Readers' Forum
Before memories fade
The Delhi Parsi Anjuman, jointly with Parzor Foundation, has undertaken a study to record the history of Parsis of Delhi. We strongly believe that the history of Parsi settlements all over India needs to be recorded to secure our position in the history of India. Consequently, along with Delhi, we are also planning to cover all the major towns in North India where there are, or were, Parsi settlements.
With only a handful of families now remaining, there is an urgency to record their stories before memories fade.
We have identified the following towns for coverage in our study: Agra, Srinagar, Amritsar, Simla, Dehradun, Nainital, Dalhousie, Macleodganj, Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Patna, Jhansi, Benaras, Aligarh and Bareilly. (If any town in North India with a Parsi settlement is left out, kindly add it to our list.)
The difficulty we face is locating old residents of these towns who have migrated. These persons would be our main source of information for these Parsi communities. The fear that in an aging community, these valuable voices may not be with us for long (so many have already passed away, taking their memories with them to the grave) infuses a sense of urgency.
We appeal to all Parsis in India and abroad who may know of those who have lived in any of these towns, to let us know their name, mobile number and email address to enable us to contact them. For example, our study of Bareilly remains incomplete because we are unable to contact Malcom Punewala and his mother who once lived in Bareilly. Any help regarding their whereabouts in Bombay would be welcome.
Relevant information on any erstwhile residents of North India may be shared with Ava Khullar, mobile +91 9811682027, email: avakhullar@gmail.com
AVA KHULLAR, RUKSHANA SHROFF,
Dr SHERNAZ CAMA, SHERNAZ ITALIA,
NOVY KAPADIA
Delhi
With only a handful of families now remaining, there is an urgency to record their stories before memories fade.
We have identified the following towns for coverage in our study: Agra, Srinagar, Amritsar, Simla, Dehradun, Nainital, Dalhousie, Macleodganj, Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Patna, Jhansi, Benaras, Aligarh and Bareilly. (If any town in North India with a Parsi settlement is left out, kindly add it to our list.)
The difficulty we face is locating old residents of these towns who have migrated. These persons would be our main source of information for these Parsi communities. The fear that in an aging community, these valuable voices may not be with us for long (so many have already passed away, taking their memories with them to the grave) infuses a sense of urgency.
We appeal to all Parsis in India and abroad who may know of those who have lived in any of these towns, to let us know their name, mobile number and email address to enable us to contact them. For example, our study of Bareilly remains incomplete because we are unable to contact Malcom Punewala and his mother who once lived in Bareilly. Any help regarding their whereabouts in Bombay would be welcome.
Relevant information on any erstwhile residents of North India may be shared with Ava Khullar, mobile +91 9811682027, email: avakhullar@gmail.com
AVA KHULLAR, RUKSHANA SHROFF,
Dr SHERNAZ CAMA, SHERNAZ ITALIA,
NOVY KAPADIA
Delhi
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