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Savukshaw, Rohinton Mistry’s “greatest [cricketer] of them all”

December 13, 2017, 7:48 am
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Thanks to Savukshaw, things took such unusual proceedings that MCC’s annual ball budget took a serious toll.

Left: Cover of Tales from Firozsha Baag (courtesy: Wikimedia Commons) Right: Rohinton Mistry © Getty Images

Few have depicted pre-globalisation Bombay — for Mumbai it used to be in those days — like Rohinton Mistry in his award-winning Tales from Firozsha Baag. The collection consists of eleven delightful stories based in a Parsee-dominated colony (called Firozsha Baag, as you may have figured out). The stories are intertwined in the sense that the same set of people appear in almost all stories, but every story centres around one character or family.

There is, in fact, one titled Of White Hairs and Cricket, but this is not about that one. Our story goes by the name Squatter. It features Nariman Hansotia, who drove a 1932 Mercedes-Benz, sported a Clark Gable moustache, and told intriguing stories (that sometimes bordered on the lines of extreme creativity) to the children and adolescents of the colony.

Squatter features two stories by Nariman Hansotia. This is the shorter one.

Nariman Hansotia was not impressed by the fact that they were impressed by “Contractor [whose first name was also Nariman], Polly Umrigar, and recently, the young chap, Farokh Engineer.” He insisted that there was one Savukshaw, “the greatest of them all”.

The story tells the tale of an Indian tour of England. India were led by Contractor. This was obviously not possible, since Contractor had never led India on a tour of England. But then, though the characters (or most of them) are real in Nariman Hansotia’s world, there is no claim that the events are.

Unfortunately, Nadkarni (Bapu?), India’s star batsman, was down with influenza. MCC scored 497. India, after being bowled out for 109 (Nadkarni’s replacement had to retire hurt after being hit by a bumper), were asked to bat again. When India were 38 for 5, still 350 runs away from making MCC bat again, Savukshaw walked out to bat.

He left the first ball outside off (“but with what style! what panache!”). He did the same with the next with “boredom written all over him”. Then came the third ball, a straight, quick delivery, aimed at the stumps.

Savukshaw flicked the ball at tremendous pace. The fielder there was six feet seven inches tall, weighed 250 lbs, and nothing had gone past him in the match. But Savukshaw had intentionally hit it towards the fielder, whose gargantuan palm came down to pouch the ball…

But that was it. The fielder erupted in “a howl that rang through the entire stadium, that soared like the cry of a banshee right up to the cheapest seats in the furthest, highest corners … into the pavilion, into the kitchen.” The cook inside the kitchen was injured after spilling boiled water on himself.

As for the fielder, he was bleeding as profusely as any seen in the history, “like a fountain in an Italian piazza, like a burst water-main from the Vihar-Powai reservoir.” There was tremendous blood loss, soaking the fielder’s flannels and the grass.

But what about the ball? It lay peacefully just beyond the boundary line. ’It’ is probably not the best possible objective, for it had split neatly into halves. The stitches had come off, and most of its innards had spilled out.

That was it. As the match continued, Savukshaw hit the ball with at least as much power. The fielders had no intention to stop the shots. One replacement ball after every stroke, which meant MCC’s “annual ball budget was thrown badly out of balance.”

India saved the innings defeat. In fact, if there was time they might have won it.

But how did the bat survive the onslaught? Obviously because it was no ordinary bat. Savukshaw used a special oil, the formula of which he had acquired from a cricket-talent-scouting sadhu. Despite the bat, however, Savukshaw insisted that the real secret to his success was hard work and hours of practice.

Unfortunately, Savukshaw quit cricket soon afterwards to become a cyclist, to nobody’s surprise the fastest in the world. After a short stint with pole-vault he switched to become a hunter. He could shave the whisker of a cat in the backyard of C Block (of Firozsha Baag, of course) from the third floor of A Block. He would later move on from that as well to another profession, one where he would earn the moniker of Parsi Picasso…

Abhishek Mukherjee is the Chief Editor at CricketCountry. He blogs at ovshake dot blogspot dot com and can be followed on Twitter @ovshake42.

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‘Among India’s military greats, he was the greatest’

December 13, 2017, 8:42 am
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Sam Manekshaw led the Indian Army to its greatest military victory this month 46 years ago.
Lieutenant Colonel A K Shinde (retd), the field marshal’s doctor for 25 years, tells Rediff.com‘s Archana Masih about the charming man behind the soldier’s uniform.

IMAGE: Then General S H F J Manekshaw with troops during the 1971 War. Photograph: Kind courtesy Major General B N B M Prasad and DPR Photo Division Archives

Among the family photographs in Lieutenant Colonel A K Shinde and Mrs Raj Shinde’s drawing room in Bearhatty, the Nilgiris, is a photograph of an iconic Indian soldier.

Like always, Sam Manekshaw is wearing a suit. He is bent by age but his charming smile radiates through the framed picture taken at their daughter’s wedding where he was the chief guest in 2001.

“He was a demigod. Those who remember him in the army worship him,” says Dr Shinde, who was the field marshal’s doctor for 25 years.

“He was ram-rod straight and only got a stoop in later years. He dressed immaculately — and always looked you in the eye.”

“He never demanded respect. He commanded it.”

IMAGE: Field Marshal Manekshaw flanked by Dr A K Shinde and Mrs Raj Shinde at their daughter Sangeetha’s wedding in 2001.

After taking premature retirement from the army, the doctor settled down in the Nilgiris where the field marshal lived in his later years.

He also remembers when he was consultant physician at the military hospital and General Manekshaw used to come to see him.

“There would be a small crowd waiting outside and he would never, I repeat NEVER, enter my office,” emphasises Dr Shinde.

“He would wait his turn outside talking to the jawans and their families in Gorkhali, Punjabi, English or Hindi. Then some nursing assistant would spot him and come running inside and say: ‘Sir, the field marshal is outside’.”

“And I would go out and tell him, ‘Sir, don’t do this to me!'”

“He would say ‘You bloody well go inside and do your work’,” remembers the doctor with a laugh.

IMAGE: General Manekshaw was a brilliant commander. Men who served under him all have ‘Sam Manekshaw’ stories to tell of his leadership.

The field marshal, the highest ranking officer in the Indian Army till his passing, could have informed the doctor that he was on his way and Dr Shinde would be ready but that was not Sam Manekshaw.

He was a soldier’s soldier. He liked going into the trenches to meet his men and once refused silverware, instead asking for a tin mug, while having tea with troops on the China border as chief of the army staff.

Recounting an incident when the field marshal was shifted to the army hospital in Delhi, Dr Shinde remembers receiving a frantic phone call from his daughter Maja.

“She said all these doctors are standing around and he is giving them a lecture!” recalls the doctor who first met the then lieutenant general at a forward post in the 1965 war with Pakistan.

“People were just in awe of him.”

In his last days when he was gravely ill, the field marshal preferred to stay at the military hospital rather than the hospital going to him which would have been done, considering his rank and stature.

“They could have opened an ICU inside his house but he was not that kind of man,” adds Dr Shinde.

“They don’t make soldiers like him any more,” adds Mrs Raj Shinde who worked closely with Mrs Siloo Manekshaw at a clinic for the poor for nearly 20 years.

Mrs Manekshaw was the pillar of the clinic, giving it life and building a healthy corpus of funds that it now employs two full time doctors and nurses.

IMAGE: Mrs Shinde worked with Mrs Manekshaw at a clinic for the poor. The painting on the wall was created by Mrs Manekshaw for Mrs Shinde. Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com

The Shindes are one of the few old timers in town who knew the Manekshaws very well. They generously share stories about the soldier widely considered the country’s greatest military hero.

Not far from their home by the bridge is a statue of the field marshal. His home, they say, was tastefully done up and had a magnificent garden. Four Gorkha boys from the regiment he belonged to were assigned to his service.

“But he watered each plant himself every day till he took ill,” says Mrs Radha Balachandran, a Coonoor resident for nearly 50 years.

“He loved gardening and his dogs. You could often see them (Siloo and Sam Manekshaw) in the market buying meat for the dogs and vegetables in their old Maruti 800,” adds Mrs Shinde.

“He was a military icon, but was very unassuming.”

As his doctor, the field marshal’s courage was known to Dr Shinde. He had seen the scars of the bullets that had riddled his torso. Shots that nearly took his life while fighting in Burma during World War II and won him the Military Cross.

General Manekshaw had an illustrious career, he commanded the hot seat commands of the Indian Army — the Eastern and Western Commands — and provided brilliant leadership to the combined defence forces, heaping a humiliating defeat on Pakistan in the 1971 War.

He also stood up to then prime minister Indira Gandhi, refusing to relent when she pressed for an earlier start to the military campaign.

“He told her — ‘Darling, you have a long nose, I have a long nose. It ends there. You mind your matters and let me mind mine’,” continues Mrs Shinde.

 


IMAGE: The field marshal proposed a toast at Sangeetha Shinde’s wedding.

The field marshal wore his laurels lightly. Often glossing over it with his famous humour, flamboyance and charm.

Once while addressing a doctors conference as chief guest, he spoke about coming from a family of doctors himself.

“‘My father was a doctor, my brother was a doctor and I too nearly became a doctor’,” recalls Dr Shinde repeating the field marshal’s words, “‘But better sense prevailed and I joined the army — but to this day, no lady has complained about my bedside manners’.”

“He had such a great sense of humour.”

Many who met Field Marshal Manekshaw have ‘Sam Manekshaw’ stories to tell.

This one is from Mrs Shinde — whose father was from the last Indian Civil Services batch and helped quell the post-Partition riots under Sardar Patel at the home ministry.

Mrs Shinde along with her mother and sister had taken a cruise to Israel. At one of the ports en route, they went shopping and an Arab shop owner took a fancy to her.

He told her mother that he would be willing to give 10 camels for Mrs Shinde if she would join him.

“And my mother-in-law instead of saying ‘Impossible’ asked how much is a camel worth?” laughs Dr Shinde, an excellent story-teller.

“On her return, my wife was relating the story and the field marshal told her, ‘Darling, I don’t have any camels but I have two cows and three dogs’.”

“Oh, you never took offence because he said it in good humour and was a complete gentleman. The ladies loved him,” adds Mrs Shinde with a laugh.

IMAGE: Dr Shinde, an army doctor, first met then Lieutenant General Manekshaw at the war front during the 1965 War. He was the field marshal’s doctor from 1982 till his passing in 2008. Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com

In the happy tales about the legendary soldier is also anguish that the field marshal was not given his due by the government in life or death.

It was only when then President A P J Abdul Kalam visited him that the Rashtrapati realised that the field marshal had not been given his entitlements.

“He went back and must have ticked off somebody in the government so Rs 1.3 crore of back pay was given to him. As a field marshal his pay was equivalent to that of the chief. He did not have a staff officer or official car.”

“After that they gave him a staff officer, a car, but it was too late,” says Dr Shinde, still visibly upset.

Some months later, Field Marshal Manekshaw passed away.

Shockingly, none of the three defence chiefs, not then defence minister A K Antony nor any other minister attended the field marshal’s funeral.

“It was shameful!” says Dr Shinde who was at the funeral.

“And it will be a shame if he doesn’t get a Bharat Ratna. He led the three services to India’s greatest military victory and was an exceptional leader of men,” he says in reference to current army chief General Bipin Rawat’s recent remark that Field Marshal K C Cariappa should be honoured with the Bharat Ratna.

“Among India’s military greats, the greatest is Sam Manekshaw.”

 

Archana Masih / Rediff.com

http://www.rediff.com/news/special/among-indias-military-greats-he-was-the-greatest/20171207.htm

    


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LONDON TO MUMBAI – Drives Of A Lifetime

December 19, 2017, 6:53 am
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The journey started in London @ kilometer 147,524 and ended at the Gateway of India, Mumbai @ kilometer 168,981- a distance of 21,457 km. We stayed at 44 different locations over 51 days of the Drive, consuming a total of 2,503 litres of diesel and spending the approximate equivalent of Rs. 19,000/- on tolls. Only one issue with the car – Other than the radiator problem in Siberia, NO significant problems. Will need to replace one headlamp bulb which has blown a low beam filament and fix the cup holder that has jammed. Other than this, a wash and service, change of lubricants, torquing the suspension and the car feels ready to set off across the world right away. Time to start dreaming of the next Drive I guess…

Byram Dhalla, Saroosh Dinshaw and others!


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Dr Nergis Mavalvala becomes first recipient of Lahore Technology Award

December 19, 2017, 7:21 am
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Fumbling, stumbling, grumbling, lost in the world of physics and walking on the unplanned paths, Professor Nergis Mavalvala from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was able to solve the centuries old mystery about gravitational waves.

“I used to repair bicycles and did hours long chemistry concoction in Karachi. My first forays of research were in college time when I got to know there is a whole field of science where I could pursue my career,” she said.

Dr Nergis Mavalvala is a professor of astrophysics and head of physics department at MIT . She is a Parsi celebrity scientist. Mavalvala is best known for her role in first observation of gravitational waves, the team in which she was working also got the Nobel Prize in Physics.

She delivered a lecture on ‘The Warped Universe: hundreds years quest to detect gravitational waves, Ligo and Virgo Collaborations’ at Arfa Software Technology Park on Sunday. She was awarded first ‘Lahore Technology Award’ institutionalised by the Syndicate of Information Technology University (ITU) on her discovery of gravitational waves.

She was born in Lahore and raised in Karachi.

In her lecture Dr Nergis narrated in a story style about the warped universe, discussing the cosmic address, story of the exploded black holes, explaining gravity messages, device to measure detectable gravitational waves. A large number of audience took keen interest in her scientific observations.

She said the journey of gravitational waves starting from Newton and reached at its optimal level in the time of Einstein. She said through the discovery on the gravitational waves we will be solving some of the unsolved mysteries of the universe.

It was a time when you think, gravitational waves are faint and they ripple of space-time travelling at the speed of light. They even stretch and compress space-time itself.

She mentioned that detector Ligo and Virgo are not only two detectors in the world, there are three in Italy and a 3km detector is under construction in Japan.

With the advancement in physics, Einstein’s General Relatively theory seems to be correct that black holes exist and they even form pairs, she said.

“But there are puzzles too. How does nature makes heavy black holes and how they form pairs is still a question,” Dr Mavalvala said.

The recent discovery has solved some of the mysteries too like heavy metals like gold and platinum are formed in neutron star and mergers.

She said with using gravity alone or with light a new tool for unimagined new discoveries in universe can be unearth.

ITU Vice Chancellor Dr Umar Saif said in his welcoming remarks that Pakistan does not have major academic award to acknowledge and celebrate the services of Pakistani scientists.

“Lahore Technology Award first recipient sets the bar extremely high and signaled what we believe is a befitting example to emulate for Pakistani scientists,” he added.

“Lahore Technology Award backed by $30,000 is a token of gesture to our distinguished guest.”

The example of Dr Nergis would encourage more female to come forward to offer distinctive services in the field of technology, he said

http://nation.com.pk/17-Dec-2017/dr-nergis-mavalvala-becomes-first-recipient-of-lahore-technology-award


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ALIEN FESTIVITIES ON IRANIAN CALENDAR

December 19, 2017, 8:06 am
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Whether it is the matter of globalization and social media growth or not, several celebrations and festivals which are originated from the West have permeated the Iranian calendar over recent years.

In all parts of the world, such events are rooted in ancient religious events, myths or lifestyle of people and Western ceremonies are not an exception.

However, Iran has one of the world’s richest civilizations boasting many events and celebrations similar to Western galas with nearly the same backstories.

Yet many of these ceremonies have fallen into oblivion and replaced with Western versions.

Valentine’s vs. Sepandarmazgan

In early February, the shop windows in Tehran and some other big cities nationwide turn to red color, reminding passersby of the upcoming Valentine’s Day.

Many Iranians celebrate the day with big red teddies and red roses on February 14.

The history of Valentine’s Day–and the story of its patron saint–is shrouded in mystery. February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman traditions.

Iran has one of the world’s richest civilizations boasting many events and celebrations similar to Western galas with nearly the same backstories. Yet many of these ceremonies have fallen into oblivion and replaced with Western versions.

Sepandarmazgan, an ancient Persian festival with Zoroastrian roots, is widely known as the Iranian Day of Love, which is celebrated on February 24.

This day is dedicated to Spenta Armaiti, the Amesha Spenta who is given the domain of “Earth”. The date of the festival as observed in the Sassanid era was on the 5th day of the month Spandarmad, the last month of Iranian calendar, Esfand, which is from February 20 to March 20.

The deity Spandarmad protected the Earth and the good, chaste and beneficent wife who loves her husband.

In recent years, many Iranians have taken steps to introduce Sepandarmazgan as a national replica for Valentine’s Day, which is celebrated ten days after its Western edition.

Christmas vs. Noruz 

Christian Armenians in Iran celebrate Christmas each year in different parts of the country.

Some Christian neighborhoods offer Christmas sweets and ornaments days before Christmas.

However in recent years, confectionaries, photography studios and other stores offer Christmas packages to their customers and many non-Christians hold Christmas party and reunion.

  • Noruz, the Iranian New Year Celebration, is annually held on March 21, worldwide by the Iranians, along with some other nations, as the beginning of the New Year.

The United Nations General Assembly recognized the International Day of Noruz in 2010, describing it as a spring festival of Iranian origin, which has been celebrated for over 3,000 years.

House cleaning and shopping, Haft Seen (a tabletop arrangement of seven symbolic items), visiting one another and Sizdebedar (last day of Noruz holidays spent outdoor in the nature) are some predominant rituals on the occasion of the event.

A photographic studio in Tehran offers decoration for Halloween – theme decoration

Halloween vs. harvest festivals

In the past, Halloween was a celebration Iranians watched just in movies. However, in recent years, it has been turned into a celebration for many Iranians.

They celebrate the event as a reunion in which foods and deserts made from pumpkin is served.

Halloween is an annual holiday, celebrated each year on October 31, which has roots in age-old European traditions.

This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death.

Iranians in different regions celebrate harvest season in different ways.

Farmers all over Iran celebrate their harvest time which may vary based on the types of products.

Today we are more connected with people in all parts of the world more than any time in history, which has its own pros and cons.

If we are aware, maybe it turns into a chance for us to benefit from historical experiences of other nations but what is clear is that being a mere replica of others is not the way we should take.

http://www.tehrantimes.com/news/418961/Alien-festivities-on-Iranian-calendar


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A time to honor

December 21, 2017, 10:13 pm
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After over 10 years of ostracization, heartache, struggle and legal setbacks, Goolrookh Gupta and her sisters Shiraz Patodia and Kamal Thapar have won the right to attend their parents’ funerals in Valsad, as and when the elderly couple expire (see pg 26 “In search of justice”). The trio fretted over the issues as their aged parents, Dina and Adi Contractor reside in the south Gujarat town of Valsad. The Valsad Parsi Anjuman (VPA) had passed a resolution banning entry to the local fire temple and Doongerwadi to Parsi women married to non-Parsis. The three sisters, one, who resides in Bombay and two in Delhi, are married to Hindus.

The family fought not only against the VPA but the numerous punchayets and anjumans that supported the VPA. Adi was a trustee of the VPA but when the controversy took a toll on his health, he stepped down from the all-male board.

 

Finally a five member bench of the Supreme Court of India on December 14, 2017 persuaded the VPA to at least withdraw the ban on the sisters attending their parents last rites at the time of their passing. The right to enter the fire temple and whether the Special Marriage Act (SMA) requires the woman to take on her husband’s religion will be decided when the Court resumes hearing on the case on January 17, 2018.

For the three sisters their first and most crucial battle has been won. Their partial victory compensates to a limited extent the inaction of Parsi women who for over 110 years suffered injustice due to the 1908 Bombay High Court ruling by Justices Dinshaw Davar and Frank Beaman in the Parsi Punchayet Case. The Justices specified a Parsi is the child of a Parsi father even if, as Beaman observed, the child was “begotten of prostitutes or kept mistresses.” Beaman was even more scathing in his comments on the witnesses who testified for the traditionalist respondents. He noted, “It is true that the so called learned men who have come before us to support the Defendants’ case have wasted hours of our time in puerile attempts to gloss away the plain letter of the law. But that must be attributed partly to invincible bigotry which proverbially dulls the sharpest wits, and partly to a natural stupidity and want of training in clear thought.”

 

The case pertained to J. R. D. Ta­ta’ mother Soonoo, a French lady (Suzanne Brière) whose navjote was performed by Dastur Kaikhooshroo Jamaspji. She was considered a Zoroastrian by the Court but not a Parsi as she was not born of a Parsi father. The Justices ruled the community trusts were created for those who met both the ethnic and religious criteria; hence Soonoo was barred from entering a fire temple or having her body consigned to the Towers of Silence.

Both parties to the suit, Sir Jamsetji Jeejeebhoy and Sir Dinsha Manockji Petit (a friend of the Tatas) were moneyed and influential yet the Petit/Tatas did not file an appeal in the Privy Council in London. Associate professor of law at the University of Wisconsin in Madison Mitra Sharafi, who did her doctoral thesis on the Parsi Punchayet Case as well as the Saklat vs Bella case in Rangoon, believes the Tatas could have won in appeal.

 

The English judges would not have the same mindset as those in India. Even in the Saklat vs Bella(1925) case the three member Privy Council bench ruled that the trustees had the right to admit to a fire temple a non-Parsi, if they so wished. Bella was allegedly the daughter of a Goan father and Parsi mother.

The question arises after these two historic court cases why no Parsi women till this year moved the Courts to challenge the definition of a Parsi as laid down by Petit vs Jeejeebhoy or to combat the relentless discrimination they face. There are many influential and moneyed women / families that could have easily financed any case and withstood any backlash from the traditionalists.

But it was only when the new head priest in Calcutta barred entry to the local adarian to the grandchildren of Prochy Mehta, that she and her daughter, Sanaya Mehta Vyas, who is married to a non-Parsi, filed an Originating Summons in the Calcutta High Court.

 

The Mehtas are a well-placed family, as are the Contractors. Gupta’s sister Patodia, being a leading attorney in the prestigious Delhi law firm of Dua Associates, made it possible for the sisters to take on the VPA. All the lawyers representing Gupta in the Supreme Court including Percy Kavina of Ahmedabad who appeared for Gupta in the Gujarat High Court, did so pro bono. In contrast, the VPA is expected to spend over a crore of rupees fighting the case in the apex court.

In both cases, the instigation for the legal battles came not from the deprived parties but those in power. Their obdurate stand forced the Contractors and the Mehtas to litigate. The times are changing. Women are beginning to assert their rights: The #MeToo movement for women to voice the sexual harassment they have suffered from powerful men, the Hindu and Muslim women who are standing up for their rights, the Dalits and other disadvantaged sections of society that are claiming their rightful dues.

Behind every movement for equality there are a handful of peoplewho initiate the effort. They take on the establishment, regardless of the consequences. They are the heroes of our time. Whether they succeed in their mission or fail, they deserve society’s respect and accolades. The Contractor sisters and the Mehtas are role models not only for the Parsis but for all persecuted women and children everywhere. We have to honor and salute them.

Editorial Viewpoint
Parsiana – 21-Dec-2017
http://www.parsiana.com/current-issue/articles.aspx?id=UPXciO1GrwA=

 


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From Patra Ni Machi To Lagan Nu Custard, This Cafe Is All About Delish Parsi Bhonu

December 22, 2017, 6:32 pm
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It was love at first bite. It was at the hallowed, hundred-year-old Parsi members-only Ripon Club that I got my first taste of Parsi food. This was almost four decades ago when I had just moved from dreary  Delhi and fell wildly in love with Mumbai and with Parsi food. Sadly there are only a handful of Parsi restaurants and so I wait for lagan nu bhonus at weddings. However, when a Parsi restaurant does open, I do a joyous whoop and go cartwheeling to lunch there. Like I did at the three-month-old Cheron.

Decor


Please ignore all those social media comments – Cheron does not have a sea view. Sure it is daylight bathed, is charming, cheery and no frills. It’s seriously small. Glassed in counters with shelves of food complete the decor.

Food

All the food is served in takeaway plates and containers.  Snacky (wraps, rolls, sandwiches) as well as one-dish-meals.  My awesome foodie friend Kunal Vijayakar swears by the Patra ni Machi here. Snuggly wrapped in banana leaf and vibrant with chutney and gently steamed, the “Pamplet” is a must try.  As is the plump pao with boldly spiced succulent kheema and the somewhat greasy but tasty mutton lacy cutlet. Moist and tangy Berry Pulao, lustily spiced Mutton Salli Jardaloo. `Flaky puffs baked with a filling of chicken (vegetarian options too). Velvety firm Lagan Nu Custard delights

Minus

No table bookings. No alcohol. No ice. Some of the dishes miss the mark and could do with more punch  like the Dhansak and the Mutton Mince Potato. Oversweet desserts (Kit Kat, German chocolate).

My Point
I love the fact that this small, cheery, open through the day cafe is the result of four decades of a family’s passion. Baker and poultry pioneer Khoram Zorabian founded Bandra’s Gondola and Perizaad, his lovable actress daughter is equally passionate about it. His son Sohrab’s Cheron has been catering Parsi food. Casual and value for money has always been the guiding ethos. No frills, straightforward preparations and food served in takeaway containers. It encourages a basic kind of gluttony. Happily!

Average meal for two : Rs 600


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4TH ZOROASTRIAN RETURN TO ROOTS TRIP KICKS OFF IN MUMBAI

December 22, 2017, 6:40 pm
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The 4th trip of the Zoroastrian Return To Roots program kicked off today in Mumbai. Over 24 Zoroastrian youth from USA, Canada, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Pakistan and United Arab Emirates will participate in a 13 day trip through Mumbai and Gujarat.

At the opening orientation ceremony at the Cusrow Baug Pavilion, Aban Marker-Kabraji, Co-Chair; and Arzan Sam Wadia, Program Director; welcomed the participants and gave them a brief outlay of what the RTR program is about, a brief historical overview of the program since inception and its hopes for the future.

Aban outlined the support and belief of worldwide Zoroastrian institutions, organisations and individuals who see value in the program and what it offers and come out in support of it in various ways including funding, logistics and support.

The RTR Fellows intrdouced themselves and spoke about what they hope to take away from the intensive 13 day program.

Over 4 years and 4 trips the RTR Fellows now numbering 65, have become empowered ambassadors as they return to their communities world over.

Always envisioned as a youth-driven initiative, this year’s program is primarily run by RTR Alumni Zubin Gheesta and Sheherazad Pavri of Mumbai, Ruxshin Dinshaw and Natasha Karanjia of Karachi, and Kayras Irani of Vancouver.

Follow the journey of these 24 youth over the next 13 days by following their Facebook Page and Instagram Feed.

By Mehernaaz Shovir Irani 

https://parsikhabar.net/news/4th-zoroastrian-return-to-roots-trip-kicks-off-in-mumbai/16671/

 

 


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Arriving Displaced, Giving Back in Full

December 23, 2017, 7:03 pm
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Sometime between the seventh and ninth centuries, a group of immigrants landed on the shores of India’s western state of Gujarat, after what probably was a long and arduous voyage from Persia, now modern-day Iran. Not much is known about that journey — about how these people looked, what they wore, how many of them undertook this voyage, how long they sailed or even if India was their chosen destination or a twist of fate. What is known is that like many others in similar situations today, these refugees, who came to be known as the Parsis, were fleeing religious persecution in a land they had called their home for centuries. The story of what happened next is well-documented in Parsi folklore.

Jadhav Rana, the chieftain of the region where the refugees landed, was alarmed at the looks and attire of these strange men and women, and forbade them entry. Instead, he gave them a bowl of milk, filled almost to the brim, as a message that his kingdom was full. It is said that the Parsi head priest added a spoonful of sugar to the milk (or by some accounts a gold ring) to indicate that the Parsis not only would blend into their new society but also enrich it.

Whatever the truth of the story, the Parsis, like many others before and after, flourished in India’s warm embrace. Over time, they became one of India’s most prosperous ethnic communities and have contributed greatly to the development and progress of their adopted home.

 

Jamshed Bhesadia has been panthak, or head priest, of the 161-year-old Kappawala Agiary, or fire temple, for the past 18 years, and is tasked with maintaining the holy fire worshipped by the Parsis.
Jamshed Bhesadia has been panthak, or head priest, of the 161-year-old Kappawala Agiary, or fire temple, for the past 18 years, and is tasked with maintaining the holy fire worshipped by the Parsis. In the spirit of the original commitment made to Jadhav Rana, the Parsis in India do not accept any conversions into the faith, and by extension, only Zoroastrians are allowed to enter the fire temples.(Hoshner Reporter)

Followers of an ancient religion known as Zoroastrianism, the Parsis fled Persia, once the fountainhead of the Zoroastrian faith, when it was overrun by invading Arabs. Their story is particularly relevant at a time when the world is looking increasingly inward, and refugees and immigrants are looked upon unfavorably in many countries, including in traditionally inclusive but now increasingly nationalist and nativist countries like India and the United States, both of which have benefited from the contribution of immigrant communities.

A Parsi residential building in Mumbai bears the winged symbol of the Farohar, an important Zoroastrian religious icon.
A Parsi residential building in Mumbai bears the winged symbol of the Farohar, an important Zoroastrian religious icon. Despite the near complete rout of Zoroastrianism from Iran by Arab invaders, and centuries later by the Islamic Revolution, the Farohar survives among Zoroastrian communities in India and elsewhere. (Hoshner Reporter)

Traditionally, richer countries have considered it their moral obligation to absorb displaced persons, especially on humanitarian grounds. Parts of Europe and the United States initially welcomed Syrian refugees, for example, but public fears of lost jobs, depressed wages, demographic and cultural changes, and terrorism shifted the mood against the immigrants. India largely has been receptive to immigrants and refugees, and more than 200,000 live in India today, including Tibetans, Sri Lankans, Afghans and Bangladeshis. However, India has refused to sign the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention and the 1967 U.N. Protocol on Refugees, seeking flexibility, as is currently being exercised in the recent attempts to deport some 40,000 Rohingya refugees living in camps.

In this context, it is instructive to look at the story of the Parsis.

A Parsi woman performs a ceremony at home associated with Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth.
A Parsi woman performs a ceremony at home associated with Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. The ceremony is typically performed by Hindus, especially in trading communities leading up to the festival of Diwali, but many Parsis in India have adopted the tradition and made it their own. After centuries of living in India, Parsis have embraced a number of Indian customs traditionally not found in Iran. (Hoshner Reporter)

There are fewer than 70,000 Parsis in India today, but they have made contributions to India that far belie their numbers. Starting off as an agrarian community, the Parsis settled in the fertile lands around the town of Sanjan, before spreading to other parts of Gujarat and eventually to the wild and marshy coastal city of Bombay in the mid-1600s. It was in Bombay that the Parsis gained their industrious reputation, as they took advantage of the British desire to establish Bombay as a prominent port and center of commerce by becoming shipbuilders, craftsmen, merchants and traders in opium, silk and spices with China and others. In the process, they created a new class of wealthy, educated and socially conscious Indians.

For the next 300 years, the Parsi community transformed and reformed, seizing opportunities not only to change themselves but also to benefit the broader society. They were among the earliest Indians to learn English, travel abroad for education, practice professions like medicine and law, secure government jobs, educate women and banish child marriage. Despite their affinity to their English benefactors, the Parsis never forgot the land that welcomed them as penniless immigrants all those centuries ago, and gave back generously to society, building schools, hospitals, hotels, enterprises and institutions that stand even today.

 

The history of the Parsis in India is inextricably linked to Mumbai and one of the enduring symbols of the city is the iconic Taj Mahal hotel, built by the Parsi businessman and philanthropist Jamsetji Tata.
The history of the Parsis in India is inextricably linked to Mumbai and one of the enduring symbols of the city is the iconic Taj Mahal hotel, built by the Parsi businessman and philanthropist Jamsetji Tata. It is said that Tata decided to build the grand hotel when he was denied entry into Mumbai’s Watson’s Hotel because he was not European. True or not, the anecdote is now part of every Mumbai resident’s storytelling repertoire and the stuff of legend.
(Hoshner Reporter)

In the historic districts of Mumbai, home to the world’s largest concentration of Parsis, it is impossible to ignore their influence. Parsis set up the National Center for the Performing Arts; the Central Bank of India, the first modern Indian bank to be run totally by Indians; and the iconic Taj Mahal hotel. Additionally, the community contributed to the industrialization and development of India, establishing the country’s first cotton mill, its steel and aviation industries, and the first institute of science in Bangalore. Some of the best-known companies in India were started by Parsis, from the Tata conglomerate to the Godrej and Wadia business houses, which employ millions and make everything from defense equipment to cheese.

 

Parvez Irani, 76, strikes a pose in the Yazdani Bakery in Mumbai. Started by his father in 1950, the bakery is now run by him and two brothers.
Parvez Irani, 76, strikes a pose in the Yazdani Bakery. Started by his father in 1950, and now run by him and two brothers, the bakery is one of the few surviving Irani cafes in Mumbai. The Indian Irani Zoroastrian community hails from Yazd, Iran, which remained a Zoroastrian cultural center long after the Arab conquest of Persia. Unlike the Parsis, the Iranis migrated to India only about a century ago, but like their brethren who came 1,200 years earlier, the Iranis wasted no time in making Mumbai their home, opening cafes and eateries. Though they slowly are disappearing, Irani cafes remain an important part of Mumbai’s culinary scene. (Hoshner Reporter)

Despite having benefited from their proximity to the British, Parsis also played a significant role in the Indian independence movement. Dadabhai Naoroji, known as the grand old man of India, represented Indian interests in the British Parliament, Pherozeshah Mehta was a founding member and president of the Indian National Congress, and female Parsi freedom fighter Bhikaji Cama co-designed and unfurled the earliest version of independent India’s flag in Germany 40 years before India gained independence from Britain.

 

The Bombay House in Mumbai is the headquarters of Tata Sons, the holding company that runs the Tata conglomerate.
The Bombay House in Mumbai is the headquarters of Tata Sons, the holding company that runs the Tata conglomerate. Tata Sons is unique in that 66 percent of its equity is held by various philanthropic trusts endowed by members of the Tata family. (Hoshner Reporter)

As they have in the past, Parsis today hold prominent positions in Indian society as captains of industry, artists, musicians, doctors, journalists and judges. Parsis not only have adopted a land, but also its languages and customs. They have integrated and added value, while still striving to maintain their unique identity, religion and traditions.

Over a thousand years ago, the Parsis found a land willing to welcome them and give them space to live and prosper. In turn, they enriched their new home like the proverbial sugar in milk.

Statues of prominent Parsis abound in Mumbai.
Statues of prominent Parsis abound in Mumbai. They mark the community’s contribution to the city’s development, and serve as a reminder of the lasting benefits immigrants can have on the communities in which they settle. (Hoshner Reporter)

According to UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency, there are 65 million people who have been forced from their homes as of 2017. Of that number, 10 million people are stateless, and are denied the basic rights of nationality, education and employment. It can only be hoped that leaders and communities across the world today will look to the Parsi example when deciding on the merits of opening their countries and homes to strangers from strange lands.

Hoshner Reporter

https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/arriving-displaced-giving-back-full


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A GLOBAL INITIATIVE TO SUPPORT IRANSHAH UDVADA

December 23, 2017, 7:30 pm
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A GLOBAL INITIATIVE TO SUPPORT THE LEGACY OF PAK IRANSHAH ATASHBEHRAM IN UDVADA – OUR PRICELESS AND TIMELESS HERITAGE

TOGETHER Let Us Create An Inner Desire To Support Our Sacred Fire

EDUCATION – INSPIRATION – DONATION

The sleepy village of Udvada is poised for its rightful place on the global map of renowned religious, historical and cultural sites with improved infrastructure, enhanced facilities and better security. This would be in keeping with it’s now officially recognized status of a global heritage village, bestowed by the government of India. The Udvada Atash Bahram is the oldest consecrated fire temple of the highest grade in India; and represents the historical, cultural, spiritual and religious bond with our Motherland Iran.

The divine flame of Iranshah Udvada is one of the oldest and holiest fire that is revered by Zartoshtis across the globe since over a millennium.

Let us join hands together

  • To keep this flame live and alive
  • For the benefit of our future generation
  • Through Education, Inspiration & Donation

OUR MISSION

To make Udwada the global centre for showcasing OUR Zoroastrian heritage, culture and way of life

OUR VISION

To provide a continuous stream of global financial support to perpetuate the Legacy Of Iranshah Udvada – Our Precious And Timeless Heritage

OUR 5-STAR PURPOSE

TO PRESERVE the Sanctity Of Iranshah by honoring​, ​helping and supporting ​all those who take care of ​this great spiritual power-house ​with utmost dedication and selfless commitment – Especially our senior and respected Mobed sahibs​ who have dedicated their ​entire ​lives towards serving OUR Sacred Iranshah with impeccable sincerity, devotion, ​dignity and integrity.

TO CREATE a monetary incentive for our present Mobed Sahibs and to inspire our future Mobeds to pursue the noble profession of Mobedi as a career. This is of vital importance for the survival and revival of OUR Sacred Iranshah.

A great scholar had once said: “no priest, no religion or religious institution”.​

TO KEEP the flame alive by providing firewood (Kathi).  The Kathi Fund needs to be increased substantially to meet the rising cost of Kathi.

TO MAINTAIN the structure that houses our holiest fire. OUR Sacred Iranshah, which is over a thousand years old, and the building in which Iranshah is enthroned; requires periodic infrastructure updates as well as major renovations every 10-12 years.

TO PROVIDE round the clock (24/7/365) Security Service for the premises of OUR Sacred Iranshah.

In addition, we also need the voluntary services of devoted and sincere Parsi helpers to keep the premises clean, tidy and presentable for the local, national and global devotees/pilgrims who visit Udvada to pay their homage to OUR Sacred Iranshah.

 

OUR MOTTO

Together, Let Us Create An Inner Desire, To Support Our Sacred Fire

TO DONATE

From USA – Click Here

From India – Click Here

Please Await updates from Other Countries


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Iranshah Udvada Utsav – Videos – Dec 2017

December 27, 2017, 9:32 pm
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THE ASSOCIATION FOR PERFORMANCE OF THE FIRST YEAR NECESSARY DEATH CEREMONIES OF THE PARSI ZOROASTRIANS

December 28, 2017, 11:33 pm
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The Association for Performance of the First Year Necessary Death Ceremonies of the Parsi Zoroastrians

 E. Mithaiwala Agiary Compound, Jehangir Daji Cross Lane, Sleater Road, Grant Road (W), Mumbai 400007. Registration No. F-80 (Bom)

PUBLIC NOTICE

A Society by the name of The Association For Performance Of The First Year Necessary Death Ceremonies Of The Parsi Zoroastrians was founded in the year 1942 for the purpose of performing the essential death ceremonies of Parsi Zoroastrian individuals who desire to have the same performed for themselves, but do not have any relatives who will get the ceremonies performed.

 The Society is headed by Ervad Dr. Ramiyar Karanjia, Chairman of the Association, and ably guided by Ervad Aspandiar Dadachanji, Panthaky, Vatcha Gandhi Agiary, Mrs. Shernaz D.Mehta, Director, Zoroastrian Co-operative Bank Ltd. and other Trustees.

The Society has arrangements with a few Agiaries for the Performance Of The First Year Necessary Death Ceremonies in different areas in Mumbai and Pune. The Society has received a heartening response from many Zoroastrians and who have since become its members.

The Society  offers two Options:

Option 1 is the economical scheme, priced at Rs. 30,000/-, covering the essential after death ceremonies for one year including Muktad.

Option 2, priced at Rs.55,000/-, covers the essential after death ceremonies for one year including Muktad, a few days of rituals and one Vendidad.

 

Zoroastrians desiring to become members of this Scheme or for further details can contact :

Mr. Ariez Kharas. Administrator. Tel. 022 23870283 or 9769761284.

 

Ervad Aspandiar Dadachanji, Panthaky, Vatcha Gandhi Agiary, Hughes Road  Tel. 022 23803826 or 919820493812

Ervad Kersi Bhadha,Panthaky, M.J.Wadia Agiary, Lalbaug    Tel. 022 24702207

Ervad Viraf Pavri, Panthaky, B. C. Batliwalla Agiary, Tardeo Road  Tel. 022 23530142

 Ervad Hormuzd A.Dadachanji,Panthaky, Mithaiwala Agiary, Jehangir Daji Street, Grant Road (West)  Tel. 919820493812

 Ervad Rusi J.Katrak,Panthaky,Mehella Patel Agiary,Balaram Street, Grant Road.Mumbai 400 007.  

Ervad Parvez M.Bajan,Panthaky,Seth B.M.Mevawala Agiary,Victoria gardens,Byculla,Mumbai 400 027. Tel.23716799 (Res).

 Zoroastrians who desire to get their first year after death ceremonies performed should first become members of the Society by paying a nominal sum of Rs.51/- and, thereafter, can opt for either of the schemes mentioned above.

The Society is registered as per the Society’s Registration Act and also under the Bombay Public Trust Act and is being looked after by its Board of Trustees. Community members may take advantage of this Scheme depending on their needs.

A General Body Meeting of The Association will be held on Saturday,the 6th of January,2018 at 11 a.m. at the Administrative Office of the Association.


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Not Just Milk & Sugar

December 29, 2017, 1:50 am
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Not Just Milk & Sugar is an accessible inquiry into the Zoroastrian faith, its basic teachings, uniqueness, and myths. Through a bedtime story told by a grandfather to his grandson, the relevance of this ancient faith in today’s modern world unfolds as a simple and beautiful ecological message.

A film written & directed by Divya Cowasji, produced by Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India for Jiyo Parsi.


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Valiant Parsis in War and Peace

December 29, 2017, 7:09 am
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I am happy to announce that my new book VALIANT PARSIS IN WAR AND PEACE was
released by Dasturji Khurshed Dastoor at Iranshah Udvada Utsav on 24th
December 2017.

You may take a printout of the outer jacket and display it at your nearest
agiary/colony notice board.

I am currently in Mumbai for three weeks.

Marzban Giara

SYNOPSIS OF THE BOOK VALIANT PARSIS IN WAR AND PEACE

VALIANT PARSIS IN WAR AND PEACE

320 pages, hard bound, illustrated, printed on art paper

Foreword by Air Chief Marshal Fali Major (Retired)

An index of names – surnamewise of 550 Parsi officers and men with 200
photographs.

Price:Rs.700/- plus courier chargesRs.200/- per book in India

Available from:

Marzban J. Giara,  WZO Trust Funds Senior Citizens Centre,  Pinjara Street, Malesar, Navsari,
Gujarat, India Pin 396445

e-mail: marzbang@gmail.com

Available from 1st January 2018 at Mumbai:

  1. Mr. Hoshedar E. Ichhaporia. Desai Building, ground floor, (opp. Bank Of
    India). 668, Katrak Road, Dadar Parsi Colony  Tel. 24124303
  2. Rustomfaramna Agiary Dadar

  3. Karani Agiary, Cusrow Baug, Colaba

  4. Tata Agiary, Bandra

  5. Mevawalla Agiary Byculla

  6. Parsiana book shop, K. K. Chambers, A. K. Nayak Marg, Fort, Mumbai Tel
    22074335/22074347

  7. Jame Jamshed office, 2282020223

The author Marzban Giara has documented the lives and contribution of Parsi
officers and men of the armed forces, police, fire brigade as a labour of
love. It has an index of names surnamewise of 550 Parsis and 200
photographs.

This book has an attractive outer jacket with colour pictures of all the
Parsi service chiefs on the front cover and Lt. Generals, Air Marshals,
Vice/Rear Admirals on the rear cover. It has a foreword by Air Chief Marshal
Fali H. Major (Retired)

There is a special section 24 pages with colour pictures of medals pre
independence and post independence and life sketches of the Parsi service
chiefs – Field Marshal Maneckshaw, Admiral Jal Cursetji, Air Marshal Aspi
Engineer, Air Chief Marshal Fali H. A. Major, as also Vice Admiral Rustom
Contractor, Director General, Indian Coast Guard and Khusro F. Rustamji,
Director General, BSF; Keki Dadabhoy of Black Cat Commandos and Lt. Col. Adi
B. Tarapore, the only Parsi winner of Param Veer Chakra.

There is a chronological record detailing the contribution and preparedness
of the Parsi community during the Second World War. Pictures of the two War
Memorials at Khareghat Colony, Mumbai are included. A list of Parsis who
died during World War II, Indo Pakistan Wars and Indo China War of 1962 is
also given. Date of disbanding of the Parsi Battalion is also given as also
obituaries of several Parsi officers and men.

—————————————————————————-

Table of Contents

Title

Dedicatory page

Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

Recipients of Awards and Medals

Pictures of Awards and Medals

Life sketches of Parsi officers and men (arranged alphabetically
surnamewise) 200 pages

Parsis in Police Service

Chronological record from 1919 onwards

Parsi Ambulance Division

War Memorials

Index of names – surnamewise

Press announcements

Bibliography

Acknowledgments

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marzban Jamshedji Giara is the author and publisher of books on Zarathushti
religion and Parsi history.  In the eighties he helped Dr. Bahman Surti to
publish seven volumes of SHAH NAMAH OF FIRDAOSI in English Prose.  What
started as a hobby has become a full time obsession.  During the past 33
years he has produced many firsts including the first illustrated Global
Directory of Zoroastrian Fire Temples in 1998 and its 2nd edition in
December 2002, The Zoroastrian Pilgrim’s Guide in 1999, Parsi Statues in
2000, All India Directory of Parsi Institutions in 2010 and its 2nd edition
in 2015 and The Contribution of the Parsi Community during the First World
War (1914-1918). He has to his credit thirty six other books, some authored
or compiled by him, some translated from Gujarati into English.  He is
perhaps the only one who has had a track record of consistent performance in
bringing out new and informative publications that meet the needs of the
community and most of these with his own resources, without seeking any
sponsorship. A keen student of Parsi history and Zarathushti religion, he is
an independent thinker, writer, public speaker, free lance journalist and
research worker.

His parents and his teachers have been the inspiration for him.   Right from
childhood, his father ingrained in him the idea: “Son, be a creator and not
a spectator in life.  We must give back to society more than what we have
received from it.” These words have motivated him to pursue his noble work
of bringing out new and innovative books in the service of the community.
Married to Bapsy (nee Daruvala) since 1969, they have a son Zareer and a
grandson Farhad. The family’s support and encouragement from friends and
well wishers drives him to carry on with his work in his chosen field of
endeavour.

He has been featured in The Times of India, Jam-E-Jamshed, Afternoon
Despatch and Courier, Indian Express as also in Parsiana and was interviewed
on Doordarshan TV and ZEE TV alpha Humata Hukhta Hvarashta for his
publications. He is interested in devotional music and has compiled and
published two song books Jarthosti Gayan Sangrah, and Gaavo Maari Saathe
Singalong Treasure Trove of Parsi Songs and also produced audio CDs of
devotional hymns Zoroastrian Melodies, Khushaline Bandgina Geeto, Ame
Chhaiye Parsi.

Mr. Rusi M. Lala has acknowledged his contribution in his book For The Love
Of India biography of Jamsetji N. Tata. His article Through the Lens on
Parsi photographers co-authored along with Dr. Nawaz B. Modi is included in
Vol. III of the tome Enduring Legacy published in 2005. His article “Statues
in the making of Bombay” has been published in the tome Threads of
Continuity by PARZOR in March 2016. He has presented slide shows on Parsi
statues highlighting their contribution to humanity.


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The Gathas – A Compilation

December 29, 2017, 7:16 am
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Stamp on Dadabhai Naoroji

December 29, 2017, 9:25 pm
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India Post dedicated a stamp on Dadabhai Naoroji, an independence stalwart, celebrating his 100th death anniversary in Ahmedabad on 29th December 2017 by Gujarat Governor along with officials n community members Stamp was long overdue.

http://www.betterphilately.com/


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Parsis in a flame war

December 31, 2017, 5:39 am
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Orthodox community members, reformists divided over sanctity of fire in Pune temple
Mumbai: For the reformists who built the newly opened Asha Vahishta Zoroastrian Centre in Pune’s Kondhwa area, the fire it houses is a holy one, kindled after carrying out rituals like a jashn ceremony and recital of the Atash Niyeash prayer. But the orthodox in the community are deriding it is just like “any other bonfire.”

At the root of the heated words is the fact that the centre welcomes Parsi Zoroastrians who have married outside the faith. Parsi Zoroastrians have traditionally not allowed non-Parsi spouses to convert to the faith or even enter agiaries and participate in rituals like funeral ceremonies. Further, children of female members of the community who marry outside are also not considered Parsi.

“The idea of our centre was to welcome all and not differentiate on the basis of religion or gender, “said Vispy Wadia, founder member of the Association for Revival of Zoroastrianism, under which the centre has been built. Around 150 Parsis — including Maharookh and Darius Forbes, Kerbanu and Viraf Pudumjee, Darius Khambata, Cyruz Guzder, and Bapsi and Fali Nariman — and the Pirojsha Godrej Foundation donated funds and the land for the centre was purchased in 2010. Work on its construction began in 2014.

“These religiously ignorant legal persons like Fali Nariman and Darius Khambatta have made a mockery and insult of our glorious religion and they must be prosecuted,” says Yazdi Desai, chairman of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet. “The so-called fire temple in Pune is definitely not consecrated. It is just an ordinary fire, like a scout camp fire, and anyone can pray before it.” Dinshaw Mehta, a former BPP trustee, says there is a whole ritual for consecration of an agiary fire: “The Pune fire is a joke on the donors. Just lighting wood in an afarganu vessel is not consecration.” Medioma Bhada, a retired naval officer, says that he is upset with the centre being referred to as a fire temple. “One can call it a prayer hall but not a fire temple.”

Mr. Wadia retorts, “The fire may not be holy for them, but it is for us.”

Worli precedent

In 2015, reformers had built a prayer hall near the Worli crematorium for community members who chose cremation instead of the tradition of leaving the body in the Tower of Silence to be consumed by scavenger birds. Since they were not allowed to conduct the four day funeral prayers inside the doongerwadi, the idea of alternate prayer hall was executed. “In a way it is good,” Mr. Mehta said. “Just as the Worli prayer hall stopped the demand for a cremate-ni-bungli at doongerwadi, the setting up of this cosmopolitan fire temple will hopefully stop the inter-married ladies from moving courts to demand right of entry.”

Two high profile battles are already being fought in the courts: a woman is fighting for her grandchildren born to a Hindu father to get entry to the only fire temple in Kolkata; and another Parsi woman married to a Hindu is demanding similar rights from the Valsad Anjuman in the Supreme Court.

Jyoti Shelar

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/parsis-in-a-flame-war/article22289350.ece


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Parsi Film

December 31, 2017, 5:43 am
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Looking for Old Pictures of Bharda House – Udvada

January 4, 2018, 2:30 am
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I am interested in any old pictures that you may have of the old Bharda House in Bharda Street, Udwada.  That house was occupied by my grandmother and aunts and uncle from the Katila family and I spent almost all my school vacations there in that house.

This is of sentimental value to me and I would be very grateful if you would oblige.

Thanks ,
Mrs. Nawaz Vijayakumar

nawaz.vijayakumar@gmail.com


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The Woman Behind the Golden Globes – is a Parsi lady Meher Tatna

January 9, 2018, 1:06 am
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The Woman Behind the Golden Globes Wants You to Take Them Seriously

No, the awards are not fixed—and more secrets from H.F.P.A. president Meher Tatna.

H.F.P.A. president Meher Tatna
Rob Latour/REX/Shutterstock
On a December day after the agencies and studios had closed for the holidays, one office in Los Angeles was still a whirlwind of activity. Inside a quaint English tudor-style building in West Hollywood, through a lobby decorated with Saltillo tiles and giant portraits of Elizabeth Taylor and Linda Evans, Meher Tatna, the president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, was busy preparing for Hollywood’s giddiest night: the Golden Globes.
“It’s like 100 weddings in one,” said Tatna, a Mumbai-born reporter for the Singapore daily The New Paper, who was elected to run the organization of 90 international entertainment journalists in June. “The Globes are like a machine. We have a pre-show with Facebook. A post-show with Twitter. And then we have a Chinese platform coming this year. I wake up in the middle of the night thinking, I didn’t answer this e-mail, I better get back to this person.”
The Golden Globes are, frankly, relatively meaningless. But they are a damn good time—the most watched awards show besides the Oscars, and an opportunity for visibility in the entertainment industry. As head of the H.F.P.A., the oft-derided nonprofit organization that votes on the awards, Tatna is the evening’s unofficial hostess. In a way, she is also a perfect woman for this job at a moment when Hollywood is examining its own sexist, racist, dishonest habits. She has endured butt pinches as a waitress, offensive casting calls as an actress, and uncertain economics as a print reporter (Tatna declined to disclose her age). She’s interested in reclaiming the H.F.P.A.’s reputation, cemented years ago as a boorish group of semi-working, easily corrupted journalists. As acerbic Golden Globes host Ricky Gervaissaid during the 2010 show, “One thing that can’t be bought is a Golden Globe . . . officially. But if you were to buy one, the man to see would be [H.F.P.A. head] Philip Berk.”
During our interview, Tatna rejected many of the adages about the group. The idea that the H.F.P.A. nominates films and TV shows based simply on luring the biggest stars to its show? “No. Otherwise we would have had Julia Roberts this year [for Wonder],” Tatna said. That they are won over by lavish gifts from studios? “We have a rule that no gifts in excess of $95 can be given to us,” Tatna said. “That’s what we remind all the publicists every year. . . . In the past, we’ve returned things.” Last year, for instance, they gave back Tom Ford perfume intended to promote his movie, Nocturnal Animals.
Stakes are high for an entertaining show Sunday night—this year is the H.F.P.A.’s 75th anniversary, and the group’s broadcast rights contract with NBC is set to expire. The H.F.P.A. is also adding new elements, including an overflow room at the Hilton to accommodate the many people who wish to attend and can’t fit in the bustling main ballroom. “I have no idea whether it will be shut down by the fire marshal or nobody will come,” Tatna said. “No idea.”

The first major awards handed out in the #MeToo age, this year’s Golden Globes will likely be different than all that came before, with actresses pledging to wear black gowns and the usually frivolous red carpet taking on a new seriousness. “I am really glad that women are finally feeling safe enough to come forward and talk about their experiences,” Tatna said. “I am totally in solidarity with them. It’s not just in Hollywood that this happens. I was a waitress—the groping and pinching happened . . . back then, nobody felt safe enough to say anything. You thought you’d be fired; you thought you would be ostracized. So yeah, I’m really glad that they found that power, and I hope that this is a time of profound change.”

There have been some suggestions that the H.F.P.A. itself ought to evolve, including from actress Jada Pinkett Smith—who called out its members’ failure to attend a screening or to nominate her film Girls Trip. “We did have a screening of it. We were invited to the premiere as well. There was a junket in New Orleans that we didn’t attend, but we were invited to go,” Tatna said, in response to Pinkett Smith’s remarks. “We always look at the distribution in our territories. If the movie doesn’t open there, then people generally don’t need the press conference. . . . I myself saw it on a screener. I didn’t make the screening. There’s a difference between being a journalist and being a Golden Globe voter. I’m not sure if everybody understands that.”

Tatna did make it to a dramatic, last-minute screening of Ridley Scott’s All the Money in the World after Scott raced to replace Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer in time for the group’s early December deadline. “We went over to Sony at 10 in the morning. It wasn’t totally 100 percent finished, it needed some color correction . . . but we’ve seen movies in that shape before. Silence, Martin Scorsese’s film, was not completely finished. So we are used to that.”
Tatna’s path to the Beverly Hilton ballroom has been a long and winding one. Her father imported liquor in India (“He was a lousy businessman,” she said) and she grew up with a particular affinity for Hollywood musicals, like My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music. She wanted to act—but as a compromise with her parents, who were skeptical of a career in the arts, she majored in economics on a scholarship at Brandeis University.
After graduation she moved to New York City and pursued acting, appearing on a soap opera and at one point voicing various Indian women on The Simpsons. “They always told me to crank up the accent,” Tatna said, of her acting days. “That was very annoying, but that was at a time when the only Indians that you saw were 7-Eleven clerks and taxi drivers, and that was what I was up for. And you either decide to do it or you don’t and when you don’t have too many choices, sometimes you do.”
Eventually, she moved to L.A., bought a Plymouth Reliant on a salvage license, and began to pay more of her bills with entertainment journalism than acting. The state of journalism, especially newspapers like the one that employs her and many of her colleagues in the H.F.P.A., is an issue that weighs on her mind. “A lot of us are finding that our outlets are shrinking and the work is not as much as it used to be,” Tatna said. “Now you are competing with the influencers and the kids who make videos rolling around in bed.”
When Tatna took on the H.F.P.A. president job, one of the first things she did was reach out to studio executives. “I would call up and say, give me 10 minutes, let me come say hello and tell you who I am. . . . Just give us more access, set visits, lift embargoes earlier for us. That kind of thing is important for the members.” She’s also eager for people to remember the H.F.P.A. is a nonprofit, which doles out much of the millions it earns from the Golden Globes TV rights to schools, theaters, and film preservation efforts. Though her Golden Globes votes are secret, she’s still a fan at heart—Game of Thrones and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel are two particular favorites.

On Sunday, Tatna will appear on stage at the Beverly Hilton for 45 seconds to deliver some remarks during the telecast—a rare moment in the spotlight after a decade toiling backstage in the press room, where reporters from some 200 outlets, including Vanity Fair, sit elbow-to-elbow. “I always have to watch the show on tape to write my article,” Tatna said. “I’m really looking forward to sitting in the ballroom this year.”
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