Proposer – ADILLE SUMARIWALLA (Former Olympian)

Seconder – FAROKH KAVARANA (ex-Director TATA sons)

The campaign for Trusteeship of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) has officially come to an end. We were pleased to see the large turn-out of interested individuals attending the meetings, especially those of Candidate No. 19 – Viraf D. Mehta.

Whilst seeking our support as Proposer and Seconder, Viraf assured us that no matter what was said or written against him or his family, he would ensure that his election campaign would be clean and positive, based on his achievements and goals.

We are extremely pleased to note that Viraf has stuck to that promise he gave us. Not once during his campaign did he partake in any negative campaigning. In fact, his positive outlook for the community has even swayed many of his detractors in his favour.

Unfortunately, in spite of maintaining righteous and fair conduct Viraf has been unfairly targeted in some of the most revolting hate messages and emails.

He and his family have been attacked by a few without ascertaining the true grit and morals of the young man.

In our opinion, Viraf has stood out from most of the other candidates because he has not let this sort of negative campaigning deter his spirit in any manner.

The essence of the Voluntary Code of Conduct was to refrain from such negative campaigning in these elections.

We are certain Viraf, with his 15 years of corporate experience, will be an asset to the smooth functioning of the BPP. At 38, being Vice President of a company like CLSA, which is Asia’s leading and longest running independent investment and brokerage group, with over 1,500 employees, is an accomplishment by itself. Viraf is also connected with over a dozen NGOs and Public Charitable Trusts.

It is our strong belief that the future of the community lies in our YOUTH who, unfortunately, have intentionally distanced themselves from community affairs.

We believe that Viraf will be that catalyst to bring about a synergy between the old and the young.

ZYNG would be a good example of how he has his own ways of connecting with youngsters, understanding their needs and being able to change their perspective towards active involvement in our community affairs as well as that of the elders.

Above all else, we have been told and have also seen for ourselves that Viraf is a ‘People’s Person’ – the most required skill for any candidate standing for a post that essentially mandates public interaction.

Viraf is the proud son of Dinshaw Mehta. However, today, he stands in his independent capacity, willing to dedicate his time and effort for the BPP.

Let’s be open to bringing about this progressive change, encouraging the youth to participate and shoulder responsibilities for the community and its affairs.

Viraf, to our mind, will certainly help bring this much needed transition at the BPP.

We trust you will exercise your right to vote, smartly, and help bring about that change in the BPP.

Best wishes,
Adille Sumariwalla & Farrokh Kavarana

Serpentine queues marked the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) elections on Sunday, but for once they were a source of jubilation.
“I never knew there were so many Parsis,” said Villoo Shroff, a member of the community that numbers just 40,000 in Mumbai. At Rustom Baug, a polling agent pointed to a goalpost at the far end of the maidan. “That’s how far the line extended,” he boasted. For a community fearing extinction, having to wait 90 minutes at a polling station is a reason to celebrate.

But the euphoria was short-lived. When the polls closed after 7pm, only 9,846 people had voted – significantly less than in the last big 2008 election. The queues were largely a result of technical glitches. “We were expecting a voter turnout of 12,000 to 15,000,” said BPP election president Mahiyar Dastoor.

Fortunately, a few “ghosts” showed up to boost the numbers. “People marked as dead on the electoral rolls arrived passport and Aadhar card in hand,” said technology officer Yazdi Tantra, who was in charge of “resurrecting” them.

With 18 colonies under its control, the BPP is one of the city’s largest private landlords. On Sunday, 23 candidates contested five out of seven seats – two trustees have still to complete their terms.

The winners were CSR expert Noshir Dadrawala, Kersi Randeria, owner of Parsi Times, builder Zarir Bhathena, former BPP trustee Yazdi Desai and Viraf Mehta, who works at an investment firm.

Since universal adult franchise was introduced in 2008, elections to this board have been fiercely competitive. In fact, a voluntary code of conduct was adopted this year to keep campaign expenditures in check and rein in the mudslinging. Even on Election Day, the 250 officers monitoring the polls were forced to censure candidates for handing out paper fans and keychains.

In recent years, two rival factions of the BPP board have been at loggerheads, causing all work to come to a grinding halt. Community members kept this in mind while casting their votes. Rayomand Sirvala, for instance, was keen on choosing candidates, who were both flexible and morally upright.

In the run-up to the elections, social media was the chosen forum for character assassinations.

On Sunday, it played a far less sinister role. Karishma Khodaiji was snapping a picture of her inked finger outside the Rustom Baug polling booth when TOI caught up with her. “I’m planning to upload it to Snapchat,” said the 23-year-old.

As for the election results, which were announced around 10.30pm, voter Lily Mistry put it best. “Parsis have skipped their Sunday dhansak to vote, so the newly elected trustees better do justice to their sacrifice.”

The rivalry between two factions of BPP board was on voters’ minds

Published On Times Of India

On a crowded Sunday in otherwise sleepy Cusrow Baug in south Mumbai, Rhea Talati stands patiently in line to cast her vote for the first time. The 18-year-old seems a bit nervous but also expresses her expectations of the new trustees on the board of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet. “I hope they will do things more smoothly and will also do something for the Parsi youth,” she says.

As announced on Sunday evening, five trustees were newly elected. The regular term of office for a sitting trustee is seven years. The BPP is the apex administrative body of the Parsi Zoroastrian community. Counting 46,500 Mumbai residents out of 69,600 Parsis nationwide according to 2001 census figures, it is estimated that the community’s population in the city comes to 40,000. The BPP controls about 4,500 flats in the several Parsi colonies spread all over the city going by Punchayet’s own accounts. In the 2008 BPP elections, the first adult franchise was conducted.

Every effort was made to make people come and vote at the five polling stations. Minibus shuttles ferried elderly voters to the Parsi colonies. Another target group for many campaigners was young people.

Internal fights

Community media had reported about a number of internal fights amongst the trustees in the past. Furthermore, Rs. 3 crore was spent on litigation against two priests to bar them from praying at two Zoroastrian fire temples and the Doongerwadi or Tower of Silence, where Zoroastrians leave dead bodies for excavation. The priests had performed initiation rites for children of Parsi women who had married outside the community and had performed prayers for deceased people whose bodies were not disposed in the traditional way at the Tower of Silence. A 26-year-old female voter, who wants to remain anonymous, touched upon the topic, saying: “There shouldn’t be any more internal fighting. Moreover, the trustees should be able to see the needs of both sides, young and old people and act accordingly.”

Facing a decline in population of this already tiny community, many Mumbai Parsis have voiced another wish: The Punchayet should take better care of the housing situation and allow newly-married couples more space in the Baugs so they will find it easy to raise children.

Published On The HINDU

Following the voting that went on till late evening on Sunday, the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) announced the names of the five newly elected trustees. Viraf Mehta, Noshir Dadrawala, Yazdi Desai, Kersi Randeria and Zarir Bhathena were elected from the 23 candidates that contested for the post.

The elections were held because five trustees had competed their term — the regular term of office for a sitting trustee is seven years.

A total of 9,825 votes were cast before the booths shut down, giving way to the commencement of the counting process. The BPP made every effort to make people come and vote at the five polling stations. In fact, minibus shuttles were used to ferry elderly voters to the Parsi colonies.

Several voters termed the election as first-of-its-kind due to the fact that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were used for the first time for elections conducted by any trust.

The BPP is an over three centuries old public charitable trust and is one of the largest landlords in the city with around 5,500 flats and other immovable properties of about 100 acres. Several voters hoped that issues such as transparency, housing and attentiveness to community needs will be on the priority list of the new team.

Published on Free Press Journal

Late Rajiv Gandhi’s 71st birthday was celebrated with much fanfare by the Congress Party on 20th August 2015 (commonly known as Sadbhavna Divas).

Astonishingly the same party forgot that 12th September 2015 was an equally important day in the history of the Congress party, being the birth anniversary of Feroze Jehangir Gandhi the father of India’s youngest Prime Minister. The founder of the Gandhi dynasty, Feroze intentionally remained the least-known member of this dynasty.

Feroze, a Parsi Zoroastrian was born in Mumbai at the Tehmulji Nariman Hospital and was the youngest of five offspring’s of Jehangir Faredoon Gandhi and Ratimai Gandhi.

After the death of his father, Feroze along with his mother, moved to Allahabad to live with his unmarried maternal aunt, Shirin Commissariat, a surgeon at the city’s Lady Dufferin Hospital.

Feroze was a brilliant student and went for further studies to London School of Economics. In 1930, Feroze a noted freedom fighter was jailed for 19 months at Faridabad Jail with Lal Bahadur Shastri and was imprisoned again in 1932 and 1933.

Love blossomed between Feroze and Indira Gandhi in England. Though in opposition to marrying a Parsi with no family background by Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, and preposterously advised by Vijayalakshmi to take Feroze as a lover rather than a husband, Indira stuck to her resolve and married Feroze with their blessings in March 1942.

Though history and the Congress has been cruel to Feroze, here are some interesting facts about Feroze:

a) He was the 1st Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Limited;

b) He was the Managing Director of now infamous “The National Herald”, a newspaper founded by Jawaharlal Nehru;

c) He won independent India’s first general elections in 1952 and retained the seat in 1957, from Rae Bareli constituency in Uttar Pradesh which is still held by his daughter in law Sonia Gandhi;

d) Feroze Gandhi College was established by him in Rae Bareli district on 8th August, 1960.

The Indian National Congress which has been rocked by various scams, notably the 2G and Coalgate scams to name a few. Ironically, Feroze was India’s first anti-corruption crusader for a party that is now embattled in many scams.

Here are two instances of his corruption crusade:

a) He exposed Ram Kishan Dalmia, as chairman of a bank and an insurance company which had allegedly sought to takeover Bennett and Coleman and started transferring money illegally from publicly held companies for personal benefit. In December 1955, he raised the matter in Parliament, documenting extensively the various fund transfers and intermediaries through which the acquisition had been financed. The case was investigated by the Vivian Bose Commission of Inquiry. In the court case that followed, where Dalmia was represented by the leading British attorney Sir Dingle Mackintosh Foot, he was sentenced to two years in Tihar Jail.

b) Nehru, set up a one-man commission headed by Justice M. C. Chagla to investigate the corruption scandal regarding LIC pursuant to same being highlighted in 1958 in parliament by Feroze. Chagla’ report stated that Haridas Mundhra, the forerunner of financial scamsters of modern India had sold fictitious shares to LIC, thereby defrauding LIC to the tune of Rs. 1.25 crore. Mundhra was sentenced to prison. The Mundhra scandal also saw T. T. Krishnamachari, the then Finance Minister having the ignominy of being the first minister in free India to have resigned due to his involvement in this scam.

Feroze suffered a second heart attack in 1960 and died at Willingdon Hospital, New Delhi on 8th September 1960. Feroze was cremated in Delhi and his ashes were buried at the Parsi cemetery in Allahabad which lies in total neglect.

This is in staring contrast to the carefully preserved bedrooms and belongings of Pandit Nehru and Indira Gandhi at Anand Bhawan and Moti Lal Nehru’s gracious mansion with its well manicured lawns at Allahabad. The man who gave the “Gandhis” their name, the memory of Feroze and his stature now lies as deplorable as the party itself.

There have been strange rumours about Feroze’ origin and the most bizarre of them is that he was a Muslim. To put the rumour-mill to rest Feroze was in fact a Parsi Zoroastrian, a minuscule minority to which I also belong.

Incidentally my father also belongs to Allahabad and I have visited the said Parsi cemetery in Allahabad on a number of occasions. My grandmother, uncle and aunts lay buried in the said cemetery only meters away from the tomb of the legend himself – “Feroze Jehangir Gandhi”

Published on News World India

As a 19-year-old in India in 1981, Karan Bilimoria was unusual in wanting to study in the UK. Many of his contemporaries were headed for the US. He remembers them asking: “What are you doing going to Britain? It ‘s a loser of a country. ” Family and friends told him that if he stayed on in the UK after qualifying as an accountant, he would never amount to anything. He was a foreigner — and Britain was riven with prejudice.
Did he amount to anything? The 53-year-old Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea — chancellor of the University of Birmingham, honorary fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge and founder of Cobra Beer, which supplies 97 per cent of the UK ‘s licensed Indian restaurants — thinks he probably did.

His friends were not wrong about the UK of the early 1980s. “The Britain I came to was the sick man of Europe. It was a country that had no respect in the world economy, ” he says. And while he did not personally experience the prej­udice he had been warned about, when he trained as an accountant at what is now EY, there was only one Indian partner. “And they said it was because he had an English wife, ” he says.

But in the years after he arrived as he was making his way from accountancy to a law degree at Cambridge university, the UK changed. The old barriers were swept away, and not just for Indian immigrants. “If you hadn ‘t gone to the right school and the right university, many career paths were limited, ” he says. “I saw that all change in front of my eyes, and I put that down to Margaret Thatcher. I saw her transform this country into a country that economically was going places. ”

For many years, he was a member of the Conservative party. At one time, he even thought of attempting to become a Conservative MP. But he resigned his membership some years ago. He sits in the House of Lords as an independent cross-bencher. He is a critic of the Conservatives ‘ policies on immigration and foreign students and is particularly fierce about Theresa May, the home secretary.

We are sitting in the meeting room of Cobra ‘s offices overlooking an autumn sun-dappled square in central London. Lord Bilimoria is in a smart dark suit, a paisley handkerchief peeking out of his jacket pocket, but the young staff bustling around are casually dressed. The place looks more like an advertising agency than a beer company headquarters.

What are they all doing? There is a tele­phone sales team selling beer to Indian restaurants. When the area managers meet up, they do it here. “We have the most authoritative database of all the Indian restaurants . . . which restaurants are opening and closing. So this is where all that happens. ”

The company owes its start to something Lord Bilimoria did not like when he arrived in the UK: gassy beer. He started brewing Cobra as a more palat­able option in India. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the first bottle being imported into the UK.

He may have been a nervous immigrant to the UK, but his Zoroastrian Parsi family back home, while not wealthy, were distinguished military of­ficers. His grandfather was one of the first Indians at Sandhurst. His father was a general. A cousin was chief of the Indian navy.

Where did the interest in beer come from? There were some family precedents: his maternal great-grandfather ran a liquor business near Hyderabad.

He relaxes as he tells the story. His accent is posh English, with the occasional Indian inflection. He swings a foot up to cross his legs, a flash of bright red sock matching his cuff links. It is easy to see his story as one of untrammelled success, but Cobra came close to collapsing three times.

The first was in 1998 when Tandoori Magazine, a trade title in which he had a 45 per cent stake, criticised service in Indian restaurants. Lord Bilimoria had no hand in the article, but the restaurants decided to boycott Cobra. It took a year to persuade them to buy his beer again. He had to cut staff numbers from 120 to 17. “We had to make awful, tough decisions just to survive. ”

Ten years later, and growing fast, Cobra needed investment and agreed to Diageo, the drinks conglomerate, taking a substantial minority stake with a full sale five years later. The due diligence was done and Lord Bilimoria went on holiday, expecting to come back and sign the deal. While he was away, he got a call. “They said, ‘The deal ‘s off, we ‘ve got cold feet and we don ‘t want to go ahead ‘. ”

Luckily, he had a Plan B, a bank loan. Days after the money arrived, Lehman Brothers went bust. His bank told him it would not have lent him the money if he had asked for it after that. “It was that close. ”

As the financial crisis bit, a hedge fund investor in Cobra insisted he put the company up for sale. This was near-collapse number three. Lord Bilimoria calls it “the most painful process at the worst possible time “. Instead, Molson Coors, the North American beer company, which brews in the UK at Burton-on-Trent, agreed to a joint venture, which has given Cobra stability and, he says, profitability.

He devotes much of his energy to supporting foreign students. He finds it an infuriating task. Higher education is one of Britain ‘s great export industries — “except we don ‘t send goods out there; we bring students into the country ” — and the Conservative government is making it harder for them.

He has just heard that six Indian students with places at Cranfield School of Management, where he also studied, have had their UK visa applications refused. “How ridiculous is that? ” Students who come to the UK establish life-long links with the country, becoming its champions and supporters, he says.

He blames Ms May for her hostility both to foreign students and to valuable, legal immigrants. “She is on a rampage. I have said this and I will say it time and again: she is economically illiterate when it comes to immigration. ”

Ms May, he says, tried to end foreign graduates ‘ already limited ability to stay on to work. “She goes and makes a statement before the [2015 UK] elections: I want every foreign student to leave the day they graduate. [Chancellor] George Osborne had to step in and say, we will not have that in the manifesto, we ‘re not going to do that. But this is how rabid she is. ”

He is calmer about the House of Lords. It should be smaller, but it should not be elected, he says. “The more I have studied it the more I realised how lucky we are to have this institution. You ‘ve got world-class people there, world leaders in their fields and you ‘ve got that amazing input that scrutinises legislation, challenges government, debates.

“In an elected house you ‘d never get those people, they wouldn ‘t stand for election. You ‘d get people who were rejects from the House of Commons. ”

Published on Financial Times

Their loved ones may have migrated or passed away, but for many elderly Parsis, the community is there to provide support

There was a royal feast at Aunty Villy Engineer 96th birthday. There was cake, and there was suuji ka halwa too. Everybody inside the Parsi General Hospital came to the party; Aunty Nargis Gyara, Aunty Khorshed Malbari and her sister too. Then there were Gulbanoo Bamji and Homy Gadiali, secretaries of the hospital. The men from the male ward came too. So did the doctors. And the physiotherapist. All the attendants too. Nobody wanted to miss it.

And why would they? After all, Aunty Villy is a superstar. Some boast that the 96-year-old Parsi woman was the first lady admiral of the country’s navy. But Aunty Villy dampens all such talk. “You know I don’t like boasting,” she says dismissively.

Outside her ward, in the corridor, the evening shuffle begins to pick up. It is almost time for tea, and some of the other women have already secured their place on the benches.

On one of the benches are Aunty Nargis and Aunty Ami Jeriwalla, two sisters, both spinsters, now living in one of the wards. “People ask us why you didn’t get married,” exclaims Aunty Nargis. “But then they tell us it was the best decision of our lives!” In terms of agency and choice, the Parsi women living in Pakistan were well ahead of their times.

The chatter in the corridor steadily grows louder.

Meanwhile, the men lodged in the adjoining male general ward are only beginning to rise from their afternoon slumber. Word has spread though that teatime is nigh; there is some shuffling on the beds and some make an effort to sit up. Nobody has bothered to switch on the television till now.

A little later, a male patient from a private ward heads outdoors to smoke a pipe. He chooses the entrance by the main road to smoke, while an attendant keeps him company. The noise and smog around him don’t seem to matter; this is an evening ritual that must be performed.

The 30-bed Bomanshaw Minocher-Homji Parsi General Hospital, commonly known as the Parsi General Hospital, is a pre-Partition facility that was built to provide subsidised quality healthcare to poor Parsis and was run by the Bomanshaw Minocher-Homji Parsi Medical Relief Association.

Although the hospital was inaugurated in 1942, the association expanded the premises as needed. “We didn’t have the 30 beds that you see today, we just had three rooms. We didn’t have the population either that necessitated the setting up of a larger facility,” explains Homy Gadiali, secretary of the association. The infirmary, for example, was set up in 1965.

But the story of the Parsi General Hospital and its inhabitants perhaps mirrors the fortunes and fate of the Parsi community in Karachi.

They were once the crème de le crème of Karachi society and polity, with the city’s first mayor, Jamshed Nusserwanji, also hailing from a Parsi family. Those admitted to the hospital today are all septuagenarian, octogenarian or nonagenarian; many would have seen Nusserwanji and witnessed how the city evolved too.

“The land for the hospital was donated by Sir Kavasji Katrak in 1942. He was the gentleman who built the bandstand at the Jehangir Kothari Parade; the bandstand itself was not donated by the Kothari family but by the Katraks. The hospital initially was built through a donation by a gentleman named Minocher Homji,” narrates Gadiali.

But over time, the number of Parsis in Karachi has dwindled. Gadiali estimates that the Parsi community has shrunk from about 5,000 at Partition to about 1,200 people now. Much of this decline in numbers is attributed to migration and birth rates.

“Even though Parsi people live long lives, deaths were never replaced by a corresponding number of births,” explains Gadiali. “There was a time when people didn’t get married because there was a lack of housing facilities for them. Now, much of the community-run accommodation facilities are lying vacant.”

While the Parsi community set up trust funds to take care of their own, the community saw major demographic shifts within. In pursuing their careers and sometimes due to insecurity, the younger generations began migrating from Pakistan. The older ones were left behind, sometimes out of necessity and sometimes out of choice.

“It is difficult to travel with an ill parent or parents if you are migrating from Pakistan,” says Gadiali. “There is the obvious tension of travelling, sometimes with kids, handling them, looking for a new home, settling down in a new place and other teething problems. Many people can’t afford to take an ill parent along, because medical costs abroad can be extremely prohibitive.”

It is because of this dynamic that the many of the 30 beds in the hospital are now occupied by elderly people whose families have either migrated or who have nobody to take care of them at home or even those whose families cannot afford caretakers able to tend to them around the clock.

In its essence, the Parsi General Hospital also doubles up as an old home facility. The hospital is a safe space for many Parsi elderly, because a sense of community and belonging pervades the hospital environment. Room rents are minimal in general wards; only Rs300 are charged per day. The maximum daily cost is Rs1,750 for a private ward. Four meals are served to patients every day. Every now and then, some Parsi families also send food and fruits over.

Many families arrange live-in attendants for their loved ones, but those who can’t still rely on the hospital without much hesitation. In the infirmary, for example, an elderly woman in her 90s is taken care of by an attendant around the clock, except at 7pm every evening, when her son arrives from work. The woman’s memory is failing, but what she knows is that her son will have dinner with her every evening.

Life is assisted for many old Parsis but it is normal too; there are no qualms about accepting medical help, nor does it hurt anyone’s ego or sense of self in doing so. Their age brings with it peculiar ailments; the majority admitted on temporary basis have arrived due to fractures, weak muscles, and other orthopaedic complaints. The hospital employs a physiotherapist; he helps patients practice movement exercises and walk.

“We might have a small staff, of doctors and attendants, but what we ensure is that those admitted here will be taken care of. There is an element of trust and reliability involved, since those living abroad need to know that their loved ones are safe,” says Gulbanoo Bamji, joint secretary of the hospital.

From time to time, donations received by various trusts and individuals have allowed the hospital to expand and keep the existing operations running smoothly. Gadiali regrets that it is only a matter of time before none of it will be needed, since there wouldn’t be many Parsis around to begin with.

But for those who live at the hospital, there is much to be grateful about, much happiness to share and many more days to look forward to. There are no regrets of being left behind. There is only an acknowledgment that those in the hospital shall take care of each other, in the best ways possible. This year, they celebrated Valentine’s Day too. They sang songs together, they ate extra snacks too, and they chatted for hours on end.

“All you need is three magical words,” says Aunty Villy, “Thank you God. Thank you for the gift of another day to serve you better. If you run into mishaps, know that ‘this too shall pass.’ Life is what you make it, so make it nice and bright.”

Published on Zoroastrains.net

Only 75 days to go till the most awaited Zoroastrian event of 2015: The 6th World Zoroastrian Youth Congress!
The Organising Committee have put together an event plan that is fit for a King and what better place to host this at then Kings College, Auckland – one of the top Private Schools in New Zealand.

The event plan will be released on all our social media platforms at the end of October.
Over 200 delegates from all over the world have registered and we are expecting numbers to go up to 300.

To all youth between the ages of 15 – 35 years, if you haven’t registered for this event, now is the time to do so to avoid missing out!
Registration will officially close
on 13th December 2015, 11:59pm (NZ Time).
For more details and to register,

Please visit the official Congress website:
www.6wzyc.co.nz
To stay up to date with the latest news
Join our FaceBook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/223424211030360/
We look forward to meeting you in December.

Best regards,

The 6th WZYC Organising Committee

Published on Parsi News

Continuing in its series of mixing up area names, the BMC seems to have forgotten where the iconic Dadar Parsi Colony is situated. Their folly has become evident in the form of roadside signage along several places inside the colony that proclaims the area’s name as Wadala instead of Dadar.

The local ward official has agreed that this is indeed a mistake, and has assured that work to replace the signs is underway. mid-day had highlighted in the past, how signboards in Andheri and Vile Parle were marked as Juhu. Soon after the report, the civic body had changed them to show the correct area.
Now, a similar thing has happened in Dadar’s Parsi Colony where, in more than 20 places, the roads were marked as Wadala instead of Dadar. While the street’s name was correct, the area had been wrongly marked as Wadala.
For example, on the Ardheshir S Homa Vazir Road, the area has been marked Wadala while other nearby roads bear Dadar as the location. Similarly, a signboard just outside the Dadar Parsi Youth Assembly School is marked as Wadala as well.
Not the first time
Local activist Nikhil Desai, who has been pursuing the matter said, “These are only a few instances. About 3 months ago, I had counted 24 signboards stating Wadala for areas that actually lie in Dadar. I kept pursuing the matter with the ward, after which some of the signs were changed.” Desai has also written to the deputy municipal commissioner highlighting the civic body’s mistake.
Desai added, “Initially, the ward office would say that the work has been done by the central agency, which is the BMC’s traffic department. When I pursued the matter with that department, they told me that the list of names was actually submitted by the ward office itself and they merely erected the boards. Things came back to square one.”
Interestingly, signboards that have been marked with Wadala as the area in the colony are a stone’s throw from those bearing the name Dadar. Also, a couple of roads have three signboards at a distance of every few metres. “One board costs Rs 20,000. Why do they need to spend thrice the amount on the same road?” asked Desai.
BMC speak
Confirming that the signs were a mistake, Namdeo Talpe executive engineer of F/North ward said, “Yes, the roads actually fall in Dadar. The traffic department has done the mistake but it is being rectified. The signs will be replaced soon.”
Countering this claim, B J Patel, Deputy Chief Engineer (Traffic) said, “Even if the boards are installed by our department, they were put up only after being certified by the ward. They can’t blame us because they must have verified the names.”

Published on Mid-Day

Below are the details of the event

Of problems with IT heads, co-pilots and finding magic in each client

And for my third Sunday at the office, a few stray thoughts and a few general observations and a few points of view (all my own work):

Like how do you really say Havas without everyone bringing out the desi jibes about nether-region passion? #Pujari

My own contribution? Dropping the H and the S and going with “Aywa” as the Frenchies do. It’s yet to catch on, though my mother Ava, is most pleased.

Like I restore old cars. And young minds. That first spark in both is a wonder to behold when they start up after ages of neglect.

Like spirit is everything. If you think you can, well then you just can. When I left Contract after 11 years, many said I was running towards a fire… I prefer to think of it as parachuting into a plane and regaining control. And part of that has been getting my co-pilot Shyam in. And then getting everyone to just get back to flying.

Like when there’s harmony at the top, there’s harmony all the way down the line and work just happens peacefully and plentifully.

Like it’s not about the clients you have, it’s about finding the magic in each client and then just going hell for leather to make it happen. In their success, lies ours.

Like I think I’ve driven my IT head nuts. Not to mention my CFO, the HR Head as well as the admin head. But I think they’re still talking to me. Mostly. Except maybe the IT head.

Like creativity and creating an environment in which everyone can produce their best work in an atmosphere of fun, is the only secret recipe. For those who are professionals, not professional politicians, it’s fairly easy to get an agency rebooted. All you need is love. And coffee. Ok and maybe a brainstorm lounge built a la the White Room of Alyque’s Lintas.

Like this agency has a garden all around it. And a bar. And a barbecue. There are squirrels and birds of various plumages outside my desk. Walking barefoot on the lawn, is indeed all they say it is.

Like internet bandwidth is the First World Problem of every agency.

Like admittedly, not too many employees walk through the office door with a piano. But the good people of Havas have taken it in their stride.

Like I’m seeing more of my boys, they walk down the lane with goodies for everyone at the 4 p.m. hungry mark. To answer your question, I however, still drive.

Like we’re hiring some of the most interesting creative talent. So if you’re someone with your ideals still intact along with a fondness for Jim Jam cookies during brainstorms, do get in touch.

Published on Economic Times

Sustaining Parsiana’s high-quality journalism is quite a task given the declining numbers of people interested in the Parsi way of life.

“The Parsi community is such a marvel that it does not need the protection of anyone. It finds its way and protection by its wisdom, intelligence and ability,” proclaimed Mahatma Gandhi in 1931. Yet, as per the 2001 census, their numbers had halved to about 69,000 from 1.41 lakh in 1941. By 2011, the numbers looked even grimmer, with a drop of 10 per cent in the overall population, as estimated by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), the apex governing body of the community.

While organisations such as BPP play an important role in organising communities, community media plays an equally vital role in engaging citizens with decision makers. Parsiana, a bi-monthly magazine published in English, is in its 51st year of publication. Pestonji Warden launched it in November, 1964. The 180-year-old English-Gujarati weekly Jam-e-Jamshed and The Bombay Samachar, Asia’s oldest newspaper, are the two other popular publications within the Parsi group. Edited by Jehangir R. Patel, Parsiana delves into current affairs, culture, personalities and covers happenings across the Zoroastrian society worldwide.

Geeta Doctor, a freelance writer, who has spent some time in Iran and Pakistan, met Patel in the 1970s. She recalls that Patel wanted to spearhead a publication that would be “of interest to any intelligent reader, not necessarily a community specific one.”

Pooja Nopany Bharucha, a 34-year-old businesswoman, married a Parsi more than a decade ago. “Parsiana is a very informative magazine. It’s interesting to read about how Parsis have succeeded worldwide and how they contribute towards their community.” Since she’s not a Parsi herself, Poona feels the need to stay abreast with developments within the community. Her children, Xenobia and Johann, had their Navjote a few months ago. “They attend the Sunday school to learn about the religion and understand it better,” she says. Having a resource like Parsiana is certainly helpful, she adds.

“The magazine’s voice strives to support and safeguard citizens’ fundamental rights. Parsiana’s is a liberal point of view,” Patel says. Natasha Irani, a regular reader from Pune, concurs with this view. “My family, quite a conservative one, has been subscribing to Parsiana since before I was born! The publication takes a liberal stand on things, yet it seems tolerant of opposing perspectives,” she says over a call. The 29-year-old teacher doesn’t always agree with every opinion expressed in the magazine, but she believes the magazine provides a healthy platform to encourage debate in an otherwise fairly closed and rigid community.

The magazine’s liberal stance was showcased in 1986-87 when it went on to publish a column on interfaith marriages. In Parsi tradition, if a man marries outside the community, children attain natural membership of it. However, the same does not hold true for women. The report on interfaith marriages, therefore, caused alarm, with some demanding a boycott of the magazine. “We’ve taken strong stands on regressive beliefs, we’ve tried to break taboos, and we’ve received negative feedback for doing so. It’s been tough, but someone has to do it,” says Patel.

A team of five part-time writers contributes to the magazine. Usually social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook are updated with breaking news stories. Every bi-monthly issue is about 40 pages, and it’s released on the 7th and 21st of every month. There are two New Year issues, one published in March and another in August, which are 240 page editions. “Revenue is made on the New Year issues. That’s how we sustain through the the year. Given the shrinking market, it’s a challenge to keep up with the needs of the publication,” Patel confesses. Roughly 2,800 copies are printed in a go; 20-22 per cent of the subscriber base is from North America, and the remainder comes from India.

Advertising is the mainstay of the revenue stream, followed by subscription fees and sponsorships. Sustaining Parsiana’s high quality journalism is quite a task given the declining population of those truly interested in the Parsi community. Even writers are hard to come by. “Mostly people into journalism remain in the mainstream. There are few takers for community-based writing,” rues Patel. The need for focussing specifically on community, especially one that’s heading towards probable extinction, is urgent in the contemporary scenario. “General media covers news, but not those matters that affect our community, as these are obviously not relevant to the people at large,” Patel adds.

Percy Bharucha, a 45-year-old businessman from Mumbai, used to read Parsiana at his workplace. “These kind of publications hold a lot of value for the youth, as it lets you know about community happenings on a regular basis. It’s a good way to stay connected,” Bharucha says. At a broader level, Parsiana, maintains an archive of Parsi anthropology; it’s an open and credible source of curated content, which can enable information dissemination pertaining to key policies, laws and societal arrangements.

The semi-monthly also tracks births and deaths within the community. Considering the criticality of upping its population, Parsiana assumes the role of community watchdog.

Although the numbers don’t match up with desired growth rates — the death rate among Parsis is approximately 800 versus the birth rate of about 185 — getting the new generation enthused to learn about their culture and religion is crucial.

As an afterthought, Bharucha says he wishes to obtain a subscription of Parsiana to renew his connect with the community.

There is a glimmer of hope, after all, of rescuing an industrious community and its language and heritage from the brink of disappearance.

Published on The Hindu

Orchard Advertising has got in Sharmine Panthaky as vice president and branch head of its Mumbai office. Prior to this she was national head – retail and customer engagement at Interspace Solutions.

Kaizad Pardiwalla, COO, Orchard Advertising, said, “Sharmine joins us having had rich experience in business development and leading many national and multinational client relations. In her we found the unique ability to define the purpose for brands and devise business solutions that could unlock their true potential in the market. She will work with a multi-disciplinary team across The Leo Group India’s specialised offerings in digital, retail, activation, etc., thus helping to drive an integrated communication initiative on the brands we partner. I wish her the very best in taking Orchard to new heights.”

Panthaky said, “Orchard has a legacy of great work on brands anyone would be proud to have on their roster. The leadership team has inspiring and exciting plans for the future. The opportunity to be part of this great journey was a no-brainer. Since I’m joining mainstream advertising with Orchard after having spent many years in Out of Home, BTL and other disciplines, it gives me great joy and a feeling of being back home. I’m excited to partner clients and contribute hugely in getting great work out, thus helping to grow the agency’s business.”

In a career spanning 13 years, she has also worked with Bates CHI and Partners, Clear Channel Mudra, Contract Advertising, Portland India and Radio Mirchi.

Copyright © Campaign India

Published on Parsi Kahabar

Indian trader, Kersi Dubash is in town once again with an exquisite collection of apparel dominated by timeless ‘saris’ that are sure to arrest the attention of Islamabad’s middle and elite classes. The exhibition also features gold-plated silver chromium jewelry from Jaipur, heavily embellished velvet clutches by designer Sarod Jalan, and trendy metallic ‘batwas’ ideally suited for bridal wear.

From’Parsi gara,’ embroidered net, jute silk, ‘chikankari’ and ‘kaanji varam’ saris to vibrant Rajasthani ‘lehengas’ with ‘peta’ work and ‘gota leheria’ ‘dupattas’ from Jaipur, Dubash has unveiled the very best of Mumbai’s Nazakat Collection for clients to pick and choose from.

“I have virtually brought India to your doorstep,” stated Dubash, who candidly admitted not being a designer per se, but “someone who has an eye for beautiful things.” He has been bringing the best of Indian ‘saris’ and clothes from across various Indian cities to Pakistan for the last 17 years, with the collection getting bigger, varied, and certainly more striking with every passing year.

While most of the apparel can be categorised as traditional and classical, the collection also offers contemporary items. Noteworthy among these are the modern half-net, half-silk ‘saris’ with exquisite laces that appear more like an extension of the fabric, and silk ‘saris’ with sequins that are actually part of the weave itself. Most of these ‘saris’ are heavily embroidered, with the subtle colours enhancing the beauty of the silken net.

The traditional ones include the ‘Banarsis,’ the ‘kanji varam’s’ (which Indian actress Rekha is known for wearing), and the ‘bandanis,’ to name just a few. Cotton silk ‘saris’ from Bhagalpur, pure cotton and ‘kantha’ silk ‘saris’ from Calcutta, original Dhaka ‘saris,’ and exclusive jute silk ‘saris’ which are currently being made by only one weaver in Banaras, also form part of the collection.

The Parsi ‘gara’ saris with predominantly floral embroidery are just as magnificent as the ‘chikankaari’ suits, ‘saris,’ and ‘lehengas’ known for their timeless splendor. And the best aspect is that not a single ‘sari’ or dress is available in duplicate, thus promising exclusivity. The dress collection is complemented by an exotic assortment of gold-plated Kundan jewelry from Jaipur and an enticing range of evening bags.

“What is it that brings you here so frequently? Do you take your stocks to other countries too,” Dubash was asked during an exclusive interaction here on Tuesday. “I have travelled to 25 countries, but the warmth and hospitality that I receive here is incomparable. Coming to Pakistan is like coming home,” he maintained. Only once did Dubash exhibit his collection in the United Kingdom and the United States, but was unable to elicit the desired response, largely because “clients in these countries do not have very many occasions to don such elaborately worked clothes.”

Pakistan is a thriving market for formal, party, and bridal wear. “We have elaborate weddings here, and most women are not inclined to repeating clothes that they may have worn to an earlier occasion. However, I personally believe that there is a need to resist the temptation of excessive spending on clothes. Extravagance should be avoided, and we should prefer doing something for the needy and poor,” Dubash emphasized.

When asked to draw a comparison of the Indian and Pakistani fashion industries, Dubash maintained that Indian fashion has reached a wider audience globally because in India, fashion gets promoted through the film industry. “People tend to get obsessed with the ‘saris,’ ‘shalwar kameez’ and jewellery that Kareena or Depika, for that matter, may have worn in a particular Hindi film,” he added. Since Bollywood is a far bigger industry with greater outreach, Indian fashion has a relatively bigger market.

“This does not, however, mean that Pakistan is lagging behind,” Dubash added, sharing recollections from several bridal shows that he has attended in Pakistan. He made a special mention of luxury fashion brands like those being run of HSY, Elan, and Khadija. “Since our women wear ‘saris’ most of the time, the Indian market offers thousands of variations in ‘sari’. However, the manner in which ‘saris’ are worn by Pakistani models is akin to wearing a ‘dhoti!’ A ‘sari’ does not drape without proper fall; this aspect is often neglected. You need to understand that a ‘sari’ is a lot more than merely a long piece of cloth wrapped around the body,” he added on a lighter note.

“Why don’t you consider having a permanent collection in some of the multi-brand clothing outlets across major cities of Pakistan,” Dubash was asked. “I will not do that; they will copy my designs,” he retorted. Interestingly, he never holds similar exhibitions even in his own country. “Since I have many friends in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Islamabad, coming to Pakistan is more like a holiday trip for me. These exhibitions are purely a one-man show; I am my own boss and my own secretary, and even though I am not a designer per se, I do design the Parsi ‘garas’ myself, taking ideas from magazines, creating my own designs, and passing them on to the ‘kaarigars,’ he shared.

Before arriving in Islamabad, Dubash had a two-day exhibition in Karachi; he also exhibited in Lahore, which was dull because of Eid holidays and the fact that most of his regular clients were out of country. Hard-pressed for time, he may have to remove Peshawar from his itinerary this time, so clients in Peshawar need to plan a quick trip to Islamabad before stocks deplete.

“What brings you to this exhibition at a time when India is making news for all the wrong reasons vis-à-vis Pakistan,” a regular client of Dubash was asked outside the venue. “No matter how tense India-Pakistan relations may be at a given point in time, it is people-to-people exchanges like these that inspire hope for peaceful coexistence between the two countries,” she answered.

Dubash himself was quite vocal in criticising Shiv Sena’s forced cancellation of Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali’s concerts in various cities of India. “They did not do the right thing. Nobody stopped Mahesh Bhatt and Nasiruddin Shah from coming to Pakistan. It is not fair to blame just Pakistan for everything. Our two countries should live like US and Canada,” he remarked.

On the contrary, Pakistani rock star Mustafa Zahid, the vocalist, songwriter, and producer of Roxen The Band, received a rousing welcome by a 6,000 plus fan following in Ghaziabad earlier last week. “I too face no problems during my frequent visits to Pakistan, regardless of how strained our diplomatic ties may be. Artists do play a vital role in chasing away the clouds of uncertainty and fear,” Dubash concluded.

The exhibition will continue till October 31 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Those interested can tie an appointment with Dubash on 051-285 6331/285 6333 or 0300-3729 556, and 0300-3378 748

Published on Parsi Khabar

HPY, your beloved is back yet again and beckons the youth to benefit from the sumptuous interactive and intellectual platter.

HPY has once again put together a truly stimulating session on “Strategy and Planning”.

To ensure you can immediately put into practice everything you learn, the session will be in the form of a very interactive workshop. Like last time, the workshop will be conducted by Adil Malia, Group President, H.R., Essar.

Date: Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8, 2015

Venue: Sir Cowasji Jehangir High School, (Primary section) Sir C.J. Colony, Tardeo.

Timing: 10.30 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.

To book your seat, please call or sms or send in a whatsapp to the following:
9819342162 – Huzan Forbes (Grant Road)
9619065846 – Azmin Mistry Vania (Mahim/Bandra)
9987704201 – Ayesha Mehta (Dadar,Parel,Byculla)
You could also register online at hpy.co.in
And yes, make sure you don’t delay. There are only 30 seats up for grabs this time since we want to personalise this as much as possible.

See you soon!
Team HPY

Yazdi Desai , the new Chairman of BPP, along with Armaity Tirandaz, Noshir Dadrawala, Zarir Bhathena, Kersi Randeria and Viraf Mehta

Published on: Zoroastrians.net

The girl gang consisting of tweens was growing up fast. Every evening and earlier on holidays, we would meet, talk, play, cycle around, exchange school news and happily pass our time together. In fact, whenever we had to go out with our parents there would be protests and resistance. We hated missing out on the play, the giggles and most important the gossip which Tina dished out to us now and again.

Tina was the eldest in our group, a good 2/3 years older than most of us. She introduced us to the birds and bees and became our bible on “facts of life”. She loved to scandalize us by telling us outrageous stories, kinky or smutty news and giving us tid-bits on sex, which we all eagerly lapped up. She had our undivided attention whenever she opened her mouth. She swore us all to secrecy and told us that if we dared tell any of this to our parents, she would stop her sex education. None of us wanted this to happen, so this became our peer secret and further bound us closer.

Her claim that she had a boyfriend was a great source of excitement for us. She refused to divulge his name which further deepened the mystery and allure. One evening she declared very expansively that she would not be washing her mouth for a few days since she and her boyfriend had kissed for the first time. There were squeals and shouts and clamor for more details. That evening we only went home after the full blow by blow or should I say lip by lip account of the “first kiss” was given to us. Tina’s status went up a further notch – to have a boyfriend and to have kissed him was unimaginable to our naïve tween minds. I am sure that night many of us tried kissing ourselves in the mirror to get a feel of how it would be to kiss another!

Tina keenly followed the romance of her neighbor Zarin with great verve. Every few days we would be fed little morsels; on the path the romance was taking. Whenever she came across Zarin and Savky talking sweet nothing in each other’s ears, Tina would try her hardest to eavesdrop. None of us could verify the veracity of her gossip but none the less found it interesting. Some times when Tina knew the couple was alone, she would sneak us into her house. We would crane our necks to see if we could catch a glimpse of the mating rituals that couples go through. Even if we saw them hugging or holding hands, we would be shoving and pushing each other for a better glimpse. Zarin and Savky were probably too engrossed to notice the whispers and fits of giggles of a motley group of wide-eyed curious girls. All this stopped, when one day Tina’s mother realized what was happening and shooed us all out.

Some days, tired after our games, we would all gather and urge Tina to share some more knowledge with us. Most of the time it was all tame stuff which she had told us countless times before, about falling in love, or kissing or holding hands or the chemistry that existed between men and women.

But then one evening she burst a bomb. She told us she was going to tell us a big secret, which left us all breathless with anticipation. When the hullabaloo died down a bit, she announced that today she would be telling us how babies were made. Babies are made?

How does one MAKE a baby? Most of us thought that if the mother and father wanted a baby, God would put one in the mother’s belly. She looked at us pityingly and gave a wise and mysterious smile. “I read all about it in my friend’s sister’s book and that’s the truth”. With bated breath and total disbelief we heard how little babies were made and got ensconced in their mother’s womb. There were lots of protests and heated arguments and denials, but Tina stuck to her guns. Our first brush with adulthood was surreal and a little traumatic.

As we got older we became savvier. The girl’s school we went to was a hotbed of false or otherwise, information on sex. Without a TV or internet, knowledge on sex or other adult topics were mostly gleaned from peers. We slowly learnt about the difference in the anatomy of men and women, about different sexual preferences, about homosexuality and lesbianism, about how boys perceived sex, about puberty and on and on. The raging teenage hormones lapped up all the information we could lay our hands on from different sources.

We learnt that a flasher was not a person who wore fancy and flashy clothes, but a pervert who would exhibit his privates when he realized someone was watching. This knowledge was due to direct fallout of our brush with a flasher, who used to sit in front of our school. He was dressed like a sadhu with a long beard, forehead smeared with ashes and a saffron lungi. The lungi opened and shut when he realized that it was our school break and the girls would be out and maybe watching him. All this came to an end one

day, when the police were informed by the school authorities, and the flasher sadhu was hauled away not to be seen again.

Life went on. There were the usual teenage crushes, the breakups, the heartbreaks, the tears and on to the next attraction. It was so good to have friends one could confide in when needed, have a shoulder to cry on and to be able to share secrets, which normally one would not do so with parents, when growing up. In your teens, most things would revolve around love, rest was secondary.

All along Tina entertained us with more outrageous stories and sometimes, whenever we had an opportunity, nude shadow dancing on popular demand. When we had a house to ourselves without any interfering adults, Tina would put up a show for us. The lights would be switched off and a white bed sheet would be held taut by 2 girls. A dim light would come on and Tina would start dancing behind the bed sheet, a-la cabaret style in her under garments. There would be claps and whistles to egg her on. We did not have any moral police to stop what generation after generation did to learn and quench their curiosity about sex and which should be a natural part of growing up.

As we grew older and the boys joined our gang, the secret girly talks became fewer and far between. We started getting different feedback due to the entry of boys in our midst. We were now on the brink of experiencing the real world of men and women and the chemistry that existed between the two sexes. Since we had grown up with these boys, there was comfort in our interaction with them. We were not tongue tied but definitely shy at times. Occasionally, some one would sneak in an adult magazine like ‘Oui’ or ‘Playboy’, with scantily clad or half naked men and women. There would be hysterical giggles and rolling of the eyes. We were scandalized by the ‘brazen’ nudity but none the less interested. The boys compared us to the bombshells of their Playboy and other boys’ magazines. As a result many of us started having huge problems with our bodies. We thought we were too thin, too fat, or small built, or big built, alas anything but perfect. We tried our best to fit into the ‘perfect’ image of a woman. We had the padded bras and corsets to our rescue and took refuge in anything that made us look a little more like those bombshells of the boys’ magazines. Fortunately, most of us got out of that phase and accepted the fact that we were all different and that ‘beauty was to the beholder’ and hopeful that there was somebody out there who would like us for the way we were.

Today, children learn about facts of life very early. The parents are so busy leading their own lives, having careers and being caught up in the rat race that children have to fend for themselves. Their lives revolve around the internet and the information available so easily on it. The internet becomes their friend, guide and philosopher. Alas the learning process takes place on the net without any feedback, adult guidance or peer information. In spite of the ‘chats’ and hundreds of ‘e-friends’ and being connected to others on various social sites as well as other media feedback, it is a lonely world. The camaraderie, the closeness of real friends, the giggles, the sharing is all missing.

Havovi Govadia is a 65 years old grandmother of 3. She was born and brought up in Mumbai and shifted to Nagpur after marriage. Was working in Empress Mills (first Tata enterprise) till it shut shop in 1987. Working now as an independent financial adivsor.

Havovi wrote scripts, directed and staged plays and various tableaux on Zarthushtra, Parsi fashions through the ages etc. mostly to acquaint the younger generation of their rich heritage from 1980 till about 2000 for the Nagpur Parsi Gymkhana.

Havovi started writing these little anecdotal stories at the insistence of her niece who is now 10 years old and living in USA and who was keen to know about her grand parents whom she would never meet and those days when “you and my Dad were little”.

Published on Parsi Khabar

The amazing Zerbanoo Gifford has put together the Z Factor exhibition and has kindly shared the panels with us. She writes

The Z Factor Exhibition celebrates some amazing Zoroastrians. They are the followers of Zoroaster, the first prophet to teach the path of Asha, the Way of Righteousness, that there is One God, and that Good would eventually triumph over Evil.

Zoroastrianism is the ancient faith of Iran, and one of the great religions of the classical world. It links eastern and western faiths. Sharing common origins with Hinduism, it had a formative influence on Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Today there are 100,000 Zoroastrians worldwide and their numbers are declining.

Like the panda, they are an endangered species!

A preservation order should be placed on them, if only to protect their originality, generosity and eccentric lifestyles. Zoroastrians have impacted on our lives and have left extraordinary legacies, not just for their own community but for everyone.

Published on Parsi Khabar

Seth Nanabhoy Bezonji Choksi Dar-E-Meher PANCHGANI

Date of Consecration – 14th May, 1931 Roj Adar Maha Adar, 1300 Y.Z.

HISTORY: It is perhaps the highest located agiary in the world. Panchgani is about 4,300 feet above the sea level.
Seth Nanabhoy Bezonji Choksi Dar-E-Meher was consecrated and was open by Dastur Noshirwan Kaikobad on 14th May, 1931. The expenses for the building of the Dar-E-Meher were Rs.38,300/-. Seth Nanabhoy gave securities worth Rs. 26,338/- towards its maintenance fund. Various co-religionists donated sums totalling Rs. 11,500/- towards its endowment fund. The foundation stone laying ceremony for priest’s quarters which Seth Nanabhoy Choksi was to build in memory of his wife Goolbai was performed by his grand-daughter Bai Meherbai.
It is a quaint structure, beautiful in proportion. The stained glass is special feature on the façade of verandah. The agiary is set in beautiful garden with tall pine trees. It is on a slight elevation.
There is a lovely sanatorium with self contained cottages “Gulshan-e-Aram” one km from agiary and there is aramgah also.

Published on Zoroastrains.net

The Path of Zarathrustra’ made in English is a film that perhaps for the first time explores the Parsi identity and the history and origin of the faith. This reminds us of the contribution of the Parsis to Indian cinema. But has Indian cinema been kind to the community in portraying them? SHOMA A. CHATTERJI probes.

It began with Ardeshir Irani who gifted us the first Indian talkie Alam Ara and followed by great filmmakers like Sohrab Modi, J.B.H Wadia, Homi Wadia and now actors as talented as Boman Irani and Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal are names that count.

But the portrayal of the average Parsi in mainstream Indian cinema has been within stereotyped cliché or captured marginally. The Parsi in films comes across as an exaggerated caricature with speech patterns bearing a superfluous accent that is a funny mix of Gujarati and English. But rarely does one come across a negative Parsi character or a villain with a Parsi identity. There is a delightful character in Avtaar (1983) named Bawaji. He helps Avtaar (Rajesh Khanna) when the latter wishes to start his own business. Sujith Kumar portrayed this character with depth and understanding.

Oorvazi Irani who has both directed and acted as the protagonist in The Path of Zarathrustra, says, “I would not like to name films, but it is the oversimplification that popular cinema as a mould forces a director to appeal to the mass audience that hurts us. Mostly, these stereotypes show a Parsi as an eccentric or as a buffoon to be laughed at rather than presenting an authentic picture of a Parsi. We are neither buffoons nor eccentrics but are normal human beings leading normal lives.”

The first film that comes to mind featuring a Parsi story set against a Parsi backdrop with actors drawn from the non-Parsi groups is Basu Chatterjee’s Khatta Meetha (Sour-Sweet) made in 1978. Like its name, it was a touching family drama that brings two different Parsi families together through two marriages, one between two aged couples who have lost their spouses and find it difficult to manage their growing children alone and one between two members of the next generation. It was a very entertaining film with lovely music and wonderful performances by Ashok Kumar, Pearl Padamsee, Deven Verma, Preeti Ganguly and others. The family drama was woven into with interesting sub-plots like the molly-coddled son of a widowed mother who wants to marry a ‘healthy’ girl and happily gets wedded to Preeti Ganguly! The characters are fleshed out very well and this remains a memorable depiction of the Parsi identity in Indian cinema.

Noted writer Cyrus Mistry’s Percy appeared in print in a collection of short fiction. This was turned into a Gujarati language film directed by the late Pervez Merwanji, an FTII graduate. Unlike most Parsi stories laced with good-natured humour, Percy was different. It was a mother-son story that underscored the mother’s obsessive possessiveness over her son which deprived him even from thinking on his own. He cannot live without her support and yet, when she dies, we see him dancing away merrily to his favourite notes of music with an imaginary partner, celebrating his ‘freedom.’

Says Cyrus Mistry: “The idea of a person finding some sort of self-realization through an exposure to music seemed to me a very literary idea. Maybe because I was raw – in terms of my knowledge of cinema – I didn’t initially see its potential nor realize how effective the music could be in cinema. I think I made Pervez wait two years before actually taking it up.”

Percy used four different languages (Gujarati, English, Marathi and Hindi) so it was multi-lingual. The smooth flow of languages, one into another, with never a false note, is another of Percy’s achievements. Ruby Patel and Kurush Deboo did brilliantly as mother and son which has a universal resonance. Produced by NFDC, Percy won the National Award for the Best Gujarati film in 1990. Percy is the most memorable and authentic portrayal of the Parsi in Indian cinema. It bagged an award at the Mannheim International Film Festival.

Pestonjee (1987), a film directed by Vijaya Mehta on a story by B.K, Karanjia, was a serious satire about a mismatch in marriage of one of two friends who grew up together. The film, produced by NFDC won two National Awards– one for the Best Hindi Feature film and the other for the best Costume Design. The film offers an intimate glimpse into the life and manners of the Parsi community especially those living in Bombay (now Mumbai) in the 1950s and 60s.

Ironically, the film and the story are titled not after the hero Phirojshah (Naseeruddin Shah) but after his childhood friend Pestonjee (Anupam Kher) who marries Jeroo (Shabana Azmi), the woman Phiroj cherished but could not marry and decided to remain a bachelor after that. But Jeroo turns out to be a shrewish, quarrelsome harridan and even more so, after Pestonjee dies. Phiroj discovers that Pestonjee’s mistress (Kiron Kher) is a better human being than his wife who drove him to death. The film shows how Naseeruddin Shah meshed so well with the character that no one could say that he is not a Parsi.

Shrin Farhad Ki To Nikal Padi (2012) is a romcom filled with Parsi actors playing Parsi and non-Parsi characters in the film which includes , other than Boman Irani and Farah Khan who is half-Parsi, Kurush Deboo, Daisy Irani, Shammi, Dinyar Contractor, Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal and Nauheed Cyrusi. The film marked the directorial debut of Bela Bhansali Sehgal who explores the awkwardness that can emerge when a 40+ man and woman begin to like each other but find expressing it tough and embarrassing.

Ferrari Ki Savari (2012) is a serious film of a boy’s cherished dreams set against a very cosmopolitanised Mumbai backdrop filled with characters of all colour and range but with the main actors set within a typical Parsi family in financially dire straits. The acting honours are shared equally by Boman Irani and Sharman Joshi as father and son in a struggling family with no woman to take care. The film offers a glimpse into a Parsi family filled with hopes that forces a father to steal a car to get his son’s dream of playing cricket at The Lords come true.

Another suspense thriller film needs to be mentioned too. It is Homi Adajania’s Being Cyrus featuring Saif Ali Khan in a different kind of role. The film made in 2005 is a psychological drama revolving around a dysfunctional family.

Little Zizou directed by Sooni Taraporewalla featured an entirely Parsi acting cast that began with Boman Irani and went through the entire Parsi casting album of Zenobia Shroff, Jahan Batlivala, Iyanah Batlivala, Sohrab Ardeshi, Cyrus Broacha, Mahabanoo Mody-Kotal and John Abraham whose mother is Parsi and father is Malayalee Christian. The film had touching moments focussed on the long-existing dispute between and among different groups with the Parsi community – the traditionalists and the liberals.

Percy, anyone?

Published on The Freepress Journal