A headstone for Homi

It was as an adult that Gita Choksi first saw the grave of her father Wg Cdr Hormusji Bharucha, popularly known as "Homi D.” Gita was aged barely one when Bharucha passed away in the UK; elder brother, Cyrus, was six. The existing gravestone on Bharucha’s tomb had been placed by a family member living in the UK, as the immediate family was too young and distraught to do so. Both children felt, when they had separately visited the grave of their father at the Zoroastrian enclosure of Brookwood Cemetery in London, that the plaque could be more distinguished. Gita was determined to place a headstone at his grave, in addition to the plaque. Cyrus and Gita rectified the situation on August 28, 2022, when they went together to Brookwood after 74 years.
Gita choreographed a ceremony, with Cyrus’s approval, to place a headstone on their father’s grave. From early 2022 they had been working on choosing the most befitting quote: "I’ve trod the high untrespassed sanctity of space, put out my hand and touched the face of God” for an epicurean who had lived a full life of daring; a courageous flyer who received the Air Flying Cross of the Royal Indian Air Force — only the second to do so; and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Born in 1908, Bharucha trained at the Brookline school of flying. He returned to India in 1929 after a year and earned handsomely as a pilot. In January 1930, he flew samples of cotton between Ahmedabad and Cairo. They were formerly despatched by dhows, taking anywhere from a week to three to reach, depending on sea conditions. Both Sir Chinubhai Ranchodlal and Ambalal Sarabhai (father of scientist Vikram Sarabhai), two textile magnates for whom he freelanced, earned good profits. Not only was Bharucha much in demand as a pilot, he was also an engineer and mechanic par excellence. He once flew an English lord to the Sahara where the plane developed engine trouble. Bharucha landed in an oasis, repaired the plane in record time and flew back to Cairo.

Top: Wg Cdr Hormusji Bharucha; above: Gita Choksi (l) and Cyrus Bharucha at their father’s grave

Tata Airlines was looking for competent pilots and Bharucha was chosen by its founders J. R. D. Tata and Nevill Vintcent, a South African aviator. Bharucha was the first commercial pilot in the country in 1932, flying mail to metro cities including Karachi. He later joined the Maharaja of Jaipur but was unable to finish his contract due to his failing eyesight and kidney problems, which ultimately took his life in 1948. Interred in the Zoroastrian section of Brookwood cemetery, he lies opposite the Tata Mausoleum where are buried Sir Dorab and Sir Ratan Tata.
It was this short but meteoric life that the two children wanted to celebrate for him and their supportive mother Kitty (Khorshed Virjee). The commemoration service began with Gita chanting the Zoroastrian prayers Doa Tandorosti followed by Yatha Ahu Vairyo. The names of all 17 attendees present, from different denominations, were recited in the Tandorosti benediction. The attendees repeated the Ashem Vohu after Gita. Family and friends from Australia, Canada, Germany, Singapore, USA, Netherlands, Sweden and India lit candles or divas to coincide with the ceremony at 2.30 p.m. GMT. Bharucha’s son-in-law Rusi Choksi was unable to fly out of Bombay due to a sudden viral infection. At the appointed time, he too lit a divo at his residence in Bombay to salute a father-in-law he had never seen or met.
After the tribute, a young trumpeter from the Royal Air Force, Jack Wilson, played Amazing Grace, Last Post and the Réveille at Bharucha’s resting place. Wilson felt honored to play on the occasion. A special request was made for him to play the Platters’ version of When Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, a dance floor favorite of Kitty and Homi. Gita and Cyrus were touched that the 26-year-old Wilson, who had never heard of this song, had taken the trouble to source and practice it to make the ceremony personal and memorable. It was Gita’s fervor and persistence that resulted in Wilson being assigned to play at the function; she exchanged several emails with unknown Air Force personnel in the UK until she was given the assurance that a trumpeter would be provided. Actor Zubin Varla read a poem by John Magee, High Flight, a tribute to flying and the emotions one feels at the time. The 19-year-old Canadian aviator had died the day after he wrote the poem. The Bharucha children thought it was a befitting sentiment to their father who had also died young.
Cyrus spoke of how his father had taken their mother and him on a short sortie from Jaipur. In his child’s mind Cyrus saw a white cake on the ground which was none other than the Taj Mahal in Agra. It was Kitty’s birthday and the romantic pilot wanted this moonlit night flight etched in his wife’s mind.
The siblings ended this special day by hosting high tea for family members and friends in attendance. It was the closure they had sought. A personalized, nostalgic farewell.