Zoroastrian Association of California October 2016

2016-2017 Executive Committee

President – Tehmi Damania Vice President – Perinne Medora Treasurer – Rooky Fitter Joint Secretaries – Parvez Erani and Deelnavaz Tarapore Program Chair – Prochi Mistry

Youth Coordinator – Shirley Limath

UPCOMING EVENTS

Halloween Sunday, October 30th at 3:00 pm It’s Trick or Treat Time! Get your Craziest, Scariest costumes and join us at the Zac Center for some Fun, Food and prizes. There will also be trick or treating, coloring contest and a kids and adults costume parade! The Parade will start after the dinner. Parents who wish to volunteer to help please contact Prochi Mistry. Cost: Children under 12 yrs. – FREE. Everyone else - $10 per person. So that we get a head count, please RSVP by October 26 to Prochi Mistry at mistryprochi@aol.com or 661-284-3055.

Atash Kadeh Opening: Sunday, November 13 at 9:00 am. The opening ceremonies for the Atash Kadeh will begin at 9:00 am precisely and continue as per a strict schedule to stay within the Shubh Murat. The first Boi will be offered followed by a Machi and a jashan in the Atash Kadeh. This will take about 3 hours. Lunch will be served at about 1:30. There will be other Boi ceremonies during the day. Due to space constraints and to avoid over-crowding, we will be having a cut-off at 250 registrants so it is crucial to RSVP early. This is a PRE-PAID event for MEMBERS Only. An announcement will be made as soon as the 250 number is reached or by November 8th. There is a charge of $20 per person which includes your contribution for the Hama Anjuman Machi. Children under 5 years shall be admitted free but will be counted. Please enter all names on the online form at www.zacla.org. Members who do not wish to pay online payment please contact Deelnavaz Tarapore at 909-606-0017 to register. From 3 – 5:00 pm the Atash Kadeh will open to all to pay their respects. Offering of fruit, nuts, malido, ravo, sev, dahi, etc. will be gratefully accepted and shared by the community. General Body Meeting: Sunday, November 20 at 3:00 pm. Notice is hereby given that the General Body Meeting will be held on Sunday, November 20, 2016. The agenda will include the Approval of the minutes of June 2016 AGM, the Executive Committee report, Treasurer’s report, Report on ZAC Center projects including the Atash Kadeh, parking lot and finally any other business. The Minutes of the June 2016 AGM, the Agenda and Statement of Financial Position and Statement of Activities will be sent out prior to the GBM in November.

The General Body Meeting is for Members ONLY. Please note that ZAC membership is per Calendar year, i.e. January to December. Members are requested to update your email and personal information prior to October 30th to enable us to ensure timely delivery of information. If any member has anything relevant to bring up for discussion at the General Body please send a request in writing to Tehmi Damania, tdamania@zacla.org by November 1, so it may be added to the agenda. Items brought up from the floor will only be allowed 3 minutes per member.

Tea will be served upon arrival and dinner will be served after the GBM. Suggested Donation - $10 per person. Children under 5 years – FREE. So that we get a head count for Dinner, please RSVP to Prochi Mistry at mistryprochi@aol.com or call 661-284-3055 by November 15. Walk-ins/Phone calls/E-mails after November 15 will be $15 per person, regardless of age. Tirangan: Sunday, November 27 at 11:00 am Tir Mahino ne Tir Roj nu parabh will be celebrated with a jashan in the new Atash Kadeh building. We will be praying for much needed rain in California. Lunch will follow the jashan. RSVP to Zarrir Bhandara at zbhandara@gmail.com by November 24.

PAST EVENTS

New Year/Khordad Sal Function The Navroz Function was celebrated by 200+ members and guests at the ZAC Center on August 20th. Adults and children who attended the festivities spent the social hour meeting and greeting friends and were treated to ample appetizers made on the spot and served hot and fresh which were enjoyed by all along with the delicious punch appreciated by the adults. The Fatakia scholarships were then presented by Darius Fatakia to the winners who were present. This was followed by acknowledging all our grads who were given their little gifts from ZAC. This was followed by a delicious spread catered by Noorani which was enjoyed by all. After dinner the DJ Joel increased the volume and the rest of the evening was spent dancing As some of you may know, Prochi had to leave for Karachi for a family emergency. At her request Dinaz and Vispi Shroff stepped up to plate and brought the tablecloths which had been ordered, helped the committee set up for the function, prepared the much appreciated punch using Prochi’s recipe and

even helped with the dinner. The committee wishes to thank the Shroffs and all the members for their help during the evening and particularly for clearing up.

Ladies Club Yoga Demonstration – Surya Namaskar The yoga demonstration presented by Zarrir Bhandara and Houtoxi Contractor on Sunday, August 28th 2016 started sharp at 12.30 and was well attended by eager to learn “future yogi’s”. Houtoxi showed slides of the different movements step by step of how to do a ‘Surya Namaskar’, while

Zarrir demonstrated the steps and encouraged the audience to do them correctly. There were a few mats placed for people who would like to do the sun salutation and were quickly taken up by women and children, who very enthusiastically did the exercises. This was followed with a lip smacking pot luck lunch at 1.30pm which was enjoyed by all. Thank you Dilnavaz Shroff for organizing the event.

Farvardegan Nu Parabh On September 4th, (S) Farvadin Mahino and Farvadin Roj, Mobed Zarrir Bhandara performed the Hama Asho Farohar nu Jashan which was attended by over 100 members. Mobed Bhandara addressed the congregation on the power of prayers and the how they help the progress of deceased. This was followed by lunch of masala dal rice and vegetable stew catered by Zarrir and his team of helpers.

Youth Outing On September 10th, 16 of our youth visited the LA County Fair in Pomona. We had a wonderful time with one another while playing games, viewing exhibits, petting the farm animals, and riding the carnival rides. We mostly enjoyed trying new things like deep fried oreos, deep fried cookie dough, and other rare foods. A definite must-do for next summer! Shirley's next event will be Universal Studios where the youth can finally visit the new Harry Potter world. If anyone would like to be a part of the email list, please contact youth.zac@gmail.com.

Paitishem Ghambar It was a Friday, September 16 but we celebrated the ghambar with an evening jashan and had an attendance of about 45 members attended the prayers and followed by Chasni and dinner of Dhan Daar, Patio and Stew.

Talk on Holy Fire by Malcolm Bhesania This talk was held on Sunday September 18, at 3:00 pm which was attended by about 65 people. Malcolm eloquently gave interesting details of how a Zarthushti should perceive the holy fire and the methods that were used to consecrate an Atash Behram and an Agiary. He also shared the moment in history of when and how the Atash from Aden Agiary was brought to Bombay. He kept the audience rapt with attention to every detail that he gave interspersed with humor. Snacks and tea were served after the talk.

Ladies Club Talk on Jashan Etiquette The Ladies Club Meeting held on 9th October 2016 was well attended by around 50 participants and had an interesting power point presentation on the importance and knowledge of Jashans. The meeting with a rousing rendition of “Chaye Hame Zarthosthi” where everyone very lustily sang their hearts out! Zarrir Bhandara shared the significance behind the rituals performed by the priests during the jashan, as also the correct Jashan etiquette to be observed by each participant. There was a lively question and answer session, where participants asked about the different prayers and gestures and most of them were “enlightened’ as to the methodology behind the Jashans. A delicious Dhansak brown rice lunch along with everyone’s pot luck side dishes, was served before the

meeting. Of course we had our Parsi, lemon grass “chai’ which was a great pick me up for everyone. Thank you Dilnavaz Shroff for organizing the event.

Ayathrem Ghambar On Sunday, October 16, 2016 we had a ghambar to celebrate the feast of homecoming of the herds from pasture. This ghambar was sponsored by Dogdo and Tehemtan Arjani in loving memory of Dogdo's brother Kersey Kapadia and beloved departed family members. After the jashan and chasni about 65 attendees had the traditional ghambar food – Masala na Dal, chawal, laganu stew, cutlets and kachubar followed by kulfi made by Dilnavaz Shroff. The food was catered by Zarrir Bhandara. Thank you Dogdo and Tehemtan for sponsoring the ghambar.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Congratulations Danish Bhandara has completed her training and is a qualified teacher in Bollywood dancing with NDM Bollywood Dance Classes. She will be teaching two classes for ages 5-8 and 9-12 on Sundays 1:30-2:30 and 2:30-3:30. Contact Danish at dbhandara@gmail.com or 949-743-4587 if you have a child who is interested.

Shayaan and Jedd Gandhi on their navjote on October 2, 2016. We are proud of you for learning your prayers and accepting the responsibility to practice Zoroastrianism. The Gandhi Family sincerely thanks Ervad Zarrir Bhandara, Ervad Zerkxis Bhandara and Ervad Khushroo Vimadalal for initiating the children into the Zoroastrian fold and our family and friends for celebrating this joyous occasion with us. Other News: Maneck Bhujwala was elected as a Director of the World Zoroastrian Organization at their September 2016 meeting in London. Congratulations Maneck, we applaud your involvement with the Zoroastrian community worldwide.

Change of Address Sheila and Sharook Madon Silloo Patel Please see printed version of newsletter.

Condolences It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Fred Lakdawala. He passed away peacefully on Sunday October 2nd, 2016 at 2:18 am. He was in the late stages of Alzheimer's Disease, and he was hospitalized briefly with complications, but was moved into hospice care so that he could spend his remaining days with Sani (Sanobar), his beloved wife of 57 years. Some of you may remember that Freddy was one of the earliest members when ZAC was formed and designed the ZAC logo which we still use today. Our sincere condolences to Sani, Jasmine and Jimmy and the family.

Important Information about the Atash Kadeh We are all excited about the long awaited opening of the Atash Kadeh. As part of the ceremonies we will be felicitating those who have played an important role and participated in making this happen. We are blessed that so many people were involved. Since it is not possible to individually thank everyone of you we have decided to put up the donor boards in the building from the opening day.

As you know the boards are in 6 categories above $1000. The boards have an image of Persepolis in the background with the names printed on mounted thick Perspex panels. The names on the boards are based on actual donations and instructions received by the cut-off date October 15. The donations shown below $1000 will be displayed in a digital format.

Since the names on the boards cannot be changed we request that you act by October 31 and let us know so that errors or omissions can be corrected immediately. Please send an email to committee@zacla.org or call Rooky Fitter at 714-840-7398 or Tehmi Damania at 949-583-9973.

Under $1000

Burjor Alamshaw & Rohinton Bamboat Rusi & Chandrabala Alamshaw Perin Amaria Pervin Amroli Aspy & Nergish Anklesaria Zerkxsis Bhandara Sara Bigdeli Armine Billimoria IMO Kuka & Keki Billimoria Kadribegovic Coomy & Nerin Bilimoria Farhad Choksy Jimmy & Meher Colabavala Yasmin Contractor Diana Dadachanji Phiroze & Dhunmai Dalal

Friend from Surat - Darayus

IMO Najoo Daruwala & Aran Aga Behram & Manijeh Deboo Firoze & Silloo Dordi Katy Eduljee Roshan & Nariman Fanibanda Roshan. Fanibanda Arthur Friedman Homi Gandhi Moti & Ian Irani Noshir & Gul Jesung Ava & Ashok Kar Zarin & Neriosang Karanjia Kali & Benaifer Limath Roshan Malva

Silloo Mehta D. T. Parekh H. Karwa Porus A. Patel Rohini Parvin Rostami Dr. Hanoze Santoke The Sinors Zarin & Jayant Sonchhatra Parab Sponsored Nawzer & Meher Tavaria The Trivedis Sohrab & Tinaz Vavaina Prochee & Vernon Wheeler Anonymous

ZAC ATASH KADEH Donor Boards

1424 E. Walnut Avenue Orange, CA 92867

To

ZAC Upcoming Events at a Glance All functions at the ZAC Center in Orange

Halloween: Sunday, October 30th at 3:00 pm

Atash Kadeh Opening Day: Sunday, November 13 at 9:00 am

General Body Meeting: Sunday, November 20 at 3:00 pm

Tir Mahina nu Parabh: Sunday, November 27 at 11:00 am