Zoroastrians Abroad
Pakistan’s youngest priest
Ordained as a navar and martab last winter, Pakistan’s youngest mobed, 10-year-old Ervad Ardavan Darius Solan has already started assisting and performing religious ceremonies under the guidance of Panthaky Kekobad Dastoor of the Wadia Adarian in Karachi.
The class V student of Karachi’s Bai Virbaiji Soparivala Parsi High School spent 45 days at Bombay’s Cama Baug Agiary in December 2012-January 2013 to train under Ervads Keki Ravji and his son Farzad. After being ordained as a navar on December 25, he spent another fortnight there and underwent the maratab ceremony on January 8. To ensure that the novitiate benefitted from "the detailed ceremonies performed only in India’s adarians and atash behrams” the family decided to send him to Bombay, explains his mother Persis in an email response to Parsiana. She was grateful for the support rendered to the family by Khojeste and Firoza Mistree, Ervad Burjor Antia, Keki Daruwalla and Brig (Retd) Jehangir Anklesaria.
The class V student of Karachi’s Bai Virbaiji Soparivala Parsi High School spent 45 days at Bombay’s Cama Baug Agiary in December 2012-January 2013 to train under Ervads Keki Ravji and his son Farzad. After being ordained as a navar on December 25, he spent another fortnight there and underwent the maratab ceremony on January 8. To ensure that the novitiate benefitted from "the detailed ceremonies performed only in India’s adarians and atash behrams” the family decided to send him to Bombay, explains his mother Persis in an email response to Parsiana. She was grateful for the support rendered to the family by Khojeste and Firoza Mistree, Ervad Burjor Antia, Keki Daruwalla and Brig (Retd) Jehangir Anklesaria.
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Ardavan Solan with priests and family at Cama Baug Agiary
An avid reader who is interested in science, literature and history, Ardavan also likes to draw and sketch, and enjoys his game of football and badminton. Visa restrictions did not permit him to spend more time in Bombay, the city of agiaries and atash behrams that he has grown to love. The young mobed was happy though that he got a chance to visit the Dadar Athornan Institute and the Elephanta Caves across the shore and is looking forward to returning to the city at the end of the year to attend the 10th World Zoroastrian Congress as a Pakistani delegate.
Hailing from the Bhagaria priestly family of Navsari, Solan’s great-great- grandfather was Mobed Cowasji Solaina of Bombay, mentions Persis. While father Darius, a mechanical engineer, works for a surveying company, Persis is an executive secretary in a multinational insurance company. Ardavan has two elder sisters — Dilshad, who is training to be an Associated Chartered Certified Accountant, and Delara studying commerce in the 11th standard.
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