Although the 132-year-old Ripon Club has endured the vicissitudes of time and fortune, a part of the good old Parsi bastion may suffer partial eclipse. A controversial proposal to surrender or sell off a portion of the institution in Fort will be decided during the club’s EGM on Thursday, even as some members continue to protest.

The club’s trustees called for a meeting with its members to discuss the settlement of a suit that was filed by the land owners—N M Wadia Charities-against the club in 2010. A similar proposal to surrender its tenancy rights to the solicitors’ firm Wadia Ghandy & Company in 2008 was shot down following hue and cry by members. The club management had claimed it was running into losses and moved a proposal to sell the entire fourth floor, including an open terrace spread over 5,500 sq ft to the solicitor’s firm for Rs 6.75 crore stating that the money from the sale would help it run the institution better. The pitch to sell part of the club, founded by stalwarts Sir Phirozesha Mehta, Jamshedji Tata and Sir Dinshaw Manockjee Petit in 1884, was shelved after most of the members voted against the sale.

Eight years on, the sale plans are being revived while another resolution awaits the club that has on its roll leading solicitors, doctors, CAs, businessmen and of course, Parsi Zoroastrians as members. Located on the third and fourth floors of N M Wadia Building on M G Road in Fort, this quaint, old English-styled establishment has been popular for its mutton dhansaak buffet on Wednesday afternoons.

“For many years, the Ripon Club has been embroiled in the said suit filed by the landlords seeking eviction of the Ripon Club… considerable sums of money have been incurred by the club to defend itself and further substantial amounts will be required towards litigation costs till the matter reaches finality. The trustees are of the opinion that the costs of such a long protracted litigation will be unaffordable for the club,” read the explanatory statement from the club.

Advocate Khusroo Zaiwala, who was steered the protest back then has decided to raise his voice again. “No papers from the suit or the defence have been shared with members. How can we pass the resolution for negotiation if we don’t know what the terms of settlement are? It’s like being asked to sign on a blank cheque,” said Zaiwala, who has written to the managing committee, requesting that members be allowed to inspect the documents and postpone the meeting.

Xerxes Dastur, chairman and treasurer of Ripon Club explained, “Members are free to ask any questions at the meeting because we want their sanction before we start negotiating with the landlord. The meeting will decide whether to continue with the litigation or negotiate a settlement with the landlords in a manner that ensures that the integrity and future of the club’s premises are secured.” However, an inclination towards selling a portion of the club, he explained, was “to find a solution to safeguard the rest of the club and not subject ourselves to the court of law”. The fourth floor, which the club proposes to give away, has a card room, a snooker table, siesta chairs and a large terrace.

For Berjes Shroff, who has spent several wistful afternoons at the club since he came to Mumbai in the mid 90’s, every corner of the club has sentimental value. “Those easy chairs, the grandfather’s clock, verandah and vintage air… Wonder what’ll happen to the snooker club? My biggest worry is that we won’t get a fair deal as landlords usually have the upper hand. It’s sad that a Parsi trust wants to take away a part of the Parsi heritage,” he rued.

The Mumbai Samachar asks about the status of the Rs 22 lacs that was found in the BPP CEO’s cupboard.

The community is aware that cash of more than Rs. 22 lakhs was found in September 2014 in late CEO Mehli Colahs cupboard which on an unanimous complaint of all the then seven Trustees was sealed by the MRA Marg police pending investigations, whether the cash was related to the alleged scam of misappropriation of Rs. 20 lakhs from transfer fees of Dadi House premises of Musharaf Kadar.

After detailed investigation the police found no wrong doing in the cash in the cupboard and issued letter in May 2015 clearing this cash as it belongs to the charity Trust and removed the seal of the cupboard so that the funds could be utilised for community use.

Thereafter the usual self styled vigilantes having their own agendas once again approached the Commissioner of Police and others and convinced them that the police investigation was shoddy and needed to be done properly and hence a fresh letter was issued by police re-sealing the cash in the cupboard.

Subsequently in May 2016 all Trustees including original complainant Yazdi Desai as well as Kersi Randeria now agreed and accepted Musharafs claim that the transfer fees was indeed only Rs. 45 lakhs and not Rs. 65 lakhs as earlier alleged by them. Since full Rs. 45 lakhs had been received by cheques by BPP, the Trustees transferred the rent receipt to the name of Musharaf Kadar.

Thus it is now admitted that there was no actual cash misappropriation of Rs. 20 lakhs out of alleged transfer fees of Rs. 65 lakhs, as transfer fees were indeed Rs 45 lakhs. At the press conference called in July 2016, to the query of Editor, Jehangir Patel of PARSIANA magazine, it was confirmed by Yazdi Desai that the cash of Rs. 22 lakhs found in Mehli Colahs cupboard was not related in any way to the Dadi House transaction but was monies belonging to BPP Trust from different sources.

In view of the demonetization announcement of 8th November, 2016 is it not time that the Trustees moved the Police Commissioner to remove the seal and deposit the full cash in its bank accounts before 30th December, 2016 as mandated by law otherwise these charity funds belonging to the community will become useless paper.

Even if the Trustees still feel that police investigation is still going on and that it is not established that these monies are not related to Dadi House transaction and it would amount to destroying/tampering with evidence then these funds can still be deposited in the bank and kept in escrow pending police investigation. But not depositing the funds in bank would be a gross act of negligence and misconduct and even misfeasance on the part of Trustees not to take care of charity funds.

Have the Trustees bothered to even discuss this issue or is their one point agenda of vendetta blinding them to what is in the interest of the Trust and the community.

The following is the keynote address delivered by Nadir Godrej at the Awards Gala at the conclusion of the Global Annual General Meeting of the World Zoroastrian Chamber of Commerce, hosted in Hong Kong on Saturday December 17th, 2016.

A new millennium was about to dawn
Seventeen years ago.
An organisation was then born
But little did we know

That where community seniors led
Everyone would go
And WZCC would spread
And over the years would grow.

And I was there to sing it’s praise
On that fateful day.
And back to Houston if we gaze
This is what I did say,

“The Internet is now at hand
And all can have a shot,
If only we can understand
What latest trend is hot.

Now Parsis are spread everywhere.
And they can choose their land.
If you in the Diaspora dare
Then once again we’ll stand

In the big league of enterprise
Renowned in every place.
I know we can attain the prize
If we just join the race.”

What I said then, has now come true
The Internet is hot.
Disruptive models that are new
Can strike at any spot.

And politics is not immune,
Big data plays a role.
It’s possible to fine tune
A message for a goal.

And truth is of no consequence
In using this technique.
And lies that seem to make some sense
Are all that readers seek.

Both Trump and Brexit won this way
And Russia played its hand.
What will come next we cannot say
But we must understand

The world’s becoming very strange
And nothing is for sure,
Except that we will see much change
A fact we must endure.
The markets took an upward bump
Much to my surprise.
They very warmly welcomed Trump
But still it would be wise

Not throwing caution to the wind
And being circumspect.
For mavericks cannot be pinned.
Who knows what to expect?

Indeed it may turn out quite well
And yet an ill thought tweet
Could be enough to quickly fell
The euphoria on Wall Street.

And climate change will be denied
And coal and oil will gain.
An energy rush will be supplied
But followed by great pain

Unless businesses take the lead
With green technology.
Fortunately they can succeed
For certainly we’ll see

Technology that paves the way
For a future that is green.
Technology can save the day.
Great progress will be seen.
November eighth is the date
That saw the rise of Trump.
But on that date, such is our fate
Our Mody chose to dump

All bigger notes. He thought it bold
With just a little pain.
The economy began to fold
With little sign of gain.

Most benefits were soon disproved.
The opposition screamed.
The goalposts then were quickly moved.
To most of us it seemed

The secrecy was overdone,
The planning was at fault.
The endless pain was no fun.
Our wounds were rubbed with salt!

The GST might be delayed,
A heavy price to pay.
And when the pros and cons are weighed
There’s little good to say.

And China’s debt is mounting high.
The risks are growing fast.
All sorts of props they can try,
I doubt their growth can last.
And China says that it is one.
Its military is strong.
But Trump will try and have his fun
And who will say he’s wrong?

Trump now thinks he is the boss
And boldly spoke to Tsai.
Convention then went for a toss.
And what will he now try?

Of course I may well be wrong
But Trump could up his game.
His next call might be Hong Kong,
Much to China’s shame.

World affairs will zig and zag.
And business must adjust
Quite rapidly without a lag
Or they might well go bust.

Sudden change will come about
And some will see a threat
But others will then work it out.
The challenge will be met.

Entrepreneurs must be prepared
For a changing world.
They can’t be unduly scared
As new threats are unfurled.
Agility will be required
And innovation too.
Entrepreneurs should be inspired
By trying out what’s new.

But those in WZCC
Have nothing much to fear.
For everyone can clearly see
That here there’s much to cheer!

New training courses are at hand
To help the members out.
Experienced hands that understand
Show how to get about.

Experts are there to give advice.
And they know how to spot
Young talent, which is very nice.
The awards that they have got

Encourage them to rise and shine
And serve the community.
All this of course is very fine

I hope that we will see

That these awards will quickly bring
More youngsters in the fold.
I also hope the Women’s Wing
Will make our Ladies bold.
Those with drive might need a skill
As well as good advice.
A course in business basics will
Most certainly suffice.

When they see it can be done
Some novices will try.
Though it is hard, it can be fun.
Soon more will try to fly.

As a consequence of the China trade
Parsis came to Hong Kong.
And their philanthropy’s what made
This city very strong.

Star Ferry had a Parsi role
As did HSBC.
Hormusje Mody’s funding goal
Was the University.

And to this day they are known
For their Philanthropy.
Their global charity has grown.
A model for all to see.

What better place for us to meet
Than beautiful Hong Kong.
If we work hard and stay upbeat
We will be very strong.

Our numbers now are in decline
But our impact could be great.
If we try hard, we will be fine
Let’s not think it’s our fate.

A prize might stimulate the mind.
Good thoughts should be applauded.
Solutions we will surely find
If action is rewarded.

And some day at a future meet
We will cross a million.
That would be quite a feat.
But there’s no hope for a billion!

Our journey has been truly great
From Houston to Hong Kong.
Together we can contemplate
Becoming very strong!

Dr. Maneck Bhagat: Pioneering Pediatrician, Teacher, Musician (1917 – 1982)

Article by Dr. Patricia Steckler Bhagat

7:30 am sharp, Pediatrics Ward 2, at the King Edward Memorial (K.E.M.) hospital, Bombay: in came Dr. Maneck Bhagat, dressed informally in his plain shirts and pants. First stop: the ward toilets. Were they scrubbed clean? If not, there was hell to pay. The orderlies had to appear pronto and scour those bathrooms spotless. Then, one by one, the nurses brought in the newly admitted children for Dr. Bhagat to examine with his pediatric residents and medical students gathered around. “The nurses had to be meticulous with the kids’ cleanliness. The nails had to be scrubbed clean,” said one of Dr. Bhagat’s former residents, as life-threatening gastrointestinal infections were rampant among the vastly overcrowded slum communities from which the patients in his K.E.M. ward came.

Dr. Bhagat was the third pediatrician in Bombay. The art of the thorough, meticulous clinical exam taught by him prepared his residents, from the 1940’s through the 1970’s, to confidently diagnose and treat ill children throughout their professional lives. As heads of inner city pediatric units and as researchers in pediatrics now in the United States, many of his former residents have built professional lives that are a living legacy to his excellence, and worthy of celebration as the 100th year of his birth approaches.

“Three things mattered most in life to my dad,” says his daughter: “music, medicine and family.” Though a Western Classical music career in India was not practical financially, music became an enduring, lifelong passion and another sphere of excellence for him. Dr. Bhagat was also my father-in-law: I am married to his son.

On the ward, Dr. Bhagat’s residents would arrive hours before he did in order to examine and fully work up each new admission. Sometimes 40-50 children were admitted overnight. “The ward was an open unit with two rows of 30 or 40 beds and cribs on either side of a central aisle. Parents had to sleep on the floor. Often the number of patients would exceed the bed number but we had no choice but to accommodate them,” said Dr. Sarla Inamdar, one of Dr. Bhagat’s residents who now heads the pediatric department of Metropolitan Hospital in New York City.

And then would come the delight for his residents: Dr. Bhagat’s bedside clinics and ward rounds. Once his pre-rounds standards were met, Dr. Bhagat relaxed. His warmth and affection for his pediatric residents and for the patients, and his lively, engaging teaching and lecturing at each child’s bedside, filled the ward.

Each morning’s rounds began by Dr. Bhagat asking his residents to tell him the child’s story, rather than lab results, including a “thorough history of the child’s growth and development, a very careful exam of all systems with an analysis of the findings, and a sound differential diagnosis,” explained Dr. Sarla Inamdar. He “took great pains in demonstrating all the clinical signs,” said Dr. Marukh Joshi, one of his assistant attendants, who then went on to create an intensive care unit in Bombay which treated premature low weight babies from all over India. “Besides,” she added, “there was little choice: the K.E.M. was an overcrowded urban hospital and had few funds for labs and equipment.”

Early in her training, Dr. Inamdar saved a baby’s life thanks to Dr. Bhagat’s teaching. A very ill 6-month old baby was admitted, vomiting repeatedly. The senior resident from a different pediatric ward insisted that the baby had meningitis and required a full and time-consuming lab work-up. Dr. Inamdar intervened, “Wait, a minute!” she exclaimed, “this patient has a blockage in the stomach and needs immediate surgery!” She had closely observed the baby’s belly where she could see the waves of peristalsis moving from the left to the right but not proceeding any further. “That’s a classic sign of pyloric stenosis,” she explained. She prevailed, emergency surgery was performed, and the baby survived.

Dr. Bhagat grew up in a middle class family. He went to medical school at Seth G.S. Medical College in Bombay and went on to earn the highest British honors in both medicine and music: Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London, and Fellow of Trinity College, London, in Music Theory and Piano Performance. His training and the London advanced exams were completed in India by the 1940s, as described by Dr. Jissa Moos in Dr. Bhagat’s official Royal College obituary. However, in 1969 Dr. Bhagat went to London for his induction as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. Soon after he died, the Maneck Bhagat Gold Medal for the M.D. pediatrics examination of Bombay University, and the Maneck Bhagat Honorary Oration were established by his students in his honor. Thirty five years after his death, these honors are still being bestowed.

Each of his former students, colleagues, and family members interviewed for this profile highlighted Dr. Bhagat’s integrity. “He was a fearless fighter for the truth and did not hesitate to pick up the cudgels for any resident or any cause where he saw wrong,” said Dr. Joshi. He would not engage in giving or taking fee ‘kick-backs’ from other doctors for patients referred to him, or sit on the board of any pharmaceutical company even though many invited him to do so. He never suggested that his hospital patients come to his private office, as did many of his other colleagues, in order to collect a fee. “However, if poor patients with no hospital to go to came to his private office, he would treat them free of charge,” said his daughter.

Prior to the 1940’s, mothers’ obstetricians took care of children. The need for doctors trained in treating ill babies and children opened the door to pediatrics as a new specialty, and Dr. Bhagat eagerly stepped in. His teachers, the first two pediatricians in Bombay, trained him. However, he furthered his knowledge by reading every pediatric medical book and journal article that he could get his hands on. When a rare new medical book came into Bombay, he would borrow it from a local bookstore, take copious notes, and incorporate the latest findings into his pediatric lectures.

He published numerous research papers throughout his career including important papers on the understanding and treatment of the convulsions that babies with high fevers were susceptible to. He also set up the first neo-natal unit in his hospital ward. He made his own meticulous lecture slides, and created an “excellent movie on how to conduct an examination of a newborn baby,” noted Dr. Joshi, at a time when video equipment was rudimentary and had no sound recording apparatus. He did his own narration and painstakingly spliced it in to accompany the film. Pediatric medical students and residents viewed it as part of their training.

He loved being the Honorary Pediatrician at the B.D.Petit Parsee General Hospital. His son remembers him saying “I learn from K.E.M and give back to Parsee General”. He was also long remembered by many in the Parsee community from his attending to so many of them in his private practice.

Many of Dr. Bhagat’s former students came to the U.S. and have held important positions including: Chairman of Department of Neurology at Howard University, Washington, DC; Chief of Neonatology at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, NY; Chief of Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; Head of Pediatrics at Metropolitan Hospital in New York City; Researcher in Hematology at the Scripps Institute in La Jolla, California; Senior Neonatologist at the Cook County Hospital in Chicago.

The story of Dr. Bhagat is only partially told without knowing about his wife, Khorshed, and his passion for music. From a very early age he was giving piano lessons, and it was music and piano teaching that brought him and Khorshed together when she successfully auditioned to be his student. She would travel three hours by the Deccan Queen train from Poona to Bombay for her lessons every fortnight and would stay the night with a family approved of by her parents. A young single woman traveling unaccompanied was frowned upon in those days. But Khorshed was determined to learn classical music and piano performance from the man widely regarded as the best teacher, Dr. Bhagat.

Khorshed was the gentle, kind and soft-spoken counterpart to the gruff and irascible Dr. Bhagat. But like him, she too was principled and strong — never a pushover. During their marriage, when she found Dr. Bhagat to be harshly opinionated, too curt or unkind with residents, colleagues or hospital administrators, she firmly set him straight.

During World War II, a European pianist due to perform Grieg’s Piano Concerto for a performance in Bombay became ill and was unable to travel to Bombay for the scheduled concert. With only two weeks until concert time, Dr. Bhagat was asked to step in as soloist, and he agreed. His demanding hospital schedule left him with little time to practice at his piano. Fortunately, he could “play and hear” the music in his head. He studied and memorized the score while travelling to and from the hospital by tramcar. At the concert he performed impeccably.

In 1982 when we were expecting our first child, Kay, and Dr. Bhagat’s first grandchild, he and Khorshed came to New Jersey to share in this happy event. When my obstetrician learned who Dr. Bhagat was, he invited him into the hospital nursery to be the first doctor to examine her. I remember seeing him through the glass window of the nursery, gowned up in yellow hospital garb and tenderly holding Kay in his arms.

Once we were home again I asked him to accompany me to Kay’s first baby visit with our new pediatrician, Dr. Arvind Shah. When we walked into the examining room, Dr. Shah exclaimed, “I can’t believe it! You are that Dr. Bhagat!” Not only had he known Dr. Bhagat’s reputation in India but had also sat before him for his final pediatric certification exam. Happily, Dr. Shah’s thorough examination of his new grandbaby met with my father-in-law’s approval.

During that visit he was my at-home pediatric expert. So much of what he taught me stays clear in my mind today: like the banana/yogurt shake he’d devised as the ideal remedy for babies’ upset stomachs. He played delightedly with Kay. How thrilled he would be now to know that Kay has just given birth to her first child, a girl, Fiona Roshan!

When Dr. Bhagat came to the U.S. to be with us he had a heart condition, and the risk of having a heart attack away from Bombay worried him. He was not afraid of dying, but he was concerned that his body would not be brought back to the Tower of Silence, the hilltop garden retreat in Bombay where Zoroastrians took their beloved family members after they died.

He died in our home five weeks after Kay’s birth at the age of 65. We lost him too soon.

On the day of his death all of his New York area former students performed a miracle. They felt deep affection for their former mentor and teacher, and so each of them left their respective hospitals and divided up tasks: certificates from the Indian Embassy; airline arrangements to get Dr. Bhagat’s body onto the plane to Bombay; papers required by the U.S. government to transfer his body. By that evening all was accomplished, and my father-in-law made it to his Tower of Silence as had always been his wish.

Dr. Viraf J. Kapadia opines on the subject in the Mumbai Samachar.

Since the last few days turmoil has enveloped the orthodox members of the Parsi Community when the proposed 2 hours heritage walk by Asiatic Society with fees of Rs. 100/- and 200/- on Sunday, 11th Dec. 2016 at 10.30 to 12.30 with a tour through our Towers Silence (Doongerwadi) was announced by Yazdi Tantra on his web – site.

A complaint was filed on 09-12-2016 by Mr. Eric Dhatigara u/s 295A & other Cr PC provisions for hurting the religious sentiments of Parsis by defiling and desecrating our holy cemetery lands, which was handed over by me to Malabar Hill Police Station as well as DCP Zone 2.

On Saturday 10-12-16, Eric and I visited Malabar Hill Police Station at their request and informed them that Doongerwadi was the final resting place of our deceased community members followed by 4 days religious rituals, rites and practices for the souls of the departed and complained that it could not be desecrated as a tourist site or sightseeing for non-Parsis to view our sacred precincts to be seen by paid tourists. This is sacrilege of highest order and should not be permitted. Whilst we were there we saw Mr. Sharukh Billimoria, of Godrej Baug and a close relative of Chairman Yazdi Desai come out of the chambers of the Senior Inspector probably with some message from Yazdi Desai.

That night both Yazdi and his wife visited Malabar Hill Police Station and I was reliably informed the next day by a sub Inspector that Yazdi had not filed a written complaint but had orally advised the Senior Inspector that if I was not allowed to participate or protest at Doongerwadi next morning everything would be peaceful and there would be no breach of peace. Both Yazdi and I were served notice u/s 149 for breach of peace yet only I was summoned on Sunday and not Yazdi.

On Sunday 11th December 2016 a police constable visited my residence and informed me that I was summoned to Malabar Hill Police Station by Senior Inspector. When I went there I was requested to sit there along with the Senior Inspector in his cabin for almost 5 hours till the tour at Doongerwadi ended. Thus it was only on specific oral complaint of Yazdi Desai, inspite of his denying it, that I was made to sit in the Senior Inspector’s Cabin at the police station for 5 hours. The Inspector was very cordial and polite and gave me tea and snacks in his cabin and I had very informative discussions with him and even he was surprised how our Trustees were allowing the cemetery to be used as a tourist spot. I acknowledge with gratitude his very polite handling of the controversial situation.

I am informed that on Sunday at around 11 am, Ramyar Karanjia came with his group of around 30 tourists not through the main gate but slyly through Khareghat Colony staircase from the rear and the side entrance. The small group of protestors lead by Mr. Aspi Deboo achieved their purpose by positioning at a strategic spot and stopped the tourists from reaching anywhere near the Dokhmas. Kudos to Mr. Aspi Deboo.

I am informed that the only Trustee present there that day was Mr. Viraf Mehta who requested Ervad Ramyar Karanjia in the community interest to restrict his tour only upto the pavilion and not beyond, which was grudgingly accepted by Erv. Ramyar. A human Chain of protestors was lined up just in case restricting their entry beyond the pavilion. The police were also there in strength and formed another chain not to allow anyone beyond the pavilion. Thus the proposed tour of Doongerwadi by non Parsis turned out to be a damp squib and the organizers had to refund the fees already collected due to failure to allow them to tour Doongerwadi.

The shocking remark of our so called scholar priest Erv. Ramyar Karanjia that it is all right if ladies in their periods (menses) visit Doongerwadi has already stunned most of our community members.

It is also shocking that the present chairman saw no merit in the opposition shown by the orthodox. In view of his stance not to withdraw permission for non Parsis to tour Doongerwadi or at least restrict them only upto the pavilion (which ultimately only Trustee Viraf Mehta managed to achieve) but also allow non Parsis to tour all open spaces in Doongerwadi speaks volumes of his orthodoxy claims. Yazdi has joined hands with hardcore known reformist Kersi Randeria and Zareer Bhathena who desecrated Lalbaug Agiary, just to win his election which he could never have without their support and now it is payback time for the Reformist to extract to further their Reformist Agenda by using Yazdi Desai.

By conducting tours of our holy lands of Doongerwadi admeasuring over 55 acres, we will be unnecessarily drawing attention of other communities who have less than 10 % of areas for their cemetery in South Mumbai and the consequent threat of acquisition proceedings from politicians for our lands to appease this large vote bank. As it is, in mofussil area where Parsis have diminished substantially, other communities have approached the Collector to requisition our Parsi Aramgahs for their community use and the same situation would get repeated here if we continue to expose our land to non Parsis and do not stop this tours by non-Parsis of our cemetery lands once and for all .

Respectfully Yours

Dr. Viraf J. Kapadia

The Global Working Group brings together representatives of Federations in the diaspora. The GWG met in Hongkong on 15 and 16 December. As per tradition, the meeting was presided by the host Federation Chair which this year was Mr Neville Shroff of Hongkong. The meeting coincided with the AGM of the WZCC which was also graciously hosted by Hongkong. The GWG regretted the absence of any representative from the BPP though Mr Farokh Rustomji from FPZAI was indeed participating.

The GWG discussions took on from the previous meeting in December 2015 at Udvada which preceded the  landmark 1st Iranshah Udvada Utsav. In retrospect the GWG consensus was that the 1^st IUU had been a great success and congratulations were tendered to the Organising Team led by Vada Dasturji Khurshed. The GWG looks forward to the next IUU scheduled for 23 and 24 December 2017. Mr Dinshaw Tamboly briefed the GWG about preparations and the progress in the regeneration of Udvada, with help from the dynamic Central Minister Mrs Smriti Irani. The GWG welcomed the proposal to establish a Museum in Udvada as a milestone towards regeneration. Mrs Meher Bhesania was delegated with progressing this idea, based on suggestions received from the Prime Minister himself and Mrs Irani and the help and encouragement coming from that direction. There was also a suggestion to examine if the museum could be established in Mumbai rather than in Udvada but the balance of logic was in favour of Udvada – considering the cost of land in Mumbai. The Museum Project would be developed in conjunction with Dasturji Khurshed and Mr Tamboly while calling upon the technical expertise of Dr Shernaz Cama, Mrs Pheroza Godrej and Mrs Firoza Mistree.

A proposal to enable overseas Anjumans and Donors to donate in each case One Year’s supply of Kathi to Agiaries that require such assistance was also taken up.

The GWG received an update on preparations for the 11^th World Congress to be hosted in Perth, Australia – from Mr Firoz Pestonji and Mr Jimmy Medhora on behalf of the Organising Committee. Details will be released in due course by the Organisers.

The GWG has appointed a committee to handle the 11^th WZC Awards programme

The GWG has also appointed a committee to select the venue for the 12^th World Zoroastrian Congress

The GWG also decided that Mr Yazdi Tantra will expand the portal Zoroastrians.net to disseminate information on Demographics, Opportunities, Activities and related Developments worldwide and the Regional Federations will publicize this portal to their memberships. This should ensure a Single Window of Information.

It was mooted that GWG should appoint an Administrator to oversee progress on its decisions and be a central point for communications. Initially Mr Neville Shroff of Hongkong was requested to take up this assignment subject to the agreement of the Hongkong Board.

The GWG has initiated the following sub-committees with individuals charged with reporting their work;

Women    Mrs Behroze Daruwalla and Mrs Katayun Kapadia

Youth        Mr Arzan Sam Wadia

Resettlement and Information   Each Region to appoint one Coordinator and report the name within the next 30 days

Arts & Culture   Mrs Meher Bhesania

Education    Mr Farokh Rustomji

As regards Entrepreneurship, it was felt the WZCC was the right forum to progress this initiative. Subsequently several members and well wishers have continued this dialogue and will be taking forward initiatives to Change the mindset of Zoroastrian youth and more importantly their parents towards Risk Taking.

The GWG reiterated the view that it was most important for leaders and in particular elected officers from the diaspora to meet and talk periodically because the contacts and frienships that are made in such interaction serve dramatically to improve relations and tackle problems.

Neville Shroff and his team were profusely thanked for their hospitality and for hosting these twin events with great warmth and professionalism.

Further details can be obtained by the media from Dorab Mistry, Dinshaw Tamboly, Homi Gandhi or Rohinton Rivetna.

Many thanks and best regards

Dorab Mistry OBE

dorab.mistry@godrejinternational.com

It is no exaggeration to say that Parsis, the Zoroastrians of India, take their food seriously – very seriously.

Love of good food and drink plays a central, oftentimes quirky, role in nearly every aspect of our culture.

When our babies sit upright for the first time, we celebrate by making them sit on top of laddoos (Indian sweet). At Parsi weddings, the clarion call of jamva chaloji (let’s eat!) has a hypnotic appeal.

In its pursuit of attaining its goals to promote Entrepreneurship and Professionalism, WZCC’S venue for this year’s Global Meet was Hong Kong – strategically located at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta in Southern China, with its lush green hill slopes, secluded beaches, leisurely rural landscape and rocky shoreline. The Global Meet was held from Friday,16 to Sunday 18, December 2016 and was attended by not only the Global Zarathushtis but also the Zarathushti diaspora from Hong Kong. The gathering was indeed of an International flavor. This was the first time a major Global Zoroastrian event was held in Hong Kong.

The Event was a great success and this was only possible because WZCC received tremendous support from the Hong Kong Anjuman led by its President, Mr. Neville Shroff, his wife Farida and his team of Trustees – Ms Dilnavaz Daver, Mr. Viraf Parekh, Mr. Rustom Jokhi and Mr. Homiar Poonawalla and of course, the Hong Kong Zoroastrian Community. The proceedings started on Friday 16, with a Pre-AGM meeting at the Zoroastrian Building followed by dinner hosted by the Hong Kong Anjuman. Mr.Sam Balsara and Mr. Mickey Mehta
graced the evening with interesting words of wisdom.

On Saturday 17the AGM proceedings, was again at the Zoroastrian Building. In his opening address, Mr. Edul Daver, who completed one year as the Global President mentioned about the new Board’s objective to make all Regions more inclusive and improve Global communication. He made it clear that all Directors need to participate in the working of their Regions / Chapters and make them successful. He informed the gathering that two new Chapters had joined the WZCC fold – Bangalore (India) and Florida (USA). He further identified other objectives which were in the offing such as a new improved Website, formation of a Business Fund and the increased focus on Young Adult involvement. Future major event announcements included:

(a) A Business Tourism Trip to Iran is tentatively being scheduled for October 1-10, 2017
(b) The 2017 Global AGM was awarded to Bangalore, India and is scheduled for December 15-17, 2017.
(c) WZCC will be playing an active part in the 11WZC , June 1-4, in Perth, Australia.

The formal proceedings were then conducted by the Corporate Secretary, Mr. Adi Siganporia and member of the International Board. This was followed by presentations from various Directors, who spelled out the immense opportunities for Zoroastrian Youth to launch out into business and professions in various fields.

The scene then shifted to the Panel discussion, the Moderator being Mr. Neville Shroff and the topic – “The Impact of Doing Business in a Globally Volatile & Political Environment – The
Challenges & Opportunities in Shaping Business Success”. The Panelists were – Mr. Siavosh Kaviani -Iran, Mr. Arzan Sam Wadia-USA, Mr. Jehaan Kotwal-India, Ms. Thrity Kenny-Hong Kong, Mr. Rasheed Shroff-Hong Kong, Mr. Danny Khursigara-Hong Kong.

The moderator, Neville Shroff, initiated the discussions, with strong opening remarks that it will be a challenging year for business in general, and that Technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace, and what worked 5 years ago may now be largely obsolete. He mentioned that businesses today are facing a continually evolving landscape, with regulatory changes imposing a strain on doing business. This was echoed by one of the panelists Ms Thrity Kenny, who agreed that the increasing compliance and governance issues are causing customers to be frustrated; but at the same time she said that it was absolutely necessary.  Rasheed Shroff found that consumer behavioral changes were motivated by the millennials and that on line shopping was escalating. Arzan Sam Wadia, spoke on utilising his technology skills and incorporating it into architectural splendor.

Neville concluded that what we could take away from the panelists was :

That 2017 will be a year of decisions from the outcome of Geopolitics of Brexit, and from the transactional dynamics of the incoming Presidency of Donald Trump; which will undoubtedly only lead to a higher degree of uncertainty either for the better or worse. And that there will be more of regulation in the financial sectors which is yet to come. This was followed by a sumptuous lunch at the Craigengower Cricket Club, Hong Kong.

Every year, WZCC honours achievers in our Community and present them Outstanding Awards of the year. At this year’s Awards Gala Nite, held at Regal Causeway Hotel, the Guest of Honour was Mr. Nadir Godrej, Managing Director, Godrej Industries Ltd. Mr. Nadir Godrej gave his Keynote Address in a verse form which was so apt as regards WZCC’s Objectives & Mission that one and all gave Mr. Nadir Godrej a standing ovation with a thumping applause.

There were two Chief Guests – Mr. Puneet Agrawal, Indian Consul General in Hong Kong and Mr. Mehdi Fakheri, Iranian Consul General in Hong Kong. There were also two eminent Keynote Speakers from Hong Kong – Mr. Stephen Ng, Chairman & MD of Wharf Holdings and Chairman of Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and Mr. Y. K. Pang, Dy. Chairman of Jardine Matheson & Hong Kong Land Ltd. who spoke very highly of the Parsi Community and gave details of how great Companies in Hong Kong were founded by the Parsis in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Besides these dignitaries, this Event was attended by members from the five continents as well as an impressive contingent from the Hong Kong Zoroastrian Community.
The whole Awards Ceremony Nite was ably conducted by Chairperson, ‘WE’ Sub-Committee, International Board – Ms Behroze Daruwalla. Ms Behroze Daruwalla announced the Awardees as follows :

1.Outstanding Zarathushti Entrepreneur of the Year 2016

Ms. Delna Bhesania – Canada

CEO & Co-Founder of Bardel Entertainment Inc.

The Award was conferred for her entrepreneurial zeal, pioneering efforts, commitment and vision in the field of animation.

2.Outstanding Zarathushti Professional of the Year 2016

There were two Winners.

Dr. Arnavaz Havewala – India (Co-Winner)

She was awarded for remarkable Professionalism and high commitment towards providing superior and innovative Dental Solutions

Mr. Arzan Sam Wadia – USA (Co-Winner)

He was awarded for displaying rare professional qualities in collaborative Designs & Architecture Projects and also in the Field of Digital Media and Information Technology.

3. Outstanding Young Zarathushti Entrepreneur/Professional of the Year 2016

Mr. Hanoz Tarapore – India

He was awarded for achieving excellence in higher education and his ability to plan, process, connect & leverage relations across multiple geographies.

After the Awards Ceremony, the guests partook of a sumptuous dinner organized by the Regal Hongkong Hotel. But wait, the party was not yet over. All those present were treated to a magical entertainment. The magic was provided by Ms Zeenia Bhumgara (Merlin Award Winner) and her father, Mr Mhelly Bhumgara who is a Magician as well as a Mentalist. The dignitaries and the other guests were absolutely stupefied by this magical program which fascinated them and was
very well appreciated.

This remarkable event ended with a Vote of Thanks delivered by the Corporate Secretary, Mr. Adi B. Siganporia, who thanked the Hong Kong Anjuman Trustees and the Hong Kong Zoroastrian Community for their immense support and presence. He also thanked the Regal Hongkong Hotel, the advertisers in our magazine – SynergyZ and also Parsiana Executives who had come all the way to Hong Kong to cover the Event and many other well-wishers of WZCC.

Finally, on Sunday 18th the group took in the sights of Hong Kong along with valuable informal net working and ended with a dinner cruise of Hong Kong Bay.
We again thank the Hong Kong Anjuman and Community for making the 2016 AGM a truly productive and memorable event.

The above report was sent via email by WZCC. All photos courtesy Jasmine Driver (Parsiana)

Zephyr Khambatta is a Singaporean singer, rapper, songwriter, record producer, actor, model and host who also plays the drums.

An engineering dropout from the National University of Singapore, it did not take long before Khambatta topped various classes at LASALLE College of the Arts across music and performing art disciplines. A creative force to be reckoned with, Khambatta most recently featured in Eric Khoo’s In The Room (2015), Mediacorp Channel 5’s Tanglin (2016) and launched “More”, his 1st single on 4th December 2015, [ ~ 6000 views on YouTube ]. His 2^nd single “Sail Away” released 3^rd December 2016, met with positive reviews across the Singapore music scene, and is set to be the song for his first official music video in 2017.

After graduation with a BA (Hons) Music and starting as an intern at Prime Focus World in 2013, Khambatta provided input on the final mix sessions for Nikhil Advani’s film D-Day (2013). In 2014, Khambatta composed and produced the music for and featured a rap performance in Ministry of Funny’s song and YouTube video, Snapback, [ > 40,000 views on YouTube ].

In 6 short years in entertainment, his body of work also includes performing on drums with musical theatre and percussion groups in Singapore, modeling, hosting and teaching drums. Khambatta also won 2nd place in the Band Category at the “IGNITE! Music Festival: Clash of the Bands 2012” competition. In addition to that, he was invited to play drums as part of Urban Drum Crew for “China-Singapore In-Concert 2010” which was screened to 100 million viewers.

Zephyr is currently working on new music for 2017 and on the acting front is working with brands and agencies like HBO, Citibank, HP, Mediacorp Channel 5, and YouTube/Facebook channels JUO Productions and Sure Boh? Singapore. He has previously also been profiled on Mediacorp Vasantham’s TV show, Mudhal Payanam, and in the Singapore papers Today, The Straits Times, Berita Harian etc.

Help Support Zephyr To Reach The Goal Of Making His First Music Video

Sail Away MV – PZAS, Friends and Well-Wishers Fund

Make a donation here

Short Summary

I’m Zephyr Khambatta and I make music for a living.

I have spent the last three years working with countless amateur, semi-professional, and professional musicians, learning about what it takes to produce original music commercially. Before that, I did a 4 year long music degree.

I want to make as much music as I can in my lifetime that talks about life and helps people with their own lives, be it for a moment of dancing happiness, a week of mourning a lost one, or joy/sympathy forever on their travel playlists in their collections.

Donating to my music video(s) will help to crystallise the message I send with each song, and more importantly, reach the under-privileged, or not very well educated people in both developing and under developed countries as a YouTube link can be quite easily pulled up by anyone. Services and apps like Spotify, iTunes etc? Not so much. Even my own maid is a YouTube pro!!!   My aim is to reach everyone, regardless of their social standing or income or knowledge of electronics, and after a large amount of research I think YouTube would be the way (for now at least, till the next big video platform comes along).

Continue here…

Ronnie Screwvala sat cross-legged early last month on the floor of a three-room schoolhouse here in Nate, a village about 100 miles from Mumbai, the city of his birth where he built a billion-dollar media conglomerate. Watching a group of children playing with colorful educational games, Mr. Screwvala, a boyish-looking 54-year-old, appeared as wide-eyed and engaged as the students.

By PERRY GARFINKEL, NY Times 

Ronnie Screwvala in 2013. A wealthy entrepreneur, he has committed himself to elevating the people of rural India.

A few minutes later he addressed about 30 teenagers from the Cathedral and John Connon School, a prestigious Mumbai private school that is his alma mater. The students were visiting the school in Nate to witness the work of the Swades Foundation, the nonprofit group that Mr. Screwvala and his wife, Zarina, founded with a large chunk of the money they received from the 2012 sale of his business, the UTV Group, to the Walt Disney Company. The transaction was valued at $1.4 billion.

The foundation’s mission seems virtually impossible. It aims to lift one million villagers in Maharashtra State out of poverty within six years, and then help them build better lives.

The foundation currently concentrates on a cluster of about 2,000 villages in the state’s Raigad District, a total of 110,000 households and more than half a million people. It offers school-based educational support and teaching tools, health and nutrition programs, water and sanitation projects and agricultural and job training.

“We’re applying all the same models we used to build our company,” Mr. Screwvala said, noting that the foundation carefully quantifies the success or failure of its initiatives, making adjustments along the way.

Because Swades is independently financed, he said, “we have the advantage of starting up projects without delay under our own steam.”

In its latest website update, posted on Nov. 30, the foundation listed the accomplishments since 2013 of its 300 full-time specialists and professionals and 1,300 community volunteers.

In the area of water supply and sanitation, Swades says it has built 10,889 toilets for individual homes and 733 water storage structures that provide drinking water to 82,109 people.

For its work on health and nutrition issues, the foundation notes the formation of 1,863 self-help groups, training for 1,059 community health workers, vision tests for 177,123 people, the distribution of 32,500 free pairs of eyeglasses and 5,873 free cataract operations.

The foundation says it also has trained 4,895 teachers and principals, offered computer and English literacy classes to 36,000 students and awarded scholarships to more than 2,500.

And it claims to have introduced 20,000 farmers to new farming technologies, planted thousands of mango and cashew trees and set up 1,411 people with dairy cows and 1,214 others with poultry for eggs and meat.

The Screwvalas say they hope to raise a generation of socially conscious middle-class Indians, and perhaps the next wave of Indian entrepreneurs.

“You have the means and the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than you,” Mr. Screwvala told the Cathedral and John Connon students. “Get involved in social activism.”

A half-hour later, Mr. Screwvala walked through a small cashew processing plant in the village of Nate Khind. Swades — the name means “one’s own country” — supports 20 such cashew processing units and hopes to expand to 100.

While several women separated the nuts from the shells by hand, about 30 cashew farmers and processors eagerly asked for his advice and help. But he was more interested in what they had to say, asking them questions and listening intently to their concerns.

Their biggest obstacle is securing bank loans to expand production, they said. The bank wants collateral, but the villagers have only cashews to offer, which the bank will not accept. The villagers asked if Mr. Screwvala would lend them the money.

“But that will perpetuate your dependence on me,” he responded, offering to meet with the local loan officer instead.

“If we get the message across, even all those women shucking shells can become entrepreneurs once these processing plants get so big they run out of space,” he said later. “The women could suggest becoming independent contractors, processing from their homes, even hiring other women.”

As the day went on, he met with others involved in Swades-supported projects: farmers developing new crops; young people studying at a skills training center; a chicken farmer; and people at a newly built water tank and a mobile eye-examination van.

On the drive back to Mumbai, he conceded that the foundation’s goal of reversing the centuries-old problems of rural India was enormously ambitious. But the Screwvalas are no strangers to disrupting the status quo.

Mr. Screwvala — his full name is Rohinton Soli Screwvala — has been disrupting the Indian market for 35 years. He started Network, a cable company, in the wide-open frontier days of television in India, when the only station was the government-run Doordarshan. The UTV Group, founded in 1990, gave the country its first reality show, its first talk show, its first daily soap opera, its first home shopping network and its first channel for children. UTV’s ventures expanded to include video games, motion pictures and new-media businesses.

Mr. Screwvala’s movies were not filled with Bollywood’s typical song-and-dance sequences. Among his first was “Rang De Basanti,” a fact-based 2006 production about a British documentary filmmaker making a movie about Indian freedom fighters.

After the 2012 Disney deal, and a 10-day family vacation to New Zealand, the Screwvalas got right back to work.

In addition to forming Swades, he has started an online education company, a sports development company and a new film production company, and he has assembled a venture capital portfolio of about 15 businesses.

With Swades, the Screwvalas are once again at the forefront of a movement, this time in corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. Though India is among the countries with the most billionaires in the world, it has a poor history of philanthropy.

Last year, the Singapore-based Hurun Research Institute ranked Mr. Screwvala eighth among India’s philanthropists; Swades plans to allocate $113 million over the next five years.

“We’d already started a small nonprofit called Share in 2000,” said Ms. Screwvala, sitting at her writing desk in the couple’s apartment in Mumbai. The name is an acronym for Society to Heal, Aid, Restore, Educate. “We were doing good works, but one day Ronnie came to me and said, ‘Let’s lift a million people out of poverty.’ The idea was breathtaking. This was shortly after the Disney acquisition and I was wondering myself what to do next.”

A petite woman with an infectious enthusiasm, she spoke passionately about the lessons she was learning with Swades. “We did a lot of research, talking to leading experts, before we launched,” she said. “Everyone admired our ambition but told us we would fail. When someone tells us we will fail, it only strengthens our resolve. It’s been the most difficult work I’ve ever done, the hardest part being changing mind-sets and building aspiration among poor people.”

Ms. Screwvala said she was inspired to take on the challenge in part by a quotation from the ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi that seemed to speak directly to her: “When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”

Indian American attorney Firdaus Dordi, a former public defender and co-founder of the Dordi, Williams, Cohen law firm, has been appointed by California Governor Jerry Brown to the Los Angeles Superior Court.

Article by Sunita Sohrabji | India West

Dordi is the nation’s first Zoroastrian judge, according to the South Asian Bar Association. He is the fifth South Asian state court judge in Los Angeles, Calif.

“I’m very thrilled to have the opportunity to serve in this capacity, serving the public to promote fairness,” Dordi, 46, told India-West.

“As an immigrant, I have always felt very fortunate in what my family and I have been given by this country. This is a wonderful opportunity to give back to the community,” he said, adding that he has focused his career on assisting people who would otherwise not have access to the legal system.

“I am fascinated by the principles of fairness in this country, and hope to ensure that the rule of law governs in every case,” he said.

On Jan. 18, Asian Americans Advancing Justice’s Los Angeles chapter will honor Dordi with their annual award for pro bono work. Laboni Hoq, litigation director at AAAJ, told India-West: “I want to call this a lifetime achievement award for all of Firdaus’ pro bono assistance.”

“Firdaus will never say no, despite his busy schedule and family life,” said Hoq. “He is a lovely generous person: that definitely shows in his work.”

Dordi served as a public defender for more than 14 years in the Central District of California before establishing his firm in 2014. As a public defender, he would frequently reach out to AAAJ when his clients needed “wrap-around” services, noted Hoq.

The organization now reaches out to Dordi primarily for human trafficking cases, in which a victim is often caught up in being part of the criminal activity in the trafficking scheme. “He will always work through the tricky criminal issues with me,” said Hoq.

The South Asian Bar Association of Southern California Public Interest Foundation honored Dordi in 2014 with its Public Interest Award. Last year, SABA-SC again honored Dordi with its 2016 Mentor of the Year award.

Vikas Bhargava, president of SABA-SC, told India-West: “Firdaus was an obvious choice for the award.”

SABA-SC launched its mentorship program about a decade ago, and revamped it last year to promote greater interaction between a mentor and mentee, said Bhargava, noting that – formerly – the mentor/mentee relationships would fall off after about a month.

“Firdaus was amazing in helping his mentee along,” said Bhargava, noting that SABA-SC was able to pair Dordi with a fledgling attorney interested in criminal justice issues.

Last year, SABA-SC wrote a letter to Governor Brown’s office to advocate for a judgeship for Dordi, according to Bhargava, who noted that Dordi has been active with the South Asian community for more than 15 years.

Dordi has volunteered extensively with the South Asian Network, and – while there – advocated for alternative sentencing for the perpetrator of a hate crime against three South Asian victims. “He advocated for restorative justice rather than punishment,” said Bhargava, noting that the sentence allowed the perpetrator to learn about the South Asian American community, with the aim of not repeating his crime.

Dordi earned a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has not yet begun to serve, and has not yet been assigned to a court.

Parsis are the followers of the ancient Zoroastrian religion, whose ancestors settled in Indian 1,000 years ago to escape persecution in Iran (erstwhile Persia) that had turned Islamic. They brought along their tradition of leaving the dead exposed in the open for scavenging birds to feed on.

Of the 138,000 Zoroastrians left in the world, 80% live in India. This small but prosperous Indian Parsi (for people from Persia) community remained a torchbearer for the Zoroastrians, preserving unique rituals including sky burial.

Parsis believe exposing corpses to scavenging birds and the sun ensured the sacred elements of earth, fire and water are saved from pollution by decaying flesh. The Parsis consider land and water to be sacred and they must not be “polluted” with a dead body.

However, like all other cultures across the world, the Parsis are also trapped between conservatism and modernism. As a result, Liberal Parsis of Navsari, Gujarat, have now decided that members of the community would be given the option between a earth and sky burial.

The foremost reason is the dwindling population of vultures in and around the Damkhas (tower of silence, the sky burial site). India has four towers of silence. These structures mainly comprise three circular wells — one each for children, men and women – where dead are placed for the vultures to feed on. However, India’s vulture population has steadily declined and has been replaced by ravens and kites. Therefore, bodies take longer to deflesh (excarnate) and the towers of silence tend to contain partially decomposed bodies.

It was initially presumed that vultures were disappearing due to the mushrooming of concrete jungles. However, some research has suggested that vultures were dying of kidney failure after consuming the carcasses of cattle that has been treated with a banned drug Diclofenac In the past 15 years, India’s vulture population has declined by a whopping 99 per cent. There are currently about 100,000 vultures left in India, compared with 40 million in the 1980s.

Some years ago, one of the towers of silence introduced panels to dehydrate the bodies as the sight and smell of the decaying flesh had caused considerable debate and concern. Conservatives in the community had viewed this step as a violation of Zoroastrian tenets and demanded that vultures be reintroduced into the towers.

The Indian Government is also worried because vultures play an important role in maintaining the ecological balance in a country largely dependent on farming and lacking in modern techniques for disposal of cattle carcasses.

The Indian government introduced an ambitious project last year to restore the vulture population. The government hopes the program will restore India’s vulture population to 40 million in the next decade.

Zoroastrianism, at 3,500 years old, is one of the world’s oldest religions. Its practitioners worldwide follow the teachings of the Prophet Zarathustra as well as ritual practices that have come down from Sassanian times.

Parsis in England, Africa, Singapore and other places bury their dead in specially lined graves and even in Iran, the dakhmas are in disuse.

Women were an important part of the ‘60s change. Nargis Wadia didn’t want to be an air-hostess or secretary, and her mother refused to let her become a teacher or doctor. “So she sent me to JJ College to do commercial art, and from there I got into advertising” says Wadia. In 1955 she joined Shilpi, an agency managed by the poet Nissim Ezekiel. But then Air India, the most dynamic Indian client of the period, advertised for creatives for their in-house department, and she got in – the attraction being, she says, “that after a year you got free tickets!”

Wadia went to London and worked in agencies there for a while before returning, to face the same problem that Sylvester had of finding a job. “I felt I deserved a salary of Rs1,000, and I had to settle for Rs750 from Lintas.” But the agency bored her. It was mostly Levers work, at its least imaginative, and not even much of that. As Alyque Padamsee, who worked with her, recalled in his biography, “Ads ran unchanged for many many years. In a campaign you might have two or three ads maximum. Six was unheard of…”

Like innumerable Lintas employees down the years, Wadia found most of her time going in making Levers presentations. “It was all just lettering, which I hated, but the good thing was that by doing it I read the presentations, and learned about marketing!” On the basis of this unorthodox training, Wadia quit to set up a design studio that, rather to her surprise, morphed into an agency. Interpub was the first agency run by a woman, and which employed a lot of women, and it was an instant hit, especially with Indian clients.

Wadia admits that some of them were, “well, yucky… they wanted me to introduce them to models.” There was no question of this, of course (and, for good measure, Wadia says all models those days were accompanied by their mothers!), but Wadia had to deflect them politely: “I had to remember that I had 20 people in the agency depending on such billings.” This is just the sort of game that Mad Men shows women having to play, asserting themselves, but never confrontationally, since it was still so much of a man’s world.

But the good thing was, for all the problems, the opportunities were there for those who hadn’t had them before. If the ‘60s gave bosses like Wadia a chance, she was also able to give others a chance too, even if they didn’t have the connections the foreign agencies needed. Wadia prides herself on the many who trained with Interpub, like erstwhile JWT creative director Ivan Arthur, and a more recent one, Agnello Dias. “I was so moved when he called me from Cannes, just after he won a Golden Lion,” she says.

Beyond the opportunities though the presence of women had a symbolic importance. In the ‘60s it was perhaps the only industry where they worked alongside men in anything like equality, and this gave it a cosmopolitan allure. Adding to this was the lifestyle – at the clubs, for example, that were part of Gerson’s covenant, with previously British only establishments like the Bombay Gymkhana now admitting Indians. There were less formal options too. Just like the jazz clubs of Mad Men, the Bombay of that era had some which Gerson remembers fondly: “Volga, Ali Baba, The Other Room at the Ambassador Hotel and The Little Hut at the Ritz…. For a meal too there were excellent places like Gourdon’s, but the real ad hangout was Bombellis.”

The above excerpt is part of a larger article. You can read the entire piece on Times of India

President of France François Hollande bestows the prestigious National Order of Merit on Zubin Karkaria

Zubin Karkaria, CEO – VFS Global, and CEO – Kuoni Group, was appointed ‘Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite’ (Knight of the National Order of Merit) by the President of the French Republic, François Hollande.

The prestigious French award was conferred on Mr. Karkaria by H.E. Mr Alexandre Ziegler, Ambassador of France to India, on behalf of President Hollande, at a ceremony at The Taj Mahal Palace, in Mumbai, India, on 02 December 2016.

The distinction recognises Mr. Karkaria’s exemplary contributions in developing France as a tourist destination through leisure travel and the management of visa services across the world. Having pioneered the concept of visa process outsourcing in 2001 with the launch of VFS Global, Mr. Karkaria has contributed to the increased inbound tourism into France. VFS Global today serves the Government of France through 52 Visa Application Centres in 19 countries around the globe.

The French Government distinction ‘Ordre National du Mérite’ (National Order of Merit) was instituted in 1963 by General Charles de Gaulle. It is awarded for distinguished services rendered in public, civil, military posts, or a private profession.

Speaking about Mr. Karkaria’s achievements, His Excellency Alexandre Ziegler, Ambassador of France to India, said, “France is proud to be the top global tourist destination, as well as a fast-growing destination for the Indian traveller. Over 5 lakh Indian visitors chose France last year and we want to welcome many more. It is an honour to confer the Ordre national du Mérite on Mr. Karkaria who played a stellar role in this success in conceiving the visa facilitation system and promoting France as a travel destination, thus contributing to developing people-to-people contacts between France and India.”

Commenting on the recognition, Mr. Karkaria said, “I am deeply honoured and humbled to be judged worthy of receiving this recognition from the Honourable President of France. I have always believed in the enormous potential France has as a destination, and over the years, it has been my privilege to work with Atout France, France’s Tourism Development agency, and many other stakeholders from the travel fraternity in promoting and facilitating travel to this beautiful country. I am grateful to the Government of France and Atout France for the trust they have placed in the Kuoni Group and in VFS Global, and of course, to all our employees for their engagement and passion to deliver first-class services every day. This recognition is truly inspirational for me and our team to aim higher in our commitment to excellence in developing travel and tourism to France.”

Mr. Karkaria, who has been a part of the travel industry for more than 25 years, established visa processing multinational VFS Global in 2001. In 2015, he became the first Asian to head the Switzerland headquartered Kuoni Group, VFS Global’s parent company.

Morgan Freeman tells the origins of three major world religions in the second season of The Story of God

by Elisa Meyer, worldreligionnews.com

National Geographic, known for its matter-of-fact scientific shows now has a different type of program in its second season, The Story of God. This move was done presumably to increase its market share. The program has succeeded to cultivate a certain gravitas concerning its subject. It has done so even without an in-depth investigation of the true reverence of any believer. It also avoided the mockery of faith on a rationalist basis. It helped that the channel chose Morgan Freeman as the lead actor and narrator in the series.

Freeman is natural to this role. He has an innate warmth which draws people to him and listen to what he says. To many in the audience, it is nearly a breach of reverence to refuse. The sonorous voice celebrates the basic unity of the religious experience. The audience quickly becomes the connoisseur of wonder.

In the second season of The Story of God, Freeman, the Academy Award winning actor, makes a bold claim. He says all three major religions of the globe today- Judaism, Islam and Christianity, drew their tenets from one another and another more ancient religion – Zoroastrianism. The latter is considered to be one of the oldest faiths in human history.

In an interview, Freeman has clarified the beliefs and principles which he believes the three religions imported from Zoroastrianism. He also told the interviewer how religion has impacted his personal life. He recalled the faith acquired during his life journeys. The 79-year-old actor admitted that although he gained knowledge, Zoroastrianism has impacted him the most. He continued on to say that the three tenets of this religion are the good thoughts, good deeds and good words. He said that he-and almost all religious people- strive for that. Put in such a perspective, believers of the three major religions are believers of Zoroastrianism.

According to Zoroastrianism, there is only one supreme, universal and transcendent God, the Ahura Mazda or “Wise Lord.” If one goes by Encyclopedia Britannica, the religion once flourished in Iran, but now it barely survives in that country. Zoroastrianism is now much stronger in India.

The initial three episodes made for the second season will be about a number of themes, “The Chosen One,” “Heaven and Hell” and the “Proof of God.”

Education is very crucial, but the lack of it should not be an obstacle to chasing your dream. Engineering dropout Jimmy Mistry has always been a firm believer in self-learning and on-the-job training. He started out as a designer when he was just 19, without any formal degree in design and architecture.

by Aparajita Choudhury, yourstory.com

Talking about his journey as a desinger, Jimmy attributes his stint as an importer with an Italian design firm as the one that gave him a real understanding of design. Today, 45-year-old Jimmy has more than 25 years of experience in architecture and interior design. Says Jimmy,

Jimmy Mistry, Principal Designer and MD, Della Group

I believe in self-teaching. Hence, I never hesitate to take risks as I know that I will learn what is needed to achieve success. Even today when I venture into a new business, I self-teach myself everything that is required for that business to succeed.”

The beginnings

Jimmy set out on his entrepreneurial journey in 1991 with Mistry Pest Control with just Rs 20,000. His passion for architectural design led him to start The Design Centre in 1993, an interior design firm. He then expanded into the office furniture space in 1995 with Tecnica Office Systems Pvt Ltd, and opened a modular office furniture factory in Nagpur.

Then in 1996, Jimmy set up the first Italian furniture showroom in Mumbai, which housed residential and office furniture. The same year, Jimmy and his team also organised the first ever Italian Furniture Exhibition in Nehru Centre, Mumbai showcasing 27 Italian companies.

In 1998 and 1999, Jimmy opened showrooms in Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai, and the first International showroom in Dubai. In 1999, the brand name was changed from Tecnica to Della Tecnica Office Systems Pvt Ltd.

“I started on my own way back in 1991. And then I hired two people for my small pest control company that I used to run. Today, we have 1,500 employees across businesses such as manufacturing, resorts, adventure park, data, and real estate,” says Jimmy.

In 2000, Jimmy ventured into the turnkey interior business when he won a project from Star India to remodel the Star News building in Mumbai. The defining moment for Jimmy came in 2008 with luxury second homes project, which laid the foundation for Della Adventure Resorts and Spa.

Della Adventure Resort Lounge

Since Jimmy fancied good food and Michelin starred restaurants across the world, he always wanted to get into the hospitality business. The opportunity came with the recession in 2009; the slowdown forced Jimmy to shift focus from commercial designing to hospitality and he started Della Adventure.

Like all other businesses squished by the slowdown, Jimmy also had to downsize the number of employees from 1,300 to 600.

Investments so far

Mumbai-based Della Group was ISO 9001 and 14001 certified for Quality Systems and Environmental Management in 2002.

Jimmy pumped Rs 250 crore into his real estate and construction business as he wanted to be in the niche luxe segment of signature villas.

After the success of signature villas, Jimmy turned his attention to the adventure business. Della Adventure Park, located in Lonavla near Mumbai, boasts facilities such as adventure, camp stay, banquets for corporate events, and a picturesque locale for a dream wedding.

Talking about funding and investments, Jimmy says the best way to fund a business is to plough what you earn back into the business. He believes that the most secured investment one can do is in oneself. This comes as a refreshing change from today’s startup funding scenario, where businesses keep looking for investors to invest in them.

No dearth of talent

Jimmy’s long stint in the field of design and architecture has ensured that his businesses have always attracted talent in large numbers. Today, Della Group employs 1,500 people and has a pan-India presence with sales offices in Gurgaon, Ahmedabad, Surat, and Baroda.

Della Luxury Resort

The group’s revenue in the last fiscal year was close to Rs 100 crore and it is projected to be Rs 140 crore in the current fiscal. Says Jimmy:

“We are expanding the number of villas, banquet halls, resort rooms, and suites to accommodate the growing numbers of visitors. We are also coming up with Della stores which will offer everything under the interior and furnishing space.”

As part of its expansion plans, Della Group is also looking at opportunities to forge land JVs in Delhi, Bengaluru, Indore, and Goa with potential partners.

Website: Della Group

FEZANA’s highest award is The Lifetime Achievement Award which recognizes a highly-respected North American Zarathushti, who through his/her personal achievements and meritorious service has brought recognition to the Zarathushti community worldwide. On the occasion of the 30th Anniversary Celebration, FEZANA is honored to announce that Ervad Dr. Jehan Bagli has been awarded this Lifetime Achievement Award.

The award is given to Ervad Dr. Jehan Bagli, a highly respected North American Zarathusti  and a scientific scholar, who through his professional excellence, personal achievements and meritorious community service has brought recognition to the Zarathushti community in North America and the world over. The award will be presented to Ervad Dr. Jehan Bagli at the FEZANA 30th Anniversary and ZAH Legacy Scholarship 10th Anniversary Gala on Saturday, April 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas.  The Gala will take place as part of the FEZANA Annual General Meeting 2017 weekend.

FEZANA Executive

About Ervad Dr. Jehan Bagli

Ervad Dr. Jehan Bagli obtained a Doctorate in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of London, and was the director of research at the Wyeth-Ayerst Research Laboratories in Princeton, NJ until his retirement. He has had over 60 publications and 49 US patents. He became an ordained Zoroastrian priest at age 14, and established the first Zoroastrian publication in North America “Gavashni” in 1974. He was editor of the FEZANA journal for two years.  Dr. Bagli is an accomplished Zoroastrian scholar and researcher.  He was the founding President of the Zoroastrian Association of Quebec (ZAQ) in 1968.  He has been the Chair of the FEZANA Research and Preservation committee since 2000.  Since 2001, Dr. Bagli has been the Chair of the ZSO lecture committee and represents ZSO at the Ontario Multifaith Council.

He has authored and co-authored several books on religious practices.  Invited to speak at North American Zoroastrian congresses and overseas at numerous symposia on religion on a variety of topics- Duality, Rituals, Priesthood, Jashan, Navjote, Fire, Universality, and Judaism as they relate to the Zarathushti Religion.  He has worked on unification of the Zarathushti Calendar.  He used to volunteer at the hospital to help with the needs and comfort of patients in emergency.  In 2015, he represented  FEZANA at the Parliament of World Religions.  He was a panelist for three discussions, Relationship with the divine as manifested by various Faiths, Stewardship of the Environment and The Interfaith Model – does it need tweaking?

In 2017, Ervad Dr. Jehan Bagli will be retiring from FEZANA at age 90.  FEZANA would like to honour and celebrate his life, achievements, contributions and devotion to the Zoroastrian faith.

Mumbai’s Dr Tehemton Erach Udwadia has been conferred with India’s third-highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan. The government announced the list of notable people, who will receive the Padma Awards, on Wednesday.

The 80-year-old surgical gastroenterologist is known as the father of laparoscopy surgery as he was the first to start it in India in 1972. He is also the first surgeon to perform laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the developing world in 1990.

Udwadia had earlier received Padma Shri in 2006 for his contributions to Indian medicine. Udwadia is known for his radiant personality, his passion for teaching and love for students as well as his compassion for patients.

“It is a proud moment not only for him, but all the Indian surgeons. He has been a guiding force for all of us in last 30 years. Not just technological advice, but Udwadia sir has been giving philosophical and psychological support to us. He is the founder president of the Indian Association of Gastrointestinal Endo-Surgeons too,” said Dr Avinash Supe, Dean of KEM Hospital, Mumbai, and a Surgical Gastroenterologist.

He is a practising general surgeon at two Mumbai hospitals, Breach Candy Hospital and PD Hinduja Hospital.

The Padma awards are announced annually on the eve of Republic Day. This year, the President of India has approved conferment of Padma Awards to 89 people from the field of entertainment, literature, sports and art. This year, many personalities from the field of health and medicine have also made it to the list.

Huban A. Gowadia is currently the Acting Administrator of the TSA. She assumed the role after the stepping down of the previous head of TSA at the end of the Obama Presidency.

Huban Gowadia is the Deputy Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration. In addition to guiding implementation of the Administrator’s strategic goals, she oversees the day-to-day operations of TSA. As a proven counterterrorism and security professional, she provides leadership, direction and guidance to further the Administrator’s goals for the agency and assists in determining TSA policies, objectives and priorities.

Dr. Gowadia’s career is rooted in strategic, operational, and interagency experience in homeland security.

Prior to joining TSA, she most recently served as Director of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security where she led DHS’s coordinated efforts to protect the United States from nuclear attack. Under her direction, DHS advanced national nuclear forensics capabilities and coordinated government-wide efforts to enhance worldwide capabilities to detect, analyze and report on nuclear and other radioactive materials that are out of regulatory control.

She also served as Program Executive for DHS’s Science & Technology Directorate, where she led the Countermeasures Test Bed, evaluating next-generation technologies for detecting explosives and nuclear materials, operational requirements and response protocols.

Dr. Gowadia began her federal career with the Federal Aviation Administration in 2000, working on aviation security technologies and policy. When the office transitioned to TSA as the Office of Security Technologies in 2001, she served as Checkpoint Program Manager and after September 11, 2001, she led TSA’s initiative to replace all walk-through metal detectors at airports with enhanced systems.

Dr. Gowadia received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Alabama and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University.

More about Huban

Gowadia was born in 1969 in Mumbai, India. She graduated from the University of Alabama in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Pennsylvania State in 2000. She specialized in fluid mechanics and heat and mass transfer. Her dissertation research dealt with “the scientific background for an explosives detection portal for personnel screening.”

She worked for the Federal Aviation Administration’s aviation security laboratory from 2000 to 2001 as part of the explosives and weapons detection team. The September 11, 2001, attacks had a profound effect on Gowadia. After being appointed DNDO director, she told Crimson White, the University of Alabama campus newspaper, “I would have to say the most impactful and shaping event of my life was Sept. 11. Right then and there learning curves were steepened at an incredible pace.…I realized the words of good mentors at the time, and teammates, because we had to do very difficult things in very short periods of time.”

Shortly after the attacks, Gowadia moved to the Transportation Security Administration, where she worked until 2003 as checkpoint program manager. She then managed Homeland Security’s Science & Technology Countermeasures Test Beds until 2005, when she joined DNDO.

Gowadia moved quickly up the ladder in that agency, starting as assistant director for assessments. In 2007, she became assistant director of the mission management directorate before becoming deputy director of DNDO in 2010. She took over as acting director of the agency in 2012 before being formally appointed as director in 2013.