True benevolence

Ahmedabad based philanthropist Manijeh Gamir (pictured) passed away in that city at the age of 93 on August 6, 2016. She and her late husband Dhanjishaw were known for their benevolence to the community and had created the Dhanjishaw and Manijeh Gamir Charitable Trust during their lifetime to help needy Zoroastrians, writes Aspy Bharucha on behalf of the trustees.
Manijeh’s most significant service to the community in Ahmedabad was when, in 2007, she donated a sum of Rs 35 lakhs in the name of her late husband for renovating the dilapidated Parsi Sanatorium, also known as the Sir Navroji Vakil Community Hall at Parsi Compound, off Ashram Road. Thanks to her munificence this property, managed by the Ahmedabad Parsi Panchayat, today earns an income of Rs 10 lakhs a year and is used by many local Parsi trusts and welfare boards for their activities, Bharucha reveals.
Manijeh was born in Ahmedabad, though her family hailed from Nargol. After completing her education she returned to Nargol where she worked as a teacher at New High School and subsequently joined Tata Wadia High School in that town. Marriage to Dhanjishaw brought her back to the city of her birth where the couple lived a simple life, practicing the precepts of the religion in the most practical manner.
In her will, the lady bequeathed her immovable property in Ahmedabad to her younger brother, Jal Nasarwanji Panthaky, a resident of Toronto in Canada for over four decades. He, in turn, donated the entire property to the trust created by his sister and brother-in-law, so that more deserving Zoroastrians could benefit.