hamazor - issue 3 2012 · 2020. 12. 7. · hamazor - issue 3 2012 3 f rom the editor toxy cowasjee,...

HAMAZOR - ISSUE 3 2012

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C o n t e n t s

WZO WEBSITE

www.w-z-o.org

PHOTOGRAPHS

Courtesy of individualswhose articles appear inthe magazine or asmentioned

COVER

‘Love Indeed’ PhilippaMinoo Vafadari at thePavillion Theatre,Brighton.Photo: David Churchill

Homi & Feroza Seervai, p43

04 Celebration of a Life - Mehraban Zartoshty - aban rustomji05 WZOs Annual London Seminar07 Zoroastrianism’s influence on Islam - keki bhote09 The Avesta & its language at Oxford University from 1886 to present: Part II - elizabeth tucker12 A critical approach to the Holiness of Chishm-e-Shafa - said reza16 Charles Poston - shahin bekhradnia18 A Classicist Parsi - farrokh vajifdar20 Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE, DE, addresses the House of Lords21 Two Zarathushtis at Thanksgiving Service at St Paul’s22 Chef Cyrus Todiwala prepares luncheon for Her Majesty, The Queen23 Jehangir Sarosh - New Year’s Honour’s List24 Zenobia - sam kerr27 Parsi History in danger - dinyar patel30 The Maharaja Exhibition & the silver carriage of Pestonjee Press - nazneen spliedt32 Our sacred city of Udvada36 A 13-year old mobed tells his story - dinshaw magol38 Young Doctor writes his first medical book39 The Parsi-Zarathushtis & the American Encounter! - shahrokh mehta43 Homi & Feroza Seervai - sheryar ookerjee47 Philippa Minoo Vafadari - soonu engineer50 The Z Factor - adrian locher53 Ratan Tata receives Lifetime Achievement Award53 Ashvans: A legacy of leadership54 She seeks to humanise education - freny manecksha57 Zia Mandviwalla walks the Red Carpet - farida master60 The First Zarathushti International Day of Service - khushnuma driver & behrose taraporewalla62 The Russian School of Piano in Geneva - yasmine jhabvala63 Simran Shaikh’s Story - anahita mukherji

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In loving memory of my son Cyrus Happy Minwalla

M e m b e r s o f t h e M a n a g i n g C o m m i t t e e

Printed by:A A Graphics1721/31 LAC No 2Karachi 75420Pakistan

Funded by:Happy MinwallaKarachi, Pakistan

Cover design by:Tannaz MinwallaKarachi, Pakistan

Design & layout by:Toxy CowasjeeKarachi, Pakistan

Volume LXIV - Issue 3 2012

Note: WZO’s committee is extensive, these are just a few of the names given for member’s convenience

London, England

Mr Darayus S MotivalaChairmanE-mail: [email protected]

Ms Shahin BekhhradniaPresidentE-mail: [email protected]

Mr SammyBhiwandiwallaMr Shahpur CaptainHon SecretariesE-mail: [email protected]

Mrs Khurshid BKapadiaMembership SecretaryE-mail:[email protected]

Er Jehan BagliMississauga, CanadaE-mail:[email protected]

Mr Dadi E MistryNew Delhi, IndiaE-mail:[email protected]

Mrs Meher AmerseyMumbai, IndiaEmail:[email protected]

[email protected]

Mrs Toxy CowasjeeKarachi, PakistanE-mail:[email protected]

Mr Russi GhadialiSingaporeE-mail:[email protected]

Dasur Kersey AntiaVice PresidentIllinois, USAE-mail:[email protected]

Mr Kayomarsh MehtaPresident, US ChapterIllinois, USAE-mail:[email protected]

The World Zoroastrian Organisation

Mr Rustom YeganegiTehran, IranEmail:[email protected]

Mr Darius MistryAucklandNew ZealandE-mail:


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rom the EditorF

Toxy Cowasjee, 2A Mary Road, Bath Island, Karachi 75530, Pakistan

aAs many of us approach the time for celebration – the Kadmi & Shahenshahi Navroze –Hamazor also celebrates and highlights many achievements of our fellow Zarathushtiswhich have taken place in this quarter.

Nearly every page one will turn in this issue, you will read and feel no doubt a sense ofpride for what these people have achieved, so many who are still in the prime of theirlives which makes it more commendable. Emails keep flying about how great we were inthe past two centuries, which is fine to keep history alive, but I for one look at the future.We have highly educated and committed youth, ready to come forward and share theirexpertise, their enthusiasm – give them a chance to shine!

Our Institutions and Associations especially in the ‘home countries’ are top heavy with persons over60 years of age. Progress and new vision can never be there till room is made for fresh thoughts. Theusual comforting words are repeated till they are believed, that no one comes forward to do their bit,they haven’t got the time etc, but let us dispel that myth.

Time and effort is wasted in rancour and squabbling over petty matters which become at the end of theday full-sized cancers, rather than looking ahead, facing the issues that can be resolved. Grossly neglectedare the aged, the hungry and needy, the wealth of literature, the crumbling edifices and much more, allblinking with a red alert, but firmly pushed under the carpet. The stakes are high and what we need aresolutions for a sustainable future. As so aptly put by the African proverb, “to go fast, go alone: to gofar, go together”.

As FEZANA celebrates their 25th year, they need to be congratulated for constantly looking ahead,involving their youth who have been taught to think about others who are less fortunate, regardless oftheir beliefs. Having been in close contact with this ‘body’ since its inception it never fails to impressme how far they have reached out and achieved. Today as they celebrate in New York, they shouldindeed feel proud having produced thinkers and doers.

We will survive despite shrinking numbers in Parsis, despite Parsi women marrying non-Zoroastrians,despite their children not being accepted, as there will be Zarathushtis shining in the world.

A request for all members of WZO. Please take out a few moments of your time and send yourcurrent email ids to: [email protected] This is the need of the day, so that we can check on themailing addresses which very few bother to update. WZO has to pay for the postage costs which areoverwhelming and at the end of the day its been a waste, if addresses have changed.

Hamazor wishes her readers Navroze Mubarak, and the NA Congress kudos with continued success.

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Celebration of a Life -

Mehraban Zartoshty 1919 - 2012Now a great man rests and the whole of his life is legacy. Shall we laud his benevolentcharities that transformed the lives of Zarthushtis around the world? Or shall weextol his unassuming presence as he earned our respect and recognition he achievedduring his lifetime? Surely we hold up to the light his beloved family and lifelongfriends – leaders and laity among them. For Mehraban Zartoshty always kept hiseyes on the prize— a better world for Zarthushtis. Through the Zaroshty BrothersFoundation, he supported and created a community in the western world that weenjoy today. For that, we owe him our gratitude.

Mehraban, the younger son, was born to Mobed Jamshid Keikhosrow and OstadFarangis in Yazd, Iran. He completed his primary education in Farsi, as well as hisnavar and martab training in Yazd, Iran. He then continued his schooling in Mumbaiat the Bharda New High school and Elphinstone College and returned to Iran withthe outbreak of World War II. Having lost his father at a young age, Mehrabanwas greatly attached to his elder brother Faridoon whom he looked up to withreverence as a guardian and advisor. They developed and expanded an import-export business and manufactured plastic products, artificial leather, and fur.

With the revolution in Iran, Mehraban migrated to London, later to Vancouver,Canada, and subsequently to San Diego, USA. Faridoon stayed on to look afterbusiness in Iran. When his brother passed away in November 2000, Mehrabanwas deeply grieved, and his attachment to his brother continued with the name ofhis brother, which is always listed first in any charitable endowment.

Today the names of Faridoon and Mehraban are synonymous with philanthropy.The focus of his charities has largely been to enrich and preserve the Zoroastrianreligion and ethos, promoting education and well- being of youth, and providingmedical facilities to individuals and hospitals. Mehraban performed religious

ceremonies and managed the Atash Behram of Yazd for more than 30 years. He also established the Council of IranianMobed of North America “Kankash-e- Mobedan” to propagate the teachings of Zarathustra and served as its President forten years.

The charities, which benefit from the donations of the Zartoshty brothers, include the Atash Behram in Yazd, the schoolsand institutions in his beloved Iran, the B D Petit Parsee General Hospital in Mumbai, the Bilimoria Hospital in Panchgani,Dar-e Mehrs for the benefit of the communities in Chicago, Vancouver, San Jose, Houston and Sydney, education scholarshipsIn India and North America, the reprinting and preserving old books at the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute, construction ofthe Pherozeshah Mehta Library Bhavan at Bombay University, Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe, and above all, establishinga chair at the prestigious School for Oriental & African Studies (SOAS) in London.

A man of great compassion and authenticity he made the most of every moment of his life. And every life he touched wasin turn impacted and uplifted – each one possessing equal value in his eyes and each deserving equally of his attention. Heleaves behind a legacy of accomplishment, service and dedication that will continue to inspire and challenge others to usetheir gifts and talents to the fullest. - written by Aban Rustomji

WZO, HAMAZOR and her readers extend their deepest condolences to his wife Paridokht, his daughtersHoma, Vida and Mehrbanu and their families and also to the daughters and families of his brother LateMobed Faridoon. - Ed.

Painting done by daughter Homa Zartoshty, courtesyMehrborzin Soroushian


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Yet another very successful seminarwas hosted by WZO in London andin keeping with WZO’s mission of

making knowledge freely available, it wasopen to all and provided gratis.

The speakers were each extremelyrespected by one another and when DrVesta Sarkhosh Curtis from the BritishMuseum and Dr Ilya Yakubovich fromOxford University (kindly conveyed by hiscolleague Dr Elizabeth Tucker) all heardthat Farrokh Vajifdar was replacing theearlier advertised speaker they made apoint of being there to hear him in the firstsession.

Farrokh was aware ofthe organiser’s interestin the significance andprovenance of thesymbol widely adoptedby Zoroastrians,namely the Fravahar.Having thereforestepped into thebreach at the eleventhhour, he gave anillustrated presentation

of the subject, showing the range of culturalinfluences that have contributed towards theFravahar symbol which is widely wornround the neck and adorns all sorts ofZoroastrian references.

Starting with the purported image of awinged Cyrus found at Pasagardae, heshowed us some Egyptian papyruses wherethe head cover is identical to that of Cyrus,and he offered the view that he believed thecuneiform inscription revealed that sculptureto be an anachronistic piece of propaganda.He also showed the Assyrian sculpturesand bas reliefs which use winged mythicalcreatures whose striking similarities cannotbe disregarded. He also showed severaldepictions where the Frahavar is presentover the bas relief of the Achaemenian

WZOs Annual London Seminar : 12 June 2012Shahin Bekhradnia reports

kings such as those at Behistun, Naqsh eRostam and Persepolis and in each caseaccording to Farrokh, the king’s hand israised in greeting to the Fravahar while aring of sovereignty is being extendedtowards the kings.

It is Farrokh’s firm conviction that thesalutation of the kings can only be to AhuraMazda who is referred to throughout theinscriptions as having influence over theactions and thoughts of the kings, and bywhose grace they hold sovereignty over thenations they have conquered. Along theway Farrokh showed some interestingillustrations of much earlier (2200 BC)sculptural compositions from the ZagrosMountains where the goddess Ishtar,symbol of the supernatural, was extending aring of sovereignty to the king Alubalini asslaves were being led in his presence,which offers a much earlier model for themodified Behistun bas relief.

Although Farrokh mentioned that it wasCambyses who conquered Egypt and was“phaoronised”, he did not dwell upon theidea that it was most probable that from thistime of Egyptian conquest onwards, theinfluence of the Horus figure widely foundthroughout the ancient Egyptianarchaeological remains played a significantrole in transferring the image to theAchaemenian kingdom. Interestingly in theEgyptian rendering of the image, there wasno head figure whereas in Persepolis thereis only one winged Fravahar without a headfigure. What is clear is that the Assyriansused the figure in their seals, and yet thereis no indication either that they recognisedAhura Mazda as a deity nor attributed theimage to that of Ahura Mazda.

Farrokh conceded that it was just possiblethat the Fravahar figure may haverepresented the fravashi of the kings’ancestors, while others in the audienceopined that the symbol may have

The World Zoroastrian Organisation

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represented the Khwarr or divine right torule bestowed upon kings.

Our 2nd speaker Dr IlyaYakubovich is a man ofstaggeringly wide abilities, havingstarted his early life in Moscow asa mathematician, then movinginto linguistics and later writing hisdoctorate in German on HittiteLuvian, (an early Indo Europeanlanguage from Anatolia). Afterthis he branched out into otherIndo European languages

including Sanskrit, Old Persian, Avestanand the later Iranian languages includingParthian, Middle Persian, Sogdian, Bactrianetc. His reputation among Indo-Europeanists is such that he took up a postdoctoral post in Chicago and it has been ourgood fortune that he has spent the past twoyears at Oxford where he has beenteaching these languages to Oxfordstudents. Ilya chose to speak about asubject about which many of us would nothave thought there was any controversy –Were the Achaemenids monarchsZoroastrians?

Ilya examined the evidence fromcontemporary administrative inscriptionsand as part of his argument, raised thepossibility that Mazda worship existed quiteindependently of Zoroaster. He offered thathis role may have been to reaffirm thealready existing worship of Ahura Mazdaand because of his outstanding lyricalqualities Zoroaster’s status was raised tothe originator of the concept.

Through logically presented argumentssupported by credible sources, Ilya gave athoroughly stimulating talk which will beprinted more fully in a later issue ofHamazor.

Dr Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis who iscurator of Middle Eastern Coins at theBritish Museum presented us with ahistory of coins from Iran, starting withthe 6th BC Darics that bore the head ofDarius, made of gold and based on thecoinage of Lydia and indeed

apparently minted there. Thesecarried images or iconography typical ofthat found in contemporary buildings suchas at Persepolis or in the bas reliefs atBehistun, like an archer or a spear holder.Some of the governors or satraps appointedby the kings were allowed to mint their owncoins and on the reverse of one, fromSamaria, one can find a 4-winged creatureholding a ring resonant of the sculpture ofCyrus found at Pasargadae. Others havediverse themes, such as a trireme (resonantof Greek coins) or a royal figure in a chariot.A later coin seems to have deliberatelyborrowed the earlier iconography of wingedfigures to emphasise the divine supportenjoyed by the king.

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Parsis: a People of the Book

The influence of Zoroastrianism onIslam has been deep andwidespread. A long-forgotten book,

dealing at length with undeniable factslinking the Sage of Ancient Iran with theProphet of Islam, is in course of beingreissued to explain, dispel, and correctmisconceptions and mutualmisrepresentations. It is remarkable forbeing written in a wholly favourable light byan Islamic scholar with the sponsored helpand encouragement of highly respectedParsi scholars of the time from the IranLeague in Bombay and Calcutta’s IranSociety.

The author, S M Taher Rezwi, has usedsome of the best, and often unfamiliar,sources from University and Islamiclibraries, with full references. The book isentitled Parsis: a People of the Book. Firstpublished in 1928, having stood the test oftime, it is re-published in a new, correctededition.


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Zby keki bhote

Zoroastrianism’s Influence on IslamThird of a series of articles, how Zoroastrianism influenced other religions.

Doctrinal Highlights of Islam“I created humankind only that they mightworship me””… The Koran.

• The centrality of God, the fixation onGod and the worship of God as thesole purpose of life is the focus ofIslam. Man is but a servant, or

“Abd,” of God, life is lived under thecommand of God and there is nodistinction between this worship andthe wholeness of human existence.

• The Koran, according to Mohammed,is not his words and writings, butthose passed on to him as arevelation from God, through theangel Gabriel. As such, not a wordof the Koran can be changed byhumans.

Early Ties with ZoroastrianismDuring Mohammed’s lifetime, there weredirect ties with the great ZoroastrianSasanian Empire. One important contactwas a Zoroastrian priest, Dastur Dinar, whowas both Mohammed’s teacher and scribe1.He recorded the message the angel Gabrieltransmitted to Mohammed. As a result,Zoroastrians were protected during theprophet’s lifetime – but not later!

Zarathushtra’s impact on Islam was diluted, first by 2,500 years of memoryloss and by the deflective prisms of the two religions’– Judaism andChristianity.

Nevertheless, Zarathushtra’s focus on one high god as creator of the universe,and his passion to uplift the poor found a resonance in the teachings of theprophet Mohammed. Unfortunately, later Zoroastrianism invoked Muslimconcepts, cycled through Judaism and Christianity, of angelology anddemonology, heaven and hell, and judgment day.

• The first pillar of Islam, “the Shahada,”the Islamic code of conduct is basedupon faith. The Shahada repeatedby every Muslim states: “I bearwitness that there is no God but God.I bear witness that Mohammed is theapostle of God.” The Shahadasummons people all over the worldto worship, to strive for goodness andright conduct.

• The second pil lar of Islam, “theSadat,” which is a liturgical prayer, isrecited five times a day, to remindMuslims that they are but worshipfulservants of God.

• The third pillar of Islam is the Zakator alms giving. “Oh you, who believe,perform the Sadat (prayer) and givethe Zakat.” It is the pillar of Muslimsocial action – the duty to share yourwealth with the poor, the needy, thedebtor, the prisoner, the wayfarer –all less fortunate but equally part ofthe worshiping community. It is notthe quantity of charity but the qualityof giving. Discretion is preferred toostentatious giving.

• “The Sharia”– that rigid Muslim lawthat takes precedence over anyconstitution in theocratic Muslim

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countries – is meticulous indetermining the amount of alms to begiven based on one’s possessions,but an annual rate of 2.5% of aperson’s cash balance is the norm.Islam says it is an act of mercy, asmuch to the giver as it is to a recipient.It is a means to atone for sins thatare motivated by self-centeredness orby irresponsible stewardship ofpossessions.”2

• The fourth pillar of Islam is fasting,which is obligatory during daylighthours for the whole month ofRamadan. It is a period in the yearwhen social relationships arereaffirmed, reconciliationsencouraged and the solidarity of thecommunity enhanced. (Theobjective is similar to theZoroastrian Ghambar festivals sixtimes a year, which are not at allpunitive and far more enjoyable.)

• The fifth pillar of Islam is thepilgrimage (or Hajj) to Mecca. It isnot obligatory but is symbolic ofpurification and millions go on the Hajjeach year, with crowds so jam-packed that hundreds are trampledto death.

Doctrinal Differences between Islam andZoroastrianismGenerally, the concepts that unite allreligions are far greater in number andimportance than those that divide them.Unfortunately, Islam could be an exception.

Different Perspectives on MonotheismWhile Islam and Zoroastrianism – as well asChristianity–– have a truly reverent view ofthe heights of monotheism, the Islamic Godis transcendent – ie. beyond the limits ofexperience, whereas Zarathushtra’s AhuraMazda is both transcendent and immanent– within the realm of the mind. The MuslimGod is an all-powerful figure who dominatesevery aspect of a Muslim’s life – from thelatter’s abject submission to a ritual ofworship five times a day and to a rigidconformance to rules and regulations. AMuslim must grovel and bow and lie

prostrate before God. Zarathushtra’s AhuraMazda, on a cosmological level is asunfathomable, but on the human level is anembodiment of love.

Man’s relationship to GodIn Islam man is a slave to God. “Themainspring of its religious life is fear – fearof God, fear of hell, fear of death and fear ofsin.” 3

The Muslim looks upon the Koran toregulate his life.

The Zoroastrian perception of God is notthat of a master-slave but that of a father,brother, friend. He can commune with Goddirectly and not through the interpretation ofsome mullah, as in Islam. He can share hisconcerns, his hopes, his dreams with AhuraMazda in total intimacy.

The Purpose of LifeThe Muslim purpose of life is the worship ofGod – period. Nothing else matters,nothing else is important. The Muslimmoves through life as an automaton with adeadening fatalism, over which he has nocontrol.

The Zoroastrian, by contrast, is a freethinker and doer but guided by God’s gift ofa good mind and sensitive conscience.

Means and EndsIt is unfair to label Islam as a faith whereany means justify the ends? That may notbe its avowed theology but, regrettably, itspractice. Any means, fair or foul, can bepursued in the name of Islam and its spreadand eventual global victory!

Zoroastrianism abhors the use of unethical,deceitful and bad means for a good end.Honesty and truth are instilled into everychild and are a hallmark of a Zoroastriancharacter.

The Call to ActionIslam has a dichotomy when it comes toaction. One path leads to its most admirableinjunction – alms giving and help for thepoor. The other leads to violence and war.

Keki Bhote is a foreigncorrespondent in theMumbai newspapers,journalist and lecturerspecialising in Asia,contributor to the WorldBook Encyclopaedia,member of ABC TVpanel, lecturer on ChicagoCouncil on Global Affairs& UN Assoc., Illinois.He is author of 17 booksand recipient of civichonours from the city ofChicago, UN and USDept., of Defence. Keki’scommunity work on theNorth Shore is extensive.In his professional life, heheads his own company,consulting with over 450companies in 34 countries.He was selected as one ofthe quality gurus ofAmerica.


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“According to the Koran, if one falls in a holywar to spread his faith, his place is securedin heaven with wine and “houri” (beautifulwomen) waiting on him. If one wins, he isentitled to booty and to the women of theenemy.”4

Zarathushtra’s war, as described sopowerfully in the Gathas, is to win over theenemy with persuasion. He asks eachperson to suit up in the fight for economicprosperity, for social welfare, for politicalreform and for environmental rejuvenationof the Earth.

The Schisms in IslamIslam has been buffeted by deep schismsthroughout its 1400 year history.

• The contest between the skeptics ofMecca and the faithful followers of theprophet Mohammed.

• Succession to Mohammed’s throng:his son-in-law, Ali ousted by Abu Bakr,who became the first Caliph.

• The everlasting split between theSunnis and the Shias. Starting withthe murder of Ali’s grandson Hussein– a Shia – the Sunni-Shia feud hasraced on for 14 centuries –culminating in the political tug-of-warbetween a Sunni Saudi Arabia and aShia Iran.

• And finally, the tragedy of thespirituality of the early Koran, nowsullied by the militant Jihadists, withtheir religious intolerance, mayhemand mass killings.

• Not at all in keeping with the meaningof the word, “Islam,” surrender to God!

Reference1 Zoroastrian Society of Ontario Newsletter, May, 19762 David Kerr: “The Worship of Islam,” The World’sReligions, Lion Publishing, Oxford, UK, 19923 J N Chatterjee: “The Hymns of Zarathushtra,” TheParsi Zoroastrian Association, Calcutta, India, 1972.4 IBID

Oxford has never had a completedegree course in Avestan or inZoroastrianism, but the study of the

Avesta has flourished since 1886 as anoptional part of the BA degree for studentswhose principal specialisation is in Sanskritor Persian. A consequence of this degreestructure is that undergraduates beginAvestan already equipped with a thoroughlinguistic training in at least one relatedlanguage. The language of the Avesta andthe Vedic Sanskrit language are very similarbecause both are descended from the samecommon ancestor language, Indo-Iranian,which was probably spoken only a fewcenturies before Zarathushtra composedthe Gths and the Vedic Rishis composedthe earliest hymns of the Rig Veda.Accordingly, undergraduates who also studySanskrit progress very rapidly in Avestan,and are able to read large portions of theAvesta during their time at Oxford. Thosewho study Farsi have the advantage ofbeing able to recognise the meaning of alarge number of Avestan words but have toinvest more time in learning about itsgrammar. During the last decade, Avestanhas also become available as an optionalpart of the Oxford BA degrees in Classics(Ancient Greek and Latin) and in AncientNear Eastern Studies (where studentsspecialise in Akkadian or Egyptian). Theessential point is that prior experience inlearning languages, particularly an ancientlanguage, is invaluable: when Oxfordstudents start Avestan they are alreadytrained to think about languages in ananalytical way and they are familiar withlinguistic terminology.

The first part of this article, which appearedin Hamazor 2/2012, described the

The Avesta and its Language atOxford University from 1886 tothe Presentby Elizabeth Tucker

Part II

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beginnings of Avestan studies at Oxford andthe creation of an ‘extraordinaryprofessorship of Zend (Avestan)’ for L HMills. After the death of L H Mills in 1918 thestudy of the Avesta receivedencouragement over the next six decadesfrom three professors of Sanskrit insuccession: A A Macdonell (1899-1926),F W Thomas (1927-1937), and T Burrow(1944-1976). Although they differed in theirscholarly specialisations, all three hadhistorical linguistic interests, andappreciated how Vedic studies and Avestanstudies can enhance each other.

The young H W Bailey (later Sir HaroldBailey), shortly after he arrived in the UKfrom Australia, took the Oxford BA inSanskrit and ‘Zend’ in 1927-8, with a specialsubject in the ‘Comparative grammar ofLatin, Greek, Sanskrit and Zend’. AlthoughBailey held the chair of Sanskrit atCambridge University 1936-1967, he isremembered above all for his outstandingwork on Iranian languages, and it appearsthat his lifelong interest in Iranian philologywas nurtured by the Avestan component ofhis BA at Oxford.

In the 1930s the Oxford ExaminationStatutes were updated to reflect recentprogress in scholarship on the texts andlanguage of the Avesta. The work of Mills onthe Gathas had long been superseded bythat of C Bartholomae, author of the onlycomprehensive Avestan dictionary everpublished (Altiranisches Worterbuch ,Strassburg, 1905). In 1917 Bartholomae’spupil, H Reichelt, had published an AvestaReader in English, with support from theParsee Panchayet. ‘Texts printed inReichelt’s Avesta Reader’ became thesyllabus for students of Sanskrit, who werenow required to study both Old Avestan andYounger Avestan texts, including a numberof the Yashts. This Reader, with its usefulcollection of texts and glossary, formed thebasis of the Oxford Avestan course until the1980s.

Avestan with main language Persiancontinued - at least according to the officialUniversity statutes - exactly as before, and

not only all the Gathas (in K F Geldner’sedition) for the language option, but also theAvesta translations in Sacred Books of theEast for a special subject, were still on thebooks in 1944. But suddenly in 1950Jackson’s Avesta Reader reappeared not inthe statutes for the option in ‘Zend’, but forPersian as main language! Hitherto thePersian course had always included ahistorical linguistic element, namely ‘theOld-Persian Cuneiform Inscriptions and theMainyo-i-Khard (edited by E W West)’, butthe addition of the Avesta must have beenconnected with the appointment of R CZaehner to the Oxford lectureship inPersian. It appears that Zaehner, who in1955 published Zurvan, A ZoroastrianDilemma at the Clarendon Press, wasdetermined that all his students shouldstudy a number of Zoroastrian texts. When

A page from the Oxford Bodleian Library’s Yasna manuscript J 2, which Millsedited in facsimile. It shows most of Yasna 29 verses 4 and 5.

Elizabeth Tucker is aResearch Fellow in Indo-Iranian Philology at OxfordUniversity. She has taughtAvestan, Old Persian andVedic language and texts toOxford undergraduates andgraduates since the 1970s.Her publications are mostlyon Indo-Iranian and Indo-European historicallinguistics. At present she isrevising A.A.Macdonell’sVedic Grammar forStudents and Vedic Readerfor Oxford UniversityPress.


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Iranian Religions, published in 1930, Bombay),followed in 1936 by H W Bailey (ZoroastrianProblems in the Ninth-Century Books, published byOxford University Press in 1943, revised edition1971) and W B Henning in 1949 (Zoroaster, OUP1951). Then came Mary Boyce in 1975 (A PersianStronghold of Zoroastrianism, OUP 1977), John RHinnells in 1985 (lectures revised as Zoroastrians inBritain, OUP 1996, and The Zoroastrian Diaspora:Religion and Migration , OUP 2005), and PhilippeGignoux in 1996 (Man and Cosmos in Ancient Iran ,Serie Orientale Roma XCI, Rome, 2001). The mostrecent lecture series, which was delivered in 2009 bysix different scholars, reassessed the impact of MaryBoyce’s academic work (to be published in theBulletin of the Asia Institute later in 2012).

For the past 35 years Avestan has survivedprecariously at Oxford, as there is no dedicatedUniversity post for either the language or for theZoroastrian religion. We are no longer in anacademic era where it can be expected that at leastone University post-holder in Sanskrit or Persian willpossess the specialist knowledge needed to teachAvestan. Yet during this time the ‘Old Iranian’(Avestan and Old Persian) course has beenextended in availability to BAs in Classics andAncient Near Eastern Studies. Above all, interest inthe Avestan language from the point of view of Indo-European comparative and historical linguistics hassteadily increased, since the spelling conventionsand historical phonology of Avestan are now muchbetter understood than they were in the first part ofthe 20th century. The two most recent holders of theOxford chair of Indo-European ComparativePhilology (Anna Morpurgo Davies and Andreas Willi)have done much to encourage the linguistic study ofAvestan at a graduate level. Thanks to a recentgenerous legacy from an Indo-European scholar, JillHart, the Oxford Faculty of Oriental Studies and theFaculty of Linguistics now share a small trust funddedicated to Indo-Iranian Philology, which should innormal circumstances be able to support apostdoctoral appointment from time to time. Suchpostdoctoral researchers will sometimes be qualifiedto teach Avestan, but the continuous availability ofteaching and hence the future of the undergraduatecourse, whose history I have described here, is farfrom certain. However, an encouraging fact is thatthe numbers of students who want to learn Avestanhas slightly increased in recent years.

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Zaehner was elected to the Oxford SpaldingProfessorship of Eastern Religions and Ethics,he was succeeded as lecturer in Persian in 1953by George Morrison, who had studied Avestan inCambridge with Ilya Gershevitch. There followeda period of just over 20 years when Oxford wasfortunate to have three scholars (Burrow,Morrison and Zaehner) who were engaged inAvestan studies.

In 1954/5 the option in ‘Zend’ was finallyrenamed ‘Old Persian and Avestan’, as theAchaemenian Old Persian inscriptions had beenbanished from the main Persian course, whichwas gradually coming to focus on Medieval andModern Persian studies. The inclusion of theAchaemenian material in the ‘additionallanguage’ course benefitted not only thosestudents with linguistic interests but also thoseinterested in the early history of Iranian religion.Then in 1968 ‘Old Persian and Avestan’ becameknown as ‘Old Iranian’, in order to comply withan Oriental Studies Faculty rule that BA studentscan only be examined in one ‘additionallanguage’. ‘Old Iranian’ is a historical linguisticterm for the most ancient documented stage ofthe Iranian language family, but it has thedisadvantage that it does not immediatelyconvey to everyone that the Oxford courseconsists of the Avesta and the Achaemenianroyal inscriptions in Old Persian. At the sametime an ‘additional language’ option in ‘MiddlePersian’ devoted entirely to Zoroastrian textswas created and taught byR C Zaehner, but unfortunately this course didnot survive long as it was discontinued followingZaehner’s sudden death in 1974.

This account of Avestan and Zoroastrian studiesat Oxford during the twentieth century would notbe complete without a mention of the RatanbaiKatrak lectures and the famous publicationsbased on these. The ‘Ratanbai Katrak Lectureson Zoroastrianism’ were established at Oxford in1922 by Dr Nanabhai Navroji Katrak in memoryof his deceased wife, Ratanbai Katrak, andprovision was made for the University to invite adistinguished scholar to deliver a series of publiclectures on the Zoroastrian religion at Oxfordevery decade. The Oxford series, which hasbeen faithfully maintained to the present day,was inaugurated in 1922 by L H Gray ofColumbia University (The Foundations of the

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by said reza

AA critical approach to the Holiness of Chishm-e-Shafa at Balkh

- Discovery of Bactro-Achaemenid fire-altar

“Ardvi Sura Anahita, who makes the seed of all males pure,

who makes the womb of all females pure for bringing forth,

who makes all females bring forth in safety, who puts milk

into the breasts of all females in the right measure and the right

quality”.

(Khurd Avesta, Aban Yahst)

Located 30km south of the ancient city of Bactra (36’32’50.63”N-66’58’05.26”E, Elev. 497m) at the entrance of a high gorge where the ancient

Aranga river (Balkhab River) flows, ChishmeShafa (the spring of health) attracts pilgrimswho come there from far distances. Men andwomen wash themselves in the spring waterwith the aim of gaining fertility and prosperity.Why is it called Shafa and labelled as a holyplace? Is it a superstitious belief or a ritualreminiscent of a different religious belief ofwashing at a river or spring for gaining fertility,as its unknown to Islam which is now thereligion of these people? But what is knownto Islam is mainly washing the body (ghusl)with the aim to pray; pilgrimage, getting cleanafter intercourse, handling of a corpse, whichcan take place in a river or bathroom.

Existence of an old mosque with aninscription dated mid 18 th century AD, hassurvived with its dome having the springincorporated within a Timurid design, istestimony to the antiquity and constant visitto the site. The locals refer to an old storyrelated to the site with its authenticityconfirmed by the inscription in the mosque.According to the local myths, Ali the 4th

caliph (1st Imam of the Shi’as) fought underthe walls of the fort located on the left sideof the gorge, but failed to capture it as theinjured infidels would recover after washingthemselves at the spring of health within the

fort. With an miraculous act, Ali ordered thespring to disappear from the fort and flownext to the river. After the Muslim triumph,the fort of infidels was destroyed and theflag of Islam was elevated. Withoutdichotomy, a similar myth is inscribed.Certainly Ali never visited the area but the

Map of Balkh


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region was invaded by Arab Muslims in the7th century. In addition to the myths of Ali,there is a second local tale which says thatKing Yamma built three palaces of stone,iron and glass in this gorge and usedhorses and mules for water supply. Indeed,both stories were brought about due to thepolitico-geographical importance of the areaon one hand and the problem of watersupply on the other.

The term of Chishme Shafa and ritual ofwashing as mentioned, is not exclusive toBalkh but it is known in many places inAfghanistan. In all cases, the ritual takesplace next to the river. Washing at AmuDarya (Oxus River) with the chanting ofQuranic verses is considered as aneffective way of recovering health for men.

Sophisticatedly, the tradition of gainingfertility and health happens at the lake ofBand-i-Amir, Bamaiyan where the womanwho is accompanied with family members,exposes to the water of the lake while tiedby a rope. The ritual begins when anotherwoman throws some wild rue [spand] in thefire and prepares some food for theparticipants. Then the men and women prayat the mosque located near the spring.Similar to Cheshme Shafa at Balkh thereare mosques near all these springs.However, existence of the mosque indicatessanctity of the site for the Muslim residentsof the region.

Historically, the site of Chishm-e-Shafa ofBalkh is located in a valley which is calledDarayi-Gaz and is mentioned in Persiansources of 10 thc AD as the trade route fromCentral to South Asia. The Sultans ofGhaza, Ghur, Mongols and later Aurangzebused this route for their campaigns at Balkhin 1647. Moreover, the locals narrate a story

Inscription in the mosque

The ruined chamber of the spring

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related to the Persian mythical heroRustam, in which he made his arrow from aGaz tree from this valley and killedIsfandiyar. The name paikan (arrow) andgaz (Gaz tree) for the valley, emphasises onthe deep connection of Iranian myths withthe area. During his visit to Balkh, Firdausimight have heard a local version of thisstory and also about Samangan andconnected the catastrophe of Isfandiyar’stragedy with the area. Apart from thePersian chronicles signifying on theimportance of the area from the tradeaspect, the recovery of Hebrew scrolls fromDaray-i-Suf clearly refer to merchantsarriving from other countries, in the areabefore and after the arrival of the Muslims.The recovered scrolls (Gezina) can shedlight on the name of the district Baraq(south of the site) which is derived fromHebrew barukha which means blessing.Therefore, the gorge which has almost thestatus of a commanding location must havebeen an important location to observe thetransit route. This shows the historicalimportance of the area and its old fameamong the people, but can’t justify the ritualfor gaining fertility. Perhaps what couldexplain the reason of the holiness of thespring and motivation behind this traditioncame to light by recent archaeologicalexcavations.

In 2008, the Delegation of FrenchArchaeologists in Afghanistan (DAFA)considered exploring two major sites;searching for Greek settlements at TepeZargaran and Chishm-e-Shafa forAchaemenid remains. The formerunravelled a Buddhist temple dated 2ndc ADand Chishm-e-Shafa yielded the largest firealtar carved out of limestone. Furthersurveys showed that the site of Chishm-e-Shafa is located between twoarchaeological sites; the lower part alongthe left bank of the river and the upper partcalled Kafir Qala located on the rightshoulder of the gorge. An initial observationshows that the plan of the lower part iscomparable with the old city of Qandaharand Persepolis. Moreover, the plants ofHuma are available around the gorge andrecovery of the mortars from the chambers

of the upper part can explain its associationwith the holy Zoroastrian drink. The mortarsare identified as Achaemenid, but well-made Kushan inscribed Islamic potteriesand bricks are also scattered on the upperpart, which help us to recognize thechronology of the site.

The recovered object is 2m. high and1:30m. wide and identified as a stepped firealtar which has a shallow bowl on its upperpart for placing the fire. Its shallow pitindicates that the fire would not stay alightfor a longer duration, as the shallow bowlwould hold very limited inflammablematerial; suggesting this altar possiblywould have been used for occasional ritualsor possibly the fire may have burnt in ametallic bowl having been refilledperiodically during the ongoing rituals. Thewalls are built with uncarved stone and mudused as mortar. The larger hall was built forcongregation and the ashes from the firealtar would have been stored in a chambernear it. Architecturally, the early fire altars inCentral Asia have been constructed withunbaked bricks, plastered with gypsum inan open chamber. Generally, two groups offire altars have remained; the distinctiveIranian altar with a stepped top and baseand on the other hand the crenellated toweraltar which is almost entirely absent in theIranian archaeological record; though the

Fire altar at Cheshm-e-Shafa

Said Reza is a graduatestudent from the Center forPersian and Central AsianStudies, Jawaharlal NehruUniversity, New Delhi. Hehas worked with the AfghanMinistry of Information andCulture and extensivelytraveled in south, west andcentral Asia. He protectedthe Timurid mosque ofKhawja Parsa at Balkh(15thc AD) from destructionin 2005.


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Achaemenid used this type too, whichunfortunately does not exist now. Based onarchaeological data, building of a fire housewith an altar within it, became popular duringthe Achaemenid rule in Central Asia. Beingunder an open sky or in a roofless space isan Achaemenid character of the fire house.Contrary to that, the Sasanian fire altarswere placed in a domed sanctuary calledchartaqi. This had a square ground-plan andfour corner-pillars which supported the dome(the proper gumbad) on squinches. Certainly,the fire house of Cheshme Shafa had noroof, either flat or domed, and it had nocarved decorations unlike those of Sasanianaltars. Thus this feature classifies it as anAchaemenid fire altar. Besides, the presentname of Dehdadi, which lies next to thegorge, is derived from the old Persian wordsof Dahyu (region) and Dad (justice)connecting the area with the Achaemenidera.

It is accepted that Araedvi Sura Anahita isassociated with the river Vakhsh (Oxus) andis also recognized as the goddess of fertilityand celebrated in Yast 5. As a water-divinityshe is worshiped as a bestower of fertility,who purifies the seed of all males, thewombs of all females, and makes the milkflow which nourishes their young. Zoroasterprayed to her on the bank of Vanguhi-Daitya(Oxus River) and later mythical Iranianheroes worshiped her. She was thegoddess of all waters including Aranga(Balkhab river) as well as the fire house ofCishme shafa with Achaemenidcharacteristics in an Achaemenid areaindicating that it could have been dedicatedto the goddess Anahita. After all, the ritualof praying to her on the banks of a river,was an old Zoroastrian ritual survived tilltoday. It is Islamized in form but not inessence, as veneration and dedication toAnahita at the fire house was replaced bypraying to Allah at the mosque, but with thesame purpose of gaining fertility andprosperity. Indeed, the ritual of today’sAfghan men and women at the site ofCheshme Shafa in Balkh, Bamiyan, Herat,Baghlan and Ghazni with the aim of gainingfertility is reminiscent of an old Zoroastriancustom which was common in Afghanistan

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prior to the arrival of Islam and the holinessof the site also comes from this religion. Itssurvival and the construction of the mosqueon each site indicates, that Muslim societynot only widely accepted this custom butalso is preserved till today.

Tbilisi Ateshgah

The Tbilisi Ateshgah aka Atashgah or Fire Temple) was under restorationin 2007. That work is now complete and, mercifully, the restorers havebeen gentle. The old brickwork has been cleaned, and in a few placesdiscreetly repaired, but has largely been left “as is”, without any grosstampering. A perspex roof has been added to protect the site from theelements.Authentic Zoroastrian fire temples are extremely rare, especially outsideIran (the Atashgah at Baku is an 18 th century Zoroastrian construction).According to the sign outside the Tbilisi temple, it is believed that it wasbuilt between the 5th and 7 th centuries, and later was used as a mosque,while retaining its old name as “Ateshgah”. This seems reasonablyplausible as Tbilisi was under Persian occupation and influence for awhile. Zoroastrianism (like Christianity) was loosely tolerated underIslam, so the Ateshgah might easily have survived in active use for severalcenturies after the 7 thc Arab invasion.The Ateshgah exterior is a large featureless brick cuboid, perhaps 20feet on a side. There are steps leading up to a pair of stout wooden doorsjust to the left of the Ateshgah. These open into what at first looks like aprivate family courtyard, but if you turn right actually leads into theAteshgah interior. There is a new wooden floor, but they have left partsof the original floor exposed. There are no windows, but instead thereare blank arches on each face.Back in the days, a sacred flame would have burned here and there wouldlikely have been a matching pool of clean water nearby. A small hollowis visible in one corner, but it isn’t clear what purpose (if any) that served.The Ateshgah is at GPS 41.68885,44.80559 around 100 meters east ofthe Betlemi Church, on the Old Town slopes NE of the Mother Georgiastatue.

[conservation works in2007 were funded by theMinistry of ForeignAffairs of Norway andRiksantikvaren andimplemented by ICOMOSGeorgian NationalCommittee.]

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Posted by Graham Hamilton on 3 Dec 2010 on http://www.fravahr.org/

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Just recently on April 20 th Charles Poston’s 187th birthday took place and theoccasion was commemorated by a group of Arizona Zoroastrians. Why wouldthey have bothered to climb up a pyramid shaped hill known as Poston’s Buttein Florence, Arizona, to remember this man who died in obscurity at the ageof 75? A clue may be found in the fact that he had called the mound ParseeHill in 1878.

Charles Poston was a remarkable man by today’s standards and yet he wasjust one of the many typical US pioneers with interests and abilities that couldbe applied to an enormously wide number of fields. Men like him helped toshape the United States and he was elected the first representative for Arizonaas a Republican in the 38th congress in 1864, hence the title “the Father ofArizona”.

JOrphaned at the age of 12 in ElizabethtownKentucky, he had to fend for himself. In ashort while he became an apprentice at thelocal law court and married the daughter ofthe court clerk at the age of 23. Soonafterwards he moved to Tennessee wherehe did his legal apprenticeship at thesupreme court but it seems that he did notspend much time with his wife who becameparalysed when giving birth to theirdaughter - when at 26, he was lured into theCalifornia Gold Rush, preferring to seekfame and fortune. Years later he managed avery lucrative silver mining operation inTubac Arizona but was driven to abandon itafter local Apache Indians mounted a siege.After a period in different enterprises, and inseveral public offices, he took up law as aprofession which he practised in the secondhalf of his life.

The year following his congressrepresentation, he failed to get re-elected.so he travelled to Europe and on his returnto America he was quickly given aninteresting mission to China by the USSecretary of State. His return journey fromChina is of interest to our communitybecause it was while he travelled throughIndia that he became aware of the Parsee

Charles Poston

by shahin bekhradnia

community and the primacy of the role offire. Thanks to his close contact withNative American Indians which he hadexperienced during his pioneering days, itseems that the reverence for the sun foundin the indigenous Indian culture struck achord of resonance in on discovering theprimary place of the sun in Parseediscourse. He chose to make a six-yearstay in the UK during his return journeyback home, and in this time he seems tohave published two titles dealing with hisnew found interest: The Parsees (1872),and the Sun Worshippers of Asia (1877).When he eventually did return home, hehoped that his connections with well placedpeople would secure him the role of USconsul in London and allow him to return,but this hope was dashed and instead hewas sent back to Arizona as the Register ofthe United States Land Office at Florence. Itwas during this two-year period between1877-79 that he decided to build what hecalled a Parsee temple on a nearby hillwhich was thought to be a native Indian siteof special significance. He himself paid fora road to be constructed to the summit, butsent a telegram to the Shah of Persia,Nasser ud Din asking him to contributetowards the construction of a temple

Shahin Bekhradnia, aZoroastrian of the Iraniantradition, is a teacher ofancient history and classicalcivilisation, a Justice of thePeace and a legal consultant.She has written andpublished on Zoroastrianism,including a postgraduatethesis in anthropology onissues of Zoroastrian identityin the 20th century, and isactive in inter-faithmovements andorganisations. She is thePresident of WZO.


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dedicated to the religion of Ancient Iran. Heapparently did not accept the first snubwhich was sent back in response, andfollowed the cool reply he received with afurther attempt to secure the funds heneeded but to no avail.

His professional career was very unstablefrom this point onwards and he kept onmoving from post to post and town to town.His wife, having been cared for by relativesup to this point, died in 1884 and he quicklyre-married a year later, but that marriage didnot seem to have been any moresuccessful. Poverty overcame him andwhen his plight was brought to publicattention in 1897 he was awarded a statepension of $25 monthly which wasincreased to $35 monthly in 1901. He diedin 1902 when he was 75, and was buried inPhoenix Arizona, but on his 100 th birthday,thanks to the further publicity and interestwhich this most unusual man attracted, apublic subscription raised enough money tohave his remains removed and interred onthe top of his own mound, Parsee Hill.Thanks to the publication by John Goff ofCharles Poston’s life story andachievements, we have been able to gaininsights into the original thinking of this mosteccentric of men, said to be one of the firstWestern converts to Zoroastrianism.

A copy of The Parsees is available in theBodleian Library, Oxford. The publication(described as a lecture) contains someinteresting observations by a sympatheticoutsider about Parsee customs of that timeand from the accounts he gives aboutcustoms and rituals over birth, marriage anddeath, as well as comments he makesabout appearances, values and lifestyle, itis quite evident that he must have got toknow some Parsees very well. He isparticularly sympathetic to the plight of theZoroastrians at the hands of Islam, andpoetic verses to this effect are sprinkledthroughout the short lecture. He cites theprinciples of Zoroastrianism with sincereunderstanding and admiration.

Interestingly, unlike his lecture discussedabove, his second publication The Sun

Worshipers of Asia, is easily availablefrom Amazon, having undergone a reprintand renaissance recently. It is nothing lessthan an exact duplication of the textcontained in The Parsees, but it wasprinted in 1877 in the US rather than inLondon. A second difference is that its finalpages contain an appendix called the TheRuins of Persepolis (which appears to havebeen written by the publisher himself orsome close relative bearing his name ratherthan Charles Poston), whereas his TheParsees concludes with observations aboutthe rest of his travels back from China.The chapters I found most charming arethose that describe the female attire and themale appearance and from these it isevident that he was very much taken by theParsees as a good looking bunch of people.

While these identical works are a testamentto his admiration of Zoroastrianism as aphilosophy for conducting ourselves, inthese works we do not find any conclusiveand overt allusion to his own formalconversion. His last comments make hisposition clear: I hope that the extracts whichhave been given will convince you that the“Sun Worshippers of Asia” are worthy of ahigher place in your estimation than mereidolaters; that they are the followers of a pureand sublime religion which deserves respectfor its great antiquity and for the persecutionsit has survived ...The Parsees worship the sun as brightestcreation of God, as the emblem of His purity,as the mirror of His brightness, as the evidenceof His omnipotence, as the majestic thronearound which innumerable worlds revolve intheir orbit, subject to His will.

Charles Poston, in hisyouth & senior years

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Poston’s firetemple which he named “Parsee Hill”. Short whilelater people nicknamed it “Poston’s Folly” however today it isknown as “Poston’s Butte”.

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Some 70 years later the KRCOI PresidentMuncherji N M Cama and the Board ofTrustees were happily inspired to engage abrilliant young Parsi classicist Phiroze HVasunia – as Junior Research Fellow! – totranslate afresh the original material foundin the Jackson–Gray Appendix V and muchmore besides. It resulted (2007) in a vastlyexpanded set of original texts rendered intoexcellent English, and published in aformidable 444-page hardback by theKRCOI with the support of the Erach andRoshan Sadri Foundation. Beautifullyprinted and well presented, carefully proof-read after being unusually well organized bythis astonishing Parsi scholar, its intrinsicvalue extends immeasurably beyond itsvery low cover price: the benefits far, faroutweigh cost.

Among the main attractions of this volumeare its well-argued, clear Introduction,indispensable for orienteering within its verywide spectrum; an appetisingly summarizedContents (with a useful list of monarchs, ahair-raisingly extensive Bibliography, andcrucial Indices of Sources with dates, andNames). It all makes for comfortableresource-filled reference through its 15

IA Classicist Parsi

Phiroze Vasunia,Zarathushtra and theReligion of Ancient Iran:The Greek and LatinSources in Translation.K R Cama OrientalInstitute Bombay, 2007pp.444Last known price IRs800

by farrokh vajifdar

In the mid-twenties of the 20th century M P Khareghat, the then President ofthe K R Cama Oriental Institute [KRCOI, Bombay], urged its Joint HonorarySecretary Jivanji Jamshedji Modi to arrange for English translations of theseveral classical Greek and Latin passages by ancient authorities concerningZoroaster.

That task, by no means an easy one, was entrusted to the classicist ProfessorsW Sherwood Fox and R E K Pemberton of the University of Western Ontario,London, Canada. Their collaboration resulted in a 150-page KRCOI paperbackpublication (1928) of the reliably well translated passages from Zoroaster, theProphet of Ancient Iran (1899) by the famed Iranologue A V Williams Jackson,jointly presented with Louis H Gray as Appendix V. The over-subscribed Camavolume soon went out of print.

chapter headings: the idly curious willdoubtless heave sighs of relief; theassiduous students from present and futuregenerations will find masses of rich materialto investigate, ponder, and thereafter beever grateful to Phiroze Vasunia.

Format description over, it’s time to attempta discussion of its form and content.Vasunia, author and co-author of othertomes besides, has taken great pains tomake his work accessible and readable forthose who would deepen their knowledgebeyond mere hearsay and “western biased”transmission of very percipient, andsometimes polemical, antique authorities.However well informed on Persia andPersian customs, those ancients often wereprey to the demands of the other majorityreligions of their times. Zoroastrianism,minus its overburdening rituals, wasvariously assessed over huge time-spans –it intrigued and challenged by turns.

Who and what was Zoroaster /Zarathushtra? Vasunia’s substantialChapter 2 has facilitated a synthesis ofviews ranging from Magician to Myth figure,Philosopher to Fantast, and Ritualist to

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Rationalist. For reasons best known only totheir proponents, the appellation ofPhilosopher arouses mindless denials.Since none of the ancient thinkers had everencountered the eastern Iranian Sage, itbefell them to rely on such information ascould be gleaned from the western Magiwho, when embracing Zoroastrianteachings in the 5th century BC, claimedhim as one of their own – hence theassociation of Zoroaster with “magic”!Eudoxus of Cnidus, 4th century BCcontemporary and disciple of Plato, hadcompared his master to Zoroaster –probably through his contacts with the Magi,he had interviewed a Zarathushtrotemo(“most like Zarathushtra”) who had passedon whatever he had absorbed of the Sage’strue precepts.

Slightly puzzling for this writer is Vasunia’scontention (p 53), “For the life ofZarathushtra, see the Gathas, ... “ etc. TheGathas, in fact, give no firm indication ofmajor related events with which (auto-)biographies are normally invested; but ourauthor would be right in suggesting that theself-descriptions outline his main functions.The field was thus left open for all mannerof fanciful productions from the authoritiescited, including some named modern oneswho deny the Sage’s very existence despitenaming himself over a dozen times in hiswonderfully cohesive verses.

[The preposterous datings of 6,000 yearsbefore Troy, etc., can be discounted byreference to the three tri-millennia of thematerial world’s existence when the first twoare taken up with Ahriman’s appearance, hisconfused state and his destructive activity.According to this overall 12,000 yearZurvanite scheme, Zarathushtra existedalongside all of Mazda’s creation in aspiritual state (his pre-existent fravashi) forthe first 3,000 years. The Sage of Zurvaniteprovenience makes his material appearancein its 6,001 / 9,001 year reckoning – whencethe wholly untenable early date of the Sage’sappearance and ministry.]

Equally absorbing are the short chapters on“Doctrine and Belief” and “Fire”, but for

reasons of space they cannot obtaindiscussion here. Suffice it to say that theentire book is shot through with the deeperudition and easy communicative skill ofthis brilliant star in our Zoroastrian galaxy.

Chapter 15, “Manichaeism”, offers insightsthrough the pens of uniformly hostile writersinto the conflict of two contesting religioussystems – the Mazdayasna of the earlySasanians versus the escapist syncretismattempted by Mani, passionate butpessimistic advocate of schism of body andsoul. One is particularly distressed by theunthinking inclusion by Marius Victorinus of“Zoradis” (Zoroaster) amongst the provenpessimists that were “Manes” (Mani) andthe Buddha – what was alleged by him was“how many people have (been) led astrayby these teachings?” A sinister pre-echo ofa present-day High-priest who had claimeda similar effect of Zarathushtra’s Gathasupon the Parsi community – more’s theshame!

Whilst renouncing Mani with his claims andteachings, an 8th century Anathema alsocalled upon Zarades / Zoroaster and hisdisciples to be condemned. One suspectsthat those earlier teachings from theLevantine East had posed a serious threatto the success of a struggling Christianpropaganda. Extracts from the CologneMani Codex explain Mani’s tenets; a lengthycritique is offered by Alexander of Lycopolis.One recalls that Mani had enjoyed royalfavour with Shahpuhr I (240-270AD) and his son Hormizd I (270-271 AD);under the Bahrams (271-274, 274-293, and293 AD) Mani was hounded, thenincarcerated, finally dying of mortification.

The Bibliography, impressively sizeable,includes several familiarly known names;others, less noticed, are necessary for thepurposes of Vasunia’s commendablybalanced views. What attentiveZoroastrians will notice are the absences offamous Parsi authors, from Dhalla toDhabhar, Tavadia to Taraporewala, who hadin their time contributed much to theknowledge of Zarathushtra and his Religion.

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A little about PhirozeVasunia.Has written extensivelyabout the classical Greekand Roman tradition. Heteaches at the University ofReading, in the UK. He isthe author of The Gift of theNile (2001) and the editorof the Oxford Handbook ofHellenic Studies, amongother publications. Hismonograph about India,Britain and the classics is dueto be published in 2013.

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These should occasion little surprise, for ourauthor is essentially a classicist and thisvolume concentrates exclusively on hiswork of translation from original Greek andLatin sources.

From Ephesus in Asia Minor came thestrongly dissenting voice of the aristocraticIonian Greek philosopher Heracleitus (540-470 BC) who censured Pythagoras, amongothers, for the inadequacy of their wisdom.Doubtless for this reason, Heracleitus wasin turn dubbed a “dark philosopher” with hisobscure and paradoxical sayings. Onexamination, this ancient one in his timewas far nearer the truth in matters dealingwith the ebb and flow of events – “all thingsare in flux”; Plato’s summing up of his “youcannot step into the same river twice”; theuniversal fire through whose condensationand rarefaction the natural elements areformed and dispersed; the metaphysicalfire which judges mortals and their deeds;and so on! In our own times, Gathicistshave consistently indicated the closenesswith Zarathushtra on such subjects,including the Fire that is strengthenedthrough Truth, thereby evaluating andjudging the good and the bad. The Greeks’assimilation of Magian ideas in fact formspart of Vasunia’s Chapter 13 on “IranianThought and Greek Philosophy”.

The renowned Martin P Nilsson, expert onGreek religion, had declared on the subjectof westward transmission of Zoroastrianideas: “The influences of Persian ideas onthe Greeks had been great, but their wayswere obscure and circuitous; often it wasnot directly exercised, but through otherpeoples who themselves had grasped thepower of Iranian thought”.

On careful study of this Vasunia volume,one realizes that its true worth lies in itslifting much of this obscurity – it was, afterall, his Zoroastrian duty to shed Light wherepreviously there was Darkness, and, mygoodness! has he succeeded brilliantly inthat painstaking endeavour!

ζ

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Farrokh Vajifdar comesfrom a sensibly orthodoxpriestly family. Life-longstudent and independentresearcher in Indo-Iraniancultures. Specializes inliterature and languages ofpre-Islamic Iran. Focuseson Zoroastrian religiousbeliefs and practices onwhich he writes, lectures,and broadcasts (radio andTV). He is referee andreviewer for (as Fellow of)the Royal Asiatic Society.

On Thursday 24th May, 2012, at11:37am, WZO’s Grand Patronmember, Lord Karan Bilimoria of

Chelsea moved the following motion at theHouse of Lords:

“That this House takes note of thecontribution made by minority ethnicand religious communities to thecultural life and economy of the UnitedKingdom, on the occasion of the 150thanniversary of the formation of theZoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe”

Over 20 distinguished peers of the realm tookpart in this historical debate.

“The highlight was the opening speech byLord Bilimoria which won praises from eachand every subsequent speaker. After thedebate Lord Bilimoria was warmlycongratulated by his fellow peers, on hisspeech and his initiative in highlighting thecontribution of the minorities. ...

“The response from the government wasgiven in an excellent summing up bycabinet minister Baroness Warsi.” writesMalcolm Deboo, President of ZTFE.

After Baroness Warsi’s summation, LordBilimoria concluded with :

“... I have been genuinely inspired andtouched by what has been said and bynoble Lords’ kind words about theZoroastrian community. I have beenconsidering forming an all-partyparliamentary group on Zoroastrians,and this debate has convinced me that Ihave got to get on with it in this 150thanniversary year.

Lord Karan BilimoriaCBE, DE, addresses theHouse of Lords


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“I thank noble Lords very much. Thedebate has shown that Britain is aGreat Britain thanks to the contributionof minority ethnic and religiouscommunities.”

Motion was agreed.

Historically, the first Zoroastrian peer hasmoved the motion in the House of Lords,keeping our ‘flag flying high’ after 90 years.The first Zoroastrian MP, Dadabhai Naorojientered the House of Commons as aLiberal in 1892, followed three years laterby Mancherjee Bhownagree as aConservative and later in 1922 ShapurjiSaklatvalla or better known as ComradeSak who was elected as a Communist. LordBilimoria said in his maiden speech “I nowsit, as a Zoroastrian Parsee, as anindependent Cross-Bench Peer. We havesquared the circle.”

Through our publication, we congratulateLord Bilimoria for bringing forward ourZoroastrian community so prominently,especially whilst United Kingdom iscelebrating the Diamond Jubilee of HerMajesty, which is designated as “A Year ofService.”

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Two Zarathushtis at theThanksgiving Service atSt Paul’s

The National Service of Thanksgiving to celebrate theDiamond Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen at St Paul’sCathedral was held on Tuesday 5 June as the finale ofa long weekend of celebrations.

The Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe was representedby President Malcolm M Deboo and Vice PresidentPaurushasp B Jila, on this occasion, who said;

“We were very proud that the Zoroastrian and other faithcommunities were part of this very historic occasion.The whole diamond jubilee weekend celebrationsbrought the country together in celebration of theoutstanding contribution which Her Majesty has madein selfless service to the community.”

‘Later at the reception at the Guildhall we wereintroduced to Princess Alexandra, cousin of Her Majestyand youngest granddaughter of King George V as wellas Prince Edward and Sophie, Earl and Countess ofWessex. As we spoke they both recalled visiting ourCentre 10 years ago on the occasion of Her Majesty’sGolden Jubilee. On behalf of the Zoroastrian communitywe conveyed our good wishes to the Earl and Countessof Wessex for the speedy recovery of HRH The Dukeof Edinburgh’, writes Malcolm.

Hamazor appreciates the effort taken by Malcolm Debooand ZTFE for taking our community forward, therebygaining recognition for a faith and its people not widelyknown.

3rd row, left to right Paurush & Malcolm

[source: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2012-05-24a.865.0&m=100961]

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The Queen visited three areas of London on 29 March, as part of her tour of Britain to celebrateher Diamond Jubilee.

At Walthamstowe, they were busy preparing lunch for a Queen as this was the day to celebrateLondon’s diversity. On the menu was Shephard’s Pie with an Indian twist, all the ingredients wereBritish but there was added spice. The star chef, Cyrus Todiwala said “it doesnt get bigger than this -it doesnt get more exciting than this. This is a very simple lunch because I know they like simplefood and of course they are always pressed for time.” [spoken on ITV]

In a private email he wrote, “The day I cooked for HM on the 29th of March setting off her DiamondJubilee celebrations with the first official luncheon the weather was just very Indian. ...This dish[Shephard’s Pie] is going into a Diamond Jubilee celebration book.

Chef Cyrus Todiwala prepares luncheon for Her Majesty,The Queen


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Through the medium of WZO’s Journal,Hamazor, Jehangir wished to thank all hisfriends and colleagues for the good wishesand congratulations he received on theoccasion of his appointment as an Officer ofThe Order of the British Empire (OBE).

“I cannot tell you how overjoyed I am. Asan immigrant to Britain to be recognisedand accepted by my adopted country givesme a sense of belonging and beingwelcomed.

“I wish my community would similarlywelcome those who are “returning” oraccepting Zoroastrianism and offer them thefeeling of belonging.

“I appeal to all to open their hearts anddoors and welcome the “new Zoroastrians”by inviting them and offering them anopportunity to have their voice heard, justas you and I have been offered thewelcome to Britain.”

Our heartiest congratulations to JehangirSarosh on receiving this well-deservedrecognition for his magnificent work infurthering the awareness of the Zoroastriancommunity in Europe and worldwide and a

Jehangir Sarosh - New Year’s Honours list 2012

Wby sammy bhiwandiwalla

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great honour indeed for Jehangir, his wifeIrma and family.

As the representative for Zoroastrians ininterfaith meetings he has demonstrated thecommunity’s dedication to working forpeace among people of all faiths.

WZO is pleased to inform the community that our life member Jehangir Saroshwas the recipient of an OBE, in the Jubilee year of Her Majesty the Queen’sNew Year’s Honours list 2012.

Anne, Princess Royal presented Jehangir with the coveted OBE at theinvestiture ceremony held at Buckingham Palace on 23rd May 2012.

Jehangir Sarosh has been a devoted participant in the interfaith movementand was for many years the Chairman of Watford Inter-Faith Association inthe UK. He presently holds the position of President Emeritus of the EuropeanChapter of the World Council on Religions for Peace. The OBE was awardedfor his outstanding promotion of peace and understanding and servicestowards interfaith relations. His career has seen him meet many religiousleaders including Pope John Paul 11 and the Dalai Lama.

L to R: Raphael [son], Irma & Jehangir in the gardensof Buckingham Palace

Sammy and his wife Ursulahave always taken an activeinterest in communitymatters in the UK and weregreatly influenced by theactions and sincere beliefs ofindividuals such asNoshirwan Cowasjee,Shirinbanoo Kutar, ShahpurCaptain and many others,that in a changing world itwas necessary to create amore balanced and equitablecommunity within the UK.He joined the WZO Boardin 1988 and since then hasserved in various capacitiesincluding Chairman ofWZO.

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One such name has been the RomanZenobia (267-273 AD), who had shownhostilities towards Shahpur I (240-271 AD)Hormazd I (AD 271-272). [see ‘SasanianDynasty - historical perspective’,www.avesta.org - Shahpur I & Hormazd I].Some Zarathushtis still believe it is anancient Mazdayasni name. In Gujarati, theubiquitous ‘J’ has somehow crept in andreplaced ‘Z’. The name has become‘Jeannie’ for short. I have met a Parsi ladycalled Jenny whose Gujarati birth name isZenobia. There are other modernderivatives too like Zenia, Zeena, Zina, etc.

Who then was this much quoted Zenobia,who made even Rome so very uneasyduring her six year rule? Born a Roman,she was quoted in admiration by the RomanEmperor Aurelian (270-275 AD): “What awoman she is ... the wisdom of herdecisions, her firmness in carrying them out,her security towards her soldiers, bothgenerous as well as cruel as necessity calls...” A woman of great ambition, energetic inmilitary affairs, and adept at severallanguages she certainly was resolute. Shehad a dark tan complexion from years ofexposure to the sizzling heat of the Syriandesert. Her wide eyes and glittering teethmade her look like a Roman ‘Goddess’.She dressed like a Roman Emperor, wore a

by sam kerr

WZenobia

We the followers of Zarathushtra, after commencing our unrelenting marchfollowing the death of the Prophet seemed to have retained certain indeliblequalities. One among them, in the quest to adjust to changing circumstances,we have not hesitated to shed our family names to more ‘suitable’ ones to, asit were, go well with the trade, profession and place of our new settlements.We have frequently adopted place names, trade names and even those of ouropponents of the Primal Homeland. Semitic, Graeco-Roman and other aliennames then followed. On the Subcontinent, the local place and trade namesbecame a norm and the rate of change progressed further to Anglo-Saxonnames, including even first names after the occupation by the British.

helmet and a purple cape of royalty. Shecould withstand the adversities of the harshdesert climate more than most soldiers withwhom she marched on foot along with thebattalion.

The painting [Fig 1] by Giambattis Tiepolodated 1730 AD, is based on the historicaldescription of her features. Many Italianoperas and plays have been enacted in hername. Even an Italian film was made withAnita Ekberg as Queen Zenobia. Based inAntioch, the eastern capital of the RomanEmpire, a Roman Commander, SeptimusOedinathus 257-267 AD (Pahlavi: Udainth)[Fig 2] managed to seize power from theSemitic tribal lords and keep the populationentirely under his control.

The place was a large lush green oasis(Arabic: ‘Tadmor’ - city of date trees) in themidst of grassy hills in the rich caravantrade route linking Syria with the cities ofMesopotamia and along the MediterraneanSea. He had managed to obtain supportand recognition from Rome as a coalitionally hoping to destroy Ctesiphon, the Capitalof Sasanian Airan. During the Parthian Erathe Emperor Trajan (249-251 AD) hadannexed it to the eastern Roman Empireand had renamed it ‘Palmyra’ (city of palmtrees). Populated by people of Semitic


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descent having astrong HellenisticParthianinfluence, theirtrade languageremainedAramaic. Itsgreat emporiumsof exotic goodsand its majorregion of crossroads made it asecular place ofculture mixingEast with Westas documentedbyarchaeologicalfindings, itsperiod ofgreatestsplendour being1st to 3rd

centuries AD.

The trade route through the city was marked byRoman and Eastern architecture [see Fig 3]. Ithad a Triumphant Arch and was lined by a‘Great Colonnade’ of Corinthian columns 30 feettall [Fig 4] and temples to the cult of Baal andNabu.

Having won some battles against theHellenised Parthians, the Romans nowplanned to invade Sasanian Airan anddestroy the capital city, Ctesiphon [see‘Sasanian Dynasty - historical perspective’,www.avesta.org – The Renaissance]. Onseveral occasions during the period 253-260 AD Valerian I repeatedly violated thepeace treaty entered into by hispredecessor Trajan 249-251 AD in attemptsto repossess Mesopotamia, which had beenconquered by Ardeshir I (224-240 AD) fromthe Romans. In the Battle of Edessa 258AD, Valerian’s army was completely routedby Shahpur I. In the thick of the battleShahpur himself captured Valerian . [Fig 5]The Roman Odenathus (257-267 AD), hiswife, Zenobia and son, Vabalathus (Pahlavi:Waballth) 267-271 AD made a surpriseattack on Shahpur’s retreating army torescue Valerian. Suddenly caughtunawares and unarmed, Shahpur’sretreating army initially sustained heavylosses. Needless, Shahpur I regrouped hisarmy and routed the attacking army ofZenobia inflicting heavy losses in return.Valerian, imprisoned in Ctesiphon died incaptivity AD 260. Shahpur I then pressedon with his campaigns against Rome andagain seized Antioch and Caeseria.

History records that the Romans had failedto win a single battle against the Sasanians(224-641 AD). Indeed, the decay andultimate fall of the Roman Empire waslargely due to their expensive futile efforts todestroy the Sasanian Empire instead ofconcentrating on their possessions inEurope and Africa.

Unfortunately, the Roman Governor Herod,stationed in Antioch, plotted againstOedinathus and had him and his son by hisfirst wife assassinated. Oedinathus’syoung son Vaballathus 267-271 AD by hissecond wife, Zenobia was appointed rulerwith his mother as ‘Regent’. She embarkedon her late husband’s wishes of expansionand conquest. Her Commander, CassiusLonginus, who also acted as her youngson’s ‘preceptor’, along with GeneralSeptimus Zabdas conquered all of Syria,Lower Egypt around the Nile Delta and

Fig 1. Zenobia

Fig 2. Oedinathus

Fellow of the RoyalSociety of Medicine(London) and of severalColleges of Surgery, SamKerr was Surgeon/Lecturer, the Universityof NSW and CollegeHospitals, Sydney from1968 to 2003. He is nowEmeritus Surgeon at theUniversity and Hospitals.He has initiated/been afounding member - AZAof NSW, Sydney. Inaddition to hisprofessional writing hehas lectured/published onthe social, cultural,historical and scripturalaspects of the religion ofZarathushtra.

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parts of Anatolia. Inflatedby her successes shewent a step further andappointed herselfAugusta Zenobia, Queenof Palmyra and promptlysevered all ties withRome, making Palmyraand all her conqueredterritories independent ofRome.

The Emperor, Aurelian(270-273 AD) in Rome

Fig 3. Ruins of the Triumphant Arch, City of Palmira, and the Trade Route

Fig 4. Great Colonnade

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decided it was time to take decisive actionand prepared to invade Palmyra in 272 AD.Meanwhile, Zenobia pleaded for help fromHormazd I (271-272 AD). Hormazd I failedto realize the importance of Palmyra as abuffer state and ignored Zenobia’s pleas.Aurelian landed in Antioch and went on todefeat the Palmyrian forces in the Battle ofPalmyra 272 AD. He then laid siege to theCity of Palmyra and captured Zenobia (272AD) and took her under fetters as a prizecaptive to Rome. She was at first paradedin the streets of Rome in chains and thensentenced to be isolated under house arrestin a villa outside Rome, where she died thefollowing year. Aurelian, as was feared,later returned with a grandiose plan toreconquer Mesopotamia and destroyCtesiphon, capital of the Sasanian Empire.He also ordered that the City of Palmyra,which had once been spared, be sacked,plundered and the trade route and tradingfacilities destroyed. The trade route wasconverted later to a military garrison byEmperor Diocletian (284-305 AD). Soon,the remaining parts of the Palmirian Empireonce more fell into Arab domination underEmir Fakhruddin.

References:Caubet, Annie & Pouyssegur, Patrick, The origins ofcivilisation, The ancient Near East, Finest SA / EditionsPierre Rerrail, Paris 1997.Desai, Barjorji P. & Palanji B., History of the Sassanides(in Gujarati) , Duftur Ashkara Press, Bombay, 1880.Treasury of World Culture: Archaeological sites andurban centres – UNESCO World Heritage, Skira EditoreS.p.A., Palazzo Casata Stampa, via Torino 61, 20123Milano, Italy 2002.

Fig 5. Valerian kneeling to pay homage to his captor – Shahpurthe Great


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As a historian, I am simply appalled at thestate of many of the Parsi institutions whereI have worked. I wrote about some of themost egregious cases in an articlepublished on the New York Times’ “IndiaInk” website in March 2012. For example,the JN Petit Institute in Bombay has,according to one scholar, been selling offsome of its most priceless books (I haverecently seen with my own eyes some ofthese items, including rare publications fromthe nineteenth century). This is completelyunacceptable behavior by one of thecommunity’s most aristocratic families. Thesame scholar informs me that the AlpaiwallaMuseum in Kharegat Colony, managed bythe Bombay Parsi Punchayet and only Parsimuseum in existence, lost its entire bookcollection due to rain damage. Burglars had,in any case, hauled away some of theAlpaiwalla’s most valuable treasures in1998, including personal artifacts belongingto Dadabhai Naoroji. Staff at theMeherjirana Library in Navsari, including thelate Dasturji Meherjirana, sifted through thetrash of abandoned Parsi homes in order tosave priceless vanshavalis (family tress)and manuscripts carelessly tossed away bythe last Parsi inhabitants. I have had the

Parsi History in Danger

In spite of our reputation as an educated, cultured community, we Parsis canbe remarkably callous when it comes to preserving our history and heritage.There are numerous examples. Graceful, architecturally significant houses inold Parsi wads and villages — some of them centuries old — have beenshuttered, sold off, demolished, or left to rot away. Our holiest site, Iranshah,is surrounded by numerous empty, crumbling buildings in plots overgrownwith weeds and strewn with trash. In Bombay and elsewhere, several importantcultural institutions and libraries are teetering on the cusp of death or havebeen shuttered forever. We are forgetting the Gujarati language and,simultaneously, literally jettisoning an entire body of knowledge in the formof the Parsi Gujarati literary corpus. It is a shameful legacy. Other Indiancommunities, such as the Sikhs, have recently ploughed money into newmuseums and online archives that have bolstered community pride andawareness. Why have Parsis, both in India and abroad, been less keen to usetheir wealth to preserve their own culture and history?

Iby dinyar patel

misfortune to come across DDT—anantiquated and extremely hazardousmethod for keeping away insects — in morethan one research facility. These are allstories worthy of a community either in thedepths of extreme poverty or in a state ofutter, complete carelessness aboutprotecting its past. And we all know intowhich category we fall.

There are some rays of hope. TheMeherjirana Library in Navsari has beenactively preserving its material and grantingvisiting scholars the same degree of supportand freedom as is done in the West. It willbe holding its first international seminar —on Zoroastrian and Parsi studies — inJanuary 2013. The KR Cama OrientalInstitute in Bombay has been restoringsome of its oldest manuscripts. Parzor hasbeen actively collecting rare books andheirlooms and has launched an ambitiousproject to collect, edit, and publish DasturjiFiroze Kotwal’s voluminous writings. All ofthese efforts come at a great cost tootherwise cash-strapped institutions.Therefore, it is imperative that communitymembers step up and contribute —financially and otherwise.

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We, as a community, need to undertake avery necessary task: identifying importanthistorical collections in order to ensure theirpreservation. I have heard far too manystories from individuals telling me that theirancestors bequeathed them valuablebooks, handwritten autobiographies, familyalbums, and other precious articles —which were subsequently thrown away orsold off to the raddiwala. If you possessitems that you feel are of value, pleasemake sure that you take steps to protectthem and, if they are not heirloom items tobe passed down to your children, make

plans to donate them to a community libraryor organization such as Parzor.

The amount of valuable material in privatehands is vast. Over the past several years,several Parsis have shown me someamazing materials in their possession: aminiature, one-inch-by-one-inch JameJamshed edition from the 1930s; oldphotographs of some of our most eminentcommunity members from the latenineteenth century; autographed books; andold portraits and photographs. We all havea tremendous responsibility to protect andpreserve these items. Unfortunately, manyindividuals simply toss such items in steelcabinets and hope for the best. This ishighly irresponsible, to say the least. We allneed to become more acquainted with up-to-date methods of proper preservation.This is a special imperative in thesubcontinent, where weather wreaks havocwith printed items. Books, photographs, andnewspapers all need to be kept in astemperature-controlled of an environmentas possible: this means limited humidity andvery limited exposure to the sun. Termite(white ant) and water damage are two othermajor causes of destruction of collections inIndia and Pakistan. Furthermore, much ofthe paper produced in India in the latenineteenth and early twentieth century hadhigh acid content, which means that paperquickly becomes brittle and falls apart.Methods of repair for such damage canoftentimes be costly and only carried out byprofessional conservationists. But damagecan be mitigated by proper handling of suchitems and making sure that material is notexposed to the elements.

One of the most priceless and endangeredcomponents of our culture is our journalisticheritage. In the 1800s and early 1900s,Parsis played a dominant role in journalismin western India, running several Gujaratiand English language papers and otherperiodicals. Chabook and Rast Goftar(which included prominent Parsis such asDadabhai Naoroji, Nowroji Furdoonji, andSorabji S. Bengallee) were importantplayers in nineteenth century communitydebates involving the scope of the BombayParsi Punchayet’s authority, planks of thesocial reform movement such as theintroduction of female education, and

Khulase-e-Panchayat, probably written by Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy under apen name (Mazdayasni dinno labedar)


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religious reform. Parsee Punch (later HindiPunch) provided hard-hitting commentaryon both British and Indian officials in the lateVictorian era — in the novel form ofcartoons. Sanj Vartaman and Kaiser-i-Hindwere, at times, important outlets fornationalist opinion in the early twentiethcentury: Mahatma Gandhi, for example,contributed a column for navroze in 1921.We had numerous other community papersin cities across the country, such asNavroze in Calcutta or Parsi Sansar inKarachi. Even the London community hadat least two journals in the 1910s and1920s: The Parsi Chronicle and TheZoroastrian.

Tragically, we have very little record of anyof these papers. Nothing remains ofNavroze. The University of Mumbai’s librarymight still have a few copies of RastGoftar’s earliest, and most significant,numbers—it is to be hoped that they are stillin readable condition. I have seen only twoor three editions of Sanj Vartaman. Themajority of the editions of the JameJamshed, one of the longest publishing andmost illustrious of our community papers, isnow mostly lost — probably nothingsurvives prior to the 1930s. When we fail toprotect the sources of our past, we lose aninestimable chunk of our heritage. A gooddeal of our history, consequently, is lostforever.

I would therefore like to make a specialappeal to readers: if you possess especiallyold copies of Parsi journals, newspapers,and books — whether in Gujarati or English— please do make sure that they arepreserved for future generations. If you areunwilling to part with originals, at leastensure that a scanned or photographedcopy reaches a responsible institution.Under no circumstances allow such materialto join so much of the rest of our history andheritage in the memory hole that we havecreated. Parzor is one organization that iswilling to accept donations of suchmaterials, and which has established acredible track record of preserving andmaking accessible important historicaldocuments to researchers and interested

community members. I urge you to do agreat favor to fellow community membersand future generations of Parsis. q

If you are interested in donating to Parzor, youcan contact me ([email protected]) orDr Shernaz Cama [email protected],+91 9810007717 or+91 11-2411-4794, orwrite to Dr Cama at C-53 Anand Niketan, NewDelhi 110021.

A pay roster of the Elphinstone Institution (now College) from the 1850s, showingNaoroji and a few other Parsis.

Dinyar Patel is a PhD candidatein the Department of History atHarvard University, where heis working on a dissertation onDadabhai Naoroji.He iscurrently based in Delhi aFulbright scholarship where heis conducting dissertationresearch at the National

Archives of India.

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At the recently concluded exhibition, 8 April -“Maharaja: the Splendor of India’sRoyal Courts” held at the Asian Art Museum of

San Francisco - a wealth of objects on loan from theV&A in London were on view.

The objects, paintings and photographs on displaydocumented the presence of real people who lived reallives and offered the viewer a glimpse into the complexand fascinating world of India’s great kings.

The exhibition went behind-the-scenes to analyze theroles and qualities of kingship in India as well as tracingthe way the institution of kingship changed from theearly 18th century through the 1930’s, a period that sawa change from their status of being independent rulersto becoming ‘native princes’ under British colonial rule.

All this was represented by a stunning range of objectsfrom photographs to arms and armour, furniture,costumes and jewellery of magnificent stones andpearls, all mainly worn by the Princes themselves.

A wonderful collection of old saris belonging to theBegums of Hyderabad were also displayed. One ofthem being a silver cut-work zari kor and pallo, veryreminiscent of what some of our mothers wore in the1930’s and 1940’s.

Not just the costumes on view but the representationsof people in the paintings tell us a lot about the social,religious or ethnic affiliations, and how those individualschoose to be seen and understood.

Of special interest to Parsis was the magnificent silvercoach made specially for the Maharaja of Bhavnagar,who commissioned Mr Pestonjee Press and his FortCoach Factory to build a carriage for him that wouldbe both elegant and distinguishing.

Combining the elegance of European design andartistry of the Indian artisan, the carriage is embellishedwith flowers, enamelled birds and animals, swanscrafted in high relief and highlighted in gold andcoloured enamelling techniques. Of special interest tous is a small ‘afarganyu’ on the side of one door, witha beautifully enamelled yellow/gold flame which showsthe afarganyu lit up by a burning flame.

There are many such small and intimate detailling ofvarious flowers and birds and animals making this a

The Maharaja Exhibition & the Silver Carriage of Pestonjee Press

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by nazneen spliedt

wonderful piece of artistic fantasy. This carriage alsobears the “badge” of the Fort Coach Factory, which isunusual and suggests that Mr Press considered thiscarriage to be his masterpiece.

This carriage is now owned by Sinai & Sons and wason loan to the travelling exhibition, which was seen inToronto, San Francisco, Richmond, Virginia andChicago.

Pestonjee Press was a master coach builder who builtcarriages for many of the Maharajas as well as forvarious British Governors. He was famous for histechnology as well as his artistry in making gold andsilver carriages. His company also built car bodies inlater years.

To make the exhibition relevant to modern audiencesand to the children, a local animator – Sanjay Patelwas asked to design modern murals within the buildingand asked if he could “activate the exterior of thebuilding based on the exhibition”.

What he came up with really caught the museumvisitor’s attention and his ‘fame’ brought many morevisitors, specially from the South Asian community, whorarely visit museums, into the building. He took the storyof the maharajas and their consorts and built them intomodern animated images by using the ancient symbolsand bringing them to life for the viewer.

This exhibition showed that there was a great deal ofgive and take among the cultures and even under theRaj, Indian artists continued to find ways to keepadvancing. The cultural and artistic interchangebetween India and England was one of the mostinteresting and fundamental aspects of this exhibition.

The Victoria & Albert Museum has a vast treasure troveof objects and it was a great pleasure for audiences inNorth America to have the opportunity to get a glimpseof a small selection.

Sources: Asian Art Museum of San Francisco-Magazine Fall2011;Parsiana- Oct 21, 2010 issue

Photo Credit: Author’s husband, Ehler SpliedtSanjay Patel artwork: Courtesy of Asian Art Museum SanFrancisco CA. USA

Nazneen is a proudKarachite, having been bornand raised there. She ismarried to Ehler and they’vespent over 25 years livingand working in manycountries, the last 14 ofthem in Hong Kong untilthey decided to retire inCalifornia in 1998. She isactive with the Asian ArtMuseum and served for 8years on the Board of theSociety for Asian Art, thelast two as its President.Since 2005 she is Presidentof ZANC, the Zoroastrianassociation in NorthernCalifornia, busy organisingevents and communityactivities. She enjoys hervolunteer jobs andtravelling.


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The afarganu on the carriage

The carriage door

Rear of carriage

The elaborate wheel brace


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“The place has a unique culture, a serenityand simplicity that is worth a watch. Itsdynamic location along the Maharashtra andGujarat border does little to conceal itsuniqueness,” writes Parvez. “Picturescaptured by star photographer, Shantanu Dasdepicts its nostalgia, its semi-urban settingsand distinctive heritage in terms ofarchitecture, furniture, lifestyle and more.”

Parvez Damania, noted businessman firstdrew Shantanu’s attention to this place. In thewords of Shantanu, “I chose Udvada becauseof its immense need for restoration and itshistoric importance which is being lost in thisfast-paced world. No one has the time to stopand look around this place. These are greyingParsis living in a peaceful setting, yet there’sno one coming forward to restore this historicland to a glory it deserves. The pictures cryout for the need to lend a helping hand to thecommunity and the place and to take effortsto protect this fast diminishing heritage.”

Parvez Damania

Shantanu Das writes a bit abouthimself ...

“As a child, I was very fond of a prehistoric 120-format Agfa click 3 camera owned by my uncle.Each time we went out for a vacation, my uncleused to carry that magic lantern with him. I wasnever allowed to touch the camera and that onlyinstigated my curiosity about the machine. Godknows from where I got the idea that there issomeone who lives inside a camera and creates theplants, hills, sunsets and human beings who alwayssmile. Years later and much before I startedfreelance photography, the myth of a man who livesinside a camera was exposed, but the fantasy andmagic that revolves around photography still lingerson ...

“I’m now in the field of photography for the last 15years; earlier working as a freelance photographerand then coming onboard the Bombay. Presentlyeven as I work at the Times of India Group inBombay, I regularly participate in all majorNational and International photographic exhibitionsand competitions and have received various andaccolades for my work both locally andinternationally. Recently I won the NationalGeographic Traveller Photography Award 2011.

“I’ve participated in numerous exhibitions aroundthe world; be it in Spain, the Caribbean islands,Philippines, Austria and Germany etc., apart frommany cities across India.”

Udvada -

qShantanu Das

All photographscourtesy of ParvezDamania

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Khordeh Avesta:First of all in Zoroastrianism we need toknow the basics. One of them is theKhordeh Avesta. I started the KA in June2006 and completed it in seven months,which included 5 gehs, 5 niyashes, DoaVispa Humata, Doa Nam Satayashne andChar disa no namaskar; also HormazdYasht, Ardibehsht Yast, Haptan Yash,Sarosh Yasht Hodokht, Sarosh yasht Vadi,Hom Yasht , Vanant Yast and Siroja Yashtand it was done in a pretty amazing period.

Yasna:I had completed my yasna in 1.5 yearsapproximately. The yasna includes 72chapters (or Has), along with a smallextension of 22 chapters (or Kardas). Thisextension is also known as the “Visparad”.Mostly people complete theyasna in three to four years,some may even take five tosix years!

Navar:I became navar on10.11.2008 in the ParsiCalander 24.03.1378. Beforewe perform any Pavmehelceremony in Udvada, wehave to take a nahan. Anahan is a period of 10 dayswhere you clean your sins by

A 13-year old mobed tells his story

Iby dinshaw paurusasp magol

Intro:My life is, or was, very different from other 12 to 13 year olds. While theywould be playing on their digital devices, I would be sitting and reciting myprayers or studies.

Starting point (Dadar Athornan Institute):When I was merely 7, I was admitted in DAI. It was June 2006 when I entered.I was in the second standard. I had just left “Kangaroo Kid”. There were 31students at the DAI.

staying in solitary confinement. In the navarceremony we have to take two nahans. Oneis for ourselves and the other is for the‘ravan’ (or the person for whose sake wetake the nahan). One is ‘Anushe Rawan’,that is, the person for whose sake you takethe nahan is dead; the other is the ‘ZindeRavan’, for the person whose sake you takethe nahan is alive.

Vendidad:The vendidad is a prayer which we performduring the “ Maratab” ceremony. It includes22 chapters and the Yasna and Visparad allmixed up. You have to sit all night tocomplete it because it is so long.I completed the Vendidad in one year. Mostpeople take two to three years. In theVendidad the chapters are called“Pargarads”.


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Maratab & Shamel:I became a Maratab on 25.10.2009 and inthe Parsi Calendar 08.03.1379 whichcoincided with my mom’s birthday. Just twodays after your maratab you have to give anexam known as the Shamel. In the Shamelmany senior mobeds take your test to seewhether you are fit to be a boywalla for PakIranshah Saheb. One question which isclearly etched in my memory, is like this:“What is the name of the 19th Paragarad ofthe Vendidad?” I wasn’t even 10 years oldat that time and tried to figure the questionout, but one of the other mobeds said that itwasn’t fair to ask such a small boy such adifficult question. I would also like tomention the names of a few mobeds whotook my Shamel exam. Faramroz Bhadha,Faramroz Sidhwa, Baji Mirza, Firoz Dastur,Jehanbux Bharda and Dara Bharda. Daradid my navar etc.

Experiences

Navjote: I was 6 years old at that time in the1st standard and quite a bit afraid of all themobeds. I always thought priests alwayshad long, long beards, fierce tempers andham-like hands. Whenever we enter anyagiari or Atashbehram, first we have to say‘sahebji’ to all mobeds, known or unknown.I was very unfamiliar with this practice.However, my father told me that it was acourtesy to wish the mobeds, as they arealways preoccupied with prayers. I was veryafraid of the mobeds as I have told you andthought that if I didn’t do ‘sahebji’ theywould give me a scolding. Of course,nothing such ever happened, nevertheless Ialways did ‘sahebji’ to every mobed. Theprayers of the navjote ceremony are verysimple and I was brilliant. My navjote wasdone in the atashbehram by the VadaDasturji Khurshed K Dastur. I waswondering what on earth did this big manwith his big name was doing? My fatherexplained to me that a Vada Dastur was thehead of the management of anAtashbehram. There is normally only oneVada Dastur in an Atashbehram but inUdvada there are two. Because IRANSHAHis the most sacred, holy and an old firetemple in the world.

Navar: I was 9 years old at that time and inthe 4th standard. I had all my prayers readyand fluent. There are 4 yazashnes to do innavar. My first two yasnas were withEr Kobad Bharda and the last two were withEr Dara Bharda. On the 4th day we hadorganized a grand party and invited everymember of the family.

Martab & Shamel: I was10 years old and in the 5th

standard. I was verynervous and did not liketo pray all night in amosquito ridden place.However, it went verynicely and with noproblems except for somevery severe cramps inboth the legs as you haveto sit cross-legged from12:40 am to 7:45 am.Maratab was a quiet affairand no one was invitedexcept Mamavaji,mamaiji, Aban fuiji andArmaity fuiji. Just twodays afterwards I gavemy Shamel and passed it.Senior mobeds were veryhappy with my answers.

I also put sukhad on PakIranshaji with ‘Nahan’. Itwas very nice.

Before thje navar procession

Left, Dastujr Khurshed K Dastur & Dastur Dr Peshotan H Mirza escorting Dinshaw for firstday navar ceremony

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So that is the story of my life. Hope you like it.

[The text has been unedited to retain the charm of the young writer.

Magol, now 13, completed the three degrees of Zoroastrian priesthood studyincluding ‘Navar’, ‘Maratab’ and ‘Shamel’ at the Dadar Athornan Institute. Thismakes him the youngest priest in the country to become eligible to perform ritualsat the 270-year-old fire temple in Udvada. – Ed]

Father Paurus writes this as a note to the Editor:

“Junior forgot to mention that the DPYA (Dadar Parsi Youth Assembly) school and theDAI taught him free as long as he was in the DAI, for which we are extremely thankful.Presently he is studying in the Activity High School.

“That he has also done his Shamel – Chasni on 06.05.2010 (21.09.1379) which means thatthe performing priest with nahan have accepted him in their inner circle. It is a veryimportant ceremony, without which you cannot do the pavmehel ceremonies in Udvada.He entered Iranshaji on this day for the first time and perhaps the youngest to do so.

“That he has not done the boy ceremony as he has to perform in the Magol (Katila) familyturn, with family senior and only after his NOC he can perform on his own. Our turn doesnot come in the May vacation so we have a big problem.

“Doing quite well in school, enjoys Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton. Excellent reading habits,but very talkative and mischievous in school. (Paurus was a terror and most probably stillis! - Ed). And finally credit, if any, must go to the mother who is quite aggressive inDinshaw’s studies. Followers of David Hume are known to be complacent.” – [Maharukh& Paurusasp are the proud parents]

§

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The Long & Rich Maritime History ofZarathushtis:The ancient Persians were recognized to bemaster craftsmen and worthy naval warriors.The Persian armada of the Achaemenian erawas a battle-hardened fleet having foughtmany historic naval battles in the Greco-Persian Wars (Battles of Marathon – 490BC;Battles of Thermopylae & Salamis – 480BC)involving at times as many as 600+ ships.Persian traders and merchants were alsoknown to have traveled on Persian vesselsto faraway places including China.

After the fall of the Sasanian Empire in 651AD, small groups of Zarathushtis fled toIndia by sea to escape the increasinglyviolent persecutions by the new followers ofIslam. No voyage was too perilous and noland too distant for these Zarathushtibelievers to preserve, protect and practicetheir religion. It is believed that thesevoyages during the 7 th, 8th and 9th centuriesbegan mostly from the southeastern shoresof Khorasan and the Strait of Hormuz,regions of Persia (now Iran) and at timesencountered serve weather conditions, butcommendable navigational abilities broughtthese refugees safely to the coastal areasof Gulf of Khambhat (Cambay) in theGujarat province of India.

More recently, during the 18 th and 19th

centuries in Mumbai, prominent Parsi/Zarathushtis shipbuilders like the Wadias

The Parsi-Zarathushtis and the American Encounter!

by shahrokh mehta

WWho would have imagined that a British ship built in India by Parsi/Zarathushtimaster ship-builders would see battle action half-way round the world, andonboard, an American lawyer would scribe a poem, which later would becomethe American National Anthem? The reader may have some brief awarenessof parts of this story, but provided here on the eve of its 200th anniversary, forthe reader’s interest, is an ensemble of fascinating background to this“American Encounter,” – where Zarathushti history, Parsis in India, the HMSMinden, the 1812 war between United States and Britain, Francis Scott Key,and the American Anthem all come together.

and merchants such as the Jeejeebhoys,the Sethnas and the Readmoneys becamepioneers in opening up lucrative sea-traderoutes with China. 1 The families ofDinshaws and the Cowasjees of Karachiowned and operated merchant fleets duringthe major part of the 20 th century. Morerecently, in the late 1970s the chief of navalstaff in India was Admiral Jal Cursetji.Some may say that seafaring has alwaysbeen in the DNA of the Parsi/Zarathushtis,be it in war or shipbuilding or trade or in thedefense of the nation.

Mumbai - The City & its History:The modern growth of the port city ofMumbai was primarily due to the expansionof trade and commerce with the maritimeworld. Mumbai as we see today is builtupon the blood and sweat of hardworkingand visionary Indians. The seven islands ofgreater Mumbai consisting of Colaba,Mazagaon, Old Woman’s Island, Wadala,Mahim, Parel and Matunga-Sion have along and rich history dating back to oncebeing part of the north Indian kingdom ofAshoka, later of the Thackerays, theMauryans, the Sultans of Gujarat, thePortuguese and finally the British. Eachcivilization left their footprint on the sevenislands. The original settlers of the sevenislands were the Koli fishermen, whoworshipped Mumbaidevi (her temple stillstands at Babulnath near Chopatty). TheKolis called the island Mumbai – aftermother goddess – Mumba. It was the British

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who built a city out of the group of sevenislands and called her Bombay2.

The Parsi/Zarathushtis & the British:Parsi/Zarathushtis in India for centuries werefarmers, shopkeepers, craftsmen andmerchants, working mostly out of smalltowns and villages on the western coast ofIndia in the state of Gujarat [ie. Surat;Navsari; Udwada, Daman; Sanjan; Pardi;Hansot; Ankleshwar; Bharuch; Vandodra;Khambhat, Diu]. They were hardworking,honest and enterprising members of theimmigrant community and excelled in theirrespective vocations. The establishment ofthe British owned powerful East IndiaTrading Company, and subsequently thegovernment of Britain ruling the Indiancontinent for over a century, providedenterprising Parsi/Zarathushtis with a historicopportunity to advance their vocational andbusiness acumen. They started migratingfrom Gujarat to the growing sea port ofBombay. Parsi/Zarathushtis became faithfulallies of the British masters, especially in theindustrial and economic development ofBombay. As a result of this mutuallybeneficial alliance, educational, social andcultural infrastructures were built, theirbusiness leadership was strengthened andParsi/Zarathushtis became influentialmembers of the Indian society.

Parsi/Zarathushti Shipbuilders - TheWadia Family:The shipbuilding family of the Wadias(meaning shipbuilders) was originally fromSurat, an important trading post on thewestern coast of India, where the British,along with the French, Dutch andPortuguese had established trading posts asearly as the 15th century. The patriarch of theWadia dynasty was Lovji Nusserwanjee. TheBritish East India Company had contractedthe services of Lovji and his brother Sorabjito build and maintain ships and dry-docks inBombay around 1750. For the next 150+years, several generations of the Wadiafamily built over 400 ships for the Britishmercantile and the British navy as well aswere engaged in building dry-docks and shipsalvage operations. The Wadias built shipsfrom cutters and clippers to sloops and

schooners and from merchant ships andman-o-wars to frigates and steamships3.The HMS Tricomalee (built in 1817 bymaster shipbuilder Jamsetjee BomanjeeWadia), restored and placed in ‘HartlepoolMaritime Experience’ museum in England isconsidered the oldest surviving Britishwarship.5 Ships built by the Wadias ofMumbai have sailed the seven seas andhave played decisive roles at manyhistorical maritime events of the world.

Wadias & the New World:An American merchant, George Nicholas fromSalem, Massachusetts visited India in 1799and established business relations withParsees like Nasservanji Maneckji Wadia andothers. In his autobiography, Nicholas wrote,“Parsees were some of the most intelligentpeople, rich and honorable in their dealings 3.”

Hand-painted portraits of NusserwanjeeManeckjee Wadia as well as RustomjiHirjeebhoy Wadia are at the Peabody EssexMuseum in Salem, Massachusetts.

It is interesting to note that Ardeshir CursetjiWadia, grandson of Nusserwanji’s ManeckjiWadia’s brother, was the first Parsi to visitUnited States in 1849. And the first Parsi onrecord to come to the US for education wasBurjor Wadia in 1916 at University ofMichigan who later became a top-rankingengineer with Ford Motor Company3.

HMS Minden:Among the hundreds of ships built by the

Wadias, oneparticular shipbuilt by JamshedjiBomanji Wadia,named HMSMinden, waslaunched from theDuncan Docks inMumbai on June19,1810. TheBombay Courierwrote on June23,1810 about thebeauty of thisman-o-war’sconstruction

HMS Minden


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including “strength of its frame, superiorityof its timber and skills of its architects.” 3

Named after the German town Minden andthe battle of Minden in 1759, a decisivevictory of the British and Prussian forcesover France in the Seven Years’ War, thiswas the first ship built in colonial India thatwas commissioned into the Royal Navy andbegan active service around the world.HMS Minden was a 74-gun Ganges-classship. It weighed 1721 bm tons and was 169ft. long (gundeck); beam of 48 ft. and depthof hold 20 ft. It took nine years (1801 to1810) from the time the Minden wasordered till it was finally launched.4

HMS Minden saw action and service in Java(1811); Chesapeake Bay (1812); Trincomalee,East Indies (1819); Plymouth (1830); Malta(1839); Cape of Good Hope and SouthAmerica; and in Hong Kong as a hospital ship(1841-42). The ship was finally scraped in1861. In memory of the versatility and historicalachievements of the ship, two streets in HonkKong were named after her, Minden Row andMinden Avenue, located behind the Single Hillof Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon, Hong Kong.4

HMS Minden & the War of 1812:The 1812 war between the newly formedrepublic of the United States (in 1776) and

its past colonial ruler Britain was a two-yearbattle that set the boundaries between theUnited States and Canada. The Britishforces by August 24, 1814 had burned theUS Capitol, the White House and the officesof Treasury Departments. From there, theBritish troops moved on to attack FortMcHenry in the Baltimore harbor inChesapeake Bay.

Francis Scott Key & the Writing of theAmerican National Anthem:Just prior to the attack on FortMcHenry on September 11,1814, Dr William Beanes, alocal physician in the town ofupper Marlboro in Marylandmade a citizens’ arrest ofseveral rowdy stragglers. Thisact was taken as a hostileaction by the Britishcommander. British forcesimmediately took the physicianinto custody. Upon hearing ofDr Beanes’ arrest, AmericanPrisoner Agent Colonel JohnStuart Skinner and a youngBaltimore lawyer, Francis ScottKey pleaded with the BritishCommander for his release. The BritishCommander agreed to the release, buttemporarily detained the lawyer, the coloneland the doctor aboard one of his troopships, the HMS Minden, as the threebecame aware of the intended attack onFort McHenry as well as the strength andposition of the British units. The attack ofFort McHenry was fierce and Key, also anamateur poet, who witnessed (“Oh say canyou see”) the horrendous bombardment(“the rocket’s red glare, the bombs burstingin air”) from the deck of HMS Minden,seemed to believe that the fall of the Fortwas imminent.

As the sun went down, Key saw (“o’er theramparts we watched”) the large red, whiteand blue flag of the republic remained flying(were so gallantly streaming) from the fort(“what so proudly we hailed by the twilight’slast gleaming, whose broad stripes andbright stars”) and was convinced that by thefollowing morning, the fort would be

Nussarwanji Maneckji Wadia, oil oncanvas, by a Chinese artist in Bombay,ca. 1803

Francis Scott Key

Rustomji Hirjeebhoy Wadia, Bombay, ca.1859. Both pictures are part of thePeabody Collection in Essex Museum,Massachusetts, USA.

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destroyed and the republic’s flag would bereplaced by the Union Jack, as a sign of thefort’s surrender. But when the morningcame (“dawns early light”) Key was amazedto see the flag still flying (“gave proofthrough the night that our flag was stillthere) although scarred from the battle. Keywas most likely overwhelmed by emotionsat the sight of the tattered flag still wavinghigh over the fort (banner yet wave o’er theland of the free and the home of the brave.”)

As a result, Key was so inspired, hehurriedly scribbled a few lines describingwhat he had witnessed and when puttogether later, it read as follows: “Oh saycan you see, by the dawns early light whatso proudly we hailed by the twilight’s lastgleaming, whose broad stripes and brightstars, through the perilous fight, o’er theramparts we watched, were so gallantlystreaming and the rocket’s red glare, thebombs bursting in air, gave proof throughthe night that our flag was still there. Ohsay, does the Star-Spangled Banner yetwave, o’er the land of the free and the homeof the brave.”

The poem was anonymously published amonth later on September 20, 1814 in alocal Baltimore paper, The Baltimore Patriot ,titled “The Defense of Fort McHenry” . Thepoem was quickly reprinted (with threeadditional paragraphs added) in many localand national newspapers and renamed“Star Spangled Banner.” After music wasadded to the narrative, with an executiveorder from President Woodrow Wilson in1916 (one hundred years later), and acongressional resolution in 1931, it officiallybecame the American National Anthem, onMarch 3, 1931.6

The National Anthem is played thousands oftime a day in the United States, at the startof sporting events, on military bases at thebeginning and end of each day and at localfestivals, fairs, and community gatherings.The striking words of the anthem havemuch emotion and significance for thosewho sing and those who listen. It oftenbrings tears to many, especially to the

millions of war veterans and servicemenand women. Whether the United States is atwar or during peaceful times, the Anthemresonates through the mind, body and soulof Americans.

Conclusion:The Parsi/Zarathushtis of India andespecially the illustrious Wadia family ofmaster shipbuilders have unknowingly left alasting legacy by constructing generationsof superior quality ships connecting theseaways of the world. The expansion ofinternational maritime trade and commercebrought recognition and prosperity to India.It brought enormous affluence especially tothe pioneering Parsi/Zarathushti communitythat used the wealth in building and fundingeducational institutions, libraries, hospitals,temples of worship, low-cost communityhousing and numerous charitablefoundations.

Today there are more Parsi/Zarathushtisliving in the United States (10,000+) than atany other time in its history. The StarSpangled Banner is their national anthem.But now, with this connection, every time aParsi/Zarathushsti hears the nationalanthem, it may have an additional relevance- one of heritage and pride.

References:

1.The Parsi Zoroastrian Association of Singapore (http://pza.org.sg/History/Proud%Parsis.htm)2. Who built Bombay & not Mumbai by Tushar Gandhi.3. The Wadias of India: Then and Now (http:// www.zoroastrian.org.uk/vohuman/Article/ The%20Wadias%20of%20India.htm)4. HMS Minden (1810) - wikipedia5. Wadias: Built Oldest Surviving UK Warship - Parsikhabar (http://parsikhabar.net/history/wadias- built-oldest-surviving-uk-warship/2689/)6. Francis Scott Key – wikipedia

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Shahrokh Mehta was born in Karachi, left for Tehran in 1965and immigrated to the US in 1980. He is a certifiedmanagement consultant who lives and works in Syracuse, NewYork. Shahrokh’s maternal grandmother Jerbai was a Wadiafrom Porbandar. The family legend has it that part of the Wadiafamily was asked by the British to move to Karachi to set up ashipyard there as there was not enough work for all the Wadiamaster carpenters/ship builders at the Bombay dockyards. Buton their way, they were shipwrecked at Porbandar. Since thelate 19 th century, Wadias have been living in Porbandar andtoday only a small number still live there.


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Homi Seervai wasone of India’sgreatest legal minds.His monumentalwork ‘TheConstitutional Law ofIndia’ (in words ofLord Bingham) “hasan assured placeamong the greatlegal treatises of theworld’’. Apart frombeing an eminentjurist he will alwaysbe remembered forhis high principlesand fierceindependence. He

espoused causes which he believed wereright and was totally fearless in his criticismof any wrong-doing, irrespective of where itoriginated from or the person responsible.He was the Advocate-General ofMaharashtra for 17 years and politelydeclined an invitation to be the AttorneyGeneral for India, because he had, at thetime, embarked on crafting his magnumopus on Constitutional Law and placed itscompletion above all else. Earlier in 1957he had declined a Supreme Courtjudgeship. Had he accepted it, he wouldhave had a 14-year tenure in the SupremeCourt, with five and half years as ChiefJustice. He was also the only Indian to beever conferred an Honourary Fellowship ofthe British Academy (FBA) for servicesrendered in the field of Law. Homi passedaway on 26th January 1996.

Homi & Feroza Seervai

A few months ago on 5th March2012, his loving and devoted wifeFeroza passed away, mercifullyafter a very brief illness and withall her mental faculties intact.Feroza was an amazing lady. Shemade no bones about the fact thatshe was an atheist, but it wouldbe impossible to find even asingle non-Zoroastrian trait in her.

She, like Homi, was a greatchampion of truth and was alwaysready to fight for what shebelieved was right. With heramazing grit and tenacity sheoften achieved the impossible.Feroza was not a lawyer herselfand yet, rarely would Homi settle his arguments in an importantmatter without bouncing his own early thoughts, as they first tookshape, off Feroza. He made no bones about publiclyacknowledging this ‘failing’ of his and there is many a delightfultale of the mention en-passant of Feroza’s views by Homi, in thecourse of arguments, within the hallowed premises of theSupreme Court of India.

Hamazor requested Prof Sheryar Ookerjee, one of Feroza’s oldest friends from her student days atWilson College, to write about them by way of a tribute to these two wonderful lives. Sheryar has puttogether a piquant collection of personal encounters with both of them over several years, and, forthose who had the good fortune of knowing Homi & Feroza, this little piece will bring back wonderfulmemories of an extraordinary couple, a delightful family and several of the principles that were sodear to both of them.

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Courtesy of Homi Khushrokhan

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Feroza and I used to attend acourse of lectures on Bradley’sAppearance and Reality by J C Pd’Andrade, the doyen ofphilosophy teachers in Bombay,at Wilson College, on everyMonday evening. Feroza thoughtnothing of taking bites at a sweetlime during the lecture,something which could not haveoccurred to us to do in the 40’s. (Isaw it done at New York in 2001).She made no bones aboutannouncing, on the slightestopportunity, that she was anatheist. A fellow student, whoalso happened to be a Managerof some firm, asserted God’s

existence. “How can the world go onwithout God’s guidance?’ he asked. Ferozawas quick to answer, “Because you are aManager, you think the world also needs aManager!” Students in those days wouldnot dream of addressing each other by theirfirst names. A Mr Bisney tried it on Feroza.“Miss Lalkaka, please”, she snapped back.

With such an active mind, it is a pity thatFeroza did not pursue working for her MAby thesis under Prof Pratapgiri of WilsonCollege. She had declared she would notthink of marriage for ten years. For the firsttime, Homi was late in meeting her one dayat the Asiatic Library, because his tram had

NHomi & Feroza - A personal impression

“Not for you, gentleman”, rang out the voice of Feroza Seervai at a lecture atthe NCPA. She got up from her seat for an old woman, but before the ladycould occupy it, a young man grabbed it. The man slunk away, abashed. ButFeroza was never abashed at a public (or private) expression of her feelingsor desires. This incident was a typical example of a prominent attribute of herpersonality – to speak out without feeling at all shy – and also of another – hereagerness to do something for someone.

by sheryar ookerjee

caught fire. But meeting her on that fatefulday, “his heart caught fire”, she said, andsoon they were married. “But what aboutyour thesis on “The Right to Revolt”, Iasked. “Oh, my husband will be a far betterguide than any other. “The Right to Revolt”was abandoned.

Feroza’s keenness to help otherspenetrated the roads and by lanes of theirlives. She was in college, a talent scout.She took under her ample wing, studentswith any potential and coaxed them, goadedthem to go in for debates, oratoricalcompetitions and dramatic competitions atCollege Day. She backed Nissim Ezekiel’schoice of taking literature and almost forcedme to do Philosophy, a choice I have neverregretted. She herself was an effectivedebater and won for the college a covetedinter-college trophy, beating(metaphorically) a famous debater, BobbyPadamsee. She was a competent actor,and once did Henry VIII (well suited to herpersonality).

Feroza displayed tremendous energy inhelping others to do things and alsoactivating them, if hesitant out of diffidenceor laziness, to do things for themselves.Deriving no benefit herself, she would pressthem repeatedly till they acted. Her own lifefurnished examples of “never take no for ananswer”. According to a law at the time,

Feroza Seervai - 1953


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anyone who reported the vacant possessionof a flat to the proper authority had a right tothe flat. She did this, but the officerconcerned would not act, and evaded hisduty for sometime by saying that someother party had reported this matter beforeher. She then sat in his office and said shewould not leave until he proved to hersatisfaction that this was a fact. The flat atChurchgate, where she and Homi lived foraround half a century, was assigned to her.She expected others to perform similarly.

Homi’s helpfulnessgenerally (notexclusively)concerned legalmatters. He diligentlyinspected theagreements we madewith builders in thecase of two of the flatswe bought, but themore spectacular wasthe help he renderedto the Petitioner in theLawande Vs. TheSyndics of theBombay University in1962. Dr Lawande,Professor of

Philosophy at Wilson College, wasdismissed due to an adverse resolutionpassed against him by the University. Homifought for 12 days, free of charge, for theprofessor, on the ground that theUniversity’s resolution was a case ofconspiracy and that the University had nojurisdiction over a private college to hire ordismiss a teacher. Apart from the legalquestion, Homi’s indignation welled upbecause Lawande was a poor man with alarge family. If you went to attend a hearing,you did not need to inquire in which courtthe case was being heard. As you steppedout of the lift, you heard Homi’s piercingvoice at full steam. The room was filled tooverflowing. The rector, who representedthe Syndics, was mauled by Homi for threedays, at the end of which he was helped outby his friends, a ‘shattered wreck” (inHomi’s words). Because the Judge made astrong plea that the matter be ended, a

compromise was reached. The question ofjurisdiction was never settled, to our greatdisappointment.

The Seervai family’s love of literature was wellknown. Feroza, when in USA and England,even attended classes to learn to polish upher versification, and published a slim book ofpoems. Justice Jahagirdar related how duringa conference, provoked by some reference,Homi walked up and down and rolled outMark Anthony’s entire speech from JuliusCaesar. One morning, Homi did not appearto be his usual cheerful self. He took down ananthology of verse and read out to me amoving poem. I didn’t see its relevance till Ilearned later that one of his close friends, MrB P Sethna had died that morning. At mywife’s cremation, we had no prayers, butFeroza on her own, read out two poems. Itwas very fitting that at Feroza’s cremation, herchildren read out her favourite poems.

Homi had immense self-confidence whendealing with legal matters, legal and manyothers which interested him, but in details ofdaily life, he showed extreme caution,particularly where children were concerned.Once, when we were holidaying in Matheran,a picnic was organized to Panorama Point,about 2Ω miles from Rugby Hotel. Homidecided that we must all go by rickshaw. Isaid I would walk. Homi, who had acompletely unjustified notion that I wasunpunctual (a grave shortcoming for him),turned down my proposal, because I woulddelay the expedition. I was ready to ride.“No” said Homi, “not where children arearound”. So, at precisely 3pm, thecavalcade set off from Rugby Hotel withseven rickshaws and a hamper of tea andsnacks. It was a glorious afternoon,everyone was in high spirits. But not for verylong, because little Navroz would insist onwanting to go to the edge of the hill. “We aregoing back”, announced Homi to my wifeand me. So the two of us stayed behind togaze at the magnificent panorama andpartake as much as we could of the tea andsnacks. He also did not approve of mytaking Feroza to some place by a short cut.“No, stick to the main path”, said Homi, “weknow all about your short cuts”.

Homi Seervai - 1953

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All the Seervais shared a remarkable trait, very prominent in Homi. When they meet someone withwhom they are keen to talk about some matter of special concern, that person appears to them in akind of close-up. All others on the scene fade out of their visual field. Their mind focuses, for thetime being, with a highly concentrated laser beam on one small spot. Only after that matter issettled, do the others spring into being. For some months, Feroza and I were engaged in preparingfor the press, the manuscript of d’Andrade’s book, Philosophy and Life , of which Homi was one ofthe editors. After many a busy afternoon’s work, she and I would drive to the High Court to fetchHomi for the usual walk on Marine Drive. On the dot of 7 o’clock, Homi would come down to the car.Without any introduction, he would, without fail, ask Feroza, “How is Mehroo?” (his five year olddaughter, Meher). And Feroza would invariably reply, “Jolly”. Only then would I exist for Homi. Hewould shake my hand with a tight grip and a huge smile. And what a smile! It added something, asSterne would say, “to this fragment of life”.

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The Seervai Family

Sheryar Ookerjee was a lecturer and professor of Philosophy at the Wilson College for over 40years. When appointed, he was the youngest head of that department. He is truly a polymath - ascholar of music, a player of both the piano & organ, a great photographer, painter, sketch artist,very knowledgeable and learned in literature, poetry, history and may other of the fine arts.He published his first book at the age of 84: ‘Human Reason and its Enemies’, being a rigorouscritique of post-modernism. Recently, the K R Cama Institute published his lectures: Plato & theArthasastra on Plato’s Political Thought & Indian Political Thought.


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Their most recent production, ‘MindWalking’, uses the trapeze hoop as ametaphor for the door through which thehuman mind, struck by Alzheimer’s, entersand leaves the realms of reality andmemory. In the play, the protagonist is aParsi who begins to get back in touch withhis religious and cultural roots afterAlzheimer’s breaks down the barriers hehas built, so carefully, between his presentand his past. The play explores the socialtensions created by a mixed marriage, ofbeing disowned by his Indian family and thecultural cost endured to assimilate into thedominant culture.

This struggle between authenticity andsocial compromise, between past identitiesand new allegiances, is a theme that runsthrough the artistic projects undertaken byVafadari, over two decades of creativity. Itfinds expression in the Youth Theatre sheruns in Brighton, which grew out of herdesire to connect with teenagers who hadarrived on these shores from turbulentsocieties and war torn lands. “A bit of mymission was to show them that they toocould be part of western culture and have avoice in it. They came together to createtheir own play.

“Many had made their journey to the UK ontheir own and in difficult circumstances.

Flying High: Philippa Minoo Vafadari

AAt the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, a Zarthushti womanwill soar 40 meters high on the trapeze in the Olympics Stadium. She is oneamongst an elite group of 70 performers who will showcase Britain to theworld. This is yet another string to the bow of Philippa Minoo Vafadari, socialactivist and entrepreneur, actor, aerial artist, yoga teacher, and founder andartistic director of the theatre group, BandBazi.

Philippa Minoo Vafadari is a pioneer, in the UK, of Aerial Drama. In partnershipwith the Glasgow-based writer/director, John Binnie, she has staged a one-woman show, ‘Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus’, which was premiered at theEdinburgh Festival. Together they have written five plays, some of which havetoured in Britain, Ireland, Germany and India.

by soonu engineer

Here, too, theyhave sufferedhardships andmisunderstandings.I felt very stronglythat they shouldnot be an isolatedgroup and so Iinvited localyoung people tojoin them. Theymet everySaturday andtogether theywrote a play, ‘TheLast Meeting’,recalling their lastmoments in theirown countries.The play was puton at the Pavilion

Theatre, in Brighton.”

Vafadari is a veteran fundraiser. She got agrant in 2006 from the European SocialFund to develop employability skills throughtheatre. She believes that the theatreprovides an excellent opportunity forimparting life skills, such as team work, trustand responsibility. She was inspired by herown youth theatre experience, “where thedirector, Sue Gibbons, respected youngpeople as performers. Now that I have a

‘Mind Walking’

Soonu Engineer is a freelance management andtraining consultant in UK,special is ing in diversitymanagement and conflictresolution.

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youth theatre myself, I try to be like that withthem: building their confidence andencouraging them to support one another.”

I ask what fires this passion to tell the storyof new arrivals and of their past lives? “Myheritage,” she puts it simply, “is about Eastmeeting West.”

Vafadari is one of four childrenof a culturally mixed marriage:her English mother, Anne, is anurse and her IranianZarthushti father, Shahrokh, isan engineer. Though she wasbrought up in the exclusive,white, stock-broker beltaround Ashtead, in Surrey,and did not visit Iran till shewas 29, she is familiar withIranian culture. “The fiveIranian families in the areaformed a tight social groupand we also had a stream ofvisitors from Iran.† My auntscame and stayed for sometime. After the Iranianrevolution, we were joined bycousins who had convertedfrom Zoroastrianism to the

Ba’hai faith and had to flee from persecutionby the new regime.”

Her own time at school was not alwayssmooth. “There was some racism,” sherecalled. “When I got called a ‘Paki’, and Icomplained about it to a class teacher, Iwas told, ‘don’t tell tales’. In primary school,the other children didn’t want me to be intheir show and I remember getting kickedout of the swimming pool.” Today, Vafadariproduces videos such as, ‘See it! Say it!Stop it!’, where members of her YouthCircus Theatre worked with school children,to produce a short film encouraging youngpeople to challenge and report racially andreligiously motivated bullying.

“My school showed no interest in ourcultures,” she recalls. “For example, theHeadmaster didn’t seem to know that mybrother and I were not Christians and heexpressed astonishment that, ‘Philippa and

Martin aren’t Christians yet they were Headgirl and Head boy!’

“Once, when I applied to work with anelderly woman and she found out I wasIranian, she said, ‘I don’t know if I can trustyou in my house.’ Over the years I havealso sensed that the Iranian adults we knewhad experienced the proverbial, ‘glassceiling’ in their careers.”

Her parents took her to Zoroastrian Houseand, though a child of mixed parentage, shefound that most people were ‘veryaccepting’ – her mother, however, may nothave received a positive reception from‘much older people’. And there was the oddoccasion such as when a Parsi lady tried tobar non-Zarthushtis from a navjote. As ateenager, she put it down to ignorance.She willingly attended Ervad Bhedwar’sAvesta classes but neither she nor hersiblings had their navjotes done. “I’ve gotmultiple identities”, she points out. “Overall,my positive outlook is because I’m a child ofmy father. He had the attitude that when itcomes to religion, there’s a choice that youmake. So, just as we were not brought up tobe Christians, neither were our navjotesdone for us. I believe it’s not such asignificant ceremony for IranianZoroastrians as it is for Parsis. He was

Sudreh pooshi of Philippa Minoo & her siblings

‘Pussy Galore’, Edinburgh, 2002

Photographs of PhillipaMinoo taken by DavidChurchill


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really thrilled when we made the choice. In2007, when Mobed Kamran Jamsheedicame from Sweden to perform our brother’smarriage, all three of us – brother andsisters – had our sudreh pooshi done. Now,on our father’s 80 th birthday, five of hisgrandchildren will do their sudreh pooshi.”It is not often that children fulfill theirparents’ aspirations by following their ownentirely individualistic and novel path. Yet,Philippa Minoo seems to have done justthat. From the age of three, she took balletlessons, encouraged by her mother whohad wished she had learnt classical balletherself. At 14, she joined a youth theatreand would have stepped directly into anartistic career but for her father’s academicexpectations. So she completed a degree inEnglish Literature, then immediatelyembarked on another three year degree, inDramatic Art, at the Royal Conservatoire ofScotland.

She worked for 10 years as an actor and, atthe same time, trained at the BharatiyaVidya Bhavan, in West London, to becomea teacher of Shivananda Yoga. Alwayspushing at boundaries, she collaboratedwith a Canadian contemporary balletcompany, Tripsichore, †to create ‘yogadance’. Their Yoga Theatre produced threedance dramas, using yoga as a means fordramatic expression.

It seems that Philippa Minoo enjoysreinventing herself. Fifteen years ago, shebegan to study trapeze skills – rarely taughtor practiced in the UK at that time. “I couldsee how I could use this, so I decided totrain full-time with The Circus Space.” Theart form provided lucrative commissionssuch as performing in music videos, or incommercials for L’Oreal. “It was highly paidwork but not very rewarding.” That’s whenshe took her art out of the gilded world ofcommerce and into the exciting landscapeof social drama.

Her company, BandBazi,(www.bandbazi.co.uk.) uses aerial theatreto help people find a voice and tocommunicate outside their ownenvironment. Recently the company

received a grant to work with people whohad mental health problems. “We took theseed of their personal experience andcreated an installation, using different formsof artistry to express the multiple layers oftheir journey: through descent into ill health,personal crisis, and finding peer support.We rehearsed every week for six months.Then, overone week,the publiccame andexperiencedtheirjourney.”

PhilippaMinoo isconstantlyseeking tolink the in-group withthe out-group. Hersis a searchforconnectednessandinclusion;as well as atribute to the contribution that diversecultures make to what is Britain today. Lastmonth she transformed the famous BathingHuts of Brighton into an exotic venue whichlocal people could visit to get to know thestories of five Iranian women. She has alsomade a film, ‘Swimming in the Persian Gulf’,as a “metaphor for freedom and choice. AnIranian woman swims in Brighton –something she may not be able to do inpublic in Iran unless she wears the hijab;but she may also choose, in Britain, to weara hijab.” Those are the contradictions thatdelight and inspire the artist in her.

Philippa Minoo’s partner, David Churchill, isa photographer. They live in Brighton with theirtwo young children, daughter, Minoo, 9 andson, Hardy, 12. We will all be watching out forher at the London Olympics.

[Philippa Minoo Vafadari will be writing in thenext issue of Hamazor her experience ofperforming at the London Olympics – Ed]

‘Swimming in the Persian Gulf’

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The theme of each of the seven exhibitionpanels is illustrated by the lyrics of a songby one of the most incredible Zoroastrians,the rock star, Freddie Mercury. During theMillennium celebrations, his song,We are the Champions, was voted the mostpopular of all time.

This groundbreakingexhibition for the first timeputs in a simple yetcompelling format, the storyand importance ofZoroastrianism and thefollowers of Zoroaster andtheir impact acrosstime and continents.

The Z Factor, whicheventually will goonline on the ASHAwebsitewww.ashacentre.org,can be usedthroughout the world toillustrate the beautyand eternal messageof the prophet’steachings as well asthe extraordinary livesand achievements ofhis followers, who havemade their mark inevery field, with

The Z Factor

TThe Z Factor is a unique exhibition, which was launched in London at theWomen’s Library on May 23rd. The exhibition highlights the tenets ofZoroastrianism and features Zoroastrians, past and present, who have leftextraordinary legacies, not just for their own community but for everyone. Italso celebrates the achievements of Zerbanoo Gifford as a symbol of herZoroastrian community. Her life has combined the Zoroastrian tradition ofpublic service, philanthropy, and fighting for others’ human rights with themodern imperatives of sustainable living, women’s empowerment andinterfaith action.

by adrian locher

integrity and industry, and have been aninspiration not only for their own communitybut for the world.

Although many, many more could havebeen included, those featured are therebecause they illustrate the sheer diversity of

talent in such a smallcommunity. They showthose whose lives are nowthe stuff of legend, andmodern Zoroastrians whoseimpact on the societies theylive in is an example ofexcellence. Even though

there are now onlyaround a hundredthousandZoroastrians in theworld, theircontribution isstaggering. Thetwentieth centuryspiritual master,Meher Baba, whoseIrani family settled inPune when he was ayoung boy, was theinspiration for theaward-winning songDon’t Worry, BeHappy, and PeteTownshend of TheWho dedicated the

Zerbanoo Gifford


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rock-opera,Tommy, to him. Others includeHomi Bhaba, the father of Indian nuclearpower, who died a young and sudden deathwhen his plane exploded over the Alps;Jamsheed Marker, the world’s longestserving ambassador, a distinguished andmuch loved diplomat; India’s first FieldMarshal, Sam Manekshaw, whose wit andcourage are legendary; the EngineerBrothers whose flying achievements wereunparalleled; the Godrej family whoseindustry and philanthropy in the field ofenvironmental protection and wildlifeconservation have been second to none;Aban Marker Kabraji who has also madeher mark as Asia Director, of theInternational Union for the Conservation ofNature; the Tata family who spawned J R DTata, the founder of Air India and Ratan Tatawho made the Tata Group the first industrialhouse in Britain; Zed Cama, the bankerrecognised as a leader in corporateresponsibility; and Shapurji Saklatvala, whowas a British Communist member ofparliament in the 1920s.

Zoroastrian women have also been at theforefront of industry, the media andcampaigning for women’s rights, from therevolutionary Bhikiji Cama, who is known asthe Mother of Indian Independence; FreneGinwala, the veteran ANC activist and firstwoman speaker of the National Assembly ofSouth Africa; and Farangis Shahrokh, acampaiginer for Iranian women’s rights.

Young Zoroastrians also feature in theexhibition, from Tanya Dubash and NisabaGodrej, sisters who hold prominentpositions in Godrej Industries, to ShireenIrani, the lawyer and award-winning founderof the legal charity, i-pro-bono and KyraShroff, the multi-discipline sportswoman.As ever, the Zoroastrians were the first in somany fields from the first woman barristerand women’s rights campaigner, MithanTata, to India’s first photo-journalist, HomaiVyarawalla; Bachi Karkaria, the first Indianon the board of the World Editors Forum;and Homai Durawalla, the first chair andwoman director of the Central Bank of India.Zoroastrians have also shone in the field ofinterfaith where Jehangir Sarosh is co-

moderator of the European Council ofReligious Leaders; the journalist andpolitician, Feroze Gandhi, who marriedIndira and was the father of Rajiv Gandhi,both prime ministers of India; and RattiJinnah, the wife of Mohammed Ali Jinnah,the founder of Pakistan. Zoroastrian womenhave also married into the highest ranks ofthe British aristocracy, includingBapsybanoo Pavry, the Marchioness ofWinchester.

The Z Factor also illustrates that cities suchas Bombay, Karachi, Aden and Hong Kongwere developed by Parsi initiatve andinvestment. The Adenwallas developed theport of Aden; Jehangir Ruttonjee was a HongKong philanthropist, famous for founding theRuttonjee Sanatoriums; Edulji Dinshaw wasa legend in the history of Karachi. Hebecame the largest single land-owner in thecity and set up hospitals and dispensaries,while his extensive charitable trust continuesto serve the community to this day. Today,Ardeshir Cowasjee is admired for hisfearless newspaper columns that exposecorruption and is known as the ‘guardian’ ofthe city of Karachi.

The exhibition has been personalised byfeaturing Zerbanoo Gifford who is celebratingthe 30th anniversary of her historical electionin 1982 to Harrow Council, when shebecame the first non-white woman to beelected for the Liberal Party anywhere in thecountry, and the following year againcreating history by becoming the first non-white woman to stand for parliament inBritain. It has taken a generation for Asianwomen to be elected but Zerbanoo remainsthe pioneer whose dignity, style andrelentless striving after excellence have ledher to be one of the few Zoroastrians in theBritish public arena today.

The sixth and seventh panels look atZerbanoo’s campaigning and the work ofthe ASHA Centre, which is now recognisedby the British Council and the EuropeanUnion as the premier centre in Europe forleadership training for young people. On thelast panel there is a lovely photograph ofyoung British Zoroastrians enjoying tea-time

www.the-z-factor.orgwww.ashacentre.org

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at the ASHA Centre and a group of youngpeople from around the world celebratingNavroze and learning about the importanceof the spring equinox to the ancient Persians.

Although it took Zerbanoo a great deal of timeto research and put together the lives ofindividual Zoroastrians who feature in theexhibition, it left her even prouder of hercommunity, whose impact on the world hasbeen staggering. She also mischievously saidthat if the unique Zoroastrian, Sohrab Godrej,a much loved friend of hers, and a formerpresident of the World Wildlife Fund, Asia,could put a preservation order on the cute andcuddly panda, surely there should be a WorldZoroastrian Fund that should put apreservation order on original and eccentricZoroastrians wherever they are to be found!

The Z Factor wasopened by BaronessJan Royall of Blaisdon,the Labour leader ofthe House of Lords, aneighbour of Zerbanooin the Royal Forest ofDean, where the ASHACentre is situated. Theday after, on Thursday24thMay, there was adebate in the House of

Lords on ‘Minority, Ethnic and ReligiousCommunities’ Cultural and Economiccontribution’, initiated by Lord Bilimoria, atwhich the Baroness Royall of Blaisdon singledout Zerbanoo Gifford in her speech to thelords: ‘I pay particular tribute to one, ZerbanooGifford, a tireless campaigner for justice andhuman rights and a passionate advocate fordemocracy and women’s empowerment. Sheis the founder of the Asha Centre in the Forestof Dean. “Asha” means “hope”. It is a place ofmany faiths and cultures, a haven of peaceand beauty where people, especially youngpeople, from Britain, the European Union andthe rest of the world come together to learnabout conflict resolution. Arab and JewishIsraeli young people spend time with eachother then go home united rather thandivided. It promotes volunteering. The centrefosters community participation through aprogramme of projects, arts and working on

the land encouraging young people tocelebrate their similarities, not theirdifferences. Young people, united by thestrength of their common endeavour, worktogether for a better future in which wecelebrate our differences as well as oursimilarities’.

Seldom do an individual and their work getso generously highlighted in Parliament.Zerbanoo was thrilled that the unique workof the ASHA Centre was recognised by theBaroness Royall, who is one of the mostrespected member of the Lords and formerleader. On the Baroness ’recent visit to theCentre, during a training course on issuesof Peace and Change for young peoplefrom ten different European countriesincluding Britain, she demonstrated hergenuine interest in the welfare of youngpeople and the importance of youthempowerment. She wowed the youngpeople by speaking their language andunderstanding their demands for a moreholistic approach to life and work. She saidshe loved being and honorary Zorro asZerbanoo calls her because she displaysthe qualities most prized by Zoroastrians,intelligence, integrity, industry andabundance of charm and guts.

The Z Factor exhibition will be offered to theorganisers of the next world conference ofZoroastrians in Mumbai in 2013 so thatZoroastrians can see for themselves theextraordinary DNA they have in them.

The construction of the seven panels waspartly funded by the Erach and RoshanSadri Foundation and Zerbanoo alsothanked all those who have contributed tothe Z Factor exhibition with enthusiasm,citing their generosity of spirit as a verytypical Zoroastrian quality.

Zerbanoo with Baroness Royall of Blaisdon

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Adrian Locher is an actor, voice coach and directorof many years’ experience. He studied the Historyof Ideas at Sussex University where he earned afirst class degree, before training at The LondonSchool of Speech and Drama. He is one of the co-founders of the Gloucester Theatre Company. Asthe Artistic Director of the ASHA Centre, he hasrun numerous drama-based programmes withyoung people from all over the world.


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As world citizens, Zoroastrians have risen toprominence, wherever they have chosen tolive. It is this essence of eminence thatASHAVANS – A Legacy of Leadership, anew book on outstanding Zoroastrianscaptures. Featuring the profiles of 101achievers and community stalwarts fromvarious walks of life, it not only depicts theircareer graphs, but also offers rare personalglimpses. It opens a window to the lives andideologies of these high performers, comingfrom different geographical regions aroundthe world, from Iran to India and from HongKong to Europe and North America.

This elegant coffee table book has aneclectic array of outstanding personalitiesfrom different spheres of humanendeavours, such as Business, Finance,Art, Literature, Science, Religion,Technology, Medicine, Law, Communityservice and other areas. Within the coversof the book are portrayals of not onlycommunity patriarchs, but also of youngand enterprising Zoroastrian entrepreneursand professionals who have made theirmark.

Apart from containing profiles of Zoroastrianmen and women who are actively involvedin their chosen fields, it also has an ‘InMemoriam’ section, which pays tribute tostalwarts of yesteryears, as well as an audioCD of our important ancient prayers, with alucid translation and evocative music. Its alabour of love which has evolved into atreasure.

The volume authored by Meher Bhesania,was released on 9th May 2012. A limitededition, the book is available at IRs 4,400.There will be no reprint of this book in thefuture and interested persons should sendan email at [email protected] of the book will be arranged free ofcost within Mumbai.

ASHAVANS: A Legacy ofLeadership

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Ashavans: A Legacy ofLeadershipProfiles of 101 EminentZoroastriansBy Meher BhesaniaPages: 219Price: IRs4,400

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Ratan Tata receives Life-time Achievement Award

Ratan Tata, Chairmanof Tata Sons wasbestowed a LifetimeAchievement Award bythe prestigiousRockefeller Foundationin New York, on 28June, for innovation inphilanthropy.

The Foundation,celebrating 100 years ofglobal innovation,

honoured individuals and institutions with its secondannual Innovation Awards.

Speaking on the occasion, Tata said businessesshould be sensitive to the fact that they are makinga difference in places where they operate and theyhave to do things to help the community prosper.

“When you see in places like Africa and parts of Asiaabject poverty, hungry children and malnutritionaround you, and you look at yourself as being peoplewho have well being and comforts, I think it takes avery insensitive, tough person not to feel they needto do something, not just by providing material supportbut by playing a role in helping give prosperity to thecommunity in which they belong,” Tata added.

“It has become the DNA of the organisation to play arole in the community.” Tata gave the example of avoluntary group in his organisation in whichemployees get leave from their jobs to help victims ofnatural disasters like tsunamis and earthquakes inIndia.Tata employees help in rebuilding and adoptingvillages and then return to their jobs.

Ratan Tata was honoured by the Foundation forincorporating public good into the business modelof the Tata Group.Last year’s recipient of the Rockefeller Foundation’sLifetime Achievement Award was former USPresident Bill Clinton.

[excerpts from http://news.in.msn.com/national/ratan-tata-gets-rockerfeller-philanthropy-award]

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This background impelled Roda to ask aseries of whys during her internship at theTata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS),Mumbai, when she was sent to teach at theB M Institute for Mental Health,Ahmedabad. Two schools functioned out ofthe campus run by the same management –one for normal children and one for thosewith special needs. “I asked myself whycan’t there be just one school. Why mustthe children be hived off and segregated?”

The burning questions over segregationtook a meaningful direction during the twoyears she then spent in Minneapolis-St Paulin USA on a Fulbright Travel Grant. It wasthe seventies and US legislation had justcalled for deinstitutionalisation of childrenwith special needs. This vindication of herviews sparked an interest in policies –examining why policies were framed,looking at the social context or examiningthe economic, demographic and otherdeterminants that countries factored inwhen drawing policies.

Returning home she realised the need tolook at the issues of disability in India indepth and went back to TISS, this time toenrol for a doctorate from the department ofSociology of Education. This in-depththeoretical research was latercomplemented by various work experiences

She seeks to humanise education

B“But why?” Renowned educationist Roda Billimoria Desai says this questionhas influenced many of her decisions. The dynamics of why were laterexpanded to why not. And the maxim Do not see things as they are and ask‘why’. Dream things that never were and ask ‘why not’ became the touchstoneof her career and mission.

The first person to set up India’s first diploma course in Integrated Education,adds, that the vein of pioneering runs in the family blood. Roda’s grandfatherSir Shapurji Billimoria was among those who first set up chartered accountantfirms in the country. His brother Dr Rustom Billimoria pioneered treatment fortuberculosis in Panchgani back in the 1920s and 1930s.

by freny manecksha

including making a detailed study of thefacilities available in the city of Mumbai forchildren with disabilities.

It was in the seventies that the NormalisationPrinciple began emerging in Sweden whichwould enable people with disorders,impairments and disabilities to participate innormal day-to-day living activities, wherebythey would be integrated in society.Interested in the ways and the means thatwould prevent segregation Roda went to theUppsala University to study under theguidance of Dr Bengt Nirje, the father of theNormalisation Principle. She was awarded aMasters in Education (Social Sciences) forher thorough and extensive research intoorganization, policies and legislation of thisNormalisation Principle in Sweden and otherScandinavian countries.

After another stint in India during which sheworked with the SNDT University, Rodawent to Australia on a RotaryAmbassadorial scholarship. This time shewanted to study how the NormalisationPrinciple was being adopted. In so doingshe discovered that under Labour primeminister, Gough Whitlam, in the seventies alandmark education report was prepared byPeter Karmel. This report revealed theinadequate quality of education offered toaboriginals, migrants and those with


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disabilities. Such education had littlemeaning to their lives. The voluntary sector,which did not really have adequateprofessional skills, was running institutionsand schools for the disabled. GoughWhitlam’s government then made amomentous decision. It said it would“Assume Responsibility” for their educationand framed policies for the same. One ofthe most significant outcomes evident todayis that no qualified teacher can be enrolledto practise until s/he has undertakenadditional training in education for childrenwith special needs.

Armed with a Masters degree from theMacquarie University in Sydney, Rodareturned to India, determined to dosomething to bring about these concepts ofnormalisation in India. “I had the fire in myunderbelly and knew I was misplaced in anon-questioning system. I wanted to puttogether all the knowledge, experiences andlearnings I had garnered over the years inthree different continents and bothhemispheres. My mother handed me rupeesone lakh and told me it was time to start.”

“Training even one teacher in integratededucation can impact a school and has amultiplying effect. The overall impact couldbe huge,” explains Roda.

This multiplying effect is important because ofthe huge shortage of teachers. Under thegovernment’s policy of Sarva ShikshaAbhiyan (or Education For All) 400 millionchildren (in the 0-14years age span) will haveto be educated. This means that on a 50/1ratio eight million teachers are needed butthere are only 5.5 million leaving a gap of 2.5million teachers. Then there are 25 millionkids with learning problems of which only oneper cent are served. Teachers in 1.3 millionschools have no knowledge of learningproblems, disorders or special needs. So howcan one bridge the yawning chasm?

Can an eclectic approach, which combinesmethodologies of general, special andremedial education into a unified whole thataddresses diverse needs of children, be apossible solution to the problem, wondered

Roda. It would be cost effective as threecourses would be rolled into one and itwould also put less pressure on demandsby schools since one teacher would berequired as against three.

“There were people who expressed theirdoubts. They asked if the governmentwould allow me to set up such a trainingcourse. But I was countering them with whynot?” she says.

In answer to all these whys and why nots,the Sir Shapurji Billimoria Foundation wasset up in 1998. It was named after hergrandfather who came from humblecircumstances but rose to a position ofrelative eminence. From 1993 to 2003 acomprehensive process took place to helpdesign the innovative training programmefor teachers. Workshops were held ondiverse subjects like observation,assessment and behaviour problems, tribalart forms and theatre. People withdisabilities were invited to talk of theirproblems and inputs sought by parents ofdisabled children on what teachers need toknow. “We cannot design a course forchildren, without their inputs,” notes Roda.Then in 2003 India’s first two-year diplomacourse in integrated education waslaunched under the aegis of SNDT Collegeand subsequently recognised by NationalCouncil for Teacher Education. It wouldoffer an innovative course whereby studentswould be able to teach in mainstream,special and remedial schools.

Roda, who is particular about semantics,spells out the difference between the morecommonly used term ‘inclusive’ and herparticular concept of integrated education.The word ‘inclusive’ used by UNESCOimplies including children who have beenexcluded from the mainstream of education– in India these would be street children,children from families below the povertyline, those from Schedule Classes orSchedule Tribes.

In contrast the word integration has two Latinderivations – integritas which means integrityor complete or whole and integrare which

Freny Manecksha is anindependent journalistfrom Mumbai interested incovering issues ondevelopment, human rightsand culture.

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means bringing together scattered parts into awhole. In view to education, she says, thesederivations would imply integrity to the child, toone’s self as educator whilst integrating wouldmean addressing the child as a child not as anable/disabled or gifted child and combiningdifferent teaching methodologies into a unifiedwhole. “Say for example if we includesomeone’s name in an invitation to a weddingit would not necessarily imply that the person isintegrated with all the other guests in thewedding. Similarly whilst inclusion is beingadopted by some schools integration is notnecessarily happening,” explains Roda.

Usha Bhatia, principal of the TeachersEducation Centre which conducts the twoyear intensive programme, elaborates onthe innovative teaching practices that makethis course in integrated education differentfrom others. Till date eight batches oftrainees have gone through the intensivetwo year programme whereby they give 50practice lessons to students from a widespectrum of schools ranging from the CBSCto those for street children.

In addition students are provided additionalinputs in Braille, sign language and ability tofashion assistive devices. These special skillsmodules certified by specialised institutionscan serve as red flags for early detection.

One second year student, explains how shehas learnt to make a tactile map of Indiausing strings and beads for avisually impaired child or howto teach functional maths fora child with special needswhereby s/he learns how toread time when looking at thewatch or to recognize weightsand size of various packages– learning skills that they willuse practically in their lives.

Another student in the first yearof training says she finds theteaching methodologies withemphasis on understandingvery interesting. “With fewerstudents we get the attentionwe need.”

The Foundation’s future plan is to establishIndia’s first Institute of Integrated Educationwhich will house a demonstration school, aprofessional training centre offeringcertificate, diploma and degree courses anda research and documentation centre. “Wealso plan to offer E training and we hope toreach out to larger sections of studentsthrough courses in Hindi, Marathi andGujarati as well.”

The institute has already begun taking shape.“The Sir Dorabji Tata Trust made a grant tothe Foundation and we won an open bid forpurchase of land in Khargar, a suburb ofMumbai. During the intervening period thoughland prices had shot up tremendously. Myfamily gifted the Foundation a painting byJehangir Sabavalla which was sold to helpcontribute towards the costs. The plinth stageis now over and construction will hopefullystart for the first block which is the trainingcourse centre. We would welcome anyassistance by individuals or trusts or an offerof collaboration by any educational institute ororganisation that believes that all children areequal. The contributions and efforts will begiven due recognition,” says Roda. Onceestablished it can serve as a model ofreplication and thereby help in actualisingRoda and her Foundation’s vision ofhumanising education and bringing aboutrespect for diverse needs.

Address of the SirShapurji BillimoriaFoundation:2/24 Nanik Niwas,Warden Road,Mumbai 400036Tel (91) (22) 23696596/66648768Email:[email protected]:www.riteeducation.org

Roda Billimoria Desaican be contacted on:[email protected]+91-22-9820679116

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Model of India’s first Institute ofIntegrated Education

Roda Billimoria Desai


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Her work has been screened at filmfestivals worldwide including London, Pusanand Melbourne. In 2009, Zia was namedSPADA’s (Screen Production &Development Association New Zealand)New Filmmaker of the Year, signalling herarrival as one of the most exciting directorsin Australasia. The girl from Mumbai, whomoved to Dubai and later to New Zealand,has a string of awards to her nameincluding Best Short Film Script at theScreen Director’s Guild Awards 2005; BestDirector and Best Short Film at the FitzroyShorts in Melbourne in 2006.

We zoom in on an extreme close-up of thepassionate film maker who has been globe-trotting since her red carpet entry at theCannes International Film Festival. A tete-a-tete with Zia Mandviwalla, our fellowZoroastrian who does us proud.

FM: Could you describe the moment youfirst heard that your film ‘Night Shift’ hasbeen short listed in the Short Film categoryat the Cannes Film Festival? Who was thefirst person you shared the news with?

ZM: I heard the news one evening when I waslooking for a car park at the supermarket. I wasstarving, had been to the gym and saw this long

Zia Mandviwalla walks the red carpet at the Cannes International FilmFestival

EEveryone is talking about Zia Mandviwalla. And with good reason! Recently,the 34-year-old accomplished film maker had the distinction of having hershort film ‘Night Shift’ short listed for the prestigious 2012 Short Film Palmed’or at the Cannes International Film Festival. A rare honour as Zia’s film madeit to the final ten of 4500 entries worldwide. Something every film directoraspires for. ‘Night Shift’ is Zia’s fourth short film, after ‘Eating Sausage’, ‘CleanLinen’ and ‘Amadi’. ‘Night Shift’ tells the story of Salote, a faceless airportcleaner who quietly tries to makes it through another long night shift.

Essentially a people’s watcher, Zia is known to create films that are deeplyinsightful, using the complex human condition as the basis for her storytelling.

by farida master

number come up on my phone. I didn’t know whatto make of it. When I heard a French accent saythey were calling from the Cannes Film Festival, Imade sure I pulled over! The first person I calledwas Ari Wegner, the cinematographer - she was inMelbourne. When I called she said she was about tosit down to dinner with her family and could I callher back? I said no, I couldn’t call back and that wehad gotten into Cannes. What followed was 24hours of disbelief. I didn’t receive the official emailuntil a full day later. As a consequence, I started towonder if I had imagined the voice down thetelephone - that I was hearing voices or experiencingthe onset of some kind of mental illness.

FM: How did you celebrate the rare honour?

Zia, far right, with contestants in the Short Filmcategory at Cannes Film Festival

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ZM: I am still celebrating! It’s been celebrated manytimes - with friends, family, fellow filmmakers atCannes and believe me the buzz betweenfilmmakers at Cannes is incredible – everyoneshares a very similar sense of joy at the amazingaccolade of being selected for such a prestigiousfestival. I am most of all looking forward tocelebrating with the cast and crew who are yet to seethe finished film and with whom we are yet tocelebrate the Cannes experience.

FM: How were you received in Cannes?Any special experience that stayed with youafter the initial euphoria died down?

ZM: Cannes is an incredible place. The festivalwelcomes you and looks after you very well. Thefilm itself was received very well – the response to itwas very, very positive. There are numerousspecial experiences that have stayed with me – mostof all were some of the very inspiring conversations Ihad with other filmmakers who imparted words ofwisdom and sound advice about where to proceed tonext. On a more frivolous note, there were manystar sightings, incredible parties, amazing fireworksand dinners at beautiful hotels that shrouded theentire experience in a surreal kind of magic!

FM: How did the original idea for Night Shiftcome about?

ZM: The story for ‘Night Shift’ came about throughconsiderable delays at airports and long hours flyingto and from the antipodes. Airports have alwaysintrigued me as places – as public spaces they arefilled with people preoccupied with their owndestinations (literally). However, there is so muchhuman drama underneath the comings and goings –as people leave lovers, are reunited with family,return home for the first time in twenty years, ortake their children overseas for the first time.Airports are emotionally charged, highlysurveillanced yet very public spaces. All those thingscombined make them fascinating to me. Andalongside this I am very fascinated by the peoplewho work behind the scenes in places like this.

FM: Can you talk about the essence of thefilm that gave it the winning edge?

ZM: I honestly have no idea. We just as a team tolda story that we believed in and did everything in ourpower to tell it as truthfully and sensitively and as

well as we possibly could. We were honoured andhumbled by the selection for Cannes.

FM: How did you pick on that particularworker at the airport?

ZM: I am always interested in the people who existon our periphery, the people we often don’t see orpay attention to. I wanted to tell the story ofsomeone like this, to explore and give an audiencethe opportunity to see what lies behind the surfacejudgments and perceptions we all make until weknow someone’s true predicament.

FM: How do you tell a story in fourteenminutes flat?ZM: With brevity! But also with a poetic andallegorical awareness. Short films are like pieces ofpoetry – sometimes the less you show, the more yousay. Sometimes the smallest things can have thelargest meanings. Understanding this can be vital inlearning to tell a story in a short space of time.

FM: Do you dig deep into your personalexperiences when you make a film? You’vebeen quoted saying, “Human emotiontranscends culture – we all know andunderstand love, loneliness or separation,regardless of what language we speak.” Asa migrant did you feel that longing to belongor a sense of separation that got scripted inyour films?

ZM: I do dig deep into my personal experienceswhen telling my stories; however what comes out isalways indeed fiction – which could be grounded insome kind of personal emotional truth. I havecertainly felt a sense of separation and isolation andthat was a huge part of my migration to NewZealand. However, I no longer feel that. In fact, Ifeel very much at home in New Zealand, as well asvery comfortable in my own skin as a culturalchameleon – having been born in India, grown upin Dubai and now living in the Antipodes.

FM: Tell us a little about your first tryst withcreative arts and film making?

ZM: My first attempt at filmmaking took place inmy back garden – literally. I have always beeninterested in creative writing and drama and afteruniversity I did a screen writing course part time –just for fun. Through it, I met some people who are

Farida Master has been theeditor of severalpublications in India whichinclude ‘Stardust’, ‘SocietyFashion’, ‘Citadel’, whichare magazines, and the 8-page lifestyle supplement of‘Pune Times Of India’. Shehas also authored, ‘TheMaking Of A Legend’, abiography of Dr K BGrant. In Auckland,Farida has been theFeatures Editor of ‘TheAucklander’ a magazine.Currently she freelanceswith a host of publicationsin New Zealand and India.


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into films and felt encouraged to borrow a cameraand shoot something at my house with my friends. Itwas a 3-minute film about a girl with an imaginaryfriend. At that time there was a great thing in NewZealand called the Wellington Fringe Film Festivalwhere students could take their films, go up on stageand talk about them.

FM: What/who inspired you?

ZM: I am inspired by so many different things. I ammostly inspired by the lives of others. I am acontinuous observer of other people (often beingreprimanded by my tendency to stare!) and somepeople might call it being nosey. But humans andtheir lives and the stories that build their livesintrigue me. I am inspired by the work of numerousfilmmakers, writers and artists. To name a few:Andrea Arnold, Hirokazu Koreeda, LodgeKerrigan, Mike Leigh, Lynne Ramsey, AlejandroInarritu.I am also inspired by many of my peers -New Zealand filmmakers like Florian Habicht whois an inspiration in the innovative and unusualprocesses through which he makes his films.

FM: Apart from the Kiwis, the entireZoroastrian community is proud of you. Doyou have any message for the readers andfor aspiring film makers?

ZM: My biggest piece of advice to aspiringfilmmakers and artists of any kind is to keep doing it– it is only through doing that you learn and growand develop your work and hone your craft.Someone gave me a great piece of advice once whichwas, if you want to be something, then everyday dosomething towards that, no matter how big or small.It might be writing a scene, it might be shooting anaction sequence or it might be making a phone callor sending an email. However big or small dosomething everyday towards that goal and you willeventually realise it.

FM: What is it that drives you to achieve.The secret formula of making a thoughtprovoking and sensitive film that the worldwill sit up and see?

ZM: I am driven to tell stories about the world inwhich we live and stories that look at the brands ofhumanity we put out into the world. I am aware ofwhat a cliche this is, but I do say with allearnestness. When you make films and you have

the opportunity to screen your film in front of anaudience you are all of a sudden placed in a veryprivileged position. For the duration of your piece,the only light in a darkened room comes from yourwork. You have as a result the opportunity to saysomething of importance, of substance and whileyou might not change or save the world, you mayjust be able to provoke thought. And the opportunityto get someone to momentarily think about theirown lives, or the lives of others is what drives me.

[You can see and learn a bit more about thefilm on http://tvnz.co.nz/breakfast-news/kiwi-film-going-cannes-video-4841216] - Ed.

Zia, whilst making the film “Night Shift”

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Zoroastrians Stepping Forward (ZSF) aroseout of an intergenerational dialogue at aNextGenNow (NGN) session at the 5th WorldZoroastrian Youth Congress held inVancouver, Canada in 2011. The goal of theproject is to facilitate Zarathusthi organizationsto support those in need by collecting anddonating shoes, both locally andinternationally.

“An estimated 300 million people live each daywithout a pair of shoes. A pair of shoes allowsour feet to stay clean, healthy and safe; freeof any infection or disease” (Soles 4 Souls).This is a major concern in larger cities where“there are a lot of debris and even glass onthe ground. A small step can lead to a muchbigger problem if your feet aren’t protected”says Mahfrin Santoke of Los Angeles,California. Our religious community joinedtogether to give back those who lacked thesebasic necessities. Older youth in Chicago seta prime example for the younger generationsby educating them on the diseases andinfections that are caused by a lack of properfootwear. The youth created a stimulatingenvironment with different terrains andclimates to show these young Zarthusthiswhat it is like to walk in someone else’s shoes.

The project attracted participants from over25 associations worldwide. Individuals andfamilies even in remote areas got a chanceto participate. Positive responses came fromthe United States of America, Canada, Dubaiand Pakistan among others. In Basel,Switzerland, a very small population ofZarathusthis, hosting this event, stressed theimportance of giving back to the needy, to theirchildren. In Karachi, shoe-donation dropswere set up in many of the Parsi colonies,with widespread support and enthusiasticparticipation. The 1st Annual International Dayof Service was held on May 5th, 2012. Severalorganizations, associations and small-groupshosted recreational events such as a SportsDay, Walk-A-Thon, picnic or social gathering

The First Zarathusthi International Day of ServiceZoroastrians Stepping Forward - Youth show the way

by khushnuma driver & behrose taraporewalla

Los Angeles: The youth of Zoroastrian Association of California (ZAC) gathered togetherto host their final ZSF event for 2012, on June 23rd, at the Orange County Rescue Missionwhere they provided meals, clothes and shoes for the center’s residents.

Chicago: To illustrate what children experiencing great poverty live through, the religious class teachersof Zoroastrian Association of Metropolitan Chicago created an obstacle course of sorts- where thekids experience walking through different types of terrains without shoes. This taught the religiousclass children how hard it is to go without shoes. Students then reflected on the significance of theexperience of walking an hour without shoes, and participating in a shoe giving movement.

Behrose Taraporewalla

Khushnuma Driver


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to bring together all age-groups in an effort tofoster unity and spark intergenerationaldialogue, while collecting shoes for non-profitorganizations. Some groups collectedmonetary donations. Many centers involvedchildren from religious classes and taughtthem the importance of giving to the needy,an idea embedded in our Ahunavar prayer.They stressed the importance of the acts ofcollective giving as part of our history andculture. By the end of the project,approximately 6,000 pairs of shoes werecollected.

We hope that ZSF will continue to grow in theyears to come. The team wishes to expandand seeks more international participationfrom individuals who would like to give of theirtime and share their ideas to make adifference in the world. Most of us know thecomfort of a pair of shoes; however, there arestill many children and adults who consider apair of shoes a luxury.

“It is through giving that we truly learn to live;whether the entity that we give is knowledge,money, or shelter is irrelevant. It is moreimportant the impact that these entitiesprovide an individual and community. Peopleare not remembered for how rich they are butmore so how much they contributed tosociety,” says Hormuz Nicolwala of Houston,Texas.

We invite you to take part in our 2nd

International Days of Service that will be heldfrom March 1st - May 5th, 2013. The vision forZoroastrians Stepping Forward in years tocome is one of being inclusive of other faithbased organizations and even inviting thosewho profess no particular faith but are good,charitable human beings wishing to partnerwith us in serving together.

For more information, please visit our website at:http://zoroastrianssteppingforward.weebly.com/Join our Facebook community, by searching:“Zoroastrians Stepping Forward” www.facebook.com/zoroastrianssteppingforwardEmail: [email protected]: Behrose Tararaporewalla, ZSF Lead626.378.5564

New York: Lead by religious class teachers of Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York, students usedtheir artistic abilities along with their creativity, imagination, and a lot of color to decorate cardboardboxes for the shoes. Teachers and their assistants shared the ZSF project with their youth and incorporatedit into their curriculum.

Pennsylvania & New Jersey [ZAPANJ]: Lauren Ranji and her parents, Neville and Leslie, were instrumentalin collecting, sorting, packing and transporting the 180 pairs of shoes collected for ZSF’s Soles4Souls project.The poster Lauren is holding reads ‘ZSF Shoe Drive”.

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Basle, Switzerland: A groupof seven Zoroastrians livingin Basel, Switzerland whoall came forward to be partof the 1st International Dayof Service. Collectively,they were able to donateseveral pairs of shoes, theyoungest donation coming

from a 5-year old.

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by yasmine jhabvala

More than a hundred years havepassed since the birth of theRussian piano school. Brilliant

pedagogical work has given us many greatnames, many geniuses. How much depth,force and richness of sound is to be foundin their performances, yet what lightnessand magical colours in their pianism!

The most important characteristic of theRussian school, which is immediatelyrecognizable with each performer, is itsstrong emphasis on differentiation. Butequally important is its vocation of teachingthe music “before” that of the instrument.

The individuality of each performer is thehallmark of the Russian piano school on twolevels : the creative approach to themasters’s music coupled with a brilliant spiritof pianism; the complete obedience to

artistic expression.

The great traditions ofRussian piano schoolcontinue to this day,undiminished by time. Theycarry on from generation togeneration, from teacher tostudent, from hands tohands. These traditionsbring to all of us theexperience of great art, withunforgettable moments ofmusical pleasure.

In writing this brief article, Iwished to share with thecommunity my ownexperience with the Russianschool of piano. I hadstarted piano at the earlyage of five but stoppedplaying seriously at the age

of 22 and completely ceased playing at theage of 32.

I was fortunate, four years ago, to acquire abeautiful piano of the Fazioli house; but I

was even more fortunate in meeting DjordjeMilojkovic, founder and director of hisschool in Geneva, The Traditional RussianPiano School. Professor Milojkovic is arenowned pianist and teacher, inSwitzerland and internationally. He is knownas a true representative of the Russiantradition.

I re-started piano at the age of 54, that is, inJanuary 2008. Professor Milojkovic set upfor me, as with all his students, a specificprogramme suited to my likes and level, andduring the first year, we worked hard tobridge the gap created by having not playedthe piano for so long. I practised only abouta couple of hours a day after my workinghours, as I did not have much free time. Atweek-ends and on holidays, of course, Ipracticed a longer time. I took up twoMaster classes, one in July and another inSeptember, which enabled me to attend tothe lessons of other international studentsand thus benefit from these. I also played atall the concerts given by the School to finishoff the year (this is a practice stronglyrecommended and used in the Russianpedagogical tradition), which gave meadditional practice and experience: in fact,after each public appearance, I experienceda big jump in my practice and ability toprogress further. By the yearend, after anexamination and to my great surprise,Professor Milojkovic welcomed me in his“professional class”. I began to increasegradually my practice to about three to fourhours after my job, and to about five to sixhours at week-ends. Eight months later(August 2009), I was received in the firstyear of Virtuosity, following anotherexamination with Professor Milojkovic, anda year later (June 2010) in the 2nd year. Bythen, Professor Milojkovic had had me playin several concerts of the School and eachof these events served as a strong step tofurther progress. In October 2011, I passedthe first examination to obtain the Diplomaof Virtuosity and am now preparing

The Russian School of Piano in Geneva

Dhordje Milojkovic


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intensively my final exam (public concert) toobtain my Diploma of Virtuosity in thecoming months.

I also was able during this time, to witnessthe progresses made by the other students:in four years, all have progressed, albeit attheir own pace and capacities, and mostimportantly, all have acquired greatermusical knowledge and deeperunderstanding.

Professor Milojkovic has honoured me, afew weeks ago, with the proposal ofbecoming his partner in the School hefounded.

I am proud to inform the community that itsmembers are most welcome to come andstudy with the School in Geneva. OurSchool is enabled by the State of Geneva todeliver the necessary diplomas at all levels:Bachelor, Master, Post-Master (Virtuosity),which are recognized for their prestige. Wearrange accommodation in Geneva for thestudents joining the School, either for a fewyears in order to obtain a diploma, or joiningus for a Master class (one week basis).

Our Master classes are generally held thricea year, and all lovers of piano are welcometo rejoin us for a musical week.

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After obtaining her degree Licence en histoire des religions in 1978,from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, Yasmine Jhabvalastudied the Avestan and Pahlavi languages. In 1979, she spent

several months within theParsi community in Bombay,furthering her knowledge ofZoroastrianism and of theGathic language. Back inGeneva, she became theassistant of Prof Rudhardt inHistory of Religions andbegan teaching onZoroastrianism. In 1991,she defended her doctoralthesis “Vers Ahura Mazda”,in which she presented a newvis ion of the Gathas o fZarathustra. During theseyears, she has alsopart ic ipated in differentcongresses organized by the

University of Geneva or by the Zoroastrian community.

The word family brings a tinge ofsadness to Simran Shaikh’s voice.When Simran, an attractive, strapping

member of the Hijra community in NewDelhi, sees fellow hijras living with theirfamilies, she is reminded of the middle-class Parsi household where she grew up inMumbai’s Dadar Parsi colony, a family forwhom she is as good as dead.

Simran, who oversees programmes for theIndian arm of an international non-profit,can’t help wondering how different lifewould have been if her family had acceptedher the way she was. A rejection of heridentity is what drove Simran to leave homeand brave the mean streets of Mumbai,working as a bar dancer and sex worker.

“I would not have left home or changed myreligion, had my family accepted me,” saysSimran. But she has no regrets in life.“Despite the hardship and the humiliation Ihave faced, I’ve still made it in life,” shesays. But even today, as a respected socialactivist in the NGO sector, she knows thatshe can never return home. For all attemptsto contact her family are met with the sameresponse - ‘Our son is dead for us.’

“I started life as a homosexual boy in aParsi family. I ran away from home at theage of 14 because I felt that there wassomething terribly wrong with me, and thatmy parents would have to face a great dealof humiliation because of me,” says Simran,who does not wish to divulge her namebefore she joined the hijra community.

Simran still recalls the painful taunts thrownat her by friends and family while growingup. “I remember an incident that occurredduring a terrace party that my father hadthrown for his friends in our Parsi colony. Ioverheard my father’s friend mocking himfor having a ‘pansy’ son. I can’t forget thehumiliation I saw in my father’s eyes,” saysSimran. Her navjote an initiation into the

Simran Shaikh’s story

by anahita mukherji

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Zoroastrian religion was no better. Simrancan still recall Parsi Gujarati words like“baylo” floating in the air during theceremony.

“I ran away from home when I simplycouldn’t bear the taunts any longer. I onlyhad Rs16 in my pocket when I left thehouse. I had no idea where I was going. Forthree days, I slept on the platform atBombay Central station,” she says.

A Hijra found the young boy lying on theplatform and made sexual advances at him.She also offered the boy food and shelter.“That was my first contact with the Hijracommunity, with whom I felt completely athome,” says Simran.

That’s where the young Parsi boy found anew identity as Simran Shaikh. “The Hijrawho found me on the platform took meunder her wing and taught me how to drapea sari. She would beg in railway trainsduring the day and solicit customers atnight. I was very shy at the time and wouldnot accompany her while she was begging.But at night, I would come with her to dancebars where she taught me the skillsrequired to attract customers and get themto part with their money,” says Shaikh.

It’s during her days as a bar-dancer thatSimran first met Zeenat, a Hijra guru fromKamathipura, Mumbai’s famous red-lightdistrict. “I was doing well in my professionand Zeenat offered to take me under hertutelage as her ‘chela’,” says Simran, whohas worked as both a bar dancer and a sexworker.

She is not ashamed of her past. She saysher role as a sex worker was neithercompletely voluntary nor through coercion.“It’s just something I had to do to survive,”she says.

Simran†was part of a team that founded DaiWelfare Society, one of the first transgendercommunity-based organizations in Mumbai.She later joined the Hindustan Latex FamilyPlanning Promotion Trust, after which she

landed her present job with India HIV/AIDSAlliance, where she works as ProgrammeOfficer for West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa,Manipur and Tamil Nadu.

Her message to young people who areconfused about their sexual identity issimple – believe in yourself. It took Simranover two years to believe in herself andaccept her identity.

But believing in oneself can be a trifledifficult when faced with a homophobicworld that treats transgender as anaberration. Simran is used to menscratching their crotches in front of her andwomen vacating seats in public transportbecause they don’t want to be near her.

“I don’t travel by the Delhi metro any more.It is extremely hurtful when the personsitting next to me gets up and walks away.Or when I’m told to vacate my seat in thelady’s compartment,” she adds.

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29-year-old AnahitaMukherji has worked as ajournalist with The Times ofIndia for the last seven years.While she spent a large partof her career with thenewspaper in Mumbai, shenow lives in New Delhi. Shehas extensively covered arange of subjects includingeducation, environment andthe Right to Information Act.Her work includes stories onchild labour, Mumbai’sremand homes as well as thetruth behind India’s data onforest cover. She has alsowritten stories from thecountry’s hinterland, and hastraveled to villages inMaharashtra as well as onein West Bengal. She won theprestigious Sanskriti Awardfor journalism in 2010 for herwork on the inequality in thecountry’s education systemand was also the recipient ofthe f irst Austral ia IndiaCouncil Young MediaFellowship.

P i n g! WZO members please send yourlatest email id [email protected] Thank you.

hamazor - issue 3 2012 · 2020. 12. 7. · hamazor - issue 3 2012 3 f rom the editor toxy cowasjee,...

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