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FOZYA in Panchgani

By Sherene Vakil · March 21, 2015
"If you don’t mind stepping into a few goat droppings… or waking up shivering in the morning because your friend was cold and stole your blanket, this is a pretty nice place to be," mentioned participant Shirzad Irani in an email forwarded to Parsiana. He was referring to the trip to Panchgani, from November 23 to 25, 2014, organized by the Federation of Zoroastrian Youth Associations (FOZYA).
The three-day meet began when the 50-strong group, aged between 21 and 24 years, boarded the bus at Poona’s Komra ni Agiary and headed for the hill station. Many of them had come from as far as Bangalore and Ahmedabad. Recalling the experience Irani described the next three days "a big happy knot of memories. Settling down at the campsite…after a heavy lunch… we quickly split into teams for an impromptu volleyball cum handball game… Rappelling, rifle shooting, cliff climbing up to the tableland against the backdrop of the sunset, campfires and partying… Then there was the walk down to the waterfall that we never found." Dinner comprised chicken biryani, strawberries and cream. There was a "walk down Mahabaleshwar bazaar, munching carrots and staining our hands (with) berries (while we) pondered over the hundreds of choices in jams."
Youngsters at the camp; rappelling and rifle shooting

Camp coordinator Shahrukh Bhatena, a former National Cadet Corps commander, solicitous of the youngsters’ stay in dormitories would inquire, "Baba, you OK?" But that did not stop him from marching them early the following morning in the rain and fog to seek the sunrise, Irani writes. Thanks to the experienced Bhatena, the youngsters enjoyed a barbecue. The evenings were spent playing games and interacting with their peers with some plucking berries from the bushes that lined the compound. There was music and dancing late into the night. On the morning of November 26, the youths boarded the bus to return to Poona.

Having held 23 youth meets so far as well as several intercity ones, FOZYA is a body with representatives all over India. There is participation from many cities other than Bombay and Poona, notes its president Mabrin Nanavatti. The biggest delegation for its youth meet to Panchgani came from Gujarat, he reveals in an email sent to Parsiana. According to Nanavatti, for Rs 1,800 per head the delegates were provided with accommodation, food, transport and all outdoor activities like rappelling, horse riding, rifle shooting — not to mention the strawberries and cream, an evening of barbecued chicken with unlimited soft drinks and mineral water. It is the low cost registration that is a major factor in attracting participation, as compared with other youth meets held in five star hotels which few can afford, he writes.

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