“A fascinating religion”
Zochild Day, the largest gathering of Zoroastrian children, completed 15 years of encouraging the young
The chatter and babble of young voices died down as soon as Perin Bagli, ZCF committee member and principal of the Activity High School took to the mike. "We will not begin till there is perfect silence. Switch off your cell phones as it interferes with our technical setup. Do not talk or move about and listen to them (the keynote speakers) properly. Volunteers be very vigilent,” was her short and forceful admonition.
The morning commenced with Shihan Vispy Kapadia taking the Zoroastrian pledge with young voices echoing his words. When his request for "havé na bolta (do not repeat this)” went unheeded, the ZCF chairman dressed in a dagli with a pheto atop his head, went into peels of laughter. "Majah na vaasté ready chhèo ké (Are you ready for some fun)?” he asked. The cavernous three tiered hall resonated with an eager "Yes!”
"For those who have not been with us on our journey since the last 15 years, you need to know what was the intent behind the ZCF which initiated the ZCD. A personal tragedy in the lives of Vispy and his wife Shiraz of losing their first born — daughter Fareena — in the very bloom of childhood was the idea behind the day,” Khambatta told the gathering. To remember her and others who have been associated with ZCD — ZCF committee member Dr Daisy Sidhwa, community songster Marzban Mehta and ZCF supporter Dadi Engineer — Zubin Sanjana rendered a soulful version of Pal, pal dil ké paas, tum rehti ho (You are close to my heart every moment) from the Bollywood movie Blackmail.
Dressed in white churidar kurtas, heads reverently covered with white scarves, nine Bai Avabai Framji Petit Girls High School girls sang a few monajats accompanied by their music teacher Viraf Daruwalla.
"I hope the interest in finding out more about your own religion will be kindled today in many of you and that you will carry on the torch of maintaining and cherishing and cultivating your religion into the future and pass it on to the next generation,” first keynote speaker of the day Dr Almut Hintze, Zartoshty Brothers Professor of Zoroastrianism at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, addressed the audience. "Pay attention to what your parents and teachers tell you about the Zoroastrian religion and its traditions… For those of you who come from priestly families, you may consider doing the priestly training in addition to your standard secular education. It is very, very important that you all respect and honor your priests.”
An authority on the Avestan Zamyad Yasht and the Yasna Haptanhaity, the German scholar said that she is often asked as to why she chose Zoroastrianism as her subject for study. "It’s an absolutely fascinating religion. The ideas are amazing and it’s also a lot of fun. I have a lot of Parsi friends and enjoy their company,” she admitted. Not new to Bombay (she has been reportedly coming here since the past 30 years), the lady was clad in traditional Indian attire and was "absolutely delighted and greatly honored to be here today. It is so uplifting to see so many of you here on this amazing day which is just for you.”
Back by popular demand were the visually impaired children of Udaan, an NGO (non governmental organization) located in Parel. They were to dance with lighted diyas on their heads but according to the rules of the Auditorium which does not allow any form of fire on stage, the performance with only glasses atop their heads was nothing short of spectacular.
What is the aim of our Zoroastrian religion? asked Ervad (Dr) Parvez Bajan, the second speaker of the day. "To make the world happy, to make others happy and by that to be happy yourself. Help the world to progress further and further. Enrich your life by following the precepts of the Zoroastrian religion,” he advised. Though ancient, Zoroastrianism has moved with the times and is twice as old as Christianity, according to the scholar priest. "Our faith is simple. There is no fasting, no hard life. Our happiness lies in others’ happiness and that’s the spirit of Zoroastrian philosophy,” he ended.
Dr Almut Hintze, Ervad (Dr) Parvez Bajan and Noshir Dadrawala
Marazban Wadia (l) and Zubin Sanjana
Recognition and reward
Nineteen Zoroastrians, young and old, were felicitated that Sunday afternoon (two in absentia). The Zoroastrian Excellence Emeritus Award was given to Padmashri Dr Keiki Mehta for his work in the field of ophthalmology.
Seven "jewels of the community” were recognized. They were orthopedic surgeon Dr Darius Soonawalla for medicine, Lion Neville Mehta for social service, Noshirwan and Meher Jehangir for speech and drama, Jam-e-Jamshed editor Shernaz Engineer for journalism and past school principals Zenobia Daroga and Silloo Commissariat for their contribution to the field of education.
A special tribute award went to Kayaan Anklesaria who successfully battled cancer and has won accolades in athletics. Delhi based fashion designer Ashdeen Lilaowala and car racer Jehangir Daruwalla won the Zochild Award for Distinction.
The Zochild Rising Star awardees were Poona brothers Sarosh and Daanish Mundroina (cycling), Kaizeen Mehta and Mahafreen Mistry (girl guides), Shareez Sidhwa (handball), Shazaad Olpadwalla (taekwondo), Yohan Patrawala (volley ball) and Zenia Tampal (malkhamb).
Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trustees Noshir Dadrawala, Kersi Randeria, Zarir Bhathena, Armaity Tirandaz and Viraf Mehta as well as past chairman Dinshaw Mehta were felicitated with shawls and flowers.
Next it was time for some action. A scintillating display of martial arts performed by Kapadia’s students of Gojukai India left the audience captivated. With years of dedication, discipline and devotion the graceful black belts displayed a calibrated performance of katas, some done with free hands and others using weapons.
Raising the bar of their performance each year were the girls of Avabai Petit who enthralled with their dancing gymnastics.
The highlight of the day was a musical production — Mama Mia — by the students of the Activity High School which had everyone glued to their seats. Using a lot of LED display and techinical wizardry, the extravaganza was a song and dance item featuring popular songs of the yesteryear Swedish pop group Abba.
Associated with the ZCD since its inception was the last keynote speaker for the day, Dadrawalla. "Today is Zoroastrian Hope Day for the older generation like me, because you all are the hope of the community… Who are you all?” he asked the young audience. "I see you as stars… shining stars,” he added drawing a parallel to the Prophet’s name Zarathushtra. "‘Zara’ is golden, ‘ush’ is to shine and ‘tra’ is star. He is our golden star and you are his children.”
Speaking on what ails the community, he said: "We will fight in his name, we will argue in his name, we are even willing to die in his name. But what we fail to do is live in his name… Today it is not an Alexander who is threatening us. Today it is not the Arab threatening us but the enemy within. For one step that you want to take forward, there are others who will take you two steps backwards. Aapro dharam ètlo nablo nathi ké dhasti ma aavi saké (Our religion is not so weak that it can be threatened). Dhasti thaich tau aapra individuals né thaich (It is the individual who has fear).
He ended his impactful speech, spoken extempore, with: "We are a religion of happiness, we are not a dividing community. We do not see ourselves as superior. We see ourselves as equal and that is what distinguishes us.”