“The lighting of a fire”

"Knowledge of one’s heritage is more than a luxury; it is a responsibility that society owes to itself.” Chief guest Dr Keiki Mehta, surgical chief and medical director of the Mehta International Eye Institute quoted American physician and novelist Robin Cook.
He was addressing the gathering of eager prize winners, parents and invitees at the 95th annual day of the Bombay Parsi Association (BPA) which was held at Allbless Baug on November 7, 2015. In an endeavor to keep religious fervor, the art of spinning/weaving kusti and Parsipanu thriving within the community, the BPA organizes prayer competitions every year in the month of February at the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Parsi Charitable Institution. At the end of the year the Nawaz Jimi Kathawalla Memorial Prizes are distributed to the winners on the Association’s annual day. This year the Kathawalla family contributed Rs 2,80,000 to encourage 375 prize winners, young and old.
Quoting the poet William Yeats that "education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire,” Mehta said that the community now needs to go a step further "in enhancing the quality of ancillary education” through a formal coaching system or video classes to "make sure that our progeny gain entrance to good colleges, which is often the stepping stone to success.”
In his brief speech guest of honor Ervad (Dr) Parvez Bajan stated, "We should take proper advantage” of the religious knowledge available in Bombay. To quench thirst for religious knowledge, people living overseas "organize and attend religious lectures by inviting” erudite speakers from Bombay. Also gracing the occasion was the newly elected chairman of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet Yazdi Desai.

Among the five Achievement Awardees this year was artist Jamshed Irani who has created geeting cards on Indian wildlife for the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and the World Wide Fund for Nature as well as designed 32 stamps over the years. The five rupee coin depicting Dadabhai Naoroji which was released in 2003 was designed by Irani. His works have featured in a BNHS publication as also noted ornithologist Salim Ali’s books.
Davier anjuman president Marazban Wadia is a behdin paasban who has been performing Zoroastrian rites and ceremonies at the Davier and Kanpur agiaries for the past several years. Now in his 70s, he has been taking part in the Standard Chartered Marathon, always donning a T-shirt which reads "PARSI — People Always Ready to Serve India.”
Eight times national formula racing and go-karting champion Rayomand Banajee has represented the country in two world finals. His academy, Rayo Racing, has nurtured racers who have won 22 championship titles and over 200 trophies in events around the world.
Neville Mistry is a 5th degree black belt instructor of Sensei Pervez Mistry’s 51-year-old Academy of Martial Arts and has since the past 48 years been a cub master in the Sethna’s 18th West Bombay Scout Group.
Zeba Vevaina has been selected cultural ambassador to represent the Rotary District of Mumbai in Mexico and since she is currently attending school there was unable to receive her award in person.
Young athornans, students of the Dadar Athornan Institute conducted a humbandagi after which BPA president Ervad Vispi Dastur wel-comed one and all. To lighten the mood of the evening, Roshan Dastur entertained the audience with a monajat and an English number, Those Were The Days My Friend. The evening program started with a jashan and ended with the singing of the community and national anthems, after which the crowd proceeded to the much awaited four-course dinner by caterer Jimmy Gadiwala.