All India pilgrimage

Many Parsis and Iranis visit all eight atash behrams in India in a single day, but my friends and I decided to visit each and every atash behram, agiary, dadgah and dar-e-meher across the length and breadth of the country in one nonstop pilgrimage. And though it was not easy to accomplish, we succeeded in doing so in 33 days. Any Zarthoshti who would like to do likewise is welcome to contact us for details and guidance. We are available over the telephone: Bakhtyar Italia (9821573573), Rustom Irani (9892108143) and Dara Anklesaria (9769093151).

At first the group comprised five friends, but as some were employed and could not get leave, two dropped put. Finally Irani (64), Anklesaria (57) and I (59) decided to go ahead. We procured road maps from the Western India Automobile Association and chalked out our journey, calculating the distance to be covered, fuel required, obtaining the addresses of the agiaries and dharamshalas from the Bombay Parsi Punchayet and checking how much expense would be incurred.

There were many who said we were mad and would not be able to carry out our plan. Others felt it would take us at least two months while others feared that driving through many states would be risky and we would not succeed. But we stuck to our resolve and taking the name of Ahura Mazda fixed the date of departure. After making thorough preparations we left for our all India non-stop pilgrimage at 5 a.m. on February 8, 2009.

We were not sure how many days it would take, but everything went according to plan and we successfully completed our religious tour, returning to Bombay on March 11, 2009 at 3.30 p.m. We spent Rs 33,127 on fuel. Our wonderful trip was very fulfilling and we did not have to undergo any hardships except a few punctures.

BAKHTYAR ITALIA

bakezen@gmail.com