Media personality Tehmina Kaoosji is creating content to highlight the views and aspirations of women
INDEPENDENT broadcast journalist Tehmina Kaoosji is the new face of Money Matters, a financial talk show that focuses on economics and business-related affairs.
Recently, she produced and hosted Tea With Tehmina, an online talk show that solely focuses on women’s issues, from sexual harassment to mental health.
The show also highlights business enterprises started by the women, as well as lighter issues such as beauty tips and wellness.
All guests and speakers on the show are women from all walks of life, who share their stories, opinions, advice and the secret to their success.
The first season comprising 50 episodes was streamed in Facebook from July to October 2020. Currently, she is working on the second season.
Her ultimate goal is to create an all-female content show to promote better gender representation in Malaysian media.
“It is a known fact that women are under-represented in the media around the world,” said 36-year-old Tehmina.
She finds that while women and their issues are aggressively covered in the media during certain seasons, such as Women’s Day on March 8, Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May and Breast cancer month in October, ultimately it is not enough.
“Women’s voices should be heard throughout the year, and not only during certain seasons.”
Tehmina also hopes to inspire young women by featuring successful personalities on her show.
“We need more female politicians and female representation in terms of making policy related decisions for the country,” she added.
Tehmina believes that women have the ability to lead a nation, and pointed out that some countries led by women have handled the coronavirus crisis far better than countries helmed by men, such as New Zealand under Prime minister Jacinda Ardern, and Taiwan under President Tsai Ing-wen.
One female figure who had a huge impact on her own life was her late paternal grandmother, who was a teacher.
“She got letters from her students even after her students had left school, gotten married and had their own children.”
Tehmina said she hopes to follow in the footsteps of her grandmother and make a huge difference in the lives of others.
She was born in Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh, India to a Parsi father and a Malaysian Hakka Chinese mother. When she was 10, she migrated to Malaysia with her parents.
When asked what sparked her interest in journalism, she said: “I was the kid who read the newspaper while eating my roti canai. I have loved to write since I was young.”
Her broadcast career began when she hosted Tourism Malaysia’s online travel and tourism-centric shows, Travel Info and Tourism Buzz, from 2013 to 2015.
Over the years, she has hosted English-language current affairs talk shows on the Bernama News Channel, namely Bernama Today and The Nation.
She also secured exclusive interviews with global bodies ranging from The World Bank to the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development.
She has spoken at various important events, which include the World Bank Malaysia Economic Monitor, National Consultation for a Malaysian Media Council, Women Changing the Content Landscape in Malaysia, TedX KL 2019 and the 2019 Georgetown Literary Festival.
One of the greatest milestones in her career happened last year, when she represented Malaysia and Bernama News Channel at the CGTN (TV channel) Dialogue of Asian Civilizations. She was one of four Asian media personnel who participated in the dialogue.
When she is not working, you will find her hiking out in nature. There is a mini gym in her house where she works out to stay fit.
Mumbai: Members of the Parsi community are aggrieved with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as the fate of the iconic ‘Parsi Gate’ continues to remain uncertain. In order to facilitate the ongoing construction work for the Coastal Road Project (CRP), the civic body had approached the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), seeking its approval to relocate the 100-year-old structure.
On Wednesday, a group of concerned citizens from the Parsi community went to the BMC to meet the civic chief, Iqbal Singh Chahal, to urge him not to relocate the structure.
The civic body plans to begin work on the proposed tunnel between Priyadarshini Park and Girgaum from January 7, and the citizens were concerned the tunnelling would affect the heritage infrastructure. Because of last-minute commitments, Chahal could not meet the delegation. However, Colaba legislator Rahul Narwekar and Corporator Harshita Narwekar met the group.
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Havovi Sukhadwala, a member of the delegation, has been writing to a number of civic officials ever since the BMC announced it wanted to relocate the structure. In her letters, Sukhadwala urged the civic officials to let the structure remain at its original location.
Meanwhile the civic body has already acquired an NOC from the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) for construction work at Marine Drive.
Replying to one of Sukhadwala’s letters, VS Nighot, chief engineer, CRP, had stated, Parsi Gate was not a heritage structure but was a part of the Marine Drive precinct, for which an NOC had already been obtained from the MHCC for carrying out construction work.
“In the EIA 2016 report, Girgaum Chowpatty area has been marked as a religious area. However, the Parsi Gate has neither been identified as a religious place nor a heritage structure in the EIA report,” Nighot had stated in the letter.
Earlier, in 2018, the Parsi Gate was renovated by the BMC. At that time, the civic body had required a separate NOC from the MHCC in order to carry out repairs.
“The BMC, in one letter states the structure is not a heritage structure while it took an NOC from the heritage cell to carry out repairing works, all of their points are contradictory,” Sukhadwala told The Free Pres Journal.
The delegation had also prepared an alternate design for the coastal road, which they had planned to pitch to the civic chief.
“In the BMC design, the ramp of the tunnel is being constructed adjoining the pavement, while they could have easily built it in the middle of the proposed road,” said Alan Abraham, architect of the design prepared by the members of the community and one of the concerned citizens.
Meanwhile, the BMC has written to the BPP, seeking post facto approval to relocate the structure. However, the BPP has not given its consent.
“The best solution for the community is to keep the structure where it is, but we are trying our best to keep the structure close to its original place” Viraf Mehta, a trustee-member, BPP, told the FPJ.
Meanwhile, MLA Rahul Narwekar had assured citizens he would take up the issue in the legislative assembly, to make sure the structure is not affected.
“I will arrange a meeting between the citizens and concerned officials in the next few days, this is a sensitive matter and it needs to be dealt with properly,” Narwekar told the FPJ.
Located at the Marine Drive Promenade just opposite the Taraporewala Aquarium, the design of the Parsi Gate is built on the basis of ancient Parsi architecture, which comprises two five-metre pillars made of stone. Parsis have been paying respect to Avan Yazad (water deity) for over a century and Hindus use the gate to immerse offerings in the sea during Poornima (full moon).
Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan launched India’s first indigenously developed pneumococcal vaccine, ‘PNEUMOSIL’ manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.
Cars are in the Parsi DNA since the day automobiles were invented, or so it seems ! It is no surprise that some of the top automobile restorers, journalists, organizers and most importantly owners and collectors are Parsis.
One such gentleman is Perseus Bandrawalla who organized the 2020 Mercedes Benz Classic Car Rally to end 2020.
Perseus writes….
From a parsi angle we have a number of well known Parsi families that participate in the event year on year. Some of the star cars this year belonged to Mr. Behram Dubash a 300 Adenauer and the Mistry family’s 220S Cabriolet which is believed to be an engagement present for Mrs. Mistry back in the day. Other entries included ad guy Rayomand Patell, collector Sharoukh Engineer, lawyer Purazar Fouzdar, Sam Katgar partner at Jeena and Neville Poonawalla -owner of Rage Motorsport amongst others.
In addition, I’ve been curator of the rally since the first edition in 2014. The event is organised by Autocar India. Autocar is the world’s oldest magazine and Mercedes is the oldest car manufacturer in the world. This year’s event was held at the Taj Lands End. Indian Hotels is probably the oldest hotel chain in India too. The publisher and Editor of Autocar India is Hormazd Sorabjee, – son of Soli Sorabjee. I am a freelance automobile consultant and columnist and also work closely with other automobile brands.
Rayomand J. Patell winging it in his 560SEC aka Vader
We conceptualized the event over a cup of coffee at the Willingdon Sports Club back in 2014. The event is now India’s no.1 classic car show and one of the most prestigious and largest one make classic car shows in the world.
The event has completely revitalized the classic car movement in India. Attached are some photographs of Hormazd and me (me being on the left).
Perseus Bandrawalla (left) and Hormazd Sorabjee
And in true Parsi style, Rayomand inculcates the love for cars in the next generation, seen here with his son Jehaan, who’s tall enough to drive and am sure itching to also.
Some of India’s most immaculately maintained Mercedes-Benz models were on display at the seventh edition of the annual Mercedes-Benz Classic Car Rally (MBCCR), which was held this morning at the Taj Lands End in Bandra. The MBCCR was conducted with strict adherence to Covid-19 protocols and regulations.
The event, which has been organised by Autocar India since 2014, saw participation from several prominent faces on the classic car scene. These included Viveck Goenka with his Mercedes-Benz Nurburg; Pratapsinhrao Gaekwad and his 230SL, and, among others, industrialist Gautam Singhania and his 190SL.
This year’s event was themed around resilience, and also felicitated women police officers of Mumbai who are among the people who have kept Mumbai ticking since March.
Maharashtra Home Minister Shri Anil Deshmukh, who was the chief guest at the event, said, “For the last nine to ten months, we have all been fighting back against the pandemic. The Mumbai Police has lost several of its officers and constables, but our brave police officers are not going to give up and the fight will go on as long as it takes. I’m extremely happy to see events such as these recognising their service to society in this unprecedented time.”
The participating cars drove in a convoy over the Bandra-Worli Sea Link from Taj Lands End to Worli Dairy and back, and the sight of these ‘rolling museums on wheels’ attracted, as always, a lot of attention from onlookers and fellow road-users. Over 40 cars participated in the rally this year — entries were limited to conform to Covid-19 regulations — and these included every generation of the Mercedes-Benz SL, S-Class and E-Class in almost every body style. They were accompanied by, besides the Nurburg, the 230SL and the 190SL, cars from Mercedes’ 170V range.
“It’s a pleasure to see so many ‘car-proud’ participants, men and women who are proud of the heritage and innovation of Mercedes-Benz cars and have taken great pains to keep their cars immaculately maintained,” said Santosh Iyer, vice-president, sales & marketing, Mercedes-Benz India. “At the same time, we at Mercedes-Benz have been relentlessly supporting the state and central governments in the fight against Covid-19, and we will continue doing our bit until the fight is over.”
The MBCCR ranks among the most prestigious one-make events of its kind in the world and a consistent participation from Mercedes-Benz owners has put the event on the global classic car enthusiasts’ map.
“This year’s MBCCR event is a special one. This ‘rally for resilience’, emerging from a truly trying year, is best represented by these classic Mercedes-Benz cars that have remained resilient against the test of time.” said rally curator and Autocar India classic car expert Perseus Bandrawalla.
Shri. Anil Deshmukh, Hon. Home Minister, Maharashtra and Mr. Santosh Iyer, vice-president, sales & marketing, Mercedes-Benz India flagging off the rally.
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Food historian Kurush Dalal recalls Zend as the baker who wasn’t afraid to experiment and wished to give his customers quality products.
Sitting behind the cash counter or instructing staff by the woodfire oven, Zend Meherwan Zend was synonymous with Yazdani Bakery. He was a regular at the iconic bakery in Fort, even after being afflicted with acute Parkinson’s in his later years. On Sunday, Zend died due to advancing age. He was 86.
Food historian Kurush Dalal recalls Zend as the baker who was not afraid to experiment and wished to give his customers quality products. In his younger days, Dalal’s visits to the agiary in Fort would end with a bun maska laced with sugar at Yazdani, where Zend would be at the counter, usually manning the phone. In a tribute on social media, Dalal wrote: “He was perhaps the first baker in Mumbai to go beyond Bun, Brun, Laadi pav and Sliced Bread. He regularly supplied major canteens all over the city and even the Mantralaya… In the last two decades Zend slowed down due to Parkinson’s but he still made the rounds of the business and his regulars looked forward to his brief daily visits as did his staff. He’s gone to the big bakery in the sky today and is probably convincing St Peter to try his ‘Jurmuns’.”
Zend was diagnosed with Parkinson’s more than a decade ago. Food writer Kalyan Karmakar, who conducts food walks in the city, used to often begin his tours at Yazdani where Zend would be a familiar face. “He was not in the best of health but he would always show up. Because of his condition, people didn’t always know how to react, but he would walk up to them and interact with them,” Karmakar said.
Zend’s son, Zyros, recalled that his father was originally in a white collar job but left it to join the family business. Zend was also known as a boxer in his younger days. “After he married, his wife told him that he was better off bashing bread dough,” Zyros said.
Kurush Dalal remembers Zend Zend…..
“Mara Jurmum trai kidha ke” said the man behind the cash counter at Yazdani Bakery 35 years ago.
Zend Zend was making these ‘German-style’ loaves way before any of the artisanal/home bakers. An institution in his own right he’s left us for the great big bakery in the sky. He was loud, opinionated and brash but he was a showman and a baker par excellence. He was perhaps the first baker in Mumbai to go beyond Bun, Brun, Laadi pav and Sliced Bread. He regularly supplied major canteens all over the city and even the Mantralaya.
His brother and both their sons cut their teeth at Yazdani. Zyros (Zend’s son) was the first maker of Fortune Cookies. He was also to the best of my knowledge responsible for the oatmeal and raisin cookies available at Yazdani. The bakery also makes one of the most oddly heartwarming apple pies. They made multigrain before it was cool, brown bread they were honest was just caramel but it tasted yum, the Katy’s Kitchen sandwiches my mum was legendary for were made of the giant sandwich loaf from Yazdani.
He was also virtually the only guy in town who made baguettes outside the Five-star hotel patisseries. The first Irish Soda Bread and the only one I liked was made by them (didn’t catch on sadly). They also made a rough and ready focaccia, buns, rolls for burgers and hotdogs, dinner rolls, whole wheat loaves, husk breads and simple cakes. After many years of discontinuing table service they re-started the same in the 90s and Bun Maska, Brun Mask flew off the counter to compliment the Irani tea.
They also made a killer bakery pudding which would be made in the cooling oven after the breads were done, yes its a wood fired oven to this day and that’s what makes the bread so special. The bread is also heartier as its isn’t hyper-aerated to make it use less flour for the same volume.
In the last two decade Zend slowed down due to Parkinson’s but he still made the rounds of the business and his regulars looked forward to his brief daily visits as did his staff. He’s gone to the big bakery in the sky today and is probably convincing St Peter to try his ‘Jurmuns’. RIP Sir.
His brother Parvez and his son Tirandaz (who was incidentally in the same school with me) are very ably carrying on the legacy of one of Mumbai’s finest bakeries.
Flops, frauds or community disapproval did not prove obstacles to the growth of the theatre enterprise.
Elphinstone Circle in Bombay in the 1870s. Photo: Lee-Warner Collection/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA
When one thinks of Horniman Circle – the ring of elegant old buildings in south Mumbai – today, several associations spring to mind: the glossy storefronts of Starbucks and Hermes – the temples of neoliberal globalism; men snoozing on the garden’s shaded benches – a respite from Mumbai’s prickly afternoon heat; and the ghosting of an all but forgotten colonial past in the worn-out balustrades framing the round.
Yet few appreciate that this unassuming area, one of the better-conserved vestiges of the city’s history, was, more than a century ago, the pulsing heart of Old Bombay. While St Thomas Cathedral, consecrated in 1718, marked Bombay’s centre, the city’s first theatre – the other primary point of congregation for European residents – stood merely a few feet away.
Johnson, William; Henderson, William, The Cathedral, Bombay, 1855-1862. Photo: SMU Central University Libraries/Public Domain
According to the Bombay Times of 1842, the Bombay Amateur Theatre that ‘owed its origin to an earlier period than any Theatre in India’ was built in 1770 at the old Bombay Green, a location that was ‘a mere receptacle for rubbish’ granted without condition of any kind. The theatre initially served as the location for all significant socio-cultural events for the English community as Bombay possessed no Town Hall at the time.
Kumud Mehta notes that at this early stage when the Bombay Amateur Theatre’s membership comprised East India Company officers, women did not hesitate to perform. Nevertheless, as Bombay grew from town to metropolis this practice was discontinued, males having to impersonate the female parts. Crucially, this change in onstage personnel echoed larger demographic shifts offstage – Indians had begun to frequent the theatre.
Shortly after the introduction of English education in Western India, on August 3, 1821, a dress box seat was purchased by a ‘Balcrustnath Sunkerset’. A few months later, Hormusjee Bomanjee and Sorabji Framji purchased tickets for The Rivals. Meanwhile, the theatre that had incurred significant debts due to the disproportionate indulgences of its stage management, began to receive donations from the wealth seṭhīās for its upkeep, thus further reflecting the development of a diverse theatre-going public.
Francis Frith, Elphinstone Circle Bombay, 1850s-1870s. Photo: Wikipedia Commons
The decline of the Bombay Amateur Theatre
But the theatre would not last for long. By the time the theatre’s last manager, William Newnham – an outstanding figure in the civil service – retired, its debt was upwards of Rs 33,000. Consequently, the government resolved to liquidate Bombay’s much loved first theatre. In the beginning, its books, props, painted backdrops, and furniture were auctioned for the trifling amount of Rs 2,133, and subsequently, in 1835, the building was sold via Jamsetji Jeejeebhoy to Bomanjee Hormusji Wadia for Rs 52,000.
With the sale of the theatre and the discharging of its debts, the left-over sum due to the public amounted to Rs 30,000 and lengthy was the debate as to the best way to put it to use for the benefit of the ‘public’. While some insisted on the erection of a market, an Indian hospital or a permanent spot for the Bombay General Library, others contended that as the theatre had been founded and nurtured exclusively by the city’s European residents the surplus should be used for the establishment of a grammar school for Europeans.
Finally, the government conceded to a memorial, with the merchant philanthropists Jagannath Shankarsheth and Framjee Cowasjee heading the signatories, that demanded that the balance realised from the sale of the old theatre be used for the erection of a new one. A plot in Grant Road in the heart of what was then known as the ‘Native Town’ was gifted by Shankarsheth, as the site for the theatre, and although many European residents expressed forebodings of the ‘mixed’ that is, European and Indian character of the new playhouse, the Grant Road Theatre, as it came to be known, opened to much fanfare in 1845.
At that time, the city’s refuse was deposited on either side of Grant Road making the district uninhabitable and unhealthy. The Grant Road Theatre was the only building among these flats, standing like an oasis in the desert. Kekhuśro Kābrājī, the father of the Parsi theatre reminisced, “As I was returning one night with my father from the Grant Road theatre in a carriage…a ruffian prowling about in the dark at Falkland Road, snatched my gold embroidered cap and ran away with it.”
Jagannath Shankarshet. Photo: M. Jackson/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA
The Grant Road Theatre
Despite the theatre’s insalubrious location, in many ways, it may be deemed the incubator of the modern South Asian theatre and Indian cinema, as the Parsi theatre found its roots there. On Saturday, October 29, 1853, Roostum Zabooli and Sohrab was performed by the first Parsi theatrical company at the Grant Road Theatre. Thereafter, Parsi social reformists, seeking to reform the Parsis of ‘evil’ customs such as child marriage, dowry, opium addiction, and gambling, produced plays such as Nādarśā nā Lagan, Bāl Vīvā, Bad ilat no Gofo, and Ūṭhāūgīr Śurtī.
These performances were condemned and subsequently, boycotted by the traditionalist faction of the community to little avail – but the theatre had put an unstoppable cultural movement into motion. By 1858, four Parsi theatrical troupes had come into being, even as this number ‘was increasing day by day,’ resulting in 1861 in the aptly entitled phenomenon of ‘mushroom clubs’, the number of theatre companies having increased to approximately 20 in the span of three short years.
Thus, even as the English amateur theatre came under difficulties, the Parsi theatre became a profitable enterprise as observed when, in April 1859, two Parsis and two Borahs were charged for having defrauded the public. Subsequent to announcing a performance at the Grant Road Theatre and taking the entrance money, the errant boys absconded from the building.
Subsequently, the press reported of sailors who brawled and children who threw rotten eggs, slippers, mud and cow-dung on stage – a phenomenon that newspapers termed ‘dramatic mania’. In response to this perceived deterioration of the theatre and the proliferation of dramatic companies that the Gujarati periodical the Rāst Goftār bitterly described as ‘mosquitos breeding together’, the Victoria Theatrical Company – the longest running troupe of the Parsi stage – was formed.
Parsi social reformists, aching to return the theatre to its erstwhile objective of inculcating ‘morality and virtue’, produced epic Persian plays such as Bejan ane Manījeh, Rustam ane Sohrāb and Khuśru Śīrīn based on the orientalist scholarship of Franz Bopp, Max Müller, Friedrich Spiegel and Martin Haug even as actors were compelled to undergo vigorous training based on Kābrājī’s exacting standards.
Yet the theatre also witnessed a hitherto unknown popularity: large crowds gathered on the street blocking the road before the commencement of plays and despite a number of stout doorkeepers, when the theatre’s doors were opened scores of men leaped in. Ḍaglīs tore, pāghḍīs flew, and hundreds returned as they could not find seats. The Victoria’s popularity lead not only to the construction of Bombay’s second theatre, the Victoria Theatre in Grant Road (Grant Road thus becoming Bombay’s theatre district) but also foreshadowed the Parsi theatre’s popularity across the Indian subcontinent and beyond.
The Parsi theatre’s expansion
Dadabhai Paṭel’s entry on the stage marks a pivotal moment in South Asian theatre history. Paṭel, the descendant of one of the first Parsis to have settled in Bombay and one of the few seṭhīā scions to attain the covetable M.A. title, joined the Victoria and quickly rose through its ranks to become managing director. He replaced Sassanid emperors with flying fairies, a dramaturgical transition that reflected a shift in the Parsi theatre’s objective: from the social reform of the Parsi community to profit-making and mass appeal. Increasingly, the theatre, abandoning the geographic specificity of ancient Iran, set about to produce an alternative imaginary non-occidental space somewhere between Turkey and China and, by analogy, of an imagined community somewhere in between even as the theatre’s language changed: from Gujarati to Hindustani.
On October 1871, Sonānā Mulnī Khorśed that portrayed the power and prestige of a Mughal kingdom, hīndī and sīndhī costume, and monuments such as the Taj Mahal transpired for the first time to thundering success and Khojas, Bohras, and Memons allegedly thronged the theatre. The play thus set larger wheels in motion. While other troupes followed the precedent set by the Victoria of ‘hīndī lebāś, hīndī dekhāv and hīndī ḍhapchap’, the Victoria set off for the first Parsi theatre tour outside the Bombay presidency in 1872. On February 2, 1873, news was published of Sir Salar Jung’s intention to build Hyderabad’s first proscenium-based theatre for the Victoria’s use. Thereafter, on October 11, 1873, four ‘respectable women’ graced the Victoria’s production of Indar Sabhā, an event that was proclaimed by the Parsi press as a sign of the ‘downfall’ of the theatre and of Parsi domestic well-being.
Although these changes gestated deep intra and inter-communal fissures in Bombay, the Parsi theatre experienced unmitigated expansion in these years – fanning out across the subcontinent to Delhi, Calcutta, Benares, Lucknow, and Madras where Patel grasped the opportunity of staging a scene from his company’s Śakuntala for the Prince of Wales. Dame fortune however, would only smile for a little while on the heir of the legendary Paṭel family.
The Original Victoria subsequently set off for Bangalore on December 19, 1875, where Paṭel fell mortally ill. He was hastily sent back to Bombay to the care of numerous physicians employed by his influential family only to succumb after an operation of the stomach at the ripe age of thirty-two on March 17, 1876. Thus wretchedly ended the life of the proponent of the pan-Asian Parsi theatre.
Yet the staggering influence of his work – of introducing Indo-Persian mythological stories in contemporary garb, mechanical scenery, and daredevil stunts on the South Asian stage, would persist well into the twentieth century through the medium of not only Hindustani modern drama but also the Indian cinema industry that is, ‘Bollywood’.
Rashna Nicholson is an assistant professor of Theatre Studies at the University of Hong Kong. Her book The Colonial Public and the Parsi Stage: The Making of the Theatre of Empire (1853-1893) which provides the first comprehensive, archive-based history of the Parsi theatre is forthcoming in 2021.
A3 Artists Agency will represent actor Behzad Dabu.
Dabu appeared as Simon Drake on How To Get Away with Murder. In the ABC series, Dabu’s character can be seen clashing with the group of interns studying under Viola Davis’ Annalise Keating.
He also appeared in five episodes of Lena Waithe’s Showtime series, The Chi. Dabu played Amir. His additional credits include The Lion Guard, Dealbreakers, The Good Place and Chicago P.D.
“Get rid of your cough, eat my ginger biscuit.” The baker who kneaded such happy prescriptions into Mumbai’s gut via the blackboard of the iconic Yazdani bakery in Fort is no more. Zend Meherwan Zend, the jovial co-owner of the six-decade-old Irani bakery who said bread must have a bite to it and who did not let Parkinson’s disease keep him from sipping tea or relishing ice-cream at the cash counter, passed away at age 86 this past Sunday.
With the departure of this jolly former boxer at Yazdani, known for both its muscular multigrain bread loaf as 1950s’ American bodybuilders staring from its walls, the city has lost a rare leavening agent: Someone who shared chicken sandwiches with strangers passing by his bakery on walking tours.
City historian Deepak Rao recalled the friend he lovingly referred to as ZZZ—short for Zend Zend Zend—as a well-built former boxing champion who loved English poetry and lived in Colaba’s Bennett Villa on the junction of Wodehouse Road and Cooperage Road. Food historian Kurush Dalal remembered him as “perhaps the first baker in Mumbai to go beyond Bun, Brun, Laadi Pav and Sliced Bread” in his online tribute. Food writer Kalyan Karmakar spoke of his “warmest and most loving handshake”.
Over a century before sourdough bread would become a thing, Zend’s grandfather had set up a bakery near Alexander cinema that followed a similar fermenting process as this baker’s yeast-shunning bread. His grandmother Jerbanoo would get up at 3am to knead the dough in khamir, the basic yeast ferment—a technique from Iran.
Zend’s father later joined Rising Sun Bakery at Golpitha that used to supply breads, cakes and pastries from Colaba Military Camp to Chembur Naka on a bullock cart and started Yazdani Restaurant and Bakery in the 1950s in a building that used to be a Japanese bank through World War II. Breads and delicacies emerging from the woodfired oven at Zend’s Yazdani—cheese and garlic buns, chocolate bread, Swiss rolls, hot dogs. gutli and pav—would travel to canteens from Mantralaya to Bombay Gymkhana. So sinful were its rum-soaked Christmas plum cakes they came with an oral disclaimer: “Don’t eat and drive.”
Adar Poonawalla, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Serum Institute of India, thanked all stakeholders after Covishield got final nod in India.(REUTERS)
‘Finally paid off’: Adar Poonawalla thanks PM Modi, DCGI after Covishield gets final approval
Even before getting the approval from the apex drug controller of India, Serum Institute of India stockpiled about 40-50 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, taking a major risk.
By hindustantimes.com | Edited by Poulomi Ghosh | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON JAN 03, 2021 08:29 PM IST
For Serum Institute of India’s Adar Poonawalla, the happy new year moment came on Sunday after the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) gave its final nod to Covishield, the vaccine which is being developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca and is manufactured in India by SII. Covishield got the nod for restricted emergency use in India after the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO’s)’s subject expert committee went through its data and recommended the vaccine.
Happy new year, everyone! All the risks @SerumInstIndia took with stockpiling the vaccine, have finally paid off. COVISHIELD, India’s first COVID-19 vaccine is approved, safe, effective and ready to roll-out in the coming weeks. pic.twitter.com/TcKh4bZIKK
“Happy new year, everyone! All the risks @SerumInstIndia took with stockpiling the vaccine, have finally paid off. COVISHIELD, India’s first COVID-19 vaccine is approved, safe, effective and ready to roll-out in the coming weeks,” Adar tweeted, thanking PM Modi, Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and all other stakeholders including Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the department of biotechnology (DBT), the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), Gavi, the international vaccine alliance, and Gates Foundation etc.
Even before getting the approval from the apex drug controller of India, Serum Institute of India stockpiled about 40-50 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, which involved a major risk in case its application got turned down by the drug regulator. The largest vaccine maker of the world, by the volume it produces, has also set a target of producing around 300 million doses of Covishield by July 2021.
Overall, Serum’s investment in Covishield has crossed $100 million. According to a Forbes interview, Adar Poonawalla in November said he has already spent $300 million and another $500 will be done in due course of time. Serum has set up a new company, Serum Institute Life Sciences, to support the new initiatives, which is a first-of-its kind “pandemic level” manufacturing facility in Pune.
Serum Institute has also collaborated with Gavi and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for manufacturing and delivering of up to 100 million doses of vaccines for other low and middle-income countries as part of the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC).
Here’s an entertaining story about Yazdani Bakery and Zend Meherwan Zend that was told to me by the blustery Irani baker who passed away on Sunday. He was my friend. And I knew him from when he was a much younger man. Strapping, with a roaring voice, as crusty as the crackling Brun that Yazdani baked. But Zend was also a droll man. I had experience of that. Yazdani was near my newspaper office. Zend would often come over with Mawa Cakes. And stay for a chat.
Once he came red in the face. His Irani excitement bubbling over. He had gone to Tata Theatre the night before. Outwardly, he was big and brawny, with rough and ready ways. But Zend had evolved tastes. For Western classical music and theatre. Weekends you would find him at NCPA. In baggy bakery trousers and half-sleeve shirt. A red muslin cap on the head. Hobnobbing with the elite gentry. Zend was strangely very informed on the performing arts.
The concert was by a virtuoso violinist. I cannot remember his name. He was from Austria, Israel or Russia. Lot of their musicians performed here because there was a vast and appreciative Zoroastrian audience. That night the violinist played such soulful music that two members in the audience got heart attacks. In Tata Theatre were several eminent Parsi doctors. Mumbai has two generations of them. They managed to save one life. The violinist was distraught.
Our Zend went backstage to commiserate. They got talking. It turned out the violinist’s parents had been bakers. With a wood-fired stone oven. He had grown up eating a crunchy bread like our Brun. His parents were dead. The bakery was gone. He missed them. He missed their bread. He had tears in his eyes. This was a big night for crying. In the audience and backstage. But Zend had a twinkle in his eye. And a remedy for the disastrous night.
He took the violinist to Yazdani on his red Kinetic Honda. The man holding on to his Stradivarius. Bread was being baked. Zend took a Brun hot out of the oven. He broke it, spread butter, and gave it to the violinist. It was the same bread his parents baked! He was overwhelmed. “Let me play for you,” the violinist said. And he lovingly did. The music piercing the silent night sadly. It made Zend’s workers weep. The music reminded them of home. Of the families they left behind. “Those rascals took their money and ran!” Zend said laughing uproariously.”
No matter how much you know about Mahindra or how many Mahindra vehicles you’ve owned, it’s only when you read Adil’s Timeless Mahindra that you’ll realise the ocean of information you missed out on exploring.
If you are someone who loves to read about cars then there’s a new and unmissable coffee table book penned by veteran auto journalist, author and historian Adil Jal Darukhanawala. The book titled Timeless Mahindra is quite simply a visually spectacular Mahindra museum you can gift yourself as I recently found out. The book’s launch coincided with the 75th anniversary of Mahindra and the introduction of the all-new Thar. Spread over 332 pages this book is loaded with little-known trivia about not just Mahindra vehicles but also about the company’s past, technology development and a lot more.
The highlight of the book is the immense depth of information coupled up with a meticulous approach to every page, graphic and caption, something Adil is well-known for. Adil is a renowned automotive historian and author and is popularly referred to as the ‘Boss Man’ in the automotive sector. He has many successful book titles to his credit and has been the brain behind some of the most successful auto magazines in India. He has been a source of inspiration for young journalists eyeing the automotive sector and this book is one of the many reasons why he commands such stature.
Through the pages, you will be taken way back to the roots of Mahindra’s humble beginnings in India. The journey of Mahindra from the Willys Jeep CJ-2A (first vehicle assembled by M&M in India) to the CJ-3B, which Adil terms as the spiritual ancestor to the new Thar, is a part that will glue you to the book and give you a taste of things to come in the next pages.
One of the highlights of the book is the vast amount of topics covered about Mahindra’s history. It captures the role of Mahindra vehicles in the film industry to how the Indian Armed Forces went on to love and depend on their Mahindras. There’s a deep dive into the brand’s history in motorsports as well and if you thought this was it then you couldn’t be more wrong. The book goes on to detail aspects ranging from Mahindra’s manufacturing modernisation and development of Mahindra Research Valley (MRV) to the efforts made on the front of customisation as well. And this is nowhere close to the end! Things go right up to the development and production of the new Thar that is already a big success in the country.
What makes reading this book a treat is the usage of awe-inspiring visuals, detailed graphics and a level of attention to details even in captions that only Adil can possibly manage.
Like many Indians, I did have my share of history growing up with Mahindra since a young age and considered myself to have good knowledge about the brand and its models through the decades. However, it’s only when I read Timeless Mahindra I realised the vast amount of details that I was unaware of. The sheer depth of information and the visual treat of rare pictures in the book is sure to leave you amazed and that is when one realises that once you start reading it you just can’t stop.
No matter how well you think you know about Mahindra or how many Mahindra vehicles you’ve owned, it’s only when you read Adil’s Timeless Mahindra that you’ll realise the ocean of information you missed out on exploring. The book can be bought from adiljal.com for Rs 5,400 and for this price the slice of history it offers makes it a sure shot prized possession for any automotive enthusiast.
Take a gander at all the businesses the illustrious Poonawalla family owns and manages in the country and beyond
The Poonawalla family is among the wealthiest Indian business clans in the world, with Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, Founder of Serum Institute of India (SII) — the world’s largest vaccine manufacturing plant that produces vaccines for measles, polio, tetanus and now also coronavirus — as its patriarch. He is the seventh richest healthcare billionaire in the world, with his net worth totalling at $11.5 billion, according to Forbes.
However, SII, taken over and run by Adar Poonawalla since 2011, isn’t the only successful business venture the Poonawallas own and run. The Cyrus Poonawalla Group owns six other lucrative companies. Scroll through to read all about them.
Apart from the Serum Institute of India, these are the six companies the Poonawalla clan owns
1. Poonawalla Finance
Poonawalla Finance (formerly known as Adar Poonawalla Finvest Private Limited) is, according to its official website, a financial services company that helps consumers and small business owners across 23 cities in India help secure loans. The company is headquartered in Pune, which is also where the Poonawalla family resides. See inside pictures of their palatial Pune abode here.
2. Bilthoven Biologicals
Closer to SII’s path, Bilthoven Biologicals is a bio-engineering and pharmaceutical company that serves as an important manufacturing base to SII’s European markets. Per the Cyrus Poonawalla Group’s website, the company was acquired from the Netherlands Government in 2012, and its acquisition ensured access to technology and expertise in making the IPV (Inactivated Polio Vaccine, Salk), which earlier was possessed by only three other vaccine manufacturers in the world.
3. Poonawalla Aviation Pvt. Ltd.
The Poonawallas don’t just own a fleet of private charter planes for leisure, and an actual Batmobile (read all about it here), but also own and run their own chartered flight services. Established in 2005, in Pune, Poonawalla Aviation Pvt. Ltd. (PAPL) is a non scheduled operator that provides bespoke chartered flight services.
4. Villoo Poonawalla Greenfield Farm
Closer to home, the Poonawalla family manages the Villoo Poonawalla Greenfield Farm, which was established as the Poona Stud Farm in 1946 by the late Soli A. Poonawalla. The farm rears and breeds prize-winning horses. The Cyrus Poonawalla Group’s website stated that this farm is the leading thoroughbred stud farm in the country with “13 Champion Breeders” awards to date. Notably, the family also sponsors the Poonawalla Breeder’s Multi Million horse race. It is described as ‘the richest juvenile race in the country.’
5. Poonawalla Clean Energy
Poonawalla Clean Energy is among the family’s most interesting business ventures, It focuses on lending support and funding to companies whose core objectives are to produce renewable resources of energy. Under this venture they’ve spearheaded a city-specific project with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
6. Poonawalla Hospitality & Real Estate
Lastly, the group also has a firm presence in Pune’s real estate sector with Poonawalla Hospitality & Real Estate. According to its website, the company enjoys a successful partnership with Panchshil Realty.
The repairs to the Bisni Dakhma at our hallowed Mumbai Doongerwadi, are finally completed thanks to donations received from certain members of the Parsee community and the unrelenting efforts of the BPP trustees and staff.
Under the guidance of Dasturji Dr. F. M. Kotwal, the required ceremonies to restore the spiritual strength of the Dakhmas was undertaken by Ervad Aspandiar Dadachanji and his son Ervad Hormuz, which concluded with the performance of a Jashan ceremony today at Icchapurwalla Pavilion at Doongerwadi by Ervad Aspandiar Dadachanji. All those who had donated to the cause were graciously invited to the ceremony. All the BPP trustees were present and so were some of the donors.
After the Jashan, Chairperson Armaity Tirandaz thanked all involved in the efforts with a special memento being offered to Mr. Vistaspar Mehta, the very obliging and most helpful manager at Doongerwadi, under whose charge the repairs were undertaken.
Those present were then introduced to Dr. (Ms.) Rashneh N. Pardiwala, Founder & Director, Centre for Environmental Research and Education (CERE), who has been undertaking native tree plantation drives at Doongerwadi and Ambawadi since the year 2015 in order to revive and restore the health of the forest at Doongerwadi with the support of the BPP. Dr. Pardiwala spoke briefly about the work accomplished by her over the past 5 years. Only Indian native plant tree species were selected for plantations. To-date, 7,092 trees have been painstakingly planted at Doongerwadi and Ambawadi and their survival rate was 98.2%. This plantation of 7092 trees also served as an important carbon sink for the city. A total of 7092 native trees had the potential to sequester 1,567 MTCO2 over a short span of only 15 years and will sequester many more tons of carbon pollution through their lifespan of growth.
In 2015, Dr. Pardiwala started planting native trees in Ambawadi on her own personal initiative, time, effort and resources. A total of 1477 trees were planted in the first year and slowly her passion to continue afforesting Doongerwadi grew and she continues working silently to help green one of last green lungs of South Mumbai. Her genuine voluntary efforts over the past 5 years has gradually gained the support of BPP Trustees, sponsors such as Mrs. Persis Vatcha of the Bai Maneckbai P. B. Jeejeebhoy Trust Funds and even community members namely Mr. Vispy Dalal and Mr. Firdosh Anklesaria.
Dr. Pardiwala regretted that many a times misinformed community members had summoned the police and municipal authorities under the mistaken impression that she was cutting down trees. She explained that only those termite infested trees which had earlier collapsed, were being removed as they would harm the other flora and fauna. She hopes that her efforts to rejuvenate one of the most historical and religious places situated in Mumbai is wholeheartedly supported by the community since Doongerwadi serves both the community and the city by providing vital ecological services that helps improve the city’s environment. She was very grateful for the unstinted support received by her from the BPP trustees in her activities at Doongerwadi.
This was followed by a plantation drive, where the guests were invited to plant sandalwood saplings. Sumptuous and delicious snacks and tea were served thereafter to all the invitees. The whole event in the pleasant environs of Doongerwadi graced by a gentle cool wind and the chanting of our Mathravani by the priests, was a soothing experience by itself.
*We are all quick to criticise our trustees for anything and everything. So, in all fairness, when they do a splendid job as done in this repair and restoration of the Bisni Dakhma, they deserve kudos and it is the community’s duty to thank them and encourage them. We should also wholeheartedly support their next endeavour, which is the repairs to the Anjuman Dakhma.*
Incidentally, she has been doing this whole activity at Doongerwadi completely free of charge and all funds received by her go directly into the plantation efforts of procuring large saplings, installing drip irrigation system with pump, hiring labour to cut and transport fallen trees etc. Not a penny is taken by her. On the contrary, she spends a lot from her own pockets to make ends meet and bridge any shortfall!
She also works entirely pro bono for her own NGO and does not draw a salary from CERE being the Founder Trustee. A true Zoroastrian to the core. A splendid example for today’s Parsee youth to emulate!]
Team TPV
Plantations at Doongerwadi & Ambawadi
Dr. Rashneh N. Pardiwala has been undertaking native tree plantation drives at Doongerwadi & Ambawadi since the year 2015 in order to revive and restore the health of the forest at Doongerwadi with the support of BPP.
Only Indian native plant tree species are selected for plantations with 3-4 year old saplings with a minimum height of 4-6 feet. Healthy well-rooted saplings with lateral branching are chosen to ensure to ensure a survival rate of 98.20%. To-date, 7,092 trees have been painstakingly planted at Doongerwadi and Ambawadi.
More than 50 species of flowering and fruiting forest species like Jarul, Bahava, Sawar, Saptparni, Jamun, Sandalwood, Ber, Bael, Phanas, Beheda, Bibba, Palas, Raktchandan, Chandan, Saag, Shisam etc have been planted to ensure a mixed healthy plantation.
This plantation of 7092 trees also serve as an important carbon sink for the city and every effort is taken to ensure 100% survival with day-to-day maintenance and care. A total of 7092 native trees have the potential to sequester 1,567 MTCO2 over a short span of only 15 years and will sequester many more tons of carbon pollution through their lifespan of growth.
In 2015, Dr. Pardiwala started planting native trees in Ambawadi on her own personal initiative, time, effort and resources. A total of 1477 trees were planted in the first year and slowly her passion to continue afforesting Doongerwadi grew and she continues working silently to help green one of last green lungs of South Mumbai. Her genuine voluntary efforts over the past 5 years has gradually gained the support of BPP Trustees, sponsors such as Mrs. Persis Vatcha of the Bai Maneckbai P. B. Jeejeebhoy Trust Funds and even community members namely Mr. Vispy Dalal and Mr. Firdosh Anklesaria who have extended support to this noble initiative. Individuals like Mr. Vispy Dalal and others are now gradually coming forth to start helping Dr. Pardiwala manage different aspects of the project and lend a helping hand.
Rashneh is an ecologist from the University of Edinburgh having specialized during her MSc and PhD in the field of Climate Change. She is the Founder & Director of the Centre for Environmental Research and Education (CERE), a Mumbai-based not-for-profit organization that works to promote environmental sustainability through formal education, government collaborations, corporate partnerships and public awareness campaigns. CERE undertakes CSR projects for a range of leading companies such as Wipro, HDFC Ltd, IndusInd Bank, Tata Capital, Toyota Motors, SP Group, BNP Paribas and many others. Dr. Pardiwala presently serves as a Director on the Board of Studies, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai and is a Subject Expert for numerous educational foundations and charitable trusts. In 2005, Dr. Pardiwala was recognized as one of the youngest ‘Social Entrepreneur for Change’ and was awarded the Ashoka Fellowship. In 2009 Dr. Pardiwala was selected as one of Asia’s 21 Young Leaders by Asia Society. In 2011, Rashneh was selected by the Svenska Institute in Stockholm for Fellowship program on Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability. In 2013, Dr. Pardiwala was awarded the Ford Fellowship to study at Columbia University, NY.
It important that the Parsee community unites to actively conserve and manage the forests of Doongerwadi in a professional manner like our forests in national parks and sanctuaries.
Every year, many trees fall due to gusty winds and heavy downpours during the monsoon season. In the monsoon of 2020, more than 80 large old trees collapsed due to the Cyclone Nisarga and torrential rains which even led to a major landslide on the road flanking Doongerwadi from Hanging Gardens to Kemps Corner. This unforeseen natural calamity with falling trees destroyed property, damaged parked cars, broke water pipelines and flattened young plantations, leaving BPP and Dr. Pardiwala no option but to take necessary action. Trees are living beings, have a natural lifespan and require proactive maintenance. The overgrowth of weeds and climbers can restrict the growth of young saplings. Termite infested fallen trees need to be cut and removed to make space for re-planting younger saplings and restore ecological balance. Forestry techniques like thinning, lateral branch pruning, opening up of a closed canopy, removal of invasive and exotic species, organic mulching etc. need to be practiced, as and when required, so as to improve the health of our Doongerwadi forest which is under tremendous stress in a highly polluted urban city like Mumbai.
A healthy and diverse ecosystem is slowly emerging because of regular tree plantation drives during monsoon and year round maintenance that is resulting in increased floral and faunal biodiversity. The community needs to support the efforts of BPP and Dr. Pardiwala to help revitalize the forests of Doongerwadi. The thousands of young saplings planted today will grow into tall and strong trees of tomorrow to serve the coming generations of Parsee’s. Dr. Pardiwala hopes that her efforts to rejuvenate one of the most historical and religious places situated in Mumbai is wholeheartedly supported by the community since Doongerwadi serves both the community and the city by providing vital ecological services that helps improve the city’s environment.
From 2002 to 2004 the WZCF, Mumbai and the IAS, New Delhi conducted an intensive archaeological project, under the auspices of the ICHR and the Tata Trust, at the Medieval Archaeological site of Sanjan, Dist Valsad, Gujarat. The excavations were spurred by the only existing Parsi historical text, the Kisseh-i-Sanjan, and conducted to ascertain the existence of the apocryphal landing place on the Indian mainland and the first town of the Zoroastrian refugees from Iran who are today known as the Parsis.This talk deals with the various literary sources (especially their translations) both well-known and little-known which were instrumental in determining whether or not to go ahead with the subsequent excavations. These literary sources include quasi-historical manuscripts, copper plate grants and rock-cut inscriptions. This talk aims to dispel some pre-existing myths, reinforce the validity of certain texts and show the importance of a holistic approach in understanding medieval archaeology and the fact that even quasi-historical texts are more historically accurate than what we consider.
About Kurush Dalal
Kurush F Dalal has a BA in Ancient Indian History and History from the University of Mumbai), an MA in Archaeology as well as a PhD on the early Iron Age in Rajasthan, both from Deccan College, Pune University. Subsequently he shifted focus to the Early Medieval Period predominantly on the West Coast of India and excavated the sites of Sanjan, Chandore and Mandad. These excavations and the data recovered have had a strong impact on scholarship in the region. The recent Mandad excavations have revealed a brand new hitherto unknown Indo-Roman Port site with antecedents going back even further.Dr Dalal also actively works on Memorial Stones and Ass-curse Stones in India and dabbles in Numismatics, Defence Archaeology, Architecture, Ethnoarchaeology and allied disciplines. He is the Co-Director of the Salcette Explorations Project, a massive Urban Archaeology Project documenting the Archaeology of Mumbai since 2015, thus extending his interest from the Medieval into the Colonial Period.He has published over 35 papers and has read many more at National and International Seminars. He is a visiting lecturer at various Universities, Colleges, Schools and Government Institutions. He taught archaeology and allied subjects at the University of Mumbai for 10 years. Since October 2019 he is Consulting Editor with Live History India and continues to research Archaeology and Culinary Anthropology. As of August 2020 he is the Director of the INSTUCEN School of Archaeology
How did medieval Zoroastrians imagine the family of Zoroaster, the founding figure of their religion?
Unlike founders of many other religions about whose time and place we can reach a certain degree of certitude, there has been and still is much scholarly debate over the time, place and even the historicity or otherwise of Zoroaster. The same uncertainty applies to the facts about his family life. What I intend to do in this blog is rather to demonstrate how interpretations of certain aspects of his domestic life story changed throughout time and place based on current social realities and ideals of his followers. The two selected cases that I would like to address here are from late antique-early Islamic Zoroastrians and modern Parsis (i.e. descendants of those early medieval Zoroastrian migrants to the shores of Gujarat in western India).
It should be pointed out that not all aspects of Zoroaster’s traditional biography were subject to change. Certain essential features of his legend persisted long among his followers – in many cases till today – such as his laughing at birth (instead of crying); the conversion of his patron Kavi Vīštāspa and his entourage into his religion and so forth. When it comes to his parents, clan, family and children, one should distinguish between the elements which might have been formed, evolved and maintained a long time ago and those clearly novel elements about his family life.
The birth of Zoroaster. From Bachi Karkaria’s Zarathushtra (1974). Public domain, available online at http://archive.org/details/zarathushtra, accessed 3 January, 2021.
Scattered pieces of evidence about legends of Zoroaster’s life can be gleaned from Avestan texts. Extensive, systematic biographies of him exist in much later works in Middle and New Persian languages only. In addition to these, we can find information about particular episodes of his life in other Middle Persian texts as well. Taken together, they provide us with ample information about his clan, parents, eschatological sons and a little less about the (nuclear) family he himself formed. Apart from his three miraculously born sons-cum-future saviors, it appears that his wives and naturally-born children do not play a very significant role in the most complete narrations of his life and deeds, epitomized in the Middle Persian (Pahlavi) Denkard VII and Selections of Zādspram and the Persian Zarātoštnāma. However, there is a passage in Bundahišn, a Pahlavi text on the world’s origin redacted sometime between the ninth and twelfth century CE, offering us a vue d’ensemble of his family.
Zoroaster’s Family in Late Sasanian and early Islamic Period
In a chapter devoted to the genealogies of religious and legendary heroes of the Zoroastrian tradition in Bundahišn, Zoroaster’s family members are enumerated:
From Zoroaster three sons and three daughters were born. One was Isadwāstar, one was Urwatadnar and the other Wōrūčihr. Isadwāstar was the priest and the head of the priesthood. He passed away in the hundredth year of the tradition. Urwatadnar was husbandman and the chief of the Jam-built shelter, which was beneath the earth. Wōrūčihr was warrior and the head of the army of Pēšōtan son of Wištāsp, who is lodged in Kangdiz. He [Zoroaster] had three daughters. Their names were Frēn, Srīt, and Purōčist. Urwatadnar and Wōrūčihr were form the auxiliary wife (zan īčagar) and the rest were from the principal wife (zan ī pādixšāy). From Isadwāstar, a son named Urwarwizag was born. They call him Urwiz ī Birādān and because he was from an auxiliary wife, then they appointed him to the trusteeship (stūrīh) of Isadwāstar. Thereupon three sons of Zoroaster as Ušēdar, Ušēdarmāh and Sōšyans were from Hwōwī.
The names and some elements of this passage are not unfamiliar in legends of Zoroaster’s life. Occasionally, we do find references to these names as members of Zoroaster’s family in various Avestan and Pahlavi texts. The names of the children and his only named wife, Hwōwī, are attested in several Avestan passages. The association of the three naturally-born sons – Isadwāstar, Urwatadnar, Wōrūčihr – with the three classes of society probably has considerable antiquity, as it is partially attested in Young Avestan texts. The miraculous birth of Ušēdar, Ušēdarmāh and Sōšyans by three maidens is also elaborated in a good number of Pahlavi texts.
What makes this passage new, however, is the marriage and succession institutions which have been employed to explain the exact relationship between these figures. The complex legal institutions related to family are attested since the late Sasanian period only. We know of these and their intricacies through the extant Zoroastrian legal texts such as Hazār Dādestān ‘Thousand Judgements’, a late Sasanian law-book. Pādixšāy denotes the most standard kind of marriage in which the wife and any resulting children benefit from full legal rights. They would inherit a fixed share from the husband/father’s inheritance. In turn, they had certain obligations such as inheriting the father/husband’s debts or the duty to perform ceremonies upon his death. Čagar refers to a type of marriage in which a woman (who could be a wife, sister, or daughter) related to a dead or living sonless man would marry another man in order to produce a legitimate male heir for the former. The children born of this kind of marriage had certain rights and obligations towards their legal father, but not towards the biological father. In later Zoroastrian literature, čagar simply refers to the legal status of a remarried widow. Stūrīh, often translated in the literature as intermediate successorship or trusteeship, is the technical term for a broad, complex succession institution in which a Zoroastrian man or woman, usually a relative, would marry in order to produce children for a sonless man. S/he had the role of the mediator between the man and his legal heir. Until the heir reached adulthood, the stūr had certain rights and responsibilities. In late medieval and early modern times, Stūrīh came very close in its function to the institution of adoption.
Returning to our narrative, Zoroaster was represented to have two pādixšāy wives, one Hwōwī and the other unnamed, and one čagar wife, again unnamed. The latter wife brought forth two čagar sons, Urwatadnar and Wōrūčihr. His son from the principal wife, Isadwāstar, was thought to have married a čagar wife only. In need of a legal son of his own, the son produced from his čagar wife, Urwarwizag, was appointed to play the role of stūr for Isadwāstar. In sum, while certain aspects of this priestly interpretation of Zoroaster’s familywere evidently formed in earlier times, the assumed marriages of Zoroaster and his son, Isadwāstar, projected the practice of late Sasanian/early Islamic forms of marriage and succession into these distant, revered figures.
With certain permutations, additions and deletions, this image of Zoroaster’s domestic life as found in the Bundahišn passage continued among late medieval and early modern Zoroastrians in Gujarat and Iran, at least in learned priestly traditions. A reworked Parsi version of the narrative is attested in chapter nineteenth of Wizīrgard ī Dēnīg, a neo-Pahlavi text often dismissed as a nineteenth century ‘forgery’, but probably composed slightly earlier in early modern Gujarat. In this version, the story was expanded to make it explicit that Zoroaster had three wives, and that all three were alive during his lifetime and outlived him. All three wives are named and the name of the former husband of Zoroaster’s čagar wife is mentioned too. The parts on Isadwāstar’s čagar wife and son are, however, omitted.
There is no indication that this tradition was opposed until the middle of the nineteenth century. It is only from then on that some Parsis begin to voice reservations about the ‘authenticity’ of this narrative.
Portrait of Zoroaster in a Parsi house. Photo by Kiyan Foroutan.
Zoroaster’s Family among Modern and Contemporary Parsi Communities
The Parsi Panchayat – a council consisting mainly of wealthy laity governing the internal affairs of Parsi community in British-ruled Bombay – attempted to ban polygyny among Parsi Zoroastrians in 1791. This development might have been due to the impact of western ideals of monogamy or the legal manifestation of an older tendency within Parsi communities. At any rate, this regulation might have prepared the ground for later reinterpretations of the tradition of the three wives of Zoroaster among Parsis. A law more definitive and attuned to British sensibilities was passed in 1865, which prohibited polygyny among Parsis and imposed harsher penalties for the practice.
The first known reaction to the tradition was from Dastur Minocherji Edalji Jamaspasana, when Dastur Peshutanji Behramji Sanjana, a member of a rival priestly family, published Wizīrgard ī Dēnīg in 1848. Jamaspasana accused the owner of the manuscript, Dastur Edalji Darabji Sanjana, who was the uncle of Dastur Peshutanji, of fabricating the passage on Zoroaster’s wives in order to satisfy one of his lay patrons’ wish, who wanted to take or had already taken a second wife while his first one was still alive. By this and other accusations, the whole Wizīrgard ī Dēnīg was identified as a forgery of Dastur Edalji. However, not all Parsi priests were against this tradition. The prolific Dastur Erachji Sohrabji Dastur Meherjirana could still write in his Gujarati catechism, Rehbar-e Dīn-e Jarthośtī, published in 1869:
Our prophet Zoroaster had two wives, one shahzan [principal wife] and the other a widow (chakarzan). The name of the shahzan was Havovi and that of the widow is not known. His two sons Urvatatnar and Khurshedcheher were born of the widow and the remaining children wereborn of the shahzan. So says the Bundahishn. From this we can see that one can marry a widow. (tr. Kotwal and Boyd)
But even this traditional priest seems to have changed his mind when he was writing the Persian equivalent of his Gujarati catechism, Forūgh-e Dīn addressed to Zoroastrian children. In a series of questions about Zoroaster’ life, one is dedicated to the question of Zoroaster’s alleged polygyny. He rejected the possibility that Zoroaster, as God’s prophet and someone concerned with other-worldly matters, might have had more than one wife.
Almost all Parsis of the twentieth century who wrote on these passages in Bundahišn and Wizīrgard ī Dēnīg have rejected this tradition as spurious and against the spirit of the ‘true’ Zoroastrianism. Instead, they argued that Zoroaster had only one wife during his lifetime. In his reading of Yasna 53 in 1913, the Parsi scholar Bahramgore T. Anklesaria would thus praise Zoroaster’s message of strict sexual morality and monogamy:
The benediction clearly shows the advantages of monogamous marriage in order to incite the marrying pair to preserve love and harmony in the home in his simple, unaffected words, too majestic in their simplicity. (1913, 2.1: 5)
More than anything else, his interpretation will inform us about the notoriety of polygyny and celebration of monogamy by colonial and post-colonial Parsis.
Conclusion
Having focused on a passage in the Bundahišn, I have highlighted the less salient familial aspect of Zoroaster’s biography in medieval time. Despite certain continuities in this narrative, his marriages have been modelled on the marriage institutions of late antique-early Islamic Zoroastrians. The nachleben of this story among modern Parsis was also discussed. Like some other controversial subjects, they disputed it and finally replaced it with monogamous Zoroaster.
Further Reading:
Domenico Agostini and S. Thrope, The Bundahišn, the Zoroastrian Book of Creation. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020.
A.V. Williams Jackson, Zoroaster, the Prophet of Ancient Iran. New York: MacMillan, 1899.
Mitra Sharafi, Law and Identity in Colonial South Asia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
Daniel J. Sheffield, ‘The Wizirgerd ī Dēnīg and the Evil Spirit: Questions of Authenticity in Post-Classical Zoroastrianism.’ Bulletin of the Asia Institute 19 (2009): 181-189.
Stained glass designer Katayun Saklat’s paintings, with their disconcerting details, give a dark twist to sweet nostalgia
At first glance, Katayun Saklat is just another kindly, elderly lady with a thatch of grey hair. But she is much more than that. She is one of the most accomplished designers of stained glass in India, with her work included in several public and private collections. She is also a painter, working chiefly with oil and watercolour. At 83, Saklat is trying her hand at a new medium, creating decorative steel panels using glass, paint, even shells. An exhibition of her work was held recently at Debovasha, a gallery-cum-publishing house in Kolkata.
Saklat’s paintings are deceptively simple, seemingly dipped in sweet nostalgia. They are gorgeously coloured — as one would expect from a stained glass designer — and often feature dreams, flowers, and Parsis, whom she calls the “endangered species”. Saklat is Parsi herself, with her father from Kashmir and mother from Lahore. They moved to Kolkata in 1928 and Saklat was born 10 years later. Their yellow-and-green painted house in Grant Lane in central Kolkata with its jalousied windows and terrace appears in Saklat’s early works.
Phantom faces
Even when Saklat paints her family, she catches them in elaborate formal wear, as if they were in an old-fashioned studio, holding their breath, waiting for the photographer’s signal to relax. In what seems to be a family group portrait, there are numinous ladies in gauzy saris and young men in dark blue jackets and caps — they could well be out of a Byzantine painting. The babes in arms here are anything but cute, more like phantom presences suspended in time.
Time is a silent presence in her painting of an elderly woman captured from three different angles. Her wrinkled face is uncannily vacant as if she is caged in a world of her own from where there is no escape. Is she losing her memory, her sense of self? Her hands fumble, her eyes are unable to grasp what she is trying to unravel. The striking counterpoint is the floating visage of a younger woman, her dark, glowing eyes curious and penetrating.
Trapped in memory
Even when Saklat paints her parents one cannot miss the wry humour. In one of her paintings Mummy is very much the introverted young bride (“Mummy’s only friends were her cousins. She always wanted me to stay home,” says Saklat) while Daddy is a typical moustachioed paterfamilias. They are isolated, hemmed in by a barbed wire fence. Are they too trapped in the no-man’s land of memory?
Hovering mid-air, right above Daddy’s head, is a sewing machine, a reference to her father’s first job as a Singer sewing machine salesman, which brought him to Kolkata.
Design is what matters the most to Saklat, in art and life. “Another word for nature is design. Arteries, veins — everything is designed so beautifully,” says Saklat sitting in her living room stacked with paintings. She started drawing from age four, making dress designs with “so many additions to the same dress that it was not humanly possible to tailor them.” “I over-egged the pudding,” she chuckles. Later, when she started working in a toy and hobby shop, she designed children’s clothes.
In 1957-58, Saklat briefly joined the J.J. School of Art in Mumbai, didn’t like it there, and moved to Indian College of Arts and Draftsmanship in Kolkata eventually. There she met artist Arun Bose, whom she describes as a “wonderful teacher and good human being.” Saklat shared her studio in the Grant Lane house with her classmate Bikash Bhattacharjee and other artists for many years.
Glowing windows
When Saklat was in London in 1973, she trained at the studio of Patrick Reyntiens, one of Europe’s leading stained glass artists, for a year. Saklat recalls some of the memorable stained glass panels she has created over the years — she says the most exciting design was for a toothbrush factory in Baroda that featured giant toothbrushes scattered all over. She has also done a dozen stained glass panels and lunettes for Kolkata’s only Parsi fire temple in Metcalfe Street. The largest piece is a glowing ovoid with Zarathustra in the middle surrounded by the Amesha Spentas, the divine entities.
Saklat opened Gallery Katayun at her current residence in Auckland Square, Kolkata, in 1989, and hopes to turn it into a museum one day.
Her only regret is that her clients commission her to do only figurative or pretty stained glass works. She would love to raise a toast to abstract design.
The writer focuses on Kolkata’s vanishing heritage and culture.
