One small community that has continued to punch way above its weight and even today sweetens the rich cultural diversity that is India is the Parsi community. And just as Indians started immigrating to Canada, so did some of India’s Parsi community — and they continue to sweeten the fabric of Indo-Canadian society, and of the wider Canadian mosaic.

Article by Bhaswati Ghosh | South Asian Focus

In India, the Parsis need little introduction. But Canadians may not know their unique history as well.

Zahin Khatow with family.

For nearly 13 centuries, Parsis have remained one of the most unique South Asian communities. Deriving their name from their ancestral links to Persia or present-day Iran, Parsis are followers of Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest religions of the world, predating both Christianity and Islam.

Once the dominant religion of Persia, Zoroastrianism came under threat following the Arab invasion of Iran in 641 AD. Religious persecution and forced conversions (to Islam) forced a small group of Zoroastrians to flee to Gujarat, India in the late eighth century. They settled mostly in the Bombay (now Mumbai) region and created a distinctive identity.

In the late 1960s, some members of the Parsi community started moving to Canada. Currently, their numbers in this country range anywhere between 5,000 and 7,000, with the greatest concentration being in the GTA. With the Parsi Navroze or New Year celebrated earlier this year (March 21), we spoke to some members of the community to reflect on their life in Canada, traditions, achievements and challenges.

The Zoroastrian Society of Ontario was the first institution built by the Parsi community in the 1970s. However, over the decades, “as the community grew, there was a need to build a bigger place or another community centre. So the newer immigrants who came settled in the west end, and as a result, it was decided to start a new community centre because everyone couldn’t be accommodated in one small hall. A group of 10-12 people got together and bought the piece of land which is now the Ontario Zoroastrian Community Foundation (OZCF),” says Havovi Bharda, an OZCF board member.

Nilloufer Bhesania’s father was among those earliest Parsis to arrive in Toronto in 1967. The job market wasn’t as competitive as it is today, and he secured a position with Revenue Canada within a week of his arrival. Being a small community, Parsis were very well-knit at that time. Says Bhesania, “My parents were very active in the Zoroastrian community. In fact, many Parsis called my parents as soon as they landed and my parents assisted them in finding a place to stay.”

Keeping traditions alive

Being so far away from home — India or Pakistan — can make following traditions challenging. Take for instance the Zoroastrian custom of sky burials for the dead — a system in which corpses are exposed to the elements, including open-topped ‘Towers of Silence’, the last of which operates in a Mumbai suburb.

Says Bharda, “Our religion says that our bodies come to the earth and must return there — so in India dead bodies are left for vultures to eat. However, here we have to accept the idea of being buried or cremated. This goes completely against our religion’s guideline to not pollute the environment, but we have to accept it.”

There are other adjustments to be made, too. “As most of us do not have big extended families here in Canada, other community members become family to enjoy festivals with. Most of our festivals are enjoyed by us as a community function,” says Kobad Zarolia, an insurance broker, his statement indicating the shift from celebrating religious festivals at Agiaries or fire temples as is the practice in South Asia.

His thoughts are echoed by Zahin Khatow, an IT project manager who moved to Canada from Mumbai in 2012. “While the celebration part remains unchanged worldwide, it’s the fire temple that we miss when we are away. Since Parsi worship places are few and far between in North America, you are not always lucky to be staying close to one. A lot of Parsi groups try to make up by having a religious ceremony (Jashan) at a common place or residence,” he says.

The community holds the belief that ten days before the Parsi New Year, the souls of the departed visit Earth. Various ceremonies are observed to remember them, including ten days of prayers, known as Muktad days, at the end of which the souls are believed to go back. During these days, food is also served to the departed souls.

Bharda, who lost her mother in 2010, observes this ritual, while also adding, “Due to a limited number of priests here, we can’t offer individual prayers. Instead prayers are carried out on a communal basis and for five days instead of ten.”

A distinctive facet of Parsi culture is the cuisine developed by the community by blending influences from Persia with the culinary traditions of Gujarat and Maharashtra, the regions where they settled in India. From dhansak, a delicious synthesis of meat, lentils and vegetables, to patra ni machhi — fish steamed in banana leaf, and to delectable desserts, food is often the magnet that draws and keeps the community together. And although there are few restaurants exclusively serving Parsi food in the GTA, community members make conscious efforts to preserve recipes handed down from one generation to the next.

While most Parsis prefer to make their own cuisine on a daily basis, there are several instances of enterprising Parsi women operating catering businesses. A recent food festival organized by OZCF was a testimony to the popularity of Parsi cuisine, attended as it was by both Parsis and non-Parsis in big numbers.

Achievements

Despite being a relatively small community, Parsis have made notable contributions to the history and progress of India. From playing an active role in India’s independence movement and military to industrious community members acting as torchbearers of Indian industry and making a mark in fields of science as well as arts, Parsis have been known for their vigour and progressive outlook.

The pattern remains unchanged in Canada.

As Bhesania, herself the owner of Chemsynergy, a chemical and distribution business she runs along with her husband, says, “There are many members of the Parsi community in the GTA who hold senior positions at large and small companies. Many of them have also been recognized by trade associations. Parsis are also active in the arts community, as actors, artists, and musicians.”

For Bharda, the community’s biggest accomplishment is the sense of community cohesiveness. “As a community, we live in harmony. Even though we have two associations and there are conflicts of power, we still tend to work together. In spite of coming from South Asian countries where the culture of maids and servants still prevails, once here, community members don’t hesitate to mop the floors of our community centre even if they live in a million-dollar home. There is no rich-poor distinction and everyone works together,” she says.

Challenges

All the camaraderie and bonhomie notwithstanding, the community faces challenges of its own. The belief that one is a Parsi only by birth (that is by being born to Parsi parents) precludes the idea of conversions. This has led to a continuous decline of the community’s population worldwide.

According to a UNESCO report, in India, the community is declining by about 10 per cent every decennial census. A touchy issue in this respect is the idea of intermarriages, or Parsis marrying non-Parsis. While a near-complete taboo in countries such as India and Pakistan, the practice is becoming more and more common in Canada.

Opinion on its acceptability remains divided, though.

“My friend just got married to a Vietnamese girl which was difficult, but eventually well received by the family,” says Khatow, even as he admits that a Parsi parent’s greatest fear or insecurity is that their children will not marry within the community.

When asked if he was aware of such unions in the GTA, Zarolia answered with a brief but clear, “More than I would like it.”

With time, however, the community seems to be more accepting (if not welcoming) of intermarriages. Explains Bhesania, “Inter-community marriages are generally well received by the majority of Parsis. At one time, many Parsis were opposed to inter-community marriages — but their opposition was overcome once their own children married non-Parsis.

“Among my group of friends, being a good person, well-educated and capable of earning a good living is more important that one’s religious or community affiliation,” Bhesania adds.

As an OZCF board member, Bharda has insider knowledge of which priest will perform an inter-community marriage and who won’t, and she helps community members reach out to the right person for the right task. The tussle between conservatives and liberals is constant and similar to what every community experiences, yet efforts are made to help everyone co-exist.

Other challenges include keeping the language (Gujarati for Parsis from India) and food traditions alive as more and more second or later generations of Parsi youngsters opt for the convenience of communicating in English and eating/making fusion food.

Despite all challenges and differences of opinion, the Parsi community continues to integrate well and thrive in the multicultural mosaic that Canada is, even as they continue to foster stronger inter-community ties. Bhesania summarizes it well when she says, “Most of my friends and family have a good mix of Parsi and non-Parsi friends, although the bonds between Parsis are stronger than those with non-Parsis. The ties that bind us are strongly related to culture rather than religion, especially among the younger members of the community.”

Tracing Parsi roots

The word Parsi means Persian. Parsis are the descendants of Persian Zoroastrians who emigrated to India following religious persecution by Arab invaders.

One interesting, perhaps apocryphal, Parsi legend harkens back to the newly-landed community in Gujarat noting, charmingly, that they would assimilate into the existing society “like sugar in milk”.

The story relates the course of the initial meeting between the Indian king, Jadi Rana, and the newly landed emigrants. When the Zoroastrians requested asylum, Jadi Rana motioned to a vessel of milk filled to the very brim, to signify that his kingdom was already full and could not accept refugees. In response, one of the Zoroastrian priests added a pinch of sugar to the milk, thus indicating that they would not bring the vessel to overflowing and indeed make the lives of the citizens sweeter.

Parsis today live chiefly in Mumbai and in a few towns and villages mostly to the north of Mumbai, but also in Karachi (Pakistan) and Bangalore (Karnataka, India).

Several landmarks in Mumbai are named after Parsis, including Nariman Point. Parsis prominent in the Indian independence movement include Pherozeshah Mehta, Dadabhai Naoroji, and Bhikaiji Cama.

Notable Parsis in the fields of science and industry include physicist Homi J. Bhabha, Homi N. Sethna, Jamsedji Tata, regarded as the “Father of Indian Industry”, and members of the Tata, Godrej and Wadia industrial families.

Other eminent Parsis include rock star Freddie Mercury, composer Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji and conductor Zubin Mehta; cultural studies theorist Homi K. Bhabha; screenwriter and photographer Sooni Taraporevala; authors Rohinton Mistry, Firdaus Kanga, Bapsi Sidhwa, Ardashir Vakil and Pakistani investigative journalist Ardeshir Cowasjee; actors John Farhan Abraham and Boman Irani; and India’s first woman photo-journalist Homai Vyarawalla.

Actress Persis Khambatta was a Parsi who appeared in Bollywood. Dorab Patel was Pakistan’s first Parsi Supreme Court Justice.

According to India’s last fully published census of 2001, the population of Parsis has declined from just under 115,000 in 1941 to 69,601 in 2001. The numbers are believed to have declined even more since then.

Community leaders feel the very progressive outlook of Parsis, which encourages equality between men and women, has been one reason for their dwindling numbers, owing to women marrying late in life and giving birth to lesser number of children.

UNESCO started a Parsi-Zoroastrian Project to generate an awareness of the community and create a revival of interest within the community, country and the world.

The post Parsis sweetening rich Canadian diversity, like sugar in milk appeared on Parsi Khabar.

There’s nothing quite like observing a creature in its natural habitat. Fortunately for us, India is one of the few places a particularly rare specimen are still fairly common. So, for the avid naturalist, here are a few tips for spotting and luring in that ever so endangered species–the Parsi.

Article Published on Homegrown.in

They are most active around dusk when the remains of their dhansak lunch has finally been digested. Leaving their siestas behind needs just the right amount of coaxing so you should have plenty of chai and batasas ready to soothe them. Be warned that even this offering may not stem the flow of grumbling, but don’t be alarmed for a Parsi that is truly bemoaning the state of the world is asleep, ill or eating. As the sun sinks below the horizon, you’d do well to have a bottle of whisky on hand though the sanctity of this ritual may vary drastically depending on which type of Parsi you’ve lured into your midst. Still, even if you scare your Parsi away, a simple call might help you find them. Clear your throat and cry as loud as you can  ‘Jamvo Chalo Ji!’ This could, however, cause a stampede as every Parsi in the vicinity may descend upon you expecting to be fed so only use it in the most dire circumstances. Of course, you could skip all the effort, plant yourself in a place that serves good food and better booze and just wait for them to come to you. They are an overwhelmingly friendly and fun-loving bunch so approach at will, though there’s one trigger you’re better off knowing if you want to stay unharmed–don’t insult the Queen.

It’s easy to poke fun at a minority community that’s most lovable for their ability to laugh at themselves. While the rest of the world is busy getting offended, Parsis have always been ready with a creative quip at hand, ready to move on to the bigger and better laugh. It’s perhaps this light-hearted, yet straightforward spirit that’s led them to have such a big impact on our country, despite their dwindling numbers. Although their population currently stands at 69,000, which is a mere 0.006 per cent of the country’s total population, their legacy speaks volumes. From industry to the arts and philanthropy to economics, the legacy of the Parsis may very well outlive the community at this rate but there’s no denying that the community is facing what seems to be an unstoppable decline.

There are many reasons behind the dropping numbers. Parsis, unlike other communities, don’t put such a great emphasis on marriage. Many Parsis remain bachelors and spinsters till they die. If they do marry, a lot of them decide to marry late—in their 30s and even 40s, when conceiving children becomes difficult. Additionally, their duality is well known. Outwardly, they are incredibly westernised and modern. Internally, they wrestle with many demons, the most vicious of which is a mania for blood purity—inter-caste marriages are heavily frowned upon. Moreover, it lays bare the community’s skewed gender rules, as a woman who marries outside is no longer considered a Parsi, and neither are her children. The same does not apply if the man is Parsi—his kids may still be initiated into the Zoroastrian faith.

Through agencies such as Jiyo Parsi, which is a government run scheme to promote the community, people are being made aware that without some help this eccentric race may be facing extinction. If that does come to pass it would be a sad day for India, not merely because of their contributions to the economy, but because their crazy ways and delicious food have become so ingrained in the country’s identity. Hopefully the future will see growth in the Parsi community because we aren’t ready to say goodbye to their big laughs, their big bellies and their even bigger hearts.

For those of you not lucky to have a Parsi in your life we volunteer 9 of our own on the celebratory occasion of Parsi New Year today so you can learn a bit more about this elusive community. We also assure you that this is not an attempt to cement stereotypes but a shout out to all the dikris and dikras who are carrying on living their lives, carrying the legacy of their community forward by doing what they do, the very best that they can. And they’re doing it with a sense of humour.

I. Amyra Dastur | 23 | Actress

“I hope that I’m constantly busy with work as I am now at this point in my life. I love my job and all the adventures it entails and I just hope I get to travel more and shoot all over the world,” shares 23-year-old Amyra Dastur, looking forward to the future. An actress by profession, it’s her ‘madness,’ as she says, that’s perhaps the most Parsi thing about her. “I’m spontaneous and carefree, which most people mistake as crazy and when they start calling me mad I just say that I’m Parsi, and that I can’t help it!” she laughs.

Like most of us, Parsi or not, Dhansak would be Amyra’s Parsi comfort food, but she specifies that only the one her domestic help Mary makes, does the trick. “Everything about it makes me drool.”

“We’re absolutely mad! But I’ll tell you a secret, all the best people are.”

“If I were the last Parsi on Earth I’d make sure that all the Parsi properties in the world were given to me, and then I’d actually open it to the public. People have always asked me what our Agyaries look like and I would love for them to see our culture first-hand,” says Amyra adding that considering the small number of Parsi’s left in the world, “honestly, that’s quite likely to happen!” She wants to help increase the population rather than decrease it. “I would like them to stop frowning or looking down upon inter-caste marriages and to even allow other individuals from different religions to be able to convert to Zoroastrianism.”

Traditional members of the community are mired in a way of thinking that only causes problems. Despite having an old, rich cultural heritage and practices, the Tower of Silence is one thing that she doesn’t agree with. “Man, vultures eating my corpse just doesn’t sound too appealing to me,” she admits. Still, people have some set ideas about being Parsi that need be corrected.

On a Parsi stereotype that needs to be corrected:  “That all Parsis know other Parsis. Every time I meet someone and they realise that I’m a Parsi, they name some of their other Parsi friends and ask me if I know them! It’s so damn annoying. We do NOT always know other Parsis!”

II. Jehangir Dastur | 22 | Chef

At 22, Jehangir doesn’t skimp when it comes to dreaming. In five years he hopes to see himself heading a professional kitchen or better yet, owning one of his own,  although he is sure that his personal life won’t be evolving any time soon, don’t worry Jangu-bhoy, ghanoo time che. For him, being a Parsi comes down to the simple core belief ‘Humata Hukta Hvrashta’ or ‘Good words, good thoughts, good deeds’. But if you had to do a good deed for Jehangir the best move would be to bring him a big ol’ plate of chicken farcha – basically the Parsi answer to fried chicken – all the crunch and double the spice.

“Being Parsi means Good Words, Good Thoughts and Good Deeds”

Like any true Parsi he can break out an ‘Arrey Baap Re’ at the drop of a hat, but his one suspiciously un-bawa trait is his disdain for dhansak (watch your back Jehangir, you made some enemies today). He does however share the community’s famed fascination for cars. Parsis have long been known for their obsession with extensive and sometimes ancient car collections, and Jehangir is no exception. When asked what he would do if he were the last Parsi in the world, “I would go and find the best cars in the city and joyride to my heart’s content” is his unhesitant response.

A flaw he wishes the Parsi community would rectify: ”I do pray that certain old habits change among the community. In our community, if a Parsi woman marries outside the community, her children will not even be given the option of being parsi. I do not agree with this mindset and in my opinion, it is one of the main reasons for our falling numbers.”

III. Keki Modi | 30 | Operations and Brand Management – Ferrari India

Keki refuses to overthink his life, he prefers to live in the moment rather than micro-managing the future. As of now, he plans to watch the MotoGP Live in October but still hasn’t figured out what he’s having for dinner tonight. If there was one trait he would attribute to his heritage it would be his dependability and his rigorous, if somewhat intense, attention to detail.

“I honestly don’t live my life knowing what I’ll be doing 5 years from today. I’m not your stereotypical Parsi bawaji.”

To him being Parsi means never tiring of Sunday dhansak, being true to yourself and always minding the word of apri Rani on her throne in England. Although he doesn’t speak fluent Gujarati, aside from a wide range of profanities (which is really all you need), he does share the egg legacy, or should we say eggacy, that has been passed down through generations. His go-to comfort food is papeta per eedu which, as the name suggests, is a dish of potatoes topped off with the omnipresent egg.

Unsurprisingly he also shares a deep love of cars, and if he found himself the last Parsi standing he would strive to collect all the bawa-owned bikes and cars he could find as he knows their innate OCD and love of hoarding will ensure all their vehicles will be left behind in pristine condition.

He prefers not to involve himself in community politics but hopes that the outlook on religion will broaden in the future and perhaps arrest the decline in numbers. One thing that does get his goat however is the medical community and their bizarre standard, as he so succinctly puts it “Not being able to donate organs! What is up with that?!”

On what he’d do if he were the last Parsi left on Earth: ”Find anyone who can cook my favourite Parsi dishes. Get my hands on as many Parsi owned cars and bikes as I can.”

IV. Parizad D | 24 | Photographer

Parizad is one person who has found her place in the world and is determined to make the most of it. At 24, she is a successful photographer and she hopes that five years from now she will be doing exactly the same things only on a grander, more widespread scale. She would also love to travel more, but that may cut in to her time with the dozens of cats she hopes to have.

She thinks she has plenty of typical Parsi traits but believes the most telling one is her decibel range. As she quite humbly puts it, “I can be loud. Oh. So. Loud.” Although she likes to shatter eardrums, the one thing that being Parsi means to her is the multiple trips to Udvada, we envy all the doodh na puff and tari she’s being getting over the years. The one thing she believes is a true stereotype about Parsis is their love for alcohol, food as well to a great extent, but more notably Parsis need their daru.

Her go-to comfort food is dar-ni-pori, a flaky crust stuffed with sweetened melt-in-the-mouth dal stuffing. However, dessert isn’t the only thing she has her eye on, if she were the last Parsi on the planet she intends to “Stake claim on all the beautiful old Parsi houses and shoot in all of them.”

On her hopes for the future of her community: “That we hold on to out roots, but also accept the fact that all good things come to an end. And cherish the fact that even if this community ceases to exist a few years down the line, its legacy will probably live on forever.” More specifically, she hopes that the sexist laws regarding women who marry outside the faith will be abolished, she finds it disappointing that a community that prides itself on being well cultured and educated can still uphold such backward ideals

V. Neville Bhandara  | 27 | Family business

“I think it’s more important to ask not where, but what — Happy, successful and fulfilled.” 27-year-old Neville sums up his dreams for the future with characteristic Parsi nonchalance. He currently works for the family business, WaterMaker manufacturing machines that convert atmospheric water to drinking water in the hope of solving the world’s water crisis. He believes that his identifying trait as a Parsi would be taking life as it comes and making the most out of it. “Don’t stress anyone out and don’t stress yourself out. What more is there anyway? Have a good life.”

Image Credits: Tanya Prasad

“Being Parsi means being at peace with the knowledge that we have never, can never, and will never be able to cook palatable vegetarian food. We just can’t do it. #sorrynotsorry”

He feels like he is unapologetically bawa in all his actions, hedonistic lifestyle and he loves his Parsi heritage. As for food, he turns to dal rice with tareli machi (fried fish) when he needs comfort and is a steadfast believer of everything per eedu. As he so accurately sums up, “I’ve never met an egg I didn’t like.” Although, he strongly believes that Parsis should avoid cooking vegetarian food, for the sake of humanity.

Some aspects of the community do worry him, such as the fact that children born to Parsi mothers and non-Parsi fathers aren’t considered Parsis, while children of non-Parsi mothers and Parsi fathers are. This sexist bias bothers him and he believes this myopic view of religion is to blame for the dwindling numbers. He himself is not very religious and says visits to the fire temple are few and far between. The Slytherin-esque mania about blood purity and dismissal of inter-religious marriages is a cause for concern too, but he hopes that the positive aspects of the faith will outweigh the negative ones, the laid back, jovial nature and the levity with which life is embraced should win out against the more inane traditions.

On a Parsi stereotype that’s actually true: “The Parsi who eats a lot and doesn’t put on weight.”

Image Credits: Tanya Prasad

VI. Rhea Bharucha | 23 | Pastry Chef

Rhea Bharucha’s dream is one of sugar-coated glory. This 23-year-old pastry chef currently works from home in Colaba but hopes that soon she will be able to open a little café where people come for their morning coffees and afternoon gossip sessions. She loves to satisfy her own sweet tooth with a helping of lagan nu custard but despairs for its lack of availability outside wedding season.

If she were the last Parsi left on Earth she vows to take charge of Britannia and make sure no one has to miss out on their Sunday menu.

With the ever diminishing size of the community it’s no wonder that she feels like being related to every other Parsi is part of her identity, although she would like to clarify that people don’t marry their first cousins, second or third cousins at a stretch maybe, but they haven’t gone full Lannister quite yet.

As a totally true blue bawi she believes the downfall of most Parsis is their pronunciation of Hindi. Whether they are Bombay-bred or fresh off the boat, all Parsis somehow speak laughably bad Hindi, the fact that they’re thinking in Gujarati is probably what’s to blame.

On her ultimate dream for the Parsi community given its dwindling population: “That they all order from me!”

VII.  Sanaya Ardeshir | 27 | Musician & Music Producer

27-year-old musician and producer Sanaya Ardeshir (Sandunes) has already made an indelible mark on the electronic music scene in India, but she’s stuck her fingers into more healthful pies than we can count over the years. Whether it’s an audio-visual installation at an art gallery that represents the abstraction she’s currently aligned with, or her punctuated forays into the world of yoga and wellness, her interests are as varied and wonderful as her many talents. It’s no wonder then that her five-year-plan is more or less a reflection of who she is now. “I just want to be happy, healthy, and touring,” Sanaya states matter-of-factly.

“Being Parsi means nothing different from being anything else.”

She breaks more Parsi stereotypes than she conforms to too. She’s a vegetarian for one, a lifestyle choice you’d be hard-pressed to find many in her community adhere to, let alone be kind about, and you’re unlikely to find her flying off the handle hurling creative insults at people, even if it’s in jest.

Still, even she admits there might be a thing or two that she can’t stay away from as a result of her genetic make-up. She’s got the inherent spark of entrepreneurial spirit that many associate with the community, not to mention the humour. “There is something about listening to Frank Sinatra that makes me melt,” she smiles. “I think it’s because of my grandparents and their love for that specific breed of music, but I also think it might just be a significantly Parsi thing.” And of course, there’s no getting away from the love for food, even if she’s bid adieu to a significant amount of her options. “I’m actually not sure there’s any Parsi food that anyone should eat everyday,” she jokes.

On her dream for the Parsi community: “I’d like to break existing stereotypes around the community. To let and let live, accept everyone equally, and i’d like for progressive thinking individuals to lead the community.”

VIII. Yohann Marshall | 26 | Drummer

Yohan attributes his superior drumming to a childhood in the dry state of Gujarat and his family. “Growing up with three lawyers will make you hit things with sticks,” he says. He launched his solo album after years of gigging with the trio ‘The Family Cheese,’ and is now a core faculty member at the True School of Music. He exhibits his nose as his most Parsi trait as well as his propensity for bursting into Gujarati monologues without warning, but his tendency to break everything he touches makes him wonder where his bawa knack for preservation is hiding.

“If I were the last Parsi on Earth, I’d open a Parsi restaurant and convert all the vegetarians!”

True to form he thinks that the real meaning of being Parsi can be summed up by a menu. Lasan-Eddu or akuri for breakfast (his personal favourite), Ras Papeto for lunch, Gos for dinner. Also considering his solemn pledge if he were the last Parsi on Earth (summarized above) it’s clear that Parsi bhonu is safe in the hands of our resident drummer dikra.

The Parsi faith has always been very exclusive and he feels that the community is just getting in its own way. Rituals like entering the fire-temple, paying respect at the tower of silence, even sitting for a jashan (prayer) are impossible for non-Parsis, he feels the community should be open-minded to change. “A prayer at home and/or to be able to go pay your respect when someone has passed away, to me should not have anything to do with what religion you follow.” He also believes that the ostracism faced by children of Parsi women who have married outside the faith is bordering on cruelty and needs to be stopped.

On his dream for the Parsi community: “I dream that many Parsi women come knocking on my door so we can end this shortage once and for all.”

IX. Zarwan Elavia | 31 | Anything Metal Works

Zarwan always liked to work with his hands. This shaped all his professional moves, from sound engineering, to event management to his current profession in welding and metal fabrication. He was enamored by the ability to create and hopes that his future will continue to allow him to work with metal.

“Parsis always have an opinion about anything and everything.”

His bawa blood instilled a love for anything on wheels and his motorcycles are still his first love, although, unlike most Parsi collectors he believes they should be out on the open road not hoarded through the ages. He thinks that the Parsi baugs are the epitome of the community, where you can sit in peace surrounded by a whole host of unlikely and ultimately comical characters. He believes in the credo of good thoughts, good words and good deeds, and would attempt to spread this message if he happened to be the last Parsi left.

One thing that concerns him is the misconception that all Parsis are part of the super rich elite. He and other people he knows have had to struggle in a competitive world where they were denied financial aid because of a narrow-minded stereotype. In addition to this, he hopes that the attitude and discrimination against women who marry outside the community could be stopped and that people would adopt a more open-minded attitude.

On his favourite Parsi insult: “Oh there are a lot and they are too disturbing to be said! Though I would like to direct them all to the BMC for  our messed up roads. My ride from Andheri to Dahisar, where my workshop is, has become a nightmare.”

Photographer: Tanya Prasad

Words: Homegrown Staff

The post Portraits, Dreams And Quirks Of Nine Young Parsis In Mumbai appeared on Parsi Khabar.

Jury trials came to India with the British and were abolished after the now infamous 1959 Nanavati murder trial, not many know that matrimonial disputes among the Parsi community is still tried by a five-member jury system in the country.

Article by Ayesha Arvind | Hindustan Times

This Friday, the Bombay high court concluded a 10-day jury trial session, the last such sitting to be held this year. The HC conducts about two such sessions each year to dispose of pending matrimonial suits of the Parsi community in the city.

The court convenes at the central hall in the high court premises, and besides the judge who oversees the trials, a five-member jury, known as ‘delegates’, sits opposite to the witness box, just like the olden days, taking meticulous notes, and exercising the final say over the fate of all cases.

These delegates, most of them retired professionals from the community, first give their names to the Parsi Panchayat that in turn sends a list to the HC. The judge then picks five names through a draw of lots.

The delegates unanimously say that they consider jury duty a “service to the community”, though they do receive nominal compensation for commutation and food.

The just concluded session, which had two women and three men, presided over 27 cases — mostly seeking divorce, or revision of custody arrangements— of which, six were disposed of after extensive arguments, and two were decided through mutual consent.

While matrimonial disputes in a regular family court inevitably drag on for years, the delegates ensure that the cases before them see a swift end.

“That is because, we sit just a few times a year and the cases have already been pending a hearing for several years. Why, just this time, we sat through a divorce case in which the couple in their sixties had been living separately and wanting a formal divorce for 11 years,” said one of the delegates, a sixty five-year-old retired teacher who has been performing jury duty since 2005.

“The court heard the arguments for two days straight and the delegates decided that they must be granted a divorce. However, when the judge began to decide on the alimony, the woman backed out. She did not like what was being offered to her, and decided not to get divorced after all,” she said.

These complications, the delegates said, are common as “more marriages in the community seem to be ending in divorces these days”.

“It is probably because tolerance levels run low and because women are more independent. They work, read more, and are aware of their rights,” the other woman delegate said.

While the earliest Zoroastrian community rules granted only a man the right to divorce his wife if the woman was “insubordinate” or “adulterous”, the law has changed considerably over time and now the delegates allow couples to divorce if allegations over adultery, bigamy, cruelty, or desertion are proved.

“Adultery is the most common reason these days. The second most common reason is greed — you see. Most members of the community possess large estates and substantial assets and when relationships turn sour, couples come to court fighting over the property,” says another delegate, a retired banker.

“The delegates however, are required only to give their consent for divorce. The rest of the terms of settlement are argued by the lawyers and the HC judge has the final word over the settlement terms,” says advocate Sanobar Nanavati, who has been dealing with Parsi matrimonial disputes for over two decades.

But most in the community agree that the jury system serves well. “It is because the delegates are pragmatic and above all, are aware of the nuances of our community,” said one of the litigants.

The arguments in the Parsi matrimonial cases too are different from those in a regular matrimonial dispute. “The arguments are much more emotional and dramatic, almost resembling that in a movie. It’s because, we are pleading our case before five members who have nothing to do with our regular legal system. So we cannot harp on the laws alone but must make an emotional pitch to establish a connect,” Nanavati says.

Justice Gautam Patel, who presided over the cases, has also scheduled a two-day-long special session in September this year for one of the cases that could not be concluded despite extensive arguments.

The post Most divorces among Parsis due to adultery appeared on Parsi Khabar.

The country’s Parsi community is in a bind over a proposed law to regulate surrogacy, a little over a year after it had successfully negotiated resistance from within to this assisted reproductive technique.

Article in The  Telegraph

The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 – that the Centre has cleared – seeks to replace commercial surrogacy with an altruistic alternative but permits only “close relatives” to become surrogate mothers.

The Parsis are an ageing community with a below one total fertility rate (TFR), which means that on average a Parsi woman has less than one child. According to a study done by the ministry of minority affairs, 30 per cent of Parsis have never married and 31 per cent are over 60. Only one family in nine has a child below the age of 10. The community numbers around 69,000 across the country.

Such being the demographics, most Parsis in the childbearing age now don’t have siblings, and women relatives in the family will, in all likelihood, be older. Thus the proposed law practically forecloses the surrogacy option for most Parsis, said a member of the community.

Parsis had adopted surrogacy as an option last year under the Centre’s Jiyo Parsi initiative to contain their population decline. Two couples have enrolled under the scheme and, in both cases, two Parsi women outside their families are the surrogates.

Asked how the proposed law would impact the Jiyo Parsi initiative, Shernaz Cama, a member of the team that oversees the programme, said it was “still a bill” and the government had asked people for their feedback.

“We are having a meeting in Mumbai early next month to discuss the issue, among other things. We will present our views to the government after discussing the issue with all stakeholders, advocacy groups and doctors,” Cama told The Telegraph.

Asked if the government had held discussions with the community or the Jiyo Parsi team while drafting the bill, she answered in the negative.

Surrogacy was included as an assisted reproductive technique (ART) option under the Jiyo Parsi scheme 15 months ago after the community shed its reservations about the procedure. Some of the more orthodox sections had opposed surrogacy on the ground that it was against their faith to have the foetus grow in somebody else’s womb but doctors within the community managed to get them around.

Parsis are a patrilineal community with a fair incidence of “out-marriages” – marriages outside the community. Studies by the National Commission for Minorities, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and the Parzor Foundation, which works to preserve the Parsi-Zoroastrian heritage, have cited out-marriages as a reason for the community’s dwindling numbers.

If a Parsi girl weds outside the community, her child is not included in the fold but if a Parsi boy weds a non-Parsi girl, their child is accepted as a Parsi.

The 2001 census – when a head count of the community was taken for the first time after Independence instead of it just being counted among other religions and persuasions – was a wake-up call for the Parsis, who were down to 69,601, a 40 per cent decline from 1941, when they numbered 1.14 lakh.

Over a decade later, in 2013, the UPA government decided to intervene and conceived of the Jiyo Parsi scheme. Under this scheme, Parsi couples are provided up to Rs 5 lakh for ART and fertility treatment.

The post Surrogacy bill bother for Parsis appeared on Parsi Khabar.

A meeting on September 22, 1852, between friends of Framjee Cowasjee collected sizeable fund which was used used to construct a memorial institute to further Cowasjee’s ideals.

Article written by Shaun Vaz | Indian Express

ON the evening of September 22, 1852, a number of friends and admirers of the late businessman and philanthropist Framjee Cowasjee convened for a meeting in Mumbai. The Framjee Cowasjee Testimonial — as that gathering was called — had collected a sizeable fund after Cowasjee’s death, and met to discuss a suitable memorial to erect in his name.

“This is the first instance that has been known in which persons of the classes and denominations, of both natives and Europeans, have come forward to raise posthumous testimonial in honour of a native of this presidency,” announced P LeGreyt who was chairing the testimonial, terming it an “extraordinary occasion”.

Having been instrumental in the formation and success of the Elphinstone College, Cowasjee was also a long-time benefactor of the student’s Literary and Scientific Society (LSS). His first contribution was a number of lamps when he heard that they needed those for their meetings, and henceforth, he took an interest in all their proceedings.

In memory of Cowasjee’s efforts to extend education in society, it was decided that the funds be used to construct a memorial institute to further Cowasjee’s very ideals.

The result was an institute and a museum in collaboration with the LSS of Elphinstone College. The institute would house a lecture room, a laboratory, a museum of arts and industry, a library, and would be called the Framjee Cowasjee Institute.

Almost 150 years later, the institute still houses the library, the administration of which has now been handed over to the Wadia Trust. The library is still availed of by students at no cost, as was wished by Cowasjee himself.

Says Pervez Jokhi, the administrator of the institute for the last five years, said, “The institute earns from the leasing of its auditorium and hall on the ground floor, and the renting of parking space in its courtyard. The amount is meagre, but we run a tight ship and make do.”

The heritage structure now stands, elegant and serene, despite the everyday mundaneness of the discount sales and exhibitions hosted in the hall.

The institute’s records also show what hurdles were overcome in the construction of the structure.

While a committee was formed after the testimonial, what followed was years of going back and forth with the government and the Framjee Cowasjee Institute committee unable to decide on the proposed land and funding for construction.

In 1857, the committee had accepted a plot of land on the south-west corner of the Framjee Cowasjee Tank, that bordered what was then the Esplanade, acres of undivided rolling greens that are today the Oval Maidan, the Azad Maidan and various structures, including the Metro Cinema. The tank was possibly one of Mumbai’s oldest, built in the late 1700s or early 1800s when a drinking water crisis hit Bombay.

The site was agreed upon, but a further dispute arose over the presence of a bullock-shed on the edge of the premises. That and other obstructing structures had to be removed and eventually, nine years from the date of the original proposal, the foundation stone for the Framjee Cowasjee Institute was laid in February 1862.

There is no trace of the tank any more, though a nearby well remains a popular point for water tankers to refill.

The post Almost 150 yrs later, Cowasjee’s noble cause still prevails appeared on Parsi Khabar.

In lieu of Independence Day on August 14, all of August, the Daily Times will highlight individuals who continue to make Pakistan proud. Our 29th feature is on the renowned award-winning novelist Bapsi Sidhwa

A writer par excellence, with some of the most well-read and award-winning books to her credit, Bapsi Sidhwa has indeed done the country proud. Over her decades-long career, she has inspired myriads of women to make use of the pen and put their thoughts and stories to paper. She is a strong and a true representation of art meeting creativity. Bapsi Sidhwa is not just a writer, but a learned scholar as well as a leading lecturer. She is a regular panellist at university seminars and literary festivals and educates and motivates students to excel in life, read good literature and take inspiration from biopics. Bapsi’s enthusiasm and drive to write has not withered over time and is still marked as a beacon of talent and outstanding art. The brilliance of her writings has won her critical acclaim, not just in her home country but abroad as well. She has many prestigious laurels and eminent awards to her credit and has rubbed shoulders with some of the most outstanding writers during such ceremonies. Her contribution towards literature cannot go ignored. What a star!

Bapsi is a Pakistani novelist who writes in English and is a resident in the United States of America.

She is best known for her collaborative work with Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta. Bapsi wrote both the 1991 novel Ice Candy Man which served as the basis for Deepa Mehta’s 1998 film ‘Earth’ as well as the 2006 novel Water – A Novel which is based upon Mehta’s 2005 film ‘Water’.

Bapsi was born to Parsi Zoroastrian parents Peshotan and Tehmina Bhandara in Karachi and later moved with her family to Lahore. She was two when she contracted polio (which has affected her throughout her life) and nine in 1947 at the time of Partition (facts which would shape the character Lenny in her novel Ice Candy Man as well as the background for her novel). She received her BA from Kinnaird College for Women in Lahore in 1957.

“I feel if there’s one little thing I could do, it’s to make people realise we are not worthless. Because we inhabit a country which is seen by Western eye as primitive and fundamentalist only. I mean, we are a rich mixture of all sorts of forces as well, and our lives are very much worth living”

She married at the age of 19 and moved to Mumbai for five years before she divorced and remarried in Lahore with her present husband Noshir who is also Zoroastrian. She had three children in Pakistan before beginning her career as an author. One of her children is Mohur Sidhwa, who is a candidate for state representative in Arizona.

She currently resides in Houston, US. She describes herself as a “Punjabi-Parsi-Pakistani”.

In an online interview to her Pakistani friend, Sadia Rahman, in August 2012 she said, “Feroza is closest to me and my views” about the identity issues of Pakistani Parsi immigrants to the US, their life-styles and their culture.

She has previously taught at the University of Houston, Rice University, Columbia University, Mount Holyoke College, and Brandeis University.

Achievements

Inspiration for the Big Screen

Novelist Bapsi Sidhwa is best known for her collaborative work with Deepa Mehta. Bapsi Sidhwa wrote both the 1991 novel Ice Candy Man which served as the basis for Deepa Mehta’s film ‘Earth’ as well as the 2006 novel Water – A Novel which is based upon Mehta’s 2005 film Water.

A Leading Scholar

Sidhwa is a proud recipient of the Bunting Fellowship at Radcliffe/Harvard, she is the Visiting Scholar at the Rockefeller Foundation Centre, Bellagio, Italy, and has also been inducted in the Zoroastrian Hall of Fame.

Raking In the Awards

Sidhwa has been awarded with the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, (1991, Pakistan’s highest national honour in the arts) the Lila Wallace Reader’s Digest Writer’s Award and also hold the Premio Mondello for Foreign Authors for Water.

The post Pride of Pakistan : Bapsi Sidhwa appeared on Parsi Khabar.

Indo-American Society spreads medical awareness on a very common mid-age problem – Loss of Bladder control

Indo-American Society organized a Medical Seminar, inviting Urologist, Dr Percy Chibber as the Speaker on the topic, “Losing your bladder control- Find Solutions.”

The Convenors for the meeting were Dr G B Parulkar, Chairman, Medical Programs & Healthcare Subcommittee & an eminent Cardiovascular Surgeon and Dr Zinobia Madan, Special Invitee, Executive Committee & Healthcare entrepreneur & Founder- ClinOma Healthcare.

Loss of bladder control results in Urinary incontinence which is unintentional leakage of urine. Dr Chibber explained the various types of incontinence in a uniquely interesting manner by giving examples in each type. He explained further that urinary incontinence is more common in women than men, the most common causes in both sexes being weak or damaged bladder muscles, overactive bladder muscles, and certain prostate problems. Females generally suffering from bladder control problems do not seek medical help and avoid consulting the doctor.

For good bladder control, lifestyle tips such as intake of correct fluids, a diet rich in fibre to avoid constipation along with avoidance of alcohol, caffeine and carbonated or aerated drinks was advised. Weight control was also advised as one of the lifestyle measures, as body weight puts extra strain on the pelvic floor muscles.

Treatment of urinary incontinence including behavioral treatments, like bladder training, Kegel exercises/ pelvic floor exercises, medication, surgery or a combination of these therapies were very well covered. Supporting his view points, Dr Zinobia Madan added some valuable tips on diet and exercise.

At the start of the meeting, the President of Indo-American Society, Mr Upendra Sheth welcomed the Speaker Dr Percy Chibber and the audience present. Further , Dr G B Parulkar introduced Dr Chibber as a well acclaimed Intternationally trained Urologist with an MS degree in Gen Surgery & FCPS with specialized training in Urology at the University of Edinburgh Department of Urology and Renal Transplantation at the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, training in percutaneous Renal Surgery and Radiology at the Institute of Urology : the St Peter’s and Paul’s Hospitals, London and at the Long Island Jewish Hospital, New York.

Dr Chibber is currently Director of Urology and Renal Transplantation at the Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, Bombay. He also holds the coveted position “President of the Urological Society of India” for the current year.

During the Panel discussion convened by both Panelists, Dr Zinobia Madan and Dr G B Parulkar, many important queries raised by the audience were clarified. The Meeting was well attended by members of public as well as Senior Members of the Indo-American Society.

The enduring legacy of Zoroastrianism: Parsi community gathers to celebrate Nowruz

Who would have thought that anyone could get a comprehensive taste of Zoroastrian culture in one day, in Melbourne? Food, song and dance performances, a history documentary, a cultural exhibition and, possibly, the entire Zoroastrian community in Victoria, were all on offer at Kingston City Hall in Moorabbin!

Article by Carl Buhariwala, indianlink.com.au

The Zoroastrian Association of Victoria (ZAV) showcased all that it had to the Victorian community on Sunday 28 August. With close to 500 people in attendance, the Zoroastrian community was proud to present and explain its ancient culture and religion that dates back some 3,500 years.

What was special about this occasion was the timing. Zoroastrians recently celebrated their Parsi New Year celebrations, Nowruz, the week before. The event also coincided with Khordad Sal, the birthday of our Prophet Zarathushtra (the founder of Zoroastrianism).

“We had a vision to showcase our community to Victoria and encourage the public to discover who we are, what we stand for and what place we take in history,” said the President of the ZAV, Kazween Boiko. Along with the ZAV committee, and the community at large, we were able to put on a fantastic and uplifting display.

Those who attended the event had the opportunity to browse items in a mini-exhibition consisting of religious and cultural artefacts, traditional clothing, books, informative posters and models, and ceremonial displays. Our local community, with the assistance from their relations back in India and Iran, sourced various items to provide visitors with a broad appreciation of our heritage.

There were also performances by the Shiamak Davar Dance Academy. The dance troupe combined traditional and modern routines to entertain the crowd of all ages. In addition, a singer, saxophonist and dancer represented the Australian Persian Arts Centre and presented traditional acts.

Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs Inga Peulich was impressed with the informative documentary ‘Zoroastrianism – An Enduring Legacy’. She noted it was “the best presentation” she had ever seen at any community group function that she had attended. She explained that this documentary is clearly the product of the Zoroastrians who are known for being entrepreneurial, resourceful and helpful.

Although the Zoroastrian community is very small, and shrinking, we are vibrant, diverse in our occupations and have contributed greatly to society over many centuries. The community is proud of its heritage. “Our community is going to hold more events in the future and continue to integrate with fellow Victorians in this wonderful multicultural society,” Kazween Boiko declared.

One attendee at the event was thrilled to learn about Zoroastrian culture and was impressed with the seven-course meal, lagan nu patra (traditional celebration feast severed on a banana leaf). Our resident community chef, Sarosh Khariwala, worked tirelessly prior to the event to prepare all the food with the help of the Parsiana Kitchen group from Perth. Famous dishes included dhanshak dal, tokri paneer, patra ni machi and sali margi.

Zoroastrians are determined to keep their culture alive and make other people more aware of the  fundamental role Zoroastrians have played in shaping modern civilisation. The community appreciates the support it receives from government bodies and organisations and the ZAV would like to thank Vasan Srinivasan (Australian Multicultural Council Member), Mayor Tamsin Bearsley (City of Kingston) and Graham Watt (Victorian member for Burwood) for attending the event and meeting the community.

Keep an eye on the ZAV’s Facebook page to stay up-to-date with upcoming events.

Q&A With Author Mishi Saran on Uncovering Shanghai’s Parsi Past

sixthtone.com | Sep 2nd 2016

“Who says nationality is the sole barometer of belonging?” asks Indian novelist Mishi Saran. The peripatetic author has a point. Born in the north Indian city of Allahabad, and still an Indian citizen, Saran has also lived in Switzerland, Indonesia, the United States, China, and South Korea. Today, she calls Hong Kong home.

Of all those places, Saran says it’s China, and specifically Shanghai, that has had the most profound influence on her sense of place. “My eight years in Shanghai were some of the most intensely lived moments of my life — an unpeeling of an onion, as I dug through the city’s layers, reaching for an understanding, however weak,” she said.

To Saran’s surprise, she found under one of those layers a story close to home: Shanghai’s Parsi population. Parsis are the followers of the prophet Zarathustra. With their roots in Persia (present-day Iran), many Parsis took flight to India in the eighth century to escape religious persecution, although some scholars debate that impetus. Later, many of them found their way to Shanghai, where they once formed a small but vibrant community.

Saran spoke to Sixth Tone about memory and place, her uncovering of the legacy of the Parsi people in China, and the inexplicable, perpetual allure of Shanghai.

Sixth Tone: What were your first impressions of China when you came here almost three decades ago?

Mishi Saran: I first landed in China as a language exchange student in Beijing in the fall of 1988. I remember the wide, silent streets, a poured-gold afternoon light, a single donkey-drawn cart, the plain blue clothes people wore, the mingled smell of garlic and coal and cigarettes, which is still China’s body odor. Shortly thereafter, I began to write about it. How could I not?

Sixth Tone: How did you first approach China in your writing?

Saran: For my first book “Chasing the Monk’s Shadow: A Journey in the Footsteps of Xuanzang,” I followed the tracks of a seventh-century Chinese Buddhist monk on the Silk Road, seeking India under his guidance, determined to link my Indian heritage and my passion for China, still buzzing with preoccupations of identity. The great western expanses of China’s deserts drew me; the thrill of travel filled my lungs. My second book, a novel called “The Other Side of Light,” in hindsight was partly an attempt to imagine a life in India, and perhaps thus set myself free of it.

Sixth Tone: You are based in Hong Kong these days, but Shanghai has strongly shaped both you and your writing. Why is that?

Saran: Although I majored in Chinese studies as an undergraduate and had written reams about China, when I moved to Shanghai in 2006, it was because of my husband’s job. I had no idea I was going to fall hard — not for another man, or anything mundane like that, but for the city.

For one thing, there was this weird familiarity about Shanghai’s buildings: terrazzo floors, those smooth, rounded wooden banisters and balustrades, art deco facades, the bold furniture of that era — I recognized it immediately. My grandmother had chairs like that.

Shanghai’s architecture resembles many bits of Indian cities. In Mumbai there are buildings just like the ones on the Bund. You find glimpses of the former French Concession scattered all over Delhi. As a girl, the house I lived in had terrazzo floors, and every time I see terrazzo floors in Shanghai, I can’t help feeling immediately at home. Grounded, if you will. I recognized these Shanghai villas with lawns that lay behind walls. I even recognized the sharp-edged glass stuck atop those boundary walls so people can’t climb over and steal your valuables.

As I have written before, Shanghai felt to me littered with stories; they lay at our feet like dust-covered gold nuggets. We skirted them or kicked at them every single day, and it maddened me to think that I wouldn’t live long enough to tackle each one. Of course, Hong Kong must have them too. It’s just that Shanghai’s stories seem to vibrate at the same frequency as me.

A villa in Shanghai in a spot near the former French Concession where members of the Parsi community once lived, Sept. 2, 2016. Wu Yue/Sixth Tone

Sixth Tone: When was it that you discovered that the Parsi people had a place among all those countless stories?

Saran: I remember the shock the first time I heard that there were once Sikh policemen in Shanghai. Later, I learned quite by accident that there had once been Parsis in Shanghai when I stumbled on Jehangir Bejan (“J.B.”) Tata, who was born in Shanghai in 1919 and lived into his 90s. I learned through long interviews with him how the story of his house, and the story of his life, mingled with China’s modern history.

After the Parsis settled on India’s west coast, they expanded to other parts of the subcontinent and to other corners of the world, including China.

On India’s west coast, in Mumbai and Surat, for example, Parsi traders often worked closely with their British counterparts, plying the sea routes between Mumbai and Canton, and like the British also settled and worked in these places. Later, after China lost the Opium Wars to British naval might, Parsis settled in Hong Kong before drifting north to Shanghai, where they prospered, mostly as traders. The Tata clan, too, stayed in Shanghai until China’s Communists won the civil war in 1949.

The Tatas of Shanghai are distantly related to India’s powerful and far-reaching Tata family. J.B. Tata’s father, Bejan Dadabhoy Tata, sailed east in 1904 and eventually settled in Shanghai near the Bund, where he had five children with his Parsi wife. The family’s own house, just by the French Concession, was completed in 1935.

For decades, J.B. Tata had been trying to persuade the Indian consulate in Shanghai to help him recover his family’s ancestral home, which had been lost when the Communists won the war. He and I talked on the phone for ages. I met him and his Russian wife in San Francisco a few times, and we spoke some more in person.

By then he was already blind and very deaf. He told me where to look for his old house, on Wulumuqi Road. He couldn’t remember what he’d had for breakfast, but he remembered everything about Shanghai. I pored over old maps in the library of Tess Johnston, the grande dame of Shanghai’s foreign history, and she was the one who spotted the location of the Parsi cemetery on Fuzhou Road. From there, the story grew by leaps and bounds.

Now, I seek scattered graveyards in Macau and Guangzhou. I scan the names of the dead, wondering who they were, and flick through archives, driven by the pure need to discover, filled with the satisfaction of knowing that I wasn’t the first Indian to tangle thus with Shanghai, and with China.

Sixth Tone: Would you say you still feel the pull of Shanghai today?

Saran: In Hong Kong, every time I hear someone say “Shanghai,” my heart hopscotches and I look at that person with something like fury, for they have trod on streets that belong to me.

Once upon a time in Hong Kong, it meant something to be from Shanghai. A woman born and bred in Hong Kong once told me that her father, who hailed from Shanghai, would speak of the place with such yearning that she grew up feeling jealous of a city she did not even know. I know how your father felt, I wanted to tell her.

I’m still obsessed with the “incessant tick-tock of history.” The phrase comes from Leung Ping-kwan’s poem “Wanchai,” a district in Hong Kong that is my present home. But now I don’t want a home. I’m happy in the fictional city I build in my mind, for the novel I’m currently working on is set in Shanghai, and I write about Shanghai most days of the week.

If I finish the novel, I will lose Shanghai. This is my petrified belief, and so I splash the story out, watching it become longer and longer.

(Header image: A photo taken on June 29, 1941, shows a gathering of some members of the Parsi community at Avan Villa, near the former French Concession, Shanghai. Courtesy of the Tata Family)

WZCC Global President (and dear friend of Parsi Khabar) Edul Daver recently spoke with Cyrus Dotivala of the legendary Dotivala Bakery of Surat. The interview is published below with Edul’s permission.

Cyrus Dotivala recently visited the new New York Dar-e-Mehr with his uncle Dinyar Wadia who coincidently is the architect of fame for the Building. I was introduced to Cyrus and we started talking about Cyrus’ business and WZCC. I was fascinated about the history of the famous “Batasa” and the fact that the Dotivala Bakery had not only remained in business but maintained its premier position for over 150 years.

Being a business person I appreciated the fact that this was no run of the mill business and besides offering an extremely interesting story it also offered business pointers which our members could learn from and get motivated to start their own businesses. Before we parted Cyrus had agreed to become a WZCC member. After Cyrus returned , I sent him a list of questions which he has now responded to.

Is it true that the Dotivala family invented the famous Parsi Batasa ? How and when did this come about?

Yes, our forefathers were the inventors of the famous tea time biscuit popularly known as Batasa. It was in the early 1800’s when our forefather Mr. Faramji Pestonji Dotivala joined the Dutch Bakery set up by the Dutch Settlers here in Surat. These bakeries used to manufacture bread for the European population here who were settled for purpose of trading. Once the Dutch left Surat, they handed over the ovens to Faramji who started manufacturing and selling bread. But as the settlers’ started leaving Surat, the consumption of bread decreased. In those days the fermentation of bread was done using Toddy. The leftover bread never got spoilt as toddy was a natural fermenting agent. All that happened to those breads was that they lost moisture. The dried bread became a product to relish by the local people. Doctors too advised eating this dry bread when patient was sick. It was easy to digest. The demand slowly grew for this bread. Faramji then started drying this bread in the ovens to meet the demand. This gave birth to the popular Irani Biscuits which are still made and consumed regularly by our customers. The doctors started prescribing something more nutritious once the patients recovered. Faramji started adding more shortening (In those days Pure Ghee) to this biscuit. And made it more palatable by adding Caraway seeds for flavour. This gave birth to the famour Batasas of Surat.For about a century after Faramji invented the batasas, pure ghee was used as shortening.

How many generations and years?

My father Mr. Jamshed Peshotan Dotivala is the Fifth inline to own this business and I am the sixth in line. Exact year of inception is not known but we have been doing business in the current premises since the year 1861.

What were the guiding business principles which allowed the “Dotiwala” bakery to maintain it’s leadership position and keep competitors at bay ?

Our forefathers had only one point principle while doing business and that was “Maintaing High Standards of Quality”. This ensured that our customers always got the best. Later on generations also concentrated on innovations. Bringing in new products and keeping up with new trends. Ethical and honest in our dealings, we have managed to survive six generation and God willing will continue further.

Over its long history did the product evolve to keep up with changing taste buds? Was this issue a major business decision?

Yes, the products have evolved a lot since they were first invented. And for our forefathers who were brought up with the old school of thoughts, it was a major business decision. With time the raw materials changed drastically and severe changes needed to be made. One such change was a shift from Pure Ghee to Vanaspati ( Hydrogeneted Vegetable Oils). At that time my grand uncle could not shift easily as he felt he was giving a product of lesser quality. He continued to sell the products made with pure ghee at the prices of products made using Vanaspati. His competitors would sell and make profits while my grand uncle had to suffer losses. After a lot of persuasion by his brothers, he agreed to sell products made from vanaspati. But after the shift too, he made sure that the product was of high quality.

Family businesses seldom last beyond 3 generations. What did the Dotivala family do to maintain harmony and sustainability which indeed is a major business accomplishment?

Our family has always been a very united family. In the old days all the brothers and cousins lived together as a joint family. Went to the same school and later shifted to where ever their career took them. The main reason for survival of our business has always been the passion that our forefathers had to sell high quality products to our customers. There was a sense pride to own and run this business and every generation had one member of the family ready to take over the business.

Would you like to pass on some advice to Zoroastrian entrepreneurs who may be thinking of starting a new business?

Well, I am too young to advise anyone but for our industrious community who has always been an example of entrepreneurship, I would urge the young generation to pursue doing business. Let not the industrious spirit in us die. Our forefathers spent a lot of their energy in setting up businesses which can reach new heights with the infusion of new blood.

On the occasion of the 70th birth anniversary of Freddie Mercury (Fred Bulsara), his home was awarded the English Heritage Blue Plaque.

Per a news release forwarded via email by Malcolm Deboo, President of ZTFE…

FREDDIE MERCURY AWARDED ENGLISH HERITAGE BLUE PLAQUE

– New plaque marks family home of Queen frontman –

– Beloved musician remembered ahead of what would have been his 70th Birthday –

– Freddie Mercury’s sister unveiled the plaque alongside Queen guitarist Brian May –

English Heritage celebrated the life and career of Freddie Mercury today (1 September 2016) with a blue plaque at the singer and songwriter’s first home in England, a modest, inter-war terrace house in Feltham, West London. Freddie’s parents bought the house in 1964 after the family left Zanzibar for the UK and Freddie was still living there when he first met his future Queen band mates, Brian May and Roger Taylor. Other musicians to be honoured with English Heritage Blue Plaques include Freddie’s idol, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Freddie Mercury’s sister, Kashmira Cooke, unveiled the English Heritage Blue Plaque and said: “Mum and I are so proud and pleased that English Heritage is honouring our Freddie with a Blue Plaque, and that he will be amongst other famous names for ever. Secretly he would have been very proud and pleased too.”

Freddie’s parents, Jer and Bomi Bulsara, chose Feltham as Jer already had a sister living in the area and the family moved into number 22 Gladstone Avenue in autumn 1964. Seventeen year old Freddie took an A-level in art at Isleworth Polytechnic followed by a Diploma in Graphic Art and Design at Ealing College of Art, supporting himself with a variety of jobs, including washing dishes in the kitchens at nearby Heathrow Airport. It was while studying at Ealing that Freddie met future Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor.

Kashmira recalls how while living on Gladstone Avenue, her brother was always sketching for his college art work – sometimes calling on her to model for him – or tapping his fingers and humming as if thinking of his next song. A natural musician, Gladstone Avenue was where Freddie really began to explore his musical talent, listening to the likes of Cream and his hero, Jimi Hendrix in his bedroom at the back of the house; there is a 1968 photograph of Freddie in his bedroom posing in the manner of Hendrix with a borrowed Fender Stratocaster. Kashmira also remembers how he loved watching Tom & Jerry cartoons and collecting cuttings of Andy Capp comic strips from the daily newspaper and how he spent hours grooming his hair – much to her annoyance as the house had only one bathroom.

Dr Brian May said: “It is a pleasant duty to help install this little reminder on Freddie’s parents’ house in Feltham. It was here that I first visited Freddie soon after we had met through a mutual friend. We spent most of the day appreciating and analysing in intimate detail the way that Jimi Hendrix had put his recordings together in the studio – listening to Hendrix on vinyl played on Freddie’s Dansette record player – which had stereo speakers on opposite sides of the box! Feltham was the childhood neighbourhood for both of us but we never knew it until we met in the cause of music.”

Sir Peter Bazalgette, English Heritage Blue Plaques Panel Member, said: “Before Freddie became Freddie Mercury, this small house was where he lived and took the first steps towards stardom. English Heritage’s blue plaques celebrate the great men and women whose achievements endure and Freddie Mercury – singer, songwriter and producer – was certainly one of our greatest musical talents. He was truly a champion.”

Attending the unveiling, the Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP, Secretary of State for Culture, said: “Freddie Mercury is a global icon whose music touched the lives of millions of people around the world. I am delighted that one of Britain’s most influential musicians will be recognised through the Blue Plaque Scheme – a small but important reminder to people of the impact he had both in London and well beyond.”

Freddie Mercury’s charisma, unfailing talent and commanding stage presence established him as one of our all-time greatest musicians; when Mercury performed audiences were captivated. English Heritage is delighted to commemorate his life and legacy with a blue plaque in a year that would not only have seen his 70th birthday but one that also sadly marks the 25th anniversary of his death, on 24 November 1991.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the English Heritage London Blue Plaques scheme. It is generously supported by David Pearl, the Blue Plaques Club, and members of the public.

Australian Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer and sister visit their 81-year-old coach Khorshed, who trained them in the late 1970s

It was a different homecoming of sorts for former Australian Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Michael Klim and his elder sister Anna Eagle.

On Saturday, the brother-sister duo invited 81-year-old coach Khorshed Bhathena, to the launch party of their skin care brand Milk Co in India at a city hotel. The brother and sister learnt swimming under Bhathena back in the late 1970s at one of the city’s oldest pools, the Breach Candy Swimming Bath Trust (Breach Candy Club). 

Anna (left) and Michael (right) with Khorshed Bhathena in Mumbai on Saturday. Pic/Sneha Kharabe

“My father Wojtek was a Polish diplomat, who was posted in Bombay from 1978-1982. We used to stay in Malabar Hill and go to learn swimming under Khorshed every day at the Breach Candy club. I have a deep connection with this city as I’ve taken my baby steps in the pool here. The seeds of my success were sown here in Bombay. I was a six-year-old when I left the city, so I don’t remember much. But my parents have told me stories about my childhood. It’s nostalgic, as I plan to visit the club and the apartment we stayed here tomorrow,” Klim, a two-time Sydney Olympic champion, told mid-day.

‘Always Bombay for me’
Anna, who handles the export business of her brother’s firm, recalled her initiation into swimming. “I went to Green Lawns High School (Malabar Hill) and I very clearly remember that Michael (three-and-a-half years old then) and myself (then five) always looked forward to our swimming lessons after we returned home from school. It’s funny, but I cannot call this place Mumbai, it remains etched as Bombay for me.”

For Bhathena, however, it was more of a fan moment. “In my five-decade long coaching career, Michael has been my brightest student. Back then, though he was barely three years old, he stood out and would beat boys twice his age.I always knew he was talented and I take pride in his achievements. It was very touching when he gifted me an autographed picture of himself holding up all his Olympic medals with the message: ‘What I am today is because of you’. That’s my most prized possession,” said Bhathena.

An asteroid has been named after Freddie Mercury to mark what would have been the singer’s 70th birthday.

The Queen frontman has had his name attached to Asteroid 17473, which was discovered in 1991 – the year he died.

Queen guitarist Brian May told a gathering of 1,250 fans at Montreux Casino in Switzerland that the asteroid would now be known as Asteroid 17473 Freddiemercury.

May said the honour marked “Freddie’s outstanding influence in the world”.

He said: “And so – for its first appearance in public – Asteroid Freddiemercury – happy birthday Freddie!”

Issuing the certificate of designation, Joel Parker of the Southwest Research Institute said the asteroid was a celebration for a “charismatic singer”.

“Freddie Mercury sang, ‘I’m a shooting star leaping through the sky’ – and now that is even more true than ever before,” he said.

“But even if you can’t see Freddie Mercury leaping through the sky, you can be sure he’s there – ‘floating around in ecstasy’, as he might sing – for millennia to come.”

May, who still performs with his Queen colleague drummer Roger Taylor and singer Adam Lambert, is now Dr Brian May after studying for a PhD in Astrophysics at London’s Imperial College.

He told the Montreux gathering that the Freddie Mercury asteroid was situated in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter and that it measured about two miles across.

“It’s a dark object – rather like a cinder in space. Viewed from the Earth it is more than 10,000 times fainter than you can see by eye, so you need a fair-sized telescope to see it and that’s why it wasn’t discovered until 1991,” said May.

The asteroid naming follows a weekend of commemorations of the singer in London, also hosted by May.

The guitarist unveiled an English Heritage blue plaque at his bandmate’s childhood home in Feltham, west London.

IT is doubtful when he wrote a letter to a medical journal about patients in Mumbai afflicted with an untreatable form of tuberculosis that Dr. Zarir Udwadia was seeking to become the source of controversy himself. But instead of provoking an all-out attack on the disease, as he had hoped, the letter set off a global health alarm and, at least initially, prompted a backlash from the government.

by GEETA ANAND, nytimes.com

Until writing the letter in late 2011, Dr. Udwadia was perhaps best known as the pulmonologist to the elite in Mumbai, where his physician father had become known nationally for saving the life of a Bollywood superstar, Amitabh Bachchan. Hardly anyone outside public health circles knew of the free weekly TB clinic that the younger Dr. Udwadia had run for more than two decades.

Dr. Zarir Udwadia has criticized India’s government for failing to take advantage of a new generation of medicines to stamp out tuberculosis. Credit Atul Loke for The New York Times

Dr. Udwadia wrote about four of his clinic patients for whom none of the commonly used medicines worked to combat the disease, a deadly bacterial infection that can be transmitted through a sneeze or a cough. The idea that people could contract such a deadly disease sitting next to someone on a bus or on an international flight aroused concern among global health authorities and created a problem for the Indian government.

TB is so old that it has been discovered in the skeletons of Egyptian mummies, was recorded by Hippocrates and is mentioned in the Rig-Veda, a collection of ancient Sanskrit texts. The disease disproportionately affects the poor because it spreads easily in crowded places among people whose resistance is low from malnutrition or illness. It has been curable for decades with a regimen of several antibiotics taken for six months. But often patients fail to follow the whole course of treatment, and the disease mutates into a more virulent form.

India is of particular concern, having the most TB patients in the world — more than two million of the more than nine million active cases globally. India also has the most drug-resistant patients, about 100,000 with multidrug resistance, in which the two most powerful TB medicines do not work.

Mumbai is especially problematic because of its overcrowded slums, with almost a third of TB patients in some neighborhoods having a resistant form of the disease. Drug-resistant disease is more expensive and even more difficult to defeat than the traditional form, requiring two years’ treatment with such a toxic course of medicines that many patients drop out. Even if they do complete the regimen, studies show there is only a 60 percent likelihood of a cure.

In the media storm that followed Dr. Udwadia’s journal letter, government officials publicly denied the problem and accused him of wrongly setting off a panic. A Mumbai health official seized his patient samples for retesting.

Dr. Udwadia clammed up for a few weeks but then re-emerged even more outspoken than before, vigorously defending his findings and denouncing the government for its complacency. The 55-year-old physician has been extremely vocal ever since, criticizing the government for failing to take advantage of a new generation of medicines to stamp out the disease.

“With the new TB drugs approved by the F.D.A., nobody should be dying of TB,” he said in an interview this month in his small office, where, during his free clinic, he stood by an open window, examining the leather tanners, taxi drivers and maids, in saris, burqas and turbans, who were waiting in the long corridor outside.

“They’re not available here because of government inertia, and it’s unconscionable,” he says, speaking with characteristic speed, enunciating every syllable for emphasis.

JUST a few weeks ago, Rahima Sheikh, 44, one of the four drug-resistant patients he described in his 2011 letter, lay on the table by the window as he listened to her chest and reviewed her test results.

The tall, lean doctor with a halo of black hair refuses to wear a mask to protect himself, even though his wife says he does worry about contracting TB. “How can you connect to a patient that way?” he asks. Instead, he leaves open his window so there is good air circulation, which reduces the chances of infection.

Where many international and Indian public health experts are cowed into speaking in diplomatic jargon for fear of losing government support for their programs, or even their jobs, Dr. Udwadia stands out as the most influential voice demanding better treatment for India’s TB patients and unabashedly criticizing the status quo.

“He’s the conscience keeper and the pioneer,” says Chapal Mehra, a public health specialist who works for international agencies. “He stood his ground when the government tried to terrorize him, and forced us all to see the dirt.”

Dr. Udwadia grew up in Mumbai, training in government hospitals, where TB was widespread, and at City Hospital in Edinburgh, where researchers first combined medicines for a cure.

When he returned to India in 1991 to set up his medical practice, he had few patients, so he opened the free clinic to keep himself busy. It is now the busiest outpatient clinic at his hospital.

Within a couple of years, India began seeing its first cases of drug-resistant TB. As more and more drug-resistant patients showed up at his clinic, he became expert in treating them with various combinations of medicines, as well as an influential voice about the dangers of ignoring the spread of those strains.

AFTER its initial criticism of Dr. Udwadia, the Indian government did an about-face and announced increased funding for the country’s TB programs, with a special focus on drug resistance. And the city of Mumbai began seeking out patients with drug resistance and treating them.

“They would never have created drug-resistance programs if it weren’t for him,” Mr. Mehra says. “And he continues to force the government and the fairly lazy medical community to do more.”

Dr. Udwadia notes that the government TB programs still do not identify or treat the majority of drug-resistant patients. Two new TB drugs approved in Europe and the United States several years ago are still not available in India, he says.

“It’s scandalous when there are so many desperate patients,” he says. “It’s conceivable, with the combination of those two drugs, that there should be no more drug-resistant TB in India.”

Dr. Udwadia began using the first of the new TB drugs with his sickest patients soon after it was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 2012. It is still not approved for widespread marketing in India, though the government TB program has promised to make it available next month to 600 patients with multidrug-resistant TB.

Fifteen of his 20 patients who received the new TB drug recovered, which is significant, Dr. Udwadia says, because they were his sickest, having already failed to respond to almost every other treatment.

Where he was not widely known before the controversy erupted over his journal letter, Dr. Udwadia is now a sought-after speaker.

He communicates regularly with the physician who had been his hero for decades — Dr. Paul Farmer, whose work was chronicled in the book “Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World,” by Tracy Kidder. This year, Dr. Udwadia addressed immunology students at Harvard University. Next month, he is to speak at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges in Global Health meeting in London.

But for him, he says, the best times are when a patient with drug resistance whom he has been treating for years is finally cured.

When Mrs. Sheikh, a tiny woman wearing a salwar kameez, showed up for her recent checkup, Dr. Udwadia grinned and reached across the table to shake her hand, unable to contain his excitement as he reviewed her tests. They were negative for TB for the third successive year.

Her lungs are so scarred from the disease that she becomes breathless after walking several steps, but she says she is grateful to be alive. She takes a two-day train ride from her hometown in northern India to Mumbai every six months for a checkup.

“I know it sounds like a cliché, but these times are what I live for,” Dr. Udwadia says. “In India, all patients tell the doctor, ‘You saved my life,’ but with Rahima Sheikh, I know it’s really true.”

Dr. Shernaz Cama needs no introduction. Over the years she has done amazing work that has enhanced the community’s standing in the society and helped highlight and preserve the glorious history and traditions for the future generations. Dr. Cama is also a friend and mentor to Parsi Khabar and we cant be more thrilled to point you to this wonderful interview by Ashish Bhardwaj of We Are The City. At the end of the interview are some links that further highlight the work done by the institutions that Dr. Shernaz Cama heads or helps run.

While each of these achievements below is singularly superlative, there are two that we think will far outlive Dr. Cama. The first is the Zoroastrian Return To Roots Program. Parsi Khabar has been involved with it since inception and we have had the privilege of working with Dr. Cama who is one of the co-chairs, the other being Aban Marker-Kabraji. The program brings young Zoroastrians from the diaspora back to their roots in India and soon Iran. The impact of those visits will have lasting impression on the youth who visit India.

However her singular biggest impact we feel is her tireless efforts to convince the Indian Government to set up the Jiyo Parsi scheme that has helped in the birth of over 80 young children. The number is only going to grow higher and it is through these children that Dr. Cama’s legacy and dreams will far outlive all of us in the decades to come.

Ashish Bhardwaj writes…

Dr. Shernaz Cama did her BA (Hons.) from Madras University and her MA, MPhil and PhD from the University of Delhi.

During the course of her PhD researches on Blake and Zoroastrianism, she worked at the British Museum and the School of Oriental and African Studies in London under the guidance of Prof. Mary Boyce and Dr. Kathleen Raine. She has been teaching at Delhi University since 1983.

She writes for academic journals and magazines and has been a Resource Person for the Centre for Professional Development in Higher Education, giving lectures at various Universities under this scheme. In 2003 she has co-authored the book Blake, Wordsworth and Coleridge. She has also guided senior scholars in research projects.

From 2006-09, Dr. Cama was the Representative of the Govt. of India for the Navroze Candidature File for the UNESCO award of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Navroze was declared the International Festival of Spring and an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2009 and acknowledged by the UN General Assembly in the same year.

Dr. Cama has also been awarded the UNESCO Power of Creativity award for the revival of Parsi embroidery. The community has honoured her with the Mancherji Edaljee Joshi Memorial Trust “Outstanding Contribution Award” and the Federation of Zoroastrian Anjumans of India “Mazda Education Foundation Award” for Education, Research, Science and Technology.

Tell us about yourself, your background and what you do currently

I have had the dual advantage of a traditional upbringing in Ahmedabad, at my ancestral home, as well as living across the country with my father, who was in the Indian Army. Therefore I see myself as a pan Indian Parsi.

I have been teaching at Delhi University since 1983 and was requested to start the UNESCO Parsi Zoroastrian Project 302 IND 4070 in 1999. This was the time when UNESCO realized the danger of the sharp demographic decline of the Parsis of India and wanted to try and record this ancient culture.

Tell us about any current projects or initiatives you wish to promote

There are several projects in UNESCO Parzor related to:

1. Setting up a Chair in Zoroastrian Studies at Symbiosis, Pune.

2. Setting up a permanent Museum on the Parsi Zoroastrians.

3. Creating awareness of India’s multicultural diversity, which is our true treasure.

What has been your biggest challenge in achieving your success?

As I work full time at Delhi University and as well as with Parzor in an honorary capacity, the biggest challenge is finding the time to give my total attention to both. I love my teaching and will not allow any distraction during college time. Hence my day starts very early and goes on for very long. It is difficult to sustain such hard work.

What has been your greatest achievement personally?

Getting the Government of India to agree both to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, MOMA, Jiyo Parsi Scheme for protecting the numbers and the Everlasting Flame International Programme, 2016 to promote the culture of the Zoroastrians would be amongst my achievements. Discovering William Blake’s relationship with the Zoroastrian world and his signed sketches of Persepolis, is my special academic achievement. Making my neighbourhood protect community dogs is my most enjoyable personal achievement.

If you weren’t doing what you do now, what would you be doing?

I would be teaching and writing both poetry and prose.

Who has been your biggest inspiration?

My father the late Lt. Gen. Adi Sethna, Padma Bhushan, PVSM, AVSM who was an all round figure. He loved literature, music, gardening and re invented himself from being one of India’s Senior most Army Officers to becoming a community leader for the Parsis as well as protecting Minority Rights across India.

What does the future hold for you?

I hope that India and Iran can work more closely and that the Zoroastrians of these two countries as well as those in Central Asia can come together to keep this heritage alive. Personally I look forward to becoming hopefully a grandparent and enjoying having babies around again!

Websites

• www.unescoparzor.com
• http://zororoots.org
• www.jiyoparsi.org

  The Jiyo Parsi Programme – Films

   

  Jiyo Parsi: A Tale of revival – is a documentary which attempts to showcase that the parsi community is needs to realise the need for a balanced life to prosper in an individual’s life as well as a community. The films showcases the importance and need of a family for a fulfilled and happy life.

   

• Google Cultural Institute Partnership Exhibitions and links:
• Parsi Zoroastrians: From Persia to Akbar’s Court
• The First Exhibition Kusti-The Sacred Cord
• Spinning the Kusti and Weaving the Kusti
• Jamshed-i-Navroze

   

• Parzor YouTube Channel
• Tanka Water Harvesting System
• The Everlasting Flame Programme Presents – Fashion Show by Ashdeen Lilaowala:
• Panel discussion with the Curators of the Everlasting Flame Programme
• The Everlasting Flame Programme Presents – The Teke Ceremony and Puppets from Azerbaijan
• Parzor Facebook Page

DELKASH SHAHRIARIAN: Women’s cricket champion does it again!

New York based architect and cricketer Delkash Shahriarian has once again been selected by the USA Women’s Selection Panel as part of a squad of 22 players to take part in a camp held by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in Philadelphia from September 9th – 11th.

The squad contains a combination of developing players who took part in the USA Cricket Combines held by ICC earlier in the year as well as some more experienced women who have represented the USA at the international level in the past. The camp is an opportunity for some of the USA’s best female talent to work alongside developing players to drive improvement across the group.

The 3-day event will involve training, internal matches and also competitive matches against a women’s touring team from the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), England. Claire Taylor, who will captain the group and Charlotte Edwards, former England skipper, as well as a number of players with county experience have been included in the MCC squad.

The camp and matches against the MCC touring side will be held at some of the oldest cricket facilities in the USA, including Evansburg Cricket Field, Haverford College – which officially has the only varsity status college cricket team in America – and Merion Cricket Club, one of the oldest cricket clubs in America.

We wish Delkash all the very best for the camp and her future cricketing endeavors and hope that she continues to keep the Zoroastrian flame alive in cricket.

A Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trustee and its former chairman filed criminal complaints against each other after a fight at Ballard Pier magistrate court on Thursday.

Kersi Randeria, the trustee who said he sustained eye and shoulder injuries in the fight, was admitted to a hospital and discharged on Friday morning. Dinshaw Mehta, a former trustee, said Randeria had hit his son Hormuz, who was representing him as a lawyer, causing him to faint.

Article by Manoj R Nair | Hindustan Times

The magistrate was hearing a criminal complaint filed in January 2014 by Khojeste Mistree, who was then a BPP trustee, against Mehta, the then chairman of the trust, accusing him of collecting Rs25 lakh from a businessman for tenancy rights to a trust-owned property in Fort. The BPP is one of the biggest landlords in Mumbai and manages over 4000 flats in community housing estates across the city, land, and commercial premises. It also manages fire temples and the 50-acre Tower of Silence cemetery in Malabar Hill. The BPP has seven trustees who are elected by the community.

“As we stepped out, Hormuz said unpleasant things. Dinshaw was hitting me with a piece of concrete. My eye went blank and I was lifted and taken to the courtroom. The judge asked us to file a police complaint,” said Randeria.

Randeria was taken to St George Hospital near CST and then shifted to JJ Hospital, Byculla, from where he was discharged after a CT scan and other tests ruled out any serious injury.

Mehta denied he hit Randeria. “I am a 75-year-old man. He [Randeria] is double my size and he is accusing me of hitting him? My finger could have accidentally poked his eye or he could have had an eye infection,” said Mehta. “Why was he in the court? It was a private complaint filed by Mistree.”

Senior police inspector Sukhlal Varpe from MRA Marg police station said, “After the court proceedings on Thursday, the two parties had a fight outside the premises and arrived at the police station. We have only registered cross complaints.”

On Friday, online community forums were filled with comments about the ‘street fighters’ who had brought shame to the BPP. Mistree, who was in court when the incident occurred, said, “It is sad and shocking that community leaders and elders have stooped to this level.”

Street fight stuns community which prides on its etiquette – Parsi Punchayet trustee, ex-head come to blows

Article by Jyoti Shelar | Mumbai Mirror

Trustee Kersi Randeria, former punchayet chairman Dinshaw Mehta, and the latter’s son, Hormuz, clash outside the Magistrate’s Court over a SoBo property deal mired in corruption allegations

The Parsi community, known for its genteel manners, was left stunned on Thursday when a trustee of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet came to blows with the punchayet’s former chairman and his son outside the Magistrate’s Court in Ballard Pier. The fight continued at St George Hospital in Fort where the three men were sent to treat the injuries suffered during the fracas, which eventually ended with both parties filing police complaints against each other. The eyewitnesses said that the drama had started in the courtroom itself, around 4 pm, when a punchayet trustee, Kersi Randeria, allegedly dared former chairman Dinshaw Mehta and his lawyer son Hormuz to a physical confrontation.

The court was hearing an application demanding a probe into a 2013 deal regarding the tenancy rights of Dadi House, a commercial property in Bora Bazaar owned by the punchayet. Mehta, who was the punchayet chairman at that time, was accused of misappropriation of funds to the tune of Rs 20 lakh by a few punchayet trustees, including Randeria.

“The court had given us time to file a written application to hear our version of events regarding the deal,“ Mehta’s son Hormuz said. “While we were walking out, Randeria shouted at my father, demanding that we `return their money’. I was livid at his behavior and told him that my father was at least respected by his wife,“ Hormuz said.

Hormuz’s retort allegedly led to Randeria asking him and Mehta to meet him outside the court premises.“He was blinded by rage and pushed me, causing me to fall. I had recently had a neck surgery and this attack worsened my condition,“ Hormuz alleged. Randeria and Mehta have been baying for each other’s blood since July 2013, when the tenancy rights for Dadi House were sold. Mehta said the rights were sold for Rs 45 lakh, but one of the then trustees, Yazdi Desai, alleged that the deal was settled at Rs 65 lakh.

A police complaint was filed and the Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing subsequently gave Mehta a clean chit, but another punchayet trustee, Khojestee Mistry, approached the court against Mehta saying there were “unexplained discrepancies“ in the deal.

The allegations against Mehta took a serious turn when cash amounting to Rs 21 lakh was found in the cupboard of the punchayet’s late CEO Mehli Colah, who passed away in December 2013 and his cupboard was opened in September 2014. Randeria insisted that Thursday’s fracas was entirely started by Mehta and Hormuz, saying Hormuz had in fact pushed him and Mehta followed it up by assaulting him with a stone.“Hormuz made an extremely crude and vulgar comment about my family and pushed me. Suddenly, Dinshaw Mehta also attacked me with a stone,“ Randeria said.

Randeria suffered a ruptured blood vessel in the eye (sub-conjunctival hemorrhage), while Hormuz’s mobility has been restricted due to injury to the neck. The policemen broke up the fight and presented both parties before the judge, who advised that they be sent to hospital.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Manoj Sharma said that complaints against both parties have been registered at the MRA Marg Police Station, even as the community members termed such a behaviour as “unheard of among Parsis“.

Jehangir Patel, who edits the community magazine Parsiana, said, “I have been covering the Parsi community since 1973, and this is the lowest that it has come down to. Such public spats, drama outside the courtroom, and then in the hospital in presence of cops… it had never been like this.“

Homi Dalal, a 71-year-old resident of Cama Park in Andheri, called the fight “disgusting and disgraceful“.“The bickering among the present and the past trustees has been going on for long but such attacks are uncalled for,“ Dalal said, even as Viraf Kapadia, a resident of Godrej Baug, said such incidents showed Parsis in bad light. “We are a community of learned people and such incidents spoil our image,“ he said.

Below is a message we have received from Kersi Randeria, BPP Trustee.

Kersi writes…

I am a Trustee of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet, and I believe in and am committed to upholding the dignity of this position entrusted to me by my community as also to the august platform – the BPP. At no cost do I wish to see the reputation of my Board of Trustees or the BPP tarnished or maligned in any way.

As a Trustee, I was authorized by my Board via a resolution passed by the Board on the 6th of September, to intervene, if necessary, in the legal process that has been ongoing since the last 3 years. I’ve never attended any of the proceedings of the said case before Thursday, the 8th, but I did so as I was asked to and authorized by the BPP Board.

I’m distressed to have been dragged into this controversy with the Mehta family. Over the past few years, Dinshaw Mehta and/or his family have been consistently involved in all controversies – including the time when Dinshaw attacked the present Chairman, Yazdi Desai (then a Trustee) with a chair! Unfortunately, during the case proceedings, I was physically assaulted by Dinshaw Mehta and once again the reputation of our community has gotten compromised in the eyes of our nation that holds our community in high esteem.

I believe in the legal process, and as a Board, we hope that the allegations made by the last Board, which is now being investigated, reaches its logical and legal conclusion – by the due process of law, and not by embarrassing and painful incidents such as this one. I do not wish to enter into a debate about the facts, as I genuinely believe that the investigation will establish the truth. What is of major concern is that such an incident occurred. It causes me great pain and embarrassment, as an individual and more importantly as a Trustee of the BPP, to have been dragged into this.

I firmly believe that issues of the community should remain within the Boardroom and the community, just as I believe that legal issues should remain within the courtroom to be decided by the Hon’ble judges and legal system.

I’m appalled and dismayed at our community having to face yet another embarrassment. Through this statement, I wish to make an appeal to all concerned, including Mr. Dinshaw Mehta and his family to restrict our issue to discussions, debates and if necessary, the courts of law. I appeal to them and to all my community members to not magnify this incident anymore and leave it alone, so as to ensure that we do not further add to the disgrace faced by our small but highly regarded community.

I hope that all people involved sincerely consider my request and that we all find a way to work together in the interest of the community.

Kersi Randeria

Trustee

BPP

Boman Irani gets candid discussing Parsis and Entertainment, while interacting with an audience in Delhi during the Parzor Cultural Events supported by Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla.

Below is a message we have received from Hormuz D. Mehta.

Hormuz writes…

When I got married earlier this year, I gave a commitment to my wife that I would not embroil myself in BPP politics, especially after seeing my father toil away 21 years of his life only to get falsely maligned by a handful of vindictive individuals.

On 8 September, I was present at the 38th Magistrate Court at Bellard Pier for the Dadi House case that has been filed by Khojeste Mistree filed against my father. I was there in the capacity of a practicing advocate of the Bombay High Court fully aware of the effect a dispute of this kind can have to my legal career. Khojeste was present with another 10 people including Kersi Randeria and Anahita Desai. During the arguments in this matter, the advocate of Khojeste Mistree argued that further investigation in the Dadi House transaction should take place whilst the advocate for my father said that Dinshaw Mehta should be heard in the matter since a comprehensive investigation had already been conducted by the MRA Police Station. The Learned Judge advised the advocate for my father to prepare an application in writing by 5 pm as to why Dinshaw Mehta should be heard.

After the hearing, my father and I were leaving the court room when Kersi Randeria addressed him saying “Eh chor return the trust money”. I immediately retorted “At least my father is respected by his own wife and has good family values”. Kersi was livid with my statement and came up front to me and demanded I repeat the statement. I told him I have no interest in communicating with someone with no family values. Kersi immediately invited me to step outside the court so that he could put me straight. I informed him that as an officer of the court, I had no interest in talking with him. As I turned to walk away, Kersi shoved me from behind. Upon being shoved I turned and asked Kersi not to touch me. In response he grabbed the side of my neck and threw me to the floor. I landed harshly on a brick ledge and felt another hard impact on my neck (probably when I was kicked). Sometime in 2005 I had fractured my C4 and C5 vertebrae which make me very sensitive to any neck injury. After being shoved, I felt a surge of pain and lost consciousness.

THIS INTERACTION BETWEEN KERSI AND ME IS RECORDED ON THE CCTV CAMERAS AT THE COURT.

I was revived when a few lawyers splashed water on my face. When I came to, I could hear my father loudly screaming my name. A police officer urged my father to take me to a hospital. A lawyer and my father rushed me to St. George’s Hospital for urgent treatment. Upon admission, I had a tingling sensation in my left arm, no mobility in my neck, bruises to my ribs and a stinging cut on my right palm. I was injected with multiple pain killers and sent to take several x-rays, a CT Scan, a blood test, sonography and an MRI. At 5am all tests (except the MRI) were complete and the doctor at St. George requested I stay the night at the hospital for observation. I was discharged at 11am. This can be verified by the doctor report from St. George Hospital.

The WhatsApp messages and news articles that I am reading now are almost comical in their claims. Kersi seems to have concocted a story to cover up for him upon realizing the severity the physical damage he caused me. I am told that while I was lying unconscious, a group of people came to drag Kersi away and perhaps this is how he hurt his eye. As my family was clamoring to get the right medical care for me in the two government hospitals we visited, Kersi was sitting in the waiting room, strategizing with his entourage of news reporters and political supporters. I look forward to this sensationalized version of events being clarified through cctv footage, police reports, witnesses and officers of the court.

Rewards,

Hormuz D. Mehta