Editorial Viewpoint
Rating the Congress
"Patchy.” That was the word used by an editorial colleague to best describe the 10th World Zoroastrian Congress (10WZC) eventually held in Bombay, December end. There was the good, the bad but fortunately not the ugly. No tamashas, no fisticuffs, no verbal duels nor cussing nor walkouts. The Congress was peaceful and the castigated trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) who hosted the meet were on their best behavior.
But there was minimum time permitted for audience participation. One delegate stated he felt "defranchised.” That coupled with time overruns, tortuous (but orderly) queues for the first two days or so for meals and tea, last minute changes in speakers on panels, an aborted trip to the Prince of Wales Museum to see the Cyrus Cylinder, blighted the proceedings.
For overseas delegates, all the mismanagement may have been particularly galling but for those residing in India who have lived through the socialist era, it was par for the course.
In terms of vision, the 10WZC program was sweeping with lavish entertainment, over 120 speakers and 45 sessions, topped by the presence of the President of India, the first time a head of state has inaugurated or even attended a WZC, as noted the 10WZC’s suave honorary secretary Maneck Davar. President Pranab Mukherjee was accompanied by the Governor of Maharashtra, Kateekal Sankaranarayanan and Jayant Patil, the state minister for rural development. The union minister for minority affairs, K. Rahman Khan, gave an impassioned speech on the last day.
Mukherjee’s speech reiterated time worn clichés about the community and was delivered in a deadpan manner without any attempt at humor. But that he considered the event worthy of his presence demonstrated his thoughtfulness and high regard for this dwindling community.
Perhaps the best speeches delivered at past Zoroastrian global meets were by the former Chief Justice of India and at one time the country’s Acting President Mohammad Hidayatullah (he was the vice president at the time of the Congress), and the then Governor of Maharashtra Shankar Dayal Sharma, who went on to become the president of India. Their insight into the community coupled with their wit and sharp intellect made them speakers one listened to with rapt attention.
In contrast speaker after speaker at the 10WZC cited the spurious sugar in the milk analogy and referred to the Qisse-ye Sanjan as though it were a factual narration of the Parsis’ journey from Iran to India 1,300 years ago. Dates were bandied about, the number of boats and their occupants were cited and even debated. It was only a handful of speakers like archeologist Rukshana Nanji who put the myths in perspective. But her talk took place after seven in the evening, two hours behind schedule and concurrently with two other interesting sessions, global Parsi demography by Roshan Rivetna, and Parsis and literature and theater presided over by poet and National Minorities Commission representative Keki Daruwalla.
One reason for the time overruns was that the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) stadium has besides the main auditorium, only one room for conducting simultaneous sessions. A second "room” was created in a passageway with chairs, a screen and podium. The shift from the well maintained and plush National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) which has a provision for three concurrent sessions, proved a disaster. Except for a marginal spillover on the first day, all the 1,200 delegates could have been easily accommodated in the Tata auditorium at the complex. The NCPA has a large, well maintained open space with manicured gardens where meals could have been served without resulting in endless queues. In contrast NSCI reminded one of the old Bombay domestic airport. Aside from a total lack of any finesse, a pothole greeted delegates and dignitaries near the entrance gate; debris, cement bags, bamboo props were seen all over the grounds. Housekeeping appeared non-existent. The venue may be suitable for a sports event or a political rally but for a four-day world congress it was totally inappropriate.
The stars of the show were billionaire Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, industrialist Nadir Godrej, publisher Davar, social worker Homai Modi and businessman Dadi Mistry, emeritus president of the Delhi Parsi Anjuman whose liaison with the top government officials resulted in a galaxy of political leaders at the Congress and messages from the all-powerful Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi and other leaders. BPP chairman Dinshaw Mehta, who along with Davar and the BPP staff worked night and day for the Congress, was denied his finest hour at the world meet. His constant wrangling with four of his six co-trustees had resulted in the Congress being cancelled and then salvaged by a global public outcry and the intervention of community elders. As a compromise, all seven trustees had to recuse themselves from the ceremonial events. Poonawalla, aware of the slight and hurt sentiments, thoughtfully invited the seven on stage for the valedictory function.
With only 1,200 delegates enrolled at a cost ranging from Rs 5,500 for those under 25 to Rs 8,900 each, (the 7thWZC in Houston, Texas 13 years ago by contrast had 2,000 delegates) the Congress gave the impression of being the preserve of the wealthy and well connected.
The NSCI has a seating capacity of 5,000 so there was no reason why lower priced tickets without meals could not have been offered. Those paying less could have been seated on the semi-circular stands. Lunch boxes could have been offered at reasonable rates as the NSCI venue is located a distance away from any affordable eateries, taxis are hard to come by and traffic snarls are common. A 10-minute walk from the stadium to the neighboring Turf Club took up to 45 minutes by car or bus.
The special horse races and the spread laid out at the Royal Western India Turf Club was the high point of the Congress. But here also instructions were sketchy so that several delegates missed out on the snacks served at the Seaview Lounge in the Grand Stand. Many wandered aimlessly looking for the buses to take them back to NSCI.
But the biggest gaffe was on the last day when nearly 400 delegates piled into buses at around 5.30 pm to view the Cryus Cylinder at the Prince Of Wales Museum about 10 kilometers away. En route the buses had to turn back as the Museum closes at 6 p.m.!
So the real heroes of the Congress were the delegates. They stoically and philosophically braved uncertainty, erratic schedules, endless delays, traffic snarls yet many when randomly and unscientifically questioned by Parsiana, rated the meet with a six on 10.
But there was minimum time permitted for audience participation. One delegate stated he felt "defranchised.” That coupled with time overruns, tortuous (but orderly) queues for the first two days or so for meals and tea, last minute changes in speakers on panels, an aborted trip to the Prince of Wales Museum to see the Cyrus Cylinder, blighted the proceedings.
For overseas delegates, all the mismanagement may have been particularly galling but for those residing in India who have lived through the socialist era, it was par for the course.
In terms of vision, the 10WZC program was sweeping with lavish entertainment, over 120 speakers and 45 sessions, topped by the presence of the President of India, the first time a head of state has inaugurated or even attended a WZC, as noted the 10WZC’s suave honorary secretary Maneck Davar. President Pranab Mukherjee was accompanied by the Governor of Maharashtra, Kateekal Sankaranarayanan and Jayant Patil, the state minister for rural development. The union minister for minority affairs, K. Rahman Khan, gave an impassioned speech on the last day.
Mukherjee’s speech reiterated time worn clichés about the community and was delivered in a deadpan manner without any attempt at humor. But that he considered the event worthy of his presence demonstrated his thoughtfulness and high regard for this dwindling community.
Perhaps the best speeches delivered at past Zoroastrian global meets were by the former Chief Justice of India and at one time the country’s Acting President Mohammad Hidayatullah (he was the vice president at the time of the Congress), and the then Governor of Maharashtra Shankar Dayal Sharma, who went on to become the president of India. Their insight into the community coupled with their wit and sharp intellect made them speakers one listened to with rapt attention.
In contrast speaker after speaker at the 10WZC cited the spurious sugar in the milk analogy and referred to the Qisse-ye Sanjan as though it were a factual narration of the Parsis’ journey from Iran to India 1,300 years ago. Dates were bandied about, the number of boats and their occupants were cited and even debated. It was only a handful of speakers like archeologist Rukshana Nanji who put the myths in perspective. But her talk took place after seven in the evening, two hours behind schedule and concurrently with two other interesting sessions, global Parsi demography by Roshan Rivetna, and Parsis and literature and theater presided over by poet and National Minorities Commission representative Keki Daruwalla.
One reason for the time overruns was that the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) stadium has besides the main auditorium, only one room for conducting simultaneous sessions. A second "room” was created in a passageway with chairs, a screen and podium. The shift from the well maintained and plush National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) which has a provision for three concurrent sessions, proved a disaster. Except for a marginal spillover on the first day, all the 1,200 delegates could have been easily accommodated in the Tata auditorium at the complex. The NCPA has a large, well maintained open space with manicured gardens where meals could have been served without resulting in endless queues. In contrast NSCI reminded one of the old Bombay domestic airport. Aside from a total lack of any finesse, a pothole greeted delegates and dignitaries near the entrance gate; debris, cement bags, bamboo props were seen all over the grounds. Housekeeping appeared non-existent. The venue may be suitable for a sports event or a political rally but for a four-day world congress it was totally inappropriate.
The stars of the show were billionaire Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, industrialist Nadir Godrej, publisher Davar, social worker Homai Modi and businessman Dadi Mistry, emeritus president of the Delhi Parsi Anjuman whose liaison with the top government officials resulted in a galaxy of political leaders at the Congress and messages from the all-powerful Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi and other leaders. BPP chairman Dinshaw Mehta, who along with Davar and the BPP staff worked night and day for the Congress, was denied his finest hour at the world meet. His constant wrangling with four of his six co-trustees had resulted in the Congress being cancelled and then salvaged by a global public outcry and the intervention of community elders. As a compromise, all seven trustees had to recuse themselves from the ceremonial events. Poonawalla, aware of the slight and hurt sentiments, thoughtfully invited the seven on stage for the valedictory function.
With only 1,200 delegates enrolled at a cost ranging from Rs 5,500 for those under 25 to Rs 8,900 each, (the 7thWZC in Houston, Texas 13 years ago by contrast had 2,000 delegates) the Congress gave the impression of being the preserve of the wealthy and well connected.
The NSCI has a seating capacity of 5,000 so there was no reason why lower priced tickets without meals could not have been offered. Those paying less could have been seated on the semi-circular stands. Lunch boxes could have been offered at reasonable rates as the NSCI venue is located a distance away from any affordable eateries, taxis are hard to come by and traffic snarls are common. A 10-minute walk from the stadium to the neighboring Turf Club took up to 45 minutes by car or bus.
The special horse races and the spread laid out at the Royal Western India Turf Club was the high point of the Congress. But here also instructions were sketchy so that several delegates missed out on the snacks served at the Seaview Lounge in the Grand Stand. Many wandered aimlessly looking for the buses to take them back to NSCI.
But the biggest gaffe was on the last day when nearly 400 delegates piled into buses at around 5.30 pm to view the Cryus Cylinder at the Prince Of Wales Museum about 10 kilometers away. En route the buses had to turn back as the Museum closes at 6 p.m.!
So the real heroes of the Congress were the delegates. They stoically and philosophically braved uncertainty, erratic schedules, endless delays, traffic snarls yet many when randomly and unscientifically questioned by Parsiana, rated the meet with a six on 10.
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