An eloquent educationist

Died: Bejon Noshirwan Desai, 90, eminent educationist, linguist and secular scholar, on April 8, 2014 in Nasik.
A large number of dignitaries from the educational, spiritual, social and political fields joined in the funeral procession that began from his residence, with many ex-students of Boys’ Town Public School where he had been principal for over three decades serving as pallbearers. "Desai was an institution in himself in the field of education,” summed up a write-up in the local Deshdoot Times.

Bejon Desai with managing trustee Keki Mehta at the Boys’ Town campus in 1974

"It was as if he lived and breathed Boys’ Town (the residential school in Nasik). He was a trustee of the School till his demise. He was mighty tickled when a huge exodus of his ex-students came from all over the country and abroad to celebrate his last birthday…his 90th. He was taken to the School on a wheelchair and the boys reminisced of their old days at School, eulogized dad... (did) hilarious miming of how dad would scold them, etc… That was the last time he went to his real abode,” reminisced Desai’s daughter Mahrukh Kharas.
When Parsiana had featured this institution in its issue of October-November 1974 (see "Far from madding crowd”) Desai who was then in his 18th year as principal had regretted, "Not only do we have fewer Parsi pupils than we would like, but we have hardly any Parsi teachers.” The School then had 310 boarders of whom 100 were Parsis. Among the outstanding Parsi alumni of the School are the former municipal commissioner of Bombay Jamsheed Kanga, well-known architect Hafeez Contractor, Lt Purvez Jamasji who was conferred the Vir Chakra, Lt Commander Bahadur Kavina who was recipient of Maha Vir Chakra, Rusi Taleyarkhan, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) director and program manager… Referring to a condolence meeting convened by the School management on April 10, a tribute by writer Marzban Giara includes a quote from the managing trustee of the School, Neville Mehta who described Desai as "a great educationist…He was a guiding light to us.” "Knowing sir, through his write-ups, his books and hearing him speak, he was and will remain one of my model principals. The teaching fraternity has got poorer,” remarked Homai Wadia, former principal of the Sir J. J. School in Valsad.
Author of 16 books, Desai was keen to impress on Zoroastrians "the need to recognize and study the language of their holy scriptures,” he had written in A Compendium for Learning Avesta and its sequel A Manual for Learning Avesta. He had also compiled a mini edition of Pak Khordeh Avesta – Daily Prayers (in four scripts – Avesta, Roman, Nagari and Gujarati). Learning Gujarati through English was another attempt to help the present generation "learn Gujarati – the sweet language of their illustrious ancestors.”

Regularly conferred honors by different organizations, in 2008 he was presented the Jivan Sadhana Gaurav Award (Lifetime Achievement Award) on the lawns of the Poona University by its vice chancellor for his "immense contribution to the field of Gujarati literature and thirst for spreading knowledge through education and books.”
Viewing him as "a great scholar of Avesta, Zoroastrian religion, Prakrit, Sanskrit, Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism and all the religions,” Meher Master-Moos, president of the Mazdayasnie Monasterie, added, "He taught people by precept and practice. From him I learnt how to conduct interfaith prayers at our functions as he used to do every morning at Boys’ Town.”
In close contact with Kamu Baba ever since he was introduced to the saint by erstwhile Bombay Parsi Punchayet trustee Shiavax Vakil, Desai had devoted two books to him: The Master and Thus Spake the Master. Every Wednesday, Desai would deliver lectures on Zoroastrian Yashts at the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute (KRCOI). As he related in The Master, apparently one of his talks on Tir Yasht which he described as "a rhetorical drama that merely tells the story of a fight between Tir Yazad and the demon Apaosha” had considerably annoyed Kamu Baba who reprimanded him for allowing "your academic philological jargon to suppress the shining faith of your listeners.” However with the subsequent embrace from the Master "my ego dissolved to allow my true self to comprehend at last the truth and wisdom of his admonishment,” he confessed.
Although well off in his childhood with his father Noshirwan being the chief cashier at the Central Bank of India head office in Bombay, following his father’s sudden demise, the family’s responsibility rested on Bejon’s young shoulders. After completing his schooling from Navsari he came to Bombay for his undergraduate studies and completed his BA from St Xavier’s College. With the help of scholarships he then completed his MA in English. To pursue his interest in languages, he worked part-time at the KRCOI and used the stipend to fund his multiple Masters degrees in Sanskrit, Avestan, Pahlavi and Gujarati from the Bombay University.
A chance meeting with industrial magnate Pirojshah Mehta took him to Nasik as the youngest principal of Boys’ Town. Immersed in the field of education he decided to complete his BEd and topped the University in this examination as a gold medallist. In 1963-64 he was selected as a Fulbright scholar. As he mentions in The Master, "After a full year of good hard work and rich experience there (in the US) I returned a humble but enriched man.”
In addition to his expertise being sought by several government educational bodies, Desai made time to serve on the board of many social and welfare organizations. In their condolence letter on behalf of the "NAB (National Association for the Blind) Pariwar” Maharashtra Unit president Rameshwar Kalantri and honorary general secretary Gopi Mayur referred to Desai’s passing away as an "irreparable loss.” As guest of honor at the annual colloquia of Theosophical Order of Service, "his eloquent and thought-provoking talks…inspired and guided all to become good and helpful citizens for the welfare of humanity,” recalled Rusi Toddywalla, chairman of the colloquium committee. Desai was also active with the Red Cross and the Lions Club.
His late wife Navaz and he shared an interest in gardening and Bejon’s cacti collection was shown to many a visitor to the School. He had even shared his knowledge of this subject through his book Cactus and Succulents. The scholar’s weekly column in Deshdoot, "First was the Word,” was a popular Sunday feature that was later compiled into another book.
He was considerably knowledgeable about astrology too and his predictions were very accurate, states Kharas who refers to many people who considered him a saint and flocked to him to seek spiritual guidance. The nearly 3,500 rare books on spirituality, religion, oriental studies, languages that were in his personal collection will be preserved in his memory as a mini library for the convenience of upcoming scholars.
The soft-spoken scholar is survived by his daughter Mahrukh Kharas.