Restoring “izzat”

When caterer Nargis Mistry decided to voluntarily assist in the preparation of meals for the young children vacationing in the Cama Convalescent Home in Bandra, she got caught in the crossfire between the two warring camps in the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP). When the Cama authorities asked for a cook, she had asked a person who wanted Rs 2,000 a day. Mistry, who resides in Gamadia Colony near Tardeo and is the caterer for the Ripon Club, told Parsiana she suffers from migraine and needs to rest in the afternoon. She therefore requested she be given temporary accommodation at the Bhabha Sanatorium on Bandra sea face for the 10 or so days of the camp. The BPP chairman Yazdi Desai granted her permission to reside in the flat that had been turned over to the BPP by occupant Aloo Daruwalla.
When the Cama authorities said it was beyond their budget, she volunteered to do the work herself for free. A video shot of Mistry at the Sanatorium was circulated on social media, bringing the matter to public notice. "If the keys are with the administration how did she (Mistry) get inside the flat without the trustees of Bhabha Sanatorium as well as trustees of the BPP’s approval or knowledge,” inquired an article in the Metro Junction issue of May 20, 2018 that went on to allege, "this is a serious breach of trust property by Yazdi and Anahita Desai as if it is their personal property.”
The article allegedly from the former BPP chairman Dinshaw Mehta camp said the flat "has been occupied by one Nargis Mistry on instructions of Yazdi Desai.” Mistry was very upset at the adverse publicity given to her and asked Mehta to restore her izzat (honor). She and her family had been living from sanatorium to sanatorium over many years before settling in a relative’s flat in Gamadia Colony. They had struggled to make a living for themselves and she was visibly upset at being maligned.
She asked Mehta for an apology which he issued on May 28 in an email addressed to Desai. "I apologize to Nargis Mistry that she got caught in the crossfire and was falsely maligned but it was basically the fault of your (wife) for giving her Aloo masi’s flat without the knowledge or approval of the other trustees.” Berating Desai for not taking his co-trustees into confidence "a sincere person who wanted to help young children vacationing… had to undergo… character assassination.” Desai replied the same day alleging incorrectly that Mehta was threatened by Mistry’s husband and therefore had "to go down on both knees and beg” forgiveness.