“Dreams come true”
Arbab Rostam and Morvarid Guiv Dar-e-Meher at San Jose, California
Having campaigned for and co-founded the Zoroastrian Association of California (ZAC) in Los Angeles in 1974, when I moved to Northern California for a job with NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), I also co-founded ZANC in 1980. With a pledge of seed money from the Arbab Rostam Guiv Foundation and funds raised by the Zarathushti community, a property was bought in the city of San Jose, around 1986 and a separate Prayer Hall (Dar-e-Meher) structure was built by ZANC on the land.
Although some Iranian Zarathushtis decided to form a separate organization called Persian Zoroastrian Organization (PZO) subsequent to the pledge from Arbab Guiv, and maneuvered the trustee, Dr Rostam Sarfeh (after the passing away of Arbab Guiv) to give a 99-year lease to PZO instead of ZANC, the two communities (Iranians and Parsis) continued to share the facility and contribute to its maintenance.
MANECK NAWROJI BHUJWALA
Co-founder of ZAC and ZANC and past president of ZANC
mbhujwala@socal.rr.com
The editors reply:
Thank you for providing details of the ZANC center.
In your editorial "Dreams come true” (Parsiana, October 21, 2014) you have made specific mention of the work being done by the Bardoli and Mahuva Anjumans. I am thankful to you for appreciating our task of fully renovating Manekwadi, a community hall at Mahuva. Your reference to our Anjuman has really boosted our morale. In 2010 we had also renovated the agiary building though we faced financial constraints. Devout hamdins and charitable trusts enabled us to complete both these projects to our full satisfaction.
We have a non-functioning dakhma with surrounding land which is free of any encroachment and in the near future we intend to build a protective wall around this property.
Dr HOSANG F. MOGUL
Trustee, Mahuva Parsi Anjuman