Tomorrow, Sunday 11th November 2018, is the Centenary of the Armistice of the First World War. Across our country and the Commonwealth we will be remembering all those who served, including those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the King Emperor and Great Britain. 
Our patron Lord Karan F Bilimoria CBE DL and myself will have the honour in representing the ZTFE and the Zoroastrian community at the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph, Whitehall. 
Our Hon Secretary Rohinton F Munshi and our Trustee Rusi K Dalal will have the honour in representing the ZTFE and the Zoroastrians of Harrow at the Harrow Council Service of Remembrance at the War Memorial, Harrow Town Hall.
At 11am during the two minutes silence, we will be remembering all our Zoroastrian volunteers who served during WWI, WWII, Korea, Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan, including those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the King Emperor and Great Britain.          
One such Zoroastrian volunteer who served the King Emperor and Great Britain during WWI and WWII was Captain Heerajee Jehangir Manockjee Cursetjee DSO. Heerajee was the great grandson of Seth Cursetjee Manockjee Shroff, whose statue stands today between the two flyovers in Byculla, Mumbai, popularly known as “Khada Parsi”.
Captain Heerajee Jehangir Manockjee Cursetjee, served as a medical officer with the 14^th King George’s Own Ferozepore Sikhs, one of the oldest regiments in the Indian Army today. For his bravery Captain Heerajee J M Cursetjee was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). This British military decoration recognised ‘meritorious and distinguished service’ by officers. 
During the Second World War, Heerajee J M Cursetjee was promoted to major-general, becoming one of the first Indians to achieve general officer rank in the British Indian Army. 
Major General Heerajee Jehangir Manockjee Cursetjee’s medals are exhibited at the National Army Museum (NAM), Chelsea, London.
I am thankful to Jasdeep Singh, the curator at NAM, and his colleagues for the write up on Major General Heerajee Jehangir Manockjee Cursetjee, which is attached and pasted below. http://ww1.nam.ac.uk/stories/captain-heerajee-cursetjee/

Kindly note:
ZTFE being the oldest Asian voluntary faith based organisation in the UK, will be participating in ‘A Nation’s Thank You’ including the bell ringing which will be rung in places of worship across the UK, thus echoing the actions of British citizens 100 years ago.  Our resident priest at the Zoroastrian Centre, Ervad Yazad T Bhadha will perform the Thanksgiving Maachi ceremony at 12.30 pm GMT marking the Centenary of the First World War Armistice. All are welcome to join the Zoroastrian Children’s Educational Fun Club in witnessing the Thanksgiving Maachi ceremony.  
Prior to the Thanksgiving Maachi ceremony, Ervad Yazad will recite the Stum-no kardo when he will invoke the names of the Zoroastrians dead of WWI and WWII.  Their names are inscribed on the Zoroastrian War Memorial, Kharaghat Parsi Colony, Mumbai.  
At 3pm, our Lord Karan F Bilimoria CBE DL, Hon Secretary Rohinton F Munshi, Resident priest at the Zoroastrian Centre, Ervad Yazad T Bhadha and myself will be representing the ZTFE and the Zoroastrian community at, ‘A Service of Thanksgiving and Prayer for Peace to mark the Centenary of the Armistice signalling the end of World War I’ at Southwark Cathedral.  
At 6pm, I will be representing the ZTFE and the Zoroastrian community at, ‘The National Service of Thanksgiving to commemorate the centenary of the World War I Armistice’ at Westminster Abbey.  
Kindly inform those who are not accessible to the internet or email.            
Yours sincerely
Malcolm M DebooPresidentMalcolm M DebooPresidentZoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (Incorporated)
Oldest Asian Faith Based Voluntary Organisation in the UK; Established 1861Zartoshty Brothers Hall, Zoroastrian Centre, 440 Alexandra Avenue, Harrow, HA2 9TL, UKReligious and Cultural Centre of the Parsi & Irani Zoroastrian CommunityTel: +44 20 8866 0765  Mob: +44 78 2570 5810Email: secretary@ztfe.com  Website: http://www.ztfe.comRegistered Charity No: 277185  Company Limited by Guarantee Reg No: 1403266

Please see the attached copy of an informative and inspiring article in the Harvard Business Review, November 2018 issue, by our patron Lord Karan F Bilimoria CBE DL titled; ‘How I did it: Cobra’s Chairman on turning an Indian Beer into a Global Brand’. 

Yours sincerely Malcolm M DebooPresident – ZTFE

‘In the next 20-30 years, Tata Trust hopes to set up a pattern along with the Government to reduce the number of deaths taking place due to cancer,’ said Tata.

RANCHI: Tata Trust Chairman Ratan Tata believes that the Tata Trust in association with the Government would be able to set a pattern to reduce the deaths caused by Cancer in the next 10-20 years. Ratan Tata while laying foundation stone along with Chief Minister Raghubar Das for the world-class cancer hospital in Ranchi on the lines of TMH in Mumbai, also lauded the central as well as the State Governments for showing their vision to tackle cancer by springing up a number of cancer hospitals across the Country.

“In the next 20-30 years, Tata Trust hopes to set up a pattern along with the Government to reduce the number of deaths taking place due to cancer,” said Tata.

Lakhs of people die due to cancer and many have lost their will to live due to the high cost of treatment and the difficulty involved, he added. Tata said that since North East region have a lot of cancer patients this hospital in Ranchi will be a great relief for the patients coming from the region and also play a leading role to tackle the disease.

“Tata Trust was committed to make Ranchi hospital a success which will also be a symbol of prosperity and good health of the people living in the area,” said the Trust Chairman. Tata praised the initiatives taken by the Governments, both at the Center and States, to tackle the disease.

“I believe the government at the Centre and the state governments have displayed considerable vision in setting up a string up cancer hospitals for the screening of cancer early and treat cancer at a reasonable cost and provide access to State of the art hospitals in India,” Tata added.

Chief Minister Raghubar Das, in his speech, said that the demand for this hospital was raised during Momentum Jharkhand summit in the year 2017 so that people do not have to go outside the State for treatment of cancer and other illnesses.

“As I was quite aware of the problems faced by the people, I tried to improve health services in the State, as soon as I became Chief Minister and started construction for 6 medical colleges in the last 4 years along with a centre of All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS),” said the CM.

With the start of the work for a cancer hospital in Ranchi, one of his greatest wishes was fulfilled, he added. Initially, there will have a facility of 50 beds in the Hospital which will be gradually increased to 300. People of Jharkhand will be given priority in the hospital and given some special facilities in the hospital.

50 per cent beds of the hospital will be reserved for the people hailing from Jharkhand. The hospital will have 14 world class operation theatres with 28 beds Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and a blood bank.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2018/nov/10/ratan-tata-cm-lays-foundation-stone-for-cancer-hospital-in-ranchi-1896476.html

Zoroastrian Faculty Network (ZFN) collaborates with Alliance Française de Bombay to bring you SciencesPo open day on 20 November 2018. ZFN Core Team Member Farrokh Rustomjee, CEO, R D Sethna Scholarships, will present the Financing Opportunities available.

Date : 20 November 2018     Time :  6.00 pm

Venue : Alliance Française de Bombay, Theosophy Hall, 40, New Marine Lines, Churchgate, Mumbai 400020

Contact : mumbai@india-campusfrance.org

For more  regular updates – visit www.zoroastrianfacultynetwork.org

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he’s nominating conservative lawyer Neomi Rao to replace Brett Kavanaugh on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The president made the announcement, which came as a surprise, during a Diwali lighting ceremony at the White House, CNN reported. “She’s going to be fantastic—great person,” Trump said at the event.

Rao presently serves under the Trump administration as the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which is part of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget. In her position, Rao has been described as an “ally” to the administration in its work to strip federal government regulations, according to Politico.

Click Here for more

The dwindling population of Parsi community nationwide has long been a cause of concern and was the primary motivation for the Jiyo Parsi scheme.

Funded by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and conceived and promoted by Parzor Foundation of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and the federation of Zoroastrian Anjumans of India, its primary aim was to aid Parsi couples facing difficulties in conceiving with IVF treatment. After a sluggish start, it has finally gained ground in Gujarat, where as opposed to just one birth two years ago, the number has now risen to around 12.

In the past four years, a total of 168 babies across the country have been born under the Jiyo Parsi scheme, considered to be an achievement by the team working on this programme. Unfortunately, Ahmedabad has only had one baby till date. “Infertility is still a taboo in Ahmedabad. Also, most Parsis are quite well off to approach us seeking financial and medical help.” 

“However, the response from Surat and Navsari has been quite good. We are also trying to reach out to gynaecologists across the state, requesting them to direct Parsi couples visiting them, to us so that we can help them,” says Pearl Mistry, counsellor, Jiyo Parsi in Gujarat.

At present, the Jiyo Parsi programme is in the second phase that aims at getting Parsi men and women to rapidly marry and procreate in significant numbers. Last week, a Parsi matrimony meet was held in Ahmedabad, in which nearly 90 Parsis participated.

Under the scheme, a couples opting for IVF get reimbursement of nearly 8 lakh, covering expenses till the child is born. However, the biggest challenge is to counsel the couple as distraught couple lose patience as IVF can take multiple cycles. “Even as we encourage couples to opt for a second baby, we offer them Rs 4,000 per month for it to help cover cost of crèche for the first eight years.”

“The scheme is aimed at increasing the shrinking population and does not see a good response as most Parsi couples do not aim to have children. It is important to overcome the mindset and make them see reason. Only then there will be a change and they will go for early marriage and early kids,” says Rashna Daruwalla, manager, admissions, Anant National University, adding, “For every 200 new born, there are 800 dead. These figures are equally responsible for the decline.”

12 Births And Counting

• In Gujarat, as opposed to one birth two years ago, it has now gone up to around 12 
• Over the past 4 years, 168 babies born across the country under the scheme 
• Couples opting for IVF get reimbursement of nearly 8 lakh per child till birth

https://www.dnaindia.com/ahmedabad/report-jiyo-parsi-scheme-gains-ground-in-gujarat-2685083

Mumbai: In the 150^th year of the Tata Group, three independently written books on the Group are being published. The books – ‘The Tata Group: From torchbearers to trailblazers’, ‘The Tata Saga’, and ‘Titan: Inside India’s Most Successful Consumer Brand’ – featuring interesting insights, case studies and success stories as also challenges faced by the Group, were launched today at the 9^th edition of Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest at the National Centre of the Performing Arts (NCPA).

The book launch was followed by a riveting discussion titled ‘Tata@150: A Vision for a Nation’ between Mr. Harish Bhat, Brand Custodian, Tata Sons, Ms. Rama Bijapurkar, acclaimed business-market strategist, Mr. Vinay Kamath, author of the book on Titan and Dr. Shashank Shah, author of ‘The Tata Group’ book with Mr. Govindraj Ethiraj, journalist, as the Chair. The power packed panel held an insightful discourse on the challenges and opportunities facing the Group as it keeps in step with changing times in the current economic and social milieu.

Mr. Harish Bhat, Brand Custodian, Tata Sons, said, “The Tata Group is proud to be associated with Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest. This is in line with the Group’s commitment to the community. An important facet of this commitment is the nurturing of art, literature and ideas, which has always stimulated society to a greater good. A large number of books which are popular today are non-fiction titles about the corporate world. These business books provide us rich readings in relevant and interesting areas such as inspiring leadership, transformative management ideas and defining voyages of corporate history.

This year, as the Tata Group marks 150 years since its founding, we are delighted that three new books about the Group are being launched simultaneously, at this literature festival.  We hope this new trio of titles will soon become a welcome and essential addition to the canon of business books.”

‘The Tata Group: from torchbearers to trailblazers’ authored by Dr. Shashank Shah is published by Penguin Random House. Dr. Shah is a researcher with Harvard Business Review. Researched over ten years, the book presents an insider account of achievements, conflicts, adventures within the Tata Group, spanning various eras and how it has successfully sustained its diverse businesses over the years.

‘The Tata Saga: Timeless Stories from India’s most Iconic Group’, an anthology of the best writings about the Tata Group published by Penguin Random House, is dedicated to 150 years of the Tata Group and includes chapters by R M Lala, S. Ramadorai, Harish Bhat and others with a foreword by Mr. Bhat.The book talks about the legacy of J. N. Tata, J. R. D. Tata and Ratan Tata and the pioneering work done by them in steel, aviation, automobile and other sectors.

‘Titan – Inside India’s most successful consumer brand’, authored by Vinay Kamath, Senior Assistant Editor, The Hindu Business Line, is published by Hachette, with a foreword by Mr. N. Chandrasekaran,Chairman, Tata Sons. This is the first book ever on the journey of Titan and commemorates 30 years of the brand this year.

The Tata Group has always placed the community at the core of its businesses and has practiced strong business ethics coupled with social responsibility. Over the past 150 years, this vision has propelled the Tata Group into a global powerhouse, which has made an immeasurable contribution to India’s economic progress.

https://www.apnnews.com/three-books-on-tata-group-launched-in-its-150th-year-at-tata-literature-live-the-mumbai-litfest/

POTENTIAL LOSS OF U.S.$ 22.5 MILLION BY THE PARSEE COMMUNITY –

The B. D. Petit Parsee General Hospital (PGH) has been providing yeoman service to the community for the past 105 Years in the area of charity healthcare.  For the past few years, PGH has been facing many challenges largely due to the following reasons:-

1. Steady decline of the Parsi population.

2. Many young and middle aged Parsis settling either in the far-off suburbs or migrating to foreign countries.  With an aging population and lack of variety of disciplines, it is difficult to get Resident Doctors.

3. Poor infrastructure of the city necessitating people to seek medical attention nearer home rather than traveling long distances.

4. With Mediclaim and smaller Nursing Homes mushrooming in the suburbs, local hospitalization is preferred.

5. Due to very low volumes, the provision of holistic medical services such as CT Scan,  MRI, Path Lab etc. is not economically viable.

6. Approximately 60% of the occupied bed days are utilized either for free or subsidized patients, thus affecting the PGH’s  revenue stream, resulting in a recurring annual operating deficit of nearly ₹ 8 crore, for the past many years.

PGH therefore finds it extremely difficult to continue providing even the current level of healthcare services especially to the poor and indigent members of the community.

At a time like this, to ensure PGH continues to serve the community for at least the next 50 years, the benevolent couple, Pervin and Jal Shroff of Hongkong, magnanimously came forward to support PGH by pledging US $ 22.5 Million for establishing a state-of-the-art New Hospital on following conditions:-

1.The New Hospital be called Shroff Medical Centre of the B D Petit Parsee General Hospital.  It should be for a secular use, with special emphasis on cancer treatment.

2.The pledged amount be used only for erecting the New Hospital Building, to be owned by PGH, so that the financial benefit flows to PGH, which in turn would help the poor and needy of the community on a long term sustainable basis.

3.The New Hospital to be a multi-specialty Hospital to be operated by a professional organization having the latest state-of-the-art facilities.  Such professional operator to have a pan-India presence and operating revenues of not less than ₹ 1000-crore with at least 1000 beds under its management in Tier I & II cities and no other operating Hospital in Greater Mumbai area.

4.The operator to pay an annuity as also a certain percentage of gross billable revenue to PGH.  

5.The Architects, Contractors, Operators etc., to be appointed by PGH only after obtaining  approval from the Donors.

In substance, the Donors are gifting to the Hospital a new building to be used only for the specified purposes.

In accordance with these conditions, the Architects, Contractors, Operators etc. were finalized after taking into account their technical and financial qualifications and competency by PGH jointly with the Donors. Accordingly, M/s. Somaya & Kalappa were appointed as Architects.  Tenders were thereafter floated by the Architects and M/s. Premier Construction Co., were appointed as Contractors, after following the due process, for execution of the Project. Likewise, Municipal Architects, M/s. Sunil Ambre & Associates and other Consultants too were engaged.

Since the Donors were very particular about appointing a reputed party to equip, operate and manage the New Hospital, several Hospital Groups were invited and interviewed.  The selection of Medanta was made after various lengthy detailed discussions in Mumbai between representatives of PGH, Donors and Medanta.  The final selection was made only after the Donors personally visited Medanta’s facilities in Gurugram and satisfied themselves about their medical expertise, caliber and professionalism.

In October 2017, PGH was proud to announce its association with Global Health Private Limited (a Company belonging to Medanta Group) to operate, equip and manage the New Hospital to be constructed by PGH on  an earmarked area of the PGH property at Bomanjee Petit Road, Cumballa Hill, Mumbai, which is less than 6% of total land area of PGH, from the munificent pledge of $ 22.5 million from Jal and Pervin Shroff.

BROAD TERMS OF THE AGREEMENT AND BENEFITS TO THE COMMUNITY

PGH was earlier restricted by confidentiality provisions in the Agreement.  However, it appears from an Article in Times of India, that the Agreement was somehow already in public domain.  In any event, PGH has now obtained the consent of Dr.Trehan to put the broad terms of the Agreement before the public as under:-

BENEFITS:-

(a) The New Hospital Building of a value of approximately ₹ 150 crore will be erected and owned by PGH. This will be an accretion to the Community assets.

(b) The state-of-the-art multi-specialty New Hospital will be a seven-storey building having an area of 225,000 Sq. Ft. for secular use to be constructed and owned by PGH, but equipped, managed and operated by Medanta.

(c) No part of the land on which the New Hospital is to be erected will be alienated but will continue as a community asset. Medanta will only have operating, equipping and management rights for the New Hospital. Medanta shall have no rights to the New Hospital Building, nor the land.

(d) Medanta, at its own substantial cost, will equip, operate and manage the New Hospital with state-of-the-art healthcare facilities, equipment and services.  Diagnostic facilities like MRI etc. will thus be available on the PGH campus itself.

(e) Medanta will initially place an interest free cash deposit of Rs.4 crore from the date of Commencement  Certificate until the date on which Medanta commences operations of the New Hospital. Simultaneously, a Bank Guarantee of Rs.2 crore to be given by Medanta which will continue till Medanta commences operations.

(f) Medanta will pay a yearly annuity of Rs.12 crore for the first 30 years and if the period is extended, then will pay an yearly annuity of Rs.18 crore for the next 15 years.

(g) Over and above the annuity, Medanta will pay a sum equivalent to 1% in the first three years, going upto 5% on and from the 8th year of the gross billable revenue without any deduction on any account. This concept to take care of inflation over the period of the Agreement because if the revenue increases, the percentage receipts also increase.

(h) PGH will not be involved or be responsible for any operational and management matters in the New Hospital and Medanta alone will be responsible and liable for day-to-day operations and management and quality of care provided at the New Hospital.

(i) Medanta to give preference to poor, indigent and weaker section of patients referred to Medanta by PGH.

(j) Medanta will charge such concessional rates as may be mutually agreed by the parties, for specialized treatment to be rendered in the New Hospital which are otherwise not available at PGH.  Patients can have access to super-specialty facilities at the New Hospital and move back to PGH for post-operative stay, thus increasing the occupancy of PGH.

(k) Medanta will assist the PGH, free of cost, in training the nursing staff and medical personnel attached to PGH.

(l)  All these will be achieved without even one rupee of the Hospital’s funds being used and that the Hospital parting with any asset.

THESE ARE THE BENEFITS THE COMMUNITY WILL LOSE IF A FEW MISGUIDED PERSONS ARE ALLOWED TO DERAIL THIS PROJECT.

PGH has taken legal advice to ensure that it does not breach the provisions of the Trust Deed/Rules and Regulations of PGH by entering into the New Hospital Project. Legal advice received also opines that since there is no alienation (but on the contrary, there is an accretion to the PGH property), hence, Section 36 of the Bombay Public Trust Act does not apply and no permission of the Charity Commissioner is required.  The Trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet have also given their wholehearted endorsement of the Project.

During last 3-4 months, a few persons from the community started raising questions on the viability of the New Hospital Project. They alleged that the project was ill-conceived and costs inflated. Besides, Medanta was not the right selection to operate the New Hospital. We did make attempts to clarify various issues raised by them and shared with them, in good faith, details including of the financials of the project. Regrettably, some gentlemen have now started personal attacks on social media on the President and some of the Executive Committee members casting aspersions on our character and integrity. We are contemplating appropriate action, including legal options.

An application challenging the New Hospital Project, has been filed with the Charity Commissioner’s Office wherein unsavoury allegations have been made, and this is also being responded to appropriately.

It will not be out of place to reiterate that the family of Petits have, over six generations during one century, nurtured PGH selflessly and with utmost care and diligence. We do not want to allow a handful of ill-informed and misguided persons to make personal accusations, whatever be their motive, and go scot free. We would rather call off the Project on our own, if our community is not with us, rather than allow anyone to point a finger at us and question our integrity. Community welfare is important but not at the cost of our personal integrity.

In the meantime, while both the Donors and Global Health Pvt. Ltd. have stated that they will not consider any amendment to the original Agreement, nor any counter-proposal, but if the community issues are not sorted out in the next few months, THE DONORS HAVE CATEGORICALLY CONFIRMED THAT THEY WILL WITHDRAW THEIR PLEDGE TO DONATE U.S.$ 22.5 MILLION OFFER AND GLOBAL HEALTH PVT. LTD. HAS STATED, THAT IT WILL ALSO TERMINATE THE AGREEMENT. In such a situation, the only losers will be the community and unfortunately the poor and needy, and the responsibility for this disastrous fallout will rest squarely on the heads of these self-appointed critics, for scuttling a well-conceived and thoroughly researched project that would sustain the Hospital for the benefit of generations to follow.

Now that the community is aware of the correct facts, they could not be misguided by false and misleading statements.  The Executive Committee of PGH, therefore, appeals to each and every member of the Parsi and Irani Zoroastrian Community to wholeheartedly support the new hospital venture. If the community chooses not to support the Project, all that we and the Donors can say is that WE TRIED OUR BEST, AND SADLY, AS MENTIONED ABOVE, THE ONLY LOSERS WILL BE THE POOR AND NEEDY OF THE COMMUNITY.

HOMA D. PETIT

PRESIDENT

THE B D PETIT PARSEE GENERAL HOSPITAL

MR. ZAIWALLA’S LETTER
18 November 2018
We have read  with regrets , the Press Release issued by Mr. Homa Petit, which is identical in all the five newspapers. It may be a paid news, but the crux of the matter is the defense put up by Mr. Petit , that community must clutch with folded hands the Hong Kong offer of Rs. 150 crores or else the offer may be with withdrawn by 31st March, 2019. 
Mr. Homa Petit is a eminent Solicitor, and world surely understand that a Rs. 150 crores donation is subject to the new building being handed over only to Medanta for 45 years , with further rights over the old hospital as per the agreement with Mr. Naresh Trehan, signed by Mr. Petit claiming to be a President of a registered society,  and suppressing the fact that the Hospital is governed by the Trust Deed of 1906 , executed by Sir Bomanjee Petit and is filed on record , even presently with the Office of the Charity Commissioner , Maharashtra State . 
The community will appreciate that the entire contract with Mr. Naresh Trehan is a fraud on public trust , and it is no answer to say  that some of the BPP Trustees have later ratified this contract. It  is a cardinal principle of law that a fraud cannot be ratified, nor can any person can take advantage of his own wrong, as fraud  renders every action null and void. 
It would highly desirable that Homa Petit files a reply, before the learned Charity Commissioner, as it is not being done for last 7 months on some pretext or another, but instead the Press Release as issued, betrays lack of faith in the judicial process. We  now hope that the reply will be filed by the next date of hearing. 
Mr. Homa Petit has  misguided the community by claiming that Mr. Naresh Trehan will pay Rs  12 crores a year for use and occupation of the new building for 45 years. It is well settled that any administrator by whatever name called,  of a property of a public trust, has to act with prudence and care. However in the present case , no bank grantee of payment of Rs. 12 crores a year has been obtained from Mr. Trehan,  and in a mostly likely case, a default is likely to happen even in the first year itself under the excuse of lack of profit , as very well pointed out by activist Mr. Zoru Bhathena, and  the Parsi beneficiaries of the Trust will be without any remedy,  and will be faced with an impossible task of recovering possession , as all prudence of a man of business has been thrown to the winds by a secret agreement. 
I have written this reply with good will towards all,  in interest of the public charitable trust,  founded by Sir Bomanjee Dinshaw Petit for the benefit of Parsi Community. 
Khushru Zaiwala

Includes responses from Facebook Poll also – 
27 November 2018, 3.48 pm

I was raised to treat the janitor with the same respect as the CEO.

Genocides will come & go

As long as the rivers of

Hatred Racism Discrimination

Bigotry Sacrilege

Continues to flow

Let’s not be

The world’s watch dog

Clean up our own mess

Heed & practice the

Pristine Message

The legacy He left us 

Hundreds of years ago

If one cannot

Treat as well follow

The Pristine Teachings

With Respect & practice

They it was supposed to be

Then one cannot

A Zoroastrian  be.

Praying the Avesta

From cover to cover

Going to Atash Behrams

As well as Agiaries

To pray & pay homage

To the Holy Fire

On the other  hand

Stoking the fires of

Racism Discrimination

Bigotry & Segregation

Higher & Higher.

`

`This my Religion.

There is no need

For temples;

No need for

Complicated philosophy.

Our own brain

Our own heart

Is our temple

The philosophy is

Kindness…. Dalai Lama

Treating someone

With disrespect

Because of their

Ideologies colour caste

Or Creed

On the lower rung

Of the social status

May be a little

Rebuke from

Ahura Mazda is

A jolt one needs

Lastly:

Leadership is not about titles,positions or flow charts  It’s about one life influencing another

John C Maxwell.

In a nut shell: Get rid of Prejudice Ego Pride but treat each other with Respect Dignity Humility including Understanding

Choicest Happiness

Farida

Parsis have played an important part in Indian cricket history.

Parsis were the first Indian side to visit England in 1886. And around 12 Parsis, such as Farrokh Engineer, Polly Umrigar, Nari Contractor, have played for the Indian cricket teams over the years. The last big name being India women’s captain Diana Edulji.

There still exist a few Parsi clubs in Mumbai which play in the famous monsoon cricket Kanga League, but the Parsi cricketers are almost invisible on the cricketing scene.

On Wednesday morning, one Parsi cricketer — Arzan Nagwaswalla must have made his community proud with a heartening bowling performance, representing Gujarat, that bamboozled Mumbai in their own den Wankhede Stadium.

On a grassy pitch, Nagwaswalla not only came up with a five-wicket haul (5/78) but also seemed to indicate that it is not all over as far as cricketing legacy of the Parsis is concerned.

Nagwaswalla was involved in a major batting Mumbai collapse after bringing three wickets down in two overs at 74 of Suryakumar Yadav, Armaan Jaffer and Aditya Tare even as the calls by his teammates of “Well bowled Bawa” went around. He completed his five wickets after dismissing Dhrumil Matkar after dismissing Mumbai’s crisis man Siddhesh Lad.

“This is my first season and third Ranji match. I have played age group cricket for Gujarat and the performances there helped me in my promotion to the Ranji side,” said the 21-year-old cricketer.

Nagwaswalla said he was nervous when he was handed over the new ball to bowl at the Wankhede. “It all evaporated after the first over. It was my first match on this ground, was a good wicket to bow on. I got the rewards for putting the ball on the right place.”

The youngster has not played club cricket, but he has trained under former Ranji Trophy players. “There are no clubs. My village Umbergaon is on the border of Maharashtra. We had a few Ranji players at our players and I worked under them. I got interest and then the opportunities one after another.”

Nagwaswalla isn’t aware if whether Parsi cricketers still play cricket in domestic circuit. “Mine is not a cricket background. I knew there were Parsi players, who played for India and I know some names. However, I don’t know about the current situation…who is playing or not.”

“I am the youngest player in my town. Not many from my community are left back there and they have either moved to Mumbai or migrated elsewhere,” said Nagwaswalla, who idolises Zaheer Khan and Wasim Akram.

https://www.dnaindia.com/cricket/report-gujarat-s-arzan-nagwaswalla-keeps-parsi-legacy-alive-in-cricket-2690368

October 15, 1923 was yet another mellow Monday morning in Bombay, but the city’s central district of Grant Road was ablaze with blaring music. The erstwhile Bombay Weightlifting Club had organised a send-off for six of its young members — Adi B Hakim, Gustad G Hathiram, Jal P Bapasola, Keki D Pochkhanawala, Nariman B Kapadia and Rustom B Bhumgara — all of them Parsis in their 20s and readying for their cycling expedition around the world, a first such feat by Indians.

What had inspired them to undertake this seemingly-impossible journey? “It was a public lecture at Bombay’s Oval Maidan in 1920 by a French man who had walked from Europe to India,” reminisces 75-year-old Rohinton Bhumgara. Rohinton is foggy about the name of the world-walker, who eventually died of malaria in Assam, on his way to South-East Asia. Says Jasmine Marshall, granddaughter of Adi Hakim, “There was an extraordinary zeal of adventure in my granddad. ‘Nothing is impossible’, he would often tell me.”

Adi, Jal and Rustom pedalled 71,000 km over four-and-a-half years — at times in 60ºC, for days without food and some days without water, across pirate-infested territories and in swamp lands, through dense jungles and “up 6,600 ft amongst the terrible solitudes of the Alps”, avoiding the sea and traversing over most difficult routes, where no cyclists had been before. “We wanted to know the world more intimately and to acquaint the world with India and Indians,” they noted years later.

Not all six completed the ride, though. Nariman returned home from Tehran “for personal reasons” after giving “us company for 5,000 miles”, and Gustad decided to make the US his home. Disheartened by this, Gustad’s close buddy, Keki sailed home from New York.

On their expedition, the cyclists pedalled through Punjab and Baluchistan, crossing Prospect Point in Ziarat, 11,000 feet above sea level and in snow, reaching Iran and then Baghdad. Braving sandstorms, parched throats, temperatures over 57°C and saved from imminent death by Bedouins, they set a record by crossing the 956-km Mesopotamian desert from Baghdad to Aleppo in Syria, in 23 days.

They sailed to Italy, rode over the Alps, across Europe, finally reaching Britain. Three weeks later, they sailed to New York. The threesome cycled 8,400 km across the East to West Coast over five months and boarded S S Tenyo Maru to Japan, a leisurely cruise after months of grilling rides.

Continuing their journeys, they reached the ‘Hermit Kingdom’ of Korea — the first bikers to do so — and on to Manchuria and China. On their last leg, they cycled through Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, North Eastern India, Calcutta and Southern India, returning to Bombay on March 18, 1928. They recalled being “surrounded by people who had come to receive us… and garlanded till we were buried in flowers” and hoped that their city would welcome “Scouter F J Davar, who is shortly due in Bombay on the conclusion of a similar enterprise.”

Framroze Davar, 30, was to return home only in 1931. His was a far more adventurous, lengthier, and in-part, solitary journey for “rational curiosity”, beginning in January 1924, and totalling 1,10,000 km, 52 countries and five continents. The 30-year old did not compress his account in a single volume, as it could be “a book of geography gone mad”. He chronicled his arduous ride over the Andes Mountains in Cycling Over Roof Of The World(1929), risky passage through Sahara in Across The Sahara (1937) and crossing of the Amazon in The Amazon in Reality and Romance (1960).

He had cycled more than 5,000 km entirely on his own, for 11 months! In Vienna, he met Gustav Sztavjanik, his cycling mate for the next seven years. The duo cycled through Western and Eastern Europe, rode over the Alps and Mont Blanc mountain, pedalled through parts of erstwhile Soviet Union, Baltic countries, Poland, and Scandinavia, including Lapland, and returned to France 18 months later, to sail to Algiers in Africa. They tortured themselves through the Sahara, counting 156 camel skeletons along the way, surviving eight sandstorms, and a malaria attack. After cycling through Africa for another six months, they boarded a ship from Dakar to Rio de Janeiro, to take on their next big challenge, riding over the mighty Andes. Six months and 2,700 km later, they reached Argentina from Brazil, and scaled the Andes up to a height of 5,200m.

America was a relief. They got back to their saddles, cycling from the East to West Coast, lecturing and meeting dignitaries, including President Herbert Hoover and tycoon Henry Ford, before sailing to Japan. They sailed to Shanghai, cycled through Hong Kong, Singapore, Sumatra, Burma, Calcutta and Bombay on March 22, 1931.

Luck and the exciting accounts tempted yet one more — and the last — group of cyclists, Keki J Kharas, Rustam D Ghandhi and Rutton D Shroff. “We were all thoroughly and hopelessly afflicted with wanderlust,” they wrote in Across The Highways Of The World (1939). Setting off from Bombay in 1933, they cycled through central and northern India, Punjab, Kashmir, Multan and Baluchistan (then a part of India).

“In Afghanistan, we were marooned in the desert for three successive days and nights without either food or water and traversed on camel and donkey tracks; we were snow-bound in northern Iran; and were suspected as British spies in eastern Turkey,” they wrote in Pedalling Through the Afghan Wilds(1935).

Keki, Rustam and Rutton cycled through Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, Britain, France, Spain, Switzerland and Italy. They sailed to Alexandria and pedalled “twenty-one months across Africa, from Cairo to Cape Town, a distance of 12,000 miles (nearly 20,000 km). We were fortuitously saved oftener than we can recall.”

In 1937, the trio sailed from South Africa to Argentina and cruised through South and Central America until they reached Mexico and rode into USA from Texas. They spent a year cycling through the ‘New World’ and touching the borders of Canada. From USA, they sailed to Japan and cycled across Japan, China, Australia, Singapore and Burma, before reaching Bombay on January 29, 1942. In slightly less than nine years, Kharas, Ghandhi and Shroff had traversed 84,000 km, spanning five continents.

Our Saddles, Our Butts, Their World is a photo exhibition of the cyclists, to be held in ReelsOnHeels, India’s First-ever International Festival of Films on Running, December 1 and 2, 2018 at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao, Goa, curated by former Mumbai-based journalist and now avid cyclist, Anoop Babani

Courtesy : Parsi Khabar – https://parsikhabar.net/sports/10-indians-in-the-1920s-30s-went-on-cycling-expeditions-7-succeeded/18994/

Q&A WITH OUR DESIGN DIRECTOR – RIYAZ BHADA

A CREATIVE MIND COMMITTED TO THE PRINCIPLES OF BUILDING WITHIN CONTEXT AND SUSTAINABILITY.

Originally from India, Riyaz Bhada has over 22 years of experience in working on international projects throughout the UK, Middle East, Uganda, India and Australia. Riyaz is currently the head of Perfect Practice’s growing design team and here we talk to him about his career, how healthcare design is changing and some of the joys and challenges of designing healthcare spaces in Australia…

What made you choose architecture and design at the beginning of your career?

I knew I wanted to do architecture from a very young age, probably 11 or 12, as buildings, arts and sculptures fascinated me. I realised it more when I was declared second in the entrance exam in 1991 among 11,800 other candidates at the university of Mumbai and the second time when I was the first student whose thesis was published in the Indian Institute of Architects journal in January 1997, to de-congest traffic in the CBD of Mumbai. Both reaffirmed my decision in pursuing this line of work and today, if someone asked me what i would have done if not architecture or design, I really don’t know!

So why fit-out and interiors and not architecture?

It’s the fast pace that excites me most, such as the pressure of everyone wanting everything yesterday. Architecture is much slower and prolonged with a lot more components as well, however both have their pros and cons.

Which University did you study at?

I studied at Sir JJ College of architecture, in Mumbai and finished with a first-class Hon’s Degree. I then had my degree accessed and re-qualified in the UK along with an advanced diploma in professional practice and management in Architecture. I also became a chartered Architect at the RIBA in London. (Royal Institute of British Architects)

What do you think are the biggest challenges of creating healthcare practices today in Australia?

Every projects brings its own challenges and problems. It’s solving these problems with the right solution that makes our job as designers interesting. Architecture is all about functionality. Each doctor works differently from one another but in keeping with the general principles of healthcare practices.

The biggest challenge is time, more so for the doctors with their busy schedules. We try and make sure we can get the most out of fewer meetings in taking advantage of all the time we have with them. It’s also important that these meetings are held in close access to the resources of our showroom. This makes it so much more practical when deciding on materials as all the sample are right there. It definitely helps ensure we get it right.

Do you see any old fads and trends coming back in to fashion that may appear in tomorrows practices?

Yes, fashion and interior trends do tend to come back in some form or shape. They do say history repeats itself, and some trends are definitely re-emerging, just with a modern twist.  For example wall paper and bright colours are being used more frequently, steering away from the neutral tones. Design, especially in healthcare, is being more and more influenced by the science of best-practice and ergonomic functionality whilst adopting human-centred design principals . With aesthetics, it really comes down to finding the balance between something bold or attractive and choosing materials that are timeless, not necessarily clinical but warm and aesthetically pleasing. Incorporating all this into a practice design, with close attention to all, that is what makes my team great designers.

How would you future proof a practice design?

Minimalism is the answer. Function follows form is my design principle. To future proof any practice it’s important to maximise its planning potential but not to overdo the requirements for future growth to such an extent that spaces aren’t used to their full potential. (For example – if you know you need a 3 chair dental practice, design it for 4 but not 6-7 chairs thereby reducing the size of all surgeries. In other words, common sense must prevail).

What are some of the most common questions clients ask you in the design meetings?

It’s difficult to pin point a common question, as each project comes with its own questions. Something very common would be –

• How can I make my practice look different and stand out from all the others?

Then more on the technical side –

• Why are the corridors so wide?
• Why do you have to leave so much space next to the door? – on the latch side.
• Why do we need a disabled toilet, my last practice didn’t have one?

All of the above are based on regulation as part of new access requirements.

• How do I bring the cost down? And put those savings in the reception and waiting area.

What is the best part of working at Perfect Practice?

It’s the people that make a good organisation and we have a great team and the right people!

Our Centre for Healthcare Design showroom gives us access to every possible material that is seen in a healthcare practice and most importantly allows us to share this with our clients. It really is a great asset to have in the design phase.

What do you like to do when not at work?

Keep myself fit by going to the gym daily. I play golf and squash on most weekends and I love good food. I also enjoy hiking in my holidays.

If you could take any car in the world for a test drive, what would it be and why?

Test driving a super V8 luxury car would be nice but what fascinates me more is test driving a self-balancing fully-enclosed motorcycle or a flying car. Waiting for that to come soon!

And finally, if I gave you $100 to spend on whatever you wanted right now, what would it be?

A nice meal and flowers for my wife.

Traditional Zoroastrian funerals require stone structures called Dakhmas — “Towers of Silence” — on which corpses are eaten by buzzards, because the Zoroastrian holy text bans other funeral methods.

Excarnatory funeral practices are classified as criminal “Abuse of Corpse” by many state statutes and constitute a misdemeanor to felony offense, thus making traditional Zoroastrian funerals illegal for the 11,000 Zoroastrians in the U.S.

The illegality forces Zoroastrian-Americans to transport their dead overseas which can be prohibitively expensive or to have funerals against their religious mandate.

In a recent scholarly legal article published in the Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion — titled: “Buried, Cremated, Defleshed by Buzzards?” — I analogized the Supreme Court case Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah, noting that Zoroastrianism and the Santeria religion both mandate practices involving dead bodies of people and animals. Employing the decision in that case, I argued that traditional Zoroastrian funerals should be legal through a 1st Amendment Freedom of Religion Free Exercise Clause exemption.

Of the three tests courts could apply to a Zoroastrian funeral case, I advocated that courts use the test where an exemption would be granted unless the government could demonstrate a compelling reason not to.

Based on the government’s arguments in Hialeah, I predicted that the government in a Zoroastrian funeral case would argue that it has a compelling interest 1) in protecting public health, safety, and welfare; 2) in preventing the emotional injury that is likely to result from witnessing a religiously motivated excarnatory funeral; 3) in protecting the dead from desecration; and 4) in restrictive zoning.

The government’s interest in public health, safety, and welfare is not compelling because the government’s interest is limited to the degree of risk human corpses pose which is negligible according to the World Health Organization and the American Journal of Disaster Medicine. Further, Zoroastrian custom requires tying corpses down thus mitigating concerns about buzzards carrying off corpses. Moreover, several states have ‘body farm’ facilities which involve exposure of corpses to the elements and scavenging of corpses by animals, so differential treatment of ‘body farms’ and religiously-motivated excarnatory funerals would weaken the government’s argument.

The government’s interest in preventing the emotional injury that is likely to result from witnessing a religiously motivated excarnatory funeral is not compelling because the mourners of deceased Zoroastrians will not suffer emotional injury because they do not enter the Dakhma. Moreover, the excarnation does not occur within view of anyone, and it is a culturally accepted practice in the community.

Similarly, the government’s interest in protecting the dead from desecration is not compelling because whoever desires a traditional Zoroastrian funeral can say so in their Last Will and Testament.

However, the government’s interest in restrictive zoning is compelling, but only to the point of on par regulation with similarly situated enterprises such as body farms.

Given the need for buzzards to consume the corpse, the need to sun-bleach the bones after excarnation has occurred, and the state’s likely desire to zone Dahkmas far away from residential and commercial areas, a promising state to build a Dakhma in is Texas.

This is because the Forensic Anthropology Center or the body farm at Texas State University is well-established. Moreover, the local vulture population has already been used to study the effects of vulture scavenging on human decomposition as would occur in a Zoroastrian funeral.

Khushbu Solanki

Rutgers Law School graduate

https://www.indiawest.com/letters_to_editor/tower-of-silence-for-parsi-funerals-can-be-built-in/article_a4d37006-f432-11e8-b909-d7d7ffaa6d8b.html

 Gujarat Mitra of Sunday 2^nd December supplement on p.8 carries an article re exhibition of Parsi portraits of eminent Parsi men and ladies. Mr. Anil Relia, a serigrapher artist and collector of portraits is displaying his collection of Parsi portraits at Ahmedabad Gufa at Ahmedabad from 4^th to 9^th December. Parsi sethias of 19^th century who went to China or Britain had their portraits made. Some of the portraits are by Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906). A portrait of Rustom-Sohrab of Shah Nameh fame made in 1620 will be on display. Water colour and oil paintings of famous Parsis will be on display. This exhibition brings alive glimpses of times past.(see attachment to view some portraits)

Marzban Giara

I am trying to reach Mr. Fram N. Balaporia.  I met him in 1960 in Mumbai, at that time Bombay city. 

He was a film Exhibitors at Lotus, Jayhind and many other theatres, in Bombay. He had a office at Tribhuvan Road, Bombay. I was a student at  K.C. college at that time and often went to his theatres on weekends and at new movies premier show. Mr. Balaporia was very successful and had a nice Impala car. However, he was always accessible and kind to me. He was most caring person. When I was not too well, he had write a nice letter and introduced me to his family friends Mrs. Irani who lived in Panchgani,  a hill station outside Bombay. Mrs. Irani was equally nice and had welcomed me to her beautiful home. She had a son who was handicapped and stayed home in their nice home. 
If you have any information about Mr. F.N. Balaporia family members, I would to like to contact them. I will appreciate, if you please send me at my following email address or text me.
vinoddave101@aol.com

For the last forty seven years, I have been residing with my wife of 51 years  in Los Angeles, California.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration. 
Vinod Dave 

Greetings from Goa!

My name is Anoop Babani and I am a retired journalist. I live in Goa, India with my wife Dr Maria Savia Viegas, who is a retired professor and now a writer and painter. (www.saviaviegas.in).

We have founded and manage Saxtti Films (www.saxttifilms.com) which is a not-for-profit film society, passionate about good cinema and committed to cultivating and nurturing film ethos. We are ourselves avid cyclists too, part of a cycling group in Goa called Xaxti Riders.

In 2018, we organized two of India’s first-ever festivals of international films on the theme of Cycling and Running, named ReelsOnWheels and ReelsOnHeels.

The Cycling Films Festival was inaugurated by Alexi Grewal, only American ever to win an Olympic Gold Medal in Men’s Road Race Cycling, while the Running Films Festival was inaugurated by India’s Track and Field Queen, P T Usha.

During these festivals, we also organized – for the first-time ever in India – a photo exhibition on amazing global journeys of Indians who cycled around the world in 1920s and 1930s – all of them Parsees from Mumbai and in their early-to-mid twenties.

This Exhibition was titled ‘Our Saddles, Our Butts, Their World’.

I have attached pictures, posters and newspaper coverage for your information.

That is the background. And now the request.

I have been able to acquire some pictorial material on two of the three journeys (I am trying to get more material) through the families and friends of the cyclists.

I am now in the process of reaching out to families of the third group of cyclists, which was led Mr Keki Kharas and included Rustam D Ghandhi and Rutton D Shroff.

It is in this context that I request your help in contacting the family of Mr Keki Kharas and/or of the other two cyclists.

I am writing a book on History of Cycling in India, titled ‘Peddling History: Rise, Fall and Rise of Humble Bike’, and these global journeys will be an integral part of this book.

I am sure you will appreciate that these stories need to be told to younger generation of cyclists in particular and preserved for the future ones.

I extend my sincere thanks and warm wishes

Anoop Babani

Saxtti Films, Goa

saxttifilms@gmail.com

9324614861

People who have grudges against a feature film react variously. They petition the Censor Board, approach courts, tear off the film’s posters or stage dharnas. Hanif Modak whose father late Capt. I H Modak

 and now Australia-based Capt. V R Kekobad co-owned cargo ship

 MV Safeer, are responding to some of the alleged “lies” portrayed in 2016 film Airlift and setting the records straight with their documentary ‘Mission Safeer:37 Days to Freedom.’ MV Safeer’s heroic evacuation of 722 Indians from wartorn Kuwait in 1990 had hit global headlines. The film Airlift doesn’t directly name M V Safeer or its owners or the Captain who, in the film, is shown accepting bribes to allow the desperate evacuees on board the ship. “Yes, MV Safeer has not been named anywhere but by implication we have been shown to be heartless and it is an insult to the heroic joint efforts of seafarers, agencies and individuals who helped bring 722 Indians to safety in Dubai. We want to tell the real story behind the evacuation through this documentary,” says Captain Kekobad.

Seated in his DN Road office, Hanif shows documents, including M V Safeer’s original log book and newspaper clippings. With a cargo of bagged rice, and 26 crew members, MV Safeer left Kandla Port in Gujarat on July 24, 1990, docking at Shuwaikh Port in Kuwait on July 31, 1990. Trouble began on August 2 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. The ship’s s log book entry of August 2, 1990 reads: “No activity whatsoever in the port. Heard news on radio that Iraq had invaded Kuwait. Sounds of gunfire and shelling could be heard on the vessel and fire and smoke could be seen all over from the bridge…”

“Neither Captain Zain Abidin Juvale nor I or anyone else demanded money from anyone. All the required permissions to carry 722 Indians were secured by the owners. Once Captain Juvale met the then foreign minister I.K. Gujral in Kuwait, we prepared the ship for embarkation of the passengers. We made 20 temporary toilets on the main deck,” MV Safeer’s first officer Captain Nazir Mulla now settled in Mumbai. MV Safeer left Kuwait for Dubai on September 4, thirty-six anxious days after berthing and days of negotiations by officials, including senior Indian embassy official in Kuwait S M Mathur, MEA official K P Fabian, Dr M A Patankar in Mumbai. “Dr Patankar provided us the first breakthrough when he arranged our meeting with Iraqi attaché in Mumbai. We subsequently got permission for an embassy staff to visit the ship and ensure safety of our crew who were detained by the Iraqi army,” said Hanif.

Out of the 722 Indians rescued, 250 were from the Konkan region alone. Hashmat Kapdi, a jeweller in Kuwait, from Kasba village in Ratnagiri, was among them. “All the crew were very helpful and compassionate. There were doctors (6) and nurses (10) who travelled with us,” recalled Kapdi.

In an earlier interview to TOI Captain Juvale had said many wealthy passengers wanted to gift their expensive cars to the crew which the crew declined. “On reaching Dubai, Captain Modak, his daughter Sadika Modak, our staff and I welcomed the evacuees,” said Captain Kekobad. Hanif added the documentary is also a homage to his father’s memories.

At a recent screening in Delhi, viewers, including some of the officials now retired, involved with the rescue mission by M V Safeer, toasted the gigantic efforts. A letter from K P Fabian, now a prized possession of Capt. Kekobad, reads: “This is to confirm that Government of India did not pay your company any amount towards evacuation of Indian nationals…”

https://m.timesofindia.com/city/mumbai/ship-owners-dispel-rumours-and-tell-the-real-tale-behind-heroic-evacuation-of-722-indians/amp_articleshow/66902375.cms