hamazor - issue 3 2018 - zoroastrianism€¦ · hamazor - issue 3 2018 1 c o n t e n t s wzo...

HAMAZOR - ISSUE 3 2018

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C o n t e n t s

WZO WEBSITE

www.w-z-o.org

PHOTOGRAPHSCourtesy of individualswhose articles appear inthe magazine or asmentioned

04 A Man for All Seasons : Jamsheed Marker - ardeshir marker10 Tribute to Professor John Russell Hinnells12 WZO Annual Seminar - soonu engineer17 A Quaint Tradition18 The Inauguration of the SOAS Shapoorji Pallonji Institue of Zoroastrian Studies - sammy bhiwandiwalla22 Official Religion in the Achaemenid Heartland - kersi shroff25 The Three Testaments - kersi shroff26 Empowering Mobeds - binaifer sahukar28 Fire & Faith in Tibilisi, Georgia - shermeen kaikobad31 Together Towards Tomorrow - behroze clubwala38 Intelligent Conservatism can improve Parsi Survival

Prospects - berjis desai43 Tataʼs Dream Institution in Bengalura - sharath ahuja46 Microsoft Year in Review Data Journalism Contest47 The Stories we tell Ourselves - danny khursigara50 An Interview with Astad Deboo52 The Parsi Dr Hannibal Lecter - zameer palamkote56 Harnessing the Power of Social Media ... - vera dinshaw springett59 The Widows of Malabar Hill - review, zehra bharucha60 Bombayʼs Riot over Dogs - aditi shah

COVERA m b a s s a d o rJamsheed Marker

The award presented to Astad by very well known dancecritic Leela Venkatraman, p 51.

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Sponsored by Hilda & Rumi Sethna

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

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

Sponsored by:Hilda & Rumi SethnaIsle of Man

Cover design by:Tannaz MinwallaKarachi, Pakistan

Design & layout by:Toxy CowasjeeKarachi, Pakistan

Volume LXXVII - Issue 3 2018

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

London, England

Mr Shahpur CaptainChairmanE-mail: [email protected]

Mr SammyBhiwandiwallaPresidentE-mail: [email protected]

Mr Darayus S MotivalaMs Shahin BekhhradniaHon SecretariesE-mail: [email protected]

Mrs Monaz M PatelMembership SecretaryE-mail:[email protected]

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

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

Mrs Meher AmerseyMumbai, IndiaEmail:[email protected]

Mr Rostam YeganegiVancouver, CanadaEmail:[email protected]

Mr Darius MistryAucklandNew ZealandE-mail:[email protected]

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

Mr Russi GhadialiSingaporeE-mail:[email protected]

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

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


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From the Editor

dDuring the last quarter WZO has lost once again a good friend, anoutstanding diplomat and a remarkable human being. Jamsheed Markerwas our Grand Patron member; an individual who came forward with asmile whenever asked for any assistance, whether it was to get a specialmessage from past Secretary General Kofi Annan or to elucidate ourreaders by writing in the Hamazor, which he did many a time. Respectedand admired by Heads of State, politicians, friends and associates, andthe humble man – Jamsheed has left his footprint for all time. Rest inpeace friend!

Very recently, Dr Parvez Grant informed, Dr Cyrus Poonawalla has beennominated from India for the Nobel Prize. He was recently conferred an honorary‘Doctor of Humane Letters’ degree by the Massachusetts Medical School at Bostonfor his unparalleled work in the field of immunisation at a global level. Dr Poonawalla isthe founder of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India.We hope Dr Poonawalla is awarded the Nobel Prize, bringing home fame both for Indiaand Zarathushtis worldwide.

19-year-old Jehan Daruvala became the first Indian driver to win the FIA Formula 3European Championship, in the junior level. He had won the New Zealand Grand Prix inFebruary of last year making history of being the first and only Indian to have everwon. Formula 1 stage is the aim no doubt!

‘Aapro Freddie’, a legend in music, is being immortalised in the Bohemian Rhapsody, afull length film to be released on 2 November of this year. A man who could sing operaarias to the ‘Queen’ of rock, promises to be a film worth waiting for.

Another World Zoroastrian Congress has been finished recently at Perth albeit smallin numbers but by all reports a successful one.

Sadly we continue to mention the ‘wake up call’ has been ringing for Parsis of India tomove forward in their thinking. Much has been said – controversies since more than acentury have carried on and once again highlighted at the recent Congress. In therecent years, researches conducted by professionals and supported by facts havebeen shared, but isn’t it time to bite the bullet and do something constructive andpositive, so that the Parsi race survives before its all too late? Many a race has beendesignated to the history book. Let us not add to the list.

Hamazor wishes its readers a happy Shahenshahi Navroze.

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When I was asked to write atribute about my UncleJamsheed for the Hamazor, my

first response was one of uncertainty andtrepidation. How could one possibly dojustice to someone whose career hascovered the Second World War, cricketcommentary, business and shipping as wellas a diplomatic career that is welldocumented already? But then, I recalled,as usual, one of his quotes: “If you writefrom the heart, your words ring true ...”. Sothis is a personal insight into a fascinatingpersonality that I grew to admire andrespect.

Uncle Jamsheed was a patron and lover ofthe Arts, Music and Literature. This wasamply demonstrated by his many paintingsof Sadequain and Anwar Maqsood,amongst others, artists whom he promotedin their careers right from the 1950’s andwho were always grateful for his supportand patronage.

I was privileged to visit Uncle Jamsheedand to stay with him in embassies andmissions when he was possibly at the peakof his career: Paris, Washington DC andNew York. As a student, I recall experiencesas varied as picking up Uncle Jamsheedfrom the State Department in Washington,to being given a personal tour of the UnitedNations Building by him during a break inthe General Assembly Session! I recallstanding with him in front of the famous‘Cyrus Cylinder’ at the UN, and him saying,“remember, we are privileged and blessedto come from such an enlightened andeducated community, whose principles ofjustice and equality, in some small measure,underpin the UN...”.

In Paris, I recall attending classical musicconcerts conducted by Zubin Metha, DanielBarenboim and Vladimir Ashkenazy, all ofwhom regarded Uncle Jamsheed as a closeand personal friend. (So close, in fact, that I

A Man for all Seasons - Jamsheed Markerby ardeshir marker

remember being sent with the driver in Paristo the hotel where Zubin Metha was staying,to deliver his favouritedhan-sak and patra-ni-machi cooked by theembassy cook!). Uncle Jamsheed’s love ofclassical music and opera was well known,and I also recall the numerous occasions ofwaking up in the Embassy to the strains ofBeethoven or Mozart or some operasinger’s melodious voice while getting readyfor breakfast! The only time I recall UncleJamsheed being really upset was when wewere stuck in a traffic jam in Paris on ourway to a concert and he was worried that hewould miss the opening concerto. Musicwas more than a passion for him, it was hislife-blood.

Then there was Literature of course. UncleJamsheed was fluent in English, Urdu,Gujarati, French, German and Russian. Andby fluent, I mean that he could read andwrite in every single one of the mentionedlanguages. His library had a mixture ofbooks in all these languages. I vividly recallone evening, when he had a copy ofDostoevsky’s novel in his hand (I don’trecall the title as it was in Russian!) and himsaying that he was unable to read the novelas easily as he could previously, and thatmeant that he was losing his fluency inRussian, and that was upsetting him. WhenI asked why, he said “to truly understandand appreciate great literature, it is best toread it in its native language ... this isparticularly true for the Russian Classics.” Imyself speak a bit of German, and I recallthe occasional witty remarks he would maketo me in German, as an aside, during ourdinner conversations while others werepresent, which would make me start insurprise and then smile.

There was his love for cricket, and hispioneering role in English CricketCommentary in Pakistan on the radio withOmar Kureishi. He always said that he wastold to “describe the game as if he were


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describing it to a blind man.” His stories andhis numerous anecdotes of so manycricketers are far too many to list here, but Iwould take pleasure in grilling him on whowas the greatest Pakistani batsman he hadever seen (Hanif Mohammad of course), thefastest bowler (Wes Hall of the West Indies)and the greatest all-rounder ... surely inmodern times Botham or Imran werecomparable to the Greats of his time? Iwould never forget the glare that questionalways provoked, and the vehemence withwhich the name was uttered in one word:“Sobers”. On occasion, he would admitthat Viv Richards, Sachin Tendulker andBrian Lara were close to Denis Compton orthe Three W’s of the West Indies, but it wasdifficult to compare you see because in themodern game, there was so muchprotection. The equipment and the helmets,I said? Yes, he would say, and, after apause, he would say, somewhat sadly, “anddon’t forget the money ...”.

There was his love for adventure and hisquest for justice. He joined what was at thetime the Royal Indian Navy and was acaptain on one of the first ships to travel upthe Irrawaddy river and reach Rangoon inBurma during 1945. Whenever I would askhim, what was his toughest assignment, orperiod in his life, he would reply “Burma. Itwas the hardest and most difficult time,because you saw human nature in its mostbrutal and uncivilized formÖ”. It was alwaysnoticed by me that this was a period hewould not talk about much. When I askedhim once to mention his war timeexperiences in his memoirs, he said that“World War experiences have been writtenabout by so many people already ...”.

There was, of course, his love forDiplomacy and his yearning to portray thebest that Pakistan had to offer. Throughouthis diplomatic career, Uncle Jamsheed hadmet and interacted with US Presidents suchas Ronald Reagan and George Bush,personalities ranging from one extreme tothe other, from Nelson Mandela to SaddamHussain and diplomats and strategists suchas ex-President Richard Nixon and HenryKissinger from the USA to Gromyko and

Kosygin in the former USSR. A wealth ofknowledge and experiences were whatmade him so unique and so special to somany people.

He learnt the quickest, and in some ways,the most, he would say, during his very firstposting in Ghana, in Africa. And his mostdifficult posting, in terms of culturaladjustment, was in Japan: “the rigidformality, the way the Japanese worked, theintricate rules involving etiquette took awhile to get used to ...”.

He mentioned that his toughest Diplomaticassignment was most probably in Moscowin 1971, during the East Pakistan Crisis.But my favourite story from that time waswhen he met Field Marshal SamManekshaw at the Bolshoi Opera inMoscow in 1971. As described in hismemoirs, they both knew each other welland embraced and started talking inGujarati. He always laughed as hedescribed the look of panic on the Russianand the Indian and Pakistani interpretersfaces, and the pleas from the interpreters tospeak in English, Russian, Hindi or Urdu!His most enjoyable assignment was whenhe was posted to Paris, France, for “Parishad some of the best food, music and artthat life has to offer”. His most demandingpostings were in Geneva, during the AfghanPeace Accords, and in Washington DC, andin New York, when heading the SecurityCouncil. Then there was his appointment byKofi Annan as UN Special Representative toEast Timor, which he described as“stretching his diplomatic and professionalskills to the maximum.”

Closer to home, he always describedPakistan as a country with terrific peoplewho had been let down by their leaders. Healways spoke with pride of our resilience asa nation, and with frustration over ourmissed opportunities. Our greatest leaderswere Jinnah and Liaquat, and to an extent,Ayub. “It was all sort of downhill from there...”. When each new government, whethercivilian or military, came to power inPakistan, he would dutifully resign his post.And yet, “to my amazement and

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astonishment, every time, they would re-appoint me, or ask me to stay on ... so I did,I did it for Pakistan”.

Amongst many tributes that one has heardafter his demise, the ones that remain themost poignant for me are those of localPakistani artists and musicians, whoremembered Mr Marker in particular, forinviting them to display their work or toperform at numerous embassies where hewas appointed. And also, the number ofPakistani students studying abroad, whorecall being invited to the Embassy OpenHouse on Independence Day, or 23 rd March,and being at first bemused and thenhonoured at the invitation! I recall when oneof my friends in the USA was invited to theWashington Embassy on IndependenceDay. When I mentioned to Uncle Jamsheedhow surprised and pleased my friend was,he asked me in his typically wry and drollmanner, “Why? Wasn’t he Pakistani?”

And there we have it: the essence of theman was Pakistan. Whether cricket,diplomacy or culture, his interests and hiscore beliefs stemmed from the roots of hiscountry that he strove to represent so fondlyand so well.

In addition, his personality and his variedinterests and pursuits were multi-facetedand revealed above all, a love and a zestfor life and all that life had to offer.

And last but not least, there was his loveand his pride for his family, and also, fordogs, like any good Parsis. After hisretirement and return to Pakistan, UncleJamsheed lived with us, and we wereindeed blessed and fortunate to have himhere. I shall miss the many long andwonderful times that we spent with him.

My favorite memory remains of UncleJamsheed sitting in our garden, a drink inhis hand, a book by his side, and the dogsat his feet. As I approached him, I wouldalways be curious to know “what he wasreading?” He would order me a drink,describe the latest chapter in his book as

boring or enthralling, and then, with a smileask me, “So, Ardeshir, what’s the latest? Tellme, what news?”

Rest in Peace Uncle Jamsheed, and thankyou.

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Milestones in JMs life

*Born on 24 November,1922, Hyderabad,Deccan.*Lived in Quetta in hisyouth.*Education : The DoonSchool in India.Forman Christian Collegein Lahore.*World War II, Captain ofminesweeper in theBurmese theatre, 1942-45.*Married Diana neeDinshaw in 1948(deceased 1979).*Two daughters Niloufer& Feroza, (Ferozadeceased 2001).*Cricket Commentator.*In family business ofPharmaceutics andShipping after 1946.*Ambassador of Pakistan.*Married Arnaz neeMinwalla in 1980.

Diplomatic Career:*Ambassador from 1965,for 30 years, in 11 capitalswith nine furtherconcurrent accreditations.*Listed in the GuinnessBook of Records as being“ambassador to morecountries than any otherperson”.*As ambassador to the USin 1986, “negotiated” theSoviet militarywithdrawal fromAfghanistan.

Diana serving in the WACS, Jamsheed in the Navy, and they are engaged.


Receiving Hilal-e-Imtiaz from President Pervez Musharaff,2004.

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*President Of the UN SecurityCouncil, 1993-94.*At the United Nations, heserved as Chair of the UNSecurity Council, as SpecialAdvisor to the UN SecretaryGeneral Kofi Annan, and asUN’s Special Envoy to EastTimor in 1999. He played asignificant role in bringing aboutthe resolution of the East Timorconflict and its subsequentindependence.*Ambassador at Large,Government of Pakistan,September 2004 to December2007.Teaching career:*From 1995 – 2005 at EckerdCollege, St Petersburg, Florida,taught Diplomacy inInternational Relations.Civil Awards:*Honorary doctorate fromForman Christian CollegeUniversity, Lahore, 2011.*FEZANA’s LifetimeAchievement Award, 2007.*Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan, 2004.*Grand Cross of the Order of SanCarlos, Republic of Colombia,1993.*Grand Officier de l’Ordre duMerite, France, 1986.*S i t a ra -e -Qua id -e -Azam,Pakistan 1971.*The Madaski Konnik, Republicof Bulgaria, 1969.Service Awards:*Star, Burma Star, War ServiceMedal, 1939-45.*Victory Medal, for services inWorld War II.Published works:*Co-author with Roedad Khan,The American Papers. Secret andConfidential India-Pakistan-Bangladesh Documents 1965-1973. (1999)*East Timor (2003)*Quiet Diplomacy (2010)*Cover Point (2015)

Jamsheed, Diana & their spaniel Simeon

Niloufer, Jamsheed & Feroza, at Meher Marker»s wedding, KPI, Karachi.

Jamsheed & Arnaz

Spencer giving «high five» to Jamsheed

Jamsheed receiving Sitara-e-Quaid-i-Azam from President YahyaKhan,1971. Diana in the background.

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In Memoriam:*The Jamsheed MarkerConference Hall at the Ministryof Foreign Affairs opened onMonday 2 July 2018, Islamabad.[Milestones compiled by TC.Any errors regretted.]

Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Pakistan»s National poet being received by Diana & Jamsheedat the Pakistan Embassy, Moscow, April 1970.

Left : Charlie Wilson and his war. Inscription on photo: «To Arnaz and Jamsheed, fromtheir friend and friends«√ Charlie».

Presenting credentials to Ronald Reagan, 24 Nov 1986.'Happybirthday, Mr Ambassador'.

United Nations, New York, 30 April 1997Secretary General Kofi Annan (left) meets with Jamsheed Marker (Pakistan),Personal Representative of the Secretary-General for East Timor.Photo credit: UN/DPI Milton Grant.

Nelson Mandelaautographs JM»sbook, Pretoria, SA,Aug 1997

At Xanana Gusmao»s houseof detention in Jakarta, wholater became President ofEast Timor in 2002.


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[JM had shared this with TC when Mandela died] During my talk with Mandela, which wentsomething like this, I said ≈Mr. President, you must have been asked this question many timesbefore. When you were released from prison, did you not feel a sense of intense bitterness towardsthose who had deprived you of so many years of your life?∆. Mandela»s response was, ≈as I walkedout of Roben Island I did have the bitterest feelings and anger. But then I turned around andlooked at the gates of the prison and said to myself that I may be out of jail, but as long as I havethese feelings of anger I shall always be their prisoner. I need to shake off this anger if I want tobe really free∆.

Pretoria : South African President Nelson Mandela shakes hands with Jamsheed Marker,the UN special envoy for East Timor 26 August after their meeting where president Mandelaoffered to host talks in this country to help solve political problems of the troubled territoryof East Timor. AFP photo.

Jamsheed told his colleague Nancy, who never doubted his abilities, «if I can do that I»ll throwthis hat out of the window.»»And he did. [In NY whilst at UN. Related by Niloufer]

Cover of Newsweek, Pakistan. June 23-30 2018

Ardeshir Khursheed Marker isan MSc. graduate from theLondon School of Economics. Aneconomist by training, and abusinessman by profession, he iscurrently busy promoting his latestbusiness, selling roasted coffeebeans via his new venture, theGreen Bean Coffee Company.Based in Karachi, and marriedwith three children, his interestsinclude music, travel and reading.

All images shared by Niloufer Marker-Reifler fromher father Jamsheedʼs vast collection.

Jamsheed»s publications

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In Professor John

Russell Hinnells,Zarathushti

communities worldwidehad a learned championand friend. He remindedus, with affection andsome urgency, that thefaith needed to beprotected, cherished andnurtured. John R Hinnellsdevoted a substantialpart of his scholarly life tothe study of theZarathushti religion andits contemporaryexpression in thediaspora, particularly inBritain, and in this wayhas made an enormouscontribution to raisingboth the profile of the

religion and of the communityinternationally. It is with sadness that werecord the passing away of this great man;and it is with gratitude that we pay tribute tohis life and work.

John R Hinnells was Professor ofComparative Religion at the University ofManchester and later at the School ofOriental & African Studies (SOAS), DurhamUniversity and Liverpool Hope University.His fascination with the religion ofZarathushtra began when he wasresearching the influence of Zarathushtiprecepts on Judeo-Christian thought for hisdoctoral thesis.

The result was that in addition to a numberof books on world religions, Hinnells wroteextensively on various aspects of Parsihistory and culture. He publishedThe Parsis and the British (1978); then anextensive bibliographical survey of theParsis (1980); a small but influential booklet

entitled, Zoroastrianism and the Parsis(1981, reprinted 1996); as well as acollection of his own articles on Parsihistory, culture and beliefs in, Zoroastrianand Parsi Studies: Selected Works of JohnR Hinnells (2000). He thus contributedsignificantly to what became known as‘Parsi Studies’.

In 1996, he published a seminal work on thehistory and sociology of the Zarathushticommunity in Britain. Hinnells felt that thefindings of his study, Zoroastrians in Britain,had much wider implications because theZarathushti community was a “microcosm ofthe macrocosm of South Asian migration”,as the Zarathushtis came from both ruraland urban India, Pakistan, East Africa, andlater from Iran.

This study was followed by anotheroutstanding contribution - the culmination of30 years’ archival research and fieldwork ofdiaspora communities in 11 countries - withthe publication in 2005 of The ZoroastrianDiaspora: Religion and Migration. For thishe was acknowledged as a ‘pioneer studentof religious diaspora’. 1,840 peoplecompleted a lengthy survey questionnairethat yielded a detailed picture ofcommunities living in and adjusting todifferent circumstances; the degree ofassimilation of different groupscharacterised by gender and the level andtype of education; and the differences inreligious beliefs and practices betweengenerations and between people from ruraland urban backgrounds.

As though this were not enough, we oweanother debt to John Russell Hinnells: forspearheading the project to establish aChair for Zoroastrian Studies at SOAS, inco-operation with his mentor, ProfessorMary Boyce. His academic credentials andcommitment were no doubt instrumental in

Tribute to Professor John Russell Hinnells -

Scholar & Friend of Zarathushties Worldwide27 August 1941 – 3 May 2018

Photo : Hamazor archives


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convincing Mobed Mehraban Zartoshty andhis brother Faridoon to financially supporthis vision. In appreciation of his scholarlyand pioneering work, he was awarded thestatus of ‘Honoured Friend’ in 2007, by theUK community association, ZTFE. In hisspeech at the felicitation ceremony, heobserved that, “whereas some of mycolleagues, specialising in other religions,have received death threats, I and otheracademics specialising in Zoroastrianhistory, have received nothing but support.It is a matter of great pride that, with thesupport of the Zartoshty Brothers, fundshave been raised to establish a full-timepost in Zoroastrian Studies at SOAS – thefirst such dedicated post in the world.”

His Early LifeJohn Russell Hinnells faced manychallenges in his early life that made hisachievements even more remarkable. Thisscholar of comparative religion, pioneer ofdiaspora studies and academicentrepreneur left school with the equivalentof just three ‘O’ levels. His father was aDerbyshire miner and his mother worked asa cook. From the age of six, when hecontracted tuberculosis, he spent sevenyears of his childhood in hospitals. In thosedays, children shared the ward with adultsand John’s parents were not allowed to visithim there except on Saturdays. JohnRussell also suffered from one leg beingshorter than the other. Taunted by the boysin his school, he pluckily tripped up thebullies with his crutches and was oncetemporarily suspended from school forstanding up to his tormentors. Havingmissed years of formal schooling, hissubsequent academic success is a tributeto his perseverance and courage.

After leaving school, he took a Diploma inArt and taught Art for a couple of years. Hethen decided to train as a priest and laterentered Mirfield Monastery, near Leeds, topursue a life of renunciation and servicewith the Anglican Community of theResurrection. His resolve melted the day hemet a lady who was visiting her cousin atthe monastery. Within 24 hours of meeting,John Hinnells and Marianne Bushell

decided to tie the knot! John Russell left hislife of seclusion and took a degree inDivinity at King’s College, London, in 1964.

His Academic CareerHinnells began his academic career aslecturer at Newcastle University. In 1970 hewent to Manchester University where heeventually became Professor ofComparative Religion and in 1993 he wasoffered the Chair of Comparative Religion atSOAS. In 1998 he spent a year asVisiting Fellow at Clare Hall, Cambridge andleft to become Research Professor ofComparative Religion at Derby Universityand then Professor of Comparative Religionat Liverpool Hope University in 2002 untilhis retirement. He was also Senior Memberat Robinson College, Cambridge, duringthis period.

He travelled extensively and becamefamiliar with Zarathushti communitiesworldwide. “I have not come to teach,” hesaid, in an interview with ‘Parsiana’ inDecember 1973. “I have come to learn ... Istudy Zoroastrianism and the Parsisbecause I have terrific respect for the faith... (for) its integrity ...” Asked what headmired about the faith, John RussellHinnells focused on the ethics of thereligion. He identified its emphasis onindividual moral responsibility as the key tolinking the material with the spiritual world:“I greatly respect Zoroastrianism,” he said,“for what seems to me to be a verywholesome attitude to life and the way tolive. Parsi charity, benevolence, socialconcern and educational concern goes withthis fundamental religious attitude to theworld.”

To mark his 75th birthday, a Festschrift waspublished in honour of John RussellHinnells, sponsored by ZTFE and theFaridoon and Mehraban Zartoshty Fund.This is a volume of writings by differentauthors, entitled, Holy Wealth: Accountingfor This World and The Next in ReligiousBelief and Practice (2017), and is edited byProfessors Almut Hintze and Alan Williams.The Festschrift contains historical casestudies “exploring the concepts, attitudes

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and practices that account for thebenevolent power of religion in theindividual and society”.

Dr Hintze states, in her very informative tributein the Festschrift, that “his academic work isparticularly significant in four major areas: thequestion of Zoroastrian influence onChristianity, Mithraism, the Zoroastriandiaspora and the study of religions in general”.

Dr Williams observed that the articles in theFestschrift exceeded the scope and rangeof the title and that “this reflects, as ithappens, the multi-faceted nature of themind of the man to whom the book isoffered, as he has ranged far beyond Iran,beyond religion, and beyond ivory-toweredacademe.”

Burjor Avari of the Manchester based, NorthWest Zoroastrian Community, confirms thisassessment. “It was John who firstencouraged and persuaded us to form ourAssociation, however small it was,” he said,“because he believed in establishing anetwork of Zoroastrian communities all overthe world.” Perhaps this is why he was sosupportive of the Hamazor as a cultural linkbetween the communities of the diasporaand was always willing to pen an articlewhenever requested to do so.

John Russell Hinnells was, according to allwho knew him, a warm-hearted family man.His wife, Marianne, passed away in 1996.He is survived by his sons, Mark andDuncan, and four grandchildren. He will befondly remembered by those who knew him,and he will remain a cherished andrespected figure in the communal memoryof the Zarthoshti community worldwide.

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WZO’s Zoroastrian Religion, Historyand Culture Seminar is a uniqueevent that takes place once a year

in London, offering a heady dose ofscholarly information to ordinary membersof the community. This year there werethree presentations: an account of howtranslators of Avestan into Pahlavi grappledwith the task of understanding the meaningof the Gathas and what that tells us abouttheir own religious preoccupations; how thegreat Kings of ancient Persia promoted andmanaged their imperial branding and publicrelations; and a reflection on what it meansto be a Zarthoshti in modern times.

Who says what in the ‘Lament of theCow’?Benedikt Peschl, a PhD student at SOAS,gave us a fascinating glimpse of thechallenges faced by both Pahlavi andmodern translators of the Avestan texts ofthe Gathas. He took as an example†someverses from the Ahunavaiti Gatha, calledthe ‘Lament of the Soul of the Cow’, aconversation between Ahuramazda, GoshUrvan (soul of the cow), Zarathushtra, Ashaand, possibly, other divine beings.The Pahlavi translators, unlike today’sscholars, did not have recourse to Sanskritand other languages related to Avestan tohelp them in this task and so, at times, theygot it wrong. On the other hand, since theywere from the same tradition from which theGathas had originated centuries before,their intuitively correct understanding ofmany passages is not surprising.

Their translations and commentary not onlyhelp to elucidate aspects of the Gathas thatare difficult for modern scholars tounderstand, but they also provide a ‘tool forunderstanding Sasanian theology based onthe Gathas’. For example, spirituality or the

WZO Annual Seminar onZoroastrian History & Culture -17 June 2018

by soonu engineer


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spiritual world was best expressed for theSasanians in the texts of the Gathas ratherthan in other texts of the Pahlavi sacredcanon. They also believed that Vohu Manaor Behman embodied ‘innate wisdom’ –rather than ‘acquired wisdom’ – whichhelped the followers of Zarathushtra todistinguish between right and wrong.

Benedikt concluded with a cautionaryreminder that the Pahlavi commentaries onthe Gathas constitute various approaches tointerpreting them and therefore ‘they do notadd up to a coherent picture’ of what iscontained in Zarathushtra’s poeticcontemplations. In response to a question,Benedikt confirmed that there is very little inthe Gathas that amount to eschatology yetsome Pahlavi commentators, concernedwith ‘end of life’ matters, sought to interpretthe Gathas partly or wholly from thatperspective.

King & Kingship in Ancient Iran (559 -331 BCE)Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, Chairin Ancient History at Cardiff University,examined the iconography of the greatmonuments of the Achaemenid period todecipher the imperial messages conveyedthrough them. The rulers of the PersianEmpire projected their earthly power,imperial legitimacy and scope, and theirethical values, not so much through thewritten word as through the grand imagescarved on their palaces, temples andmausoleums. The importance of kingshipwas emphasised by placing the ruler at thecentre of massive, carved tableauxdepicting the peoples of the Empire payinghomage to their King; by exaggerating hissize in relation to his subjects; andmodelling his physical form to mirror that ofthe deity hovering above him, bestowingdivine authority to his earthly sovereignty.These images and accompanyinginscriptions of Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes andtheir heirs have one clear message for theirsubjects: that their rule is divinely ordainedand brings together, ‘in cosmic harmony’, allthe peoples of the Empire. Moreover, theyare persuaded that ‘the people are notcrushed but lifted up.’ Hence, the people

owe tribute to the King and through him toAhura Mazda and to ‘all the gods’. [TheAchaemenes were not Zoroastrians, at leastin the earlier period of their reign, and theyincorporated local and regional gods intoofficial iconography as a matter of publicpolicy.]

Rarely is the King shown in battle with hissubjects. Though the King wielded absolutepower, his authority was maintained throughco-opting local rulers. His image, onsculptures and on seals, is that of the JustKing, upholder of the Truth, slayer of Liesand bringer of Harmony; the King as Heroand Protector; as the Viceroy of God, ruling‘because of God’. The winged figure of theFarohar, symbol of the divinely bestowedroyal power, is always close to and abovethe figure of the King.

It seems that the ancient Persian Kingswere as adept at mass communication andmass persuasion as the ‘hidden persuaders’of modern times. Their art, according toProfessor Llewellyn-Jones, ‘did not tell thewhole truth’: its aim was not information butpersuasion.

Ancient Zoroastrian Thought in ourModern MomentYuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina,Associate Professor at the Oriental Institute,University of Oxford, posed the question,‘how can one live a rich and meaningful lifein modern times?’ He did not supply us withany answers; rather, he identified somechallenges besetting the Zoroastrianindividual as well as the community andsome philosophical categories that mightguide their actions.

For ‘33 out of 35 centuries’, he said, it is thepriesthood that has defined the ‘thought-world’ of Zoroastrians but these men weredrawn from a narrow stratum of society,constituting perhaps just 10% of thepopulation. We do not have much, if any,surviving information on the opinions ofordinary or ‘secular’ people, especiallywomen. Modern life has brought manychanges and science provides informationon a lot of areas that were previously the

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province of religion. While science has notreplaced religion, new forms of religiousbeliefs and observance have emerged andthey ‘compete with religious explanations ofreality’.

Is there ‘one true way of viewing the world’which we could call our faith, religion orworld-view? Can the philosophicalprinciples that guided the sages of old serveus today to ‘re-enact the will of AhuraMazda’? We were urged to study theavailable academic and scholarly literature,as ‘religion cannot be learned by culturalosmosis alone, especially by diasporacommunities’. I’m not sure whether oneshould be alarmed, as most modern Parsishave absorbed their values and beliefsthrough the ethos of the lived communityexperience. However, as we migrate tolarger societies that do not understandZoroastrian or Parsi heritage, values orpractices, the challenges will be enormous.

And so another symposium has beensuccessfully delivered by the WZO inLondon, attended this year by less than theusual 100 or so loyal members and / orenthusiasts. And, as usual, it was aworthwhile event, a rare intellectual offeringto ordinary followers of the faith.

We have provided a summary of the threetalks below, shared by the speakersthemselves. - Ed

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S o o n uEngineer isA s so c i a teDirector ofThe Centrefor InclusiveLeadership.She is Trusteeof a leadingUK charitythat isdedicated tos u p p o r t i n gf a m i l i e s ;volunteers fora Help Line;and is an

active campaigner to stop the creeping privatisation of theNational Health Service.

Who said What in the‘Lament of the Cow’?

Benedikt T Peschl

The Pahlavi version ofthe Gathas reflects theway the Gths (OldAvestan, late 2ndmillenium BCE) wereread by Zoroastrianscholar-priests inSasanian and earlyIslamic times (approx.4th - 9th c. CE). It

consists of an almost word-by-wordtranslation of the Avestan Gathas,complemented by various comments whichclarify or expand on the translation. Theillustration below is an excerpt from thePahlavi version of Yasna 29, taken from themanuscript “Pt4”. The Avestan version isframed in red, followed by the Pahlavitranslation framed in blue into which acomment is inserted, framed in yellow.

The Pahlavi translation was finalised at atime when thorough knowledge of Avestanhad become a thing of the distant past.Therefore, the translation is oftenerroneous. Nevertheless, the basic sense ofentire stanzas is often rendered quite

(script is read from right to left)


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adequately, suggesting that the translatorhad at least a rough idea of Avestangrammar; and that the Pahlavi translation isbuilt upon an old exegetical tradition, goingback to a time when the Avestan text wasstill much better understood.

The comments may be classified intodistinct categories, the most interestingbeing those that suggest a specificinterpretation of a given passage. Forinstance, meaning is sometimes drawn fromthe text by interpreting it in the light ofZoroastrian eschatology (doctrines aboutthe end of the world). It is important to notethat only rudimentary features of thecomplex eschatology of later Zoroastrianismare found in the Gathas themselves. Hence,the frequent appearance of eschatologicalmotives in the Pahlavi comments is a signof the central importance of eschatology inthe theological framework in which thecommentator was operating.

The under-studied “marginal headings” ,too, should be regarded as part of thePahlavi version of the Gathas. Theirapparent function is to indicate the structureof the text. In the dialogic hymn of Yasna29, ‘The lament of the cow’, the headingsattribute each section of the text to aparticular speaker. In the picture above, theheading in the upper part of the left marginidentifies Gosurun (the Soul of the Cow) asthe speaker of the Avestan text in red.

Yasna 29 consists of a discussion betweenseveral divine beings (Ahura Mazd, Aa#a,the Soul of the Cow and others) about thefate of the Soul of the Cow in the world. Incasting the contents of this hymn indialogue form, the poet artfully combines anancient Indo-Iranian poetic genre - the“divine interlocution” - with innovativeconceptions.

However, the Avestan text does not alwaysmake explicit who the speaker of a givenpassage is. Here the marginal headings atleast provide us with clues as to the Pahlaviexegetes’ solution to this problem. In line 3of stanza 4 for instance, the Avestan textstates, with reference to Ahura Mazda: “itshall be so for us as he may wish”. Nothingin the Avestan text indicates that the

speaker of this line is different from that ofthe preceding lines. But whereas a marginalheading attributes the preceding lines toZarathustra, another heading next to line 3indicates that the Pahlavi exegetesregarded this part as being spoken by Asa,not Zarathustra. Thus, according to them,the statement does not refer to humanity’sacceptance of Ahura Mazda’s will, asmodern readers would be inclined to think.Instead it is an expression of the self-subordination of Asa and the otherAmahraspands to Ahura Mazda.

The Pahlavi version of the Gths is above alla fascinating document of how laterexegetes engaged with the ancient Avestantext in the context of the theologicaldiscourse of their time.

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Professor LloydLlewellyan-JonesKing & Kingship inAncient Iran (559 -331BCE)

Three key featuresidentified kingship inancient Iran:First and foremost wasthe fact that Persianmonarchy belonged toheaven and that earthly

kingship was vested in the gods so that themen who ruled on earth did so as mediatorsand intercessors of a divine agency.Second, but as an extension of this god-given gift, Persian kings had a judicialresponsibility to guard and protect theirsubjects from war, want, and terror. Third,kingship was sacred, and ceremonies likethe royal investiture often involved a ritualhumiliation and reinstatement as anexpression of the regeneration of cosmicorder encoded within the monarch’s being.

There was no doubt in the Persian mindthat the universe was divinely ordered andthat kings and their appointed courtierswere the mundane earthly reflections of aheavenly hierarchical ideal. On earth, the

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reality was that kings were confronted by allsorts of political upheavals ranging fromsuccession challenges to internationalrebellions. But the ideological picture ofkingship, created and promoted by king andcourt, was one of cosmic harmonymaintained only through the centralizedposition of the throne. Rituals of monarchyand the royal ideologies from which theyemerged were designed to articulate thecomplex interconnection between thecosmological and earthly aspects ofrulership.

It is clear that Ahuramazda was conceivedof as the king’s god par excellence and theintimate relationship between the two isreiterated repeatedly; the king wasexpected, under the auspices of the Magi,to carry out the prayers and rituals inAhuramazda’s honour, or to tend to thegod’s sacred fire.

In the early Achaemenid royal inscriptions,Ahuramazda alone is named, althoughoccasionally he is mentioned alongside ‘allthe gods’ or as the ‘greatest of the gods’.On one of the Elamite tablets fromPersepolis he appears with ‘Mithra-(and)-the Baga’ and at the end of the Achaemenidperiod Artaxerxes III again makes thissolicitation. The Persepolis texts amplytestify to the presence of ‘the other godswho are’ and show how the royaladministration supplied cultic necessities forthe worship of numerous Iranian, Elamite,and Babylonian deities.

It is clear from Achaemenid royaliconography that just as the king and thegod share close intimacy of space (in theBisitun relief, for instance), so they share aphysical form. The Great King encodes inhis appearance the best physical attributesof the anthropomorphic divinity,Ahuramazda; the Great King is the deity’sdoppelganger. They adopt the same hair-style and beard-shape, the same crown, thesame garment-type, and they ‘emit’ thesame xvarnah or ‘brilliance’ (in terms ofluminosity or glory). The iconographystresses that reciprocity between king andgod is guaranteed, and thus in an

inscription from Susa, Darius can state withconfidence that, ‘Ahuramazda is mine; I amAhuramazda’s’. Even if Persian kings werenot gods, they could be understood only intheir intimate relationships with the divine.

g

Ancient ZoroastrianThought in our ModernMoment

Dr Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina

How does one live arich and meaningful lifein the “modern” worldas a Zoroastrian? Howdoes one successfullynavigate the oftentreacherous waters of“modernity”, “change”,and “progress” in the

information-saturated age we live in, with aninherited religious, ethnic, and social identitythat is, with no exaggeration, one of theoldest in the world?

This talk provided a sense of historicalperspective about the Zoroastrian past andshowcased some of the ways in which theancients philosophically grappled with someof the existential challenges that we all stillface as moderns. The term “Zoroastrianism”means different things to different peopleoften encompassing such diverse conceptsas religion, tradition, identity, ethnicity,heritage, philosophy, and/or worldview withsome of these seven “power terms” beingmutually overlapping or, in some cases,even contrastive. Yet, all three temporalmodalities - our pasts, presents, and futures- are both acted upon and understood by usthrough our modern sensibilities, beliefs,and values.

All the social functions that are now held bypolitics, civil society or science were oncethe largely exclusive province of religion.This talk showcased voices from the pastregarding the practical philosophies of theZoroastrian priests of a millennium ago andhow they grappled with questions related to


17

the five major branches of philosophy: metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, politics, and aesthetics.Basically, a brief survey of how the Zoroastrian priests understood human existence and their livedsocial realities; their ideas on the acquisition of true and accurate knowledge; their views of humannature and living correctly; their questions related to the ordering of a just and stable society; and,last but not least, their understanding of the nature of art and standards of beauty.

This talk attempted to provide a rich and nuanced account of the inherent complexity of Zoroastrians’diverse and complex lives as moderns living with an antique past often shrouded in mystery but onethat is nonetheless rich in philosophical and cultural value. As the Pahlavi theologians stated: “Thesubstance of religion is like a mirror; when a person looks at it they see themselves in it ... a personwho looks sees all goodness and evil in it”.

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Most cultures have a distinct way of pleasing the Rain Gods to ensure a healthy monsoon.Navsari keeps the Zoroastrian tradition of pleasing the Rain God by having youngZoroastrian boys going around town, collecting uncooked rice, dal, oil, ghee and water from

residents. This collection is done while simultaneously reciting: “Ghee khichri no paiso, Doriyaa norupiyo, Varsaadji toha ayega, Dumrisher layega, Dumritaari oat maa, Kharapaani pet maa, Ott iKechotti, Chal li choti, Relaavi motti, Ahuragocal, Paani mokal, Varsaadji nu paani, Toh mitthu nemitthu!”

Once collected, the ingredients are put together and cooked into a delicious ‘Khichdi’ which is thenserved to the poor, birds, animals and all present. This tradition is practiced every year, particularlyon ‘Bahman Mahino’ and ‘Bahman Roj’. This year too, the tradition was performed in its trueessence. Speaking with Parsi Times, Marazban E Wadia said, “It is heart-warming to see youngboys participate so enthusiastically in keeping this age old tradition alive”.

A Quaint TraditionReprinted with permission from the Editor, Anahita Subedar, Parsi Times

Images of sharing, courtesy Sheroy Irani, Melbourne

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On Wednesday 27th June, SOASlaunched the Shapoorji PallonjiInstitute of Zoroastrian Studies to

an audience of family members consistingof Mr Shapoor Mistry and his son Pallon,Executive Director Kekoo Colah ofShapoorji Pallonji and Company, lecturersand students of the Faculty of ZoroastrianStudies and members of the Zoroastriancommunity from London.

The reception held in the Brunei Gallerywas a stunning event by all accounts withstudents and staff looking after all theguests who were excited by this newinitiative funded by the Shapoorji PallonjiCompany, an industrial conglomerate andphilanthropic organisation, in co-operation

with SOAS.

The event commencedwith the recitation of ashort Avestan prayer byDastur Dr KaikhusrooMinocher JamaspAsa, aHigh Priest from India.

Baroness Valerie Amosa Director of SOAS since2015, and the first blackwoman to serve as aMinister in the Britishcabinet and in the House

of Lords, commenced withthe inauguration andwelcomed the guests.Throughout her political lifeshe has consistentlysustained an interest in, anda commitment to,development issues and toequality and human rightsand was Chief Executive ofthe Equal OpportunitiesCommission between 1989and 1994.

Baroness Amos gave her personal thanksto Mr Mistry and said that without the“transformational gift” this new institute

would not have beenpossible.

Mr Shapoor PMistry, Chairmanand ManagingDirector of ShapoorjiPallonji andCompany was invitedto take centre stage.In his speech heexpressed his delightand joy in havingsuch a prestigiousinstitute as SOAS tolaunch the SOASShapoorji Pallonji

Institute of Zoroastrian Studies.

He felt that the project was in good handsand that the launch of the institute filled himwith great pride, describing it as a “greatjourney that we are about to begin.”

“These are the first baby steps that we taketo protect our culture and religion [and] I’msure that this initiative is the right initiativeand the only way forward is with SOAS.

“Through the creation of the Institute,Lectureship and Scholarships, this donationwill ensure that SOAS continues to developas the world’s leading centre of ZoroastrianStudies, advancing in perpetuity the

understanding andappreciation of thisancient religion andits history, culture,languages andpeoples.”

Dr Sarah Stewartgave an insight intothe combined efforts

The Inauguration of The SOAS Shapoorji Pallonji Instituteof Zoroastrian Studies

by sammy bhiwandiwalla

Baroness Valerie Amos

Dastur Dr Kaikhusroo Minocher JamaspAsa

Mr Shapoor P Mistry

Dr Sarah Stewart


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in creating the Everlasting Flame Exhibitionthat was held in the Brunei Gallery in 2013,which was made possible through thesupport of ZTFE in London and Mr CyrusPoonawalla in India among many others.Also involved were institutional partners, theBritish Library and British Museum as wellas SOAS’s curatorial team especially DrVests Curtis and Ursula Sims-Williams.

Thanks to the efforts of Dr Shernaz Cama,the exhibition went to Delhi fully funded bythe Indian Government. For many visitors,the visual narrative of 3000 years ofZoroastrian history and culture brought thesubject to life. Both Zoroastrians and non-Zoroastrians alike could engage with theway in which texts were transmitted, ritualsperformed, the brilliance as well thesuffering encountered by Zoroastrians intheir long journey from the ancient world tomodernity. There is no doubt thatexhibitions are an ideal way ofdisseminating knowledge aboutZoroastrianism to a wider than purelyacademic audience and also to engage withthe general public and the Zoroastriancommunity.

While the exhibition had been a catalyst forplans to establish an Institute of ZoroastrianStudies it also encouraged reflection aboutSOAS’s teaching programmes and how itcould be made more attractive to students.The VR technology that Almut Hintzeintroduced to the study of ritual is a goodexample of how one can transmitknowledge more effectively in theclassroom.

SOAS have a remit to increase their studentnumbers, bearing in mind that studentstoday consider employment opportunitieswhen making their degree choices. Hereagain, thanks to the foresight of Mr Mistry,SOAS has the significant advantage of agenerous endowment in perpetuity forscholarships.

So, putting all these elements together,there is now a real opportunity to expandthe reach of Zoroastrian studies.Zoroastrianism is of course a living faith,

but it is also a prime example, albeit aneglected one, of migration and diaspora –a field of increasing interest and importancein these most challenging times.

Zoroastrianism’s religious texts, orallytransmitted over centuries, should be aparadigm case within the now well-established but still growing field of oralityand oral studies. Wherever Zoroastrianslive today they belong to a religious or anethnic and religious minority and soZoroastrianism has much to contribute tothe field of minority studies. More widelystill, the much-loved poetry and literature ofclassical Persia has pre-Islamic, that is tosay, Zoroastrian roots. Modern Persian is adirect descendent of Pahlavi orMiddle Persian, the language ofZoroastrian Iran prior to theArab conquest.

Zoroastrianism, in short, canand should inform a wide rangeof subjects and programmes.

“Thanks to the generoussupport of Shapoor Mistry, wecan begin to enhance theirteaching and outreach capacity.

“I hope that many of you –colleagues at SOAS and members of theZoroastrian community – will help us toshape the future of the Institute, and to

make it the successthat Shapoor Mistryand his family wishfor and so richlydeserve,” said DrStewart.

Professor AlmutHintze, FBA spoke ofresearch onZoroastrianism atSOAS. “Teachingand research inIranian andZoroastrian Studies atSOAS started in 1929with the ‘Parsee

Community’s Lectureship in Iranian Studies’.

Professor Almut Hintze

Pallon Mistry

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Its first holder, the distinguished expert ofIranian languages, Sir Harold Bailey, wasfollowed by Walter Bruno Henning and thenby an uninterrupted line of more world-renowned scholars in Iranian andZoroastrian Studies, including ADH Bivar,Philip Kreyenbroek, Mary Boyce, JohnHinnells and Nicholas Sims-Williams. Thefunds for the lectureship of the ParseeCommunity were raised on an annual basisfrom within the Bombay Parsi community,and it lapsed in 1947. In the 1990s, JohnHinnells and Mary Boyce recognized that apost needed to be endowed, rather thanfunded on an annual basis in order to ensurethat it continued in perpetuity. It was this ideawhich formed the seed-corn of the ZartoshtyBrothers Chair in Zoroastrianism at SOAS,eventually endowed in 2011 thanks to thegenerosity of the Zartoshty family andProfessor Mary Boyce herself. The SOASShapoorji Pallonji Institute of ZoroastrianStudies not only cements the provision ofteaching and research of Zoroastrianism atSOAS but also brings it on a different, todate unprecedented level of security andsustainability. It does so by providing

endowed funds for scholarships, outreachactivities and a second post inZoroastrianism.”

Sarah Stewart and Almut Hintze will serveas the first Co-Chair of the new Institute.

Their research encompasses the whole ofthe Zoroastrian tradition, from its prehistoricbeginnings sometime in the secondmillennium BCE, up to the present day.

Dr Sarah Stewart has always had a greatinterest in the devotional tradition of the

Zoroastrian laity. Having worked with PhilipKreyenbroek and Shernaz Munshi on theZoroastrians of India, she subsequentlyapplied the methodology to the Zoroastriansof Iran, following in the footsteps of herteacher, Mary Boyce. Dr Stewart hascollected over 300 oral testimonies ofIranian Zoroastrians, many of themspeaking in the Zoroastrian Persian dialectof Dari, which is an endangered language.

The recordings have been digitised and arealready available in the collections of theEndangered Languages Archive at SOAS.Dr Stewart’s eagerly awaited work isexpected to be published this autumn.

Prof Hintze explained that her research hasbeen chiefly concerned with the Avesta andits Pahlavi version, particularly with theperformance and written tradition of theYasna ritual, the core ritual of theZoroastrians. In November last year theteam of the Multimedia Yasna or MUYAproject, funded by the European Research

Teaser of the VR film was available where MUYA postdocs and PhD studentswere ready to assist.

L to R: Dr Sarah Stewart, Baroness Amos, Mr Shapoor Mistry, Dr Almut Hintz


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Council from 2016 to 2021, filmed acomplete Yasna performance in Mumbai,both in two-dimensional format and inVirtual Reality. A teaser of the VR film wasavailable for testing, where MUYA postdocsand PhD students assisted those wishing toview. In collaboration with IT experts inTrier and Birmingham, MUYA also developselectronic tools for producing text-criticaleditions.

Another important part of the project is thedigitisation of manuscripts. On their last tripto India they catalogued and photographedcollections at the Cama Athornan Institute inMumbai, and have plans to digitise morecollections in Mumbai and other centres ofthe Zoroastrian community, particularly atthe Alpaiwalla Museum at Udwada andNavsari, Bharuch and Surat. They are alsohoping to establish a collaboration with theCama Oriental Institute, if at all possible.All the digital data produced by Dr Stewartand Professor Almut Hintze and theirresearch teams will be made available inthe Digital Collections of the SOASShapoorji Pallonji Institute. The page hasalready been set up and is waiting to bepopulated with the help of Erich Kesse,SOASʼs Digital Library Project Officer.

Professor Almut Hintze was elated by thefive million pounds endowment of theShapoorji Pallonji Institute and stated it wasmind-blowing. “It opens up possibilities forresearch, teaching and outreach inZoroastrian Studies we could not even havedreamt of. The fact that the Institute isendowed means that it will be there inperpetuity. It is an immense privilege to bepart of this enterprise, and I can already seeus going from strength to strength inpromoting the Study of Zoroastrianism bothhere at SOAS and world-wide”.

The evening concluded with thepresentation of a ceremonial shawl andmemento to Mr Shapoor P Mistry as a markof respect and affection, by members of theZoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe onbehalf of all those present.

Dastur JamaspAsa with his family, Almut Hintze & Duncan Hinnells, son of Prof John Hinnells

Presentation of shawl to Mr Shapoor Mistry by members of ZTFE on behalf of all present

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Sammy Bhiwandiwalla together with his wife Ursula startedtheir own company in 1970 and after 35 years in businessthey decided to call it a day.Both have always taken an active interest in communitymatters in the UK and were greatly influenced by the actionsand sincere beliefs of individuals such as NoshirwanCowasjee, Shirinbanoo Kutar, Shahpur Captain and manyothers, that in a changing world it was necessary to create amore balanced and equitable community within the UK.He joined the WZO Board in 1988 and since then has servedin various capacities including Chairman of WZO, presentlyserving as President.

Images, courtesy Prof Almut Hintze

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In the magnificent “Cyrus Cylinder” it isrelated that “Cyrus called upon [the god]Marduk, when arguing his legitimate right

to the Babylonian throne.” Due to thereference to a Babylonian deity, during theround of events marking the exhibition ofthe Cylinder in the West, it was outrightlyclaimed by some that Achaemenians werenot solely Zoroastrians. It is to Darius thatscholars now confidently attribute “areligious reform towards Mazdaism” basedon his later inscriptions honoring AhuraMazda. Later, Xerxes I declared in aninscription that “he destroyed a daivadana,purified the site, and sacrificed there toAuramazda.”

This “Zoroastrian question” has vexedAchaemenid studies for long. Did theAchaemenians adopt Zoroastrianism, asindicated in inscriptions paying homage toAhura Mazda, even though no knowndocument makes a direct reference to anyAvestan text? Jean Kellens, a leadingscholar, has sought to shift the tenor of thedebate to an examination of the underlyingritual behavior during the time, rather thanwhether Zoroastrianism was their creedalfaith.

Wouter Henkelman, Associate Professor ofElamite and Achaemenid Studies at theEcole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris,has closely studied the question, andproduced a milestone publication on ritualsof Achaemenian religion. He has later notedthat although “Auramazda … may havebeen of central importance in [Darius’]ideology, but he was less so in the reality ofthe Achaemenid heartland”.

As the featured speaker at the 4th AnnualKamran Seminar* Professor Henkelmanpresented his thesis of the syncretic faith ofAchaemenians. He examined the questionmainly from the perspective of what are

known as the Persepolis FortificationArchives (PFA), that show homage alsopaid to gods other than Ahura Mazda. ThePFA are a collection of thousands of ancientclay documents, a large majority of whichhave seal impressions in the Elamite script,a few in Aramaic, and the remainder areuninscribed. The tablets provide anadministrative account of the intake, storageand redistribution of commodities for fodder,rations, wages, and ritual offerings. Theycover the period, 509 BCE (Before theCommon Era) to 493 BCE, incorporatingyears 13 -28 of Darius’ reign.

The Elamite script impressed on the tabletswas the language of the ancient kingdom ofElam, in south west Iran, on the border ofMesopotamia. Elamites were incorporated inthe Median Empire and later came underAchaemenian rule. Elamite culture had asignificant impact and Persians are consideredto have held on to it for some time.

At first, Professor Henkelman discussed therock carvings in Bisotun, Iran, depicting thevictory of Darius over Gaumata. Thecuneiform writing is again multilingual inElamite, Babylonian and Old Persian, andincludes the figure of a winged discconsidered to grant divine authority to theKing. He noted that the rock on which thecarvings were made has an opening forwater, showing traces of a waterfall,signifying the importance of water inPersian beliefs, and making an associationbetween the human and the divine. Inkeeping with the syncretic theme, ProfessorHenkelman has previously written that “theBabylon version of the Bisotun inscriptionexalts Bel (-Marduk) – not Auramazda! – asthe supreme god guiding Darius to his manyvictories.”

Several tablets from the PFA were shown inslides and their meanings explained. They

Official Religion in the Achaemenid Heartland: A Viewfrom Persepolis

by kersi shroff


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offer a graphic account of the commoditiesneeded for rituals offerings and refer to‘temples’, despite the general belief that theAchaemenians had no temples. Othertablets show textile production and refer towomen and their names. A reference wasmade to Ali-Sami’s “Persepolis” (1972), inwhich the author summarizes importantpoints regarding the Elamite tablets:1) Achaemenian kings paid appropriatewages based on the experience,competence and age of skilled workers andlaborers - men, women, boys, and girls -engaged in building operations atPersepolis.2) The nationality of the workers was varied.3) The wages were paid in silver, while flour,meat, and wine were also given in lieu ofsilver. The payments were made under aset schedule.

In the view of the writer, ProfessorHenkelman’s presentation should becoupled with his writings** to capture the fullscope of his thesis. Among the religiousrituals illustrated in the PFA are what arereferred to as the lan ceremony, the mostfrequent type of ritual documented in thePFA. Lan is built around the root la,meaning “to send, to offer.” ProfessorHenkelman has noted that although no textswere identified in which the lan ritualexplicitly mentioned a named divinebeneficiary, it was theoretically possible toconsider it to be the exclusive rite for AhuraMazda. “[E]xplicit evidence linking lan to agod other than Auramazda was hithertolacking,” he has written, but the text of aPFA, identified as Fort. 1316-101, “offersthis and more”. The tablet “falsifies theclaim of an exclusive rite for Auramazda” byascribing the ceremony for the cult ofNapirisa, an old Elamite god.

Henkelman points to a comparison made byanother scholar, Kreyenbroek, of the lan towhat we know as the baj ceremony,intended for Auramazda, suggesting “adegree of integration of Elamite elementsinto Zoroastrianism.” To Henkleman, theview that is increasingly accepted is thatthere was a “convergence or acculturationof Elamite and Indo-Iranian traditions.”

Henkelman also submits that the PFArepresent “a shop-floor perspective inwhich, apparently, the cult of all kinds ofother gods thrived.” The pragmaticAchaemenid kings abstained from enforcingtheir own views but guaranteed “an overallsystem of Zoroastrian inspiration in which,for example, animal sacrifices wereanathema.”

In another presentation in Berlin in 2013,Henkelman also noted that “the archivechallenges the idea of religious, Zoroastrianor Mazdaic, orthodoxy and simultaneouslyforcefully underlines the importance ofElamite traditions alongside the Indo-Iranianheritage.”

In “Humban … Auramazda” Henkelmanconcludes: “Fort. 1316-101:14… liberatesus from attempts to ‘save’ the position ofAuramazda in PFA in agreement with hisperceived role in the inscriptions. Theobservation that the tablets undeniablyassign him a non-exclusive position, opensthe way to a fresh appreciation of his statusin the inscriptions and, by extension, in theempire.”

The PFA were sent in 1937 to the OrientalInstitute in Chicago on a long-term loan,where they have been studied by scholars,including Henkelman. Until late, theiroverdue return to Iran was tied up in a legaldispute brought before US courts. InFebruary 2018, the US Supreme Courtdecided that the Persepolis artifacts cannotbe seized to satisfy a judgment in favour ofAmericans who were injured in a 1997suicide bombing in Jerusalem. As and whenthe PFA are handed back, according toHenkelman, what is also likely to travel withthem is the finding of new evidence that“eloquently demonstrates ... the mostimportant trait of Persian culture: the abilityto reach synthesis.”

At the start of the Seminar, a moving tributewas made to Dr Farhang Mehr, in thehonoured presence of Mrs Parichehr Mehr,by Mr Adi Daver, the founding-President ofZAMWI. It was followed by a roundtableinterview with Professor Henkelman.

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* Held at the Kamran Dar-e Mehr and Zoroastrian Center (KDM&ZC) in Boyds, Maryland, USA. TheKamran Seminar is organized independently of the Anjuman of the Zoroastrian Association ofMetropolitan Washington (ZAMWI), which manages the KDM&ZC under a lease granted by theKamran Foundation. The Kamran Seminars are organized by Anne & Zarir Khademian, MorvaridBehziz and Mehraban Manoochehri. The KDM&ZC was generously endowed to the Zoroastriancommunity by the late Mr Khodamorad Kamran and his Family.

** Principally his recent chapter,“Humban … Auramazda: royal gods in a Persian landscape” In“Persian Religion in the Achaemenid Period” (2017). Interestingly, the editors note that thepublication of the volume met a number of difficulties,“all of which we overcame by the grace ofAuramazda, and named others.”

[Those who may be interested, video is available at http://thekamranseminar.com/#portfolioModal1]Kersi B Shroff, lives andcogitates in Derwood,Maryland, USA. n

Mr Shroff shares this news:

I’m pleased to share with you a DIPNOTE (US. Dept. of State Official Blog) authored by Dr SousanAbadian, Policy Advisor, Office of International Religious Freedom, US. Department of State.

The note was published at the start of a 3-day Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, held inWashington DC., July 24-26, 2018. The event was attended by Ministers and Delegates from over 80countries, and nearly 400 representatives of faith communities and civil society organizations.

https://blogs.state.gov/stories/2018/07/23/en/eternal-flame-universality-freedom-religion-or-belief

At the conclusion of the Ministerial, the Department of State issued the following letter:

Colleagues,

We successfully concluded the first-ever Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. Over 80 countriesparticipated, with close to 400 representatives of faith communities and civil society groups attending.We welcome and appreciate the robust participation. Both the Vice President and the Secretaryaddressed the Ministerial, as did other senior US. government officials.

At the conclusion of the Ministerial, the Secretary released the Potomac Declaration and Plan of Action.The Potomac Declaration reflects the importance the United States government places on promotingreligious freedom, a universal human right, as a means to ensuring greater peace and stability withinand among nations.

The Potomac Plan of Action provides a comprehensive framework of activities the internationalcommunity can pursue to promote religious freedom and to respond to persecution on account ofreligion, belief, or non-belief. The Plan of Action has six chapters:Defending the Human Right of Freedom of Religion or Belief / Confronting Legal Limitations /Advocatingfor Equal Rights and Protections for All, Including Members of Religious Minorities /Responding toGenocide and other Mass Atrocities / Preserving Cultural Heritage and Strengthening the Response.

In addition, participating delegations endorsed three country statements (Burma, China, Iran) and threethematic statements (Blasphemy/Apostasy Laws; Counterterrorism; and Repression by Non-StateActors). You can find them here.Regards, Knox Thames, Special Advisor for Religious Minorities, US. Department of State

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The Three Testaments’ - Torah, Gospel, and Quran

Kersi B Shroff informs ...

The Zoroastrian Association of Metropolitan Washington Inc. (ZAMWI) was recently presentedwith a book which describes itself as “revolutionary” in making connections betweenZoroastrianism and the three Scriptures named in the title.

In the Foreword, Amir Hussain, one of eight contributors, states that a “possible exposure toZoroastrianism may have been a revelation to Jesus about his messianic destiny, ... to be the ‘Redeemer’or Savior of the whole world - a distinctly Zoroastrian concept.” (pp. ix-xi).

Another author “commends the Quran as confirming many other scriptures, including Zoroastrianism.”The book “also opens up one final intriguing insight ... [T]he scriptures of Judaism, Christianity andIslam ... all contain revelations received earlier in some form by Zoroaster, ... [and] his spiritual insightsinfluenced [them profoundly]. This realization is a ‘game-changer’ for interfaith studies.” (Id.)

The Prologue written by lead author Brian Arthur Brown claims: “If any or all of these religions actually do have an “Old Testament,” it might be the Zoroastrian scriptures,known as the Avesta, which is something of a subtext in the contextual background chapters of thisvolume... [Words and phrases] first seen in the Zoroastrian Avesta can now be correlated with similaror identical words, phrases and verses in the Torah, the Gospel and the Quran, a phenomenon wedesignate as “the Z factor.” (pg. 5).

This correlation appears to have been done by computer-generated analyses.

Brian Brown continues: “[T]he key to our understanding, and a principal feature of this compendium, isthe current ‘unearthing’ of lost material from the Zoroastrian Avesta, long buried between the lines inthe Quran.” (Id.)

An editorial review of the book, states: “Brian Brown’s ‘message’ – his proposal for seeing the Zoroastriantradition as having set the context for new Revelations in Judaism, Christianity and Islam – may openus up to fuller spiritual and religious explorations (Rabbi Arthur Waskow, author of The Tent of Abraham;director, The Shalom Center).”

Four separate chapters in the book relate to Zoroastrianism:Chapter 1, “Also Sprach Zarathushtra”Chapter 2, “Monotheism”Chapter 9, “Zoroastrians in the Quran”, andChapter 12, “Avesta in the Quran”.

A creatively designed “Diagram of Previous Revelations from God Confirmed in the Quran” incorporatesmultiple designations to the “Zoroastrian Avesta”. (pg. 415)

In view of the extensive discussion of the Avesta, including translations of several verses from theGathas (pp. 407 - 411), the book could have more appropriately been titled “The Four Scriptures,Avesta, Torah, Gospel, and Quran”.

The book was presented to ZAMWI by Rabbi David Shneyer, a member of the Executive Committee ofMontgomery County’s Interfaith Council. It is available for reference at the Kamran Dar-e Mehr andZoroastrian Center in Boyds, MD.

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THEN :

The advocacy wing of Jiyo Parsiconducted mental health programmesfor various demographic segments

such as parents, teenagers and priests tospread the word about the scheme. The firsttwo programmes were held at Masinahospital and Sir H N Reliance hospital withpsychiatrists and counsellors imparting softskills training and a brief introduction tocounselling.

NOW :

To avoid any sense of entitlement fromstakeholders dictating terms about how torun the programme diametrically differentfrom the vision, it was decided to breakaway from Jiyo Parsi. Our vision is todevelop leadership skills and increase thelaity-priests connect. A conscious decisionhas been taken by behdin trainers to steerclear from religious education, as webelieve that imparting religious training isthe sole domain of the Athornan Mandal.Empowering Mobeds now runs under theumbrella of the Athornan Mandal and WZOTrust Funds Mobed Welfare. Who betterthan the main governing body of priests runby able leader Dastur Khurshed Dastur?Who better than Dinshaw Tamboly, headingWZO trust funds, involved in helping priestsconsistently, since 1996.

GOING DIGITAL :

This year the training theme was “Mobedsmoving online” to connect with thecommunity, Pan India and globally. Ourmobeds, as old as 80 years or living indistant places like Mandvi, Gujarat andNeemuch, Madhya Pradesh are on digitalmedia. In order to make our already techsavvy mobeds savvier, a motley group ofprofessionals lent their expertise. Theaudience comprised of mobeds, their

spouses and fresh Navarias. Psychiatrist DrKersi Chavda and Neurosurgeon Er DrMazda Turel talked about the cognitive andaffective impact of words. IT expert BerjesShroff gave tips on cyber safety, whileadvertising genius Rayomand Patell talkedabout presenting the message creatively onmultiple social media platforms. The Jameeditor encouraged mobeds to spread religiousknowledge through print and social media.Dasturji Khurshed Dastur and young ErvadsCyrus Darbari, Hormuz Dadachanji,Sheherezad Pavri, Firdaus Pavri, DarayeshKatrak, Khushroo Makihatana and JehanDarbari shared their personal experienceswith social media. Post lunch head of learningand development, Delphi Wadia conducted aworkshop on effective communication.

A month later a smaller focus group of 18were trained by communication expertsDelphi Wadia, Farrokh Jijina, Freyaz Shroffand Hemin Bharucha on the power ofnetworking corporate style. A great exampleof networking is the manager ofRustomframna agiary, Er Kaizad Karkariawho is fabulous with resource mobilization.Similarly, 25 year old Er Jamsheed Sidhwa,boiwalla Iranshah and official videographerSarosh Daruwalla understand the pulse ofthe youth and are the guiding light forprogramme strategy.

TRAINING OUTCOMES :

Er Hormuz Dadachanji, Punthak Mithaiwallaagiary has started a whatsapp group for hisworshippers to apprise them of agiaryevents like jashans and salgarehs. A prayerbox for wish requests has been set up inwhich cute appreciation notes are left forthe mobeds by grateful worshippers.Volunteers were easily gathered for agiaryclean up.

Er Firdaus Pavri, Punthak of Godavaraagiary had barely any viewer traffic on his

Empowering Mobedsfrom the coordinator binaifer sahukar


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agiary facebook page. However after thetraining programme the viewership hasspiked.

Skilled orators Er Jehan Darbari and ErDarayesh Katrak have held the audiencespell bound at Bhika Behram kua (well)monthly humbandagi organized byHoshang Gotla. Whilst Er Katrak is aseasoned speaker, 25 year old Jehan usedto be a nervous speaker. With repeatedexposures in the training programmes, henow speaks like a pro.

FUTURE PROGRAMMES :

July 22nd Dasturji Firoz Kotwal will talk[ed]about the “Significance of Muktad ceremonyand prayers”. Dastur Khurshed Dastur, ErDadachanji and other young grass root levelworkers will share their experiences incrowd management and keeping calmduring this stressful period.

In August, our core team members will splitup into geographical zones and reach out toabout 500 XYZ kids to teach Zoroastrianismthrough fun and games, across Bombayfrom town to the distant suburbs.

A residential leadership training programmeis also on the anvil.

Along with increasing our populationnumbers, it is imperative to also enhancethe quality. Our trained mobeds will identifyred flag areas like depression, suicidalideation, abuse etc and direct people to theright source for help. Through the lessonslearnt from handling difficult conversationsladen with anger and tears, our priests willsoothingly infuse hope and spiritual succourto distressed souls. In a communityfragmented with discordant voices, thesepriests as leaders will break walls and buildbridges.

Binaifer Sahukar in her psycho-therapeutic practice has been told byclients how much lighter and strongerthey feel with an active ear untanglingtheir knotted thoughts. A team ofmental health professionals andmobeds are working towardsdeveloping mobeds as compassionatefuture leaders who will increaseworshipper footfalls and build a happycohesive community.

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A part of the audience beaming happily

Post-lunch fun workshop activities

The opening session of our core team mobeds with our backbone Dinshawji

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The Eid holidays [June] in Muscatwere arriving upon us and both myhusband and I started deliberating

upon an interesting destination to visitduring this period. After much pondering wedecided upon Tiblisi the capital city ofGeorgia, being attracted to the exotic,almost a mysterious air being associatedwith it. War-torn and reduced, yet ready toembrace an independent future, chasing thebig EU dream.

Whilst researching for our mini vacation inthe offing I came across, that too entirely bydefault, the existence of an ancientAtashgah / Atash Dadgah tucked away in anot so frequented corner of Tibilisi. Mycuriosity was instantly aroused and what Ilearnt was that the centuries old fire templewas constructed during the Sasanianera (224-651 AD), when Georgia fell underthe domain of the mighty Persian Empire.Unfortunately the information provided onthe net failed to provide a complete pictureof this fascinating place of worship and Ikept wondering for days on end as to whatwas to be in store for us. Nevertheless, Iwas glad that we had chosen Georgia overother more accessible destinations as theAtashgah had by then held our captiveimaginations.

As Pakistanis, a visa endorsement on ourpassports was not a prerequisite andgranted on arrival. What angered me wasthat some Indian nationals who hadtravelled with us from Muscat were out ofimmigration within seconds, whereas wewere led into a separate room and ourpassports taken away from us. After an hourlong wait we were directed towards theimmigration queue. Our US / Schengen /Omani Resident Visa endorsements musthave satisfied the staff on duty and wereached our hotel at 4:00 am, with theissuance of the necessary Georgian visa inorder!

My first question to the receptionist at ourhotel was one regarding the whereabouts ofthe Atash Dadgah. All I got in return was ablank stare with an assurance of assistancefrom the Manager. After breakfast, when Iwas introduced to the latter, the exactlocation of the temple - Old Town, GomiStreet 3, parallel to Bethlehem Street, 100metres east to the Church of Bethlehem,perched on the slopes facing the MotherGeorgia statue to the north-east – waswritten out for me in Georgian script.

Unfortunately few people in Tibilisi conversein English and without a proper guide it isalmost impossible to locate a particularplace. We hired a local taxi to drive us tothe location of the Atash Dadgah, with themanager’s instructions. After driving aroundfor nearly an hour, we were simply not ableto trace out the fire temple, in spite of theroad sign and arrow reading ‘Atashgah’.

The taxi driver made frantic calls asking forhelp but nothing worked. We asked andenquired from several passers-by but theytoo claimed ignorance. The roads weresteep and narrow with brick houses and tinyshops on each side of the lane. ‘So nearand yet so far’! The driver was losing hispatience and so was my husband and wedrove back to our hotel dejected.

A small voice within my heart kept onreminding me to‘chin up’, that allwas not lost andthat I wasdestined to seethe ancient fire-temple, againstall odds. On thefollowing day,after a hecticday ofsightseeing, Imet a lovely

Fire & Faith in Tibilisi, Georgiaby shermeen kaikobad

Kashanathrao Ahureh Mazdao - Glory Be to His most blessed and exalted name!

Shermeen & Ruska


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Georgian girl by the name of Rusudan(Ruska), near the bus stand of the FreedomSquare, who agreed to drive us to a coupleof places of interest with her friend. It was amemorable Sunday with Ruska taking thelead. Towards evening a heavy downpourhad just started, when I asked Ruska if shewould take us to the fire-temple and to ouramazement we were at the venue withoutany hassle! The driver stationed his vehiclein the parking lot and we walked up theancient stone paved roads flanked on eachside by narrow footpaths, bridleways andsmall drainage ditches. As the path gotsteeper and the rain descended even moreheavily, my husband gave up halfway.Ruska’s efforts and my steely determinationwas however destined to lead me to theblessed temple. We chanced upon an eightyear old boy playing in the rain and uponRuska’s enquiry, pointed even more furtherup on the hill, asking us to knock on awooden door. We trudged along and finallystood before a board sign which readAtashgah.

Ruska and I, both exhausted and raindrenched, climbed even higher up andknocked on the wooden door. A Georgiangirl answered and led us into a rectangularshaped room, furniture of which comprisedof a long, low table, and sofas. A few elderlypeople who happened to be there got upfrom their seats and greeted me affably.Ruska, explained to them as to why I was atthe Atashgah and a gentleman stood upthereafter. It was Dr David Sagaradze, whohappily provided explanations and took mearound the site.

The good Dr Sagaradze mentioned that theAtashgah had been preserved since a longtime but being remotely located and almosthidden from public eye, in the city of Tibilisinot many were aware of its existence.Besides there prevailed a reluctance toacknowledge its significance, from those inthe know-how, due to the bitter wars in thepast with the Persians. The site howeverhas been granted official World Heritagestatus / protection from the UNESCO as anancient Fire-temple of the Zoroastrians. It’sorigins nevertheless remain shrouded in

Steps leading up to the entrance door

Inside of the atash dadgah at Tiblisi

Interior of the atash dadgah

Left : With Dr David Sagaradze. Right : Entrance from theslopes leading further up the steps to main wooden door.

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tolerated during his regime, with theprotection of the Christian Bishop at hisroyal court. There was also a ‘High Magus’in the Georgian Historical Source called the‘Persian Bishop’. The Persian Magi weregranted official recognition, thereby beingallowed to propagate their faith in Kartli.Presumably the Tibilisi-Atashgah was alsobuilt during the reign of King VakhtangGorgasali. Quite a bit of this informationwas gathered on my visit to the NationalMuseum of Georgia.

Dr David’s aim is to create a globalawareness among Zoroastrians of theancient Tibilisi-Atashgah. His love andenthusiasm for our faith is strong, selflessand inspirational. He wishes to continuewith the same, discreetly as it might be, inGeorgia. Seeing the brilliance of the man,his dedication, discipline and commitment atthe Atashgah, made my trip to Tibilisi evenmore worthwhile. Glory be to our faith, ourbeloved prophet Asho Zarathustra and toAhura Mazda our Creator.

Dr David Sagaradze may be contacted byemail : [email protected],mobile : +995 598 520744Postal address : 2/19/70 Digomi Massiv,0159 Tibilisi, Georgia.

mystery and even conflicting versions. In2007 the Georgian National Committee ofInternational Council on Monuments andSites (ICOMOS) with the support ofNorway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs andUNESCO Cultural Heritage respectively,reconstructed the Atashgah as part of theBethlemi Quarter Revitalisation Project.This I gathered from Dr David himself, whohappens to be a good friend of conductorZubin Mehta!

Dr David, also showed me his interestingcomputer presentations. He holds specialclasses for those Georgians who want tofamiliarise themselves with Zoroastrianism.At the site itself, a miniature wooden replica

of the Atashgah has beenmade, under his guidance.His students gather aroundhis presentations everyevening, keen to learn andgrasp. I too helped him withcertain words such as‘Humata, Hukhta, Huvershta’– Good thoughts, Goodwords and Good deeds – theessential tenants of ournoble faith.

At the site is an archenclosed by a worn down redbrick wall with a slightlyblackish patch. During the2007 restorations the ancientbrickwork was partiallycleaned with repairs carriedout wherever necessary butlargely left the way it waspreviously. The blackish firerelated patch is still evidentand is proof of theauthenticity of our ancientZoroastrian fire temple. Thecenturies old brick building

with a curved protective perspex roof hasalso been restored to protect it from Tibilisi’sharsh weather conditions.

Zoroastrianism had gained popularity inTibilisi during the reign of King VakhtangGorgasali, the founder of the city during thesecond half of the 5th century. Our faith was

Dr David Sagaradze sharing his slidepresentations

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Shermeen Jal(Khambatta) Kaikobad, aPakistani living in Muscatsince the past 30 years. Ateacher by profession, hasworked both in Karachiand Muscat. She presentlytutors foreign studentsprivately besides helpingspecial, disabled andautistic children developlinguistic, behavioural andcommunication skills.Apart from travel, has aleaning towardsspirituality, enlightenment

and inner awakening.


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Chhaiye Hameh Zarathushti” ... wasthe united chant at the 11th WorldZoroastrian Congress (11WZC), in

Perth, Australia. About 325 delegatesattended. The opening ceremony beganwith flag bearers of each country, enteringthe Astral Room, Crown Complex, on June1, 2018. The audience, most wore garasand daglis, was excited as the flags wereplanted in flower pots that lined the dais andnational anthems were played. The wordsof our Avesta filled the room at the openingJashan setting the spiritual tone. TheJashan was led by Ervad Dadachanji, fromMumbai with mobeds from Perth, Sydney,France and USA, and a mobedyar fromUSA and Iran (female). Malido, chasni fruits,sev and ravo were enjoyed tremendously.

The native indigenous people of theWadumbah nation welcomed us with atraditional dance and their didgeridoo – anAustralian aboriginal tube wind instrument,made from a hollow branch. Wellentertained, throughout the Congress, withsuperb dances, excellent songs by Ferittaand, great music from the Z Band, Houston,USA the tone was happy.

Amit Mishra, India CG, Perth describedZoroastrians in India as “the mostsuccessful and entrepreneurial community.”He said, “Starting with Dadabhai Navroji,Parsis have topped the list of achievers.They became a blessing for India. Thankyou for enriching India.” He added forcefully,“But you cannot be allowed to fade intohistory.” It is an “obligation and duty” for thecommunity to address. He concluded:“Being role models for other communities iscritical. The world would be more peacefulif we adopted Zoroastrian values.”

Homi Gandhi, President of Federation ofZoroastrian Associations of North America(FEZANA), welcomed the participants and

noted, “We are proud that a small group hastaken up the torch and that we are heretoday.”

Mark McGowan, Premier, Western Australia(WA) noted: “We are honored to be yourhosts in Perth.” He called the Zoroastrians inPerth “a very exclusive community.” Hethanked us for Mubaraki, the first ZarathushtiMember of the Legislative Assembly (MLA),and noted that “his traits of goodness andkindness are unlike his colleagues” alludingto his strong traditional values.

Meher Bhesania, Dubai launched a newbook, “Zarathustra and the Origins ofZoroastrianism”, specially created for theCongress, and a short film, “Life and Timesof Zarathustra.”

Organization of 11WZC :

Congratulations to Firoz Pestonji, Chair andPresident, Business Association of WesternAustralian Zoroastrians (BAWAZ) and thesuperb organizing team for hosting a

Together Towards Tomorrow -11th World Zoroastrian Congress

by behroze clubwala

(l to r)Yaz Mubaraki, MLA, Perth; Premier of Western Australia Mark McGowan, NevilleShroff, President Zoroastrian Charity Funds, Hongkong, Firoz and Mahrukh Pestonji, BAWAZ,Perth.

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successful Congress, in spite ofreservations within the Perth community. Adiverse group of participants were present,a good representation of youth and manyCongress regulars. For a World Congressthe overall representation was small, manypanel members and speakers were theCongress regulars.

The days began with beautiful renderings ofMonajats by Mani Rao and songs from theGathas by Mobediyar Rashin Jehangiri, Iran.The excellent souvenir book containsimportant messages from eminentpersonalities from around the world,particularly a message from Dr HassanRouhani, President, Islamic Republic of Iran.

Masters of Ceremonies, ZarineCommissariat, Afreed Mistry, and FarzanaKhambatta managed the programme andspeakers with finesse and chutzpah.

Yazdi Mubarakai, first Zarathushti MLAstarted with a traditional greeting “payingrespects to the local indigenous people asthe traditional custodians of this land ...”. Hereminisced about his journey from Gujarat,India to his role today. Yaz, dynamic andcharismatic, elected in 2017 was clear. Wemust focus and align to the century’s nextchallenges; we need modern governance;we must mentor our youth for strongengagement; we could duplicate the Israeliyouth programme where 16 and 17 yearolds are given positions with authority andpower; and there is a need to act now.”

Dr Ekthihari,Iranian ZoroastrianMember ofParliament, IslamicRepublic of Iran,speaking in Dari,stated, “Mymessage is fromthe birthplace ofAshu Zarathustra,the first messengerof monotheism.

Iran is the motherland of Zoroastrians.” Heurged us to focus on our youth and “utilizethe capacities of all Zoroastrians globally”.

Ms Awat Darya, first official Representativeof the Kurdish Zoroastrians, Iraq spoke ofPresident Barzani signing into law, 17 May2015, Article 5, Freedom of Religionincluding the Zoroastrian religion. The localYasna Organization, is strategically effectivein supporting the growth of Zoroastrianism.The challenges of living in a war-torncountry make it difficult for them to meet.She called for translators from English /Farsi / Kurdish / Arabic. There is a growingvibrant Zarathushti community and sheinvited visitors to Kurdistan to support them.

Noteworthy presentations :

I’ve highlighted below new messages andspeakers that impact our Zarathushtijourney “... Towards Tomorrow” rather thanthe drumbeat of the tried and testedmessages heard earlier.

Zoroastrian Return to Roots (RTR):

Arzan Wadia, VP, FEZANA and Kayras Iranidescribed the impactful journey that takesindividuals, 22 to 35 years, to India(hopefully Iran in the future) for 14 days tofoster a sense of community and to create a

Yaz Mubaraki

L to R: Edul Davar, Dr Ekhtiyari, Rohinton Rivetna

Awat Darya, (second from left)


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vibrant youth community. The theme ofreturn, reconnect, revive is fostered as theyvisit Sanjan, where we first landed in India,Udvada, Navsari, Surat, Mumbai, New Delhietc. They witness Zarathushti rituals,customs and traditions, visit AtashBehrams, and meet with legendary Parsislike Ratan Tata. The strong network createdwill build the next generation of globalleaders. Zoroastrian Associations globallyare urged to invest in RTR and encouragetheir youth to join. Sign up at http://www.zororoots.org. The next trip starts on19 December 2018.

Moving into the 21st Century – TheZarathushti Women, the Power unleashed :

The panel shared interesting stories withBehroze Daruwalla, Moderator andPanelists Tanya Bulsara, Dolly Dastur,Delara Javat, Katayun Kapadia andFarzana Khambatta. Their messages wereloud and clear: “Ensure growth, pursue thecareers that you care deeply about, bementors, show resilience, don’t feelpersonally discriminated, find the rightbalance in a very male-dominated area ofwork; speak up, but make sure it isvaluable, don’t let being a woman stop you;and grab the opportunity, because if youdon’t, somebody else will.”

Tanya Bulsara’s story was inspirational.Tanya was born with an eye disorder thatimpairs her vision. Undeterred, Tanyacreated and manages a Computer Center inMumbai where she offers basic computertraining for the visually impaired. She issuccessful; conquered her challenges, herparents mentored her, her Zarathushti familyvalues supported her and today she is readyto launch other centers. She eloquentlyconcluded: “We are not different, we just dothings differently.” [Refer to Hamazor Issue 3/2016 pp35-37 for further insight]

“Intelligent Conservatism” can improve ParsiSurvival Prospects:

Berjis Desai, a private lawyer, Mumbai,advocated “Intelligent Conservatism”(IC).

Noting that “the Zoroastrian faith is not in anyimminent danger of dying, but as a group weface an existential threat.” He asked: “How canwe diminish this threat? Issues dividing thecommunity need to be intelligently resolved.This applies predominantly to Parsis in Mumbai.We have a demographic decline rate of 12%per decade, one of the highest in the world.”

IC means “avoiding extreme views on eitherside of the socio-religious spectrum andcapturing the middle ground. It may notalways be politically correct or doctrinallypure. It is simply pragmatic. Its soleobjective is to increase our numbers withoutlosing our uniqueness.” [His speech in fullappears in this issue - pp 38-42].

The Prayers of Creation and Truth: Yatha andAshem :

Khojeste Mistree educated us. “The YathaAhu Vairyo (Ahunavar) and Ashem Vohu arethe most important prayers of Creation. Thereis no ritual in Zoroastrianism without theseprayers which were revealed by Ohrmazd(Ahura Mazda)” said Mistree.

Ohrmazd recited Ahunavars when creatingthe world to diminish evil spirits and as hisspiritual fuel. He created the seven AmeshaSpentas and the earth, skies, waters, plants,animals, fire and man. Mistree explains thatthe Ahunavar, when intoned aloud, is the mostpowerful prayer of our religion, energizing theworld positively and weakening evil. Hencethe expression: “Yatha tari Madad.”

You can also recite it aloud a certainnumber of times for different reasons: Oncewhen you start your day; Twice to giveblessings; Six for a young person gettingmarried; Ten to seek a spouse; Twenty-onefor a long journey. It can be recited as asub-prayer for many other prayers as well,eg. For the Ohrmazd Yasht, 103 Yathasand 10 Ashems.

The Ashem Vohu, is very powerful,comprised of 12 words, it describes the roleof a Zarathushti. It reminds us that we mustspread happiness and harmony byupholding the Truth.

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Youth Sessions - From Now to 2022:

Moderated by Arzan Wadia, the panelistsBahrom Firozgary, Farhad Malegam, VirafMehta, Maher Dhamodiwala, Alicia Shroffand Jehan Kotwal debated: “Why are welooking at ourselves through a keyhole, Weneed to embrace universality; Change mustbe allowed to happen; Identity is important;It does not have to be religion versusculture; We need to keep people in thereligion; We must add meaning to ourprayers; How can we make it moreencouraging for youth to participate; Howcan we encourage youth to speak up; It isimportant for elders to consider how to dealwith youth; We must create an inclusiveenvironment for all, including the youth; Wehad a glorious past, we must focus ongiving back to the community;Entrepreneurship is missing and must berekindled and finally, youth must be involvedin community work.”

“What do you want to Start, Stop andContinue doing”, asked Arzan.Start: expanding horizons; teaching ourculture; connecting with the oldergeneration to move forward; encouragingyouth to be in politics; serve on communityorganizations; and think like entrepreneurs.Stop: treating Zoroastrianism as a dogmaticreligion, it is a way of life that encouragesyou to use your mind; whining on why youcan’t do something; being fearful; beingpassive; and promoting negativity andcontroversy.Continue: learning and being honest,organizing events where youth canparticipate freely; and encouraging change.

Zoroastrian Youth Workshop: Two paths, OneCommunity :

Moderated by Farrokh Mistree, Professor,Oklahoma, the debate was excellent.Mistree presented four propositions, and thepanelists, Kayras Irani, Delara Javat, HanozKapadia and Zenia Sunavala presentedpros and cons.

1. Gathas plus underplay rituals and worktowards removing them.

2. Gathas plus some rituals, reject middlePersian texts, reject the later Parsi / Iranitraditions.

3. Gathas plus accept the middle Persiantexts, precepts and practices, accept thelater Parsi / Iranian traditions.

4. Gathas plus aim to syncretize and mystifythe precepts and practices of the religion.They narrowed down to the following:For those who wish our religion to evolvewithin the established framework:

1. Gathas together with other religious textand rituals form the core of the religion.Here rituals will enhance understandingthrough spiritual development.For those who promote the centralphilosophical realization of Zoroastrianismwithout rituals, traditions and communitypractices:2. The Gathas alone represent the core ofthe religion. The role of the ritual is toenhance understanding the religion.Mistree summarized that two models, twopaths, one community construct willpossibly ensure the survival ofZoroastrianism. If the progressive structurecollapses, then the traditional structure willsurvive. If the traditional structure breaksdown, then the new progressive model willbe there for Zoroastrians. They concludednoting that “According to Yasna 30.2, YOUin this room are motivated to observe,reflect and discover our faith and promoteharmony in our community.”

Using Marketing and Media to build the GlobalZoroastrian Community :

Sam Bulsara,ChairmanMadison World,marketing andmedia guru,Mumbai gave us abrilliantperspective. Henoted that “weshould look uponthe ZoroastrianCommunity as a Sam Bulsara


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valuable brand”. He cited endlessadvantages and discussed the questions toask ourselves. Who are we? According toGandhiji, “Numbers beneath contempt, butcontributions beyond compare.” In the wordsof Narayan Murthy, founder of Infosys India, “Ihave never met a bad Parsi.” What are weknown for? He cited our qualities of honesty,integrity, entrepreneurship, intelligence, hardwork and philanthropy with some “Parsipanu.”Where do we want to be? How do we dothis? First, we need to ensure that all is wellwithin the community. Bulsara recommends ablueprint with specific actions in the areas ofreligion, demography, supporting andequipping the poor, entrepreneurship, health,youth and community organizations,implementable in a decade. The onus he saysis on “YOU”. He recommends appointing a“Brand Manager” and a “Brand Ambassador”– who has the time and disposition to bevisible to society with talks, lectures, etc. anda Public Relations Agency, all working on apro bono basis.

He concludes saying: “We can no longerlive to the old tune: “Que Sera, Sera,Whatever will be will be.” Instead hesuggests: “The future you must plan foryourself, you see”. “We all know we had aglorious past. We should draw inspirationfrom it, but each one of us should takepersonal responsibility to further build onthe brand equity of the ZoroastrianCommunity” he advised.

The Importance of Preserving Heritage:

Alison Betts currently Archeologist ofZoroastrian Sites, University of Sydney,took us on a fascinating pictorial journey ofthe discovery of Zoroastrian traditions inAncient Chorasmia, in northwesternUzbekistan. It has revealed a new storyabout the early history of Zoroastrianismbeyond the Iranian heartland. Chorasmiaformed a part of the Achaemenid Empireuntil around the 5th century BCE. As a partof its Persian inheritance, Chorasmia wasrich in Zoroastrian traditions. In Akchakhan-kala which was a royal seat, many of thewalls have magnificent murals and the rearwall of the main royal audience hall had

massive murals of Avestan deities. All herpictures lend themselves to the practice ofZoroastrianism thousands of years ago.

David Adams, an Australian photojournalist,and famed documentary filmmaker, talkedabout his travels to Bactria / Zariaspa,Ahanoom and much more, a center ofZoroastrianism. We hope a seriesdocumenting this travels and explorationsfollows.

Health:

Dr Farhad Contractor, California brilliantlydiscussed his extensive knowledge onBreast Cancer. For Zoroastrian women, therisk for breast cancer was four to five timeshigher than others. He advocates: “Earlydetection saves lives, be aware of tools forscreening, diagnosis, treatment options andthe prognosis. We must be aware, proactiveand use screening tools. Be mindful offamily history, a previous high-risk biopsy,your own personal history of breast cancer,history of chest wall radiation and genetichistory, namely BRCA1 and BRCA2 genemutations”.

Dr Keki Turel, Neurosurgeon from Mumbai,discussed the “Enigmatic Brain”Cerebrospinal fluid, two hemispheres of thebrain, the Hypothalamus, Brain Stem,Cerebellum and the Limbic and VentricularSystems. It was clear to see his passionand knowledge of the brain and his 30years of experience of doing microsurgeryand innovating many techniques for brainsurgery. Three times he has been insurgery for 27 hours continuously and hasremoved the largest brain tumor weighing0.5 kilograms. He passionately describedthe great satisfaction he gets in healing,serving the poor and his community.

Pay-it-Forward :

There was a call to action forwww.payitforward.co.in. The Zoroastriancommunity has a long heritage ofcommerce with integrity. Pay it forward is aZoroastrian community web effort to bringtogether and showcase the community

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member’s products and services. You can also volunteer your professional services [email protected].

Business and Entrepreneurship:

The call was loud and clear ... we need to revive “entrepreneurship” among thecommunity. Valuable sessions focused on how to enable and encourage thiswithin the community. The World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce (WZCC)Youth Power Networking session created “an opportunity to expand theirprofessional and business horizons.” The youth wing of the WZCC stands onfive pillars: networking, mentoring, industry experience, knowledge sharingand incubation.

Australian Federation of Zoroastrian Associations:

The Australian Federation of Zoroastrian Associations (AFZA) was createdwith the Australian Zoroastrian Association (AZA), Sydney, and BAWAZ from Perth, ZoroastrianAssociation of Western Australia (ZAWA), Perth, the Zoroastrian Association of Victoria (ZAV),Melbourne, and the Zoroastrian Association of New Zealand (ZANZ).

Awards:

The Global Working Group which meets concurrently on the first morning of the Congress,announced awards:Zoroastrian Icon Award: Dinshaw TambolyCommunity Service Award: Meher MedoraScience and Medicine Award: Dr Keki TurelSocial Entrepreneur Award: Khushroo PoachaA Woman of Distinction: Pheroza GodrejOutstanding young Zoroastrian: Ziba ColahA special award for Outstanding Service to the Zoroastrian Community was presented to, thriceelected, Dr Ekthihari, first Zoroastrian Member of Parliament in Iran.

Dinshaw Tamboly Meher Medora Dr Keki Turel Khushroo Poacha

Pheroza Godrej Ziba Colah Dr Ekthihari

Flags of participating countries


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While social media is a great medium forconnecting and being informed, it wasunfortunately ill-used by some with wrongfactual information to malign.

Handing over :

11 WZC concluded with Astad Clubwala,President, Zoroastrian Association ofGreater New York (ZAGNY) receiving theWorld Congress trophy, together with HomiGandhi, President of FEZANA for the nextCongress in New York in the summer of2022.

Note: link to souvenir book of the Congress,courtesy of Firoz Pestonji, is available at:https://drive.google.com/open?id=1n88nGYDP3unYfauPLMCgDm11u0i1Ncioor†https://www.11wzcperth.com.au/ World Congress Trophy being received by Astad Clubwala (left) President of ZAGNY and Homi Gandhi

(second from left) President FEZANA for the 12th WZC in NY.

Behroze Clubwala, resides inHawthorne, New Jersey andis an active member of thelocal ZAGNY community.She ret i red as a HumanResources Advisor from theUnited Nations DevelopmentProgramme after a 30+ yearcareer with them.

Ladies & gentlemen in their traditional attire of garas and daglis

Images courtesy : Arzan Wadia & Congress Official Photo file

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1. WHAT IS INTELLIGENTCONSERVATISM?

1.1. While theZoroastrian faith is notin any imminent dangerof dying, the Parsis, asa racial group, face anexistential threat. Thispresentation sets outas to how this threatcan be diminished, ifissues, dividing thecommunity, areintelligently resolved.This appliespredominantly to theParsis in Mumbai andother parts of India,and to a limited extent,to the diasporas aroundthe world.

1.2. These issues are:racial identity includingadoption and

conversion, admission into places ofworship; disposal of the dead, dealing withnon-Parsi Zoroastrians, managingcommunity and philanthropy institutions andcombating Indifference.

1.3. For those denying that Parsis face anexistential threat, the following threestatements are adequate. Our fertility rate isone of the lowest in the world. We have thehighest number of bachelors and spinstersin the world. Our demographic decline rateof 12% per decade is one of the highest inthe world. The existential threat, is,therefore, real and accelerating.

1.4. For more than four decades, I havebeen one of those arguing for a more ‘open

door’ approach. However, we have nowreached an inflection point in the struggle tosurvive. Preserving our uniqueness iscritical. Maintaining our distinct identity iscritical. We no longer have the luxury tofight each other. Intelligent conservatism is,therefore, the need of the hour.

1.5. What then is Intelligent conservatism?Avoiding extreme views on either side of thesocio- religious spectrum; capturing thecommon middle ground upon which all but afew agree – that is, Intelligent conservatism.Intelligent conservatism may not always bepolitically correct or doctrinally pure. It issimply pragmatic. Its sole objective is toincrease our numbers without losing ouruniqueness. We must avoid offending thesensibilities of a large number of Parsis, andthereby, minimise the differences within thecommunity. If we achieve this, we have adecent chance to survive. This presentationexplores as to how we can make Intelligentconservatism, the consensus view.

2. RACIAL IDENTITY

2.1. Around 1900 onwards, the greatreligious controversies began. The BombayHigh Court delivered its judgement inNovember, 1908 in Petit V Jeejeebhoy, andthe Privy Council in 1925 in Bella V Saklat.Stripped of legalese, these cases dealt withthe issue of who was to be regarded as aParsi, in situations involving conversion,interfaith marriage and adoption. Neitherjudgement conclusively settled this primecontroversy, and 110 years later, thiscontinues to agitate minds.

2.2. The undisputed legal position is that (1)the child of a non-Parsi father and a Parsimother is not a Parsi; (2) A non- Parsicannot be converted to be a Parsi; and (3)

Intelligent Conservatism Can Improve Parsi SurvivalProspects

talk given by berjis desai at the 11th world zoroastrian congress, perth,australia, reproduced with the speaker’s permission.


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adoption of a non Parsi child by Parsiparents does not make such child a Parsi.The reformists grudgingly accept the abovelegal position but are increasingly makingefforts to change it.

Interfaith married women2.3. It is beyond any doubt that a Parsiwoman, who marries a non-Parsi, continuesto be a Parsi Zoroastrian; unless it can beconclusively established that she hasundergone conversion to her husband’sfaith. If such a woman asserts that shecontinues to be a Zoroastrian, the mere factthat she is known by a different name aftermarriage (as is the custom amongst manyHindus) or that she is a part of herhusband’s Hindu Undivided Family fortaxation purposes, does not imply that shehas forsaken her religion. Hence, theGoolrukh Gupta case is precisely the kind oflitigation, which is damaging andunnecessary. Cash starved communitycharities can ill afford legal costs; rights of awoman being violated makes for badpublicity in the secular press and diminishescommunity goodwill; more importantly, itcreates bitterness and increases the dividein the community. Let us therefore notagitate any such well-established legalposition.

2.4. On the other hand, as the Fiddler onthe Roof would put it, the litigation recentlyfiled in the Calcutta High Court to assertthat a navjoted child of a Parsi mother and anon-Parsi father, is, a Parsi, is to bewelcomed for the following reasons.

2.5. Liberals are confident that post theConstitution of India with Article 14guaranteeing equality between the sexes asa fundamental right, Petit and Bela arebound to be overturned. The traditionalistsare equally sanguine that the Courts willregard the intention of the founder of a firetemple trust as paramount; and no suchfounder, a hundred years ago or more,would have ever wanted his Agiyari to beopen to children of non-Parsi fathers.Constitution of India and Declaration ofHuman Rights are irrelevant; ultimatelywhat matters is the interpretation of the

Agiyari trust deed. The right to religiousfreedom is also a fundamental right andevery religious minority has the right toregulate the entry of outsiders into theirplaces of worship. There is considerablemerit in both sides of the argument.However, we require a conclusivedetermination of this issue by the SupremeCourt. It is highly likely that the Calcuttacase will ultimately provide thisdetermination. Both sides must accept suchdetermination gracefully and then bury thiscontroversy, once and for all.

2.6. Purely from the perspective ofIntelligent Conservatism and regardless ofone’s views on ethnic purity and the like, wemust hope that the liberal view is upheld. Itwill not result in every such child becominga Parsi. However, it will certainly prevent theloss of many Parsis. Presently, too manyParsis are being lost, on this account.Unable to bring up their children as Parsis,interfaith married Parsi mothers becomeindifferent to their religious and communalidentity. Many young Parsis are alsorepulsed by what they regard as unjustifieddiscrimination; and start disregardingthemselves as Parsis. In this battle, wecannot afford to lose a single Parsi. Everyperson who is thus lost also forecloses thepossibility of his child being brought up as aParsi. We require warriors in this battle. Aliberal interpretation will result in theaddition of many such invigorated andenthused warriors. Considering that thetrend of Parsi women marrying interfaith isdramatically accelerating, this is the singlebiggest threat to our survival. The only wayto eliminate it, is, to regard such children asParsis.

3. OUTRIGHT CONVERSION

Will this open the flood gates for non-Parsisto swamp us? Will this encourage theheretics to indulge in outright conversion –even if neither parent is a Parsi? Theanswer is an emphatic No. It is almostimpossible to contemplate any Court inIndia upholding the validity of any suchnaked conversion. Intelligent conservatismdictates that we do not require any Joseph

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Petersons or Russians being ordained aspriests. The Prophet may have ‘enjoinedconversion’, as the Court observed.However, in the present situation, it issuicidal to advocate or encourage outrightconversion. The image of marauding hordesannihilating our unique identity is anightmare, which we cannot evencontemplate. Custom of over a thousandyears has now sanctified into law, thatParsis do not, cannot, and will not, convert.

4. ADOPTION

What one cannot do directly, cannot bedone indirectly. Therefore, it follows thatParsis adopting a non-Parsi child will notmake such a child a Parsi. Presently, thereis no legislation which enables Parsis toadopt. A Parsi is, therefore, presentlyunable to legally adopt. We shouldtherefore, work towards enacting a lawwhich permits Parsis to validly adopt a Parsichild; but not a non-Parsi child. This may, atfirst blush, sound politically incorrect andoffensive. However, adoption cannot beused as a device for outright conversion. Ifa Parsi is permitted to adopt a non-Parsichild, over a period of time, evidence willblur about whether such a child was born aParsi or not; and result in indirectconversion, by the backdoor. Liberals maycontend that such adoption will be rare andought to be permitted. However, history isreplete with instances where the entry of asingle finger has managed to bring down agiant barricade. If we cannot afford outrightconversion, we also cannot have adoptionof a non-Parsi child.

5. ENTRY INTO PLACES OFRELIGIOUS WORSHIP

5.1. A similar balanced approach is requiredon the issue of non-Parsis entering a placeof religious worship.

5.2. It is gravely offensive to prohibit non-Parsis from viewing the face of our dead.This is neither a religious dictate nor anytime sanctified custom. Only in the last 150years or so, this practice arose in the

aftermath of Parsi Muslim riots in Bombay.Obviously, the justification is long gone. It isemotionally disturbing to the Kith and Kin ofthe deceased and also results in a loss ofgoodwill among fellow communities. Manyopt to be cremated for this reason. It is timethat we discontinue this obnoxious practice.

5.3. At the same time, we ought to banishthe thought in some liberal minds, whichwants free entry of non-Parsis into our firetemples. Firstly, it would be going againstthe express wishes of the founder of the firetemple to restrict entry only to Parsis; and isunlikely to be upheld by a Court of law. Inany event, it would be disastrous to evenflirt with this idea. Can you imagine aserpentine queue from the Western ExpressHighway upto Udvada village to worship theIranshah? The turmoil and damage it wouldunleash is simply unthinkable. A majority ofpracticing Zoroastrians do believe that theentry of a non Parsi into a consecrated firetemple is against the Scriptures and willdiminish the protective power of theenthroned Fire. Once again, Intelligentconservatism demands that we preserveand cherish the environs of our fire temples.Reasons of expediency, hurting religioussentiment, fear of being overrun andritualistic purity – all demand that wereserve our fire temples only for Parsis.Prayer halls housing a non-consecrated fireis not an Agiyary. Such halls being open toall, is, therefore, a non-issue.

6. DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD

6.1. Alternative modes of disposal other thanDokhmenashini are now freely available.However, the dilemma persists in the mind ofmany a practising Zoroastrian, who prefersto be cremated but yet wants to exit from theserene, soothing and soul satisfying environsof the Towers of Silence. It is enormouslydifficult to recreate the ambience andfacilities of the Towers, in any prayer hall. Isa modus vivendi possible? Installing acrematoria or a burial ground in the Towers ispresently not a feasible option. Apart fromserious legal and environmental difficulties,such a move will stir a hornet’s nest; and,therefore, has to be shelved.


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6.2. Since it is virtually impossible to revivethe vultures, it is time to abandon harebrained schemes to create an aviary forbreeding vultures; and instead focus ontechnologically improving the efficiency ofsolar panels, to prevent undisposedremains for a long time and its consequentill-effects.

6.3. So far as post-funeral prayers areconcerned, we must establish a levelplaying field, to the extent practicable,whether the disposal is by cremation, burialor the Towers. Since permitting prayers inthe Towers itself for those being cremated.Is a contentious issue, let us stop agitatingit. However, so far as the fire temples areconcerned, even presently, most permitprayers for the crematees barring the firstfour days. There is no justification forcarving out such a period. Eliminating suchminor sore points will help us focus ourenergies on critical issues. It will alsogenerate a ‘feel good’ factor in thecommunity.

7. HARNESSING NON-PARSIZOROASTRIANS

As an alternative to other strategies forsurvival, non-Parsi Zoroastrians (NPZ) areour Plan B. In keeping with the principles ofIntelligent Conservatism, NPZ cannot enjoythe same rights as Parsis. However, as ourco-religionists, it is imperative that we havesustained interaction with them. Anoccasional World Congress is obviously notsufficient. Large charities have to take alead, and finance youth exchangeprogrammes between Parsis and the NPZ.This will result in understanding each other’scultural ecosystems. The rapidly acceleratingtrend of interfaith marriages is unlikely toreverse. Isn’t it better, therefore, if there aresame faith marriages between Parsis andthe NPZ? The children of such marriageswould be regarded as Parsis (assumingparity between the sexes is achieved in thenear future). Let us not forget that NPZ areour co-religionists. Gradually, letting thementer our fold, through marriages, will be atremendous booster – demographically,

culturally and even from a viewpoint ofgenetics. It may be reiterated that one is notadvocating conversion of the NPZ as Parsis,but a gradual and slow assimilation throughmarriages.

8. MANAGING COMMUNITY &CHARITY RESOURCES

8.1. We do not even recognize that we arefacing a grave existential crisis. Instead ofoptimizing our vast financial and intellectualresources to evolve a strategy to survive;we are behaving like crabs, viciously tryingto bring each other down. Give us 9 Parsisand there will be 10 opinions now soundslike a sick joke. In most places, our so-called leadership is intellectually bankrupt. Ahandful of people control communityinstitutions, as if it was their backyard. Inrecent times, dialogue and debate havedegenerated into diatribe. Differences aremostly personality based and not issuebased. This attitude has to be reversed.

8.2. It is incorrect to blame the method bywhich these leaders are elected to office.Any method will throw up the same circusand the same bunch of not so comicperformers. We can no longer afford todismiss vicious internal dynamics bybenignly terming it as usual Parsi politics.Repulsed by this infighting, and not beingable to co-exist with nasty street fighters,the honest and the good, who wish to servethe community, shy away.

8.3. We must consider it our sacred duty towisely select our leaders. We must not thinkin terms of loyalty’ or affiliation to a particulargroup or dominant individual but focusexclusively on the merits of the candidate –track record of service, integrity and ability towork harmoniously with others.

8.4. Another reason for this state of affairs isIndifference. An overwhelming number ofParsis are disinterested or totally indifferentto community affairs. Indifference is adeadly killer. It is a cancer on ourcommunity’s survival prospects. How do wecombat this indifference? On this, hingesour survival.

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9. COMBATING INDIFFERENCE

9.1. Firstly, let us bring down the tone of thedebate and discussion on any dividingissue. We can no longer afford to bestrident in our religious views or indulge inname calling. Strangely, both thetraditionalists and the reformists are actuallycomrades in arms. They are both willing tocontribute time and resources, as they areboth interested in their community and inthe Faith. The problem lies with the silentmajority of Indifferents – whose only interestis availing benefits of community housingand community charity, and lining up, oncein a while, to vote for a candidate proppedup by one group or another. TheseIndifferents have to be convinced as to whyit is their sacred duty to join as a soldier inthis struggle.

9.2. We feel momentarily misty eyed when‘Chhaiye Hume Zarthosti’ is played. Wemust feel misty eyed, every day,remembering the Herculean struggle tosave the Holy Fire from being extinguished;the insurmountable odds against which wehave not only survived but prospered; theaura of protection being constantlyaccorded by hundreds of Holy Fires aroundthe world. Each of us has to be convincedthat it is worthwhile to preserve and saveParsi culture – as an anthropological rarity,if nothing else. We have to stop feeling likea community. We have to start feeling like aNation -develop legitimate pride in ourunique value systems, beliefs and the wayof life. Israel is the best example to emulate.In practical terms, it also means fending foreach other, to the extent possible. Ifsomeone dubs it as communal bias, so beit. It is badly required. A few days ago,traditionalists and liberals joined forces toprevent the Mumbai Metro Project fromstructurally and spiritually injuring two of ourAtash Behrams. Such episodes aregalvanizing points to fire the imagination ofthe entire community and give a feeling ofbeing unified. Increasingly, we will have tobe alert and vigilant to fight for ourcommunity’s rights.

Bergis M Desai is a lawyer in private practice, a journalistand columnist residing in Mumbai India.He considers himself an unsuccessful community activist.

10. CONCLUSION

Intelligent Conservativism requires achange of mindset, all around. We have toget rid of our labels – orthodox or reformist;traditionalist or modernist; progressive orisolationist. We have to all becomeConservationists with the single mindedobjective of ensuring survival without losingour unique identity. We must ignore ourdoctrinal differences and regard each otheras a part of a crusading army, determined towake up the Indifferents, from their slumber.As Time ticks away inexorably, we have togive up our ‘isms’ and our egos and evenpolitical correctness and adopt a pragmatic,sensible approach to forge a consensus oncontentious issues.

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The country’s premier researchinstitute, the Indian Institute ofScience (IISc), that came into being

on the issuance of the Vesting Order onMay 27, 1909, turned 109 recently.

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc),Bengaluru, popularly called TATA Institute,was conceived as a ‘research institute’ or‘university of research’ by the visionaryParsi businessman Jamsetji NusserwanjiTata, towards the end of the 19th century.

The early history of the institute is afascinating chapter in the story of highereducation and scientific research in India,which led to the establishment of theinstitute. The key figures include thefounder – Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, a far-sighted visionary; Swami Vivekananda;Nalavadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, the thenMaharaja of Princely Mysore and his motherHer Highness Kempananjamani VanivilasaSannidhana, then Queen Regent; LordCurzon, former Viceroy of India; and BurjorjiJ Padshah, Tata’s right hand man.

The institute came into being on theissuance of the Vesting Order on May 27,1909, by the British government after a longgestation period of thirteen years, since itwas first conceived in 1896. The 400-acreland for the institute was generouslydonated by the Maharaja of Mysore inMarch 1907. The contribution from theprincely state of Mysuru was one of thedecisive factors in determining the locationof Tata’s proposed institute in Bengaluru.Mention must be made of the contributionby Dewan K Seshadri Iyer, who ablyassisted the Maharaja on this issue. Amongthe many factors that favoured Bengaluru

for the establishment of the institute were itssalubrious climate, availability of abundantnatural mineral resources and unlimitedpower from the Shivasamudaram PowerStation.

Tata did not want his name to be associatedwith the institute, his dream was to createan institution that would contribute to thedevelopment of India. Nevertheless, overthe years, the locals have fondly call IISc,the TATA Institute, in honour of its founder. Asilken connection to Bengaluru and IIScwas established early in its history when theelder son of Tata, Dorab married aBengalurean Meherbai, the daughter of H JBhabha, the then inspector general ofeducation for Mysuru and Coorg.

The Institute began with two departments -the general and applied chemistrydepartment and the electro-technologydepartment - and the first batch of studentswere admitted into the institute in 1911-1912. Soon, the departments of organicchemistry and biochemistry were added.Early research work in these departmentsfocused on several local industrial

Tata’s Dream Institution in Bengaluru

With permission of Editor Vasu, Express Network Private Limited, The New IndianExpress Group.http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2018/may/30/tatas-dream-institution-in-bengaluru-1821595.htmlPublished: 30th May 2018

by sharath ahuja

IISc on a 400-acre land on CV Raman Road

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problems, such as sandalwood oilextraction and lac and acetonemanufacturing processes. Recordsavailable at the IISc Archives andPublications Cell show that the BangaloreWater Supply and Sewage System(BWSSB) was the outcome of researchwork carried out in the 1920s by ProfessorGilbert J Fowler of the biochemistrydepartment. The department of physicscame into being in 1933 when Professor CVRaman became the first Indian director ofIISc.

The institute is today ranked as the numberone institute in the country. Several newareas of research have been established.The institute’s departments, in fields rangingfrom aerospace engineering and highvoltage engineering, biochemistry and manymore, have served to nucleate severalorganisations / institutions in both the publicand private sectors in the country. Thefaculty and alumni of the institute have beenat the forefront of establishing andspearheading many new institutions andprogrammes across India. Homi Bhabaconceived the idea of the Tata Institute ofFundamental Research (TIFR) whileworking at IISc. Vikram Sarabhai, thefounder of India’s Space Programme,collaborated with CV Raman at IISc. TheCentral Power Research Institute (CPRI),Bengaluru; the Hindustan AeronauticsLimited (HAL); the National AerospaceLaboratory (NAL); the Central Food andTechnological Institute (CFTRI-Mysore); theKarnataka Soaps and Detergents Limitedare some of the other organisations thatowe their origin to the institute.

Professor P Balaram, the former director ofIISc, had written in the journal CurrentScience (Vol 94, No, 10 Jan 2008) and wasquoted in editorial, ‘The Birth of the IndianInstitute of Science’ reading, “The story ofIISc and the men who built it is yet to bewritten. If the right scribe is found, it shouldbe a tale worth reading.”

Images top to bottom : The building was built in neo-colonial style of architecture : The inorganics and physical chemistrydepartment : Plaque, commerating the centenary year.


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Prominent personalities who servedIISc

Over the past 100 years, several prominentcitizens of the city have served in an officialcapacity as IISc’s governing bodies. Theyinclude Dewan’s – T Anand Rao, VPMadhava Rao, Sir Mirza Ismail and Sir MVishveswaraya. Many of India’s mostdistinguished scientists have beenassociated with IISc. Notable among themare GN Ramachandran, Harish Chandra,Satish Dhawan, Arcot Ramachandran,Roddam Narasimha and CNR Rao.

New academic programmes

In the last decade, IISc has initiated manynew academic programmes such as theinterdisciplinary PhD programmes inmathematical sciences, chemical biology,earth and nano science and technology. AnM Tech programme in climate sciences andclimate change has also been established.

Top : A corridor with Victorian style doors. Below The institute is ahome to 112 species of trees.

The author is atechnical officer,retired, Archives andPublications Cell,IISc.

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Narius Patel is a Business Intelligence (BI) consultant based north of London in Milton Keynes,UK. As a BI specialist he regularly works with a wide variety of business data, so when theopportunity to enter a Microsoft competition aimed at promoting data driven journalism came

along, he submitted his entry just in time.

The competition aimed to promote the use of Microsoft’s BI software (Power BI) as a tool to assistnews organisations with analysing publicly available data in order to drive news articles. Narius’entry utilised data from the Missing Migrants Project, an agency that collects data on fatalities anddisappearances related to human migration particularly along the main migratory routes. The entryfocused on three of these routes, the North Africa to Europe route across the Mediterranean, theMexico / US border and the Middle East primarily the Iran and Afghanistan border.

The entry was singled out for a joint second place with one of the judges,Troy Thibodeaux(Interactive Newsroom Technology and Data Journalism Team Editor at The Associated Press)saying:

“This report has one of the most pleasing designs in the competition. The integrated chart and mapdisplays offer a compelling combination of narrative and analysis, and the design choices there areharmonious, as well. ... I like the consistent design with variation in thematic topline statistics. Thecombination shows that the crisis is worldwide while recognizing differences in the individualregional constituent crises.”

Narius says the publicity derived from the competition winners announcement, which was publishedon the official Microsoft Power BI Blog page, made it worth entering the competition even though hecame second. His entry remains a featured item on the Microsoft Power BI Data Stories gallery.

The competition winners announcement can be seen here:https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/year-in-review-contest-winner-2017/

Narius’s competition entry can be seen here:https://community.powerbi.com/t5/Data-Stories-Gallery/Missing-Migrants-Tracking-Deaths-Along-Migratory-Routes/m-p/342271

Microsoft Year in Review Data Journalism Contest

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I have observed time and again that wecreate what we choose to focus on.Spending over 18 years as COO/CFO in

international organizations across numberof culturally distinct geographies and overthe recent years as founder of FreedomOneInternational, and having coached intimatelythe CEOs of global brands from LVMH,Fendi, Givenchy and Gucci to financialinstitutions and private equity firms andother VIPs, the thing I find is commonamong high achievers, pioneers andchange makers is the ‘stories’ they tellthemselves of what is possible and whatisn’t. What they can do and what they won’t(not can’t) do.

Their stories either empower them to growand contribute or disempower them intoblaming and complaining and giving theirpower away.

Our success, happiness and fulfillment isclosely connected to the stories we tellourselves about who we are, what we’recapable of and also what our fears andexcuses are, unfortunately. At a deeperlevel, the story we tell ourselves is wherewe live – period. Be it emotionally, mentallyand at times even physically. It can be thewind beneath our wings or the anchor thatpulls us down.

Our choice, entirely.

In my latest bestselling book on Kindle,Inside/Out – 8 Success Keys to HelpMillennials Thrive that was dedicated to mylate dad (Chum Khursigara), I have referredto this as tapping into your inner world,which is primarily your thoughts andfeelings, to determine your external reality.I, myself, have stood on the precipice ofbreakdown, fear and doubt more than I like

to admit, only to realize that the story that Ichose to believe about myself didn’tempower me and was a misconstruedreflection of my own potential.

I have coached quite a few seniorexecutives who suddenly lost their jobs andthrew themselves over the edge intodespair, lack of self-esteem andhopelessness when the going got tough. Anotable one is the ex-CEO of the renownedbrand, Burberry. Having lost his jobunexpectedly over a technicality andinternal politics, led him to experience adeep sense of failure, rejection and loss ofconfidence. And over time those thoughtsand feelings were magnified and keptgetting worse.

What story about himself was he starting tobelieve? ‘I’m in my late 40s, the market islooking for younger talent. My job has cometo an abrupt end that is beyond my control.There’s a possibility that I won’t be able tosupport my family as months go by. I ambeing discriminated against and I mightnever find gainful employment again. Ialways have to settle for less. I never feltgood enough since I was a child. My glorydays as an expat are over and I’ll have tokeep my expectations low. I guess this is ayouth based society and I have achieved asmuch as I could and now I must prepare toface a different reality. At least I know that Idid my best’. So on and so forth ...

This story isn’t that bad, is it? It’s actuallyhorrific! It made him feel depressed, loss ofself worth and that his best days weresuddenly behind him. He told himself thisstory so often that it started to become hisreality. He said it so many timessubconsciously that he actually startedbelieving it as fact.

The Stories We Tell Ourselvesby danny khursigara

“We can either focus on what’s working in our lives or on what’s not working. There’s evidence for both ineverybody’s life. If we focus on what’s not working we’re going to feel less confident and optimistic. If wefocus on what is working that’s just great, great gift and it’s available to us right now” ~ Ariana Huffington.

Danny Khursigara is theFounder of FreedomONEInternational that specializesin Executive Coaching andBusiness Transformation.His goal is to impact 50,000people in five years.He is a Partner at Owlpha-Omega, UK as well as theAdvisory board member toSENsational Consultancy –that specialises in providingemployment for individualswith disability; recentlyfounded the ‘Hong KongMake a ChangeFoundation’ to help improvethe happiness index which isat an all time low, for thelocal population.He loves to travel, listens tomusic, meditates and enjoysa good work out. Dannypresently lives with his wifeand three daughters in HongKong.

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Your emotions, your thoughts and your‘story’ are your life. He read my work,searched me up and reached out to me andsoon we started working together. Slowlybut surely he exposed his story as a lie. Hestarted turning his inner critic into an innercoach. He realized that if he changed hisstory, he could change his present andfuture. And that’s exactly what he did!

He began telling himself a brand new story,one that started to transform his life, hisfamily and the future in front of him.

‘I created amazing results in my career forworld renowned organisations. People orage doesn’t limit us. It empowers us to dobetter, to use my wisdom and experience toact smarter and faster. Each challengehelps me grow and makes me want to doeven better and learn from my mistakes. Ithelps me see my true potential beyond theegoic mind. It makes me a better man – athome and at work. I have so many amazinggifts and things to be grateful for. I intend toacknowledge it, use them’.

How did that sound? A little different fromthe man thinking his glory days were behindhim and it was time to fade away.

With an empowering attitude and a bodylanguage to support it, his ‘energetic’ madea turnaround. He was out of a job for nearlya year but as soon as he changed his storyand started believing a better version ofhimself, in no time his external realitystarted to shift as well.

Sure enough, through a synchronisticcasual conversation in NYC, he wasappointed as Head of a high street fashionbrand with an exciting mandate. This allhappened fairly quickly and with grace andease.

Change your story and you will change yourlife.

“Through a series of life experiences that helpconnect the dots, you begin to realize that lifeisn’t happening to you, but for you. If we exist

in fear or isolate ourselves and areoverwhelmed, it creates more fear.Remember—fear leads to fewer options andlove offers endless possibilities. There areinfinite possibilities when we get into alignmentwith the vibration of love and joy. You do thesethings by following your curiosities. I viewcreativity, personal power, and communicationas more than just life skills, but life-changingpractices”. ~ Sara Landon, interviewed byDanny Khursigara for Inside/Out – 8Success Keys to Help Millennials Thrive.

It’s time to shift your story.

Moving away from moaning, whining,blaming and complaining and stepping intoyour power. Not always the simplest ofjourneys but I invite you to give it a try, Iguarantee it will be worthwhile. As my friendDean Graziosi would say, imagine you’re ina house full of old memories from your lifeand some are good memories, but othersare those negative stories that remind of thepain of bad things that happened. Nowimagine that the house is on fire and youhave a tiny suitcase in your hands and onlya minute to save some of those memories.In order to reach the next level of successand fulfillment in life, you must choose topack only the memories and stories thatserve you going forward. If it’s a negativememory that weighs on your heart andmind, let it burn up in the fire. Remember,the past only lives inside you. If it hauntsyou and doesn’t serve your grander future,then let it burn up in the fire.

You can learn so much about yourself andyour state of being by the results you’represently creating. If you don’t like theresults you’re creating time and time again,it’s time to change your story. Unleash thehero that lives inside of you and attain thewealth and happiness you deserve.

I’m grateful for every risk I took and for havingthe ability to define my path, not allowing it tobe defined for me. ~ Nick Nanton, Five TimeEmmy award winning Director interviewedby Danny Khursigara for Inside/Out – 8Success Keys to Help Millennials Thrive.


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Let’s take a moment to compare the twostories – the old and new version. Can yousee how radically different they are? Canyou see how radically different the results ofyour life will be by hanging on to the oldversion of you? I can understand that ittakes time to erase the stories we’ve toldourselves for decades, from yoursubconscious. The beliefs imposed bysociety, authority figures, cultural orientationand our own repetitive and limited thinkingpattern. But I urge you to hang in there –practice persistence with patience! Make acommitment to affirming this new dialoguewith self once every morning and onceevery night. Meditate on it and then let it go.

Eventually, the old story will no longer holdwater or drown you in despair, fear orhopelessness. Remember, fear is merely a(FEAR) Fantasized Experience AppearingReal. Once the ego mind looses it’s gripover you, it instantly looses it’s power tocontrol and influence your thoughts andbehaviors. This is true freedom! And fromthat place of ‘giving yourself permission’,imagination and possibility you can co-create a brighter and happier future foryourself. You deserve it so don’t let anyonetell you different, no matter at which stage inlife you are just now!

Possibility is contagious. If you showyourself that something is possible in yourlife that you once thought was not, if will fuelyour confidence throughout life.

“When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.” ~Ralph Ellison (from Inside/Out – 8 SuccessKeys to Help Millennials Thrive).

Changing people’s lives is my obsession, acalling, a soul purpose. At the same time, Iwant to serve my own growth as well. That’sthe reason why I work closely withrenowned coaches and mentors whoconstantly challenge me and push myboundaries and making things happen that Ionce only read about in a book or watchedit in a movie. I finally realized that we makeour own movie, we choose our ownaudience and we get to decide whether itwill be a blockbuster or not!

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You cannot have what you are not willing to become inconsciousness. ~ Danny Khursigara(from Inside/Out – 8 Success Keys to Help MillennialsThrive).

One of my mentors, and #1 NY Times bestselling authorof Conversations with God, Neale Donald Walsh said inthat “everything you want is just outside your comfortzone”. The foundational teachings that Zoroastrianismprovides us are simple and beautiful and we need tokeep building on that knowledge and awareness andnot get too hung up on the mistakes we make along theway.

Few years ago, someone shared with me the results ofa study an Australian nurse and counselor who was acaregiver for terminally ill people, most of them had lessthan two months or so to live. As part of her therapy,she would ask patients if there was anything they woulddo differently if they were given a second chance. Thefive most common replies were:

- They wish they had pursued their dreams and not thelife others expected of them.

- They wished they didn’t have to work so hard.

- They wished they had the courage to express theirfeelings and speak their mind.

- They wished they had stayed in touch with theirfriends.

- They wish they had let themselves be happier.

A simple yet valuable insight helping us look deeper.

I encourage you to question the story you’re tellingyourself if you’re feeling stuck, depressed ordisempowered. Find a mentor, reach out to a coach,look for someone you admire and who can help yourewrite that amazing blockbuster, the story we call – life!

[Danny was profiled in Hamazor Issue 2/2017 pp46-49 &Issue 2/2018 pp 55-56.]

Inside / Out 8 Success Keys to Help Millennials Thrive isnow available on Kindle and Amazon.

Website:www.dannykhursigara.comEmail: [email protected]

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Astad Deboo, a septuagenarian and aveteran artiste, was conferred with aLifetime Achievement Award at the

Yagnaraman July Fest 2018. At this Fest hepresented a dance recital incorporating fivedecades of his magic on stage at theKrishna Gana Sabha, Chennai.

Deboo mentions theaward goes a long wayto show change. “When Istarted off (in the 1970s),‘contemporary’ was aword not to be used, itwas a strict no-no,” herecalls. “Today, you saycontemporary, and it’s‘yes, yes, yes’.”

The Hindu of 5 July2018, Rupa Srikanthwrites on Astad receivingthe Lifetime AchievementAward ending with,“The last piece, ‘Everyfragment ...’ inspired byRabindranath Tagore’swork with haunting musicby Yoichiro Yoshikawa,had a spiritual leaning.He used symbolism inthe context of pluckingflowers and making agarland but the path toawakening was made intwirls; I counted 112 andLalitha Venkat, Narthaki.com, 131.Physically it was certainly a feat, but thepath also had an emotional overtone as itwent through moments of happiness,seeking, pleading, praying, confusion andfinally peace. Vintage Astad was a treat.”

Astad Deboo is also the proud recipient ofthe Padma Shri in 2007 and the SangeetNatak Akademi Award in 1996.

Chatting with Astad, after the Award wasreceived, the Editor of Hamazor asked ...

What does it means to you to berecognised even at this late stage ofyour career?

Yes it’s an award given by one of the mostprestigious and powerful Indian ClassicalDance and Music Foundation in Chennai.

For them to give me anaward and ContemporaryDance speaks highly ofthem to felicitate me withthis award; and now I amin the August company ofgreat scholars, musiciansand dancers.

To answer your question,not in my wildest dreamsdid I think that I would begiven the YagnaramanLiving Legend Award bythe Sri Krishna GanaSabha, one of the mostpowerful and respectedSabhas Chennai who arethe gate keepers of theIndian Classical Musicand Dance. For them togive me this award ispath breaking and alsofor Contemporary Dance.

Please tell us how youstarted, when and whydance appealed to you,after all 50 odd years

ago I don’t think there were many Indianprofessional dancers, certainly not Parsis.

I started studying dance from the age ofsix in the city of Jamshedpur. It’s thanks tomy parents who saw the talent in me andsent me to study but they did make me stopafter I finished high school. I was sent tostudy in Mumbai graduating with aCommerce and Economic Degree. Aftergraduating I still wanted to dance and studyand I was really blessed that they allowedme. The rest is history.

An Interview with Astad Deboo


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I never realised that for the last 40 years I have such a varied body of work which I have created,collaborated with dancers, musicians, theatre directors, street children, puppeteers, hearingimpaired people and Bollywood.

I am still working on very different projects with Indian classical musicians creating new work withstreet children, and my on going work with the drummers of Manipur which is touring.

In reply about Parsis half a century ago who have studied dance and performed – there were somebut nobody has had such a long inning like yours truly and I am blessed. Also to survive in thisvicious world of dance is another thing.

This Lifetime Legend Award, I presume it is an Indian Award. Is this given yearly or rarely,which would make more sense, as then only it would be something special.

The Krishna Gana Sabha does give an award every year to Legends who are living and stillperforming and another award given to young performers who are excellent in their art either musicor dance.

The community is proud of your achievements and wish you many more years of dance.

The award presented to Astad by very well known dance critic Leela Venkatraman.The gentleman on the right of Astad is Dr Nalli.

photo credit : Amit Kumar

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I was pleasantly surprised to readZerbanoo Gifford’s article in the Hamazor– Issue 2 of 2017 pp 26-28. Dr Buck

Ruxton’s case has intrigued me ever since Iwas a child. A story of the Parsi Dr HannibalLecter, the only difference being that Lecterwas a fictional character by novelistThomas Harris, while this Parsi version is atrue to life story.

Dr Buck Ruxton, a doctor and murderer,involved in one of United Kingdom’s mostpublicised murder case of the 1930’s andrecorded as the biggest murder trial of thecentury. It gripped England at the time andwas also known as the “Jigsaw Murders”.The case is remembered now not only forbeing “Britain’s Goriest Murder Case” butalso for the innovative forensic techniquesemployed at the time, in solving it.

Here are a few facts that only a handful ofpeople alive, would know of.

On 7th May 1925 Dr Bukhtyar RustomjiRatanji Hakim aka Dr Buck Ruxton marrieda girl called Miss Motha Jehengir Ghadially,who was from an affluent Parsi family inBombay. Dr Hakim wooed Miss Ghadiallywhile he was a guest at the Ghadially familyhome “Sunny Villa” at Huges Road offKemps Corner, Bombay. Miss Ghadially atthe time was engaged, to be married anddespite her families’ objections, broke herengagement with her suitor and married DrHakim. Dr Hakim went on to become aMedical Officer in the Indian MedicalService appointed to the MalariaCommission and served a posting in Basra,Iraq, where it is alleged he converted to thefaith of Islam (so as to easily abdicate hismarriage in India). He was possibly knownas Dr Gabriel Hakim. Their marriage wasshort lived and he abandoned her and cameto England in 1927 on the pretext of highereducation and promised his naive wife afuture in England.

At the end of an 11-day trial on 13th March1936, the all male jury walked in andunanimously found Dr Ruxton guilty of thedouble murders. After they had brought in averdict of guilty in Manchester Assizes (HighCourt), a horror-struck jury comprising oftownsfolk and farmers were rewarded in amanner almost unprecedented in the annalsof British justice. Cried presiding JusticeSingleton: “I excuse you all from jury servicefor the rest of your lives, because of thedreadful and gruesome details you havebeen forced to hear.” Justice Singletondonned the black cap, which in Britainmeans that sentence of death is to bepronounced. “The law knows but onesentence, for the terrible crime you havecommitted!” he cried, “To hang by the neck,until dead”. Dr Ruxton seemed stunned atfirst. Then suddenly came to himself andwithout jittering or trembling, outstretched hisarm and gave his judge an open hand saluteof oriental warriors. As the two wardenscame to lead him from the prisoner’s dock,he gave the same cold salute to theuncomfortable and astonished jury.

Ten years later in 1946 at the historicNuremberg trials, three of the councils inthe Ruxton case went on to play a verysignificant role. The two who prosecuted DrRuxton, Hartley Shawcross and DavidMaxwell Fyfe were part of the Britishlawyers on the team that led theprosecution against the Nazi Germans,while Ruxton’s defence council NormanBirkett, was one of the eight judges.

The trial caught the attention of the public;not just for the horrible deaths at 2 DaltonSquare but also for the forensic techniquesused to expose the murderer; earlyfingerprinting, x-ray technology and evenforensic entomology were used for the firsttime. The world of forensic science eventoday draws inspiration from this historiccase and the pioneering achievement of the

The Parsi Dr Hannibal Lecterby zameer palamkote


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forensic experts involved. It was the firstcase where the use of Forensic Sciencehad secured a conviction. A book co-writtenby the two forensic doctors John Glaisterand James Couper Brash ‘Medico-LegalAspects of Ruxton Case’, is till date used asa reference in forensic studies andinvestigations.

It is true that we Parsis have always beenpioneers and left a mark in all walks of life,including crime. Guess this was the Parsicontribution towards modern Crime SceneInvestigation and Forensic Science.

Could this have been “The Perfect Murder”?Despite the verdict a few facts still remainunanswered, since there was neither aconfession recorded nor an eyewitness tothe murders:

1. What was the exact date and time ofmurder?2. Was the murder premeditated or an act ofspontaneous rage?3. Some allege that it was the Doctor thathad another affair and falsely accused hiswife of adultery in order to end the marriage.4. The investigators did not find a singletrace of blood in Dr Ruxton’s car.Considering the distance he would havetraveled to dispose the body parts, thisseemed almost impossible.5. The reason for Mary Jane Rogerson’smurder? Was she an eyewitness to thecrime or as some investigators suspect, thatshe was killed to prove the Doctor’sstatement that Mrs Ruxton had run off withher lover? Possibly one of the reasons thebody of Miss Rogerson was dismemberedbeyond recognition and the torso wasmissing. Maybe the Doctor tried to hide thesex of his second victim? Since theanatomical report of Dr James Brash initiallymentions “probably female”.6. Did the Doctor dispose the body parts allat the same time or over a period of days?Were there other sites where the body partswere disposed, since a lot of the parts werenever found?7. How long did it take the Doctor to dissectthe two bodies? Was it done at a stretch orover a few days?

8. Was Dr Ruxton framed?9. Did the Doctor write the confession letterhimself or was it a media hoax? Or did theDoctor do so for the £3,000 offered to himby News of the World, which he used to hirehis legal council.10. In his final hours, he penned a letter tohis lawyer Norman Birkett, thanking him forrepresenting him in his defense andcommending his efforts. He concluded hisletter with the sentence: “I know that in afew hours I shall be going to meet myMaker, but I say to you, sir, that I am entirelyinnocent of this crime”.

I am sure by now you are wondering whyam I so interested in this particular case?

Before you know why, I need to narrate aninteresting episode on my first trip to the UKback in June of 1997. On my visit to theMadame Tussauds Wax Museum, I askedthe curator of the house of horrors about thewax bust of Dr Buck Ruxton. He informedme that it was not part of this years display,as they keep on changing it from time totime. He was surprised and asked me how Iknew about the case of Dr Buck Ruxton,considering it was so old and almostforgotten. When I told him the reason hewas shocked and took me to a restrictedarea in the basement, where the Doctor’sbust was kept along with many others andshowed it to me. He told me that he shallalways remember this meeting of ours andhe even introduced me to his colleagues,who were all in disbelief. They said that inall their years of working at the museum,this was the first time someone had givensuch an explanation to see an exhibit,especially one in the House of Horrors.They said this type of situation usuallyhappens only with the statues and busts offamous personalities in the main exhibit.

Now here’s the reason why this particularcase intrigued me from a very young age.

Mrs Motha Bukhtyar Hakim nee MothaJehengir Ghadially who Dr Buck Ruxtonmarried in India and later abandoned, wasthe sister of my Great Grandfather MrCursetji Jehengir Ghadially. Which makes

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The two bodies reconstructed by investigators of Miss Mary JaneRogerson (L) & Mrs Isabella Ruxton (R)

Mrs Behroze Homi Palamkote nee Behroze Cursetji GhadiallyMr Jangoo Cursetji GhadiallyDr Buck Ruxton

Born and bred in Bombay, Zameer CyrusPalamkote aged 43 is an active member of thelocal community in Bombay’s western suburbof Bandra. Along with a passion to work onprojects related to civic enhancement, Zameerdedicates his free time towards safeguardingthe interests of Zoroastrian institutions.


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Dr Buck Ruxton my Great Grand Uncle. Theoldest surviving members of the Ghadiallyfamily are my Grandmother Mrs BehrozeHomi Palamkote and her brother Mr JangooCursetji Ghadially, both whom live inBombay. They have been my source ofinformation and the only link to MothaJehengir Ghadially or Motha fui as she wasfondly known. Both my parents as kidswould visit Motha fui’s house in Cuff ParadeBombay and recall her as a pretty andstately lady of a very gentle nature.

I have some amazing stories to share aboutmy family members, whose history I havetraced way back to 1757. War veterans andPOWs having served the I & II World Wars,one of them being mentioned twice in theKings dispatches, aficionados in the field ofMusic, Art and Literature and even men whohave laid down their lives in the service ofthe Nation. Yet the topic of my fascinationwas this person who was merely related tome by law and not even by blood. Here’swhat made me spend years gatheringinformation on this case not only from theinternet but also through various books,visiting government archives in London,trips to various parts of the UK and makingnotes from family members.

Life is like a great big supermarket; wecontinuously walk through its aisles makingour choices along the way. It is at deaths’checkout counter, that we take stock of ourbaskets filled with the choices we’ve made.For some of us our baskets seem teeming,while for others they are empty; some of thelighter baskets are priceless, while someheavier ones of no value. At the end of thisgreat shopping spree, we have no one toblame for the choices we made in life butourselves. Every step of our conscious lifethere is a choice that we must make andthat is the challenge of our very existence.

However, there is just this one item in life,which The Great Store Keeper places in allour baskets, before we start this journey ofeternal shopping. This is the one and onlyaspect of our lives, which we do not have achoice of. Our Family ...

You love yours or hate it; it’s always there.You’re proud of it or ashamed; you’ve got toaccept it. It’s big or small; you’ve got to livewith it. Whether your family approves of youor disowns you; it’s still yours. Evenabandoned children and orphans, left allalone in this world have one; it’s just thatthey are unaware of theirs.

A Family is like a bunch of apples put in ourshopping basket. Some are rosy and sweet,while others rotten and sour. We often takethe easy way out by ignoring or forgettingabout the rotten ones and blame fate forputting them in our baskets. It takescourage to accept what life has put in ourbaskets, to take onus and accept them nomater what.

It is often at the passing of a generation thatan urge to delve into your family roots isenkindled. Well, that is exactly what mademe climb up my family tree, to track theantecedents of the apples in my basket. Inthis interesting odyssey I discovered thatmy ancestors had accomplished some veryinspiring and remarkably proudachievements. Some might even call iteccentric but I was almost spontaneouslyintrigued by the most putrid apple in mybasket.

You ask if I am proud of this felonious deedbeing a part of my family history? Well theanswer is NO.

Yet, whether I like it or not, this loathsomenarrative will always be an immutablechapter of my ancestral legacy and I’ve gotto live with.

Look at the bright side of it; at least I havethis enthralling story to tell you all.

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Social media has changed everything.Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,Snapchat and various other channels

have been transforming the way wecommunicate, share news and stories —and even the way businesses and brands,large or small, operate and buildexperiences for their social-media-savvycustomers.

What started as a small Facebook groupwith informal intentions to share recipes andfarm ideas amongst close friends andacquaintances, has exploded into a full-scale platform for promoting small food andcatering businesses, especially in Parsi-food loving communities across the globe.

This group, Parsis Exchange Recipes,fondly referred to as PER, is one of the few,if not the only Zoroastrian group to make itone of its main goals to allow smallentrepreneurs and caterers to advertisetheir businesses, blogs and services for freewithin the group. What’s more interestingthough, is how the founders of PER areactively seeking to help them thrive.

As a founding member of PER, alongsidemy co-founder and partner Arbez ShroffPatel, we could’ve never imagined what thisone small gesture on our part to allowcomplimentary advertising, could do torevive, build confidence and drive sales forcaterers, especially Parsi ones, worldwide.

So where did it all begin and how has itbeen fruitful? Membership numbers weregrowing steadily within the group, fromhundreds to thousands of Parsi and non-Parsis joining on a daily basis. Every nowand then, a member who also happened tobe a caterer, would bravely share withinposts and comments about their business.Casually mentioning whether they wereselling the highly sought-after bhakras orbatasas, lagun nu acchar or murabba.

This led to other members perking up andsharing recipes from their blogs or websites,some also announcing they catered or soldsnacks and pickled favorites. But they alltread cautiously, lest group memberssmacked them down for daring to promotetheir business, for free nonetheless, in aParsi-run foodie group. Apparently this wasoccurring in other popular Parsi groups,which is why they ventured gingerly intoPER.

Oh, the excitement it built for so many Parsisabroad who crave these Parsi delicacies, ora simple taste of home. While somemembers decided to take the liberty torespond for Arbez and me, berating them forpromoting their business, others expressedsheer joy, realizing they could finally orderthe home-cooked snacks they had missedso much. But better yet, now they had avariety of caterers to choose from, be it fromtheir home base or other parts of the world.The flood-gates opened with cautiousoptimism for these business owners.

For Arbez and me, it was a no-brainer. Ifthese entrepreneurs were supporting PERthen why in the world wouldn’t we

Harnessing the Power of Social Media to Drive Small BusinessEntrepreneurship

by vera dinshaw springett

Arbez Shroff Patel


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reciprocate our support for them? Overnight,it became our mission to crack down on thenaysayers, immediately allowing thesebusinesses to advertise for free and to boldlygo where no Parsi Facebook foodie grouphad gone before: we openly announced wewanted people to share their businessesunabashedly on PER. Go for it, we said. Andthe rest is history.

We’ve received so many personal notes ofthanks and appreciation from small caterersever since. It’s been heartwarming to readtheir messages of hope. We actually feeltheir joy and appreciation.

The question that really puzzled both Arbezand myself was, why wouldn’t anyone letthese hardworking folks share theirbusiness ventures? It’s not “annoying,”despite what some think. It’s not takingadvantage of anything or anyone either. It’shelping our own community members dowhat they do best. It was simply theZoroastrian thing to do.

As a small and dwindling community, it isincreasingly in our best interest to look outfor one another, support and uplift eachother. Not tear each other down, or belittlethe talents of community members who areso gifted to be able to build a business fromscratch in the challenging and competitiveculinary field, nonetheless.

Catering or selling food is a tough businesswith tough critics. Let’s be honest, Parsisare no strangers to that. Dikra, jara aye kumhatoo. Or, aye jara jasti nakhtay. [Dear, itwas a little less or, you should have put alittle more of this].The criticism is oftenendless — and relentless. After all, Parsisknow their food. Or so they say. But forcaterers who put their blood, sweat andtears into carefully selecting each ingredientfor you, cooking or baking the product toprecision, then packaging and mailing it toyou, quite frankly, it all takes time, effort andmoney. And all they crave is a little thanks,appreciation and timely payment.

Shelley Daroga Subawalla, PER memberand famed masala-maker of Zarin’s Secrets

in Mumbai, India, knows that feeling all toowell. Thanks to PER, her business hasbeen growing steadily ever since she beganpromoting it within the group a few monthsago. It’s helped her drum up business fromher hometown, as well as all over the world.

“It has definitely helped me,” says Shelley.“It widely increased my brand exposure aswell as opened me up to a lot ofinternational clientele.”

PER gave Shelley the courage to finallytake the leap and start mailing her highlysought-after masalas abroad to the US, andnow Canada. She offers a fair price for theexcellent quantity and quality of masalasshe mails overseas to offset the mailingcost the buyer also incurs. And it has allworked out fabulously.

“It has been a huge boost for me,” saysShelley. “The group’s open policy regardingadvertising one’s ventures is a wonderfulchange from all the other usual food groupswho have a strict ‘no advertising/promotion’policy.”

Shelley experienced a slight hiccup with apayment one time, but it hasn’t stopped herfrom succeeding, and has instead turned itinto a learning experience.

Personally, PER encouragedmyself and a small group offriends to start a home-basedbatasa business in the US andCanada It’s called BatasaBabes, inspired by my verydear and long-time friend,Spenta Behrana of Phoenix,AZ.

A life-long friend I have made via PER,Charis Wania of Toronto, Canada shared awonderful batasa recipe she found on PER,posted by Persis Cooper also of Calgary,Canada, originally from India. Charisencouraged me to try it, and the batasaswere beyond my expectations.

With a few small tweaks to the recipe underthe guidance of my dear friend and famed

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Parsi chef and author, Niloufer Mavalvala, Iperfected the recipe to my liking. I shared itwith Charis and Persis, and before we knewit, we were creating a logo that wouldmodernize the traditional batasa. Next, welaunched our batasa business just in timefor the 2017 Christmas holiday season. Itwas a fun, exciting and exhausting time forus ladies, with orders flying out the door justin time for holiday family gatherings in Parsihomes throughout the US and Canada.

So how did we get the word out aboutBatasa Babes? Easy. We took it to PER,debuting our awesome logo and pictures ofalmond, caraway seeds and cheesebatasas, along with a special holiday promoprice. It worked, helping us kick off what hasnow been 8 months of wonderful aromas offlavored batasas permeating our homes aswe take order after order.

Admittedly, I work full-time. And despitehaving a batasa-loving toddler,unfortunately I don’t have as much time todevote to the business, and simply do it asa hobby. But with PER as a business-promoting platform, I know I can easily buildmy batasa empire in the future, and as timepermits. That’s the beauty of social media.For Charis and Persis though, business issoaring. And I couldn’t be happier for themand their hard work.

From India, Pakistan and Dubai to Canada,Australia, the UK and USA, some caterersare experiencing growth in an alreadysuccessful business thanks to PER, whileothers are filled with hope for the future oftheir business. Either way, Arbez and I areproud to be along for the ride and are rootingfor their success every step of the way.

To celebrate Navroze in 2017, I participatedin the FEZANA’s Zoroastrianism AwarenessProject. I delivered mason jars full ofdelicious homemade ravo, layered withtoasted almonds and golden raisins, to sixneighbouring families. Each family memberreceived their own mason jar along with ashort description about Navroze and thesignificance of ravo on this auspiciousoccasion. It was very well received and myneighbours had all kinds of questions fromhow do you pronounce this to when can Ieat this. They loved it and my neighboursnow wait for Navroze so I can share ravowith them.

This is a lovely project promoted byFEZANA, and I encourage everyZoroastrian to participate in the years tocome.

To learn more about this project, pleasevisit: https://fezana.org/celebrating-navroz-with-our-neighbors-and-friends/

FEZANA’s Zoroastrianism Awareness Project

Vera Dinshaw Springett is a Senior Copywriter and CreativeLead with 15+ years of combined advertising agency andin-house branding experience. Originally from Pakistan,Vera†pursued a BA in Journalism and MassCommunication with a double-major in Advertising andEnglish from Drake University. She then completed an MSin Integrated Marketing Communications from RooseveltUniversity in Chicago. She now works and resides with herhusband and daughter working in-house as a SeniorCopywriter and Lead at University of Phoenix.

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Set in 1920s India, The Widows ofMalabar Hill introduces the reader toPervin Mistry, ‘the only woman

solicitor in Bombay’. Pervin works in herfather’s legal firm and advises clients eventhough she cannot actually appear in court.Along with a degree from Oxford and anunshakeable belief in her own ability Pervinis also a woman with a tragic personalhistory which makes her a passionateadvocate of women’s rights. Her father hasbeen appointed as executor of the will of awealthy Muslim business man who has leftthree wives. But as the capable and fiercelyindependent Pervin delves further into thepaperwork she realises that somethingseems very wrong. All three widows havesigned their inheritances over to acharitable trust overseen by their husbands’household agent and Pervin suspects theworst. But the widows are in purdah, a strictseclusion that makes it impossible for themto see or talk to any man. Pervin decides toinvestigate and manages to enter theclosed world of the zenana or women’schambers as an unofficial detective.

Entering the cloistered word of the mansionon Malabar Hill Pervin finds an atmosphereof luxury and comfort but also of tensionand secrets. Trying to find a balancebetween helping the women and devotingtime to her British school friend AliceHobson-Jones, she finds herself drawndeeper into the lives of the three womenand begins to feel a sense of responsibilityfor them. When the worst happens and amurder is committed Pervin knows that sheis in the best position to solve the mysteryof what really happened that day.

Interwoven with the story of the women isthe story of Pervin’s own tragic past and theevents that have shaped her. The author’stechnique of intercutting the tale of Pervin’sromantic courtship and escape from her ill-fated marriage with her quest to find fair

treatment for the widows brings to theforefront the complexity of the divisionsbetween people struggling to hold on to theold ways and those who wish to modernise.The religious, social and legal complexitiesof the various people who made up India inthe 1920s are laid bare for the reader. Thisis a lushly described period piece describingthe treatment of women at the time, thequirks of the British colonial powers and thediversity of this vast land. With asympathetic and strong female lead,impeccable plot, lushly gorgeous prose anda wealth of historical detail, this novel (thefirst in a new series) comes at a time whenthe treatment of women and the dynamicsof power are hot topics in today’smainstream media. It is sure to resonatewith readers who want an intelligent, wellplotted story.

Readers might also be interested to notethat the character of Pervin Mistry is basedin part on that of Cornelia Sorabji, a leadingbarrister with a special interest in women’srights. She was a vocal supporter andleading light of a campaign to persuadeIndia’s government that women living inseclusion—purdahnashins—were sufferingfrom lack of access to legal representation.

The Widows of Malabar Hillreviewed by zehra bharucha

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The Widows of Malabar HillBy : Sujata Massey.Publisher : Soho Crime, 400pages,Kindle Edition : £1.82Paperback : £8.99

Originally from Karachi, ZehraBharucha has lived in Sydney,Australia for the last 17 years.When not working as an editorin the legal publishing businessshe can usually be found readingor cooking elaborate banquetstyle feasts for family andfriends.

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It is hard to believe, but the first knownriots in Bombay (now Mumbai) whenlocals went on the streets against the

British authorities was led by the otherwisegenteel Parsis, who took up arms for theirdogs!

The ‘Dog Riots of 1832’ as it is called, wereunlike anything that you would have comeacross anywhere in the world, but it was abattle worth fighting for.

In May 1832, the Magistrates of Police(Bombay) decided to extend a regulationissued in 1813, that mandated the Indianpariah dogs within public and governmentproperties to be killed every year betweenApril to May and September to October.This was to control the growing menace ofstray and rabid dogs in a port city that wasrapidly growing. The extension wentthrough and special dog killers wereappointed who were paid eight annas forkilling each stray dog. Excited by themonetary incentive, many of these dogcatchers began to eye dogs that wereneither loose nor dangerous. Justifiably thiscreated a furor.

But the situation became tense on 6th July1932, a holy day for the Parsis. Theteaching of ‘Ehtiram-i-sag’ or great respectfor the dog is found in the Zoroastrianreligious scriptures. The dogs are said to bethe gatekeepers of the heavens and gaze ofthe dog is said to ward off evil. The Parsireligious text Avesta, also has detailedcommentary on the virtues of dogs and howthey must be taken care of. Despitewarnings, the police officers in the Fort areaof Bombay did not stop the rounding up ofdogs. As a result, the Parsis were outraged.The British, didn’t have a clue. On theafternoon of June 6 when the police beganto round up dogs within city’s Fort area,they received warnings that the Parsiresidents were getting restless. Soon a

crowd of about 200 Parsis (a considerable numberat the time) came out to the streets to mark theirprotest. In the flurry two constables were attacked.The police came down in full force and as tensionsrose the central business and commercial area withinthe Bombay Fort area came to a standstill. Shopswere closed down and work on the docks ceased. Bynext day, preparations for a full-scale strike weretaking shape. Palanquins carrying the British werestopped and pelted with stones. Soon, the Parsiswere joined by other communities like the Hindus,Jains and Muslims, the protestors now inched closeto 500.

Despite all the rioting and protests, there was hardlyany causality in the riot, except for two Englishmenwho died due to excessive heat. The British wereembarrassed by what had happened and theregulation in question was withdrawn. A deputationled by Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, the Baronet,further asked the British not kill any dogs, but ratherjust capture them. This too was accepted.

Few remember the ‘Dog Riot’ today but it did havean important impact. It was after this incident thatthe British decided to bring in many more diversecommunities into Bombay. Till then, the Bombaytown was dominated by the Parsi residents, but theparanoid British saw the riots as a ‘Parsiconspiracy”. As a result it encourage othercommunites to migrate to Bombay and settle there.

Bombay’s Riot over Dogsby aditi shah

https://www.livehistoryindia.com/snapshort-histories/2018/05/09/bombays-riot-over-dogs

Bombay police 1855-1862 (Wikipedia Commons)

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