Editorial Viewpoint
Living for the present
If we look at the past we see fading glory. If we predict the future it appears bleak. But if we look at the present we are pleasantly surprised. Despite falling numbers, notwithstanding the disputes that sap people’s energy, regardless of the tug of war between liberals and traditionalists, the community has not only managed to survive but even thrive.
All over the world one sees Zoroastrians and Parsis striving to make their presence felt, endeavoring to optimize their worth, seeking new approaches to old problems. And yet while adapting, still holding on to the core values that have earned them a beneficent name, labeled them as followers of the morally good life.
In recognition of the community’s worth, the Government of India has launched, the Jiyo (long live) Parsi program to try and bolster the Parsis’ dismal demographics. This is the first time that such an effort has been initiated, and it is a singular honor.
For the first time ever a Zoroastrian All Party Parliament Group has been formed in the British Parliament. Posters of The Everlasting Flame exhibition hosted by the School of Oriental and African Studies were festooned on London subway stations, another first for the minuscule UK Zoroastrian community.
The neophyte North American Zoroastrian community celebrated the 25th anniversary of the formation of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North American (FEZANA) with a series of events including a function to coincide with the 16th North American Zarathushti Congress. No other country or continent can boast of holding similar meets in such a short span of time or forming and perpetuating a pan multinational organization.
Tehran, Houston, London, Dubai have all held World Zoroastrian Congresses in recent times and now the 10th Congress is scheduled for Bombay this December with the President of India inaugurating the meet. Singapore thereafter will host the next international meet.
The Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) has launched an ambitious scheme to provide substantial monetary assistance to priests. A writ petition initiated by the BPP in the Bombay High Court has provided relief to religious institutions from astronomical increases in property tax.
One may ask how the community manages to survive and even flourish when the population is depleting. Perhaps the answer lies in its resilience. Parsis are after all migrants. They left Iran 1,300 years ago and thereafter in search of a better economic, religious, social and cultural life. They knew that aspiring for a freer existence entailed initiating action, undertaking substantial risks. A journey of a few thousand miles across land or sea in those days was fraught with danger, deprivation, disease and death. Of those who bravely ventured forth, few would have arrived at their final destination. Only the fitter and more able could have completed the arduous journey.
As regards communications, several books by Zoroastrian authors are published. The Parsi media, run institutionally or individually, is growing. Websites abound. In print, aside from the venerable The Bombay Samachar, Asia’s oldest newspaper (though largely sustained by readers from the Gujarati community), the Jam-e-Jamshed Weekly, Parsiana and The BPP Review, there is the fledgling Parsi Times with probably the largest local community circulation as it is distributed free of cost in the colonies and several other places.
The FEZANA Journal in North America and the World Zoroastrian Organisation’s Hamazor are published by honorary editors, publishers and support staff. Several community associations publish newsletters some of which are now offered in electronic form.
Despite a diminishing circulation, Parsiana has progressed over the years thanks to the unstinting support received from well-wishers, subscribers, advertisers, sponsors and donors. They make it possible for the semi-monthly to keep pace with technological advancements, four color printing, global coverage and a website. At the core of the journal were and are very dedicated and committed individuals who work unstintingly at a fraction of market wages to bring out a quality publication.
How will Parsiana celebrate its golden anniversary? By further focusing on the issues and causes confronting the community. The magazine requested several individuals in India and abroad to offer their views on trends, events, people, demographics, personal histories pertaining to the community. The first installment of articles appear in this issue. The pieces appear according to geographic distribution and subject. Other articles will be carried subsequently. Readers are welcome to write in with offerings on the community’s past, present and future.
Well-wishers may not object if Parsiana throws a gahanbar to mark its 50th. But that is not the prime motive for which they shower their largesse on the publication. Their main intention is to bolster an intellectual treat. The community is blessed with enough organizations and individuals to provide high calorie, edible sustenance. Parsiana’s energies and limited resources should be concentrated on providing food for thought, nourishing the mind. Though some no doubt suffer mental indigestion after partaking of what is published, the journal’s intention is not to offend but inform.
In the first issue of Parsiana published by Dr Pestonji Warden in November 1964 he explained in his Editorial the name of the journal was derived from "Parsi and Ana…a suffix (which) means ‘pertaining to’” The journal was launched "to fill a void.” He envisioned the magazine helping the community "to see ourselves as a self-integrated group (and) a suitable medium for the larger (issue) of national integration…Awareness of a problem and awareness of a need to change are pre-requisites of any movement.”
Did he believe the magazine would survive to celebrate its golden anniversary? Friends cautioned him, "Don’t do it…You won’t get support,” wrote Warden. "Launching a magazine in face of this advice would be foolhardy. Not launching it would be backing out from an uphill task. The magazine is out. The die is cast. Hope is eternal.”
All over the world one sees Zoroastrians and Parsis striving to make their presence felt, endeavoring to optimize their worth, seeking new approaches to old problems. And yet while adapting, still holding on to the core values that have earned them a beneficent name, labeled them as followers of the morally good life.
In recognition of the community’s worth, the Government of India has launched, the Jiyo (long live) Parsi program to try and bolster the Parsis’ dismal demographics. This is the first time that such an effort has been initiated, and it is a singular honor.
For the first time ever a Zoroastrian All Party Parliament Group has been formed in the British Parliament. Posters of The Everlasting Flame exhibition hosted by the School of Oriental and African Studies were festooned on London subway stations, another first for the minuscule UK Zoroastrian community.
The neophyte North American Zoroastrian community celebrated the 25th anniversary of the formation of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North American (FEZANA) with a series of events including a function to coincide with the 16th North American Zarathushti Congress. No other country or continent can boast of holding similar meets in such a short span of time or forming and perpetuating a pan multinational organization.
Tehran, Houston, London, Dubai have all held World Zoroastrian Congresses in recent times and now the 10th Congress is scheduled for Bombay this December with the President of India inaugurating the meet. Singapore thereafter will host the next international meet.
The Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) has launched an ambitious scheme to provide substantial monetary assistance to priests. A writ petition initiated by the BPP in the Bombay High Court has provided relief to religious institutions from astronomical increases in property tax.
One may ask how the community manages to survive and even flourish when the population is depleting. Perhaps the answer lies in its resilience. Parsis are after all migrants. They left Iran 1,300 years ago and thereafter in search of a better economic, religious, social and cultural life. They knew that aspiring for a freer existence entailed initiating action, undertaking substantial risks. A journey of a few thousand miles across land or sea in those days was fraught with danger, deprivation, disease and death. Of those who bravely ventured forth, few would have arrived at their final destination. Only the fitter and more able could have completed the arduous journey.
As regards communications, several books by Zoroastrian authors are published. The Parsi media, run institutionally or individually, is growing. Websites abound. In print, aside from the venerable The Bombay Samachar, Asia’s oldest newspaper (though largely sustained by readers from the Gujarati community), the Jam-e-Jamshed Weekly, Parsiana and The BPP Review, there is the fledgling Parsi Times with probably the largest local community circulation as it is distributed free of cost in the colonies and several other places.
The FEZANA Journal in North America and the World Zoroastrian Organisation’s Hamazor are published by honorary editors, publishers and support staff. Several community associations publish newsletters some of which are now offered in electronic form.
Despite a diminishing circulation, Parsiana has progressed over the years thanks to the unstinting support received from well-wishers, subscribers, advertisers, sponsors and donors. They make it possible for the semi-monthly to keep pace with technological advancements, four color printing, global coverage and a website. At the core of the journal were and are very dedicated and committed individuals who work unstintingly at a fraction of market wages to bring out a quality publication.
How will Parsiana celebrate its golden anniversary? By further focusing on the issues and causes confronting the community. The magazine requested several individuals in India and abroad to offer their views on trends, events, people, demographics, personal histories pertaining to the community. The first installment of articles appear in this issue. The pieces appear according to geographic distribution and subject. Other articles will be carried subsequently. Readers are welcome to write in with offerings on the community’s past, present and future.
Well-wishers may not object if Parsiana throws a gahanbar to mark its 50th. But that is not the prime motive for which they shower their largesse on the publication. Their main intention is to bolster an intellectual treat. The community is blessed with enough organizations and individuals to provide high calorie, edible sustenance. Parsiana’s energies and limited resources should be concentrated on providing food for thought, nourishing the mind. Though some no doubt suffer mental indigestion after partaking of what is published, the journal’s intention is not to offend but inform.
In the first issue of Parsiana published by Dr Pestonji Warden in November 1964 he explained in his Editorial the name of the journal was derived from "Parsi and Ana…a suffix (which) means ‘pertaining to’” The journal was launched "to fill a void.” He envisioned the magazine helping the community "to see ourselves as a self-integrated group (and) a suitable medium for the larger (issue) of national integration…Awareness of a problem and awareness of a need to change are pre-requisites of any movement.”
Did he believe the magazine would survive to celebrate its golden anniversary? Friends cautioned him, "Don’t do it…You won’t get support,” wrote Warden. "Launching a magazine in face of this advice would be foolhardy. Not launching it would be backing out from an uphill task. The magazine is out. The die is cast. Hope is eternal.”
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From the archive