PDF - The World Zoroastrian Organisation

HAMAZOR - ISSUE 4 2006

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C o n t e n t s

WZO WEBSITE

www.w-z-o.org

PHOTOGRAPHS

Courtesy of individualswhose articles appear inthe magazine or asmentioned

04 Tribute to Lt Gen (Retd) Adi Sethna - ava khullar06 “Coming together, To work together”08 Myth & Legend of the wives of Zarath-Ushtra - n d minocher-homji10 Conversion - where angels fear to tread - mehlli bhagalia15 Wellness & Weight management - aban kekobad16 Myths on food & food habits - jehangir mehta19 Avestan emphasis on right-handedness - sam kerr21 The meaning of Christmas - rustom kevala22 Parsis & Nursing profession - virasp mehta23 Lord Billimoria’s maiden speech25 Freddie Mercury, the King of Queen - sohrab anklesaira27 Shayan Italia - Zubin Mehta - Farita29 Parsis of Bollywood - farishta dinshaw33 “The Zoroastrian Diaspora” - review - ramyar karanjia34 “Arms & Armor from Iran” - review - ann feuerbach35 Irani ‘chai dukan’ - yesmin madon40 Mumbai’s Irani hotspots - sarika mehta42 Non-Zoroastrians in Zoroastrian percepts - adi davar48 Aryan revival in Tajikistan - meher master-moos51 The Noshir Gowadia case - mitra mehr54 Gujarat floods, 2006 - wzo update55 Events that shaped our religion - rustom kevala62 Farsi article - rostam mobed kaikhosrow vahidi63 A year later - wzo update68 Earthquake area visited - diana dinshaw-mana71 Membership Form with details

Parsis of Bollywood - p 31

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London, England

Mr Sam HBhiwandiwallaChairmanE-mail:[email protected]

Mr Darayus S MotivalaPresidentE-mail:[email protected]

Mr Dinyar ModiHon SecretaryE-mail: [email protected]

Mrs Khurshid BKapadiaMembership SecretaryE-mail:[email protected]

Mr Dadi B EngineerPresident, WZO IndiaMumbai, IndiaE-mail:[email protected]

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

Mr Rustom Yeganegi233 Saadi AvenueTehran, Iran

Mrs Farah UnwalaAucklandNew ZealandE-mail:[email protected]

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

Mr Russi GhadialiSingaporeE-mail:[email protected]

Mr Keki BhoteVice PresidentIllinois, USAE-mail:[email protected]

I n t e r n a t i o n a l B o a r d M e m b e r s

Dr Sam KerrUnit 5, ‘Agincourt’10 Larkin Street\RosevilleNew South Wales, 2069Australia

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

Mr Marzi ByramjeeOakbillie, CanadaE-mail:[email protected]

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

Funded by:World Zarathushtrian Trust Fund

Cover design by:Tannaz MinwallaKarachi, Pakistan

Design & layout by:Toxy CowasjeeKarachi, Pakistan

Volume XXXXIII - Issue 4 2006


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rom the EditorF

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

Another year has ended - there has been much talk in the Parsi Zoroastrian community especially in India. Concerns still run high, for disposing of the dead and the fear of mass conversion. Theseissues persist and will persist till the leaders come up with a solutionso that the subcontinent can once and for all adapt with the times.“Leaders” from all over the world will be attending the ‘round table’conference in January at Mumbai, and one can only hope theseleaders have the vision and foresight to solve this dilemma as theproblem is simply not going to disappear.

The reader may wonder why the earthquake that took place a yearago in northern Pakistan, should carry on being mentioned in theHamazor. The only reason is that vast sums of money were donatedfrom inviduals both Zoroastrians and non Zoroastrians asassistance for those who lost their homes, through me, hence I feelresponsible to be accountable to you. You may rest assured no moneywill be allocated for any project, till there is full satisfaction on itsfeasibility.

In closing I wish to thank all the contributors for their articles inHamazor, without whose contribution this publication would not bepossible; to my very dear and talented friend, Tannaz Minwalla, forthe covers of each issue, making Hamazor a delight to pick up andthen hopefully encouraging you to read the contents.

Best wishes to all our readers for a very happy, productive andcohesive 2007.

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After an illness with cancerthat took rapid strides, Lt Gen (Retd) AdiSethna, was taken away from our midstwithin a matter of a few months. Anenthusiastic fighter for all good causes heespoused, a truly tireless crusader who lenta sympathetic ear to anyone inneed and translated his concerninto positive action to help, hesadly lost his last fight too soon- so is the will of Ahura Mazda.

A very large gathering of family,friends, colleagues, admirersfrom civilian and military lifegathered to bid farewell to thismost gentle, and kind man. Asthe final military honours weregiven, the guns were lowered,the bagpipes played, thewreaths were placed on hisbody covered with the Indiantricolor and in the end thebugles sounded the last call andthe guns gave their salute,- a moving andfitting send off to a great soldier.

A caring family man, loved and adored byhis wife Khorshed and his brood ofdaughters, sons in law, five grandsons anda grand-daughter, his absence will be sorelyfelt, but his inspiration will no doubt continueto guide them.

During the span of a distinguished militarycareer, Lt Gen Sethna was assignedimportant positions. He joined the Armyafter graduating from the Doon School andAllahabad University. He began his militarycareer fighting in Malaysia during theSecond World War. He was one of the fewIndians to attend both the Imperial DefenceCollege and the Camberly Staff College inEngland. He was ADC to the first GovernorGeneral C Rajagopalachari as well as DrRajendra Prasad, the first President. He

A Tribute to Lt Gen (Retd) Adi Sethna b y a v a k h u l l a r

also played an active role in the strategy forthe Bangladesh campaign. Universallyrespected for his organizing skills, andintegrity, during his military career he wasawarded the AVSM, the PVSM as also oneof India’s highest awards, the Padma

Bhushan.

However it is his life of publicservice mainly for theZoroastrian community for whichhe will be remembered fondly.

His retirement from the armybrought other responsibilities: heguided the Delhi Parsi Anjumanand the Federation ofZoroastrian Anjumans for 20years, his religious faithtempered with a forward lookingvision for his crisis ridden Parsicommunity. Under his benignleadership, the Parsis of Delhiworked productively in a united

manner, the community being almost totallyfree of conflicts and tensions. He constantlyendeavoured to bring the Parsi communitycloser to other sister communities and it isto his credit that there was a healthyinteraction between the various religiousgroups. The Parsis little known outsideMumbai and Gujarat, became known andappreciated by non-Parsis in the capital.

As the Zoroastrian member on the NationalMinorities Commission, his contributiontowards helping Parsis, especially in therural areas of Gujarat and his willingness toapproach the highest authorities of the land,be it a Chief Minister or even the PrimeMinister to plead for justice and fair playstood him apart from others holding similarpositions of power and influence. I recall agutsy Parsi lady from rural Gujarat who hadfought for her land which was beingencroached by the tribal and the local


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mafia, going up to Mrs Sonia Gandhi at aParsi function in Delhi and entreating her toensure that Gen Sethna who had finishedhis second term on the Commission bereappointed, not as a member, but as itsChairman, for she explained “No Parsi hadeven heard of the Minorities Commissionuntil General Sethna started working on it”.She certainly had first hand experience ofhis helping hand as I am sure several otherParsis will also testify. The lady’s plea washeard and he became the first person to benominated for a third term on the NationalMinorities Commission.

Having worked with him closely over a longperiod of time what was most strikinglynoticeable was the magnanimity of spirit inall his dealings, helped greatly I believe by anotable feature of his personality, the totalabsence of ego - that harmful personalitytrait which most spiritual philosophies warnus against and encourage us to shed - butwhich none of us frail mortals are free of.This helped him to work amicably with everyone and enhanced his leadership qualities,making him play the role of a peacemaker,shunning destructive conflicts and bringingrational compromises in most situations.The Delhi Parsi Anjuman was fortunate tohave him at its helm for two decades.

The beautiful prayer, Yenge Hatam states,

“Those men and women both do we adore, Whoseevery act of worship is alive With Asha, the EternalLaw of Life; Who are in the sight of Mazda AhuraAs best and noblest mortals recognised; These arethe truest Leaders of Mankind” (Translation by Irach

Taraporewala).

What it says is that in the ultimate analysis itis not temporal power or material wealth orstatus (all of which Gen Sethna had in goodmeasure), on the basis of which a person’sworth will be measured, but on a life ofgoodness, humility, compassion and purity.Such are the men who we should emulateand recognize as our true leaders. AdiSethna was such a man. We salute him.

Dear Mrs. Sethna,

I am deeply sorry to hear of the untimely demise of Lt. Gen. A.M. Sethna. Iwas in fact, looking forward to meeting him at the Iftar on 20th Oct at myresidence. Fate has willed otherwise. His death has created a void, whichwill be difficult to fill.

My wife Gursharan joins me in offering our deepest condolence to you andyour family members. I pray to Almighty to give you the strength to withstandthis irreparable loss.

With regards,Yours sincerely,Manmohan SinghPrime Minister of India

Lt. Gen. A.M. Sethna was that rare human being who brought grace,integrity, and high standards of professional excellence to everything hetouched.

He was a man of many parts - an officer and a gentleman, a brave soldierand an able administrator, a doer and a thinker, and a man of deep humanityand compassion, who was unwavering in his commitment to human rightsand secularism. He was also a loyal friend, and a person of great personalwarmth and charm. All these qualities marked his tenure in the many highoffices he held, both in the army and in civilian life, and won him countlessfriends and admirers.

On this occasion, which is also Gen. Sethna’s birthday, we deeply mournhis loss, and express our heartfelt gratitude for his rich contribution tonational life. India will always honour his memory.

Sonia GandhiPresidentAll India Congress Committee

Lt Gen A M Sethna

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Ava Khullar is a social scientist and has beenresearching various aspects of the Parsi community

for over threedecades. She alsohas a specialinterest in Parsiembroidery whichshe has beentrying to revivefor many years.

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Rohinton Rivetna, President, World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce writes,‘Our purpose is to “Come Together and Work Together in the spirit of Hamazori”. We know we canaccomplish much by working together. That shall be the tone of the meeting. Today, we are a“Community Without Borders.” Many of us in the diaspora will be visiting Mumbai during January. Allpersons, from Mumbai, as well as those visiting, interested in participating and contributing to thediscussions, are welcome.

Energizing the Zarathushti Spirit of Hamazori

A short list of action/discussion items based on the complete list generated at London in 2004 duringthe WZC Congress.

Near-term Actionable Items:

1. Establish a liaison office in India to provide services for Zarathushtis living abroad. Establish a“Zarathushti Shop” to provide supplies and services for Zarathushtis living abroad.

2. Coordinate donations from abroad - child assistance programme.

3. Support Meherji Rana Library, Navsari - build an annexe with uptodate facilities for storage/restoration of priceless, archival manuscripts and documents.

4. Participate in UN Peace efforts with other Zarathushtis - Zarathushtis are viewed as“bridgebuilders” worldwide. Develop religious NGO status for other Zarathushti organizations.

5. Develop a comprehensive web-based Worldwide Zarathushti Directory

Discussion Items:

6. Discuss the role of Zarathushtis living abroad - their duties to the mother country and reciprocallytheir rights and privileges in mother countries.

7. Worldwide calamity preparedness (eg. earthquakes, floods, global warming effects ...)

8. Organize “Doctors without Borders”.

9. Cultivate the ethic of collective giving - demonstrate its power through organizing small projects,enhancing self-help.

10. Zanzibar Agiari demise - a lesson.

11. Commemorate the memory of Dadabhoy Naoroji - a Dadabhoy Naoroji memorial/monument/library in Delhi.

12. Assistance for installation of a continuously burning fire in North America.

“Coming together to work together” roundtable

Mumbai, January 8, 20079:00 am to 5:00 pm


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Udvada day was to be celebratedon 24 November 2006, when the ChiefMinister Hon Shri Narendra Modi was toinaugurate The Zoroastrian InformationCentre being the Parsi Parivar Mohtsav –Udvada Day.

The Chairman of the Foundation forDevelopment of Udvada, Vada DasturKhurshed Dastoor Kaikobad Dastoor,informs this event has been postponed till anew date is issued by the Government ofGujarat.

The postponement has been necessitatedas the Election Code of Conduct becomeseffective from 15 November, due to whichany government aided functions cannot beheld during the period in question, nor canstate, district level government ministers oremployees participate.

Announcement will be made when the newdate is given by the Government of Gujaratfor the opening of the ZIC.

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Udvada day

A riddle that will kill your brain

Think of words ending in “-gry”. “Angry” and“hungry” are two of them. There are only threewords in the English language. What is thethird word? The word is something thateveryone uses every day. If you have readcarefully, I have already told you what thirdword is.

The Five Parsi Films can now be viewed online at http://video.google.com

The links are as follows: Dadar Ormaj, maney jaldi bolaavo <http://video.google.com/ videoplay?docid=-2339649114343353315&hl=en> Bedpan <http://video.google.com/ videoplay?docid=5566869995786780413&hl=en Invisible Parsis: The poor of a prosperous community <http:// video.google.com/ videoplay?docid=5032917910364473713&hl=en> Non-Parsi <http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid= 5088943902531582779&hl=en> Parsi Wada, Tarapore - Present Day <http://video.google.com/ videoplay?docid=4747120951075853467&hl=en>

Parsi Wada, Tarapore - Present Day has been selected to be screened in theIndian Panorama section at the International Film Festival of India in Goain November. Invisible Parsis was screened at the same festival in 2004.

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13. Coordinate Interfaith dialogue andservice on Interfaith organizations.

14. Develop a process for an RFP for 10thWorld Zoroastrian Congress (following the9th Congress in Dubai).

15. Develop a “Code for mutual trust andrespect” - tearing down of walls betweenZarathushtis. Promote co-existentialistvalues, with respect for diversity and astriving for harmony amongst diverse views.

16. Develop a “Code of Civil Conduct” -inspire civility. Refrain/restrain frommaligning each other in public, makingourselves a public spectacle in the media.

17. Address concerns about rise of Interfaithmarriages.

18. Address concerns about Zarathushtisbeing drawn to other ideologies/faiths/cults.

19. Establish local Zarathushti Mandals inMumbai to form a network - need forsmaller parochial units.

20. Develop a network of Mobedsworldwide

21. Develop Worldwide Youth Network

22. Passing on the torch to the nextgeneration.’

Anyone wishing to attend this meeting arewelcome to, but please let Rohinton Rivetnaknow at:

USA tel: 630-325-5383Mumbai tel: 2412 7496

[email protected]

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Sometime back we heard aZoroastrian speaker saying that our Prophethad three wives. Many people approachedus about the explanation of this strangestatement so we decided to give a talk onthe subject. We had given a similar talkbefore, on “The Holy Family of Zarath-Ushtra”. Zarath-Ushtra belonged to theMagava group, the Brotherhood of Wisdom.The group was dedicated to the welfare ofhumanity. So great and important was theideal of Service to them, that they hadrenounced social married life. So Zarath-Ushtra, the holiest ideal soul was living amonastic life, the life of a member of thecelibate order. There is no mention of thecompanion soul to the Prophet in theAvestan literature. Then who is Havovi?More properly what is Havovi? It is reallythe name of the family – Hvogvaa. It is thename of the family Hvogvaa to whichPrashaoshtra and Jamaspa belonged. Theywere so attached and faithful to the Prophetthat the later Pahlavi literature called thename of the family Hvogvaa (Yasna 51.17,18) was understood to be that of his wife.The reason behind this is the following; thecelibate order had a decline and fall in theircharacter.

They fell in repute and the elders of religionthought it advisable to have no celibateorder and have a married priesthood. Toaccentuate the idea of the sanctity ofmarriage, the Prophet was ‘given’ a ‘wife’and the tradition had a strong continuity.Now we come to the ‘sons and daughters’.Why exactly ‘three sons and threedaughters’? Ahura Mazda is the Ahu-Ratuof both the geti and mino lives, and AhuraMazda has six emanations or supremeattributes, out of which the first three aremasculine (2, 3, 4), and three are feminine(5, 6, 7). Now Zarath-Ushtra is the Ahu-Ratuof this geti life only, but still he has the sixemanations – three masculine and three

by late dastoor n d minocher-homji

The myth and legend of the wives of Zarath-Ushtra

feminine. Their very names and meaningsreveal that they represent His soul powers,through which he served his mission (Yasna28.4) and fulfilled it (Yasna 53.1).

Isat-Vaastra represents the Prophet’s will toguide the Man on the right path. The result ofthis function is the corresponding ‘sister’Freni, ie. Love, which is the result of theremoval of malice and hatred from mankind.Urvatat-nara represents the GrowingHumanity, as the result of the working of theabove first ‘pair’, and the natural result isFaith – Thrity. Faith in the guidance of theProphet and in the essential goodness ofman. Then lastly comes Hvare-Chithra(Avesta) – Khurshed-Chehr (Pazand)representing the Manifestation of theHeavenly Light in the world, where oncedarkness dominated (Yasna 29.1). Thenatural consequence of the diffusion of Lightis Pouru-Chistaa or the Fulness of Wisdom.The tradition tells me that Jamaspa ‘married’Pouru-Chistaa. Jamaspa was a personalitysuffused with the Light of Religion, and Lightand Wisdom are inseparable. As there wasthe ‘wedding’ of Hvogvaa with Zarath-Ushtra,so was it that of Jamaspa with Pouru-Chistaa. Tradition tells me again that Zarath-Ushtra consecrated four things.

the grape juice milk the flower the pomegranate

Jamaspa was offered the flower, and byvirtue of it, he got full Enlightenment (Pouru-Chistaa). Thus, one can formulate the tableof the three ‘sons’ on the left side, with thecorresponding ‘daughters’ on the right side.By a close and constant study of this table,one can easily understand the allegorybehind these significant names.

It is further stated in the Avestan literaturethat three ‘saviours’ would be born to three

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‘virgin mothers’, called Fedhri. This is asignificant term for ‘mother’. The names ofthe three future ‘saviours’ are:

Srootat-fedhri Vanghu-fedhri Eredat-fedhri

They mean,

one born of the ‘parentage’ of Obedience to Religious Commandments one born of the ‘parentage’ of Virtue and Wisdom of religion, one born of the ‘parentage’ of Nobility of Life, respectively.

The ordinary word for ‘mother’ in Avesta is‘maatar’. Hence, the saviours are not bornof the three earthly mothers, but they arethe consequence of the spread of Light andWisdom of Religion. We may also add herethat the term used with the names ofZarath-Ushtra’s sons is Zarathushtroish,and not Zarathushtra-hey, which is theusual genetive or possessive case suffix,meaning ‘of’ or ‘belonging to do’. Zarathush-ooish means Zarathushtrian pertaining tothe Soul and Spirit of Zarath-Ushtra. Nowthis Avestan concept of the three futuresaviours, and especially of their so called‘mothers’ have been sadly confused in thelater Pahlavi literature. So we have thesorry picture of the three ‘wives’ of Zarath-Ushtra! Any Zoroastrian of common sensewith respect for the spiritual stature of theProphet, would refrain from talkingsomething which is on the face of it wantingin wisdom.

We may sum up our subject by three clearconclusions:

a. That Hvogvaa was the name of the HolyEnlightened family, quite attached to theProphet, through Service and Devotion andthese virtues turned the family name into his‘consort’.

b. Like the six Emanations of Ahura Mazda,there are six Attributes or Soul-characteristics of the Prophet, latterly takento be his ‘sons’ and ‘daughters’.

c. So also the three Holy ‘Parentage’ of thethree future Saviours were taken to be verystrangely and sadly as his three ‘wives’.

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We would end with this wise observation,placed on the title page of “The DivineSongs of Zarath-Ushtra” (1951) by Dr IrachJ S Taraporewala:

Read the things of the flesh withthe eyes of the Spirit,Don’t read the things of the Spiritwith the eyes of flesh!

Dr Mahrukh Joshi posted this article oncreatingawareness sometime ago.

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Notes:1. Pausanius, the traveller, geographer and chronicler,who flourished in 174 AD and born in Lydia, notes inhis work Book V, that the Magii enjoyed a great socio-religious reputation, and their prayers had great effect.So great and renowned was their effectual prayers, thatthey were known to be MAGIC, which is an adjectivefrom Magus or Majus.

2. The references Hvogvaa as the name of the familyare to found in Yasna 51.17, 18: Farvardin Yasht,paragraph 139; and Din Yasht paragraph 15 (See S.B.E.Vol.XXIII, page 267).

3. The feminine aspects of Ahura Mazda are: SpentaaAramaiti, Avan (Aban), Daena (Deen) and AshishVangh. Unfortunately, Rev Dr Mills has translated‘Aiwi-stoc-threm Geh, paragraph 9, the term (ghenaao)as the wives of Ahura Mazda (S.B.E. Vol. XXXI, page386).

4. Dinkard notes the divine preparations about the birthof Zarath-Ushtra: They began in his 9 th ancestorSpitama. But there is no corresponding reference tohis life companion, in the extant Avestan literature.

Ervad Sheherairji Bharucha, one of the renownedstudents of K R Cama, the ‘lay Dastoor’ said: “If youfind a statement in the Pahlavi literature, for whichthere is no corresponding support in Avesta, take thatstatement in Pahlavi as of little importance.” (SeeRististan, introduction, 1977)

The origin of this misinterpretation of the ‘marriage’or Jamaspa with Pouru-Chistaa has in the Pahlavicommentary on Yasna 51.17, where the term ‘Kehrpa’is wrongly taken to mean ‘daughter’. Kehrpa reallymeans the subtle form, approximating to the daenaa,visualized by the soul at the end of 72 hours of thephysical dissolution with consciousness (Yasna 55.2)and (Yasht XXII S.B.E. Vol. XXIII, pp 134-323; thekaleidoscopic pictures seen by a soul of its past good orbad life).

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Mr Kanga, in his article in theHamazor, Issue 2, 2006, has once again,exhumed the corpse of CONVERSION(repeatedly buried), to reignite rancourwithin the community.

In the early 1900s, Dasturji Dr ManekjiDhalla, the author of The ZoroastrianTheology, was called as an expert witnessin the case of Bansda navjotee, MrSukhadia. The noble Dastur gave a longlecture contending that the Zoroastrianreligion championed conversion. However,when asked, “Would you as a Dastur dosuch navjotes yourself” the answer was,“No, he himself would not perform thenavjote of a son born of a Parsi father by anon-Parsi mother.” When asked “Why,Dasturji saheb?” Dasturji replied, “Becausethe collective conscience of the communityis strongly opposed to such navjotes.”When pressed further Dhallaji said, “Itwould not be permissible as it would bebreaking a 1200 year old tradition” (Seep.699 of Dastur Dhalla’s Autobiography). Thiswas the death knell, tolled by the doyen ofthe reformist conversion movement himself,and the final nail in the coffin of conversion.

It is the responsibility of the worldwideZoroastrian community not to allowmisguided, incomplete and false informationabout our religion to go unrefuted, as itwould be a collective sin of commission andomission by the community, as mentionedin Gatha Ha 32, and in the Khordeh AvestaPatet Pashemani prayer, Karda 7,(“mediosast” - to tell lies and to point to thewrong path).

Before writing or talking on any religioussubject, it would help to understand what isgiven in our scriptures .

b y m e h l l i b h a g a l i a

Conversion - where angels fear to tread

Introduction

In the Gatha, Ha 32.7 through 32.13 we areadmonished not to – teach false doctrine,distort sacred verses to destroy the wisdomof men – as such persons are consideredwicked.1

Ha 30.2 mentions the “Freedom of Choice”which, when correctly translated andunderstood, is the choice only between thetwo paths of life - “good” and “evil”. There isnot even a hint of conversion as, in theProphet’s time, there was no otherorganized religion except the MazdayasniZarthosti deen.

Ha 30.3 explains that “good” and “evil” areSpenta Mainyu and Angre Mainyu.

Ha 45. 3 “Then do I declare the foremost of thislife, which the wise Ahura Mazda revealed untome: those of you who shall not practice here thisholy word, as I think and speak, unto them shallbe woe at the end of life.” The penalty formisguiding people of our faith, mentioned inGatha Ha 45.3 is “woe to the end of life”. The“life” referred to here is not human life, butthe life of one’s soul which may mean overendless lives.

In the Vendidad Fargard 19, AshoZarathustra speaks: “Even if my bones arebroken, even if my soul leaves my body and evenmy memory is lost, I shall not forsake my goodMazdayasni religion.” These are words forevery true Zoroastrian to live and die by.

Our “Belief” is the cornerstone of our survival(Hamazor 2/06 p14)

It is this very same belief, custom andpractice, which Kanga calls “parasitic” thathas allowed our religion and our tinyreligious communities around the world, to


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survive in the midst of overwhelminglysuperior numbers of all the majoritycommunities. It has enabled the Kanganame and every other Parsi/Irani name tosurvive for over several centuries. If whatKanga is proposing today had not beenstrongly opposed by the community allthese years, Mr Kanga and this writer wouldnow be John Smith or Mohammad Ismail orArun Chaterjee.

The real parasite is the “promotion ofconversion”. If it is not purged, it will lead tothe destruction of our community andreligion. This parasite can only beeffectively purged by a deep study andunderstanding of our ancient religion.

So-called scholars (Hamazor 2/06 p14)

Very few of the “so called scholars”, whoare the protagonists of conversion today,may have studied any of the ancientlanguages of Avesta, Pahlavi or Pazand. Ifthey did, they would not twist the meaningsto prove their agenda, and parrot from theZoroastrian Theology which has beendiscredited in a court of law, years ago.

The persons who have opposedconversions are ALL internationally knownZoroastrian priests of the highest repute inthe Parsi community today, and scholars ofAvesta, Pahlavi, Pazand and Sanskrit whocan read, understand and correctly translatethese languages.

Ervad Pheroze Masani - Attorney—Zoroastrianism Ancient and Modern.Dasturji Hormazdyar Dastur Kayoji Mirza –The Conversion Caucus - published by theDastur Kayoji Mirza Institute Udvada Bombay.Dasturji Dr Firoze M Kotwal -Religious implications of Mixed Marriages.Dasturji Hormazdyar K Mirza, DasturjiKaikhusroo Jamasp Asa, Dasturji Firoz MKotwal - Conversion in Zoroastrianism - A mythexploded.Dasturji Hormazdyar K Mirza, DasturjiKaikhusoo M JamaspAsa, Firoze M Kotwal -A Zoroastrian Heresy.Ervad Dr Minocher D Karkhanavala – Survivalof the Community.

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Jehangirji Chiniwala – Savant, Attorney,author of many books - 60,000 pagesErvad Marzban Hathiram – Editor – Journal- FrashogardErvad Kaikhusroo Dastur - Religioussavant, Attorney, Editor - Dini Avaz

Mr Adi Doctor- Editor - Parsi Voice

Tolerance - Voice of the collective conscienceof the people (Hamazor 2/06 p14)

Perhaps Kanga is unaware how tolerantour community has been, for so manyyears, of actions by certain persons tosubvert our religion, and even edit andwrongly translate our pristine scriptures tosuit their agenda of increasing the numberof their own juddin followers by conversion.The tolerance of the community has beenstretched too far and taken advantage of fortoo long. As the voices of religion andreason within the community are not beingheard, the community’s pent up anger isbeing released.

No one of any other community would dareto do what the reformists have inflicted onthe Parsi/Iranian Zoroastrian communityand our religion. Would any member of theMuslim or Hindu community ever dare toedit the Koran or insult Prophet Mohamedor edit the Hindu or Sikh scriptures? It hasbeen this endless tolerance and our “liveand let live” policy, in respect of mattersconcerning our religion, which has led tothis.

BPP to solve this problem? (Hamazor 2/06p 20) - like asking a wolf to guard the sheep.

The BPP with it’s present structure, and thetrustees themselves, are part of theproblem. How can they be a part of thesolution? Under the Indian Constitution, theBPP cannot subvert the collective voice ofthe community pronounced through therepeated Resolutions of the SamastAnjuman on record. Mr Kanga, the BPPTrustees and the Trustees of all thereligious institutions, should read the IndianTrust Law and the legal decisions thereof,and caution themselves, in respect of the

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most serious civil and criminalconsequences personally and collectivelyfor anyone, if they tried to subvert orcontravene, the provisions of the religioustrusts, under which all our religiousinstitutions are founded and are functioning.I am not even talking of the religiousconsequences which would be much, muchworse.

Going through the smoke screen of survivaland sentimentality.

The advocacy of conversion did not, anddoes not arise from an alleged anxiety forthe survival of the community. It is merelyan attempt to justify the marriage of Parsimen and women outside the community.Juddin marriages led to the question ofjuddin navjotes, and then to the question of“who is a Parsi Zoroastrian”. A lot ofconfusion has been deliberately created tobring forward the question of conversion.

The “conversion” protagonists have threemain props for argument. They say:

1. Our scriptures advocate conversion of analien to the Zoroastrian religion.2. Justice Davar and Justice Beamon’sjudgments lay down some legal definitions ofa Parsi, which is binding and constitutes thelaw of the land.3. If we did not accept as Parsi Zoroastriansthe children of Parsi fathers and non-Parsimothers or of Parsi mothers and non-Parsifathers, our population would be reduced tozero.

These props are hollow.

a. The scriptures are turned and twistedbeyond any reasonable limit.b. The judgments of Justices Davar andBeamon do not lay down any legal definitionof a Parsi, nor do they set out the legal bindinglaw that a child of a Parsi father and non-Parsimother is a Parsi and should be accepted asa Parsi.c. Putting forth the fear of dwindling populationis just an eyewash or, much better, abrainwash.

Ervad K N Dastoor, a savant and scholar ofAvesta, Pahlavi in Din-I-Awaz :

“A group of humans can preserve its identityand individuality only by remaining unmixedby marriage with other groups. Once theimport and export of blood and genesbegins, the group’s existence is in danger.This is a fact, both historical and scientific.It applies with greater intensity to ParsiZoroastrians because we have in ourreligion certain spiritual disciplines and‘yogas’ and institutions which would crumbleif the import-export is not checked; andalong with that would crumble this race ofthe Parsis. The community has been awareof this danger. And that is why it hasrepeatedly and vehemently opposed, ininnumerable resolutions of the SamastAnjuman, any attempt at mixing of the bloodand genes – whether through non-Parsifathers or non-Parsi mothers.”

Where is it in the scriptures that conversion isforbidden (Hamazor 2/06 p15).

Persons making this statement show theirignorance of our scriptures, and of our mostancient of ancient history. There was onlyone race and religion in existence at the timeof the Prophet - The Mazdayasni. As suchthere was no question of any conversion fromor to Mazdayasni. No other persons but theMazdayasni Zoroastrian stock are mentionedthroughout the Avesta scripture. Only thePoiryotakaesha, ie. the far advanced soulswho were either Mazdayasni before theadvent of Asho Zoroaster or MazdayasniZoroastrians after the teachings of theProphet, are remembered (and revered).There is not a single word or passage in ourscriptures that encourages or permitsconversion.

Ervad Pheroze Masani an attorney andscholar emeritus of Avesta, Pahlavi andPazand examines this question in it’sentirety and has put to rest, with correctincontrovertible scriptural and historicalevidence, any controversy on this score inZoroastrianism Ancient and Modern,Chapter II Pgs 48-106.


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“Can they explain why when the Vendidad evenadvises when to cut hair and nails, there is noclear mention in any scripture againstconversion?”

This question itself again arises out ofignorance of the nature of the 21nasks and the entire system of natural lawsthey expound and what the Vendidad the19th nask is. It expounds the laws of ashoi,one of the natural laws.

To turn the question around - Where is itmentioned in the scripture that conversion ispermitted?

If “conversion” means to discard one’s ownancestral religion and to adopt an alienreligion, then conversion is unknown in theAvesta, in the Zoroastrian religion and inancient Iranian history.

Other Misleading Information

The misleading use of –a) Report of the expert committee(Hamazor 2/06 p15) - without mentioningthat it was totally rejected by the SamastAnjuman in 1908 is disingenuous.b) Ceremonies performed before admittingjuddins (Hamazor 2/06 p15) - withoutmentioning that none of the specialinstitutions needed are available today orcan even be created. No one today has thereligious capacity to undertake the arduousand long disciplines and ceremonies, leastof all present-day intermarried Parsis, whodo not wear a sadro kusti and haveforgotten to recite their prayers, or juddins.Remember, we are not talking about a onehour navjote ceremony and then hanging upthe kusti on a door knob! Dastur Sanjana’sincomplete remarks taken out of context arejust misinformation to the community.c) Mrs J R D Tata Case - The opinion of DrK R Cama was just that, only an opinionand did not win the case for the Tata family.d) Navjote of Neville Wadia - The Tata andthe Wadia cases are an anomaly. They areonly an example of the power of the Parsiaristocracy of that time, (reminiscent ofHenry VIII) to bully the clergy, to commit a

sinful act. The community has been payingan extremely high price for those two sins -one by the priesthood and the other by thelaity – for many years.

The Paradox – according to Kanga (Hamazor2/06 p17)

There is no paradox here. The priestshowever renowned they may be, whocommit such acts of conversion(Yasna Daruji), and the scholars named byKanga, however distinguished and eminentthey may be and who encourage it, are notabove religious law and are both guilty ofmisguiding people as per Gatha Ha 32 andthe Khordeh Avesta, Patet PashemaniKarda 3 - (“mediosast”- to tell utter lies andto point to the wrong path).

Learn from the past history of our community

After the Arab conquest, the groups ofZoroastrians, who left Iran to settle in Europeand Asia, assimilated through their “open-door” policy of inter-communal marriage andproselytism. These Zoroastrian communitiesperished because they were absorbed intothe ethnic and racial identity of the largerhost communities. In time, they lost touchwith their religious traditions, rituals andcustoms and by adopting a newer way of lifeof the host communities, they lost theirreligious identity as well. There are no living,practicing Zoroastrian descendants of thesegroups in existence today. Only somearchaeological evidences stand as mutetestimony to the annihilation of theZoroastrian communities who intermarried,proselytized and perished outside of Iran andIndia!

It was in India alone, that the migrant Iranicommunity of Zoroastrians, the Parsis, notonly survived but flourished. Our sagaciousancestors were able to preserve their religionand religious identity because they adheredto their traditions and rituals, and practicedboonak-pasbaani or the “closed door” nonconversion policy. They are the only groupoutside of Iran to survive for over thirteencenturies - even through persecutions andmassacres!

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Justice Davar in his judgment in the juddincase for admission of non-Parsis, predictingthis fate, aptly said: “If their contentions areto prevail, the ruin of the community wouldbe accomplished in as many days as it hastaken generations to attain to that positionof prominence and prosperity which theParsees of India have now achieved.”

Real cause of confusion

One cause of confusion in the mind of anaverage Zoroastrian is that he is inundatedwith unauthorized translations of all ourscriptures by supposed scholars who havenever studied, the Avesta or Pahlavi, thusmisguiding the unsuspecting ordinaryZoroastrian, who has been following hisreligion with faith and devotion.

The final word on this matter is however this

Mr Kanga’s case for conversion againcollapses, as every Samast Anjuman (whichis the voice of the community) since 1908 tilltoday has been overwhelmingly againstconversions and mixed marriages. AND, thehighest courts in the land, supported by theIndian Constitution, have never goneagainst the wishes of any religiouscommunity.

The Indian Constitution guarantees the rightof freedom of religion

In all the High Court judgments in Indiawhere a religious practice or custom hasbeen challenged, the highest courts in theland have invariably stated that Articles 25and 26 of the Indian Constitution, guaranteeevery religious community or section thereof,the inalienable right to practice it’s religion asthe community decides. No one and no courtin the land can challenge that right. As such,as the Parsi Irani Zoroastrian community oreven a section of it, ie. the orthodox,considers and believes that not only thescriptures but also it’s long establishedpractices and beliefs are part of it’s religionand that conversion has never been part ofit’s custom, practice and belief, no court inIndia would interfere by taking away that

fundamental right enshrined in theConstitution, from the Parsi IraniZoroastrian community.

The only real solution

Taking a leaf out of the Christian andJewish faiths where there weredisagreements in the interpretation of theBible and the Talmud, may be a solution.

The intermarried and their children, withtheir affluent reformist friends, who wantconversions, could build their own separatereform religious institutions, temples andplaces for the disposal of their dead, havetheir reform priests and ceremonies, andhave their own reform scriptures.

Reformists could then live side by side withthe conservative/orthodox Zoroastrianswithout rancor and discord. They couldthen have cordial civil and social relationsand join together like the Christians andJews in all matters of common civic andsocial interest and events. We would thenbe able to, in spite of our religiousdifferences, present a united front againstall external aggression.

Conclusion

The following words of an “impartial andobjective” student of our religion, MaryBoyce, may bring some sanity to this debate.

The Continuity Of The Zoroastrian Quest -Mary Boyce (pp 618-9):“The adoption, by the reformists, of so manyEuropean conceptions has forced them to chargetheir ancestors with a lack of both fidelity andunderstanding, and they have had to take theunfortunate position that the religion for whichtheir forebears suffered so much was nine-tenthsconfusion and malpractice. The orthodox havebeen more loyal to their traditions, and nowWestern scholars are gradually coming to admit thatthe misunderstandings have been on their side, theresult largely of unfounded preconceptions. Thesemisunderstandings have done harm both toscholarship and, more seriously, to the Zoroastriancommunity itself; but as the cloud ofmisapprehension slowly lifts, it can be seen that

Mehlli lives in Carlsbad,CA, with his wife Perin.His search for spiritualknowledge, took him onan intensive journey ofover forty years into theOriental Martial Arts,Hindu, Chinese,Christian and Buddhistphilosophies withMasters in India andChina. He was blessedto see what Zoroastrianswith eyes will not see.Here was the knowledgehe was looking for.Events along the way -Bachelor’s degree inEconomics and Law;Regional Manager-Bankof India; GeneralManager of twomerchant banks, BankExaminer with the NewYork State BankingDepartment, RegisteredMaster Yoga Teacherwith over 30 yearsteaching experience inYoga and Ayurveda inIndia and the US,member of the AmericanAyurvedic MedicalAssociation, givingpublic talks and onPublic TV on thesesubjects. He can bereached at: 760-438-7596 or email :[email protected]


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whatever changes and developments may now bedesirable, the tradition of this community is onedeserving of the utmost respect.

“The Zoroastrians, it is claimed, remained inprosperity and adversity staunchly faithful to theteachings of their prophet, which thoughcomplex, were so lucid and logical and formed soclear a system of belief that even the humblest ofHis followers, helped by the prescribed devotions,could understand and live by them. They were,moreover, very positive teachings which wentwith, not against, the normal bent of humannature, and helped men to live satisfying andfulfilled lives. In the light of all this, it ceases tobe remarkable that Zoroastrianism survived forsome 8500 years and that the community thoughcruelly reduced, and of late perplexed, has stillnot lost the courage and vitality inspired by itsprophet’s original message.”

Reference:1. All Gatha quotes are translations from Ervad KavasjiKanga’s Gatha-ba-Mani.

q

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As I begin to write this shortarticle I wonder how much more flavour andconfusion I will add in the minds of peoplewho are already trying to promote wellness,fitness and weight loss through different dietregimes. Are you one of those on the dietingmerry-go-round. Are you one of those on allprotein diets, or on only carbohydrates dietor on that deprivation diet? It is true thatwhile one man’s food is another man’spoison, it is not what you eat, but ratherwhen you eat and how you eat, that is saidto give you energy and help in the weightloss process.

One evening at a social dinner, I wasintroduced to this book Fit For Life by myfriend in Perth. At that time, I did notice thetransformation in her - she looked fit,healthy and radiated a pink glow resemblingthat “phoren” look. For sometime I patientlytried to duck and dodge her conversationrevolving around healthy eating. Imagineone Parsi telling another Parsi that under nocircumstance should meat be eaten with avegetable. What? No mutton in veggies!That would amount to blasphemy towardsthis all important pleasures of life. My mythson food were shattered. She went further toadd insult to injury that you can have curryrice but without meat or fish. That youshould not combine carbohydrate withprotein. Imagine any Parsi home havingdhansak without meat or a curry minus thebotas (meat)! Well at least the vegetariansection of Katy Dalal’s book Jamva Chalojiwould remain unaffected, but the Rice andParsi Wedding Feast contents would needto be removed. Goodbye to govar sing-ne-gharab no-patio, lasan-ne-kothmir-nu-bhejoo. Goodbye to traditional recipeswhich are a hallmark of Parsi cuisine.

All these years I have taken the position ofone that I live to eat and not eat to live.Onthe lighter side of life, I always thought that

b y j e h a n g i r m e h t a

Myths on food and food habits busted and blown

our lives are not in the lap of God, but ratherin the lap of the cook. That eating is meantto be enjoyed - Serenely full, the ep’icurewould say - Fate cannot harm me, I havedined today. What is completely new anddifferent to me is that it is not only what youeat that makes the difference, but alsowhen you eat it and in what combinations.This new system is said to give lastingresults with least disappointment. Havingread the book I have realized that indeedthe greatest gift of all is the human bodyand the immense intelligence that directs it.Harvey and Marilyn Diamond - the co-authors of the book tell us that“mechanisms for the body’s selfpreservation are built in at birth. Health isyour birthright, and being overweight andunhealthy is not health.”

I always believed that a big hearty Aussiebreakfast would give you a kick start for theday. At home in Dadar we always had anomlette or an akoori or altei paleti withbread and layers of butter, jam and cheese.It was instilled in us that you must eatbreakfast like a king, lunch as a prince anddinner as a pauper. This would give achance to burn the calories during the day.Fit For Life blows away this myth. Digestionof food takes more energy than running,swimming or bike riding. Remember energyis the essence of life. When you wake up inthe morning you want to feel energetic allday. Eating a big breakfast will sap theenergy in digestion. This now makescommonsense to me and I have slowly(much against my will) started following thismorning routine of only eating fruits and fruitsalad and fruit juice. Fruit goes to theintestine within minutes giving instantenergy. I was not much of a fruit fan apartfrom an occasional banana. I think a lot ofParsis are banana buffs - don’t ask me why.I know for a fact that Zoroastrian Iranisconsume huge quantities of fruits and raw


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nuts. This small step in changing my eatinghabit in the morning has made a hugeimpact in alleviating the discomfortsassociated with my long standingconstipation. This means no more milk withmuesli, no more yoghurt, and my favouriteham and eggs or Egg Benedict. Ouch!What?

Talking of yoghurt or plain dahi - this wasthe miracle formula of our grandparents tostabilize stomach disorders. Yoghurt ashealth food! Fit for Life condemns yoghurtas catastrophe. The friendly bacteria youare supposedly getting when you eatyoghurt are something that your bodyalready produces in quantities about whichit knows best. Don’t have it with fruit as itwill ferment and putrefy in your stomach.

Our biological body clock has three cycles -4 am to12 noon is the elimination cycle. 12noon to 8 pm is the eating and digestioncycle. 8 pm to 4 am is the assimilation orthe absorption cycle. Our traditional eatinghabits - including eating too much at wrongtime, not eating enough fruit andvegetables, eating wrong combinations,eating too much meat, have obstructed theall important elimination cycle resulting inexcess weight and build up of toxins. I knowa few young Parsi boys who will go toSubway (healthy version of MacDonald’s)and have a meat burger with zerovegetables and salads inside. And whenthey come over for dinner at our place -meats, meats and meats is the order of theday. Eating high water content foods likefruits and veggies helps in removal oftoxins, and expedites elimination cycle. Theother tool that is talked of in maintaininghealth and vigour is the proper combining offoods. Human body is not designed todigest more than one concentrated food ata time. Proper food combining optimizes theenergy required to digest the food. Whathappens when you combine say a nicesirloin steak with rice or potato? Proteinrequires acid juice to break it down. Rice orpotato requires alkaline juice. Net result isthey neutralize each other. Body then has tosecrete more juices. This takes time andenergy, and this ‘Catch 22’ goes on till this

undigested and putrefied food is forced intointestines and cannot be assimilated. Doesit make common sense to you? Yes itdoes to me.

But in saying that I am not about to give upon my favourite sali-boti or papeta-ma-goshor sali-par-eddu or my chicken curry rice.But I have also found other simple ways tobalance out this combining tool. Iconscientiously avoid potato or rice with fishor steak. Instead I have copious amounts ofvegetables and salads with my meat. Soyou’re not going to go hungry eating likethat, are you? Of course not. The other toolthat is suggested for weight loss is theprinciple of correct fruit consumption. I hadabsolutely no idea and neither did my wifePhyrooza that there is a when and how toeat a fruit. Most of the fruits pass throughthe stomach within 20 minutes giving usinstantaneous energy. I am used to eatingfruit before breakfast, with meals, and aftermeals. Fit For Life recommends that fruitshould not be eaten with or immediatelyfollowing anything. And that means NOFRUIT even after a sandwich. Allow at leastthree hours before you can eat fruit after themeals. We now have at least 3 - 4 servingsof fruit in the morning before lunch. We stilleat fruit - all that has changed is we don’teat them with our meals any longer. We willnot delve in to the problems that result iffruit is eaten on top of other foods. Thismakes commonsense to me.

Have I talked about exercise? I remember asimple advice by my Chinese Herbalist -exercise till you get a little sweat on yourforehead each day. And in his Chineseaccent he would tell us to do “humping”- hemeant jumping on a trampoline. Daily 30minutes brisk walk would be considered agood cardio work out. While the modern daygym comes complete with various cardiomachines and fitness instructors, I stillremember the basic gymnasium at Dadarback in 1967. The order of the day then wasmainly weights and dumb bells. Fivegardens at Dadar - Mumbai where I grew upprovided an ideal spot for people takingtheir early morning walks. Amongst a varietyof people from different backgrounds I could

18


only see a sprinkle of Parsis doing the dailyroutine. But today I am encouraged to seemany Zoroastrians doing the rounds of thegardens. People are beginning to realizethe importance of good eating habits withan exercise programme.

So has this blown away your eating habits?We all have our habits to eat a bigbreakfast, to mix proteins andcarbohydrates, to eat fruit after meals, todrink water with our meals, to eat late atnight. While I have no intention to strictlyfollow the food combining aspect due to mylove for tasty Parsi cuisine, I have become aconvert towards fruit and fruit juices andeating fruit correctly. This article is notmeant to dispense any medical advice ordiet prescription, however what hashelped me may genuinely help someother person. As I said before in my article,life’s gift to you is your body and in returnwe must look after it. Thank you to my“health conscious friend” for giving methis gift to better understand our old habitsand make changes to them for a healthierlifestyle. Well, at least till such time asscience and human minds concoct newnutrition guidelines. And we go back to theold habits. People are confused!

Recommended reading - Fit for Life by Harvey &Marilyn Diamond. Angus and Robertson Publishers

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Jehangir Mehta, with his wifePhyrooza l ives in Perth,Western Australia.

As there is hand preference,there are also foot, eye and earpreferences. The cliche - “put your ‘bestfoot’ forward” is known all too well.(Grammatically, instead of ‘best’ the wordreally ought to be ‘better’... of the two feet).Even among the Parsi Zoroastrians of thesubcontinent it was not uncommon forelders to make sure the right foot was firstused in any movement forward duringauspicious rituals and while going up stepsor entering a house.

Over the last 150 years, the link betweenhand preference and a possible functionalspecialization of the Brain Hemisphere hasbeen seriously pursued. The significance ofthe exact relationship between handpreference and brain function remainssomewhat unclear. Of importance is theCorpus Callosum, which lies below the twohalves (Cerebral Hemispheres) of the brainand connects the two halves by carryingover the bundle of nerve fibres forcommunication between the two. TheCorpus Callosum is wider in the brains ofwomen than in those of men to allow forgreater cross communication between thehemispheres - possibly the recognisedbasis for women’s “intuition”. It alsoexplains a predominance of single-taskorientation of males, relative to femalelearners. The smaller Corpus Callosum inthe male makes it harder for the left andright sides of the brain to work together.This explains the superior feminine abilityto perform multitask actions with ease.Precisely, this very fact about a largerCorpus Callosum has been observed inpersons of both genders who have a mixedhand preference, which carries the abilityto multitask performance. Further, in partialor complete absence from birth of theCorpus Callosum there is gross impairmentof hand-eye coordination, apart from the

b y s a m k e r r

Avestan emphasis on right-handedness (right hand preference)

Timeless beauty is one who haswarmth, sparkle in her eye andelegance. - author unknown


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lack of mental and physical developmentand memory .

It is estimated that persistent, lifelong left-handed persons comprise only 2 - 3% of thepopulation though left-handed personsgenerally comprise about 10% of thepopulation. Mixed-handed persons makeup 70 - 80% of the left-handed population.

Nerve fibres from the opposite side of ourBrain Hemisphere control our musclemovements on each side of the body. It hasbeen observed that mixed handed personsare less likely to be creative but more likelyto be hypochondriac. This can be explainedby the observation that the left hemispherecontrols rational thought, while the righthemisphere is the world-view surveyor,recognising the flaws when contradictorythoughts becomes apparent and eliminatingentrenched ideas. In mixed-handedpersons, a larger Corpus Callosum will helpthe right hemisphere revise its beliefs morefrequently. For example, in the case ofhypochondriacs their reaction to a minorinjury makes them dwell on the issue as if itwere a major catastrophe.

Apart from the widely acceptedobservations, whether, and to what extent,these differences are associated withbehavioural and cognitive differencesbetween males and females is unclear. Bethat as it may, we are here more interestedin our own Avestan experiences in a ParsiZoroastrian way of life on the subcontinent.I am not fully aware this was so in theupbringing of children in Iran, although theexperiences of a close friend of mine, fromwhom I gather valuable material about theZoroastrian way of life in Iran, reassures methe behavioral pattern of parents towardschildren was the same.

In those days it was not uncommon for aparent, teacher and grandparent todiscipline (most times, quite strictly so, too)the left-handed child to change over andliterally force the child to use the right hand.The innocent child had no alternative but toobey the commands. In my early days as amedical practitioner I have myself advised

Golden plaque showing a Maghavanholding a bundle of Barsom Rods inthe right hand. A dagger hangs fromits halter on the right side (in case ofurgent defence).

Shooting an arrow: Showing the bowstring being pulled with the arrow held by the righthand. This seal attributes the bowman as Darius the Great hunting lions in the inscriptioncuneiform script on the left. The metal seals were etched cylinders, which were rolled on wetclay to create an impression in the soft clay. Once the clay was baked, the hardened clay tabletcould never be altered.

Warriors from Darius I & Xerxes II Palace at Susashowing warriors with the quiver (holding arrows)strapped to the left shoulder.

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mothers to try and use their left hand whenoffering anything to the child positioned infront of them. This was based on thepremise that the child is more likely to pullout the right hand (being nearer to themother’s left hand) to handle the offeringrather than take the trouble of crossing overthe left hand to take whatever is beinggiven. This advice certainly helped the so-called ‘learned’ left-handed children butnot those born genetically left-handed(20% are believed to be geneticallydetermined and some to a birth injuryaetiology, believed to be damage to the leftHemisphere sustained at birth since theright-handed person has the speech centrein the Left Hemisphere highly developed).

As a student surgeon in England trying togo through my paces in the operativeprocedures in the region of the face, nasaland post nasal passages, mouth, oralpassages and prolonged cancer operativeprocedures in the neck I was taken to taskstrictly by one of my determined seniorsuperiors. He maintained that, since theoperative work was performed in these verylimited, cramped spaces with vital structuressuperimposed and in close proximity, it is ofadvantage to operate on the left side of thepatient with the right hand and vice versa,thus keeping the operative field in themiddle clear to view at all times. It was anextremely nerve wrecking experience tochange in the mid twenties of life. Heseemed to have dedicated ‘spies’ in theoperating rooms and word spread fast assoon as I reverted to crossing my handsduring extremely crucial moments. It took18 months of anxiety and sweat to developthe ambidextrous procedure of operating,which luckily persisted advantagiouslythroughout my working life.

My thoughts thus veered towards seekingancient evidence derived from our Avestanhistorical documentation. Manuscripts,pictures, bas reliefs and clay tablets pointtowards a culture, which presumed andpromoted right-handedness as the expectednorm. The sword always hung from itshalter at the waist on the left side and thequiver with its arrows was always strapped

to the left shoulder, clearly making themeasier and quicker to draw with the righthand. The battle scenes are alwaysdepicted with the sword, spear, javelin etc.,in the right hand and the stretchedbowstring and arrow held with the righthand.

Possibly, many a left-handed prince, whowould otherwise have become a potentiallydedicated and just ruler, may well havebeen demoted from ascending the thronefor being ‘clumsy’ in daily practices and‘incompetent’ to lead in warfare. q

However, where theFire on the Altarneeded tending it hadto be the right handand the bundle ofBarsom rods wastransferred to the lefthand. The daggerhowever was keptready at the waist onthe right side of thehalter for urgentdefence.

Sasanian coins showing the sword hanging from its halter at thewaist on the left side and the short (9 inches) Barsom rods beingheld in the right hand in reverence. The right hand was also used asa sign of reverence when holding the royal ‘Mace’. The largerbundles (3 feet and 5 feet) of Barsom rods were held with both hands.

Fellow of the RoyalSociety of Medicine(London) and ofseveral Colleges ofSurgery, Sam Kerr wasSurgeon/Lecturer, theUniversity of NSWand College Hospitals,Sydney from 1968 to2003. He is nowEmeritus Surgeon atthe University andHospitals. He hasinitiated/been afounding member -AZA of NSW,Sydney. In addition tohis professional writinghe has lectured/published on the social,cultural, historical andscriptural aspects of thereligion ofZarathushtra.


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These holidays are not just Christianreligious festivals. Obviously, there is aconnection between wisdom, charity andgift-giving and the Magi. During this time,Jews celebrate Hanukkah, African-Americans celebrate Quanzaa, and weZoroastrians celebrate Yalda.

The celebration of Christmas owes muchmore to the ancient traditions of thePersians and the Egyptians than mostpeople realize.

Luke’s account of the shepherds and the“Light of Glory” at the time of Christ’s birthsuggest Zoroastrian influences. Matthew’saccount adds the visit of the wise men fromthe East led by a star. The bright star Siriusrising on the horizon had been for millenniathe watched-for sign that announced therising of the flood waters of the Nile. It wasthe custom to spend the night in singing andattending to the images of the gods on theeve of that night. Today, this “Day of theMagi” is celebrated on January 6 in theGreek Orthodox Church.

The present custom of celebrating theNativity on December 25 was instituted in353 or 354 in Rome, under Pope Liberius,possibly to absorb the festival of Mithra.According to legend, Mithra had a virginbirth from the mother rock. Christ, likeMithra, was recognized as the risen sun, therenovator of the world.

Jews had enjoyed complete freedom toobserve their religious practices under theAchaemenians. After Judea became aprovince of the Seleucid empire, Antiochusordered the Jews to install Greek statues intheir temples. Hanukkah (or Chanukah)celebrates the victorious struggle of theJews to drive out the Greeks. Theyrededicated their temple by lighting aperpetual oil lamp on the 25th day of Kislev,which falls on Dec 15 this year. Hanukkah is

The meaning of Christmas

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shared by rustom kevala

observed bydecorating homes,gift-giving, andentertainment offriends and family.Some Jews erect aHanukkah bushduring the holidays.

During first century BC, the Essene tribe ofpious Jews retreated to the desert ofQumran overlooking the Dead Sea to awaitthe arrival of the Messiah. The Qumrantexts give detailed instructions for thepreparations for the coming Armageddonbetween the sons of light and the sons ofdarkness – clearly influenced by Zoroastrianbelief in the arrival of the Saoshyant, whowill lead us to finally remove the forces ofevil from the physical world.

The Celebration of Yalda

Yalda, a Syric word imported into the Persian language by Syric Christiansduring Sasanian times, means birth. “Shab-e-Yalda” or “Shab-e-Cheleh” is thecelebration of winter solstice on December21st, the last day of the month of Azar, andthe longest night of the year. The next day,the first day of the month of Dayh, is knownas Khore rooz (the day of the sun). Sincethe days will now be getting longer and thenights shorter, this day marks the victory ofthe sun over darkness.

Shab-e-Yalda is a social occasion, whenfamily and friends get together for fun andmerriment, reading of poetry and the ShahNama. Children are allowed to stay up allnight. Dried fruits, nuts, seeds and freshwinter fruits are offered. As the sun rises inthe morning, Mithra (Mehr) is welcomed as“the light of the early morning” withcommunal recitation of Havan gah.

Photograph from Hamazor archives

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More than a century ago thiswasn’t just a gentle advice but a sternwarning handed down to young Parsi womenwho dreamt of following in the footsteps ofthe Lady with the lamp. This patriarchalwarning verging on orthodoxy preventedmany a Parsi woman from becoming a futureFlorence Nightingale. And sadly enoughdeprived the community of its rightful claim tobe the pioneers in nursing profession amongdiverse communities of India.

Let’s not be disheartened if we couldn’t be thepioneers in nursing profession. Just shift thecurtain that covers two centuries and see how

nursing profession emerged in India.

Sir Jamshedji Jijeebhoy’smunificence saw establishment of JJ Hospital at Bombay in 1845. Butfor next 35 years till 1880, therewere no nurses in the hospital. Thereason being that there was nofacility for training of nurses at thattime in the country. And generallyward boys rendered nursing ofsome sorts in the hospitals.

Neither there were proper maternityhomes, nor foreign qualifiedgynecologists, not even well trainedmidwives in those days. Surprisingly,under such dire circumstances Parsi

ingenuity had solved the problem, bymaintaining a room at the ground floor ofevery Parsi building, expressly kept forpregnant women ready to deliver a child.There were very few Parsi women who couldperform a job of a dai (midwife). Majority ofdaians were non-Parsi women who thrived inthis profession, and inexperienced as theywere in the care of a newborn a soaring childmortality was a common reoccurrence.

b y v i r a s p m e h t a

Parsis & Nursing Profession

“DON’T you ever become a nurse lest spinsterhood be your fate!”

In midst of this gloom, what was improbable happened. In1877 nuns of the Order of All Saints Sisters , ofOxfordshire spurred by missionary zeal came to India.They rendered their services at hospitals anddispensaries, and even in private homes as nurses; andwere commonly referred to as sisters. From then on itbecame customary to address nurses as sisters. In 1879a new order of Anglican Church Mission of All SaintsSisters was established in Bombay. In the following yearBombay’s British Government impressed by the work ofthese missionary sisters approached them with a requestto take charge of nursing at the J J Hospital. Initially twonursing-sisters were given the responsibility of a ward.Their services proved successful and gaining popularity,the first step to impart nursing training to Indian womenwas laid. It appears that in next ten years Indian womenwere gradually filling the ranks of trained nurses.

Impressed by this momentum on the part of Indian womento nurse the ill and infirmed, Sir Muncherji Bhawnagri, amember of the British Parliament built a hostel for traineenurses, in memory of his sister the late Avabai Bhawnagri.Women from Kerala mostly availed of this facility.

There is no record whether our young women availed of thisearly opportunity of becoming trained nurses. However, atsome time and somewhere, there must have been bold anddetermined Parsi women who had courage to defy the oldrestraining order and entered the nursing profession.Though much later in the day, and certainly not in largenumbers, eventually our women proudly walked the wardsof large and small hospitals, all angelic in their spotlesswhite dress. Some more proficient and with more years ofservice than others, qualified as matrons.

In this higher rank of nursing profession stands out thename of Ms Tehmina K Adranwalla, who had the honourto be the first Indian matron of J J Hospital. She joinedthe nursing training course in 1917. At that time she wasreminded of the fate that awaited her, to wit, spinsterhoodthat befell a Parsi woman who became a nurse.Undeniably behind all this nonsense was the stubbornParsi orthodoxy that held back Parsi men to comeforward and marry a Parsi nurse.

Sir Jamshedji Jijeebhoy, courtesyMarzban J Giara


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That’s whathappened toTehminaAdranwalla,whounfortunatelyremainedunmarried.Perhaps theremay be somemore from thisnobleprofession whomet a similarfate as MsAdranwalla’s,but not all.There weresome on whomfate smiled andblissfullyfavoured themwith a happymarried life.

These days wedon’t hear of our women becoming nurses.Although, today they are freer to choose thisprofession than they were before. Could it still bethe fear of spinsterhood that holds them backfrom becoming nurses? Probably not: Thosedays when our women chose either nursing orteaching as a profession, have disappeared withchanging times. Today the field of vocation iswide for our women and they are found wellplaced in many other vocations.

Yet spinsterhood looms large on the communalhorizon - an enigmatic problem, which our socialreformers would prefer to leave it to fate!

Acknowledgement: Recourse has been made to YadonoVarghodo. Jam-e-Jamshed Weekly’s article of June 11,2006.

Virasp Mehta was born in Karachi in1925 having lived there throughout. Afew years ago he moved to the USA. Heis the managing trustee of InformalReligious Meetings which publishes themonthly bulletin on the Zoroastrianreligion and is also electronicallyavailable. He writes poems and songs andis the author of numerous plays which

have been performed in Karachi.

Lord Bilimoria: My Lords, from the time that I walked into this HouseI have been showered by kindness from everyone; from my fellow Peers,the Convener of the Cross-Bench Peers and his team and all the officersand staff of the House. My supporters, the noble Lord, Lord Dholakia,and the noble Baroness, Lady Prashar, have both been an inspiration tome for many years. I am deeply grateful for the warmth of the welcomethat I have received from everyone.

When my appointment was announced, I was surprised to discover thatI was the first Zoroastrian Parsi to become a Peer. The Parsi communitymigrated to India from Persia more than a thousand years ago. Today,the Parsis number fewer than 100,000 people in India, a nation of morethan a billion. To me the Parsi community has exemplified the principlethat it is not good enough to be the best in the world, one must also bethe best for the world. The Parsis historically have always put back intothe community. I am so proud of what our tiny community has achieved,not only in India but also in producing the first three Asian MPs inBritain. The first was Dadabhai Naoroji, a Liberal, in 1892; the second,Sir Mancherjee Bhownagree, a Conservative; and the third, ComradeSak, Shapurji Saklatvala, a Communist and Labour Party member. Then,of course, I realised that my appointment to the House of Lords hasfinally squared the circle, as I am a Cross-Bencher.

I came to this country as a 19 year-old from India for my higher education.I qualified as a chartered accountant in the City and graduated in lawfrom Cambridge. But within six months of completing my studies I startedmy career as an entrepreneur. By this time my father, General FaridoonBilimoria, was General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the CentralIndian Army. I remember that he said to me despairingly, “All thiseducation, and you’re becoming an import-export wallah”.

Being an obedient son, I started Cobra Beer from scratch.Entrepreneurship and enterprise were conspicuous by their absence inHer Majesty’s gracious Speech, in fact there was very little mention ofbusiness at all, and yet today there is a movement in entrepreneurshipin this country. As it happens, the same week of the gracious Speechwas Enterprise Week, now in its third year and with 3,000 eventsspreading the spirit of enterprise throughout Britain. In addition toEnterprise Week and many other initiatives, two years ago the NationalCouncil for Graduate Entrepreneurship was established by the Chancellorto encourage university students to consider starting a business as a careerchoice. I am proud to be its national champion.

How far we have come? When I was a student at Cambridge in the1980s, the words “business” and “entrepreneurship” did not exist in theuniversity vocabulary. Today, Cambridge has a flourishing business school,Cambridge Enterprise, and the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning.

Text of Lord Bilimoria’s Maiden Speech on 27thNovember 2006 published in the House of LordsHansard

The J J Hospital, courtesy Jehangir Patel

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I am also proud to be chancellor of one of Britain’s truly modern universities; Thames Valley University, which isheadquartered here in London. I like to call it “tomorrow’s university today”. It is a university that supports lifelonglearning. Talking about lifelong learning, it is truly a privilege for me to be a Member of this House. What I am lookingforward to more than anything is not only contributing as best I can, but to learning, and learning, and learning frommy noble colleagues here.

When I came to the UK in the early 1980s, Britain was the sick man of Europe and had no respect in the worldeconomy. There was also very much a glass ceiling here. In fact, I was told by my family and friends in India that Iwould never get to the top because I would never be allowed to get to the top. But look at Britain today—it is a truemeritocracy, with opportunity for all regardless of race, religion or background. One of Britain’s greatest strengths is ouropen and free market. There is no way that I would have been able to start a beer brand from scratch with £20,000 ofstudent debt, in the most competitive beer market in the world, if it had not been a true free market. A free marketmeans huge competition, but it also means that anyone can have a go. I would much rather have it that way round.

What has changed as well is that we now live in a globalised world, where countries are not only interdependent but alsofar more integrated. I was very happy to see in the gracious Speech that the Government will work to take forward theWorld Trade Organisation Doha talks. For the past three years, I have served as the UK chairman of the Indo-BritishPartnership Initiative, which is supported by UK Trade and Investment. We have created the Indo-British PartnershipNetwork, and our mission is to increase trade, business and investment between Britain and India both ways.

The India that I was brought up in as a child was inward-looking, insular and protectionist. Even today, sadly, 300 millionpeople in India live on less than a dollar a day. India is a country with enormous challenges; however some people failbecause of, and others succeed in spite of. In spite of all its challenges, today India is one of the fastest-growing economiesin the world, growing at 8 per cent a year. There is a thirst for liberalisation and reform and a new-found confidence inIndia, which is well on its way to becoming a global economic superpower. And yet, today India accounts for only 1 percent of Britain’s total trade; and Britain has historically been a great trading nation. India accounts for less than 1 per centof Britain’s investment abroad; and yet we are great outward investors. Although India is an enormous challenge forBritain, it is more importantly a tremendous opportunity for our country and for British business.

The Government’s role with regard to business has changed worldwide, from command and control to governmentbeing a catalyst, a helper and a supporter of business. For Britain to meet these new global challenges and opportunities,it is vital that the Government do all that they can to encourage and champion education, science and technology,entrepreneurship, innovation, and creativity. The Government must help British business to do business with India.The combination of government, education and business working together is very, very powerful. Britain is a tinynation; we are just 1 per cent of the world’s population, and yet we have always punched above our weight. Today, weare still one of the five largest economies in the world. If we can stoke the flames of entrepreneurship in Britain, thereis no limit to what we can achieve.

My great grandfather, D D Italia, came from the city of Hyderabad in India, where I was born. He was a Member of theRajya Sabha, the Upper House in India, and he was a man in whose footsteps I am proud to follow here in our UpperHouse, the House of Lords. I am also proud to have been inspired by his motto, “to aspire and achieve”. My companyand I have adopted this as our vision and added, “to aspire and achieve against all odds, with integrity”.

It may seem against all odds for Britain in this global world, up against giants like China and India, but we must aspire,and we must continue to achieve, and most importantly we must do so with what we have always been renowned for,and that is our integrity.[courtesy ZTFE]

Lord Beaumont ofWhitley: “I may saythat I have not heard abetter maiden speech inmy 37 years in yourLordships’ House thanthat of the noble Lord,Lord Bilimoria.”

Lord Vallance ofTummel : (FormerChairman BritishTelecom)“I add mycongratulations to thenoble Lord, LordBilimoria, on his highlyrefreshing,entrepreneurialmaiden speech.”

The Lord Bishop ofManchester: “Themaiden speech of thenoble Lord, LordBilimoria, wasespecially appreciatedon the Bishops’ Bench,and if I may go beyondprinted convention, Icongratulate him on it.”

Lord Oakeshott ofSeagrove Bay: “I wasmost impressed bythe splendid maidenspeech made by thenoble Lord, LordBilimoria. If he has abottle of Cobra on hiscoat of arms, may italways be full.”

Baroness Wilcox :“In the noble Lord, LordBilimoria, I welcome ourfirst Parsi. He is ane n t r e p r e n e u r — h o wterrific—and, better thanthat, he makes Cobrabeer, which is the only beerI have ever been able todrink. It is absolutelydelicious, and I amdelighted that he is here.”

Lord Sanderson of Bowden:

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The lights go off ... its twenty onehundred and the crowds cannot controlthemselves any further. Chants roar formiles, “FREDDIE! FREDDIE! Freddie welove you!” And then one man steps into theazure hue spotlight. As the man can beheard taking his breath, like an eagleleaping from its ledge, ready to soar, thecrowd goes ballistic with the four words “IWANT IT ALL” and then “AND I WANT ITNOW!” Fire works erupt from the stage andthe band Queen begins one of its many epicconcerts. “QUEEN”, the classic British rockband formed by Freddie Mercury, BrianMay, and Roger Taylor in London, England,in 1970 from the remains of Smile, withJohn Deacon completing the lineup thefollowing year, was also Britain’s mostsuccessful band of the past three decades.Queen became popular during the mid-to-late 1970s and to this day retain anextremely large international fan base. Butwhy you may ask, that I go on about thislarger-than life group? It is because thisband was also fronted by one of the mostpowerfull and spectacular vocalists of thisera, none other then Farrokh Bulsara betterknown as Freddie Mercury.

Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara in thecity of Stone Town on the African island ofZanzibar (at the time a British colony, nowpart of Tanzania). His parents, Bomi and JerBulsara, were Parsi-Zoroastrians from India.The family had emigrated to Zanzibar inorder for Bomi to continue his job as amiddle-ranking cashier at the BritishColonial Office. Mercury had one youngersister, Kashmira. Mercury was sent back toIndia to attend St Peter’s boarding schoolnear Bombay (now Mumbai). It was at StPeter’s where he learned to play the pianoand joined his first band, The Hectics. Hestayed in India for most of his childhood,living with his grandmother and aunt; and

Freddie Mercury, the King of Queen b y s o h r a b a n k l e s a r i a

completed his education at St Mary’s HighSchool in Mazagon before returning toZanzibar. He was 17 when he and his familyfinally fled to England, as a result of the1964 Zanzibar Revolution. In England, heearned a Diploma in Art and Graphic Designat Ealing Art College, following in thefootsteps of Pete Townsend. He later usedthese skills in order to design the Queencrest.

Widely considered as one of the greatestvocalists in popular music, Freddie Mercurypossessed a very distinctive voice. Althoughhis speaking voice naturally fell in thebaritone range, his singing voice was that ofa tenor. His recorded vocal range spannednearly four octaves (falsetto included), withhis lowest recorded note being the F belowthe bass clef and his highest recorded notebeing the D that lies nearly four octavesabove. In addition to vocal range, Mercuryoften delivered technically difficult songs ina powerful manner. However, due in part tothe fact that he suffered from vocal nodules(for which he declined surgery), he wouldoften lower the highest notes during manyconcerts. Mercury also claimed that henever had any formal vocal training.Although he had a very close girlfriendnamed Mary Austin for many years, FreddieMercury had always been fairly open abouthis sexuality. In a March 12, 1974 interviewfor New Musical Express, he told theinterviewer: ‘I am as gay as a daffodil, my

Young Freddie, from the Queen’s website

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dear!’ Beginning in the late 1970s, Mercurybegan a series of affairs with men, whichultimately resulted in the end of hisrelationship with Austin. However, the tworemained close friends through the years,and Mercury often referred to Austin as hisonly true friend. In a 1985 interview,Mercury said of Austin, “All my lovers askedme why they couldn’t replace Mary (Austin),but it’s simply impossible. The only friendI’ve got is Mary, and I don’t want anybodyelse. To me, she was my common-law wife.To me, it was a marriage. We believe ineach other, that’s enough for me. I couldn’tfall in love with a man the same way as Ihave with Mary.”

In 1983, Mercury found a new lover namedJim Hutton. Hutton lived with Mercury forthe last six years of his life, cared for himwhen he was ill, and was at his bedsidewhen he died. According to Hutton, Mercuryreferred to him as his husband, and diedwearing a wedding band that Hutton hadgiven him.

Mercury possessed a notable overbite of histeeth that he had wanted to fix for manyyears. Early in his career, he commentedthat he wished to have work done, butregretted that he did not have time to do it.He also expressed fears that such anoperation might damage his voice. Whilesmiling Mercury would often cover hismouth with his hand, in an attempt to hidethe overbite.

According to the January 2004 edition ofCat Fancy, Mercury possessed a greatfondness for cats, at one point owning asmany as ten. Mercury’s personal assistant,Peter Freestone, wrote that his boss “put asmuch importance on them as any human.”The album Mr Bad Guy and the songDelilah were dedicated to cats, and Mercurywore clothes featuring cats in videos and onalbum covers.

Mercury kept his Indian descent a secretfrom most of his fans, rarely mentioning hisheritage in interviews. He would sometimesrefer to himself as “Persian,” perhapsalluding to his identity as a Parsi. Many

friends expressed their view that Mercury felt ashamedof his ethnic origins and feared racial backlash in acountry that had long been troubled by race riots andviolence against Indian immigrants. On the other hand,fellow band mate Roger Taylor suggested that Mercurydownplayed his heritage simply because he did not feelthat it would fit well with his rock musician persona.

According to Mercury’s partner, Jim Hutton, Mercurywas diagnosed with AIDS in the spring of 1987.Mercury claimed to have tested negative in aninterview published that year, and continued to denythat he had AIDS. On November 22, 1991, Mercurycalled Queen’s manager Jim Beach over to hisKensington home, to discuss a public statement. Thenext day, November 23, the following announcementwas made to the press:

“Following the enormous conjecture in the press over the lasttwo weeks, I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIVpositive and have AIDS. I felt it correct to keep this informationprivate to date to protect the privacy of those around me.However, the time has come now for my friends and fansaround the world to know the truth and I hope that everyone willjoin with my doctors and all those worldwide in the fight againstthis terrible disease. My privacy has always been very special tome and I am famous for my lack of interviews. Pleaseunderstand this policy will continue.”

A little over 24 hours after issuing the statement,Freddie Mercury died at home in the presence of closefriends, at the age of 45. Although he had not attendedreligious services in years, Mercury’s funeral wasconducted by a Zoroastrian priest. He was crematedat Kensal Green Cemetery, and the whereabouts ofhis ashes are unknown, although some believe themto have been dispersed into Lake Geneva, or are inhis family’s possession. The remaining members ofQueen founded The Mercury Phoenix Trust, andorganised The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. Heleft £500,000 to his chef, £500,000 to his personalassistant, £100,000 to his driver, and £500,000 to hispartner, Jim Hutton. Mary Austin, his life-long friend,inherited the estate and now lives there with herfamily.Fans worldwide commemorated the life of FreddieMercury who would have celebrated his 60th birthdayon the fifth of September 2006. A garland on one of hisposters, a whole day of partying in ones back yardwith close friends listening to the rock phenomenon,would surely suffice, but definately not enough to showthe complete love and appreciation of the world whichFreddie “ROCKED”.

Tamara Barshak ofITV contactedWZO London forassistance re theTV programme tobe broadcasted totime with the birthanniversary inS e p t e m b e r .Farrokh Vajifdarwas interviewedand DinshawTamboly assistedin Mumbai butneither wereshown on theprogramme. But atleast in the credits,both Vajifdar &WZO wereacknowledged.Farrokh V writes ina personalexchange: “I thinkhe should beregarded as thegreatest Parsiever. No one – noteven DadabhaiNaoroji, norP h e r o z e s h a hMehta, etc. – hasever enjoyed suchrecognition on aworld-wide scaleas FM! (And Inever even knewthe fellow!)” - Ed.


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Fifteen years after his deathin 1991, the legendary rockstar Freddie Mercury’s musicis still enjoyed around theworld. On the occasion of his60th birth anniversary a CD,The Very Best of FreddieMercury, and a DVD Lover ofLife, Singer of Songs, werereleased by EMI Music.

Parties in London andCologne were thrown by EMIand Queen which revolvedaround a performance of WeWill Rock You one of Freddie’sgreatest performances. TheSwiss erected his statue inMontreux and in Britain astamp was issued in hishonour.

On his 60th “would have been” birthday, hisfamily exposed their family album for aspecial TV tribute to the legend. In Zanzibarhis birthplace, a beach party was planned atthe Mercury resturaunt but due to localMuslim fanatics, (who did not approve ofMercury’s flambuoyant ways) this wasdisapproved off.

As a fellow vocalist playing in a small localKarachi band it is my honour and priviledgeto exhalt this massive icon and belovedperformer. To tell the tale of a man who has,who is to this day and for many generationsto come, Rock minds, hearts and souls ofall who desire and inspire the art of Rockacross the earth from Zanzibar to Mumbai.Freddie Mercury, you are the champion myfriend, thank you for “We are theChampions”, “I want it all” and thank you forbringing a little bit of “Bohemian Rapsody”into our music.

Photograph taken by SooniTaraporevala, from herbook The Parsis, withpermission

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17-year old Sohrab is studying for hisGCE O levels at the Karachi GrammarSchool. He loves the English language,wrote poetry till a couple of years agowhenever he felt he couldn’t cope andenjoys singing. He is now trying his handin writing lyrics.

The Real Story of Freddy Mercuryby Mariam AhundovaIn Russian, now available in Englishhttp://allofqueen.on.ufanet.ru/book.html

The real story of Freddie Mercury written byRussian author Ahundova, destroys manystereotypes and prejudices, created around therock icon.

The influence of the Zoroastrian environmentupon Freddie Mercury is discussed in the veryfirst chapter. The second chapter deals withfalsification and concealment of the facts,connected with his childhood, which in theauthor’s opinion, is to conceal the influenceof the Zoroastrian environment upon theformation of Freddie’s personality.

Ahundova believes Freddie Mercury’s privateand public life answers the description of arighteous Zoroastrian and that he brought thelight of his religion and his soul into his music.She devotes chapter 6 to analyzing religiousmotives in Queen’s songs and points outnumerous symbols that can be seen in hissongs, such as the fravahar in Who wants tolive foreover video and the symbol of Fire inthe video of Made in Heaven; and the pictureof a Symurg in the crest of the rock group,Queen. [appeared in FEZANA Journal,Winter 2005]

“My name is Shayan Italia and live in UK and am the artist/songwriter of thealbum DELIVERANCE, which was released online on 23 July 2006. I alsohappen to be the first Zoroastrian to ever release a mainstream music album onInternational waters since Freddie Mercury died over 25 years ago.

I am pleased to mention that I have now signed a worldwide digital distributiondeal to have the album distributed online in over 25 countries. In light of this Iwish to make all Zoroastrians across the globe aware of the same.”

More on Shayan including samples of his music on his website:www.shayanitalia.com

You can hear excerpts from his songs on the album Deliverance, as well as seehis music video. He was featured in the June 2006 issue of Parsiana.

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Zubin at the White House

“We went for Zubin [Mehta] to theKennedy Center Honours,” writes Dhunmai Dalalfrom Los Angeles. “It was a spectacular eventand will be televised on CBS on 26th Decemberat 9 pm EST. It was an honour to honour thehonorees - Andrew Weber, Dolly Parton, SmokeyRobinson, Steven Spielberg with Zubin. Theywere given their awards at the White House bythe President and a Reception by the StateDepartment.

“The President, Mrs Laura Bush, Dick Cheney,Alan Greenspan, and many Senators,Congressmen and guests by invitation werepresent among the honorees’ friends and family.There was dinner/dancing afterward and abeautiful Black Tie event with ladies in gownsturned out elegantly. We were thrilled to bethere and glad to honour our/apro Zubin.”[see Hamazor Issue 3/06 p 61]

Photograph taken in the Blue Room of the White House on 3 December, sent byShahrokh Mehta. On the extreme right is Zubin Mehta with President Bush and MrsBush in the centre. The other four honorees are from the left : singer and songwriterWillam “Smokey” Robinson; musical theater composer Andrew Lloyd Webber; countrysinger Dolly Parton; film director Steven Spielberg;.

Australia’s Farita

Fartia’s debut CD is available as anexclusive offer to the 4th WZYC 2007. This youngZoroastrian’s music is a mix of spicy and sweet - afusion of Pop / R&B with an Indian edge. Farita isdonating a portion of the CD sale to the WZYC. Shewill be performing live at the Congress in 2007 whichis being held at Ballarat, Australia.

Farita is in the 2006 Broadjam Pop Top 10, theContemporary R&B Top Ten, The Production (Other)Top 10, The Female Vocal Top 10, The California Top10 & The Australian Top Ten. An internationallyrecognized event, Farita has just received the MusicAid award as Australia's best female artist.

To order your copy Farita, Karma - The EP, log on towww.farita.com


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Bollywood (from Bombay andHollywood) is the popular name given to theIndian film industry and although somesticklers for accuracy criticize the name,arguing that it makes the industry look like apoor cousin to Hollywood, it seems the termis here to stay now that it has made it intothe Oxford English Dictionary. Hindi cinema(another misnomer as the termencompasses films made in Tamil, Bengali,Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and otherregional languages) has become a genre inits own right with over 12 million viewersworldwide. One of the distinctive features ofthe Bollywood genre is song-and-dancenumbers woven into the script. Would youbelieve that it was a Parsi who started theball rolling or hip shaking as it is in thiscase?

On March 14, 1931 ArdeshirIrani of Imperial Movietonecreated history when hereleased Alam Ara, the firstfull-length Indian talkie at theMajestic cinema in Bombay.The movie had a wafer thinplot which served to stringtogether a series of songs ofwhich De de khuda ke naampar has the distinction ofbeing the first song recorded. The music inthe film that ended the era of silent movieswas composed by Ferozshah M Mistri, andB Irani. Ardeshir’s partner AbdulallyEsoofally in the Indian Talkie Silver JubileeSouvenir, “In those days, the queue systemwas not known to filmgoers and the bookingoffice was literally stormed by jostling,riotous mobs, hankering to securesomehow, anyhow a ticket to see a talking

by farishta murzban dinshaw

Parsis in Bollywood

Note: This article is a sweeping overview of the contribution of Parsis to the film industry in India and isnot meant as a comprehensive historical feature. If you have additional information or biographicaldetails that you would like to contribute, please send them to [email protected] for publication infuture issues.

picture in the language they understood. Alltraffic was jammed and police aid had to besought to control the crowds. For weekstogether tickets were sold out andblackmarket vendors had a field day”. Thephenomenal success of the movie launchedthe trademark “talking singing dancing”formula of the Indian cinema and everymajor studio had their own musicdepartment. In an interesting side note,India’s first woman composer SaraswatiDevi’s real name was Khurshid Minocher-Homji and she composed music for thecompany Bombay Talkies.

Parsi influence on the Indian cinema datesback to much before this historic milestone,as far back as 1853 when Parsis in Bombaystarted staging Gujarati plays. FaramjeeGustadjee Dalal owned the Parsee NatakMandali (Parsi Drama Company) which wasthe first to stage the Gujarati drama Rustamand Sohrab. Later, in order to appeal to alarger audience, Dadabhai Patel,affectionately called Dadi Patel, initiatedpresenting plays in Urdu. It was he whofirst produced his Urdu musical play BenazirBabremunir on the Parsi stage. Dr P VVaidyanathan (2004) writes, “ParseeTheatre was a confluence of various theatrestreams: different dramatic genres; fourlanguages - English, Gujarati, Urdu andHindi; historical, mythological, social,political story - lines and those adapted fromthe English stage; varied musical scoresdrawing on Western, Indian and Arabicmusic heritage, making use of different‘ragas’ of Indian classical music; variety ofsongs and dances; the English and Sanskritdramatic styles; impressive stage decor,newer stage techniques etc. Integrating the

Ardeshir Irani

All photographs arefrom Google

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best from among all these sources andassimilating them the Parsee Theatre thrilledIndian people with some of the best dramas.”Initially, the first movies were filmed version oftheatrical performances and was the fore-runner of the largest film industry in the world.(It is estimated that India annually producesover 800 movies). Farooqui (2006) states,“Parsi Theatre, the omnibus term, which isused to describe the pre-independencecommercial theatre in India, was, in manyways, the mother of Hindi cinema. Itunselfconsciously adapted anything andeverything that was likely to sell. It was highlyeclectic in its choice of themes and languagesand relied heavily on melodrama and musicand it had a vast reach.”

As in other field in Indian history, thecontribution of Parsi pioneers to Indiancinema is unparalleled both onscreen andbehind the scenes. One of the mostprominent figures in the industry was SorabModi who is credited for shaping the tastesof the cinema-going public in India. Hemoved away from the traditional religiousmyths and adaptations of Shakespearianplays to make films about contemporarysocial issues such as illicit passion Jailor(1938), remade in 1958 alcoholism inMeetha Zaher (1938) the right of Hinduwomen to divorce in Talaq (1938) and incestin Bharosa (1940). However, he is bestremembered for his lavish epics about kingsand warriors. One of his greatest films wasSikander (1941) which immortalizedPrithviraj Kapoor playing the title role of theMacedonian king Alexander and isremembered particularly for its rousing andspectacular battle scenes and nationalisticsentiments when Porus (played by Modi)stops the advancing army with hiseloquence. Given the global tension ofWorld War II and following Gandhi’s call toCivil Disobedience the movie was banned insome of the theatres serving armycantonments. Modi also directed India’s firstTechnicolour movie Jhansi ki Rani (1953)for which Modi had technicians flown infrom Hollywood.

In pre-Independence India, Parsis ownedcinema theatres and cinema studios. In

1904, Manek D Sethna, who owned acinema, started a touring cinema with thescreening of the film Life of Christ on a regularbasis in Bombay. In 1918, J FMadan, the Parsi pioneer of cinemain Calcutta, claimed to control overone third of the 300 cinemas inIndia. Jamshed B Wadia and HomiWadia set up Wadia Movietone inthe 1930s which produced the pre-Independence era “action flicks” withspectacular stunts notablyHunterwali (1935) which launchedthe career of arguably the mostfamous action heroine of the Indian cinema,Nadia. She was actually an Australian ofWelsh-Greek extraction who later marriedHomi Wadia. The Wadia brothers wereresponsible for a series of “first” in the Indianfilm industry including the first camera craneto be used in Indian cinema built in the Wadiaworkshop and The Court Dancer (1944) thefirst Indian Talkie which had English dialogue.The Wadia legacy continued even afterJamshed and Homi. In 1993, Jamshed’sgrandson Riyad Wadia produced Fearless:The Hunterwali Story which was screened atover 50 international film festivals and wasselected by the Indian government as one ofthe 10 best documentaries. In 1996, hepushed the cinematic envelope with BomGay,a series of vignettes exploring gay identity incontemporary India and A Mermaid CalledAida about India’s famous transsexual AidaBanaji.

Parsis in the film industry have played manyparts in bringing it prominence. JehangirBhownagary, winner of the convetousPadmashree award (1968) for his service toIndia, was the Chief Advisor (Films) in theIndia Ministry of Information andBroadcasting and Chairman of the Jury forshort films at International Film Festival ofIndia held in New Delhi in 1965, as well asthe Aurecy Animation film Festival in 1979.Freni Variava won international recognitionas producer of such thought provoking andcritically acclaimed films as Ankur (1974)Bhumika (1977) and Mandi (1983).

Currently, there are several young Parsimovie makers including Kaizad Gustad

J F Madon


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(Boom 2003, Bombay Boys 1998) andHomi Adjiani (Being Cyrus, 2005), whomake headlines because of thecontroversial nature of the films theymake. Other Paris behind the screeninclude producer Ronnie Screwalawhose Rang de Basanti (2006) is theofficial Indian entry for the Oscars thisyear; screenwriter Sooni Taraporewala,whose first screenplay was for SalaamBombay! (1989) which earned anAcademy Award nomination for BestForeign Language Film; ShiamakDavar, choreographer for awardwinning movies like Dil Tau Pagal Hai(1997), Bunty Aur Babli (2005) andDhoom 2 (2006).

On screen, perhaps the best knownParsi face was Persis Khambatta whodid not create too many waves inBollywood but initiated the currenttrend of Indian actors movingwestward by starring in Hollywoodmovies such as The Wilby Conspiracy,and Night Hawks. Her biggest break asan actress was playing the bald LtAliea in the ‘Star Trek’ movie. Thecurrent crop of Parsi actors includeBoman Irani, best known for hiscomedic roles in the Munna Bhaiseries, and Perizad Zorabian, who wonrave reviews for Joggers Park (2003)and Morning Raga (2004), and ofcourse the awfully pretty JohnAbraham whom many Parsisconveniently claim as aapro [ours]because his mother is Parsi.

Although this feature is about Parsipresence in the Indian film industry, itwould be remiss not to mention Parsipresence at the most talked aboutevent in cinema worldwide. So far,Parsis’ link to the Oscars has beentenuous (as in Sooni Taraporewala’sand Bapsi Sidhwa’s contribution toSalaam Bombay! and Earthrespectively), but one Parsi did make itto the podium: at the 52nd AnnualAcademy Awards in 1980. PersisKhambatta was the co-presenter withWilliam Shatner for Best Documentary,Short Subjects & Features.

Ronnie Screwala

Sooni Taraporewala

Shiamak Davar

Persis Khambatta

Boman Irani

References:Alam Ara. Retrieved from http://www.angelfire.com/movies/madhuri/alamara.htmAshihs Rajyahdyaksha and Paul Willemen (Eds). The Encyclopaedia ofIndian Cinema, Oxford University Press.The Firsts of Indian Cinema Milestones from 1896-2000. The Film andTV Producers Guild of India. Retrieved from http://www.filmguildindia.com/newsite/milestones.htmMahmood Farooqui (September 29, 2006) Betab Badshah. MidDaynewspaper. Retrieved from http://www.mid-day.com/columns/mahmood_farooqui/2006/september/144340.htmDr. P.V. Vaidyanathan (2004). The Dream Merchants. Indian Expressnewspapers. Retrieved from www.screenindia.com/fullstory.php?content_id=5694Somnath Gupt. (2005) The Parsi Theatre : Its Origins and Development.Translated and edited by Kathryn Hansen. New Delhi, Seagull BooksSorab Modi (1897 - 1984). Retrieved from www.upperstall.com

Some Films with Central Parsi CharactersPlot summaries from the Internet Movie Database

Khatta Meetha [Sweet and Sour] (1978) Homi Mistry (AshokKumar) has been a widower for several years now, and looks afterhis four sons, their small house, and a job at the factory. NargisSethna has been widowed; is a housewife, has two sons and adaughter, and a large house. Then Soli (David), Nargis’ and Homi’sfriend, suggests that the two get married, then at least the childrenwill have a mother and father, as well as a larger house. They do getmarried, and hilarious chaos results, as the family and the childrentry to accomodate each other and fit in with their new family andsurroundings.Pestonjee (1988) Phirojshah (Naseeruddin Shah) and Pestonjee(Anupam Kher) are two close friends. They attempt to do everythingtogether, and they hope that they will marry the same day as well.Unfortunately, both go to see the same young lady, Jeroo (ShabanaAzmi), and Pestonjee ends up getting married to Jeroo. Phirojshahhas been stricken by Jeroo’s beauty and decides not to marry, andtakes a transfer away from the couple. During the years, he keepsin touch with the couple by mail. While on a visit to the couple, hefinds out that Pestonjee has a mistress, and Jeroo does not knowof this. How will this effect Phirojshah’s friendship with Pestonjee?Does Phirojshah stand a chance with Jeroo?Earth (1998) 1947 Earth is shown from the perspective andmemories of an eight year old Parsee girl Lenny. In the film it issaid by one of the main characters: “Hindu, Mussalman or Sikh,we’re all bastards. All beasts. Like that caged lion which scaresLenny baby lying in wait for the cage to open.” A cage, whoseopening frees the evils of murder, loot and kidnappings. In the filmthe opening of the cage is depicted with the Britishers leaving Indiaand therewith causing tensions between Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs.Between these religious groups stands a Parsi family, who has tosee how their friends are either fleeing or being killed. In all thishatred the tragedy of the Hindu servant Shanta is embedded, whois equally loved by Dilnawaz and Hasan. These three charactersq

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provide a reflection of a maddening society, where friends become enemies and are even prepared to kill each other.Such a Long Journey (1998) Circa 1971, Gustad Noble lives in a one bedroom hall rented apartment in Byculla, Bombay. He travels towork everyday by Central Railway to Victoria Terminus and walks to Flora Fountain to his place of employment, namely the Central Bank ofIndia. He has three children, Sohrab - who has finished his college studies and is now being admitted, much to his dislike, to Indian Institute ofTechnology (I.I.T.); while Darius, his second son, and daughter, Roshan, are school-going; his wife, Dilnavaz, looks after the children and thehousehold. Their neighborhood is filthy, people urinate and defecate near the wall which encloses their building. Gustad asks a pavement artistto move near his building, draw pictures of religious Gods and Goddesses depicting the four main religions: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, andSikhism. The Artist agrees, and soon the place is transformed into a huge temple where people of all religions come to pay their respects. It isonly a handful of people who know that Gustad is involved with a rebel RAW Agent, Major Jimmy Billimoria, who is actively involved with anextremist organization in East Pakistan, Awami League, aiding them financially and with manpower to overcome the Pakistani Government. Thequestion remains what will Gustad’s plight be when the news gets out of his involvement in this activity, especially when he receives 10 lakhrupees to be deposited in small installments in his Bank, in the midst of sentiments running high, war being declared between Pakistan andIndia, emergency blackout conditions and air raid sirens.Being Cyrus (2005) This film revolves around the Sethna family residing in the hills of Panchgani. A retired sculptor Dinshaw (NaseeruddinShah) heads the family. Other members of the joint family comprise of Dinshaw’s wife Katy (Dimple Kapadia), brother Farokh (Boman Irani),sister-in-law Tina (Simone Singh) and second brother Fardoonjee (Honey Chhaya). Then arrives Cyrus (Saif Ali Khan) at the Sethna house andstays on. As the movie proceeds it gains a psychological insight into the family and reveals that everything is not all right with the Sethna family.Not just that, even Cyrus comes across as a bizarre personality.Parzania (2005) The film, based on a true story, tells the tale of a middle-class Parsi couple — film projectionist Cyrus (Naseerudin Shah)and his wife Shernaz (Sarika) — who live in a Muslim-dominated area with their children, 10-year-old Parzan and eight-year-old Dilshad. TheGujarat violence changes their lives as Parzan goes missing and the film traces the couple’s struggle to trace its son. q

Farishta Dinshaw has teaching in her genes. Currently she works as a Community Development Worker, Family ViolenceInitiative, supporting 11 ethno-cultural agencies in Toronto to raise awareness about violence against women, children &elders.She has presented papers on various topics relevant to the Zoroastrian religion and community at three international congresses.Farishta is also the author of the insightful story of a fictional boy befriended by Zarathushtra called “Discovering Ashavan”.

Conan Doyle and the Parson’s Son: The George Edalji Case

This is the only non-fictional account of the George Edalji miscarriage of justice case and covers the period from1876 until 1914. This includes the harassment suffered by the Edalji family from the police and local vestedinterests over a period of twenty years; the events leading up to George Edalji’s conviction in 1903, engineeredby the police and acquiesced in by the judiciary and the Home Office; and the campaign for George Edalji’srelease, which brought support from prominent figures including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and an eventual butgrudging pardon for George Edalji. George, the son of Reverend Edalji, a Parsee convert to Christianity andvicar of a parish in South Staffordshire, was a practicing solicitor in Birmingham at the time of his arrest. Theoutcome led to the creation of the Criminal Court of Appeal. The work, Conan Doyle and the Parson’s Son:The George Edalji Case provides an account of social attitudes, legal processes, the operating practices of thepolice, the role of the judiciary and of government departments during the late Victorian and Edwardian era.The book would be of interest to students of sociology, social studies, political science, Victorian and Edwardianhistory, ethnic studies, police studies, bureaucracy, law, legal studies, and the life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Aninvaluable read for students, for lovers of mystery, and for those who believe that fact can be stranger thanfiction. This new work, researched and written by Gordon Weaver, was recently published by Vanguard (PegasusElliot Mackenzie) and is available from good bookshops, wholesalers, Amazon Books, internet, Pegasus publishers.For a synopsis of this work visit www.theplebeian.net [Arthur & George by Jules Barnes, a novel, on the samecharacters was reviewed in Hamazor Issue 2/06 p 70, which is an excellent read - Ed]


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An abridged version

The book has grown out of theprestigious Ratenbai Katrak Lecturesdelivered in 1985. The author has labouredfor 20 years, travelled to five continents, 11countries and 24 cities, covering 250thousand miles. and has produced a veryinteresting book, which he has dedicated tohis mentor, the late Prof Mary Boyce.

Bar a few, Zoroastrians have never beengood in recording their own history. Thisexcellent book of 865 pages is not just adiaspora study but an integral book onZoroastrian history of the last 100 years. Itnot only has substantial archival material,but also results of field-work covering asurvey of 1,840 Zoroastrians all over theworld, who have answered 170 questions ineach questionnaire. The last 60 pages ofthe book is an analyses of the datagathered from the surveys. The book alsohas good maps of most of the places withZoroastrian presence.

The term ‘Diaspora’ can loosely bedescribed as the study of issues concernedwith migration of a community or race. Theterm is ably explained by the author.

The book covers the Zoroastrian diasporasof Hong Kong and China, Karachi (beforepartition), East Africa, Europe (principallyLondon), United States, Canada , Australiaand New Zealand. Being a non-Zoroastrianwriter, the author has shown a remarkableinsight and perspective in Zoroastrianmatters - its strengths and weaknesses, itssuccesses and problems, and all this withgreat sensitivity with a Zoroastrianperspective. It is neither over critical nor

The Zoroastrian Diaspora - Religion and Migration

by Prof John R HinnellsOxford University Press, Oxford, 2005ISBN: 0-19-826759-2Pp 865

over sympathetic.Throughout the authorhas highlighted thelofty teachings ofZoroaster.

The author has strived to base his book onhistorical data and archival material. In theirabsence, the author has relied on personalviews and opinions, correspondence,accounts of individuals as well as thepopular press, mainly Parsiana, local news,letters and WZO archives.

The history of each diaspora follows aparticular pattern - first the political historyof the place, then the history of the Parsis,followed by an analysis of the survey data.Possibly, the book devotes a considerablenumber of pages to the history of the placeswhere the Parsis have settled.

There are instances, where some of theinformation in the book is factually incorrect,but they are minor in nature. For example,Mr Adi Doctor was never an editor of JameJamshed.

For a book of this magnitude, certainomissions are understandable. Forexample, in the chapter on Parsi politics inBombay, two main figures in the last threedecades have inadvertently been missed,namely, late Mr Rusi Mehta and his familyand Mr Rustom Tirandaz - all Corporators ofBombay Municipality.

The book contains several shortbiographies of renowned Zoroastrians fromSir Jamshehedji Jeejeebhoy to the present

Reviewed by Ervad Ramyar Karanjia

34


day. It also refers to contributions of littleknown Zoroastrians such as Mr H N Mody,who was instrumental in establishing theHong Kong University.

The book succinctly covers major eventsthat have caused a rift or a controversy inthe community like the Mazgaon navjotes of1882, the Roxan case of 1990, JRD Tata’sfuneral in 1993 and Neville Wadia’s navjotein 1994, the movie Wings of Fire,Peterson’s navjote, the growing influence ofDr Ali Jafarey and the recent controversy ondokhmas.

The findings of the survey are interesting,startling as well as revealing. They coverissues like inter-marriages, conversion,identity, wearing of sadra-kasti, attendanceof non-Zoroastrians at religious ceremoniesand funeral services, generationalproblems, tensions between the Iranis andParsis and Orthodox versus Reformists.

The book covers The World ZoroastrianCongress at Houston and the endlessdebates about The World ZoroastrianOrganisation, acrimony, debates and courtbattles in the various diasporas.

Prof John Hinnells has rendered a greatservice to the community through thisimportant and significant work, for which thecommunity is beholden to this inveteratescholar.

q

Ervad Dr Ramiyar ParvezKaranjia, is a full-fledgedpriest from AthornanBoarding Madressa,Dadar. He has obtained hisPhD in Avesta-Pahlavifrom Bombay Universitythrough St Xavier’sCollege, Mumbai.

He is the Principal ofAthornan Madressa,

Dadar, and Sir J J Z and Mullan Feroze Madressas(Institute for Indo-Iranian Studies). He gives talks all overthe world on Zoroastrian religion and Iranian history tochildren, youths and adults.

v p48

Arms and Armor from Iran: The Bronze

Age to the Qajar Period,by Manouchehr Moshtagh Khorasani is, in one word, inspirational.As an academic whose work is referred to in the text, is undertakingactive research in the subject area, and is teaching Universitycourses in the archaeology and history of the Middle East andCentral Asia, my knowledge of this vast field is strong (yet evergrowing). I have no affiliations with the book. I was not consultedby the author or anyone affiliated with the book in any way. This ismy personal opinion. As the foreword by Richard Dellar states, it“is a work that will immensely increase our knowledge andunderstanding of the arms and armour of Iran throughout the ages”(Khorasani, 2006, 13). I know it increased my knowledge greatlyand I have not yet studied the contents of the book in great depth!

Mr Cooksey’s contribution discussing the relationship between art,technology and long term cultural change is very important and atopic I am heavily involved with researching. Iranian and Persianweapons often fall under the topics of either Sasanian or Islamicarms. In Islamic studies, the Middle East and Arab influence isoften stressed, whereas the influence of pre-Islamic Iranian andCentral Asian lands is often ignored by scholars. Cooksey (p14)correctly states that the Arab conquest “did not swallow oroverpower native culture and artistic traditions”. The book illustratesthat and, although the arrival of Islam influenced the art of Iran, itdid not eradicate traditional artistic themes and styles. For example,the use of images of people and animal for decoration remain afterthe arrival of Islam particularly in the artwork of the people of Iranand Central Asia.

I find Dr Farrokh’s section “Iran’s Silent Legacy” to be an accurateshort summary of the very complex situation of Persian history. Itis well known that there are cultural connections between the earlypeople of Iran and those of India. This is exemplified by the factthat Zoroastrianism (the religion of the Persia before Islam) andHinduism (the religion of India) have the same roots. Although, Iwould have left out the suggestion that the so-called Aryan warriorsof Iran “invaded” India, as the evidence of an “Aryan invasion” is ahot topic for debate. However, the influence of proto Indo-Europeanson India’s culture is evident from the archaeological and historicalliterature. Furthermore, the influence of the Iranian Empires(Achaemenids, Parthians, Sasanians, in the sense of people wholived in that area under their rule, not an ethic group) on worldhistory has been downplayed in European scholarship. If it wasnot for the Persian Empires, much of the knowledge of “TheClassical World” would have been lost.

A large part of scholarly research is reliant on the accuracy of workof others. I admire that the author does not reiterate all the mythsand misinformation regarding “Damascus steel”, but rather takesan objective and scholarly presentation of the available evidence.Too many publications state the same generalisations but do not


35

b y y e s m i n m a d o n

A Karachiite, having recentlychosen to inhabit the cooler climes of theUnited States, reminisces about a childhoodIrani Gujerati verse he picked up fromsomewhere:

Chai-biscot na dukan bi kholechIrani sherbet piyech nay paichIran mahra mader vatan chayAsli vatan – Iran!

Another, also having left Karachi for theStates, enjoying his superb Starbucks java,finds something missing yet from thisexhilarating experience. It dawns on him –emerging from the innermost recesses ofthe palate of his mind – that he is cravingfor the excellent garam chai (that the Parsisof old unabashedly downed with aprominent slurp, often from the sauceritself), batasas and khara biscots (brushingoff the crumbs from their white daglas), andthe bun-maska that were the renowned fareof Bahman Irani and other tea shops, thatso many Karachiites get nostalgic about, tothis day! And where is the incessant chatteraround the shop and around the owner’sstand whence emerge the boomingcommands at the waiters to serve theirorders faster than lightning! The other thingthat this dreamer yearns for are thescrumptious samosas and the friendlycompany that he enjoyed as a collegestudent in ‘Meherwan’s dukan at Gari Khata’during morning recess.

Irani tea shops were very much a part of theKarachi scene in the pre-partition years,and even much earlier; they were dotted allover city. For almost every new building thatcame up, there was an enterprising Iraniready to open shop on the ground floor.Generally, the Irani shop tea came readywith milk and sugar – this was the moredelicious one; the frowned upon gora sahabversion was the one that came in a tiny teapot, a milk jug and sugar bowl separately.

Irani ‘chai dukan’ - tea shopsKarachi Zoroastrians reminise on a lost culture

The oldest of these ubiquitous joints, theJehangir Restaurant dates back into the19th century. Jehangir Irani himself wasknown to have been churning an ice creammould on a pavement across from hishouse in Sadar. A specialist confectionerfrom Bombay, working there, turned out thebest Christmas cakes known in Karachithen. The confectioner then opened thelater day famous P F Pereira bakery.Jehangir Restaurant still stands where itwas, but now is no more in the hands ofIrani Zoroastrians though it still bears thesame name. This teashop became a mustafter late movies or early morning prayersfor its excellent tea.

Sometime in 1934-35, two Bahais, Ardeshir(a former employee of Bahman Irani, andAspandiar Irani opened the ParisianRestaurant. It has been said with certaintythat the person, who came to be known as“Lawrence of Arabia”, used to frequent thisrestaurant when the British were here as anoccupying force. This shop sold qualitybakery goods; but, not being content withjust serving chai and biscot, for the firsttime, an Irani tea shop started servingcooked food: dhansak now made its debutin these circles. ‘Parisian’ is no longer arestaurant today, but not far from its earlierlocation, on Preedy Street, stands theirbakery, still serving curry-puffs, sukkabatasa and biscot. Go there, and quitelikely, their old waiter – now sans all teeth –will recognize you and mumble a greeting.

During World War II, two more Irani cafessprang up a little distance from each otheron Frere Road : (i) Cafe George – whosespeciality was jelly-cream amongst otherfavourites – was opened by a BahaiMeherwan Irani and partner Gustad Irani(formerly of Jehangir Restaurant), and (ii)Fredericks Cafeteria , noted for its patties,pastries and excellent faluda and other

[Having received abrief article onMumbai’s Irani teashops, I felt why not doone on Karachi’s Irani‘chai dukans’, whichunfortunately are nomore. This article hasbecome an archivalpiece of information, atleast for us KarachiZoroastrians, due tothe extensive researchthe author has carriedout. Sadly, tried as wedid to find photographsof the oldestablishments, wewere not successful. -Ed]

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food, was opened by Fardoon Irani, aBahai, who was a well-known personality inthe racing circles of those days. He took apersonal interest in the items churned outby his venture, he had employed theservices of a superior confectioner, andmade his famed chocolates himself. Thesetwo cafes are now no more.

Behli Irani, who lives in Karachi even today,says that out of interest, he too madechocolates calling them Milco-milk, and soldthem from his home. And they were quite incompetition with Frederick’s own. Behli,once an employee of Bombay Tea Shop,and owner of Cafe Lyric, which he inheritedfrom his father, Khudamurad Behram Irani,now leads a retired life, and as a hobby,much to the delight of his guests, serves hisown home baked mouth watering biscuits ofvarious types, which he stores in the big tinghee-dabbas of old. He does not sell. Aregular client of Cafe Lyric was so in lovewith their butter-fried eggs, (and because hecouldn’t get the same taste at home), heonce carried the fresh eggs and butter fromthe cafe to his home; much to his regret, hestill didn’t get the eggs right! The Pan Amstaff were regular customers who camehere for their delicious dhansak or kheemaand gutli.

The hardy Iranis who sat at the galla (cashcounter) and served chai-biscot were aclass by themselves. They generallyconversed in Dari, a Farsi dialect, and theirGujerati, breaking all norms of grammarrules, and an accent so Iranian, that Parsisinvariably used it as the butt of their jokes,much to the enterprising Irani’s chagrin. Itwas quite common to go in an Irani teashopfor a glass of water at no charge. One suchincident records that when a thirsty chapbroke a glass, the bearer called out, in nosoft tones, “Khaya piya kuch nahi, ek glasstora, bar anna laiv”. (Ate & drank nothing,broke a glass, take 12 annas)

In the early 1940s, on Burns Road, in afavourite haunt of collegians, AvalonRestaurant, allowed the students to havetheir lunch from their own home filled tiffinboxes. The friendly Irani would encourage

eating competitions, involving his biscuitsand sponge cake pieces stored in hugeglass jars. One such student – now anoctogenarian – says they could down ajarful of these in record timing, though notvery easily! It wasn’t a piece of cake!

An aerated drink – Lavo – was a uniquedelicacy available here. It was a hybrid ofthe old Vimto and today’s Coke. Only a fewindividuals were privileged to enjoy thistaste as it was unknown to the cominggenerations due to Avalon’s extinction.

The same person recalls another taste ofthe old times – the milk rose as made byCafe Victoria that stood on Victoria Roadopposite the now crumbled HotelMetropole. The drink, made out of ayellow rose sherbet using thick milk, waslip-and-glass-lickin’ good for theyoungsters of those days. The owner,Ardeshir Khairabadi (Noshirwani), alsogave birth to the British Imperial Hotel(the only British license holders) duringWWII, opposite the Napier Barracks. Thispurely catered to the British soldiersserving tea, English breakfast and meals– fish-and-chips topping the list ofpopularity. The family lived upstairs inBraganza House. They also ran a fourbilliard-tables room for the English withinthe same premises. This veryrestaurateur later opened up a chain ofrelated outlets, mainly in theneighbourhood of Empress Market. Theseincluded Empress Bakery with its karakrotis, Empress Tea Shop and billiardroom, Cafe Empress, and EmpressRestaurant, which was unique in itsstructure with no doors and windows; itremained open for 24 hours. A familymember has it that late comers from theKGA dance hall often came here for theirout-of-this-world naan and kheema. Thiswas a popular joint in the area wheretravellers coming in from the interior usedit to their advantage. One particular camelcart driver would deposit his ware at thiscorner of the footpath, and it had becomeso routine a practice that he didn’t evenhave to ‘ask’ his camel to stop; the beast


37

did it without being told! Cantonment TeaShop, belonging to the same owner,found a location on the other side of theCantonment Station, after crossing itsbridge.

The British Imperial Hotel, after the Britishleft, became the Lucky Star Restaurant ,which was run by the partners Ardeshir,Sohrab and Jamshed Irani. This spotbecame the famous landmark of Karachi,and was ultimately sold off to a MuslimIranian at the time of partition.

Ohja building, which today stands on itslast legs, opposite Collector Baug,harboured the Pehlavi Restaurantowned by Faredun Mughani. It used toserve excellent food. The eatery haschanged hands, and is now named CafeDurakhshan by a Muslim owner.

The eldest son of Khudamurad Irani talksof his father’s ownership of severalteashops scattered over Karachi. Neitherhe nor his siblings are aware of thenames, number and locations of theselittle joints. What he does recall is onename – Irani Tea Shop – which washoused in Baimai Pestonji’s building inJackson Bazaar in Keamari. The trustingowner had left his managers to run hisshops, and would daily visit each on hisbicycle to collect the day’s income. Notdifficult to guess what happenedultimately: he discovered he was beingtaken for a ride, to the extent that hecouldn’t bear his losses, and had to giveup his enterprise.

The Karachi Parsis have, as their biggestitem in their collective memory boxes, theunique culture of their favourite joint – theBoman Irani Tea Shop, as they called it.The owner, Bahman Abadan Irani, initiallya darvish, found himself in a situation,which led him, with financial help ofJamshed Nusserwanjee Mehta, to starthis humble venture of a tea shop. Withdiligence and hard work, he prosperedand built his own Bombay Tea Shop onthe corner of Somerset Street and PreedyStreet. The side facing Preedy Street held

a long signboarddisplaying the name‘Boman Abadan Irani& Co.’ The nameBahman, on thesign, was ‘anglicized(to Boman) for thebenefit of the British’,says a grandsonliving in Karachi.This was the sideopposite the to-datefamous phoolwallas(garland sellers).The footpathhugging the shop onboth sides was thevendors’ site for

selling their belts, shoe polish, shoelaces,etc. Many a Parsi, keen on a shoeshine,would put his foot up, one after the other,on the shoe shiner’s box for a brilliant jobon their proud shoes!

The shop had two wings; the ‘lordly’Zoroastrian patronized the side facingSomerset Street, and they sat there in the‘privacy’ of partitioned booths (open onone side). The other locals went for theirfood and drink in the other wing facingPreedy Street. This was a big hall whereno customer needed or wanted privacy,and where they paid a little less for theirtea, etc.

Bahman Abadan became part of landedgentry and owned a farm at Malir, whichturned out to be the favourite picnic spotfor toddy guzzling Parsis. But it was hislandmark shop, situated opposite thetramcar junction, which became theregular haunt of the general public beforegoing to, and after coming back fromwork. They just had to get into the shopfor the best cup of tea they had everknown! Upon the scribe’s asking whatmade the chai that great, it came to lightthat his turnover and service were so fastthat his samovar would yield about 40cups of tea in five minutes! And he alwayshad two samovars going at any one time.Of course, this aspect was supplementedby the use of good quality ingredients,

Bahman Abadan Irani, courtesygrandson Kayomars FaredoonAbadan

Granddaughter ShirinIrani writes to the Editor“My mum’s grandfather,and my grandfather -Boman Abadan Irani,both as young men leftKerman, Iran, by road.They were both orphans,extremely poor, and hitchhiked their way to India,where they lived on thestreets, worked in theIrani restaurants inBombay. They saved allthose pennies andlearned the trade of a teashop and bakery, andwere on their way to opentheir own business when,to keep their friendshipstrong, they tossed a coinbetween them. BomanIrani left Bombay andmade his fortune inKarachi when he openedthe Bombay Tea shop,and my mum’sgrandfather made hisfortune in Bombay, andbecame well known asKhodadad Kermani,becoming a very rich manin those days. He builtthe Bombay race course,owned the Kermani Icefactory, and in Dadar theyhave the KhodadadCircle, named after him.He did not open arestaurant as BomanIrani, but both were verysuccessful in business,from being penniless theybecame very rich and wellknown. These two menmatched up my dadShahBehram and mymum Poorin to getmarried because of theirfriendship, whosemarriage lasted for 60years.”

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ShahBehram BahmanIrani, courtesy ofdaughter Shirin

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and the method of preparation. The ownerhimself blended the tea liked so well byhis clientele.

This shop was another hub for puntersdiscussing the weekend races, and onholidays the shop’s family rooms wouldgenerally be crowded for the eagerlyawaited faluda treat – the ice cream forwhich was made by the owner himself. Hehad his own bakery that produced theexquisite mince patties, cheesecakes,almond cakes, almond macaroons, thekhara biscot, batasas, butter biscuits, andthe unmatched ginger biscuits for whichhe insisted on mixing the ingredientshimself. One had to be ‘properlyeducated’ in how to partake of and enjoythe delicacies – the batasa always had tobe dunked in the tea before taking a bite,the bun bit into first, immediately followedby a gulp of tea, and the khara biscotcould be enjoyed in either way.

The set-up had an old charm with woodenstands that stacked jars filled with biscuitsand confectionery, and glass countersfilled with cakes. At Christmas time, theshop was busy turning out fruit cakesbought as precious gifts for the discerningpalate.

The decor was complete with hugemirrors on the walls, round or ovalmarble-top tables and bentwood chairs.Right in the centre was the cash counterwhere sat the burly Irani or a relative tocollect payment. There was no system ofcash memos; the bearer that served atable would shout out the amount to bepaid – all those present inside wouldknow what each person paid for hisconsumption. From behind their counter,even the sons of the patriarch, after hisdemise – Shah Behram or Faridoon –would be heard bellowing to the kitchenstaff to hurry with this or that order.

Bahman Abadan is remembered as anintimidating personality and a strictdisciplinarian of children and adults alike,and all his staff stood in awe of him. Hismakan was on top of his dukan, and

sources know that from above, he kept a vigilanteye on the cash drawer below his window bymeans of a tube-like structure he had specially builtfor this purpose. The back of the shop had a smalloffice, which had a staircase leading up to thehouse. ‘And,’ says a grand daughter fromCalifornia, full of intrigue, ‘it was like a secretpassage, and from the top window, we kids wouldstand and watch the workings of the bakery, andmy dad sometimes making the sherbet himself.Another relative remembers a day when, in theabsence of the grandfather, a grandson was turningcartwheels and exhibiting a perfect head balance infull view of the tea-sipping clientele. This couldhave passed off as mere amusement, but duringthese antics, the older grandson was solicitingpayments of do anna, char anna from the patronswhen grand dad chose to put in an appearance ofthe ‘stage’ floor. We leave it to the imagination ofthe reader to determine how outraged the old manwas and what he did to the brats; they wereseverely grounded for sure!

ShahBehram was known to open his shop at5:00am, when there was already a queue of eagerParsis waiting to get their morning bite of the

garam, garam bun-maska or gutli-maska (buttered crisp bun). The gutlisupply was exhausted by 9 o’clock, andthe next lot would only be available thenext morning.

This much remembered chapter of thehistory of Karachi wound up upon thedeath of ShahBehram and Faridoon’smother. Around the year 1975, the sonssold off the shop, which after five yearsof the new ownership, was razed to theground to make way for othercommercial projects of the city.

Many tea shops still abound in Karachi, “but thesemalbari shops cannot be equated to our belovedBoman, Parisian, Cafe George, Frederick’s andJehangir’s”. Many have changed hands, and manyno longer exist, and yet numerous bhathiaras havesprung up which can no longer cater to our‘superior taste’.

Sources (emails and interviews):Kayomars Abadan, Behli Irani, Rustom Irani, Shirin Irani,Kershaw Khambatta, Behram Mehri, Jehanbux Mehta,Virasp Mehta, Noshirwan Noshirwani.

Yesmin holds a master’sdegree in Microbiology,enabling her to work as aQuality ControlChemist, Chief Chemist,and Works Manager – inthat order – in Karachi ina UK-based semi-pharmaceutical parentcompany, where she hadher initial training inHull. In 1985 she joinedher alma mater as ateacher, six years later shebecame the HeadMistress in the ‘O’ Levelsection of The MamaParsi Girls’ SecondarySchool. After a break ofa couple of years shebecame Principal of twoM o n t e s s o r i ssimultaneously having toquit once again due tofamily health problems.She was employed by theOxford University Pressas an editor for a briefperiod in 2005, and as anExecutive Secretary foranother short stint in2006, by AGP – ap h a r m a c e u t i c a lcompany. Her volunteerwork kept her busy as theJoint Secretary for threeyears with KZBM, andfor three years with KPI,from 2000 to 2006.


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Owners Name of Establishment Location

* denoteseateries whichare functioning

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Largely frequented by the workingclass, these cafes are a big draw becausethey are reasonably priced and hygienic.

Bollywood, BSE, vada pav, dabbawallas ...these are some of the more talked aboutelements of Mumbai. However, this meltingpot is also home to many sub-cultures suchas the quaint and charming Irani cafes thatdot the city. Churning out mouth-watering farefor almost a century now, die-hard customerscontinue to drop in for the crisp butter kharis,layered salted biscuits, and the Irani cha, athick overly milky, sweetened tea delicatelyflavoured with cardamom.

The classic format of these cafes is basic witha subtle colonial touch; high ceilings withblack, bent wooden chairs (now cane in somecafes), wooden tables with marble tops andglass jars that allow a peek into the goodiesthey hold. With huge glass mirrors on the wallsto create a feeling of space, visitors aregreeted with eagerness and a whiff of baking.The speed of operations is impressive andservice quite hassle-free.

b y s a r i k a m e h t a

Mumbai’s Irani hotspots

Courtesy, The Hindu Business Line, Friday Oct 6, 2006, ePaperhttp://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2006/10/06/stories/2006100600020100.htm

The Sassanian Bakery and Boulangerie at DhobiTalao in Mumbai has been whisking deliciousomelettes-maska pav (Rs 25) and akuri (a scrambledegg preparation perked up with spices) since 1913.

Sharook K., one ofthe partners, explainsthat the bakery got itsname from theSasanian dynasty ofIran. At one timethese Irani cafeswere popularhangouts for theaffluent set,upcoming writers andeven film stars.

Sassanian was a favourite with the derby participants,jockeys and racecourse dealers.

Many of the Irani cafes still offer a mind-boggling andinnovative spread of sweet and salted biscuits likerawa (semolina) coconut, til rawa coconut, thetraditional nan-khatai (sweet, crisp and flaky Iranibiscuits), Madeira-cake (tutti-fruity biscuits), all pricedmodestly between Rs18 and Rs20 at Sassanian. MihirMehta, a student, swears by the vegetable puff atSassanian. “I have it almost thrice a week,” he says.

Kyani & Co is another popular Irani cafe in Mumbai.“The cherry cream custard here is to die for,” saysShahnaaz, a regular. At Rs18 it is indeed good fortwo — thick, creamy, cold and just right with the cherryon the top! The cheese khari biscuits, coconut jamand milk biscuits are the other favourites here.

Glass cabinets lined with colourful scones, mawacakes and the all-time favourite plum cakes beckonyou to step in for a bite. The kheema and muttonpatties at these places are the best, as most non-vegetarians would vouch.

“The good part is that the prices have not changeddrastically over the years,” says Patel, a Kyani regular

Inside the Sassanian Bakery & Boulangerie since 1931


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for 25 years. There is nothing fancy about the placebut the ambience is infectious.

Olympia at Churchgate dishes out excellent muttonkheema and pav, which is popular among thecollege kids in this area. “It is one of the mostdelicious and affordable meals around,” says Pooja,a student. Largely frequented by the working class,these cafes are a big draw because they arereasonably priced and hygienic.Britannia at BallardEstate largely serves authentic Parsi meals and ison the hot-list for corporate executives. The fragrantberry pulao, veg/chicken dhansak and biryani arestaple fare here. The dhansak, a spicy brothacclaimed for its nutritive values with lentils, pulsesand veggies/ chicken, is served with fried potatocrispies.

A Parsi meal is usually never complete without thelegendary Dukes raspberry drink. This is thecommunity favourite and not easily available exceptnear Parsi colonies and at the Parsi Gymkhana.The Lagan nu custard, cool and pamper the tastebuds at the end of a spicy meal. A lavish meal fortwo at Britannia would cost Rs150-200. The Parsibhonu (meal) is now available at most Iranirestaurants.

The people who started these joints areZoroastrians who migrated to India from Iran at theturn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Legend has itthat in their early days in India, the Iranis (thesecond generation of migrants) worked in Parsi (thefirst generation of migrants) homes and latergathered in the evenings to reminisce about theirhomeland. At one such gathering, one of the menapparently served tea to the rest and charged asmall amount for it. This sowed the idea for Iranicafes.

With the closing down of Bastani, a popular Iranijoint opposite Kyani in Mumbai, the entry of fastfoods such as pizzas at many Irani cafes, and theestablishment of in-house permit rooms, it is evidentthat the younger generation of Iranis is notinterested in preserving the legacy of the cafes intheir traditional format. If that were to happen,Mumbai would lose a part of its heritage and culturallegacy.

Kyani & Co

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Photographs taken for Hamazor by Homyar Mistry –HOMZ Prints.

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b y a d i j d a v a r

Let us turn to religious scriptures andwritings subsequent to the Gathas and learnwhat they say. Influences different from theProphet’s time, are reflected in them.Limited space, however, permits a cursoryexamination.

Some years after Zarathustra died,syncretism began in the faith. The first of thecompromises reached over Zarathustra’steachings, are reflected in the HaptanhaitiGathas. Thereafter, several Yashts werecomposed in the ancient Avestan language.Among the oldest, is the Farvardin Yasht. Inits Karde 31, Zarathustra’s birth is joyouslywelcomed and then 250 men and womenfrom many lands and ethnicities arevenerated for joining him in his mission ofspreading his teachings to their lands andpeople. Indeed, the same lines are repeatedin many subsequent Yashts composedcenturies after Zarathustra.

A later Yasna 42.6 reveres the deeds of“priests who went to remote lands to

Non-Zoroastrians in Zoroastrian percepts : Do they have a place?

Part I was published in the last Hamazor, Issue3/06

Synthesis of Part I

It summarized the ethnocentric view of the faith held by many in our community, and urged respectfuland scholarly analyses of its various rationales. It then provided evidence on the topic which is noteasily available to most Zoroastrians, to enable them to weigh it in the balance of their thinking againstthe traditional evidence they have, and reach their own conclusions. Towards that goal, the survivingportion of those Gathas which Zarathustra composed while spreading his teachings, were extensivelycited to examine the following questions: (i) Did Zarathustra envisage his faith as a universal one whichanyone, anywhere, could choose to adopt, or as one available only to the ethnic descendents of thosewho came to listen to him? (ii) Did he discriminate between men and women regarding the pursuit ofhis faith? (iii) Was he emphasizing that both could do so, by attaching male and female gender “attributes”to the Supreme Creator whom he called Ahura Mazda? (iv) Did his Gathas envisage reincarnation,which could validate the ethnocentric belief that only persons born of two Zoroastrian parents couldpractice his religion, because Ahura Mazda reincarnated persons as Zoroastrians in their last birth onearth? Part I concluded, that based on the evidence of those Gathas, it seemed clear that Zarathustrawanted his faith to be chosen by any and all persons, man and women alike, and there is no concept ofreincarnation in his teachings.

Other beliefs underlying the ethnocentric view will now be examined in Part II.

Part IIPOST-GATHIC SCRIPTURES & RELIGIOUS WRITINGS

promote Righteousness among theirpeople, many never to return.” Yasna61.2 speaks of priests and disciplesspreading the faith to people of far awaylands. Yasna 9.24 talks of a foreign ruler,Keresani, preventing Iranian priests fromvisiting his kingdom to preachZoroastrianism.

Even in the more recent Pazand language,there is a prayer that most Zoroastriansrecite daily: “Dade din beh mazdayasniagahi ravai, gao frangani bad, haftakeshwar zamin. Aeidun bad”. The respectedParsi-Zoroastrian Gatha scholar IrachTaraporewala freely translates it thus: “Maythe knowledge, practice and fame of thecommandments of the Mazdayasnireligion increase over the world, andpervade the people of all sevenregions”.8

In another daily prayer, also in Pazand,Zoroastrians pray: “Din berast, va dorost, kekodai, bar khalaq ferestadeh, in hast, ke


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zarthost, avordeh hast”. A Parsi-Zoroastrianscholar, F Rustomjee (in his Daily Prayersfor Zoroastrians, 1976) freely translates itthus:“A religion that is noble and just, as wellas complete and effectual, which Ahurahas made known for the people of thisworld, such it is as Zarathustra hasbrought.”

A scripture, the Dinkard, written from the 7 th

to 9th century AD many years after thesedaily prayers, and which is often quoted bythose holding the traditional view, says:“Ormazd has commanded Zarathustrathat His excellent religion should bespread among all races of mankindthroughout the world.”9

As the eminent Zoroastrian priest-scholarDasturji Maneckji Dhalla succinctlysummarizes in his History ofZoroastrianism (pp. 692-693, 1963):“From the Gathas down to the otherYasnas, Visparad, Yashts and Vendidadand throughout the entire Avesta-Zend,clear and unambiguous commandmentsto spread the faith can be found. Severalbooks composed in the Pahlavi languageof the later day Sasanians, also strictlyenjoin acceptance of non-Zoroastrians.... The Dinkard states that the mostvirtuous deed a non-Zoroastrian canperform, is to relinquish his own religionand embrace the Zoroastrian faith. Onecan mount evidence upon evidence thatthe theology of the faith as preached byZarathustra, and for centuries after him,does not proscribe conversion toZoroastrianism. Rather, the theologyenvisions it and commands it”.

Practices followed by Zarathustra & his immediate disciples

Did the Prophet and his immediate disciplespractice the theology of spreading theiruniversal faith? In Yasna 46. 1, Zarathustralaments about not finding any convertsexcept his cousin Maidhyoimaongha, afteryears of preaching: “To what land shall Iturn? Where shall I bend my steps?From self-reliant pupils and friends, they

keep me separated apart. Not one of theco-workers brings me any joy. And allthe Rulers, hold on to Untruth. How shallI then please Thee O Ahura Mazda?”

But being a realist, he travelled to countriesdistant from his homeland in search of menof power who would follow his teachings.His first success was with the powerfulFryana princes and their tribe. Theyaccepted his teachings and became hisallies in propagating them (Yasna 46.12).This is telling, as this was a Turanian tribeliving on the northern side of the ancientIranian plateau and were hereditaryenemies of the clan kingdoms, perhapsethnically different from them, living to theirsouth. He then proceeded southwards toZabol, the capital of the Kyanian kingdomlying in the Helmand valley of what is theSistan province of modern Iran. There, hefound his first kingly convert, KingVishtaspa. His Queen, family, courtiers andeventually, his subjects accepted histeachings. As Max Mueller (in SacredBooks of the East, Vol. 23, p204) writes:“The King and Royal sons then ...wandered to Arum (Asia Minor) andHindee (India) outside the realm, forpropagating the religion.”

While in Vishtaspas’s court, Zarathustradialogued with and won over sages fromother lands who had initially come tochallenge his religious philosophy. Theyeventually not only accepted it, but alsopropagated it on return to their homelands.Those whose names appear prominently inGreek writings are Tutianush (a Greek) andHindu Brahmins, Vyas (Bias) andChangranghacha - who on his return toIndia initiated 80,000 Hindus into the faith.10

Among the 250 men and women veneratedin the said Karde of the Fravardin Yashtfor spreading Zarathustra’s religion in otherlands, are Saena from China andGaotamahe – the 5 th of the 7 rishismentioned in the Rig Vedas.

Much as many Zoroastrians still resist theidea of accepting non-Zoroastrians into thefaith, they could perhaps reflect on, andconsider, the following questions: While all

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persons in Zarathustra’s time were born in apolytheistic milieu, including his disciplesMaidhyoimanongha, Frashaostra andJamaspa, the Turanian Fryana princes andtribesmen, Vishtaspa, his wife, their familyand subjects - were they still not non-Zoroastrians when Zarathustra initiatedthem into the faith? Did the nomadic tribes,who roamed from the Caucasus in the westto Bactria in the east and whom the Prophetand his disciples also initiated intoZoroastrianism, not have ethnicities otherthan Aryan? Is it irrelevant that men andwomen from other nations and cultureswere also persuaded to give up worshippingdeities, and join the faith? Do such actionsnot show that Zarathustra and his discipleswanted men and women from all lands tohave a place in Zoroastrianism?

The likely rebuttal might be: “suchquestions are irrelevant, since those holdingthe traditional view are talking aboutacceptance of adherents of monotheisticfaiths after Zarathustra’s; Zoroastrianscriptures and tradition forbid theiracceptance”. However, the sample of post-gathic scriptures mentioned earlier in thispaper, does not seem to forbid it. But oneshould always be open to being enlightenedabout other scriptures which specifically do.

Historical practices after Zarathushtra, upto 18th century AD

Perhaps the support for the ethnic beliefcan be found in traditions established afterthe times of Zarathustra and his disciples.Ample historical evidence - stretching overmany subsequent centuries - suggestshowever, that Zoroastrian practice was toaccept non-Zoroastrian men and women ofdiffering ethnicities from many lands into thefaith, not the other way around. Let usbriefly recapitulate this evidence.

After the Kyanian king, his family andsubjects espoused Zarathustra’s teachings,Zoroastrian priests travelled from Sistanthrough the Khorasan Gap to Central Asia.They persuaded people of othernationalities living there, to accept thereligion. It then progressed eastwards

across the Pamirs, to Chinese Turkistan(modern China’s Xingjian province).Zoroastrian Sogdian traders who plied theSilk Road did this. Taking their families andpriests, they established base stationsalong the road, to facilitate their long andarduous journeys. Is it credible that over thecenturies, these traders and their progenydid not intermingle with the natives of thevarious nations along the Silk Road, or thattheir priests did nothing to spread thefaith?11

That Zoroastrianism took root and spreadfor centuries in that part of the world, ispartly corroborated by Sir Harold Bailey’swork. It related to 6th century BC Buddhism,in the Khotan, Khasgar and Tarim basins ofthe said Xingjian province. He unearthedtexts which indicate that before the adventof Buddhism, Zoroastrian beliefs haddominated the region and some of itsconcepts were deeply and inextricablyembedded in Khotanese Buddhism.12

The practice of Zoroastrianism must have beenextensive in East Asia for over many centuriesand thereafter. Otherwise an ancient Chineselogographic manuscript “Sei Pein Nein Pau”,from the reign of Emperor Ling Wang (571-545BC) of the Chou dynasty in North China, wouldhardly have specifically mentioned theprevalence of Zoroastrianism before thesubsequent emergence of Confucianism.

It was only around 559 BC , or nearlytwelve hundred years after Zarathustrapreached, that Zoroastrianism returned towhat is modern Iran. It did so when Cyrusthe Great of Media conquered Sistan andbegan establishing the PersianAchaemenian Empire, with Zoroastrianismas state religion. As that Empire expanded,so did the faith. It first moved westwardsthroughout the rest of modern Iran includingPars. It then spread to Mesopotamia(modern Iraq), Asia Minor (modern Turkey)and up to Greece, as well as southwardsacross the Arabian peninsula, Israel, Egypt,Libya and Ethiopia. The trend continuedwith the successor Persian Parthian andSasanian Empires, both of which declaredZoroastrianism as their state religion.


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terminus with the Sasanian Empire).Three centuries later, the noted Arabhistorian Masudi visited China, in 905 AD.His annals talk of seeing Zoroastrian firetemples and meeting Persians havingChinese Zoroastrian families. He alsorecords that they were descendants of Piruz(son of the last Sasanian King YazdegardIII) and his small army that was defeated bythe Arabs, and who were given refuge bythe Tang emperors in Ch’ang-an (modernXian).14 In one of his articles, ProfessorHumbach also mentions that he found in atomb of that period in Xian, Pahlaviinscriptions in Chinese dedicated by aChinese dignitary to the memory of hisChinese Zoroastrian wife. PublishedChinese archeological work since the1980s, is increasingly unearthing more andmore of such evidence. A Chinese text, YaoKuan, probably written later around

But despite being the state religion, it wasnot imposed by most of these Zoroastriankings on their conquered non-Zoroastriansubjects. Nor did their priests (Magi)proselytized it among them. On thecontrary, they adopted the prudent policy ofallowing them to worship their own deitiesand initiating them into the faith only if theychose to do so. Those who servedZoroastrian families were also allowed tojoin the faith, if they so decided. Thatappears to be the Zoroastrian traditionduring these three Empires.

None of these Empires observed the rule ofprimogeniture for kingly succession, Beforerisking his life in major battles, a king oftennamed a successor from among his sons,or generals, who were not necessarily bornof Zoroastrian wives. They ruled as king,when he died. The satraps of the Empireswere also known to have taken non-Zoroastrian wives, and some of theirchildren became provincial Zoroastriankings. Daughters were given in marriages tonon-Zoroastrian kings and princes to forgepolitical alliances. Their children ruled orgoverned those kingdoms as Zoroastrians.13

Is it plausible to think that lower-levelZoroastrian administrators, or commoners,did not follow the kingly or satrap practice ofmarrying non-Zoroastrian spouses andraising their children in the faith?

A few specific historical examples of suchpractice, as late as those in the Sasanianera, are given in the Shahnameh (Warner,Vol.VII, p. 139) and by Mary Boyce(Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs &Practices, pp.53, 54, 97, 111, 124, 139, 143,1979): the Sasanian King Vahram V (421-39AD) entrusted his Indian Hindu bride to thehigh priest of the revered Adar Gushnasp firetemple to undergo purification and initiationinto the faith: one of the last Sasanian kings,Khosrow II (621-628 AD) married Shirin – aChristian - and their son, was the ZoroastrianKing Kavad II.

Dastur Kirdir, the principal compiler of theAvesta-Zend of the Sasanian era and whichis considered as the “main Zoroastrianscripture” by the traditional Zoroastrians,

records that while accompanying Shahpur Iin his wars, he found sacred fires in Syria,Cilicia, Pontus, Armenia, Georgia andAlbania, tended by priests to serve theneeds of those who practicedZoroastrianism in those lands. Armenia,Azerbaijan, Cappadoccia (eastern Turkey)and Georgia were Zoroastrian until theyadopted Christianity after 300 AD.

Professor Humbach established frommultilingual inscriptions on coins of the 750AD vintage (i.e., a century after the Arabconquest of the Persian Sasanian Empire)that the Turkic kings of Kabul (Afghanistan)and their subjects had not become Muslimand still adhered to Zoroastrianism. To thisethnic mixture of men and womenespousing the faith after the SasanianEmpire ended, one should add those inmodern Kyrgyzstan, southern Kazakhstan,Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.They remained Zoroastrian until the 10th

century AD, before becoming predominantlyMoslem.

Looking further eastwards again, it seemsthat those practicing the faith werenumerous enough for Chinese records totalk about ministers for Zoroastrian matters,during the Northern Wei and Sui dynasties(386-618 AD – a period almost co-

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1131AD in the Sung dynasty, clarifies thatZoroastrianism was first called “Pai Hou”(Fire Faith) and later corrected to “HouHein” (Heavenly Faith).

Let us now turn to the practices ofZoroastrians who fled not Pars (as manyZoroastrians still believe), Parthia (modernTurkmenistan). They ultimately settled in936 AD in Sanjan, India and were calledParsis.

Little is recorded of their first few hundredyears, except in a 16 th century historicalpoem, Qissan-e-Sanjan. Perhaps more tothe point are the records of many missionssent by Parsi-Zoroastrians between 1478-1773 to Iran, to seek guidance on thereligion and religious practices from itsDasturs. The questions and answers arecollated in twenty six Rivayats. Onquestions relating to the acceptance ofthose of other faiths into Zoroastrianism, thereplies were that Zarathustra had thrownopen its gateways to all humanity andhence, there was no objection to performingnavjotes of non-Zoroastrians servingZoroastrian families and who wished to jointhe faith, or of children of mixedmarriages.15 Does this guidance not makeit implicit that there is no objection toperforming a marriage between aZoroastrian mother or father of such a childto his/her non-Zoroastrian parent, ornavjotes of the latter?

Further, there is ample evidence that overthe last 400 years, Zoroastrians on theIndian sub-continent took Hindu, Christianand Moslem women as wives or mistresses,and some initiated their children into thefaith. Those who went for trade to China,Japan, Thailand and the Far East andsettled there, married Buddhist, Shinto orMuslim women. Their children were ofteninitiated into Zoroastrianism, and someeven did missionary work.16

However, less clear evidence is availableabout marriages between Iranian-Zoroastrians and Muslim men or women, orwhether children of such unions were raisedas Zoroastrians. Zoroastrians did live

persecuted lives in Iran until the early partof the 20th century. But since the Iraniandasturs replied in the Rivayats that suchpractice was permissible, it seems logical toassume that some must have done so,despite the fear of persecution by Iran’sMuslim rulers?

In essence, the weight of historical practiceand tradition over centuries afterZarathustra’s time until 18th century AD,suggests that: (i) some proselytization waspursued; (ii) those of other ethnicities orfaiths, who wanted to embraceZoroastrianism, were allowed to do so; (iii)children of mixed marriages as well as non-Zoroastrian spouses were initiated into thefaith; and (iv) such practices were followedas much by Persian kings and noblemen,as by commoners. In other words, thetradition was that non-Zoroastrians had aplace in the practice of Zoroastrianism.

Anthropoligical antecedents, before & after Zarathustra, of his followers

Is there a genuine anthropological basis forthe ethnic view of Zoroastrianism that: thefaith can be practiced only by those born oftwo Iranian and Parsi parents, because theyare descendants of Aryans to whomZarathustra preached; and therefore,acceptance of non-Zoroastrians into thefaith would adulterate their Aryan andIranian ethnic heritage? Let us explore this.

As indicated earlier, there was no countrylike modern Iran at the time Zarathustra andhis disciples preached. The area knowntoday by that name, was then divided into anumber small clan and tribal kingdoms.Zarathustra’s first adherents, the TuranianFryana princes and tribe, were archenemies of different ethnic tribes livingsouth of them in that area. Vishtaspa’sKyanian kingdom lay around its easternborder, and included not only today’s Sistanbut also lands in modern Afghanistan andTajikistan. Its subjects therefore includedIranian and non-Iranian tribes and clans.Their language was the Gathic dialect of theancient Avestan language, in whichZarathustra composed his Gathas.


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However, the polytheistic tribes and clans inwhat is modern Iran spoke differentlanguages, including the Semitic Elamiteone.

Indeed, among the 16 countries mentionedas being created by Hormazd in the 1st

chapter of the Vendidad (written in the lateParthian-early Sasanian times), Pars is noteven mentioned. This is telling, becausethose holding the ethnic view of the faith,believe Pars to be their Iranian homeland.17

Pars derived its name from the Parsua tribe,which lived - according to 835 BC Assyrianrecords - south of Lake Uremia in southernRussia from 700 BC until it moved around900 BC southwards to settle in Parsuash(later abbreviated to Pars) on the Iranianplateau,18 under Semitic Elamite rulers.

The Fravardin Yasht, a prayer centuriesolder than the Vendidad, also names tribeswho accepted Zarathustra’s teachings. Theyincluded the Airyas (Aryans), Tuiryas(Turanians), Sairimas, Sainies and Dahaes,and countries unknown to recordedhistory.19 Herodotus lists three leadingtribes: Maspians, Marphians andParsagades, and four small ones: Germanii,Mardii, Panthialaei and Sagatti. This wasthen the mixed ethnic landscape, notAryans alone, in which the Prophetaddressed his teachings.

When Cyrus melded such tribal and clankingdoms and contiguous nations into hisPersian Achaemenian Empire centuriesthereafter, it was a melting pot of manynations and cultures. Stretching from theHindu Kush to Greece, Ethiopia and Arabia,that Empire absorbed voluntary convertsfrom those lands. After Alexander defeatedthe Achaemenians, the Seleucid Greeksruled their Empire. They ousted theParthians, who were not Aryans, but ruledas Zoroastrians. That added the Greeksand Parthians to the ethnic cocktail.

Hence, by the time the Sasanians from Parsdefeated the Parthians in 232 AD, even theywere themselves not pure Aryans. TheEmpire they won, was a crucible in whichseveral cultures and ethnicities of successive

kingdoms and empires had been meltedover the preceding 2,000 years. Besides, asindicated earlier, those who settled inSanjan, originated from Parthia (today’sTurkmenistan), not Pars. Yet, many Parsi-Zoroastrians still think of themselves aslegatees of pure Aryan blood under the beliefthat their forebears came from Pars. Is itcorrect to do so? Each one can decide thatfor oneself.

It seems that to stand against acceptance ofnon-Zoroastrians into the faith on thegrounds of “tradition” or practice, is a matterof misplaced ethnic pride and insufficientknowledge of anthropological facts. It haslittle to do with reality or Zarathustra’s visionthat all mankind could, if they so chose,become believers in the revelations ofAuhra Mazda.

(to be continued)

Notes & References (numbering cont. from Part I)

8. A Few Daily Prayers of the Zoroastrians, 1959. SomeZoroastrian scholars aver that “keshwars” should not betranslated as “regions”, since 6 of them are of the evanescentworld and only the 7th, “Khwanirath Bami” - at their center -is of the material world on this earth. Even then, one canlogically conclude that this prayer invokes the reciter to praythat Zarathustra’s teachings should pervade the entireevanescent and earthly worlds, not some lands in it.9. Madan D.M., Ed., Dinkard, Bk. 5.14, p.12 , 197610. Dhalla, op. cit,, pp. 455, 456; Wadia J., SpitmaZarathustra, 1967, as quoted by Homji H., O Wither Parsis,p. 6, 197811. Malandra W., Introduction to the Ancient IranianReligion, p. 26, 1982; Boyce Mary, History of Zoroastrianism,Vol. 2, p.73, 197312. Bailey H., The Culture of the Sakas in Ancient IranianKhotan, pp. xxii, 48, 81, 92-97,198213. Karaka D.F., History of the Parsis, Vol. 2, p.25, 1884; theinfamous Cleopatra was the granddaughter of the ZoroastrianParthian King Mithradates II through his daughter CleopatraTymphane whom he married off to Pharaoh Ptolemy XIIAuletes of Egypt14. Cited by Balsara R.P., Highlights of Parsi History, p. 13,196315. Dhalla, op. Cit., pp. 687-69316. Reinaud’s Abulfeda, quoted by Karaka, op. cit,, p. 27note E17. Cama K.R., Collected Works, Vol. 1, p. 618. Herzfeld, E, Iran in the Ancient Near East, 1941;Ghirshmen R., Iran from the Earliest Times to the IslamicConquest, 196119. Boyce, op. cit,, pp. 39, 40

Adi Davar, till recently wasa Member of the WZOInternational Board ofTrustees. Active incommunity affairs,internationally, nationallyand locally. Researcher,writer and speaker onZoroastrianism, its historyand contemporary issues.Consultant on internationaleconomic development.Senior executive in the TataGroup and the World Bank- where he ret ired as aDirector of East Asia &Pacific Region. Degrees ineconomics and law fromBombay. Masters ininternational law fromHarvard.

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Thousands of years ago in Ariyana Vaeja,Pourushasp and Doghdo, the parents of AshoSpitama Zarathushtra lived on the banks of ariver, presently known as the Dargoh river,flowing through Uzbekistan and Tajikistan,where the birth of our Holy Paegamber Sahebtook place. These are the ancient historical landsof Saka, Chorasmia, Soghdia, Balkh andBactria, where the historical events recorded inour Avestan texts of Yashts and Vendidad andthe Shahnameh of Firdausi, actually occurredduring the Peshdadian and Kyanian dynastyepochs. To the north is the Syr Daria, to thesouth the Amu Darya, and in between the mightyZorovshon rolls its gold laden waters into theorchards of Central Asia. In recent times duringthe past decade and a half, after the formerUSSR gave independence to its Republics,these lands are known by the names ofUzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan.Uzbekistan lays claim to being the birthplace ofPaegamber Saheb and Tajikistan as being theplace where he passed away from planet Earth.As is stated in the Avesta, Asho Zarathushtrafrom his birthplace in the north (what laterbecame Sogdia and Uzbekistan) walkedsouthwards to Balkh and Bactria to the Kyaniankingdom of Kai Vishtasp, (what later becameknown as present day Tajikistan).

Modern Tajik people are proud that Zarathushtrafirst taught his Divine Message to theirancestors, to the Court of King Vishtasp. Theyare proud of their ancient “Kyani Tokhum.” Thisfact was visible repeatedly throughout theRepublic celebrations, during all the events andstadium parades which always commenced withthe scene of Zarathushtra holding the holy fire.

2006 THE PRESENT SCENE: MAKING HISTORY

The ZC delegation consisted of nine persons,five from India, two from Iran, one from Canadaand one from Australia.

Aryan revival in Tajikistan

August – September 2006Excerpts from the report sent by Dame Dr ProfMeher Master-Moos, President, ZoroastrianCollege, Mumbai, who led the delegation

continued from p34

provide the evidence or the sources of the information. In my view this is one ofthe great strengths of the book ... it concentrates on primary sources of information,texts and objects. For an academic like me, this is wonderful and it is what makesthe book inspirational. It inspires me to undertake new paths of research. Even abook this size does not answer all the questions about the Arms and Armor ofIran. Indeed it would be sad if it did ... it would leave no room for new insights anddebate. In one passage, the author states that one of my research statements isnot entirely correct (p 102). Does this upset me? Does it make me less of a scholar,no. Quite the opposite. It shows that my research has been read, considered, andbuilt upon!

Are all the dates of manufacture of the objects correct? Perhaps yes, perhaps no.Dating blades can be tremendously difficult; blades were reused, new grips, newstyles, old “revival” styles etc. Unless an object has an unquestionable provenance,the date is debatable from an academic standpoint. Those who find fault with anyinformation present in the book should research where the author gathered thatinformation from, and prove the information wrong, rather than basing yourjudgment on your opinion, rather than on hard evidence and facts. No true scholarminds being proven incorrect, provided they did the best they could with theinformation that was available to them. Research is all about challenging existingideas, assumptions and preconceptions.

Unfortunately, many of us will not be able to visit Iran and see the objects forourselves. Apart from the production of a CD where I could enlarge the photos tosee small details, the author gives us the next best thing. While some of thephotographs may not be perfect, I am glad they are given. Having taken photographsof swords in foreign museums myself, I am well aware that time is often at apremium. (Once, I had one hour to document, photograph and sample 18 blades!).One takes as many photographs as one can for documentation, because one iswell aware that the opportunity may never arise again. The result can often be“less than perfect” photographs, however, I would much rather see a imperfectphotograph than none at all or, the ever frustrating and almost useless, singlephotograph of the overall object with no close-ups!

Personally, I do not like the use of the term “wootz” in many of the descriptions ofthe blade’s metal. The term implies an Indian origin for the steel. The text givesmany examples of the production of crucible steel (pulad) in Iran and neighboringregions. The term crucible steel should have been consistently used until moreresearch allows us to confidently state where the steel was made.

As a person who does most of her reading on public transportation I do feel thebook may have benefited for being in two volumes. However, the use of a TableMate II (as seen on TV) eliminated the weight issue and allowed me to take noteswithout having to balance the book on my legs. Perhaps, if the publishers mistookthe book as a “coffee table book” the size would be justified, but it is a scholarlypublication which will be used by all those interested in the Arms and Armor ofIran, for many years to come. My only protest is the book leaves me wanting more(like a good meal or a visit from an old friend). The early Persian and Sasanianblades beg me to analyse them, to determine if they are crucible “Damascus steel”.I want the complete translation of Omar Khayyam Neishaburi, not a teaser! Itinspires me by highlighting avenues of research which I want to undertake. Thebook provides a strong reliable foundation upon which furtherscholarly research can be built.

Reviewed by Dr Ann Feuerbach(courtesy [email protected])


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The Tajikistan government had invited otherZoroastrians from various countries includingthe daughter of late Mr Faridoon Zartoshtyand many other non Zoroastrian persons,professors and scholars; the total official“Hukumat Mehman“ list was over a hundredpersons; the President invited all of us fordinner at the President’s Palace at Dushanbeand next day at his hometown Kulab, wherewe were flown by special planes and given aright royal welcome.

Voroh Village at over 23,000ft, in this tinyancient Zarathushtrian village our mobedsperformed a Jashan in the chill mountain airin full view of the entire village, representativesof the Penjikant Mayor’s office andarchaeologists of the Sarazm 5,500 years oldFiretemples excavations. These Sogdianpeople openly said “we have ancientZarathushtrian blood flowing in our veins”.

Official Government Republic anniversaryprogramme in Dushanbe and Kulab

In every speech President EmomalyRahmonov exhorted people to follow theethical teachings of Zarathushtra, whom hedescribed as the first “Hero” of Tajikistan. Atthe Government parades in Kulab andDushanbe, the Opening Ceremony depictedZarathushtra in front of a huge fire recitingmanthras; scenes from the Vendidad wereenacted - the long horns blew the power ofmanthras all over the country.

The walls of the cement factory at Dushanbeare decorated with 110 scenes of Avesta andShahnameh epic stories including pictures ofJamshed Padshah, Asho Zarathushtra,Avesta scriptures and Asho Farohar.

In Dushanbe, the Government has given grantof land to Mr Sassanfar from France, toconstruct a Zoroastrian Cultural Centre cumDarbe Meher; and also in Istaravshon, wherehis building is already under constructionfacing the Mayor’s office.

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Excerpts from Ervad Khushroo Fali Madan’simpression on his trip to Uzbekistan &Tajikistan

My main aim and purpose of going thereas a mobed was to support theZarathushtis living there, by teachingthem Zoroastrian culture, rituals,

Avesta prayers, etc. When we started our trip, thevery first thing impressed me in the plane fromDelhi to Tashkent was an article I read onZoroastrianism in the Uzbekistan Airways Inflightmagazine. What a wonderful coincidence andwhat a lovely and appropriate Zarathushti start ofour journey.

While crossing the Oybek border to enter Tajikistanfrom Uzbekistan the funniest sight was a donkeycart, in the 21st century carrying our luggage. Thepoor beast of burden was overloaded with our 27bags, big and small, that had to be heaved throughthe road customs and security checkpost on theUzbek side of the border.

In Khujand, their Mayor’s office gave us a rightroyal welcome, as indeed did all the Mayors andMayoresses in Aini, Istaravshan, Penjikant andKulab. The Khujand Mayor’s off ice sent arepresentative to the border with a minibus toescort us and our baggage into Tajikistan wherewe stayed at the lovely countryside residence of avery good Zarthoshti, Prof Rustom Fuzaylov.

We consecrated the actual place, ground purificationceremony, (by performing afargan of AspandarmadAmeshaspand, etc.) where a Fire Temple (AtashDadgah) will be enthroned shortly. It is a lovely place,located near a lake, in an orchard of the biggest,reddest pomegranate trees and greenery. Thismoment, my joy knew no bounds and I considermyself very lucky to have done such a wonderfulwork of our holy prophet Zarathushtra.

The scenes on the way from Khujand to Istarafshanand in Aini and Penjikant, were fantastic - rivers,snow-peaked mountains, greenery, you name it andit was there. My colleagues who had earlier visitedSwitzerland and USA said that the beauty they sawhere was breathtaking and better than anything theyhad seen.

The various excavation sites and many museums,libraries, historical monuments, etc. we visited all

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over Tajikistan, show distinctly that Zarathustireligion and culture started here in Tajikistan andproves beyond doubt the ancient Aryancivilization’s existence. We were amazed to seethe excavated atash kadeh sites, dokhmas,astodans, kusti jantar, chatri, pav mahl alaatslike havnim, lalo, Shahnameh manuscripts, etc.Wherever I went, I felt like I was visiting my oldmotherland, meeting my Zarathushti brothersand sisters who were extremely hospitable,living their lives by practising the trueZarathushtrian principles of Humata, Hukhta,Hvarashta, - they are very keen to revive theZoroastrian culture and religion.

We also met local Zoroastrians who areactually wearing sudreh and kusti in thisvillage from ancient times - a great delight towatch such sincerity and dedication towardsZoroastrianism and its culture.

In Dushanbe, the four days Government officialprogramme for the 15th Rebublic Celebrationswas out of this world. The symposium,President’s speech and the various culturalprogrammes where over a thousandparticipants acted in concerts, were mindboggling, colourful and gorgeous. Thefireworks were so beautiful that the delegatesfrom USA, Canada, Australia, France and otheraffuent countries said that they had never seensomething like this in their entire life.

In their two Republic Day parades inDushanbe and Kulab, concerts, the plays,Zarathushtra and his life history were very wellenacted - a sight one can’t imagine - howhappy we Zoroastrians from India were to seethis with pride.

President of Tajikistan Mr EmomalyRahmonov is a very sincere, hardworking andpractical person, who is sincerely workingtowards the revival of ancient Aryan cultureand civilization. He shook hands with usduring the two grand banquets he hosted inhonour of all the foreign guests and thecelebrations of the Republic Anniversary.

In Uzbekistan (Tashkent) we could see theZarathushti spirit, and met many good peoplerightfully claiming to be Zarathushtis. There,Prof Rustom Abdukamilov is working

zealously to form aZarathushti Anjuman. Heis the governmentappointed teacher,teaching Avesta and ourother ancient languagesto over six hundredschool-students andstudents in variousinstitutions as per theGovernment regulations.We realized that thepeople in different statesof Uzbekistan like Bactria,Balkh, Sogdia, speakthese as living languagesas we in India useGujarati, Hindi Marathi etcas state languages.These are livinglanguages and taught inthe schools in Tashkent.

We performed 28navjotes in Tashkent ofvery prominent and eliteZarathushti persons whosincerely wanted to be

properly initiated into the Zoroastrian religionand culture. We also performed Jashan onthe very first day of our trip in the home of aZarathushtrian lady.

Overall it was a very fruitful tour for me, andwe have made a good beginning in ourendeavor to revive the ancient Aryancivilization and Zarathushtrian religion andculture. Atha Jamyad Yatha Afrinami.

Sarazm/Penjikant

Istarovshan


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Noshir Gowadia, a62 year old Indian born,Zoroastrian, engineer has beenin federal detention sinceOctober 2005 on charges ofselling military secrets to Chinaand seven other countries. Histrial is to take place in a federal

court in Honolulu, Hawaii on July 10, 2007.Mr Gowadia was indicted on six counts onOctober 26, 2005. At the time, he faced amaximum sentence of 10 years in prison.However, on November 9, 2006, a federalGrand Jury handed down an 18-countindictment that supercedes the previousindictment. Certain charges in thesuperceding 49-page indictment carry aterm up to life imprisonment and possibledeath penalty, if certain statutory conditionsare met. Certain charges also carry amaximum fine of up to $250,000 or twicethe gross gain derived from the violation,including possible forfeiture of property.The US Attorney’s office has not yetdecided whether to seek the death penaltyin this case.

According to the superceding indictment, MrGowadia allegedly sold classified defensetechnology related to the B-2 bomberengine’s exhaust system to China. Thistechnology allows the B-2 bomber to avoiddetection by infrared sensors. As part of itsstrategy for a swift response to any futureChinese threat, the US governmentregularly deploys B-2 bombers for shortperiods of time on the Pacific island ofGuam. In fact, the Pentagon recentlycompleted a major upgrade of bomberstorage facilities there. This B-2 bombertechnology is extremely useful to China andother foreign governments since it allows

b y m i t r a m e h r

The Noshir Gowadia case

(Based on a press release found on the websites of the US Attorney and Department of Justiceand several articles in the press. Unfortunately the November 2006 indictment [49 pages] is notavailable on the internet)

them to reverse-engineer for it and buildsystems that can avoid detection by US air-to-air missles. Sharing of this technologyhas therefore compromised the interests ofthe United States.

Mr Gowadia is also charged with providingextensive technical assistance to Chineseweapon designers in developing a cruisemissile exhaust nozzle that is capable ofevading detection and interception by theUS missile defense system. In addition, thecruise missile can intercept US air-to-airmissiles. According to the supercedingindictment, Mr Gowadia assisted Chineseweapon designers in developing the cruisemissile exhaust nozzle and improving theirtesting facilities for it. Mr Gowadia allegedlyflew to China on at least six occasions from2002 to 2005 to discuss, design and testthis technology. The indictment describesMr Gowadia’s covert entry into China andtravel within the country for the purpose ofassisting the Chinese government indeveloping the stealthy exhaust nozzle.According to the indictment, through the useof covert email addresses Mr Gowadiaconspired with Mr Henry Nyo and MrTommy Wong, whom he later met in China.Mr Wong is described as an official of thePeople Republic of China’s Foreign ExpertsBureau which conducts research anddevelopment of Chinese fighter aircraft andcruise missiles. The supercedingindictment charges Mr Gowadia withperforming a defense service without firstobtaining the necessary licensing approvalfrom the US Department of State.

The superceding indictment also chargesMr Gowadia with laundering funds paid tohim by the Chinese government. The

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indictment provides notice of the USgovernment’s intent to seek forfeiture ofproperty which facilitated the espionage or

was a proceed of MrGowadia’s allegedmoney laundering.Mr Gowadia ischarged with beingpaid at least$110,000 byChinese officials forthe highly classifiedtechnology althoughthe indictment statesthat it is believedthat Mr Gowadia’sactual income may

be significantly greater. Investigators haveplaced that figure at $2 million, some ofwhich remains in foreign bank accounts.The luxury home that Mr Gowadia and hiswife, Cheryl, built in Ha’iku, Maui and thatwas assessed at $1.64 million in 2004 couldbe subject to forfeiture based on theargument that it may have been built andbought with illegal funds.

In addition, according to the supercedingindictment, from 2002-2004, Mr Gowadia sente-mails which offered “top secret” data toIsrael, Germany and Switzerland. This datarelated to US stealth technology which wasintended for use in the TH-98 Eurocopter aswell as for foreign commercial aircraft.According to the superceding indictment, MrGowadia continued to be engaged in aconspiracy to sell classified technologythrough January 2006, even after his arrest.

Mr Gowadia is a naturalized US citizen, whoimmigrated to the United States fromBombay when he was 18. From November1968 to April 1986, Mr Gowadia worked asa design engineer with Northrop Grumman.During this time, he was a chief designer ofthe B-2 propulsion system that makes theB-2 Spirit Bomber difficult for enemymissiles to detect. Mr Gowadia laterworked as a contract engineer at the LosAlamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

Upon leaving the defense industry, MrGowadia worked as an independent

engineer in defense research. During thistime, Mr Gowadia set up NSG, Inc., an Scorporation that reported about $750,000 ingross receipts between 1999 and 2003. MrGowadia also set up NTech-E, based inSwitzerland and NTech-A, based inAustralia. Mr Gowadia lectured andadvised on projects at the University ofAlabama, Georgia Tech and PurdueUniversity’s School of Aeronautics andAstronautics. According to the allegations,during this period, Mr Gowadia marketedhimself as a “father” of the uniquetechnology that hides the B-2 bomberspropulsion system and sold classifiedinformation for personal profit.

The case against Mr Gowadia is, in part,based on the information that was retrievedby federal agents from Mr Gowadia’s housein October 2005. According to theindictment, on October 13, 2005, FBIagents, the US Air Force Office of SpecialInvestigations and the Bureau ofImmigration and Customs Enforcementexecuted a search warrant in Mr Gowadia’sresidence in Honolulu. During their search,they discovered a number of classifieddocuments dating back from Mr Gowadia’semployment at Northrop and Los Alamos.The US government has requirementsregarding the maintenance, handling,storage and communication of nationaldefense information and classifiedinformation. At the time, Mr Gowadia statedthat he was aware of the responsibilitieswith respect to maintenance anddissemination of classified material anddenied possessing any such material. Thenext day, however, when confronted withthe fact that classified documents had beenretrieved from his residence, Mr Gowadiaprovided a written statement where hestated: “I disclosed classified informationand material both verbally and in papers,computer presentations, letters and othermethods to individuals in foreign countrieswith the knowledge that information wasclassified . . . the reason I disclosed thisclassified information to establish thetechnological credibility with the potentialcustomers for future business. I wanted tohelp this [sic] countries to further their self


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aircraft protection systems. My personalgain would be business.” During theinterview, Mr Gowadia allegedly admittedthat he provided classified information toapproximately eight named countries.

According to the allegations, Mr Gowadiaheld documents containing graphs andother technical information which MrGowadia apparently traced from existingclassified documents. Mr Gowadia tracedthese information separately so thatindividually the documents are notclassified. However, the two documentswould likely be categorized as classifiedwhen transposed on top of each other sothat the information on each could beviewed together. In his October 14statement, Mr Gowadia admitted that hisintent in making the tracings was to“preserve the classified information in twoforms which were separately unclassifiedbut would be classified when combined.”

Mr Gowadia’s son, 40 year old AshtonGowadia has described his father’s arrestas “a misunderstanding that is blown wayout of proportion” and has stated that thegovernment’s case is “false.” In aninterview with the Associated Press onNovember 9, 2006, Mr Ashton Gowadiastated that his “father insists that allinformation that [he] has discussed hasalways been basic, theoretical, researchinformation.” In an interview with aHonolulu paper on November 10, 2006,Ashton Gowadia stated that “there is a hugediscrepancy between what is classified,what isn’t and what is available in the publicdomain” and added that his father onlyconsulted and shared information that ispart of the public domain and not classified.Ashton Gowadia asserted that his fatherstopped working on the stealth project in1986, three years before the first test flight;therefore, he could not have obtainedinformation about the B-2 bomber that wasnot already in the public domain.

In October 2005, federal Judge BarryKurren detained Mr Gowadia without bail,stating that his international contacts makehim a flight risk. According to the judge, Mr

Gowadia’s access to secret material mayalso make him in danger since his clientsmay want to have him silenced.

The US government is apparently awaitingadditional information on this matter fromthe governments of Lichenstein,Switzerland and Australia where MrGowadia had incorporated businesses andhad bank accounts. On November 15,2006, The Australian newspaper publishedan article stating that Mr Gowadia was ajoint director in NTech-A along with ArthurLazarou, a retired Australian navy officerwho is a supervisor in Defence MaterialOrganisaton. According to The Australian,N-Tech-A received at least $1 million inAustralian Defence Department contracts toadapt stealth technology to Australia’sRAAF aircraft. The article also reported thatAttorney-General Philip Ruddock appointedformer inspector-general of intelligence andsecurity Ron McLeod to head an officialinquiry into the Gowadia matter. Accordingto the article, the official report is expectedto be completed in April 2007, severalmonths before Mr Gowadia’s long awaitedtrial.

As for Mr Gowadia, on November 9, 2006,he entered a plea of “not guilty” before USmagistrate Judge Kevin S C Chang.According to his son, Mr Gowadia is “eagerto go to trial” and prove his case.

Mitra Mehr is an corporate attorney currently residing inWashington DC.

"When God leads you to theedge of the cliff, trust Himfully and let go. Only one oftwo things will happen,either He'll catch you whenyou fall, or He'll teach youhow to fly” - author unknown

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Gujarat floods 2006Relief & Rehabilitation by WZO Trust, India

For the information of our donors, the WZO Trust is pleased to announce the followingdetails:

Rs2,718,833 : Amount collected up to 31 October 2006Rs2,507,427 : Amount spent so farRs 211,406 : In hand, to be utilized for further requests that are under investigation and consideration.

Breakup:

Rs 70,000 : Immediate supply of Kathi to five agyaries (Surat Farvardian, Adajan, Bhatha, Siganpor, Ichhapore) as the kathi in stock had become wet and temporarily unusable.Rs 347,427 : For providing immediate relief measures (food grains, blankets etc) to 375 Zoroastrians (102 at Surat, 16 at Ichhapore, 13 at Bhatha, 30 at Rander, 43 at Adajan, 30 at Siganpore and 141 through Surat Parsi Punchayet).Rs1,040,000 : Rehabilitation inputs to 25 Zoroastrians whose properties/homes, furniture/fixtures, household utility items have been damaged or destroyed.Rs1,050,000 : Rehabilitation inputs to 19 Zoroastrians whose businesses have been severely affected.

Ervard Amrolia of Bhatha Agyari trudging through the mud to meet the WZO team

Floods at the Bhatha Agyari, the gates are submerged The water mark being pointed by a Zoroastrian whose rice andflour mill was devasted

Donations bycheque or draft inthe name of WZOTrust, Shanti, 5thfloor, 6 Banaji St,Fort, Mumbai 400001, India are mostwelcome


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The Sasanian Theocracy

Zoroastrian Restoration

Ardeshir Papak defeated the last Parthianking Ardavan V in hand-to-hand battle in226 AD. Ardeshir commemorated hisvictory by building several Atash Varhans 2

and six new cities named after himself 3.He appointed Tansar as the High Priest,who compiled a standard version of thedoctrine and practice of the Zarathushtireligion, which for the first time in history,became the State religion.

b y r u s t o m k e v a l a

Events that shaped our religion

Part IV- The Sasanian Theocracy

Introduction

This series of papers highlights the major turning points in history that have shaped present-dayZoroastrian religion and worldview.

Parts I-III covered the events from the founding of the religion during Zarathushtra’s time (1350 BC)to the end of the Parthian period (226 AD). Zarathushtra’s message (c 1300 BC) spread from theBactrian highlands to the western Indo-Iranian tribes without fanfare for over 700 years. Recordedhistory of Zoroastrian religion starts with the Achaemenian king Cyrus the Great (558 BC), whoexhibited great tolerance for all the local religions within his empire. Darius (581-486 BC) leftdetailed inscriptions declaring that he was a follower of Ahura Mazda. Darius’s successors continuedto follow the Mazda-yasna religion, but included the worship of other divinities such a Mithra andAnahita. The Achaemenian Empire included Greek Asia Minor and Ionia, but the Persian and theGreek religions remained distinct.

After Alexander defeated Darius III at Gaugamela in 331 BC, a period of Hellenization began, whichlasted for less than 200 years. Many of the surviving Zoroastrian scriptures were lost becauseZoroastrian scribes were no longer supported by the rulers. Religion now became pure rituals forpropitiating divinities and warding off pollution and the demons, recited orally in a language that wasalready out of use.

Ashk (Arshak) founded the Parthian dynasty in 256 BC. The Parthian period was one of muchreligious syncretism. The notion of the cosmic Messiah (like Saoshyant) entered Jewish thinkingbetween 200 BC and 100 AD. But the gospel of Christ, which contended that Love was the answerfor conquering evil, was difficult to counter with Zoroastrian rituals in poorly understood languages.Blash (Valkash) ordered the re-assembly and transcription of Zoroastrian scriptures in the Pahlaviscript 1 (60 AD). This task continued intermittently until the dynasty ended.

Part IV

Ardeshir’s son Shapur I ascended to thethrone in 241. During this time, the RomanEmpire was in disarray. Emperor Valerianwas taken as prisoner and brought toCtesiphon in 260. This victory is recordedin the rock relief at Naqsh-e Rustam.Roman historians claim that Valerian wasdisplayed to the public by burying him to hisneck in the middle of a road. However,Firdausi records that Valerian (Bazanush)

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and his Roman engineers were asked tobuild a bridge over the river Karun atShushtar, and were freed after the bridgewas completed in three years.

Shapur continued to build Atash Varhans.He ordered the collection of writings onmedicine, astronomy, movement, time,space, substance, creation, becoming,passing away, qualitative change, logic, andother arts and sciences. His High PriestKirdar (Kartir) examined the possibility ofbasing every form of academic discipline onthe Religion of the Worshipers of Mazda.4

The Heresy of Mani

A challenge to the reconstruction of theZoroastrian Heritage arose in the teachingsof a new Babylonian prophet of nobleParthian blood, Mani 5, who began hismission in 242 AD. Mani preached asynthesis of Zoroastrian, Buddhist andChristian-Gnostic ideas which appealed toShapur, who appears to have been abroadly humanistic ruler. Mani’s writings,recovered recently in Chinese Turkestan,indicate that he was a dualist, believing inthe supreme God Zurvan, the father of twinsHormuzd and Ahriman. This dualism hadentered into the Zoroastrian religion duringthe Achaemenid times, but now it took afirmer hold with the encouragement of theSasanian monarchs and mobeds. Kirdar,however, did not accept Mani’s adaptationsof his own doctrines of Zurwanism. Maniwas declared a zandik, one who put his ownperverse interpretations upon holy texts.When Shapur passed away in 272 AD, hisson Bahram I (273-276) ordered theexecution of Mani for teaching heresy.According to legend Mani, like Christ, wascrucified.

Bahram’s crown (see Figure 1) wasdecorated with rays of the sun, symbolizingMithra. High Priest Kirdar consolidated hispower during the reign of the next fourrulers. The Sasanians were seeking aunifying force that would weld their empiretogether 6. Kirdar claims to have “chastised,upbraided and improved” Jews, Christians,Manicheans, Buddhists and Brahmans.

Sasanian Crowns. Note the crescent and star symbolon the crown of Yazdegard III, which was later adaptedas the symbol of Islam [from Persian Mythology, by John

R. Hinnells, Peter Bedrick Books, New York, 1973].


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Shapur II (The Great) 309-379 regained theterritory between the Tigris and Euphratesfrom the Romans in 360. High PriestAdarbad Marespand composed Pazandprayers and Pahlavi commentaries to theAvestan texts, which are still in use as ourdaily prayers.

Doctrinal Discord

The Denkart records that: “Shapursummoned all men from all lands toexamine and study all doctrines, so that allcause for dispute might be removed”. Thekey question was that of the relationship ofAnghra Mainyu to Ahura Mazda; or theorigin and ultimate nature of evil. AfterAdarbad had been vindicated 7 by theconsistency of his argument against all theother representatives of the different sects,doctrines, and schools, he issued adeclaration: “Now that we have seen theReligion upon earth, we shall leave no oneto his false religion and we shall beexceeding zealous4.” The entire physicalCreation was now divided into the GoodCreation of Ahura Mazda and the evil andnoxious creations of Anghra Mainyu.

The Bundahish, the Zoroastrian Creationstory and other sacred texts were editedand amplified. Arda Viraf described hisvisit, while still alive, to the Chivat Bridgeand beyond.8 He described in detail how asoul of the departed remains seated uponits body for the first three nights, after whichit meets its own Fravashi at the entrance ofthe Chinvat Bridge. Arda Viraf was thenshown heaven and hell, the reality of Godand the Archangels, the non-reality ofAnghra Mainyu and his demons; theresurrection of the dead and future body.Dante’s “Inferno”, written the 13th century,parallels Arda Viraf’s descriptions in manyrespects.

For the Christians, the chief knot of discordwas the divinity of Christ. After EmperorConstantine made Christianity the StateReligion throughout the Roman empire, heconvened a Council at Nicaea (325) todefine “the will and nature of God” to allmankind. However, the arguments flared

up again, and a second Ecumenical councilwas convened by Theodosius II inConstantinople in 381. Gnostic doctrineswere revived again by Nestorius, whichwere ultimately crushed at a Council atEpesus in 431. Mary was declared as theMother of God. Nestorius was exiled inEgypt where he was later murdered by amonk.

Treaties with Rome

Yazdegard I (399-420) is praised in westernwritings as the good, merciful king, as hetreated Jews and Christians well. TheRoman Emperor Arcadius appointed him asthe guardian of his son Theodosius.Yazdegard’s son Bahram V (Bahram-gur 9)was educated in the court of Munzir, theking of Yemen, and was backed by Arabs.Bahram-gur concluded a treaty withTheodosius, which guaranteed freedom ofreligion to Zoroastrians in the Romanempire and Christians in the Iranian Empire.Bahram-gur went to the court of KingVasudeva of Kanoj in India, disguised as hisown ambassador. There is a painting of aPersian embassy in the Ajanta caves, whichis believed to refer to Bahram-gur10.

Mazdakism

During the reign of Kobad I (487-531), aman named Mazdak 11 began preaching adoctrine of equality of mankind as thesolution for all ills. Kobad was impressedby Mazdak and ordered his courtiers toshare their wealth, which included theirwomen, with the subjects. Kobad’s sonKhosro debated Mazdak and showed that ifMazdak is taken seriously, it would beimpossible for a father to recognize his son.Who will rule and who will serve? Themaster will become the servant, thelabourer the master, and the ruler and slavewill become equals 12. Mazdak wasexecuted.

Beginning of the End

Khosro inherited the throne in 531. He wasa just ruler, and was called Anoshirwan

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(immortal soul). The game of chess wasintroduced in Iran from India. Backgammon(nard) was invented. A new Avestanalphabet was invented. In 540, Christiansor Lazica on the Black Sea sought and weregranted protection from Roman persecution.His son Anoshzad, born of his Christianwife, had accepted Christianity. WhenKhorsro Anoshirwan died in 579, Anoszadclaimed the throne, but was not accepted bythe noblemen or even by Rome.

The last “Great King” was Khosro II Parviz(590-628). When his general Bahram Chobinrevolted, Khosro fled and asked the RomanEmperor Maurice for help. Maurice helpedhim to banish Bahram Chobin and gave himhis daughter Maria in marriage. WhenMaurice was murdered, Maurice’s sonTheodosius took refuge in Iran. Khosro nextcaptured many of the provinces in Asia Minorfrom the Romans. His general Shahr-barazseized Damascus, captured Egypt, andadvanced on Palestine. The True Cross wastaken to Ctesiphon and given to Khosro’s wifeMaria. Emperor Heraclius sued for peace.

This was the high point of the Sasanianempire, which now covered as much landas the Empire of Darius. But Heraclius nowstarted attacking the ports of Asia Minorfrom the sea and scored several victoriesover the Iranian armies. The famous city ofDastgard near Ctesiphon was plundered in628. The True Cross was returned toJerusalem. Khosro was murdered by hisson Sherweh in 628.

Rise of Islam

Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, was bornin 570 at Mecca, during the reign of KhosroAnoshirwan. He began to preach hisreligion in Mecca in 610, but had to flee toMedinah in 622, where his religion tookhold. He now addressed letters to Khosro IIand Emperor Haraclius, calling upon themto embrace Islam. Khosro is reported tohave become enraged at this and orderedthe governor of Yemen, Badhan, to captureMuhammad. By the time Muhammadreceived the news, Khosro Parviz had beenmurdered. Muhammad predicted to his

followers that the great Persian Empire willfall one day and the “polytheists” will acceptIslam. Hearing this, Badhan acceptedIslam13.

Salman-e-Parsi

At about this time, a learned Zoroastriannamed Behzad, who had acceptedChristianity, fled Iran and was captured byArab mercenaries who sold him toMuhammad as a slave. Muhammad treatedhim well and he accepted Muhammad’sreligion; whereupon Muhammad freed him.Behzad, now known as Salman-e-Parsi, isreputed to have written most of the Qur’anas dictated by Muhammad.

Arab Conquests

After Muhammad passed away, Abu Bakr,father-in-law of Muhammad and the firstCaliph, received reports of the unrest inIran. He sent Khalid bin Walid to launch anattack on Hafir, a Persian province in Iraq.Khalid challenged the governor, Hormuz, toaccept Islam or duel him. Hormuz chose toduel, but was killed and Khalid cut off hishead. The Persian army retreated. It is saidthat a section of the Persian army hadchained themselves with the determinationof winning or dying, which impeded theirretreat. This battle is known as Dhat-us-Salasil because of these chains. After theconquest of the province, Khalid made theinhabitants pay the Jizyah tax andappointed a Muslim governor. Hormuz’scrown, valued at one hundred thousanddinars, was taken by Khalid.

Khalid now marched on different citadels inIraq, some of whom were under Roman ruleand some under Arab tribal leaders andPersian governors. By 631, all of Iraq wasunder Muslim domination. Khalid nowconscripted the converted Iraqis to advanceon Syria. The Roman army, under thecommand of the brother of Haraclius, wasdefeated at Yarmuk. After theseunprecedented victories, Abu Bakr’ssuccessor in Medinah, caliph Umar Faruqsent armies to capture the rest of Syria andJordan.


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Advance on Persia

Now Rustam Farrokhzad, the governor ofKhorasan and prime minister of Iran, beganmilitary preparations to repulse the Arabs.Rustam entrusted Behman Jidhwah with awell-equipped army along with 300 warelephants. He was also handed the KavyaniBanner, which was believed to make thePersian army invincible. The Persian andArab armies faced each other now acrossthe Euphrates. A bridge was constructedand Behman Jidhwah asked his counterpartto choose between fighting from their sideof the river or his. The Arabs chose to crossthe river and immediately faced the hugeelephants. The Arabs were routed andretreated back across the river.

The Arabs were allowed to escape. Theyregrouped, received reinforcements, andmet the Persian army again at Buwaib. ThePersian army was now under the commandof Mehran Hamadani, who had beenbrought up in Arabia. This time, thePersians crossed the bridge and theMuslims were crowned with victory. TheMuslims broke the bridge to prevent thePersians from retreating14.

Holy Wars

The defeat of Mehran Hamadani raised anoutcry in the Persian court. At that time, awoman, Queen Purandokht, was on thePersian throne. Purandokht was dethronedand four princes and a princess vied for thethrone. Finally, Yazdegard III, grandson ofKhosro Parviz, was installed on the thronein 632. His coronation at the age of 21infused a new life into disheartened Persiannobles. Persian camps and militaryoutposts were fortified and strengthened.

Now Umar Faruq issued orders for the Arabtroops to fall back towards the frontiers ofArabia. The season of Hajj had arrived, andArabs poured into Medinah and joinedgroups of warriors. Umar wanted topersonally lead his followers now againstPersia. But the commanders objected.Umar sent a strong Arab army under Saadbin Waqqas for a Holy War against Iran.

Saad entered Iraq, ravaging several townson his way and encamped at Quadisiyah onthe river Euphrates in 636.

Yazdegard ordered Rustam Farrokhzad tomarch against the Arabs with an army of60,000. Rustam spent about six monthscovering the distance from the capitalMada’in to Quadisiyah. He was joined byJalinus with 40,000 men, Hormuzin with30,000 and Mehran bin Bahram Razi had30,000 troops. The Persians army wasfinally arrayed against the Muslims. At first,several Persian wrestlers challenged theArabs. The elephants charged next and thebattle ensued for a whole day without aresolution. The next day, the Arabs receivedreinforcements and challenged BehmanJidhwah for a duel. The Arabs were oncamels, which appeared to scare thePersian horses. The battle continued all dayand through the night. Rustam wasoverthrown from his charger and wounded.Jalinus was killed. The Persians wererouted.

In 641, Umar sent Amar ibn Yaser, whodefeated Yazdegard’s army at Nihavand.The sovereignty of the Iranian Empirepassed into the hands of the Caliphs.Yazdgard spent the next 10 years trying toraise an army to regain his throne. In theend, he was murdered by a miller for thejewels he was wearing.

q

Rustom Kevala is the president of the Federation ofZoroastrian Associations of North America. He lives inFlorida with his wife Yasmin.

“Kindness is more important than wisdom,And the recognition of this is the beginningof wisdom.” Theodore Isaac Rubin

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Mobed Rostam MobedKaikhosrow Vahidi is aChartered Accountant witha PhD in the Avestan andancient Iranian Languages,living in Iran. He is theEditor of the Fravaharbimonthly CommunityJournal, published by theFravahar Zarthoshty YouthOrganisation of which he isa senior Board Member aswell.


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A year has gone by since the earthquake took place inthe NWFP & Azad Kashmir – it was time to pay a visit once again, themain reason being to verify if the shelters given were still up and beingused by the recipients.

14 November: Arrived at Islamabad airport at 9am and went directly toGheri – the village where we donated 60 shelters and stoves. On theway we visited Muzzaffarabad which seems to be bustling once againas a large town. The roads are in a good condition, the rubble has beenremoved but no reconstruction was visible.

On the 12th & 13th heavy rain had fallen, and the track leading to Gheri,was completely broken to such an extent it was non-jeepable. Thedilapidated wooden bridge which leads from Azad Kashmir across theriver to Gheri, has been repaired and painted, making the walk easy, butthen it is all an uphill climb. Our gracious villagers were waiting for us,with the President and Secretary of their committee - Mohammed AslamAbbas and Mohammed Nawaz - having come down to the bridge toescort us.

The village has been cleared of all the old rubble and most of the brokenstructures. The tents have gone barring a few which house their livestock.The shelters are all standing and seem to have withstood the last winter,as well as the recent heavy monsoons. Each of their shelters are keptneatly, and on the ledge which runs around the walls, their plates andutensils stand. Though cramped for space with families consisting of sixor more, they are most grateful to you, the donors. Gheri is a credit tous, the donors.

Hospitality being most gracious wherever one goes in Pakistan, theyhad arranged for us French toast and tea, and mind you the name “Frenchtoast” was mentioned by them. I could have fallen off the charpoi! Onecan only be amazed and at the same time amused, that up here, at5,000 ft sitting in a shelter, one is being offered French toast when theyhave so little in their lives. You may recall that an elder of the village,Fareed Khan, had given me his walking stick when I last visited Gheri,which of course I carried back with me this time round, using it withgratitude. Being financially better off than the others, he is in the processof building a family home in concrete blocks of a ground plus one floor.To his credit he has also built an underground room, in case anotherearthquake strikes. He is one of the fortunate ones, who do not have towait till the Government gives the promised compensation.

The villagers of Gheri have joined together and are rebuilding theirmosque, a sight we saw wherever we went. For them, the house ofprayer takes precedence over the building of their home.

A year laterAn update from Toxy Cowasjee on the assistance given through WZO, to those affected by the earthquake

Villagers at Gheri

Fareed Khan’s home destroyed - right, new one under construction

Temporary kitchen where our hostess made Frenchtoast & tea

Rebuilding of mosque. Note builder is right on the top

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As we were leaving, they requested if a small bridge could bepaid for as each time the rain comes, the river overflows onto thetrack road, making entry and exit into the village very difficult. Onbehalf of you the donors, I have said we will pay for this which isRs200,000 (US$3,279), which includes OAKDF’s 10% foroverheads. The funds are with me. Additional Rs50,000 will bethe contribution of the village by way of cash, kind and labour.

15 November: A trip was lined up to see the recent devastationof the landslides caused by the flash floods in October, to visit theBHU (Basic Health Unit) donated by us, and then to go high in themountain where so much work has been carried out by OAKDF(Omar Asghar Khan Development Foundation).

One imagineslandslides to be earthmoving away frommountains andblocking roads; at leastthis is the image for me.The worst sectionwhich we saw was atGul Dhori near GhariHabibullah, though thesituation goes on formiles and miles wheremountains have justcrumbled and comeinto the valley, making a dam in the river. These villages havebeen wiped out, even saw a concrete home sunk and the top floorfilled with river mud. With the damming of the river the course haschanged, and those who normally had the benefit of the river arenow deprived of water. Electricity pylons, huge trees, structures,all in a crumbled state is the landscape one sees as you drivepast, mile after mile. Due to the earthquake last year, the groundis now very fragile and any inclement weather seems to bring onanother catastrophe.

A visit to Dahola near Ghari Habibullah where we had donatedtwo containers, converted as a BHU had been planned, and thoughthe area was being vaccinated by the government against polio,the Health Officer was waiting for us. The re-conditioned containersare truly very well appointed, with wooden floor and panelling forthe walls, complete with couch, desk and shelves, looking goodafter nearly a year in use. The second one is the residence of theHealth Officer, appointed by the Government. The land on whichthe two containers are situated has been leased and OAKDF arepaying the monthly rent. On the request of the village, a boundary“wall” has been erected by OAKDF.

Within a short span of minutes, the village committee and elderswere all there to air their concerns. Without exception, each wasthankful for this BHU, especially in the early days after theearthquake. Medicines and other necessities had been supplied

Landslide at Gul Dhori. The mountain hasjust disappeared

Concrete home sunk & filled with river mud

The two containers converted as a BHU at GhariHabibullah

Twisted pylon lying on the ground


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by OAKDF from the donations received by them but now the supply comesunder the umbrella of the Government. They are issuing bandages andantibiotic for bronchitis/pneumonia during the winter months and diarrhoearelated problems mainly during the summer. But this is under stringentjurisdiction – 16 bottles a month of medication are issued and the patient hasto pay Rs5 per consultation. Hardly enough for six patients! The people haveno other alternative but to go to Ghari Habibullah where a doctor’s consultationcosts with transportation, approximately Rs500 (US$8). A no win situation.

The team of OAKDF are encouraging the villagers to fight for their rights bywriting to their local body, and have even offered to go with them to theauthorities at Islamabad but till some incentive is taken by the villagersthemselves, OAKDF are reluctant to assist further in the medical area. Theirpolicy is to encourage self-help. The men of this Council are a strong forceand showed their worth after the earthquake, but now seem to have the attitudethat everything should come their way without effort. One tries to help in timeof need, but sadly with the abundant assistance given, they seem to havelost their self-esteem.

In this same area the Women’s Friendly Space (mentioned in Hamazor asSafe House for Women) was to be built by us, the land had been selected,the ground broken and even the foundation laid, but the flash floods whichtook place in June/July, have proved to be another disaster. Prior to theearthquake there had been very little rain for over seven years, but now thewater table has risen making the erection of the building in this location futile.Though I have been disappointed in the delay, it is a blessing in disguise, asthe women of Dahola do not seem to be motivated at all and if after buildingthis permanent structure for them it is not utilized to its fullest, we will haveachieved naught. A new location has been selected, in the Union Council ofDahola, in a village called Sirla, where the women’s committee seems to beenthusiastic and committed to make this pilot scheme work. The communityhave agreed to donate the ground which is a plus, as building costs havedoubled since April 2006. The construction of the building with fittings is nowRs1,867,536 (US$30,615); the same amount that was quoted with runningexpenses for a year when we agreed to sponsor this venture in April. OAKDFwill now find another donor/s to fund the running expenses for a year enablingthis project to go ahead. During the year the women will be trained on variousskills to earn money to independently run the WFS.

The female staff of OAKDF has been going to the various villages to meetwith the women folk to find out their specific needs for the Women’s FriendlySpace and giving it a unique name. Most of the women have asked for aplace where they can come to read, play board games, buy items of femininehygiene and a place to bathe. It would never occur to us that a shortage ofwater would affect marital relationships. A cleansing bath after the monthlyperiods is required before conjugal relationship between husband and wifecan resume. The men are able to go to the public bathhouses to bathe, butthere is no appropriate place with sufficient water for the women.

Going up to the village of Sirla, gave us a different topography, fir trees inabundance, with views which takes one’s breath away. One could seehundreds of shelters, scattered in the most precarious places, all throughOAKDF, who have reached the remotest villages in NWFP. Under normal

The high water table at Dahola where the WFS was going tobe constructed

Little ones after school at Sirla. They are sitting on thefloor of the school, situated high on top,destroyed by theearthquake

Wading across the stream, which never was, to get to their‘homes’ at Dahola

Poster at OAKDFs office at Abbottabad, encouragingwomen to demand their rights

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circumstances, to have a home in any of these locations would besomething to dream for, but these people have to climb up themountain face to get to their home. Schools are everywhere, but theyare either in the open or in tents. 1pm strikes, and children are seenwalking home, either singly or in groups, in uniform, straight up ordown mountains, without a fear in their mind.

We never made it to Kophana which was even further north, as thelatter part of the road was unjeepable. Whilst we were trying, the gearslipped and we started rolling down the precarious track. It seemedwiser to just abandon the idea though the village was expecting usand had prepared “bajri ki roti” (maize unleavened bread) and “sarsooki dal” (mustard seed dal). We (means myself) could never haveclimbed that incline, for two reasons, the sheer track going up andhaving no ‘shoulder’, having a vertical drop to the valley below. Evenwhilst writing, I can feel the nausea of fear creeping up. Our excellentdriver, manoeuvered down these dangerous slopes in reverse whilstwe walked down to the more reliable road silently saying atha variyo.

On the way home, we stopped at Ghari Habibullah to have “chaplikevab” (flat large kevabs - “chapli” meaning slippers), the specialtyof the town. And it lived up to all expectations, especially after thedeath thrills of going to Kophana, wrapped in nan and newspaper. APaki version of fish and chips in newsprint!

16 November: A trip to Balakot, Danna & Darra was the order of theday. Last November when we drove to Balakot, it was bumper tobumper with trucks laden with aid. Now there is minimal traffic, besidesthe country jeeps taking their passengers from one village to another.The hundreds of tents have gone, the destroyed homes are mostlyall there, the rubble from the roads has been cleared away and thepeople are back. Small make-shift shops line the roads in the townitself, selling vegetables, fruits and other necessities. The BalakotGovernment School that was destroyed, is now in GI sheetingstructures, too hot for the summer and too cold in the winter. Thedividing walls for classrooms are of chipboard, and though tube lightshave been fixed they do not work. One wonders which era and inwhich year these children of Northern Pakistan will have properschools to go to.

We drove a further 10 kms north to see where the new city of Balakotis to be built. At the moment it is just a location and was informed thepeople of Balakot have no desire to move to this new area, thoughthey are in the “Red Zone”.

A back track was required to go up to Danna where we had given 34shelters with stoves. I had never been here and what a paradise itwas. High up in the mountains the people live in their shelters built onthe edge, which are scattered due to the shortage of space. The oneswhich were accessible (for me), walking up a “puck dandi” whosewidth was no more than 18 inches, having once again a sheer drop ofthousands of feet on the outer edge, was manoeuvered with heart inthe mouth, the trusty walking stick and hanging on to Naeem, my One year later and these are the schools children go to


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‘Puck dandi’at Danna

gallant escort. At the top were four shelters, belonging to one extended familyof 40 persons, built as a quadrangle leaving a small part in the centre forentry. If one can imagine sitting on top of a mountain on a charpoy (stringbed), surrounded with trees and crisp weather, that was it – sheer bliss. I didtell them that else where in the world one would have to pay an arm and aleg for such a site, but naturally that was no comfort though they were amused.

The visit to Darra was abandoned where further shelters had been given,due to lack of time as my flight from Islamabad was rescheduled at 7pm,though I had hoped to catch the late night flight back to Karachi. Althoughwe left Danna at 1pm, I literally made it to the aircraft just in time, thanks tothe goodwill of the PIA staff, despite the fact the counter had closed.

Constructive aid: As funds are still remaining with me, if running water wasmade available it would be a Godsend, as water is a major issue for mostvillages. It is ofcourse the women who walk for miles carrying water containerson their heads. Such a scheme to service a village would cost Rs500,000(US$8,197), inclusive of OAKDF’s 10% overheads, but a No ObjectionCertificate is required from the ERRA. However the project can be doneunder community initiative and I have requested OAKDF to work out thelogistics and the legal implications. They have selected the village of KhoriKheter which is in the Union Council of Nammal, high in the mountains,marginalized and vulnerable.

The medical aid as mentioned earlier is far from satisfactory, and OAKDFfeel if a lady gynecologist is employed full time by them, the doctor couldform a rotor system of visiting villages and looking after the needs of thewomen more satisfactorily, than having one base camp. One year’s salarywould be Rs360,000 (US$5,902). We may have enough funds to financethis project for a year.

And lastly there may be a possibility of assisting the owners of The FoundationPublic School, which is a well run private school in Karachi, by donating afurther room, or furniture for the two initial classrooms, for their school whichis being constructed in Silona village in Tehseel Shinkiari and situated just offthe Karakoram Highway. This couple are financing the school personally withthe hope of bettering the prospects of these children. At first there will be 30 to40 children in the age group of 3 – 5 years, co-ed, commencing on 1st March2007 after the cold winter season. The school is ready and built according toearthquake specifications. A special curriculum has been formulated by thesenior teaching faculty of the FPC suitable for the village children, in English,Urdu, Math and Life Skills. A BA graduate lady residing in the village has beenemployed as a teacher, as well as a teacher’s aid, thereby giving employmentto two persons. The owners have requested the senior faculty of FPC for acommitment to go to Silona village in a rotor system for a couple of weekseach, during the summer to give their valuable input.

As you can see much can be done to improve the lives of these people livingin oblivion, but one needs resources and dedicated/caring human beings.The OAKDF team consisting of about 25 persons, are all committedindividuals, each spending time in the field including the Chairman, Ali AsgharKhan. This is the secret of their success, knowing first hand what the needsare. q

Artist’s impression of the RKM Private School, Silona

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by diana dinshaw-mana

Earthquake area visited

A week after the first anniversary of the earthquake that devastated the valleys andmountains of North Pakistan, Toxy Cowasjee and I visited some of the affected areas to see the progressmade in the year to help these people. For Toxy this was a follow-up visit and a first for me.

Even after a year some of the problems remain the same and in fact have spiraled due to escalatingpoverty and unsuitable government policies. The presence of the multitude of NGO’s is not so visiblebut the tribulations of the people are looming larger than life. These people are stuck in a circle ofnature and politics so vicious that an educated person like me felt dizzy trying to find a solution for theirproblems.

Uncountable people lost their homes in the earthquake and were given temporary tents which weresoon replaced by temporary shelters. After a year these so called temporary shelters still cover thepicturesque mountains and valleys of Hazara Division of North West Frontier Province. From talking tothe people in the mountains it seems like the policy makers were sitting in the comfort of their heatedoffices when they made the policies and decided on the subsidy amount.

The Government had promised to give a subsidy of Rs175,000 (approx US$2,870) to each household.This subsidy amount is to be distributed under the “One Roof One Compensation” policy. Before theearthquake there were many families that lived independently in their own section of a house underone roof. Lack of land space up in the mountains and a culture of joint family system were somereasons for this arrangement. Under the “One Roof One Compensation” policy a household of three orfour families will get only one subsidy cheque. It is needless to say that this amount is not close tosufficient to make a twenty by twenty room let alone a home for two or three families. Especially forthose families that live up high in the mountains where there are no paved roads and the cost of takingup the government specified standardized materials is exorbitant.

The government policy also stipulates that the subsidy cheque will only be given to the male head ofhousehold. As a result men who were working in large cities to support their family have not been ableto return to work because they need to be there to frequently follow up on the status of their subsidycheques. The subsidy amount is given in two installments. The government has provided standards forrebuilding the homes in the earthquake zones. While setting the standards on the material to be usedthe policy makers have not taken into consideration the terrain or the accessibility and cost of transportingthe materials to remote mountain areas.

After the first installment the people are expected to build the foundation and then report to the EarthquakeReconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA). A representative from ERRA will come to inspectif this is done according to government specified standards and if so the balance amount will be givenotherwise not.

The individual stories about the compensation told by our drivers, cooks and guards working in ourhomes are uncannily the same even though they are from different villages and districts. One cookproudly boasts that he got the full compensation even though his house was not damaged in theearthquake because he is related to the Nazim of the area. My chawkidar Ramzan is still waiting for hischeque even though his neighbours have all received theirs, because his account is in Habib Bank andthe compensation cheques are being given through National Bank of Pakistan (NBP). The people atHabib Bank promise him that he will get his money once they get it from NBP. A friend’s driver patched


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up his home last winter to protect his familyfrom the cold. So he didn’t get hiscompensation because the inspector fromEarthquake Reconstruction and RehabilitationAuthority (ERRA) ruled that his home had notbeen damaged in the earthquake.

The process of waiting for the first installment,building the foundation, waiting for theinspection and then the balance cheque cantake years during which time the families areconfronting the harsh winter and loss ofincome.

Families that had men folk working in citiesare not the only ones facing the difficulty oflost income. Even farmers are facing a crisisbecause their water sources have beenblocked or diverted from rubble left from theearthquake or landslides caused in themonsoon season. Some of them have notbeen able to grow wheat and corn becausethe earthquake shook up the soil and it is notsuitable for growing these crops anymore.

It is expected that by the time majority of theaffected families receive their first subsidycheque they will be so much in debt that theywill have to use that money to pay off theirdebts and without a foundation to the housefor the ERRA representative to inspect thereis no hope for the balance amount and hencefor generations to come these people aregoing to be living in the temporary shelters.

As bleak as the housing situation seems aheart warming sight to see were the childrenof every age, girls and boys, in the towns andin the mountain villages dressed in uniformsgoing to school. It goes without saying thattheir schools were in unheated tents or underthe open sky. Money has come in from all overthe world through Save the Children andUNICEF to rebuild schools in this area andas expected the process of reconstruction isstuck in red tape. At this point the ERRA isonly at the point of taking tenders fromconstruction companies for building theschools. NGOs like The Citizen Foundationare independently building schools becausethey will privately run schools with their owncurriculum and staff. Private donors willing tobuild the school structure and furnish it are

The Wrath of Nature

“Can you please check if the river has stopped flowing?”

This is what the police officer at the Police Station inGari Habibullah asked the police officer in Balakot.

In October the rain was coming down hard from themountains east of the river Karan but there was no rainfall north of the river from where the river starts to flow,causing the river level to be low. The rain came down sohard that it brought with it trees, rocks and debris thathad been loosened by the earthquake a year ago. Themud and debris coming down with the rain made a damacross the river and literally blocked the forward flow ofthe river. The river flowing from the north had nowhereto go so it changed its course and flooded the village ofGul Dhori destroying the homes of the residents andcarrying away their belongings and livestock.

The residents of Gul Dhori had returned to their villageafter the earthquake and had just started rebuilding theirhomes when once again their homes were demolishedby nature. These families are now living in tents in acamp waiting for the area to be cleared so they can goback home and restart their lives.

The monsoon this year has not only caused floods butalso major landslides that has wiped out roads that arethe only access to many remote villages, trapping thepeople for days. And even when the mud and debris isremoved the roads have become so narrow that it is nextto impossible for vehicles to travel on those roads andpeople have to make their way up and down the mountainon foot.

Unable to reach the market in the nearest towns the peoplein the mountains are cutting down trees to burn and patchup their shelters. The resulting deforestation is bringing themountain lions and leopards into the villages looking forfood. The wild animals are killing the goats and sheep thatare kept by the villagers for their own sustenance. And thecycle of survival between man and nature continues.

And now as winter approaches the people of HazaraDivision of NWFP are trying to prepare for whatevernature brings to them in the form of snowstorms andthunderstorms.

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facing the problem of running the school because the governmentwill not provide them with staff and faculty. Other NGOs are alsohaving the same problem of assigning money for the continuedrunning of a school and would rather spend their money in otherareas as they know that the government already has plenty ofmoney for the school project.

Shortly after the earthquake ERRA built a temporary steel andchipboard school structure in Balakot with the promise of buildinga permanent and better than before school in the area. A yearlater the steel structure that is too hot in the summer and too coldin the winter is still school for about 600 boys from grade six toten. Soon after this school was bult this area of Balakot wasdeclared a Red Zone and all construction in this area stopped. Anew area has been allocated by the government for the people torebuild their homes and the city but no work has started yet. Whathope can the people have from a government that has not beenable to clear the rubble from the school backyard a year after theearthquake?

Comfort and safety of a home and education should be the basicrights of every human being but in the villages and small towns ofNorthern Pakistan these are a rare luxury. After spending threedays in the villages of Hazara Division and seeing the plight ofthese people I wanted to provide immediate relief and quicksolutions to their problems. It would have been so easy to takeout my cheque book and donate my savings. But I soon realizedthat my money would only further cripple these people and myideas and experiences are too foreign to tackle the evils ofcorruption and inhumanity of the people in power. Small stepswith long term impact like educating the people of their rights,building communities, advocacy and appropriate representationin the government are some solutions to break the cycle of natureand politics that is trapping these people.

Balakot Government School

The rubble and temporary housing behind the school

q

Diana Dinshaw-Mana is a special education teacher and a holistic practitioner currently teaching Reiki and Yoga in Chatham, New Jersey. Shehas given workshops on a variety of topics ranging from Accupressure and Reiki to Dyslexia and Learning Disabilities.

As Director Education Supervision for a private school in Pakistan she worked on mapping the curriculum and staff development.

A fund raising luncheon spearheaded by Ann Keene for the earthquake relief was held at her home in Gloucestershire,England on 24th September. The Newent Inner Wheel Club, which Ann is part of, were keen to help in some way towards therelief and when they discovered the work carried out by the OAKDF, between them they donated a handsome sum of£1072.75 that afternoon.

Ann writes “I received a third of the money in donations from people who could not come, but were anxious to be involved anddo something to help. I had your photos running all day on the DVD player on my television and your Hamazor articles open forpeople to read. I found that everyone was particularly pleased to be involved because they know that the money will be goingdirect to where it is needed. It was a lovely day and they were able to start out having drinks and nibbles in the garden beforecoming into the house for lunch. It was nearly 6 pm before the last people left! ... We feel we have so much ourselves and takeso much for granted and this is the least we can do for these people who have lost their homes and live under such difficultcircumstances.” (Ann was my school friend and even though we left 50 years ago, the friendship continues - Ed)


71

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