Flying the flag in Surat

A replica of the Kavyani Zanda (a flag of repute to celebrate communal harmony and zeal) was paraded through the residential localities of Surat to mark the 118th anniversary of the Bage Parsa Adarian on the morning of January 31, 2014. After a maachi was offered at the fire temple there was a jashan attended by thousands of devotees, notes write-up sent to Parsiana by Jimmy Kharadi, honorary secretary of the New Adarian Saheb ‘Bage Parsa’ Trust (NASBPT).

At a function organized that evening by the Trust at the Kadmi Atash Behram the chief guest was Brig (Retd) Jahangir Anklesaria, president of the Ahmedabad Parsi Panchayat who was welcomed by Dastur Cyrus Dastur. During his military career Anklesaria had served at the Front with the Gorkha Regiment in Jammu and Kashmir, Poonch as well as the Pakistan border at Rajasthan and Kutch. He had also been based at the Siachen glacier which our jawans (soldiers) guard in extremely cold -50° weather conditions, Kharadi mentions. The winner of several awards, including the President’s medal for unflinching loyalty and bravery, Anklesaria appealed to the youth to join the Army and serve the nation. He stressed the need for unity among members of the community with honesty and transparency in handling trust affairs.
Noted religious thinker and writer Rusi Besania spoke on the life and message of Ustad Behramshah Shroff who was born in Surat in the vicinity of Bage Parsa. Some 179 years ago Shroff broke his silence of 30 years and delivered a speech on Atash on the Bage Parsa premises in the presence of scholars and priests. Kharadi mentions that trustees of the NASBPT have decided to construct a hall for religious lectures and conferences in Shroff’s memory at Bage Parsa and donations have been pledged for the purpose.
Also present at the function were trustees Tehmas Pundole, Noshir Pestonjamasp and Jer Haradhwala. The evening ended with a gahanbar.