Honoring humor

"Hindustanio hasvanu bhuli gaya chhé… Parsio baddha né hasta raakhya chhé (Indians have forgotten laughter… The Parsis keep everyone laughing),” commented Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dramatist Yazdi Karanjia. The Surat-based theater personality was in Delhi to receive his Padma Shri award for 2020 from President Ramnath Kovind on November 8, 2021. Modi’s round of handshakes with the awardees followed the felicitation by Kovind. Karanjia was all praise for the precision of the ceremony. "Ek bounceré aapuné kahyu su karvanu (A bouncer explained the protocol),” said the diminutive dramatist when he spoke to Parsiana on November 11. The recipients were presented with their awards in alphabetical order. "Mari ék baaju (entertainment czarina) Ekta Kapoor, biji baaju (film man) Karan Johar (I was flanked by Kapoor and Johar),” Karanjia told us.
"He is a genre of Parsi theater… He holds a prominent place in the world of live theater and continues to contribute through his humor,” tweeted the handle of the President of India about Karanjia in 2020. The announcement was made last year and Karanjia was felicitated by four Surat-based organizations on March 10, 2020 (see "Doyen of drama,” Parsiana, July 7-20, 2020).
The President distributed seven Padma Vibhushan, 10 Padma Bhushan and 102 Padma Shri Awards. Prominent recipients included former union ministers George Fernandes, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, all posthumously, actress Kangana Ranaut and sports personalities Mary Kom and P. V. Sindhu.

Farrokh Jijina