoting peace and understanding for people of all faiths and cultures. According to London based author Vadgama who had edited An Indian Portia: Selected writings of Cornelia Sorabji (see "Cornelia’s crusades,” Parsiana, March 7, 2012) that earned her the 2011 Asian Achievers Award, Gifford is the true heir to Sorabji’s legacy for her universal approach in empowering the young.
Two days later, community members and contemporaries from the fields of politics, journalism and charity sector from the UK, US, China and India came to the Women’s Library in London to celebrate the inauguration of "The Z Factor,” an exhibition coinciding with the 30th anniversary of Gifford’s foray into politics. Elected councilor of Harrow, she became the first non-white woman to be elected from the Liberal Party and the first non-white woman to stand for Parliament in Britain, according to a press release giving details on the exhibition.

Top: Bronze bust of Cornelia Sorabji; (Clockwise from left) Zerbanoo Gifford, Dr Kusoom Vadgama, Lady Brenda Hale, S. Unavane; Dame Janet Smith; Vadgama addressing the audience

The exhibition was inaugurated by Baroness Jan Royall of Blaisdon, the Labour leader in the House of Lords whilst political analyst Dr Rashna Writer as the guest speaker referred to Gifford’s commitment to "philanthropy, fighting for others’ rights and living the good life.” In her humorous style Dr Seema Anand kept the audience entertained with her narration of stories concerning the community and even wondered whether their fascination for vehicles stemmed from car oil in their blood!
The brainchild of Gifford who toiled on the project for six months, the main purpose of the colorful display of art and talent was to draw the attention of non-Zoroastrians to the influence of Zarathushtra on the major religions of the world, and the way its adherents live and think today. Considerable amount of time was spent by Gifford and her advisory board to decide on who would best represent the community. When working on the layout, Gifford realized that the young could best be engaged in the fascinating story of Zoroastrians, by adding a Freddie Mercury song at the bottom of each panel.
The seven panels projecting the community were partly funded by the Erach and Roshan Sadri Foundation while the necessary research on the outstanding Zoroastrians was Gifford’s effort, leaving her "prouder of her community.” Intelligence, integrity and industry are "The Z factor” qualities, remarked Gifford. As she mentioned at the exhibition if her dear friend Sohrab Godrej (2012 being his birth centenary year), former president of the World Wide Fund for Nature could put a preservation order on the panda, the eccentric Zoroastrians deserved one too.

Above: Zerbanoo Gifford (left) and Baroness Jan Royall of Blaisdon with "The Z Factor” invite (left)

Those featured show historical Zoroastrians, whose achievements are legendary and modern Zoroastrians who have impacted all walks of life — spirituality (Meher Baba), arts (Zubin Mehta), science (Dr Homi Bhabha), industry (J. R. D. Tata and Ratan Tata), business (Cyrus and Zavaray Poonawalla, Shernaz Engineer), banking [Zarir (Zed) Cama, Homai Daruwalla], the armed forces (Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, Engineer brothers), conservation (Pheroza Godrej, Aban Marker Kabraji), the media (Bachi Karkaria, Coomi Kapoor, Dina Vakil, Homai Vyarawalla, Matthew Amroliwala), and in almost every case philanthropy (Sir Jamsetji Jejeebhoy). Selecting them was considered "a near impossible task…”
Whilst referring to the accomplishments of the first three non-white Members of Parliament (Dadabhai Naoroji, Mancherjee Bhownaggree and Shapurji Saklatvala), other politicians who feature on the panels are Bhikaiji Cama, Frene Ginwala, Farhang Mehr, Farangis Shahrokh and Jamsheed Marker as also the spouses of political leaders and public figures, Feroze Gandhi, Ruttie Jinnah and Marchioness Bapsybanoo Pavry.
Zoroastrian families who have contributed to the development of cities like Karachi (Edulji Dinshaw), Aden [Adenwalla family (Cowasjee and Sir Hormusjee)] and Hong Kong (Jehangir Ruttonjee) find a mention as do next gen businesswomen like Tanya Dubash and Nisaba Godrej, and other youngsters in the fields of law, sports and letters.
In fact two of the panels exhibit Gifford’s campaigning efforts and her work at the Asha Centre which she has developed as a leadership training hub where youth from all over the world discover their role in life while experiencing each other’s culture and philosophy.
Besides offering "The Z Factor” exhibition to the Bombay Parsi Punchayet, the organizers of the next World Zoroastrian Congress in 2013, plans are afoot to get the exhibition to travel in Britain and then go to Washington as also present it online so that those interested can have easy access to Zarathushtra’s teachings and the remarkable lives of some of its notable followers who have been an inspiration to the world.