Mhow honors stalwarts

At a function organized by the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjuman, Mhow (PZAM) on June 16, 2012, Dastur (Dr) Firoze Kotwal honored two of its past trustees and one current trustee for their long and devoted service to the Anjuman. A certificate of honor and citation was bestowed posthumously on late Dr Behram Masani who had served PZAM for half a century, as president for eight years and honorary secretary for 40, mentions a write-up from PZAM sent by e-mail to Parsiana by Tehmton Anklesaria, vice president (north zone) of the Federation of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India (FPZAI), who was patron of the function. Dinshaw Mehta, chairman of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet and president of FPZAI was chief guest.

(l-r) Tehmton Anklesaria, Dastur (Dr) Firoze Kotwal, Phiroze Illavia; Dinshaw Mehta and Cyrus Mancherjee

Also honored were Jehangir Meher-vaid, a trustee for three decades and Phiroze Illava, treasurer for 40 years and still holding the post, the write-up mentions. Both Kotwal and Mehta addressed the gathering. This was followed by merriment and social intermingling with Parsi Zoroastrians from Indore joining their brethren in Mhow. The evening ended with dinner.

The "quaint cantonment town” of Mhow was founded in 1818 by a British military officer, Brig Gen Sir John Malcolm. The Parsis soon followed as "traders and contractors to the military,” mentions the write-up. The agiary established in 1822 and the dakhma built in 1840 are still in use today. The Parsi Agiary in Centre Street, Mhow in central India is among the very first to be built outside Gujarat in central and northern India. This is the second agiary building, rebuilt in 1846; there are no records of the original building, states the write-up.

From their heyday when there were 1,200 members of the community in Mhow, the current population has been reduced to a mere 50. However, the PZAM has recorded its appreciation of the fact that as a result of Masani’s vision, it was the first Anjuman to enter into a custodianship agreement with the FPZAI, according to which a custodian trustee is nominated to safeguard its funds and properties, the write-up notes.