More than music

"Harmony in Helping Hands,” the fundraiser musical concert by pianist Rashna Gazder and her 24 students on March 1, 2015 "gave Karachiites an evening to cherish,” stated Sunnu Golwalla in the April 2015 edition of What’s On, the newsletter of the Karachi Zarthosti Banu Mandal (KZBM). "The music spanned all varieties, from classical to light to theme songs from films. All numbers were accompanied by highly profound visuals that made the music, especially the vocal variety, come home in the most poignant of manner,” wrote Anil Datta in The News of March 2. He described Gazder’s performance as "simply superb,” adding, "It would be impossible to carry out a rating of the artistes in the 26-item program as all of them were plainly splendid.”
"A storehouse of talent,” Gazder, with Terrence Joseph at the keyboard, gave a modern twist to classics like Beethoven’s Fur Elise and Ninth Symphony as also Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. The accompanying visuals showed scenes from France, Germany and Russia. The credit for setting "all our lovely pieces to visuals on screen” go to her son Darayus, a fifth year medical student who "worked tirelessly despite his heavy schedules,” appreciated the proud mother. When exchanging ideas with Darayus who also enjoys playing the piano, he gave her a quote "True charity is the desire to be useful to others with no thought of recompense” which Rashna decided to include in the program.

Rashna Gazder (left) and with her students in Karachi

Through this event they were able to raise PKRs 52 lakhs for Layton Rahmatullah Benevolent Trust (LRBT) Eye Hospitals, the largest nongovernmental organization in Pakistan that has treated over 29 million patients free of charge, wrote Gazder in her email responses to Parsiana. When her husband Percy had to undergo multiple eye surgeries in private hospitals following retinal detachments, seeing the high cost of treatment, Rashna chose to dedicate her talent and that of her pupils to this cause believing "no man, woman or child should go blind just because he or she cannot afford the treatment... My pupils and I visited their (LRBT) facilities and we were very impressed with their staff, medical equipment and cleanliness.”
Of the 24 students who performed, 12 were Parsis, mentioned Gazder. The youngest performer was Shereen Marker, aged eight, playing Alouette. Despite the decline in community numbers in Karachi, Gazder observes, "Most Parsi parents have always been happy in encouraging their children to learn the piano. The annual Minwalla Music Competition (in October) encourages and motivates many Parsi children to excel and perform on a yearly basis.” Organized by the Young Mazdayasnian Zoroastrian Association (YMZA)/Dastur Dr Dhalla Institute, the competition is sponsored by Roy Minwalla and his late wife Gool who present every participant a cash gift, irrespective of the child winning the prize or not. These organizations also promote Gujarati and English elocution, dance and art competitions, mentions Gazder.
Rashna’s tryst with music commenced as a child when seeing her interest in western music her parents Roshan and Sorab Bhumgara enrolled her for the Orff Schulwerk classes at the Max Mueller Bhavan in Colaba. She had many opportunities to perform with the Bombay Chamber Orchestra and after establishing a good foundation in the theory of music and rhythmic percussion, she started learning the piano with Norma Gasper at the Queen Mary School, leading the school assemblies on the piano and performing as a soloist.
Her marriage in 1990 brought her to Karachi where she started teaching the piano and French as hobby classes on a small scale while her sons were young (currently both Darayus and Noshirwan are medical students). In May 1998 her students performed at a gahanbar organized by the KZBM in the Parsi Colony, followed the next year by a piano concert and a French fashion show by her pupils. Her first public show in 2007 was hosted by Byram and Goshpi Avari at Avari Towers with another performance three years later, also at the same venue, to celebrate the centenary of YMZA. "We are a highly respected community here (and) the Parsis are very close; the old and young take a keen interest in community functions and prayers.” Contrary to what is projected in the media Gazder maintains, "Pakistanis are warm and vibrant.”