The Davar matriarch

"Puran means complete, and this is so true when it comes to (my mother),” noted choreographer and businessman Shiamak Davar of his mother Puran who would have become a centenarian on December 21, 2021. "I have little doubt that she will celebrate it up in heaven with pomp,” Shiamak noted in an email to Parsiana. The matriarch, principal of their family run, 1900-established Davar’s College of Commerce, passed away three months earlier on September 23. The choreographer reminisced that "she was a friend to so many around her and touched the hearts of so many souls! She was full of fun and wisdom… Truly an angel on earth to many… From being my best friend to my confidant, she groomed me and my siblings with so much love and care.”
Puran seldom missed her son’s dance shows. Seated in the audience and known to sing along with the performers, she was there, "show after show in any part of the world… cheering, clapping, and dancing which always inspired and motivated me…I always felt her blessing and energy!” stated the son. "She always complimented my dance team… Many of my Bollywood star friends regularly complimented her on her fine taste in fashion.”

Shiamak dedicated the number Because you loved me, in his 2008-2009 show "I believe,” to his mother. "It moved her greatly,” he told us. "The pride in her eyes when I won my first national award for my debut film Dil toh pagal hai (1997) will always remain fresh in my memory.” Another milestone in Shiamak’s life that made Puran "ecstatically happy” was when he got to meet Queen Elizabeth II in London. It was "an event for which she had travelled with me to London for just a day… Another proud moment for her was when I received an honor from the University of Middlesex in UK… Belonging to a family of educationists, she was very touched that I had received this.”
Puran served as vice principal of the College from 1985 to 2005 and principal from 2005 till her passing. A note on Puran from Shiamak’s office noted that "her kindness and generosity of spirit touched… her extended ‘Davar family’ which included her staff and students at the College.” Actively involved in the College’s secretarial course (now known as the executive assistant diploma course), established by her husband Nanabhoy in 1969, Puran lectured on many subjects in the course. "Her understanding and insight were instrumental in the evolving changes in the course as per the needs of the corporate world,” stated the note.
Born on December 21, 1921 to Gaimai and Darabshaw Master in Bombay, after completing her masters in literature, she married Dr Nanabhoy Davar in 1951. The couple had three children — Shirin, Darabshaw and Shiamak. "She was extremely close to her siblings Cyrus Master and Arzan Rikhye… Her sister Arzan played an integral part in developing the personality development course at the College.”
As stated the note, "Ready to counsel and guide (the College students’) career paths… with kind words of advice and encouragement, Puran has helped many students persevere and achieve their dreams.” F. J.