Global givers

They were certainly not the wealthiest Zoroastrians of our generation. However, no one has given away such an enormous proportion of their fortune to charity during their own lifetime as have the Zartoshty Brothers — Mobed Mehraban and his elder brother Mobed Faridoon. Their charities spanned the world.
The story of the Zartoshty Brothers is actually a memorable account of their selfless philanthropy. In Iran, almost every Zoroastrian institution, school, charity was assisted in some form or another by the Zartoshty Brothers. It was their pride and joy that for almost 40 years, they had looked after all the expenses for maintaining the beautiful Atash Behram in Yazd. They also funded the Sazeman e Fravahar, the Zoroastrian youth organization in Tehran.
In North America, they followed in the footsteps of their hero Arbab Rustam Guiv. They gave generously to local chapters of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA) to build darbe mehrs in cities like Houston, San Francisco, Chicago, etc. Mehraban, who passed away last July, 12 years after the demise of Faridoon, also helped cosmopolitan charities in Vancouver including two hospitals, when he lived there. Such was the extent of their generous hearts that their largesse also reached Sydney in Australia.

Mobed Mehraban Zartoshty (center) lighting the lamp at the World Zoroastrian Congress in London as Dorab Mistry (with mike) and other priests look on

In the UK, the Zartoshty Brothers were prime benefactors and patrons of the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (ZTFE). In 1983 they donated generously to build an extension to the then Zoroastrian House at 88 Compayne Gardens in London. Subsequently, from 1992 to 2005 they gave most generously towards the purchase and development of the magnificent Zoroastrian Centre for Europe in Harrow, London. The 900-seater hall is named as the Zartoshty Brothers Hall and hosted the Eighth World Zoroastrian Congress. When ZTFE decided to name its Setayesh Gah after Mehraban, he refused to accept the singular honor, insisting that the credit should go to the Zartoshty Brothers. Such was the love, respect and mutual ties between the siblings. Mobed Mehraban inaugurated the Zoroastrian Centre as well as the World Congress personally in June 2005.
I first met Mehraban in July 1996 when he visited London for the Second World Zoroastrian Youth Congress. I was the newly appointed treasurer of the ZTFE then. The following year I was elected ZTFE president and gradually got to know him better. A deep bond developed between us and soon thereafter we used to talk on the phone almost every other day. By outlook and nature, Mehraban was a moderate. He approved of the mainstream stance of the ZTFE that I had begun to shape after becoming president. He never approved of exclusion or of religious apartheid.
He was the crucial pillar of support in our endeavor to purchase and renovate the multi-million-pound Zoroastrian Centre for Europe. Within the ZTFE, the Zartoshty Brothers donated large sums for the library, for establishing a Mobed Fund and for perpetuating several gahanbars. Mehraban admired the work undertaken by the ZTFE, its high external profile and its work in the interfaith arena.
The Zartoshty Brothers were not scholars themselves but they valued scholarship and were very keen to perpetuate the study of our ancient faith. Mehraban deeply admired the late Prof Mary Boyce, whom he had met in Iran during the 1960s, and also Prof John Hinnells and Prof Almut Hintze. He appreciated Khojeste Mistree’s total dedication to the cause of Zoroastrian Studies. In later years, the Zartoshty Brothers Chair in Zoroastrianism at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) also received a major bequest from the estate of Boyce.
In 1996 Hinnells requested Mehraban to help endow a permanent Chair in Zoroastrianism at SOAS, London University. Later, Hinnells was to tell me it took Mehraban less than two minutes to agree to fund the endowment. In fact within that short time he enquired about Hinnells’ wife because he knew the scholar was very concerned about his wife’s frail health at that time.