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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

05 WZO celebrates Nowruz Iranian “Style”06 WZO Trust Funds & WZO Trust activities08 Cultural & Historical Perspectives of Zoroastrian Faith -

Jehan Bagli & Daraius Bharucha11 WZO & ZAGNY - Gatha Colloquium14 Were the Achaemenians Zoroastrian? - kersey antia18 The Northern-most Zoroastrian Fire Temple in the world19 Recitation of Avesta after centuries at Shahr Rey Agiyari20 Darius Hystapes: First Mazdaean Emperor - farrokh vajifdar24 Life in Ancient Iran - notes, bella tata27 Farsi article - parvin farin28 “The Garden and the Fire” - overview, farrokh vajifdar31 Zoroastrians in Serendib - jamsheed choksy39 Zarine Kharas, recipient of Albert Medal - jenni mehta41 Bahram Bekhradnia, career in Higher Education - soonu

engineer45 Mahatma changed one Canadian’s life - teenaz javat46 Indore Parsi Zoroastrian Anjuman - jehangir mehta49 Making winners with a difference - hufrish taraporewala53 Keeping the flame alive - farishta dinshaw56 Meher Toorkey plays music to save tigers - sammy

bhiwandiwalla57 Oxfam Trailwalker - The SoupA Stars of Auckland59 ORBIS - katayoun bekhradnia61 NouRouz, Pasargad62 Thirst for water63 Membership Form with details

COVER

Zarine Kharas & the Albert Medal, p39

Courtesy of individuals whose articles appear in the magazine or as mentioned

A rendition of Yasna 10,illustrated on http://www.avesta.org/gifs/samples.htmas a celebration of theGathas.

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HAMAZOR - ISSUE 2 2009

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

Mr Darius MistryAucklandNew ZealandE-mail: darius.mistry@ imagetext.co.nz

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

Mr Russi GhadialiSingaporeE-mail:[email protected]

Mr Keki BhotePresident, US ChapterIllinois, 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 BagliVice PresidentMississauga, CanadaE-mail: [email protected]

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

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

This issue is sponsored by:Karachi Zarthosti Banu Mandal &Informal Religious Meetings

Cover design by:Tannaz MinwallaKarachi, Pakistan

Design & layout by:Toxy CowasjeeKarachi, Pakistan

Volume LII - Issue 2 2009

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


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rom the EditorF

P arsi, IS thy name Charity? is the question we need to ask today of ourselves.

The sad reality of what happened was for no other reason besidesbigotry – the death of a child due to starvation, and that to, aParsi child of patrilineal lineage as BPP demands.

By the time this issue of Hamazor is published, most of you willhave come to know of this tragic news, but if lessons are to belearnt, it is never too late to keep on trying to bring realityhome.

On 2nd April, 7-year-old Farzin Bejan Batlivala living at a PARSI TRUST flat at Vasai,India, died through starvation as the mother could not feed her three children or herself.Why you will ask? REASON - though she begged the Chairman according to 27 year-oldNisha or was it Trustee-Social Worker of BPP according to the Chairman, for help, shewas refused till she could produce her marriage licence as proof of marriage to Bejanwho abandoned the family seven months ago. This she did not have.

How far are the learned and elected Trustees of the BPP going to go in the exercise ofkeeping PARSIS of MUMBAI PURE? Why do we keep quoting “Good thoughts, Good words,Good deeds” if they have no meaning? Most of us hopefully would feed a stray dog if wefound the animal wanting for food, yet the people who uphold our faith and vast financesfound it difficult to help this lady because she could not prove she was married to aParsi. Did they not stop to think how Nisha with a family of three children were occupyingthe Trust flat, that too belonging to an agiary if she wasn’t entitled, especially as the BPPare so vigilant in the welfare of the community? And how long would it take to make aphone call to any resident of the building to check on the legitimacy of what Nisha said?

The icing on the cake is, father Bejan Batliwala was a ‘solar concentrator operator’ atDoongerwadi employed by the BPP, who resigned a couple of years ago! Leaving aside allthe BPP red tape, I just keep thinking was it beyond whoever spoke to Nisha to put theirhands in their own pockets and give the lady at least enough money to tide her over tillthey carried out their “investigation”, if that was the intention. Subsequently we wereinformed Arnavaz Mistry did pay Rs1,000 to Nisha personally four months prior to thistragedy and Noshir Dadrawalla did offer his help. Neighbours who now say the childrenwent without food often, could hear them cry, did not one person have the initiative to atleast find help for the Batliwalas if they were unable to assist themselves? In this tragedy,one good human being, Dr Malcolm Pestonjee did come forward to help this young familyfor the moment with enough money for six months food, paid the outstanding rent andhad the electric meter restored thereby giving electricity, but alas all too late.

Dinshaw Tamboly, Chair of WZO Trust Funds India, promptly sent the news item publishedon 7th April by the Mumbai Mirror to the present and past Chairmen of WZO and withinminutes of receiving the email, Mr Sammy Bhiwandiwalla sanctioned GBP1,000 to be usedas immediate relief for the family with the added pledge that WZO would take care of

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this family for their welfare and children’s education. Persons who wish to hold officemust have the commitment and courage to act promptly. To vacillate or pass the buckhas no place in the life of the head of any successful institution. WZO is a worldZoroastrian organization and has proved it time and again, and we are here for allZoroastrians. The saga does not end here and as expected once this shocking news waspublic, the Parsis of Mumbai did rise and show their indignation to the BPP. Pressure,threatened legal notices and the forthcoming election for the seventh Trustee of BPP,all helped in making the existing Trustees sit up and hastily announce their decision.

The WZO Trust (India) had also raised funds of Rs130,000 as well as received acommitment of Rs9,000 every quarter to be used for the welfare of the Batlivala familywith further pledges for educating the two surviving children. However, after the BPPannounced their decision to assist the family, the Trust was informed by an emissary onbehalf of the Batlivalas, no further help was required by them. WZO Trust (India) hasreturned the funds to the donors and informed the individuals who pledged their goodwill,their assistance was no longer required.

To quote WAPIZ page in Free Press Journal issue dated Friday, April 10, 2009:

BPP Trustees Meet Nisha Batlivala

The sad demise of 7 year old Ferzin Batlivala has left the community inconsolable.

The Trustees met Nisha Batlivala, along with her 2 children Arzan and Yazdan at the BPP office yesterday(Thursday 9th April 2009) in the morning. The BPP Trustees expressed anguish that Nisha had notreturned to the BPP with the required information, which would have entitled her to aid, which in turn,may have saved little Ferzin’s life.

The BPP in an attempt to secure the long term interests of the family has taken complete responsibilityfor the needs of the 2 younger boys, in terms of their daily requirements as well as their education.

On 24th April, WAPIZ page, an announcement was made by Bomi P Sachinwalla, Trustee,Vasai Agiary and landlord of the building in which Nisha resides in. He claims the wholecase has been misrepresented by the Mumbai Mirror and writes, “the most important thing– The cause of Death of FERZIN is NOT STARVATION but may be ALLEGED BEATING, asNisha was habitually thrashing her children and beating them ruthlessly.” [reproduced as original]

Yet the official post-mortem stated starvation.

This Editorial is long enough and no doubt much can be written for and against whathappened but nothing can alter the fact, a child died, due to one or all reasons - bigotry,lack of education or poverty.

Why do we have terrorism in this world of ours today? Lack of education, hunger, humiliationand injustice. The only way forward from this tragedy is to see that all the children of ourIndian Parsi community who cannot afford education has a chance to learn which is everypersons right, the mobeds are educated to think for themselves with reasoning and noperson goes hungry. The emphasis on “Indian Parsis” is because the community of Pakistanare taken care of and the rest of the diaspora are self sufficient.


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WZO in London celebrated Nowruz with a Dinner-Dance having an Iranian theme. There werearound 150 guests, half of whom were Iranian Zoroastrians. The evening was a great success withWZO raising approximate £1,000 for its charitable activities.

WZOs Chairman, Sammy Bhiwandiwalla, and President, Darayus Motivala, were at hand topersonally greet the guests as they arrived whilst an Iranian band, Atesh, played in the background.They were from all age groups; from a baby of a few months old to senior citizens well in their 80s.They chatted to friends, old and new, whilst others took to the dance floor. The bar was ablymanaged by our Social Secretary, Noshir Umrigar.

After the starters which included Mirza Ghasemi and Kashk-e-Baadenjaan, the guests wereentertained by Shebbie (real name Sebnam Gurhertas) with her sensual belly dancing, a popularattraction. Shebbie is a professional belly dancer from Istanbul, who has entertained us at WZOssocial events for many years. After a couple of exhibition dances, she danced around the tableswith a number of guests joining.

The main course for the evening included Kabab Kubideh with saffron rice and Khoresh Bamier withGhost plus full trimmings. Both Iranians and non-Iranians commented on the delicious meal whichwas well laid out by the caterers. Our Committee member, Benafsha Engineer, and a few of herfriends were at hand with the serving of the meal.

After dinner, Atesh played Iranian popular music with the guests exhibiting some very energeticdancing, Iranian style. There was a short intermission whilst the draw for the raffle prizes took place.It also gave the dancers a chance to recover their energy! The evening concluded with Shebbieproviding a further exhibition of her exotic dancing. This time she persuaded a number of guests tocome to the floor and belly dance with her.

At the end, Sammy Bhiwandiwalla thanked Shebbie, the Atesh band and the caterers for making theevening a success. He gave a special thanks to WZOs Social Secretary, Armaity Engineer, fororganising such a wonderful evening and to all the guests for once again supporting WZO. TheseWZO social events are important as not only do they give our members and guests the opportunityto interact with each other but they provide a much needed boost to our funds.

A final comment from one of the guests: “Great venue; great food; great entertainment. The bestNowruz party I have been to for many years.”

WZO celebrates Nowruz, Iranian “Style”Darayus Motivala, President, WZO, reports

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The WZO Trust Funds and The WorldZoroastrian Organisation Trust are proud topresent before their esteemed donors andcommunity members all over the world, asynopsis of the major welfare activitiesundertaken in India, during the course of thecalendar year 2008.

Rehabilitation of Zoroastrian farmers(Project of World Zoroastrian OrganisationTrust)

Rehabilitation inputs were made available to17 Zoroastrian agrarians in 6 villages. Thesupport has been in the form of sinking newwells, deepening old ones, supplyingelectric pump sets, diesel engine sets,pipelines, seeds & fertilizers and so on.

Between August 1990 to December 2008we have so far provided financial supporttowards the rehabilitation of 398 agrarianfamilies in 171 villages; the total amountdisbursed by us so far has beenRs.50,712,400/-.

Rural Housing - the changing horizons(Project of World Zoroastrian OrganisationTrust)

From funds raised during the periodJanuary 2008 to December 2008, financialsupport has been extended to 30Zoroastrian families to replace their hutswith cottages the walls of which are madefrom bricks and plastered with cement, thefloors made from stones and the roof fromtiles. A total of 104 huts have been replacedby cottages so far.

The replacement of huts by cottagespresently cost Rs.250,000 each; this projecthas begun to change the sky line in therural areas.

A synopsis of the multifarious welfare activities in India ofthe WZO Trust Funds & the World Zoroastrian OrganisationTrust in 2008

Dinshaw Tamboly reports

Self-employment (Project of WZO TrustFunds)

During the year under review, 33 Zoroastriansfrom 14 different urban, semi-urban, rurallocations have been provided funds to pursueself employment disciplines of their choice indiverse disciplines of their choosing such astransport, trading, manufacturing/workshops,electronic data processing etc. So far 638Zoroastrians, from 88 different locations havebeen assisted thus.

Education - an essential investment forthe future(Project of World Zoroastrian OrganisationTrust)

Education of 89 students was sponsored atdifferent institutions. Erach and RoshanSadri Foundation of UK established aneducation fund during the year under review.39 students had applied out of which 17were eligible as per criteria laid down by thedonors. An amount of Rs.800,000 wasdisbursed.Rs.200,000 was disbursed fromour Daulat Kershasp Dastur Education Fund.Numerous applications were recommendedto various donor Trusts for consideringsupport to deserving students.

Medical support(Project of World Zoroastrian OrganisationTrust)

331 individuals were supported to the tuneof Rs.1,522,3000 towards meeting theirmedical expenses by raising funds fromdonor Trusts.

Relief from Poverty(Project of World Zoroastrian OrganisationTrust)

253 elderly/indigent Zoroastrians weresupported through disbursement ofpayments on a quarterly basis. The total


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amount disbursed was to the tune ofRs.72,86,400.

Holidays for the Poor(Project of World Zoroastrian OrganisationTrust)

Groups of senior citizens who areeconomically challenged, or have been illand in need of change, are sent for holidaysin the hills around Mumbai, with allexpenses being paid for, from the time theyleave home and return back being paid for.

Mobeds(Project of WZO Trust Funds)

An amount of Rs.300,000 was spent tomeet the shortfall of the ‘Athornan Mandal/WZO’ full time Mobed support scheme. Anamount of Rs.456,000 was expendedtowards extending support to 38 mobeds.Navar/Martab ceremony was sponsored ofone Athravan child from an economicallychallenged family.

Centres for Senior Citizens(Project of WZO Trust Funds)

Both our centres for senior citizens aredoing well, are very popular and muchsought after institutions.

Sir Ratan Tata Trust provides very generoussupport towards the day to day running ofthe institution which enables us to providequality services to our residents. In June2008 we received a very generous corpusdonation of Rs.300,00,000 from theTrustees of Navajbai Ratan Tata Trusttowards enhancing and sustainingoperations of our Senior Citizens.

Economy Housing at Navsari(Project of WZO Trust Funds)

The construction of our 7th building situatedat Kanga Street, Navsari was taken in handfrom the funds made available by thegenerous Trustees of Bai Maneckbai P BJeejeebhoy Deed of Settlement Fund. Thisis the 5 th building being constructed in thename of Bai Maneckbai P B Jeejeebhoy.The construction commenced in March 2008;the building is scheduled to be ready foroccupation by March, 2009.

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Sanatorium at Sanjan(Project of WZO Trust Funds)

The Bai Maneckbai P. B. Jeejeebhoy –WZO Sanatorium has become a popularcommunity resort. It is a haven for thosewishing to enjoy holidays in idyllicsurroundings and a pollution freeenvironment at extremely moderate rates ofRs.300 per person per day for full boardand lodge.

It would not have been possible for us toundertake our welfare activities without thegenerosity of our donors. We extend oursincere gratitude to all our donors big andsmall for their munificent support and co-operation. It is natural that we mustacknowledge with immense gratitude thecontinuos support extended towards ourmultifarious activities by the Trustees of BaiManeckbai P B Jeejeebhoy Deed ofSettlement Fund, Trustees of ZoroastrianCharity Funds of Hong Kong Canton &Macao, Sir Ratan Tata Trust, NavajbaiRatan Tata Trust, Behramji NowrojiGamadia Parsi Hunnar Shalla Trust, Rena& Behram Baxter of USA, Erach andRoshan Sadri Foundation of UK, and theExecutors of the Estate of Dennis WilliamRichards who have been the main pillars ofencouragement, motivation and support forthe various welfare projects undertaken.Whilst we are proud of what we have done,we recognise the fact that very much moreneeds to be done. It is for this reason thatwe seek the continued support of ourdonors from all over the world to enable usto sustain and enhance our welfareactivities.

Donations for any of our projects are verywelcome and may be forwarded to us byway of cheque/draft. The name of our Trustundertaking a specific welfare project hasbeen mentioned under each of the 11welfare headings.

Donations may please be forwarded to: -THE WORLD ZOROASTRIAN ORGANISATION TRUST

Shanti, 5th floor, 6 Banaji Street, Fort, Mumbai 400 001.[Donations are exempt under section 80G(5) of Income tax act 1961;

permission valid till 31 March 2011]

THE WZO TRUST FUNDS

Shanti, 5th floor,6, Banaji Street,Fort,Mumbai 400 001.[Donations are exempt under section 80G(5) of Income tax act 1961,permission valid till 31 March 2009. Renewal has been applied for]

Dinshaw Tamboly wasasked by All IndiaRadio, known asAkashvani in Hindi, tospeak his views onvarious welfareactivities/initiatives ofthe Parsi community on2 April 2009 at 1130hours. He took thisopportunity ofhighlighting WZO’swork in India.

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On a crisp day of March 29 2009, theZoroastrian Society of Ontario (ZSO), incollaboration with the World ZoroastrianOrganization (WZO) and the Federation ofZoroastrian Associations of North America(FEZANA) jointly sponsored a symposiumtitled “Cultural and Historical Perspectivesof Zoroastrian Faith”. The event was held atthe Meheraban Guiv Darbe Meher inToronto, Canada which was attended byalmost 200 people with attendees beingdrawn both locally as well as from otherparts of Canada (Ottawa, Montreal) and theUnited States (Illinois and Texas).

The symposium was organised as a part ofNaurooz celebrations and was also thesetting for this year’s Khorshed JungalwalaLecture which is sponsored by FEZANA, anevent that is fast becoming the mostprestigious lecture to deliver, for scholars ofZoroastrian studies. This year theJungalwala lecture was delivered by ProfOktor Skjaervo, the Aga Khan Professor ofIranian studies at Harvard University. Theorganization of the symposium was a resultof the efforts and vision of Ervad Dr JehanBagli who took the lead in getting togetheran outstanding group of scholars for theevent. Dr Bagli was ably assisted in puttingtogether the event by a group of ZSOvolunteers which included Mithra Jam, SamVesuna, Kevin Mancherjee, Ervad KermanKatrak, Freddy Mirza and Daraius MBharucha.

The morning commenced with the welcomeby Kevin Manchejee, vice president of ZSO,followed by Keki Bhote, president, USAchapter of WZO, and Firdosh Mehta pastpresident of FEZANA. This was followed bythe first session of the morning, TheKhorshed Jungalwala Lecture. Dr Bagli theChair of this session, in his eulogy toKhorshed elaborated her achievements andcontribution to the Zoroastrian community

A Report on the Symposium: Cultural & HistoricalPerspectives of Zoroastrian Faith

Compiled by Jehan Bagli & Daraius Bharucha

locally and globally. He terminated his briefaddress by saying that, “Khorshed had leftwith us memories that is a treasure beyondall measures”.

He then introduced the speaker Prof OktorSkjaervo who delivered the lecture on“Zoroastrian Literature as a part of TheCultural Heritage of Modern Zoroastrians.”In the beginning of his talk he elaborated hisencounter with the Boston Zoroastriancommunity and the impact it had on hisacademic activities. He then described hisown journey into the rather muddled watersof the Gatha translations and initiated adiscussion through a timeline on theheritage of literature available toZoroastrians. During his talk, he referred tothe inscriptions of the Achaemenian andSasanian emperors, followed by theliterature of the Zarathushtrian religion ofthe post Sasanian era. He stressed the factthat the text was only in the memories of thepriests for nearly two millennia and musthave been transmitted to students in thecontemporary as well as old languages. Hethen went on to discuss the Iranian epics.Some of his interesting assertions withregards to the historicity and antecedents ofsome of the texts both intrigued andchallenged the audience into a stimulatingdiscussion that followed the speech.

The lecture was followed by a brief culturalinterlude during which the IranianZoroastrian Choir lead very ably byShahram Bastani provided a rendition insong of parts of the Yasna. As always theperformance of the choir was very wellreceived by the audience with muchapplause and appreciation.

Daraius Bharucha the chairperson of thenext session, introduced Prof Jenny Rose ofStanford and Claremont GraduateUniversity. The topic of her lecture was


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“Keepers of the Flame: The EarlyZoroastrians of Central Asia.” At the outsetshe stressed the fact that Zoroastrianreligion first took root to the northeast ofIran, amongst the Iranian peoples ofSogdiana, Margiana, and Bactria, landswhich are mentioned in the Videvdad and inlater Old Persian inscriptions of satrapies ofthe Achaemenid Empire.

Prof Rose’s presentation focused on theearly Zoroastrian faith that exertedconsiderable influence on both local and so-called ‘Silk Road’ culture and ideology. Hertalk spanned the Zoroastrian interaction

withBuddhistsfromAshoka(3rd

centuryBC) toKushanera (ca3rd

centuryAD). She

illustrated this with figures of Kushan coinsdepicting Iranian yazatas.

She further provided bases of the Sogdianexpression of Zoroastrian religion bothlocally and along the trade route as far asnorthern China. This influence wassubstantiated by the evidence of centralityof fire, presence of fire temples, andossuaries with Zoroastrian motifs inSamarkand and other Sogdian cities. Sheconcluded her talk with the illustration of theSogdian version of Ashem Vohu datingback to 8th/9th century.

This session was followed by a sumptuouslunch which was included in the cost ($8.00)of the symposium and made possiblethrough the generous sponsorship of ZSO,WZO and FEZANA.

The session following the lunch break waschaired by Freddy Mirza who introduced tothe audience, Prof Maria Subtelny, theprofessor of Persian and Islamic studies at

Coin of Kushan King, Kanishka, with Mithra (Miiro)on reverse.

University of Toronto. The talk was entitled“The Water of Omniscience and the Milk ofKnowledge: Zoroastrian Elements in theApocalypse of Muhammad.” Prof Subtelnyshared with the audience her study andunderstanding of several Zoroastrianelements that were incorporated into theearly versions of the Prophet Muhammad’sascension to heaven. Specifically shefocussed on the motif of the special drinkconsumed by theProphet, and itsrelationship to suchMiddle Persianapocalyptic texts asthe Arda Wiraz namagand Zand i Wahmanyasn. She furtherelaborated on the motifof the cosmic cockwhich Muhammadencounters in the firstheavenly sphere andits association withZoroastrian divinitySraosh. Thisconnection is mentioned in Vendidad(XVIII.II) regarding the bird that awakes theworld for the prayers. The Mythicexplanation of the five ritual daily prayersmandated to Islamic community, can alsofind a relationship in the liturgical practicesof Zoroastrians.

This enlightening presentation was followedby the second cultural interlude duringwhich some Zoroastrian youth presented apopular Iranian dance. The young ladieswho presented this dance were MahsaKhodadadi, Shahrzad Rahnamoun, AshaFarhadi, Mahshad Khosraviani and AnahitaDehmoubed, followed by a solo fluteperformance by Kaipa Bharucha who veryskilfully and with great flair and masteryperformed two pieces of classical music.Both the items were received by theaudience with great acclaim andenthusiasm.

The final session was chaired by ErvadKerman Katrak and the presentation wasgiven by The Honourable Prof JamsheedChoksy of Indiana University. Prof Choksy

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was introduced to the audience in bothEnglish and in Farsi with the help of anIranian student. His presentation was titled“How a Minority Adapts: Zoroastrians inCeylon/Sri Lanka from Antiquity to thePresent.” In his talk Prof Choksy providedsome intriguing and fascinating evidenceregarding the presence of Zoroastrians inSri Lanka from the sixth century BConwards, till the present time.

The first Iranians known to have reachedthe shores of Senendiva (Skn. ‘Island ofJewel’) sailed there over the Indian Oceanduring the reign of Darius I. They werepresumably Mazda-worshipers in keepingwith the official devotion of theAchaemenians to Ahura Mazda. It wasrecorded in Sanskrit texts that later in theSasanian era a magian (Zoroastrian) priest,who had accompanied mercenaries fromIran to a north central Sinhalese city, visitedthe ruling monarch of Sri Lanka andmentioned to him about the Achaemeniandynasty, its founder Cyrus II, and convincedhim to achieve greatness by building apalace atop a summit similar toPasargadae. In the twentieth century,researches by K D Choksy in collaborationwith J J Modi attest that Iranian and ParsiZoroastrian sailors and maritime merchantsreached the Portuguese and Dutch

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controlled parts of the island. Names ofvarious Parsis have been identified on thegravestones. In the final part of his talk heelaborated with illustrations, the lifestyle ofthe Parsi Zoroastrians on the island duringthe late 20 th century.

An open forum question and answersession with all the speakers followed thefinal presentation. This session wasmoderated by Dr Bagli and there werenumerous questions and sometimespassionate declarations particularly byIranian coreligionists among the audience,about the various topics that werepresented during the day.

The symposium was brought to close by avote of thanks from Sam Vesuna, Presidentof the ZSO who congratulated all thespeakers and presented them with smalltokens of appreciation. In addition, MrVesuna also thanked WZO and FEZANA fortheir sponsorship and co-operation and onbehalf of all attendees he thanked Dr Bagliand the organizing team for having puttogether an enlightening and enrichingevent.

L to R: Professors Jenny Rose, Jamsheed Choksy, Oktor Skjearvo, Maria Subtelny with Jehan Bagli in the center.


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Perhaps unique in the history of ancient religions, the actualwords of Prophet Zarathushtra survive in the form of the17 hymns which constitute the 5 Gathas and are thefoundation of the Zoroastrian religion. WZO, in associationwith the Firuz Madon Foundation, and ZAGNY are proudto present a Colloquium on the Gathas of Zarathushtra,bringing together many world renowned scholars of thissubject. Such an international gathering of Gatha scholarstakes place perhaps once in a decade and is a unique chanceto learn about the fundamentals of the Zoroastrian religionas expressed in the Gathas, the nuances of many conceptsthat are in the Gathas as well as the relationship of some ofthe later Zoroastrian literature with the Gathas.

WZO & ZAGNY present A Gatha ColloquiumGatha Perceptions: from Past to Future

Saturday 27 June & Sunday 28 June 2009from 10am – 6pm

at Double Tree Hotel, 51st St & Lexington AvenueNew York City

Registration fee: US$50 per person which includes lunch for both daysRegistration before 10 June 2009

Cheque payable to ZAGNY and mailed toKerman N Dukandar, ZAGNY Treasurer, 96 Bernard Avenue, Edison,

New Jersey 08837, USA

Or register online : http://www.zagny.org

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Kersey ANTIA : The multi-dimensional significance of Free-will in the GathasKersey ANTIA is a practicing psychologist in North America. An ordained priest of some 60 years’standing, he is well conversant with the doctrinal and ritual aspects of the precepts and practice of theMazdayasnian religion. He has served the Chicago Zoroastrians as High Priest since 1977. He is anInternational Board member of the WZO.

Almut HINTZE: Perceptions of the Yasna HaptanhaitiAlmut Hintze is the Zartoshty Brothers Reader in Zoroastrianism at London University’s School ofOriental and African Studies. She holds degrees in Indo-Iranian Studies, with special emphasis onZoroastrian Literature, from the Universities of Heidelberg, Oxford, Erlangen, and Berlin. Her mainbook publications include the Zamyd Yaat, Lohn’ im Indoiranischen, and an edition of the YasnaHaptanhaiti. She is currently working on a comprehensive edition of the full Yasna.

Stanley INSLER: Law and OrderStanley Insler is the Salisbury Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology at Yale. Educated atthe Universities of Madras, Columbia, Tubingen and Yale, he is best known to Zoroastrians with hispublication in 1975 of the Text, Translation and Commentary of The Gathas of Zarathustra. Otherpublications include the Rig-Vedic hymns in Agni (1983), chapters in An Introduction to the Gathas ofZarathushtra (Pittsburgh, 1989-90). His articles appear in scholarly journals, and occasional popularwritings for the WZO’s Hamazor. He is a member of the American, French and German Oriental Societies,as well as the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain. His 65th birthday was honored by a Festschrift inthe special JAOS 2002 publication. He was elected to Honorary Fellowship of the WZO.

Kaikhosrov IRANI: The Gathic vision and its unfoldingBombay born, Kaikhosrov Dinshah Irani, studied Physical Chemistry, Physics, and then Law. Settled inthe US since 1946; after completion of his studies began teaching Philosophy at New York’s CityCollege where as Emeritus Professor he continues with courses. He is a member of US scientificinstitutions, and the American Academy of Religion. He has lectured in the fields of Philosophy andReligion at several US and overseas universities. In 1998 he was honored with the establishment ofthe K D Irani Chair of Philosophy through a sizeable anonymous contribution by a former student. Heis on the International Board of the WZO.

Ali Akbar JAFAREY: The Gathas of Zarathushtra Spitama: their Order and SequenceAli Jafarey obtained his PhD in the Persian Language and Literature from Karachi University. His fieldsof interest embrace diverse aspects of Indo-Iranian culture. He was an official for 17 years with theMinistry of Culture and Arts in Iran, and Director-General of the Iranian Anthropological Centre. Settledin the US since 1982, he co-founded the Zarathushtrian Assembly which he serves as Honorary Directorfor Religious Affairs. With several books and articles to his credit, he has participated in many nationaland international Conferences with Zoroastrian themes.

William MALANDRA : Citations of the Gathas in the Denkard and their relation to the Pahlavi YasnaWilliam Malandra is Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota, where he taught Sanskrit, Indologyand Iranistics, including a regular course on Zoroastrianism for 30 years. His researches are mainly inthe areas of Zoroastrian Literature in Avestan and Pahlavi. After retirement he devotes his time nowbetween Washington, DC, and Durango, CO.

Dina McIntyre : The Puzzle of the Singular and the PluralDina McIntyre gained her Bachelor of Science degree from Carnegie Mellon University, and a lawdegree from the University of Pittsburgh. Thereafter she practiced Law in the US from 1964 and until

Renowned Scholars who will present their papers


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at the Colloquium on the Gathas of Zarathushtra

retirement, was a Member of the Bar of all Pennsylvania’s Federal and State courts. In the 1980’s sheproduced a 12-instalment course “An Introduction to the Gathas of Zarathushtra” which attained world-wide distribution. She has participated in many national and international Conferences on Zoroastrianism,and has submitted several articles on Zarathushtra’s teachings in various journals and web-sites.

Martin SCHWARTZ : The Theology of the Gathas – New PerspectivesMartin Schwartz gained his PhD at University of California, Berkeley, in 1967. He is Professor there ofIranian Studies, Iranology, History and Literature of Ancient Iran, Old and Middle Iranian. Two chapters:The Old Eastern Iranian World View according to the Avesta and The Religion of Achaemenian Iranappeared in the Cambridge History of Iran (1985); his papers were published in various Festschriftenincluding those for Mary Boyce, Humbach, Lazard, Morgenstierne, and the Memorial Volume for Jeande Menasce. With D S Flattery he co-authored Haoma and Harmaline in 1989. Several articles by himhave been published in learned journals in the US and overseas.

Oktor SKJAERVO : Liturgical Functions of the GathasAfter a degree from the University of Copenhagen, he taught linguistics and Iranian studies as AssistantProfessor at Mainz. In 1981 he gained his PhD from Oslo University with his thesis on the Paikuliinscription, and a Doktor Habilitatus in Comparative Linguistics from Johannes Gutenberg-Universitat,Mainz with his 1984 thesis on The Khotanese Suvarnabhasottamasutra. From 1985-1991 he wasAssistant Editor for the Encyclopaedia Iranica. As Professor at Harvard he currently teaches Old IranianLanguages, Literature, and Religions. His interests extend to myth and ritual in Ancient Iran.

Elizabeth TUCKER: How well did later Avestan composers understand the language of the Gathas?Elizabeth Tucker trained in Indo-European Historical Linguistics at the University of Oxford, England,subsequently specializing in the earliest documented Indo-Iranian languages. She holds a Senior ResearchFellowship in the Oxford Faculty of Oriental Studies, where she has taught Avestan and Old Persian aswell as Vedic Sanskrit and Comparative Indo-Iranian Philology. Students who follow her ‘Old Iranian’course read Achaemenian Old Persian inscriptions, Gathas, and some Younger Avestan Yashts or sectionsof the Videvdad, and study the most ancient period in the history of the Zoroastrian religion. Elizabeth’spublications on historical linguistic topics have appeared in various international academic journals. Shehas written entries on Avestan, Old Persian, and Indo-Iranian for the Elsevier Encyclopaedia of Linguistics.She is currently preparing an edition with translation and commentary of Book 11 of the PaippaladaAtharvaveda, and revising A A Macdonells’ Vedic Grammar for Students’ for the Oxford University Press.

Farrokh VAJIFDAR : Changed Perspectives; Channeled PerceptionsBorn into a traditionalist High-priestly clan, Farrokh Vajifdar has been a student since his late teens ofIndo-Iranian cultures and civilizations, specializing in the Zoroastrian religion and its practices. A Fellowof the Royal Asiatic Society, he referees articles and reviews publications on Ancient Iran and theParsis of India and elsewhere. Internationally consulted, he has authored articles pertaining to particularaspects of Religion and Philosophy for various journals, and occasionally broadcasts on radio andtelevision. More recently, he has edited the Proceedings Volume of the WZO’s First Gatha Colloquium,and the English part of the Soroushian Memorial Volume.

Gernot WINDFUHR : Cosmic Cycles in the Gathas?Gernot Windfuhr studied at the Universities of Hamburg, where he received his PhD in Iranian Studiesin 1965, as well as Cologne and Tehran. Since 1966, as Professor of Iranian Studies, he teaches at theUniversity of Michigan with Chair from 1977–1987. His research fields include Iranian linguistics,dialectology, literature and Zoroastrian Studies. Awarded Fellowships from the Guggenheim MemorialFoundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, he held the presidency of the AmericanAssociation of Teachers of Persian, and the Consultant Editorship for linguistics for the EncyclopaediaIranica. His recent articles include his perspectives on the ZoroastrianYasna.

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Whether the Achaemenians wereZoroastrian or not has been “a hotlydebated issue,” observes Edwin MYamauchi in Persia and the Bible (BakerBook House, Grand Rapids, Michigan,1996, 418-433) and concludes there is nounanimity on this question among scholars.Joseph Wiesehˆffer also maintains that“hardly any subject has led to as manyarguments among scholars as the religiousbeliefs of the Achaemenid rulers (and theirIranian subjects)” in his masterpiece,Ancient Persia, From 550 BC to 650 ADtranslated by Aziz Azodi, I B TaurisPublishers, London, 1996, pp. IX, X.

Pierre Briant complains: “How in fact canwe contrast the beliefs of Cyrus and Darius,when the former never ‘spoke’ and the latterleft conflicting messages for hiscontemporaries and the generations tocome?” (Cyrus to Alexander, A History ofthe Persian Empire, Translated by Peter TDaniels, Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake,Indiana, 2002.)

While a detailed response to this questioncould require a much lengthier treatise, to beattempted later, a succinct attempt is madehere to address this problem from the point-of-view of a life-long priest and student ofZoroastrianism who is also a practicingpsychologist for over four decades, mostly inUSA, and thus is also prone to interpretevents and personalities psychologically.However, there are many hurdles to crossbefore resolving this riddle, not the leastbeing defining Zoroastrianism itself. Even if,as Mary Boyce and her followers contend,Zoroastrianism has not lost its continuityfrom its archaic beginning it is still sure toshow some proclivities, peculiarities andpropensities of a particular period.

Most of the inscriptions of Darius sound likehymns, and to a Zoroastrian they are also in

Were the Achaemenians Zoroastrian?How do we resolve this question? - A Zoroastrian Viewpoint b y k e r s e y a n t i a

essence a direct or indirect rendition ofZoroaster’s own Gathic precepts: “AhuraMazda, the great God, who created thisearth, who created the sky, who createdbliss for men.” Compare Yasna 44. As theword Ahura Mazda is generally known to beof Zoroaster’s own coinage, who was thenDarius worshipping but a distinctlyZoroastrian deity?

He begins his very first attempt for kingshipwith a prayer: “I prayed to Ahura Mazda,”which reminds one of the Avestan traditionof initiating each and every prayer withKhshnaothra Ahurahe Mazdao – May AhuraMazda be pleased (by my prayer)! Heobviously struggles hard to cast himselfpersistently in the role of a true Gathicadherent by aligning himself with the forcesof Ahura Mazda and casting himself againstthose of the drauga - liars. Compare Yasna45.11 with “Ahura Mazda was a friend tome.” Again compare Yasna 46.6 and 47.4with Darius maintaining at Nakshe Rustom:“I am a friend to right, I am not a friend towrong.”

Darius calls Ahura Mazda “the greatest of(the) Gods,” which is often interpreted as ahenotheistic rather than a monotheisticbelief. However, it is difficult to interpret it asrecognizing the existence of deities equal toAhura Mazda in status or even worthy ofany adoration even though he does notmention their names or their origin. Hesimply seems to be trying to depict his owndeity as definitely the greatest and mightiestamong other deities prevailing at the time.Since Darius often prides himself as beingan Aryan and even laments that Elamitesand Scythians (Eastern Iranians) did notworship Ahura Mazda, psychologically heseems to show, if not show off, his God asthe greatest of the Gods of the time. As herepeatedly claims to derive all his powersfrom Ahura Mazda, who for his sake had to


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be the most powerful deity so others couldnot dare invoke their own gods for equal orbetter help against his. Few monarchs inantiquity were so adept at self-promotion asDarius. The phrases like “Ahura Mazda withall the gods” (Persepolis, d) are viewed asproblematic but they are quite consonantwith the Gathic phrase MazdaoschaAhuraonghaho (Yasna 30.) – Mazda withother Ahuras (most probably AmeshaSpentas). If not, they could be a referenceto the Elamite gods worshipped right atPersepolis or to the Bablyonian, Egyptian,or other gods of his time. The very fact thathe regrets that the Scythians, an Iranianpeople, did not worship Ahura Mazdasuggests he wanted them to adopt thereform of Zoroaster as he had. He wantedthe Elamites to do so too, but for anotherreason – for avoiding possible revolts bythem on religious grounds and securingreligious unity of Iran.

While nobody is known to have had thename Darius before King Darius, it has aclearly Zoroastrian ring to it – meaningDara, the good. Compare Yasna 31.7. EvenZoroastrianism was called the GoodReligion, the fight between the good andevil being its hallmark. So the name Darius,Dara the good, seems to suggest a pureZoroastrian mintage. Same could be saidfor the name of his father, Histaspes,though he possibly could not be theVishtaspa of the Gathas.

What Darius claims to be in his inscriptions– “I was not a liar, I was not a wrongdoer”(Bahistun IV 63-4) shows him to be soGathic in his statements. “I am not hottempered. What things arise in my anger, Ihold firmly under control by my mind”(Nakshe-Rustam, b, 11-15). CompareYasna 44.20 and 48.12. No one in his daycould possibly have come up with such aself-portrait without being keenly aware ofthe denunciation of Druja (the lie) andAeshma (anger) and the development ofVohu Manah (Good Mind) and Spentaqualities propounded by Zoroaster in hisGathas, as none other than Zoroaster isknown to have preached these doctrinesbefore Darius’ times and they still remain

the core beliefs among his followers. SinceDarius used the word Baga and not theAvestan word Yazata to denote God, somescholars regard it as evidence againstDarius being Zoroastrian. However theSasanian kings also used the word Baga toclaim themselves as gods and Baga doesoccur in Avesta and the Vedas and maypossibly be much older a word than Yazata.

As rightly observed by Martin Schwartz,“Difference in vocabulary does not indicatedifference in conceptualization or in ourcontext, theology.” (The Cambridge Historyof Iran, Volume 2, Cambridge UniversityPress, London 1985, 664-697.)

He points out that in divinities discovered atPersepolis, “we have another difference ofform, rather than concept, from theAvestan.” Thus, Mazdushi, “the femaleangel” who bestows rewards seems to bethe Avestan Ashi (Ashishwang to presentday Zoroastrians). The fact that manyAchaemenians bore names such asRashnudata, Rashnika and Sausha indicatethat the Achaemenians were quite aware ofthe Zoroastrian eschatology where inRashnu and Sraosha play a prominent part.The most striking name found, however, isMazdayasna – Mazda worshipper, since theword often used in Avesta to denoteZoroastrians is simply Mazdayasna. Thesame is also true of Sasanian inscriptions. Ifthe word Sausha is interpreted asSaoshyant (The Messiah, The futureSavior) mentioned in the Gathas, a wordcoined by Zoroaster himself and as suchnot current as a name or a concept beforethe time of Zoroaster, then it is evident thatthe Achaemenians had clearly adoptedZoroaster’s unique eschatology. This isfurther confirmed by the discovery of a sealinscribed with the name Zarathustris (SeePierre Briant, 2002, p.250). This seal carriesthe most visible and apparent symbols ofZoroastrianism – a fire altar that resemblesthe prototype of the fire-altars in use amongpresent day Zoroastrians, and perhapsthroughout the ages, flanked by twoattendants, one with Barsom in his righthand and more elegantly dressed with alonger robe than the other - perhaps a

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Zaothra or Xerxes or a prince holding a longstick like Barsom and the other on the rightholding a libation spoon in both hands – aRathwi (?) with the emblem of royal Farnah,or Ahura Mazda hovering over them.However, as both of the attendants do notwear Padaan (face mask) even whenstanding so close to the fire, they could beprinces, and not priests. Or the attendant onthe right was Atravaksha priest mentionedin the Persepolis tablets and Briant notesthat “in each place where Atravaksha ismentioned, there was a fire sanctuary” andalthough so far “we have no archaeologicalevidence from the Achaemenid period(about fire sanctuaries), but the importanceof Fire sanctuaries in the Hellenistic periodundoubtedly exhibits continuity with theAchaemenian period (p. 249).”

Briant depicts a Hellenistic Persian coinshowing a fire-temple which could be thearche-type of the modern day fire temples,suggesting some continuity through theages. Briant also reports that Strabo (XV3.15) found “the places where the fireburns” (Pyratheia) and “where the Magikeep the fire ever burning,” (p. 246) AsiaMinor, which is not an Indo-Aryan traditionbut clearly a unique Zoroastrian tradition,carried out to this day.

It is surprising that even thoughAchaemenians so apparently identifythemselves with the Reform of Zoroasterand his monotheistic deity, Ahura Mazda,they do not even once mention Zoroaster.But then, nor do the Sasanian Kings.Perhaps the Achaemenians, being moreancient, followed the ancient Indo-Iraniantradition of not mentioning the names of theauthors of various Avestan hymns – whichhad led some scholars to doubt if Zoroasteris the composer of the Gathas. A plausiblepsychological explanation could be thatDarius emphasizes his status as a secularRatu, the representative of Ahura Mazda onthe earth, - a role that the most importantZoroastrian prayer of Ahunavar, as also thelater Avesta, consistently assigns only to theprophet or his successor a role Dariuscontrived to appropriate to himself. So forpolitical expediency and probably also for

theological coherence he had to avoidmentioning Zoroaster, while loudlyproclaiming such adherence to Zoroaster’sfaith as would leave nobody in doubt abouthis faith. It should be noted that Xanthus ofLydia (500-450 BC) does not mentionZoroaster, even though he wrote a fewyears before Herodotus.

The famous Daiva inscription of Xerxes maystrengthen the view that he was drawn bythe Gathic injunction against Daevas, asprior to Zoroaster no such injunction everexisted or had even reasons to exist amongthe Indo-Aryans. The interpretation ofDaivodana is rather difficult but theZoroastrian kusti prayers may point to thehouses of sorcery, witchcraft, heretics andthe like. The Daivas he refers to seem to beeither Iranian or of alien origin which wasgetting too prevalent or even popular inPersia, as he would have little familiaritywith or pressing need to go after the Daivasin other regions, especially when he isknown to have worshipped foreign deitiesfor political or opportunistic reasons. Suchan assumption is supported by the fact thathe refers to two different places in thisinscription.

Xerxes successor, Artaxerxes I, alsoconfirms “a great God is Ahura Mazda” inthe only inscription he has left us. Darius II(424-405) left us only two short inscriptions,one saying “May Ahura Mazda together withthe gods protect” and the other saying “bythe will of Ahura Mazda.” His successorArtaxerxes II (405-359) asserts “By the willof Ahura Mazda the kingdom was bestowedon me. May Ahura Mazda protect me(Hamadan, c).” But at Susa A, he includesAnahita and Mithra along with Ahura Mazdain such affirmations. In the Hamadan B.inscription, he names Mithra alone as hisprotector. In the only inscription we have ofArtaxerxes III (359-338), both Ahura Mazdaand Mithra are depicted as the protectors ofthe king.

The inscriptions of Artaxerxes II (405-359)have often led scholars to assume that theold pantheon rejected by Zoroaster creptback in Zoroastrianism, albeit after being


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sanitized and Zoroastrianized. But toascribe this development to him justbecause it is mentioned in his inscriptionsraises many questions - do they representthe king’s belief or an ultimate recognitionby the King of what his people had believedover the years, as a king can hardly imposehis own beliefs on his people and a suddendevelopment of worshipping heretoforeforbidden gods is so unlikely andpsychologically so implausible to say theleast. Anahita and Mithra were worshippedbefore the times of Artaxerxes and therewere many Persians bearing the name ofMithra in Xerxes force, per Briant. Forfurther understanding Artaxerxes’ politicalmotives in promoting the cult of Anahita,see K H Antia’s treatise, ZoroastrianElements in the Syncretism that Prevailed inAsia Minor Following Conquests, Journal ofthe K R Cama Oriental Institute, Bombay,1995 p.59-65.

For an excellent essay on the Old Iraniancalendar, see Willy Hartner, CambridgeHistory of Iran, Vol. 1985, pages 714-792.He believes “the change from day numbersto day divinities belonging to the Magiantradition, perhaps ‘was facilitated byArtaxerxes II’s permissiveness.”

However, it is difficult for a Zoroastrian toagree with him, (though there is little reasonto disagree with him on anything else),when he observes. “It seems out ofquestion that those day names could everreplace in popular usage the original daynumbers; even in our days one would notexpect common man to memorize asequence of 30 deities for use in ordinarylife. This practice was evidently limited tothe clergy and to learned circles (p. 775-776).”

As a matter of fact, quite the contrary istrue: up to the present times, everypracticing Zoroastrian, even in urban areas,knew the names of the 30 deities by heartjust as they memorize their prayers in anunknown language. However, none knewthem by their number. Even the illiterateZoroastrians in small villages always readilyknew the name of the day (roz) and month

(mah) but nobody tried to tell them by theirnumbers. It shows how Achaemenians eventhe present day Zoroastrians are in theirobservances.

Most of the essential features ofZoroastrianism practiced by present dayZoroastrians such as the quintessentialYasna ritual, the Zoroastrian calendar andthe time for prayers for the five gahs, theessential design of a fire altar, the belief in“Ahura Mazda with all the gods,” theexposure of the corpse, killing of noxiouscreatures, and the veneration of goodelements of nature and injunction againsttheir pollution, cosmic dualism, unfailinglymemorizing the divinity names of each dayof the month, covering the head and feet, allthe time the Magis in white robes etc., etc.seem to have their origin in Achaemeniantimes. Therefore, the were apparently asZoroastrian as the Zoroastrians of today.

As observed at the outset, it is as yet hardto define the exact nature of theirZoroastrianism for want of solid data.Hence, this effort at resolving this issue bytaking a composite picture, avoiding apiecemeal approach and reviewing it fromangles not studied so far, particularly from aZoroastrian angle.

[Presented by Dr Antia at the V Conference ofthe Societas Iranologica Europea at Ravenna,Italy on October 6-11, 2003. Thereafter it waspublished by the society in their report of thisconference.Moreover, Dr Antia has expanded this paperinto a booklet and will be glad to hear fromthose who would care to publish it. Email:[email protected]]

Dastur Dr Kersey Antia is a c l inicalpsychologist in full-time private practice inChicago for many years. He is affiliated withmany private hospitals in his area, publishednumerous research articles in his field and islisted in many Who’s Who publications. Hehas received international honours andrecognition and is the high priest for theZoroastrian Association of Chicago, whichhe has served over 30 years. Kersey is happilymarried to Dilshad for the last 42 years, andhas three children, Anahita, Ervad Mazda,and Ervad Jimmy.

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The Caucasus is a land of diversepopulation and beliefs. Today, Christians,Muslims, Jews, and Yazidis live in cities andvillages in the valleys and gorges of theregion. One religion that had a strongimpact on ancient Armenia, Georgia, andthe Republic of Azerbijan wasZoroastrianism. While the sources andviews of Zoroastrianism are mainly from itshomeland, Iran, Zoroastrianism alsoflourished in the Caucasus in conjunctionwith the local, native religions of the region.

Kartveli or Georgia was converted toChristianity in the fourth century AD. Thetraditional date given for this event in thehistory of Georgia is 337 AD. According toChristian sources, King Mirian (Mihran)converted from “paganism,” but a closerlook at the sources suggests that the kingand the people of ancient Georgia wereworshippers of Ohrmazd (Ahura Mazda).Legend has it that at night the shepherds inthe region used to call on Armazi (AhuraMazda) for help, and that people used tooffer sacrifices to their god Armazi at alocation near the “Bridge of the Magi.”1

At about the same time, the capital ofGeorgia was moved from Mtskhta to some10 km further south to Tblisi by the nationalhero Vakhtang Gorgasali, who foughtagainst the Sasanians. Subsequently, theSasanians were able to retake the regionand Vakhtang was murdered in 502 AD. 2

The remains of the northernmostZoroastrian fire temple are located in Tblisi. In July 2008, the Sasanika team of K Abdi,H Emrani and T Daryaee along with AGramian, L Kian and S Jilanchi visitedGeorgia to photograph and study thenorthernmost Zoroastrian fire temple whichis known as the taagh “fire place” or “firetemple.” The location of the taagh wassomewhat difficult to find and the locals inTblisi did not have any knowledge about thebuilding. The taagh was finally locatedbelow Kartlis Deda or “Mother Georgia”

The Northern-most Zoroastrian Fire Temple in the World

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Source: Sasanika, The History and Culture of Sasanians, UC Irvine School of Humanities

close to Kldisubnis which may have beenestablished in place of the fire temple. Thatis, the fire temple was not destroyed butrather a church was built next to it at a timewhen both Zoroastrianism and Christianityexisted side by side. The taagh is walled offand can only be accessed through a home.The Sasanika team was given permission toenter the house and from there to see theremains of the taagh. Reference1. “St Nino and the Conversion of Georgia,” Livesand Legends of the Georgian Saints, translated by DM Lang, London and New York, 1956, pp. 22 23.2. V. Silogava … K. Shengelia, History of Georgia,

Tblisi, 2007, p. 50.

Facade of the atasgah

Floor of the atasgah

Dr Abdi & T Daryaee atthe atasgah


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After centuries Avesta was once again voiced in the Shahr Rey Agiyari. On a Friday afternoon(27th Feb 2009) we started our trip towards Shahr Rey (a city near Tehran) alongwith MobedHangami and some friends in our small Renault car. To our surprise the streets were crowdedregarding the fact that Friday being a holiday the streets should have been less crowded, but wecontinued with our trip till we reached Shar Rey. Our aim was to reach the Agiyari but there were noroad signs indicating this site. Changing our path many times and questioning passerbys (most ofwhom weren’t even familiar with its name), we were able to reach the place where the Agiyari hadbeen situated.

From the distance the greatness and magnificence of the Agiyari which was related to the Sasaniandynasty, stunned us and we couldn’t wait to begin taking photos and videos till we reached thewooden bridge through which we had to pass to reach the hill where the Agiyari had been situated.Fortunately we were not the only visitors present, some Russian students had also come with a tourguide who only knew that an Agiyari is the holy place for prayers. Since the area of the agiyari andits surroundings were being used for excavation and repair purposes, visitors only with priorpermission were allowed, but we were more importunate. Though the building was covered withprotective equipment since the repair and excavation work was being undertaken, the twomagnificient ceilings of the agiyari could be seen displaying its greatness and dignity. We wonderedif in this present state it was so enthralling, what a magnificent structure it would have been duringits best years. The jashan ceremony was performed by Mobed Hangami with the heartwarmingrecitation of the Avesta and prayers for the well being and health for all. At that moment everyone,even the guards and the people who were present were effected by the mystic effects of therecitation. Lork (dryfuits), special bread, fruits, were served to all present and finally after completingthe ceremony we left, but with a feeling something of our own self was left behind. Thankfully, thegreat culture of our ancestors had been kept alive.

Recitation of Avesta after centuries at Shahr Rey Agiyari

Behrooz Khalili informed -

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Photographs by Bahram Yazdani

Mobed Hangami performing the jashan ceremony

Bridge to Agiyari

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Thus, according to Herodotus, reasonedDarius with his co-conspirators when plottingthe overthrow of the impostor-priest who hadusurped the Imperial Persian throne under thename of the murdered Smerdis / Bardiya,younger brother of Cambyses II.

But what was the truth behind the accessionof Darius to the kingship? Two versions havecome down to us: firstly, led by Herodotus theGreek who wrote under Xerxes ! (486–465)from details supplied by Persian informants –with much embellishment; secondly fromDarius himself, again with undoubtedornamentation.

Cambyses II had died childless. The rightfulsuccession should have gone to the youngerbrother Smerdis/Bardiya, but the latter wasmurdered, says Herodotus, by Prexaspes onCambyses’ orders. Whilst the Great King wasstill in Egypt, news reached him that Smerdisstill lived and had seized and occupied thePersian throne. An enraged Cambyses set outhot-foot for Persia; he died on the waysomewhere in Syria, but not before making aclean breast of his fratricide before sometrusted followers. In his dying speech hecounselled, “I pray that the earth may be fruitfulfor you, your wives bear you children, your flocksmultiply and freedom be yours for ever; but if you failto recover, or make no attempt to recover, thesovereign power, then my curse be upon you – mayyour fate be just the opposite, and, in addition to that,may every Persian perish as miserably as I”. Inreporting this, Herodotus may have had beforehim a copy of a testament (see below) by thelast of our first three Achaemenid Great Kings.

As Cambyses’ third cousin, Darius, son ofHystaspes/Vishtaspa (not to be confused withZarathushtra’s famed patron), pressed hisclaim to the succession. But just who was theman claiming to be Smerdis? The story whichunfolded in Herodotus’ Book III, narrated with

b y f a r r o k h v a j i f d a r

Darius Hystaspes: First Mazdaean Emperor

Final part of The Trilogy

“Let lies be told where they are needful!”

great gusto and with much garnishment,would easily cap every plot dreamed up byHollywood thriller-writers for its swashbucklerepics. Let us unbuckle some swash.

The miscreant who darkened the dynasticthrone was one Gaumata, a Magian, who borea striking resemblance to the murderedSmerdis. The real Smerdis – alas nowdeceased! – had married one Phaidyme, ofAchaemenid clan descent. Taking over theroyal harem, the impostor apparently kepthimself within the palace citadel at all timesand refused audience to all but his closestassociates. He had a brother, likewise aMagus, once entrusted by Cambyses, whomanaged the secrecy of the whole affair.Suspicion was first aroused in Phaidyme’sfather Otanes, for even his daughter seldomsaw the pretender, always believing him tobe her true husband, the real Smerdis.

Otanes knew that Cyrus the Great had hadGaumata the Magian punished for someserious offence by having his ears cut off! Thefather now prevailed upon the daughter whosaw her shadowy husband only in the maritalbed (and in the dark!) to feel for his ears – ifmissing, the man was indeed not Smerdis buthis look-alike Magian pretender. And indeedthe fellow had no ears, of which absencePhaidyme lost no time in informing heroutraged father Otanes as well as Cyrus II’syounger daughter Atossa/Hutaosa who hadalso been a virtual prisoner in the Magus’palace.

Otanes set about confiding the matter to fivetrusted fellow-nobles of whom some hadalready formed their suspicions concerningthe Magus. Together with Darius, son ofHystaspes, the Seven complotted to oust thesinister Gaumata. The passionate Dariusurged action before the plan could bebetrayed, for, he declared, “There are many


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occasions when words are useless, and only deeds willmake a man’s meaning plain!”In the meanwhile the assassin Prexaspes wastaken into the confidence of the two tricksterMagians, and promised vast wealth if hecontinued to keep the real matter concealed.Prexaspes, well respected by the Persiannobility, and having denied that he hadanything to do with the murder of Cambyses’brother, was to declare that it was indeed thereal Smerdis who occupied the citadel andruled the land. This lie was to be broadcastfrom atop the citadel tower before therepresentatives of the Persian people.

Prexaspes, however, went against the Magianplan and instead delivered a eulogy of Cyrusand his great deeds, and then spilled thebeans on the circumstances of the realSmerdis’ murder. So declaring, he invoked aterrible curse on the Persians if they failed towin back the throne and take vengeance onthe Magians, and threw himself from thetower, ending an honourable career madeignoble by his infamous act.

Much reassured by an omen of the sightingof seven pairs of hawks chasing and fiercelyattacking two pairs of vultures – for so thePersian conspirators regarded these MedianMagians! – the Seven nobles talked their waypast the palace guards and through its citadelcheckpoints, forced their entry into thepresence of the two Magian brothers whomthey engaged in close and bitter combat. AsHerodotean history was to record, the Sevensuffered minor casualties; the fatalitiesaccrued to the priestly beastlies. The episodeconcludes:“The anniversary of this day has becomea red-letter day in the Persian calendar, marked by animportant festival known as the Magophonia, orKilling of the Magi, during which no Magus is allowedto show himself – every member of the caste staysindoors till the day is over”!

Five days later, three of the liberators met todebate the best form of government: Otanesspoke for democracy; Megabyzusrecommended an oligarchy; but Darius, whowon the day, urged the case for monarchy.Thereupon arose the difficulty of choosing asuitable monarch from amongst the Seven.The episode of Darius’ clever groom, and the

stratagem whereby his horse was made thefirst to neigh at sun-up; the lightning andthunder from a clear sky confirmed Darius asthe rightful King of kings of all Iran and itsdependencies. Thus came Herodotus’ DariusHystaspes to the Imperial Throne!

High up on a cliff-face of the Behistunmountain between Kirmanshah and Hamadanmay be sighted a large relief carvingsurrounded with carefully incised cuneiforminscriptions in three main languages of therealm – Old Persian, Akkadian/Babylonian,and Elamite. They represent a pictorial andscriptural record of the Great King Darius(522–486), the first of that name, who puttogether a mighty empire by conquest andmade it a super-power of the times.

The figuraldepic t ionshows thes t a n d i n gGreat King,holding hisshort bowin his lefthand, hisright handraised inadorat ionof thew i n g e df i g u r ef l o a t i n gabove thescene ofnine rebelprisoners,the first ofwhom liespros t ra teb e n e a t hthe king’sleft foot, arms raised in supplication. Eightothers are standing before him roped togetherby their necks, the last being a figure in apointed cap. Their names are given in littlecarved labels conveniently placed. Behind theking stand his personal bow-bearer and hisspearman. Only the Great King is shown life-size.

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Darius’ pictorial relief is neither unique inconcept nor Persian in origin. Herodotus’statement about Persians: “No race is soready to adopt foreign ways as the Persian”should be borne in mind; to that could havebeen added “adapted”. In the Behistun case,the depiction of the winged figure floatingabove the tableau – which some haveasserted is a figuration of Ahura Mazda, andothers as the Great King’s fravashi or guardianspirit, is evidentially based on the compositeof the investiture scene of the Lullubi kingAnubanini (c 18th century BC).

This earlier rock relief from Sar-i Pul (west ofKirmanshah, in Iranian Kurdistan) indicatesseveral features in common, yet with somesymbolic differences: its king grasps his battle-axe by the right hand; the left holds a sceptreor wand of authority and the bow; the raisedleft leg crushes underfoot a naked rebelleader; the goddess Innana/Ishtar,represented also by her symbol of an eight-pointed star within an orb, extends the ring ofvictorious sovereignty towards the king withher right hand, whilst her left leads two nakedcaptives fastened by a rope passed throughnose-rings – they are shown kneeling insubmission. On the lower register of this reliefare shown six naked captives, hands tiedbehind their backs, being (?) marchedperhaps towards a humiliating audiencebefore the king. Alongside the latter areinscriptions in Akkadian.

The similarities between the Behistun andSar-i Pul reliefs are undeniable, yet there aretelling differences: Anubanini is clad only fromthe waist down; Darius, with crown, is fullyclothed. Both Lullubi hands are occupied inholding weaponry – its king awaits delivery ofthe two kneeling rebels and does not extendhis arm in reverence or to accept the proferredring; Darius is plainly shown in an act ofreverence towards the winged figure.Anubanini has no arms bearers; Darius hasboth bowman and spearman behind him. TheLullubi captives are all shown naked with ringspierced through their noses; the Behistuntableau shows a hovering supernaturalwinged figure as an object of reverence byDarius – it is not his investiture moment. TheDarius captives, fully clad, are roped together

around their necks, standing abjectly to awaitthe king’s decision on their fate. Each set ofcaptives totals nine. It is clear that we have tolook further than superficial similarities. Bothsets of captives were destined for slow,horrible deaths.

Darius presents his genealogy and hislegitimacy as rightful ruler. He is from acollateral branch of the Achaemenid rulingclan. His distinctly monotheistic belief inAhuramazda (with joined-up name!) ispresented throughout the four Old Persiancolumns where he details his victories overrebels during his first year and his treatmentof them. He lists 23 “provinces” or satrapieswhere trusted governors ruled withaccountability only to the Great King. Bad rulecaused rebellions and insurrections whichwere put down with the greatest severity.Smerdis/Bardiya, says Darius, was killed onthe orders of Cambyses.

Gaumata the Magian from Media isextensively treated – Darius it was who slewthe usurper. He lists other rebels and hisvictories over them, dated according to theOld Persian calendar where months werenamed and days were merely numbered. Allhis successes over the various rebels whorose up against him were gained by favour ofAhuramazda. No other gods are mentionedspecifically, and when he refers to “the othergods”, to this writer he clearly hints at theAmesha Spentas whom he understood assubservient aspects of his one true godAhuramazda. History shows that whilst hetolerates “other gods of other lands”, he doesnot accord them acceptance within hispersonal belief system. Was he then aZoroastrian Mazda-worshipper? The absenceof the name of the great reformer should notcause surprise – Darius plainly wished to owehis successes to a single divine agency andnot to human intervention or intercession bya prophet or teacher, least of all by Magianpriests!

It should suffice that Darius wasMazdayasnian – he worships onlyAhuramazda whose ethical precepts he takesup and practices. His own moral qualities bywhich he rules as Great King and supreme


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earthly arbiter are much vaunted on hisBehistun autobiography. “According torighteousness I conducted myself” – “For this reasonAhuramazda bore me aid, and the other gods who are[clearly the Amesha Spentas!] because I was nothostile, I was not a Lie-follower ... I was not a doerof wrong – neither I nor my family. Neither to theweak nor to the powerful did I do wrong ...”

We recalled the wise injunctions of the dyingCambyses given in Herodotus – here now isDarius: “If this record thou shalt not conceal (but)tell it to the people, may Ahuramazda be a friend untothee, and may family be unto thee in abundance, andmay thou live long!” Then follows: “If this recordthou shalt conceal, (and) not tell it to the people, mayAhuramazda be a smiter unto thee, and may familynot be to thee!”

The Great King’s blessing continues: “ ... MayAhuramazda be a friend unto thee, and may familybe unto thee in abundance, and may thou live long,and what thou shalt do, that may Ahuramazda makesuccessful for thee!”

Darius came to the Achaemenid throne withthe help of his fellow-conspirators against theusurper Gaumata. On his great Behistuninscription he names them, with theirpatronymics, and then urges, for all theforeseeable future: “Thou who shalt be kinghereafter, protect well the family of these men!”

It remains for us to recall Darius’ moralcharacter as inscribed on the facade of hisrock-cut tomb at Naqsh-i Rustam: “ ... I am afriend to Right, I am not a friend to Wrong. It is notmy desire that the weak man should have wrong doneto him by the mighty; nor is it that my desire, that themighty man should have wrong done to him by theweak!”

The building activities of Darius can receiveonly the briefest mention here. He completedthe palace at Susa, his winter quarters for hisfamily and court, commenced by CambysesII. He himself was the initiator of the throneroom and audience hall at the Persepolis/Parsa complex constructed on its massiveterrace. His completion in Egypt of the Nile tothe Red Sea canal to facilitate trade is toowell recognized. The Naqsh-i Rustam rock-tomb with its politico-ethical inscriptions have

for long inspired historians, theologians, andarchaeologists alike.

Foreign advisers, influences, and labour areknown and recognized. Greek mercenariesserved in the armies of the f i rst threeAchaemenids. Cyrus II had the beneficialadvice of the vanquished Croesus of Lydia;Cambyses II was guided by the Egyptianpreceptor Udjahorresne, as was Darius theGreat who took him to Persia where he stayedas his personal physician for some years. TheGreek physician Ctesias similarly attendedArtaxerxes in the late 5th century. Ctesiasclaimed he was allowed access to the RoyalArchives from which he obtained the materialfor his book Persika (“Persian Affairs”).

We came in “with the lie”; we conclude also“with the lie”. Herodotus, that famed story-teller, treated his sources on Persian affairsas reliable. Among them was Zopyrus thegreat-grandson of Darius who fled to Greeceas political refugee in 440, and from whomthe historian obtained much information aboutPersia and the Achaemenian court. But in thelong course of collection and recording offactual material, less attention has been paidto the Greek’s attitudes and approaches. Littlewonder then that Herodotus soon acquiredenemies, among them being Ctesias whoconstantly contradicted the older man, oftencalling him a liar and gossip-monger. Ctesias’accounts of Cyrus, Cambyses, Smerdis,Darius, and Xerxes (I) are often completelydifferent from those of Herodotus ...

R e a d e r b e w a r e !

Farrokh Vajifdar comes from a sensibly orthodox priestlyfamily. Life-long student and independent researcher inIndo-Iranian cultures. Specializes in literature and languagesof pre-Islamic Iran. Focuses on Zoroastrian religious beliefsand practices on which he writes, lectures, and broadcasts(radio and TV). He is referee and reviewer for (as Fellowof) the Royal Asiatic Society.

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Life in Ancient Iran

Massoume was motivated to research onIranian culture, to help the youngergeneration learn about their origins whenher daughter who was born in Canada,grew up. She wanted her daughter to

know about her roots which motivated her to beginher research. She has launched on writing a seriesof ten books, and has completed the first one on“Ancient Iran”. To obtain photographs of objects inthe museums was in itself a formidable task, whichtook one and half years just to receive pemission.Treasures from excavated sites are worth seeing.Her first book ends with the Arab invasion of Persiain the 7th - 8th Century AD.

Many interesting facts came out from herpresentation. Haji Firruz has the oldest evidenceof wine (6000 - 5000 BC). Susa is another majorarea founded in 4200 BC. From the excavations,many vessels of clay and marble were found - someof the jars were a meter long as cereals and grainswere stored in them. Society was agricultural, andbelief in the supernatural was a consistent part ofPersian culture. They believed in divine interventionand paid attention to signs which pointed to eithergood or bad things occurring for that person. ThePro-Elamite period was from 3100 - 2900 BC.Ornaments and jewellery were buried in the tombsof high ranking males and females.

We wonder about the morality of our times, but inthose ancient times, people were relaxed in termsof sexuality and morality. Life span was generally30 years, so they made the best of the time theyhad. Board games were popular, and one gameseems to have appeared in many forms in manyplaces - the game of 58 holes.

Elam was the first local power, and Elamitecosmology included many gods and goddesses.

On Sun da y 26 Ap r i l , M a s s o u m e Pr i ce sh ar ed a Pow e r Poi n tpresentat ion accompanied by her commentary to an audience atVancouver . Her new book ‘Anc ient I ran ’ has recent ly won an awardfor best mul t icu l tura l non- f ic t ion from the Moonbeam’s Chi ldren’sBook Awards. It is also a feature book at the Brit ish Museum’s currentexhib i t ion “Shah ‘Abbas: The Remaking of I ran” .

Bella Tata on behalf of Hamazor took these notes during Ms Price’s presentation.

Goddesses and priestesses played a major role inthis cosmology, and beautiful cups and figurines werefound in the temple. Animals were sacrificed but it isnot known whether babies were sacrificed. Ritualizedsex was performed often in the temples as a tributeto fertility goddesses and to secure procreation.

Societies were class based, and within the royalty,the mother of the king was the most important person– more so than the queen. Kings and queensrepresented gods and goddesses. Musicians andentertainers were an integral part of their lives, andexcavations found showed completely nude menand women in the temples. The Medes were thefirst Persian rulers of Mesopotamia, and a group ofMedian priests were known as magi. The Medesdefeated the Assyrian rules of Mesopotamia in 612BC, and formed the first Persian kingdom. Mostpeople made their own wool, and clothing was madeof animal skins, wool, cotton, flax and silk. Cotton isonly documented as being in the region from 2500BC, whereas silk came from China. Ancient Iraniansdined on roasted meat, birds, fish, stuffed fruits andvegetables, and proof of this was found inPersepolis. The chief crop was barley and mostbreads were made from this. Ancient Iranians lovedaccessories - everything had symbolic significance.Breast shields of gold with divine figures were usedas protection.

The Medes were the first Persian rulers ofMesopotamia, and a group of Median priestswere known as magi. The Medes defeated theAssyrian rulers of Mesopotamia in 612 BC andformed the first Persian kingdom.

Now, we go to Persepolis and those times of Cyrusthe Great. The clay cylinder of Cyrus the Greatcame into being during the Achaemenian Empire(559 - 530 BC). Cyrus made Pasargade his capital


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where his tomb is located. It was the firstcapital city of the Persian Empire. Royaladministrators conveyed their commands inOld Persian, and trained scribes translatedthese into Babylonian and Elamite. Now, theKhavarnah (a winged creature) known bymodern Persians as the Faravahar,represents the metaphysical power thatprotects kings and justifies their rule on earth.Persepolis was built by Darius in 518 BC andburnt by Alexander.

Etiquette played a major role in courtceremonies. Darius the Great (522 - 486 BC)and his son, Xerxes, made the Persian armylegendary. Only kings could have long beards,and when one sees a picture of men, the onlyone with the long beard is the king. The armywas smart and the Persian cavalry usedprojectiles to go over the walls of the enemies.Zoroastrianism was followed, and dogs playedan important role in their lives. Zoroastriankings continued to rule. The Partians weremaster archers and ruled from 274 BC - 224AD. The rich lived well. Ardeshir (224 - 241AD) continued the Sasanian Empire, and triedto integrate religion into one another. TheSasanians and Romans fought one anotherfor 400 years, after which the Arabs came andtook over Persia in the 7th - 8th century AD.

Massoume Price, an active member of both the Iranianand Canadian communities, has been living in Canada since1981. She is a social anthropologist born in Iran and waseducated in Iran and United Kingdom at LondonUniversity, Kings and University Colleges. Since 1995,she has devoted all her time researching Iranian culture andher many articles published in Iran and America haveattracted a large audience.

Price has written extensively on many aspects of Iranianculture, such as, codes of behavior, male/female and parent/children relationships. Her web site,www.cultureofiran.com, is used extensively as an on-linereference source. The site provides credible information onhistory, symbolism, evolution and present practices of majorIranian rites, ceremonies festivals and codes of behavioretc. The site has become a focal point for both researchersand general public with respect to Iranian culture.

She has been extensively involved in organizing lectures,concerts, exhibitions and facilitating exchange andinteraction between the Iranians and the Canadiancommunity at large. She was also a commissioner on theBoard of Vancouver Museum.”

Parvin Farin was born in Iran and decided to come toEngland for the education of her two young children. Inher spare time, which was very little, she wrote two novelsand eventually a history book on ancient Iran. She is veryinterested in subjects dealing with ancient Iran and presentproblems of Zoroastrians.

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Coinciding with the arrival of the PersianNew year, the much anticipated historicaldocumentary film “IRAN the forgotten glory”directed by MakanKarandish and producedby Mystic Films Intl. wasreleased in Los Angeles,California, in two DVD’s inthe languages of Persian,English, and Spanish.According to MakanKarandish, director of thefilm “This film has been inproduction for more thanfive years and was shot inover 60 locationsthroughout the province ofFARS. It is an attempt tore-capture the glory of theancient Persian empires and their influenceof world history, art, and culture” . The film’stotal running time is 95 minutes and wasoriginally premiered in October 2008 at theBogota Film Festival. For more informationvisit www.farsmovie.com

Documentary film “IRAN, TheForgotten Glory”

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For a Parsi authoress to engage so closelyand effectively with purported Islamic majorthemes makes for a book event to behugely celebrated. Nerina Rustomji is (atthe time of publication) Assistant Professorof History at St John’s University in Queens,New York. Her profile had appeared inHamazor 4/2007 with tantalizing mention ofa forthcoming book dealing with wives andhouri-s.

Well, here it is, in the sincere hope that thisreview of sorts will lead to its deeper studyfor a proper appreciation of its carefullyresearched and beautifully presentedcontents, bar one irritation – to be referredbelow. Readers are forewarned: this noticeis a Zoroastrified overview for the obviousreasons that Hamazor is a Zoroastrianjournal of the World ZoroastrianOrganisation’s concept and design;because Islamic perspectives are not asunique as projected; because Islam hasadapted and adopted very many antecedentZoroastrian notions of garo.demana anddrujo.demana and the later Pahlavi wahisht-akhw and duzhakhw.

These Zoroastrian akhw-s represent “mind”,“mental force”, and often “existence”, andare Middle Persian terms originallyattaching to wahisht, “best”, and dush orduzh, “bad, evil”. Their implications areclear – they are earthly mental statesconditional upon each individual’s behaviourand preferences during life, as befits anexistentialism. Neither predeterminism norpredestination have any roles inZoroastrianism. Over its long history, theseoriginally abstract Avestic conceptsacquired physicalities in an Afterworld ofHeaven and Hell, the one eternal, the otherof long duration. We still say Behesht and

The Garden and the Fire”“An overview by Farrokh Vajifdar

“The Garden and the Fire: Heaven and Hell inIslamic Culture” by Nerina Rustomji.Columbia University Press, New York, 2008.Pp. xxii. + 201 with 13 b&w illustrations.Hardback edition

Dozhak, both menog, “spiritual”, without,however, quite realizing their abstractbeginnings.

Islam, in turn, inherited these notions andgave them its particular glosses: hence thereal importance of Nerina Rustomji’s bookto explain its especial ideas on the Afterlivesin the Heaven and Hell of the GreatBeyond. Their respective Arabic terms areal-janna (contrast the Hebrew gehenna) andal/n-nar (“fire” with its cognate nur, “light ofthe sun”). The fact that Fire is attached toHell in Islamic belief should neither distressnor detain us here any more than thebitterest cold, blackest darkness, but limitedduration, of the contrasting Zoroastrian hell– the first is, after all, the product of a desertpeople, the latter stems from the dread ofthe bitterly cold northern plagues for theIranians.

With the exception of Israel, the lands of theFertile Crescent are largely Islamic. TheGarden and the Fire of the title areexplained by the sub-heading “Heaven andHell in Islamic Culture” which is synthesizedover seven chapters cradled between anIntroduction – a very useful preamble! – anda sufficiently analytical Index. Nerina’s (if Imay, ‡ l’amÈricain) quite daunting range ofreading – listed over twelve pages – whichwent into the making of her book, is veryimpressive. Indeed, relaxing, sobering,absorbing and hugely informative – areexpressions that come easiest to mindwhen feasting on its contents. She has setout to explain Islamic perspectives and shehas succeeded admirably well.

Thirteen carefully matched illustrationspicture the themes of Chapter Seven’s‘Legacy of Gardens’, but here this reviewermust register his disappointment with theirreproduction: they are fuzzy, and they aremonochrome. Were each picture to beworth the proverbial thousand words to tellits story, then only some five hundred couldbe read here. It would be nice to track down


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the full-colour originals to enhance one’sappreciation of Nerina’s well-crafted prose. Butenough on this!

The book is otherwise an unqualified success.The subject of Heaven and Hell in all cultureseven today fascinates and frightens those of acertain temperament. Indeed it was people withpeculiar mind-sets who thought up such other-worldly visions of bliss and bane, of moralityand martyrdom. For our Zoroastrian readers wemust stress the fundamental differences ofstandpoint between Mazdaism andMuhammadanism, between Aryan andAbrahamic beliefs on matters dealing withpost-mortem destinations resulting frombehavioural and credal attitudes.

Where we contemplate the beams of Truth inthe sacred Flame, the Islamics see only itspunitive aspects. Where we embrace life andabjure violence, Islam extols warriors dying fortheir faith and assures them its Heaven. WhereAhura rewards and Allah requites, their post-mortem fields of operation lie along differentreaches. Informed students of comparativemythologies and religious beliefs will steer theirown courses between various compatibilitiesand contrasts.

This reviewer was intrigued to note, forcomparison, the inclusion of Arda Wiraz(here Wirag!). This text, whose original wellpredated Islam and previewed Alighieri Danteby even more centuries, had its foundation inParthian times, and Wiraz was no priest.Sasanian elaborations led to this confusion.There is much in Wiraz’s Grand Tour of theHereafter that was taken up by Muhammad,and its reasons are not far to seek. Nerinarightly sees certain similarities of approachwhen detailing some hellish horrors – forinstance, may misbehaved or non-compliantfemales be forewarned, for the majority ofdenizens there are women! And in their IslamicHell they stay put without hope of reprieve.

The inequality of women in Islamic societies isunderscored by their treatment in the Afterlife.Their low regard through their apparent lack ofcommon sense was even seen to rob the wiseof wisdom: blasphemy to the early Mazdaeans!They are made to suffer also for their

maltreatment and starvation of cats –Ahrimanic creatures for us, as are dogs inIslam! Whereas a dreary symmetry pervadesthe Arda Wiraz Namagh in the Hereafterinasmuch as the acceptance of women in theMazdaean Heaven, we already begin to seethe distinction and discrimination accorded tothe fair sex. By the 13th and 14th centuries,the influence of Islam was clearly felt in thesubservient role of Zoroastrian women inIslamic Iran, and indeed in Hindu India: genderequality was ruptured by the intrusion of alienstructures.

In the Namagh too, the majority occupying hellare women, accused of terrible crimes duringlife, and accounting horribly for them post-mortem. But the similarities of Islamic textswith the Middle Persian concerning womenshould be especially remarked. Rustomji hasquoted a hadith: “O womenfolk! ... I saw you inbulk amongst the dwellers of the Fire” – ashameful ontological standard “reinforced bythe vision of the majority of hell being women”.As in Zoroastrianism there is an Intermediatestate in the Afterworld, so too in Islam where“Women occupied an intermediary place in theethics of the afterworld, since they wereallowed silk fabrics but also condemned to bethe majority of the Fire”. Indeed ethical normswere more stringently formulated in Islam –women “have more obstacles to overcomethan men”. Abandon hope, all ye you enter!

What could very likely apply more to Islamicwomen-folk in matters, for example, of dressfabric is the discouragement of silk.Mazdayasnianism (to avoid association withMazdayasna) had long made its position clear:“Silk may be good for the body;but cotton is decidedly better for the soul”.The silk-worm, bombyx mori, was categorizedas Ahrimanic, but the magian classifiers werepowerless to intervene in matters of fashion.

The position of houri-s, more particularly anIslamic post-mortem concept, is given anadequate exposure by Nerina: they are “theonly females who interact in the public sphere”.Clad in silk and brocade (!), they are musk-scented and gem adorned – we may comparewith greater favour the ladies from our AshiYasht. There is wine in the Islamic Garden, for

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it is served up in pearl goblets and silver cups bythese delectable creatures for whom the worldlyinterdicts on such materials do not exist inHeaven. A transmutation in the Hereafter’sGarden of execrated earthly material? WhereJustice and Consistency?

Houri-s are well described by Nerina as the“teleological end(s) of the Garden”. They have aquite different role in the Afterlife, being distinctfrom wives, azwa; being the highest rankingfemales in the Garden, they have servant girls. Ina location beyond Time and Space, as all goodHeavens and all awful Hells should be, “only the(doers of) righteous and ethical deeds will insureentry into the Garden” from which landscapefamilies have been removed, and houri-s havebecome the main source of companionship” forthe male occupants.

Where Mazdaism had taught of the daena asspiritual counterpart of the departed whom shegreets in the Hereafter, either as beauteous maidor gabbling harridan, in Islam, which took overthis concept as din, it all becomes terriblyimpersonal – hence seventy-two houri-s arerequired to fulfil the male’s every requirement.The wives are honoured: that’s all!

There are other background similarities too.Where Wiraz in Iran saw the dangers of theMazdayasnian religion’s dilution after Alexander,Muhammad in Arabia foresaw a diminution inworship of his new god Allah were overmuchIranization to be allowed in. Hence he launchedhis tirade against Al-Nadr bin al-Harith (Sura31.6-7) for his too enthusiastic retelling of thehigh deeds of the Persian kings and heroes. Forhis “frivolous” story-telling he was warned off bythe Islamic prophet with a reminder of the life tocome, and for whom “We have prepared ashameful punishment” – one generouslyextended also to unbelievers.The real irony of this interdict lay in the Islamicvision of Heaven – having lifted away andreshaped entire sequences from Wiraz’snamagh, the Bundahishn, the Dina-i minu-ikhirad, and the young courtier Khwash-arzugwhose tally figures in the Pahlavi Khosro udredag-e. Issuing from the unrestrained luxuries ofKhosro Parwez’s times (590–628) with itspairidaeza-s, “paradises” or royal hunting parks,such accounts seemed fresh, immediate, and

very real to the austere neighbouring Arabs withtheir newly minted religion, yet seen asdangerous to its founder’s propaganda.

The advent of the Muslim conquest of Iran hadbeen accompanied by great religio-culturaldestructiveness that increased with theaccession of the first Omayyad khalifa ‘Umar(634–644). Patriotic and patristic literature withinIran was discouraged and then discarded, sinceit was put about that the Qur’an alone containedthe full and pure fount of all knowledge. Norwere infidels and unbelievers spared the wrathof the Arabian prophet: Sura 9, At-Taubah,“Repentance”, rails against those who store upwealth: “Proclaim a woeful punishment to those... The day will surely come when their treasuresshall be heated in the fire of Hell, and theirforeheads, sides and backs branded with them”!

In Nerina’s book, her single-minded expositionof the Islamic post-mortem perspectives isfaithfully maintained. Yet the feeling persists thather material seems strangely familiar: we haveheard and seen these ideas expressed and setdown some place else, and from some timeconveniently forgotten. One cannot help wishingthat these earlier and necessary Zoroastrianprecursors to her exemplary monograph wouldas fluently flow from her pen. Just think! – adiptych by her, hinging not on variances but onverifiables: there is, after all, an identity ofconstitution of the fear-driven human mind whenaddressing identical issues.

And how better to exercise one’s visionary andspeculative thoughts on the Hereafter thanthrough tendentious religious dogma! Theimpetus of Mazdayasnian thought neverdisappeared but subtly permeated several areasto influence the thinkers of Islam whoseproductions would have been the poorer for lackof it. Specific acknowledgements to any earlierperiod anywhere were always out of thequestion: was it not, after all, the period ofjahiliyya?

There remains no doubt in this reviewer’s mindthat after encountering Nerina Rustomji’s quitewonderful tome, the exchanges will not be just“Have you read her book?” but “Have youstudied her work?”

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Farrokh Vajifdar’sprofile appears onp23


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It was recorded in Sanskrit texts known asthe Sihigiri-vitara or Story of Sigiriya that aMaga Brahmana or magian (Zoroastrian)priest, who had accompanied mercenariesfrom Iran to the northcentral Sinhalese city ofAnuradhapura, visited king Dhatusena (ruled455–73) to offer service and counsel. TheMaga Brahmana told Dhatusena about theAchaemenian dynasty, its founder Cyrus IIchampioned the Persian custom ofconsanguineous marriage, and convinced theSinhalese monarch to achieve greatness bybuilding a residential palace atop a summitlike that at Pasargadae (in southwestern Iran).Dhatusena appointed the magus as royalcounselor, had him choose the site of Sigiriya,and placed him in charge of raising funds fora palace atop that rock through a birthday gift-giving ceremony in which subjects arrived withtribute offerings for their monarch (much likethe apadana processional scene atPersepolis). Thereafter, palace constructioncommenced on Sigiriya under the magus’supervision.

There probably were other Zoroastrians onthe island before that time. The earliestIranians known to have reached the shoresof Senendiva sailed there over the IndianOcean during the reign of Darius I. They hadbeen sent by the Iranian state to reconnoitersea routes, lands, and resources of the IndianOcean. The Greek historian Herodotus (livedca. 484–430) provided a degree of correlation,having noted in his History that Darius aftersubduing the Indians ‘made use of this sea’.The religious affiliation of those sailors is notstated in extant records, but presumably manywere Mazda-worshipers in keeping with theAchaemenian empire’s official devotion toAhura Mazda. Most of them sailed eastward,as surviving documents claim. Some of thesailors may have settled on the island,intermarrying with the indigenous population

b y j a m s h e e d c h o k s y

Zoroastrians in Serendib (Sri Lanka)

An abridged article of the paper read by Prof Choksy at the Symposium held on 29 March 2009 at Toronto.The paper is part of the book “Parsis in India and the Diaspora” edited by John R Hinnells and AlanWilliams, published by Routledge in 2007.

and being assimilated ethnically,confessionally, and culturally. As a result, nofurther evidence of their presence can betraced thereafter.

During the late 1700s and early 1800s, Parsiimmigrants from India purchased land forcommercial and residential purposes in theseaport of Colombo and for small plantationestates in the provinces. About 100 Parsi menworked as planters in the central province orhill country, near the cities of Kandy andNuwara Eliya, and as merchants, particularlyin the Fort or Kotuwa of Colombo. Parsisgradually became major players in thetransportation of durable and nondurablegoods overland from the port and Fort ofColombo to coastal towns such as Mannar,Chilaw, Galle, Matara, Batticaloa, andTrincomalee and to inland urban centers likeKurunegala, Kandy, Bandarawela, andBadulla. They also began to control maritimetrade from Ceylonese ports to Male, Bombay,Madras, Calcutta, Chittagong, Hong Kong,

Sigiriya

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and Shanghai. Much of that trade was basedon hundies or promissory notes.

Between 1930 and 1945, the Zoroastrianpopulation in British Ceylon ranged from 350to 450 Parsis. By then the community hadbeen emphasizing secular education forseveral decades. Both male and femalechildren were sent to primary and secondaryschools run by private organizations, Christianmissions, and the state. Upon completion ofschooling, they were encouraged to attenduniversities in Ceylon, India, and England.Educated Parsi men took up professions suchas law and medicine. Rustomjee Muncherjeehad his son educated as a physician andsurgeon in England to return to practice atColombo in 1904. K D Choksy was amongthe first Ceylonese Zoroastrians to obtainelectricity service to a private residence,during the first decade of the 1900s, so thathis son N K Choksy could study indoors afterdark with adequate lighting (rather than bycandle light or by the light of a street lamp)and become an attorney. Parsi women, likethe men, routinely completed secondaryeducation at secular schools and beganenrolling in, and graduating from, Ceyloneseuniversities. Those women began to playprominent roles in garnering resources forfurthering the knowledge, professionaltraining, social welfare, and exposure towestern medicine and science of their cohorts.

National statehood affected demographywhen Ceylon became independent from GreatBritain in 1947 because nearly 50 percent ofthe Parsi community chose to return to India;the rest became citizens of Ceylon. WhenSinhala became the official language ofCeylon in 1956, many Zoroastrians who weremuch more fluent in English than Sinhalabegan migrating too. Emigration from Ceylon,which became the Republic of Sri Lanka in1972, continued as Zoroastrians soughteducational and economic opportunities in theUSA and Canada. Consequently, thecommunity’s population fell to 84 individualsin 1984 and to 60 by 1988.

By the 1950s, as a legacy of secular westerneducation, the Zoroastrians of Sri Lanka hadbegun to use English as their main language,

while most of them also spoke, read, and wrotein Sinhala as well, and many in Tamil. Duringthe 1930s and 1940s, the community hadcommissioned the services of Parsi Gujaratilanguage instructors from Bombay so that theirchildren were multilingual. Use of Gujaratideclined as Zoroastrians in modern Ceylon andSri Lanka found fewer opportunities tocommunicate in it, and today only arudimentary spoken ability and more often onlyan elementary, passive understanding ofGujarati survives. Use of Persian has neverbeen common as a spoken or written languageamong the Zoroastrians of Sri Lanka. Anotherconsequence of westernization was that theirdress increasingly became western in style,although Zoroastrian women still wear saris onformal occasions.

University-level education served as amechanism for Zoroastrians becomingestablished prominently in Ceylon. Adoptionof English as their public language, in additionto assimilation of European mores, wasreinforced via secular university education.That education transmitted to themknowledge, values, aspirations, andopportunities which had become a part ofEuropean societies during the Enlightenmentand the Industrial Revolution. The education,with its concomitant language and culturalfacets, provided smooth entry into a rapidlywesternizing and secularizing urbaneCeylonese society. In that society, the Parsisbegan to make their mark as learned,enterprising, elites who were loyal to thedemocratically elected civil administration.

Their choice of professions – especially law,medicine, and public service – was shapedby university education and infuenced byaspirations for social advancement. Parsisinvolved with the legal profession includedJustices of the Peace such as K D Choksyand Pestonjee D Khan, proctors such asF Rustomjee and B K Billimoria, and Queen’sCounsels such as N K Choksy (whose wifeKhorshed was the granddaughter of Pallonjeeand Meherbai Kapadia by their daughter Aimaiwho married Cowasjee Lakdawalla), whosubsequently served Ceylon as a Justice ofthe Supreme Court. Homi F Billimoria, whowas the first Ceylonese to graduate from


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Liverpool University and be elected a Fellowof the Royal Institute of British Architects,designed the Independence Hall at Colomboand a palatial house that became the officialresidence of the Speaker of Parliament. Heserved as Chief Architect to the Governmentof Ceylon from 1953 to 1956. His architecturalcontributions were recognized by King GeorgeVI, who appointed him a Member of the BritishEmpire in 1951, and Queen Elizabeth II, whoconferred on him a Coronation Medal in 1953and appointed him an Officer of the BritishEmpire in 1954 while Ceylon was part of theBritish Commonwealth. Nariman N Jilla, likeother Parsis contributing to the new nation’sadministration, was a member of the CeylonCivil Service during the 1950s and 1960s. Onthe medical front, Dr Rustam Pestonjee servedas Director-in-Charge of the Leprosy Asylum atHendala, Dr Khurshed D Rustomjee workedwith the anti-malaria campaign and the CancerSociety, and Dr Jamshed Dadabhoy becameChief Surgeon at the Colombo Eye Hospital.In the field of education, Kaikhusroo FBillimoria functioned admirably as the firstPrincipal of Dharmaraja College in Kandy untilhis retirement in 1933. In each instance, thechoice of profession enhanced thesocioeconomic stature for the individual, hisor her immediate family, and his or herdescendants by contributing to Ceylonesesociety.

Rise in status brought with it civic obligations,and public generosity of money andcommitment of time by Parsis to Ceylon’ssociety continued in the period afterindependence from the British. Perin Billimoriaestablished the K F Billimoria Memorial TrustFund for scholarships at Dharmaraja Collegein honour of her late husband’s principalshipthere. Ruttonshah Rustomjee Bhoory, whosefirm of Ruttonshah Rustomjee and Companyexporters of tea, spices, and coconut productswas elected to the Ceylon Chamber ofCommerce in 1944, donated classrooms toWesley College at Colombo in gratitude foreducation received. Dosabhoy Marker, whoimmigrated to Ceylon from Peshawar andQuetta (now in Pakistan) in 1904 and becamea successful rice broker, built a lecture hallfor the Ramakrishna Mission in the Wellawattaneighborhood of Colombo. N K Choksy and

F Rustomjee, among others, took active rolesin the Theosophical Society and the Order ofFreemasons.

The Ceylon Parsi Anjuman was establishedin 1939 to consolidate control andadministration of the hitherto separate trustsand funds for fire temple, priests and rituals,and funerary sites. A Scheme of Managementfor the funds was outlined to the communityon November 30, 1924, and was adopted ata general meeting on March 6, 1939. TheAnjuman is based at the community’s prayerhall called Navroz-Baug. Three trustees areelected every f ive years by the votingmembers of the Anjuman. Modest funds aregenerated through annual membership feesand voluntary donations for communityactivities and maintenance of Anjumanproperties. The Anjuman maintains writtenrecords relating to the Zoroastrian community.

The Anjuman retains the services of a mobedor Zoroastrian priest, appropriately trained andordained in India, who conducts rituals for thebehdins or laity. Occasionally, among thecommunity, additional mobeds are presentwho are not full-time and are engaged in otherprofessions. The Colombo Parsi PriestMaintenance Fund had been started in 1910–11 to pay for rental of prayer halls for thecommunity and residential quarters for visitingpriests. As a result, Ervad Sohrabji ManeckjiDastur Meherji Rana served as a visitingpanthaki (or ‘family priest’) from India toColombo in 1910. The first residentcommunity mobed was hired in 1912, alsofrom among the Zoroastrian clerics ofBombay. Pallonjee N Kapadia provided theimpetus to ensure that ‘clerical oversight ofrites became standard’ among CeyloneseZoroastrians. Thereafter, a permanentlocation for Zoroastrian devotions wasconstructed in 1927 on approximately a thirdof an acre of land at 40 Fifth Lane, Kollupitiya,through an endowment by Meherbai Kapadiain memory of her husband Pallonjee. TheParsi architect Homi F Billimoria designed theagiari or fire temple there called Navroz-Baug.

Navroz-Baug includes residential quarters forthe mobed and his family. Because they liveon an island and their priests are hired from

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India, Zoroastrians of Sri Lanka (unlike theircoreligionists in India) do not regard the amalor ritual power of clergy as being vitiated bythe act of crossing water by ship or plane. Inanother adaptation to circumstances, arisingfrom Zoroastrians having always been a tinyminority in Sri Lanka, only when religiousservices occur is access to the prayer hallconfined to Zoroastrians, for the practicalreason that the caretaker in residence at thefire temple is usually Sinhalese of Buddhistor Christian affiliation. The Anjuman alsoaugments its trust funds by leasingcommercial buildings, adjacent to the rear wallof Navroz-Baug, to businesses run by non-

Zoroastrians;this isd o n ew i t h o utt h etraditionalZoroastrianconcernabout thedanger ofr i t u a lpollutionby non-Zoroastrianst oZoroastrianprecincts.

Navroz-Baug centersaround a prayer hallwhere votive rituals areconducted in thepresence of a dadgah orhearth fire on a smallmetal afrinaganyu(afarganyu) or altar. Thefire is lit from a divo or oillamp prior to religiousrites, and then fed withsukhar or sandalwood

and loban or frankincense by the officiatingpriest and by devotees. Gahanbars orcommunal feasts, like that endowed byBhoory to be held annually around the dateof his demise, occur at Navroz-Baug.

Following Parsi terminology, the initiation ritualfor boys and girls is termed the navjote. Navjotes

are officiated by one (more infrequently two)priest(s), and are conducted either at the firetemple, the sports club, or at secular locationssuch as hotels. The Anjuman follows historicallyIrani and Parsi tradition by regarding religion astransmitted from one generation to anotheralong patrilineal lines. Therefore, the Anjuman’scharter defines a Zoroastrian as a person whosefather was a Parsi Zoroastrian or IraniZoroastrian and who, if an adult, has undergonethe navjote initiation. Consequently, boys andgirls whose fathers are Parsi Zoroastrian or IraniZoroastrians can be initiated into the faith andtheir navjotes are recognized by the Anjumanwhich accords these individuals full rights withinSri Lanka’s Zoroastrian community even whentheir mothers are not Zoroastrians. The Anjumandoes not recognize the children of Zoroastrianmothers and non-Zoroastrians fathers as havingvalid claims to membership even if navjoteshave been undergone. Those individuals (andthere have been several such persons over thepast 100 years) are not permitted into the firetemple during rituals, but they can attend anyreligious ceremony that is not held at the firetemple (and consequently is open to the generalpublic) including navjotes and funerals. Theyalso can become members of the sports club.An additional rule of the Anjuman precludesParsi and Irani Zoroastrian women married tonon-Zoroastrians from holding office as trustees.That rule ensures no change can be made tothe Anjuman’s existing definition of who is or isnot a Parsi or Irani Zoroastrian. If the residentpriest is unwilling to perform the navjote of achild whose father is a Zoroastrian but whosemother is a non-Zoroastrian, then a mobed whowill perform the initiation is ˚own to Sri Lankafrom India.

Property at Bloemendhal Road, Kotahena (asuburb of Colombo), was deeded to thecommunity in 1826 by Cowasjee Eduljee fora funeral site. The Colombo Parsi BurialGround Trust was established by deed No.1179 on April 19, 1847, with trustees. Adakhma or funerary tower was constructed.But within a few years, exposure of corpseswas phased out because of complaints fromnearby residents. Inhumation was introducedin an aramgah or place of repose (burialground or cemetery) on the same property.As the aramgah at Bloemendhal Road

Navroz-Baug Fire Temple


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became full, the community made plans foranother funerary site at a different site. After1861, the dakhma and aramgah atBloemendhal Road were closed and walledoff. Cowasjee Eduljee funded construction ofthe wall and the community retained controlof the site until 1967 when it was sold.

Two and a half acres were obtained fromcrown land by the British government, in 1887,at Jawatta Road in Thimbirigasyaya, anotherneighborhood of Colombo, for a funeral

grounds with a burial ground, funerarybuilding, and a caretaker’s residence. Acircular aramgah or burial ground wasconstructed, enclosed by a wall with a gatedentrance. so that it visually resembled adakhma or funerary tower. The burial area’sbase was lined with granulated rock, thentopped with six to seven feet of sand, in whichthe corpses were laid, to prevent ritualpollution. The earliest burial took place in thefirst aramgah at Jawatta Road in 1894; otherburials followed.When that first aramgah became filled withgraves, a second aramgah was constructedin 1921 on the Jawatta Road funeral groundsalong similar ritual lines but surrounded by arectangular wall. Burial occurs in rows,irrespective of gender, age, and family ties,by chronological order of demise. Recentlyyet another aramgah was built on the JawattaRoad property, although it is not in use as yet.Now each corpse is surrounded with stone orconcrete slabs to ritually protect theenvironment from pollution. The corpses arelowered into the graves using a metal winch

to prevent ritual pollution from spreading toliving persons. Gravestones mark each burial.Dogs are kept on the premises for the rite ofsagdid to symbolically disperse any demonswho may approach a corpse. As in the caseof the dadgah, the caretaker in residence atthe aramgah is usually a Sinhalese ofBuddhist or Christian confessional affliation.

Walking funeral processions from adeceased’s home to the aramgah continuedinto the late 1970s, but were discontinued asmotorized and pedestrian traffic made suchprocessional movement impractical and notconducive to maintaining ritual purity. So noweach corpse is driven to the funerary site in ahearse followed by relatives and friends in amotorcade. The community in Sri Lanka neverhad its own professional funerary workers,such as are customary in larger Zoroastriancommunities, namely pakshus or corpsecleaners, khandhias or pall bearers (whotransport the corpse to the cemetery), andnasa salars or corpse-bearers (who carry thecorpse at the place of death and at thecemetery). All handling of corpses used to beperformed by volunteers from among theZoroastrian laity, who subsequentlyunderwent purification via an abbreviatedSade Nahn (in which only ablutions weredone). Those volunteers cleansed anddressed each corpse in white clothes, thencovered it with a white funeral shroud. Theseactivities were transferred gradually toprofessional, non-Zoroastrian, undertakersduring the 1980s and 1990s. Suchadaptations were not too controversial withinthe community.

Religious education among the community inthe 1960s and 1970s was championed byFramroz Rustomjee, who produced acompendium of texts and translations entitledDaily Prayers of the Zoroastrians, amongother religious writings. Rustomjee was theinstructor of choice for many Zoroastrianparents when it came time to have theirchildren taught prayers in preparation fornavjotes. In old age he eventually emigratedto Australia to join his son, who had been asurgeon in Ceylon, and grandchildren.Despite such attempts at religious education,orthopraxy declined as the community

Jawatta Road Funerary Complex

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integrated within Sri Lankan society during thetwentieth century. Most Zoroastrians in SriLanka know and recite the basic prayers –such as the Ashem Vohu, Ahuna Vairya, KemNa Mazda, Ohrmazd Khwaday or KustiBastan, and Jasa Me Avanghe Mazda –essential for the kusti rite and for daily piety,but rely on Roman script texts in prayermanuals when reciting other litanies.

Flower garlands and coconuts used duringreligious rites would be tossed into the IndianOcean; so too were damaged kustis. Duringthe 1960s and early 1970s, Parsis wouldgather informally to recite prayers like theKhwarshed and Mihr Niyayishns facing thesetting sun, but that practice declined infrequency. Likewise, until the late 1970s,traditionalists would recite the Atash Niyayishnto the hearth fire in their homes, often inconjunction with lighting a divo and carryinga fire in a small brazier through each room ofthe house during the loban or incense ritual.On the day dedicated to Ashi (the feminineyazata or worship-worthy spirit ofrecompense) in each month, Zoroastrianswould visit the fire temple to recite the ArdYasht or hymn in her honour. Given thefinancial and social success achieved byZoroastrians in Sri Lanka, their minority statusnotwithstanding, this yazata and her yashtremain popular, but veneration now takesplace at home.

The Parsi Sports Club began as the ParsiYouth’s Sports Club in 1927, then changedits name to its present form a year later. Since1947, it has occupied the Parasmani Hall at11 Palm Gove, Kollupitiya. The site wasdonated to the community by the scholar ofZoroastrianism, Framroz Rustomjee, inmemory of a deceased young son.Ruttonshah Rustomjee Bhoory, who hadcome toColomboat the ageof 14 fromBill imoriain India,f u n d e dconstructionof a single-s t o r e y

clubhouse on that site in memory of hisparents. The sports club, with facilities forbadminton, tennis, and table tennis plus abanquet room, has its own trust deed andfinancial trust termed the Parsi Social Centre.It is administered by an elected board oftrustees which can appoint members toplanning committees. Unlike the fire temple,from which its governance and finances areseparate, the Parsi Sports Club witnessedactive involvement of women in itsadministration. For example, Piroja Billimoria,an avid tennis, table tennis, and cricket player,and daughter-in-law of Bhoory, was electedthe first female president of the Parsi SportsClub. Lectures on subjects of interest to thecommunity, gatherings to play board games,sports events, and musical performances arestill held at the Parsi Sports Club.

The total population of Zoroastrian men,women, and children within Sri Lankanumbered approximately 61 in the year 2006.Of these, 56 individuals were on theAnjuman’s membership roster; about five hadnot listed themselves with the Anjuman. Veryoccasionally the Anjuman receives news ofother Zoroastrians who live in Sinhalese andTamil villages. The Anjuman’s members areall Parsis, with no Iranians and no converts.The number of non-Zoroastrian spouses(husbands and wives) was approximately tenin 2006. Children of Zoroastrian women andnon-Zoroastrian husbands numbered aroundfive, but as noted previously those childrenare not recognized by the Anjuman’s trustdeed as Zoroastrians. The last nationalcensus, conducted in July 2001, placed thetotal population at 18.73 million, soZoroastrians comprise 0.0003256 per cent ofthe population of modern Sri Lanka! A majorityof Sri Lankan Parsis trace ancestry to familieswho arrived in Ceylon during the nineteenth

and earlytwen t ie thcen tu r iesas subjectsof theBritish Raj.M o s tZoroastriansin Sri Lankah a v e

Parsi Sports Club


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residences and family members in the westcoast metropolis of Colombo, even thoughsome of them work and reside in other partsof the country, such as the city of Kandy.

Marriage between Parsi Zoroastrian men andSinhalese Buddhist, Burgher Christian, andTamil Hindu women began during the 1950sand has become increasingly frequent.Approximately 50 per cent of children fromsuch unions are raised as Zoroastrians andinitiated into the faith. A few Parsis do frequentChristian churches, Hindu kovils, andBuddhist temples – in addition to the firetemple – claiming they are venerating thesame god. On the other hand, conversion toBuddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islamhas never been a major force due to thesectarian nature of Sri Lankan society.

The Anjuman maintains and staffs the firetemple, funerary grounds, and sports clubfrom funds collected through annualmembership dues and donations. The elderlyare generally cared for within the family unit,even in cases where they physically reside inretirement homes or hospice settings.Therefore, the Anjuman does not maintain itsown dharamsala or hospice. However, a fewrooms adjacent to the priest’s living quartersat Navroz-Baug are made available to visitingZoroastrians, if requested, for short stays.

Most Zoroastrians of Sri Lanka graduate fromhigh school, and many pursue university-leveleducation. Professionally they have ranged,during the past few decades, from architectslike Pheroze N. Choksy, attorneys likeVishtasp K Choksy, and financial directorssuch as Piloo M Lakdawalla of the CentralBank of Ceylon (later his service continuedwith the Central Bank of Sri Lanka), to navalofficers, civil aviation officers, and armyphysicians like the brothers Homi N Jilla,Kairshasp N Jilla, and Minocher N Jillarespectively. Major financial involvement in theeconomy of Sri Lanka has been accomplishedby another long-settled mercantile family, thePestonjees, in electronics and transportationfrom the 1970s onward through a nationwidecompany, Abans, which is named after itsfounder Aban Pestonjee. The Captain family,whose commercial beginnings lay in the textile

industry, diversified first into paint and furnituremanufacture and subsequently into corporateinvestments under Soli E Captain. Politicalinvolvement in the Republic of Sri Lankaoccurred when Kairshasp N Choksy, who isan attorney and President’s Counsel, becamea Member of Parliament, Minister ofConstitutional Affairs, and subsequentlyMinister of Finance.

Social work by Parsi women such as Perin ECaptain, through organizations such as theCancer Society and the Child ProtectionSociety, has helped the nation considerably.Journalism with major daily newspapers inColombo has been an occupation for insightfulcolumnists such as Roshan Peiris. Educationis a third field where Parsi women havecontributed as teachers. Parsi men like BurjorBillimoria and Jamshed Nilgeria served asPresidents of the Sri Lanka Rotary Club.Cricket, golf, and table tennis have served assporting outlets for Zoroastrian boys and menfrom the Billimoria, Captain, Jilla, Lakdawalla,and Pestonjee families to contribute to SriLankan society.

Generally, the ethno-religious con˚ictsbetween Sinhalese, Tamils, and Moors of theBuddhist, Hindu, and Muslim faiths have notaffected the Zoroastrian community directly.That particular situation is as true now as itwas during the ethnic riots of 1915. Indirectconsequences to economic and social activityare, on the other hand, a fact of life. On amore positive note, as Sri Lankan corporationsestablished global alliances, a fewZoroastrians from other countries have begunto work in the island nation – augmenting thelocal Parsis who welcome their coreligioniststo communal gatherings.

Three phases of settlement by Iranian andIndian Zoroastrians occurred in Ceylon. Thefirst phase lasted from Antiquity into the MiddleAges as evidenced by the presence ofmaritime traders, mercenaries, and priests.The second phase lasted from 1600 into thelate 1700s as attested by coastal andprovincial gravestones of Iranian and Parsisailors, planters, and petty traders. The thirdphase from the late 1700s to the presentwitnessed Parsi merchants and professionals

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immigrating from British India to establish amulti-generational community. On the otherhand, the major reasons for migration awayfrom the Zoroastrian community in modern SriLanka have been the rise of Sinhalesenationalism and the economic opportunitiesof the West.

Trade in durable goods, visits to relatives inother Parsi diasporas, marriage betweenindividuals in the internationally scatteredcommunities, recruitment of priests to staff thefire temple in Colombo and perform rituals,occasional pilgrimages to holy sites in Indiaand Iran, and, most of all, cooperative goodwillbetween members of the diasporas, haveensured that ties endure across generations.The constant contact has ensured that theZoroastrian diasporas have been highlypermeable ones. Permeability and travelcontinues between the Zoroastrians of SriLanka and their families, friends, and businessassociates on a global scale.

Within Sri Lanka, Zoroastrians have beencounselors who served ancient kings andministers who guide modern governments,soldiers who served the country andphysicians who cure the masses, traders whoexported resources and industrialists whoshape the economy. Their endeavors havebeen shaped by personal, communal, andaltruistic goals – seeking betterment forthemselves and for the country in which theylive. In the words of a member of a familywhose ancestors immigrated from India: ‘Weare here on a beautiful island, and so weprosper when possible while having a goodlife and sharing Ahura Mazda’s generosity.’So cultural identity and confessionalallegiance have persisted albeit withmodification to changing times and situations.

The Honorable Jamsheed K Choksy is Professor of CentralEurasian Studies, of History, of India Studies, and ReligiousStudies at Indiana University.He was nominated by the President of the USA andconfirmed by the US Senate as a member of the US NationalCouncil on the Humanities (2008 – 2014), overseeing theNational Endowment for the Humanities. His BA degreewas in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures fromColumbia University (1985). His PhD was in the Historyand Religions of the Near East and Inner Asia from HarvardUniversity (1991). Choksy is the author of three books:Evil, Good, and Gender: Facets of the Feminine inZoroastrian Religious History (New York: Peter LangPublishers, 2002); Conflict and Cooperation: Zoroastrian

Subalterns and Muslim Elites in MedievalIranian Society (New York: ColumbiaUni-versity Press, 1997) with a NewPersian (Farsi) translation as Setiz vaSazesh: Zartoshtiyan-e maqlub vamosalmanan-e qaleb dar jame-ye Iran-enakhostin-i sadeha-ye Islami (Tehran:Qoqnus Publications, 2002); and Purityand Pollution in Zoroastrianism: Triumphover Evil (Austin: University of TexasPress, 1989). He is a consulting editor ofthe Encyclopedia Iranica (New York:Columbia University).

Khan Memorial Clock Tower

Perhaps the most valuable result of all educationis the ability to make yourself do the thing youhave to do, when it ought to be done, whetheryou like it or not; it is the first lesson that oughtto be learned; and however early a man's trainingbegins, it is probably the last lesson that he learnsthoroughly. - Thomas H. Huxley

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

When a colleague ran the LondonMarathon a few years back she told meabout this “brilliant” website where hersponsors for the charity she was supportingcould arrange to give their donations easily,safely and painlessly via the internet. I wasproud to tell her that I have known theperson who had this brilliant idea sincewe were both students.

On 22nd April 2009 at the Royal Societyof Arts in London, Zarine Kharasreceived the highly prestigious AlbertMedal from the Society, for her“contribution to social innovation” as thefounder and CEO of Justgiving. TheSociety sees itself as “a cradle ofenlightenment thinking and a force forsocial progress”. It has awarded medalsthroughout its history to outstandingachievers who have been innovators in theliberal arts and sciences and contributed toprogressive social change.

Zarine Kharas is an admirable recipient ofthis award.

The Albert Medal is theSociety’s oldest award,established in 1864 as amemorial to Prince Albert, forhis untiring work in promoting

the Arts and Commerce. Asthe 2009 recipient, Zarine is in

excellent company; other beneficiariesinclude:

Professor Stephen Hawking; Louis Pasteur;Tim Berners-Lee; Michael Faraday; KaranBilimoria; Marie Curie; Lord Olivier; SirShridath Ramphal and HRH Prince Charles.

Her plan for a business that would harnessthe internet to make charitable givingeffective and low-cost has made Justgivinga world leader. Zarine has helped changethe face of charitable giving in the UK andnow also, as Firstgiving, in the US. Her

Zarine Kharas - recipient of Albert Medal, 2009

thoughts regarding business profits and theutter uselessness of corporateorganisational structure may well have evengreater impact on the world.

Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the RSAhas said: “Increating JustgivingZarine Kharaschanged the rules ofthe charity game,bringing webtechnologies withinthe reach of everycharity in the UK,and making it easierfor all of us tosupport great causes.Hers is an inspiringexample of the long-

lasting social value that a company candeliver under the right leadership.”

Zarine, daughter of Cursetjee & ParinKharas of Karachi, arrived in the UK in1969, heady days for a girl just out ofKarachi Grammar School. After achievingher BA in Law at Girton College,Cambridge, she established herself inLondon working for Linklaters as a solicitorand later moved into investment banking forCSFB in the mid-80s. She structured andexecuted the first transactions in the Euro-equity capital markets and advised on someof the earliest privatisations. In the mid 90sZarine led the launch of MC Securities’operations in Warsaw, responsible forstrategy and operations, including publicmarket and private equity.

The late 90s saw her reassessing hercareer. Zarine’s interest in the arts, film andtheatre has always been broad but I doubtshe ever saw herself involved in this world.Momentory thoughts of an idyllic life olivefarming in Italy were quickly replaced withsomething more commercial and her mail

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order company was Zarine’s introduction tothe world of retail sales and marketing. Forselling thousands of “snore-repressing”widgets – surely a boon to mankind - sheshould have been considered for a medalaward. Did they work? Zarine saidenigmatically that few were returned forrefund.

Justgiving was created in 1999 and openedon the Web in 2000. To date used by nearly7million people to process £370 million UKcharity donations, 100% of donors’contributions go to the charity withJustgiving claiming approximately 5% afterthe Government’s Gift Aid contribution.

On that April evening at the Royal Society,Zarine gave an empassioned lecture1,eloquently and provocatively addressing thenecessity for us all – not just the not-so-great and the good – to think in a differentway about how we do business, whether asa shareholder, manager, supplier orcustomer :

“The New Business of Business”

“... what is needed above all is an understandingof how a variety of organisations ... can togethercontribute to producing a more decent economicworld.” - Amartya Sen

Zarine believes that companies should existprimarily to create social value and that “aradically new mindset is needed to develop ageneral concensus that success should not bemeasured only in profits and growth”; that“profit should be a bi-product of somethingmuch greater: creating a great product,developing employees, serving customers in abrilliant way” and supplying long-term valuefor shareholders.

Declaring herself to be “a fundamentalist – afundamental atheist” and, using someperhaps unfashionable words: courage,duty, responsibility and personalaccountabilty, Zarine highlights the need forbusinesses to throw away the rule book asshe argues “it is only in the absence of rulesthat a business can get the best out of people

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and become truly excellent”. In a time offailing financial institutions anddisappointing politicians, business andsociety need people who will find a betterway of doing things.

This is merely a brief overview of Zarine’sspeech to which I urge you to listen at thelink to the RSA below.

It is sad that both Zarine’s parents passedaway well before the announcement of thisaward. How justifiably proud - and perhapsnot a little surprised - they would have beento learn of their daughter’s recognition forher achievements. However, Zarine’sfamily, friends and colleagues agree thatthis is a most well-deserved honour. Theyare thrilled for her personal success andthat of Justgiving.

Zarine’s innate modesty will probably leadher to slip this quite large golden medal intoa drawer somewhere and not to discuss itfurther - unless it were to benefit the goalsof her organisation or her greater vision ofsocial value in business. When others ofher generation are contemplating windingdown Zarine has sought to break throughbarriers and to think about business in adifferent way. Long may she seek toinnovate and inspire those around her toreplicate her sincere and courageouslyspirited lead.

Note:1. To see and hear the speech go towww.thersa.org/events/vision and to know moreabout Justgiving - www.justgiving.com

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Jenni Mehta was born and lives inLondon with her husband Soli and hastwo adult daughters. Trained intextiles and stained glass design, Jennienjoys the varied London arts, music,film and theatre. She is fond of visitingwoody British landscapes in autumnalweather and major artistic Europeancities - always realising her schoolgirlFrench is almost totally inadequate.


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The day I met Bahram Bekhradnia, he hadjust been offered the prestigious position ofSpecial Advisor to the Parliamentary SelectCommittee dealing with higher education. “It’sstill unofficial,” he beamed conspiratorially. Hiswould be the guiding hand behind thepowerful, bipartisan committee of MPs thatscrutinises all aspects of the government’srole in higher education and can call anygovernment department or person to account.

It is not surprising thatBahram has been chosen tosupport the SelectCommittee in itsdeliberations. He is Directorof an independent think-tank, the Higher EducationPolicy Institute (HEPI), andhas behind him a long andeventful career in theeducation department of thecivil service and in agovernment ‘quango’ that

funds the higher education sector. He isVisiting Professor at the Institute of Educationand the University of Bath and has beenawarded an honorary doctorate by theUniversity of North London.

During his 30 years in education, Bahram hasbeen associated with some ground breakinginitiatives. From his civil service days, he’sparticularly proud of the ‘fast track’ programmefor teachers that brought in a new breed ofeducators into schools: people who hadalready proved themselves in otherprofessions and were willing to bring thisexperience and expertise to bear in theservice of children’s education. He offeredthem sufficient financial inducements to makethe switch from their respective professionsand gave them a ‘fast track’ into gainingqualified teacher status and the possibility ofrapid promotion.

A more controversial initiative was theLicensed Teacher scheme. Mature students,

b y s o o n u e n g i n e e r

Bahram Bekhradnia – a career in Higher Education

who had not completed their higher education,could gain a teaching qualification by learningfrom mentors in schools and on-the-jobtraining. It has now been discontinued. “TheTrade Unions hated it. They claimed it deskilledteaching,” he says, with a wry smile.Though Bahram fits the popular image of theOxbridge-educated mandarin, he is critical ofthe culture of the civil service which, hebelieves, is responsible for “a great waste of allthat talent and ability.” He goes on to explain:“Top civil servants are very clever people. They areloyal, diligent and very conservative. Their instinctis to say ‘no’ and to make the fewest changespossible. You don’t get promotion for makingchanges; there is no reward for risk-taking andinnovation but you are punished for makingmistakes.’ He left, because ‘my inclinations arebetter served outside it.”

After leaving the civil service, he joined theUniversity Funding Council and later, in 1992,became Director of Policy at the HigherEducation Funding Council for England(HEFCE). There his name becamesynonymous with the RAE – the ResearchAssessment Exercise – which was a methodused, until this year, to allocate researchfunding for universities. The polytechnics hadrecently been granted university status by theThatcher government, and the eliteuniversities feared that their research fundingwould be swallowed up by the new institutionsif everyone got an equal share. “A rudimentarysystem for assessing scholarship existed but ithadn’t been developed or used to inform funding,”says Bahram. He refined the RAE, developeda set of criteria which made the allocation ofresearch funding subject to a competitiveprocess and built in quality assurance throughan exhaustive system of peer reviews andexpert panels.

But it didn’t please everyone. In a causticcorrespondence on the subject, ProfessorWiseman of Exeter accused Bahram of being‘dismissive’ of the possibility that scholars inthe Humanities regularly made significant

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advances in their field - and these, said theprofessor, took time and could not be capturedby annual assessment exercises.Researchers were in danger of being treated‘like battery hens’ he warned and the ‘entireculture of scholarship in arts subjects wasbeing debased.’ It was ironic that Bahram, whohad studied Classics at Oxford, should be soaccused.

Nor were all the scientists content: there was‘acrimony, name-calling and threats of legalaction’ according to the science journal,‘Nature’. In July 2002 Bahram faced the ire ofHeads of Environmental Science, who werefurious at being assessed as the weakestresearch discipline in 2001. They threatenedto have the assessment process put to judicialreview in order to halt the closure of a numberof their departments. Bahram’s response was,some would say, a clever combination ofbureaucratic fait accompli and tacticalcompromise: first he announced that theycould not test their argument in court becauseall the evidence had been shredded to complywith the Data Protection Act! But, he didundertake to carry out a case by case reviewof their objections. He also promised to drawup an investment plan for the subject anddeftly channelled their energies fromcontesting the RAE to campaigning, instead,for more research funds.

When talking to Bahram, it is hard to imaginethat this mild-mannered, gently-spoken manhad drawn so much academic blood. But hepoints to the results: the system is creditedwith raising the standard of British academicresearch, especially in science subjects andis much admired abroad.

Another cause that Bahram took up – andstill pursues – was to improve the quality ofteaching and learning in higher education.“Universities can’t ignore teaching: they do notdevote enough time to it. I realised that teachinghad to be recognised and encouraged and I wasready to use the funding levers to do that.”Previously, government funding of collegesdepended on the numbers of students onroll. To improve the standard of teaching,Bahram introduced incentives such asTeaching Fellowships, which were awarded

to outstanding teachers, and opened up 20centres to support teaching in different subjectareas.

Perhaps the cause dearest to his heart is thatof ‘widening participation’ – policy jargon andgovernment mantra for bringing in childrenfrom lower socio-economic backgrounds intohigher education. “We had about £8 billion toallocate each year and we devised a formula thatgave a premium for recruiting students fromunderprivileged backgrounds: you got 10% extraif you could do that.” Bahram had himselfbenefited, as he sees it, from the manyopportunities offered to him and his family inEngland and he is passionate about openingthe doors to children whose families are poor,marginalised or outside the educationalmainstream.

His own parents, he says, came from relativelyhumble backgrounds in Yazd, Iran. Hismother, Laal Shahrvini, trained as a midwifein Tehran. His father, Shahriar, was a plucky14 year old when he set off for India to seekhis fortune. He returned after a couple ofyears, taught at a village school for a while,“mugging up on lessons the night before to be onestep ahead of the pupils.” The couple had a

“classic and successfularranged marriage.”

Shahriar then enrolled ata military academy totrain as an officer. In1947 he was blinded ina war with the SovietUnion, in Azerbaijan,and decorated as a warhero. He was flown toMoorfields Eye Hospitalin London. Laal, whowas pregnant withBahram at that t ime,joined him later.

The couple knew no onehere and spoke noEnglish. They wereassisted by a charity, StDunstan’s, whichsupported people whohad lost their eyesight

Young Shahriar Bekhradnia in full Kurdishdress


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while in the armed services. The familydecided to settle here and Shahriar retrainedas a telephone operator. [article in HamazorIssue1/2006, pp 7-12].

Bahram came with his mother to London atthe age of 2 years. His father was determinedto ‘bring him up as English’ and Lord IanFraser, Chair of St Dunstan’s and his wife,Irene, assisted this project by suggesting thatthe bright and promising lad should apply foradmission to the public school system.Bahram duly won a scholarship to a prepschool in Buckinghamshire at the age of 9years and after that to the prestigiousWell ington College, a public school inBerkshire, followed by admission to UniversityCollege, Oxford. Having spent most of hisformative l i fe in boarding schools, notsurprisingly, “school was the dominant culture.”

He could have said that it was the dominantcounter-culture. His parents spoke to him athome in Farsi but the future scholar of Latinand Greek didn’t manage to become fluent inhis mother tongue. Their home was a magnetto visitors from Iran. Bahram reels off thenames of distinguished Zarthushties whovisited his parents whenever they were inLondon: Farhang Mehr and his wife,Parichehr, the Zartoshty brothers, RustomGuiv and many more. He associates them with“pistachio, nuts and caviar” – exotic items forany English lad – “but the downside of here(English influence) is not wanting to know theIranians.” His parents took him to the originalZoroastrian House in Olympia where he metParsis and found their “Hindu-type practicesrather odd.”

He did learn enough of the Avestan prayers,though, to have his navjote in Tehran when hewas 11 years old. “Our father taught us the prayerswhile walking in the park,” he recalls. “Althoughvery pious and praying four times a day, our parentsnever pushed us to get involved with Zoroastrians.They did give us a very strong moral foundation:telling the truth, being charitable, good thoughts,words and deeds. Without thinking about it, weimbibed it. I think my children have done the same.”

But he didn’t keep the Faith going with thenext generation. “I didn’t do anything consistently

at all,” he says in his characteristic, frankmanner. Not even their navjotes. Bahram methis wife, Jean, when he was in the civil service.She is a special needs teacher. Their children,Josephine, Elizabeth and Daniel, havePersian names too - tucked away, discretely,a second choice should they want it.

I wondered if he was a member of the WZO.“Yes, because my father made us Life Members.”Did he read the Hamazor? “We do look at itoccasionally and have a bit of a giggle,” he says.What about? “Well, it can be funny, really; someof the things in it are quite amusing.” This hasthe faint echoes of the burra sahib amongstthe natives. Sensing this, he adds, “I actuallyfind it quite interesting in parts, and charming.”When I asked to interview him for Hamazor,he was most obliging and co-operative.

In fact he’s recognised by journalists as being‘media friendly.’ He’s happy to talk to them,unlike many civil servants and bureaucrats.But then, Bahram is full of surprises. Afterthree decades in government jobs, he hasbecome a social entrepreneur, launching theindependent think thank, HEPI, because he“saw a gap: we were doing the thinking for today’spolicies but there was no one doing a critique ofwhat was happening or looking speculatively at thefuture. I saw a big need for this.” The pastChairman of the Education Select Committee,Barry Sheerman, has welcomed HEPIenthusiastically as, ‘one of the best things tohappen in Higher Education in the last 10years.’

Initially, HEPI got most of its income fromgovernment-funded agencies. Now it raisesnearly £300,000 per annum independently,from running conferences, providingconsultancy to universities worldwide andforming partnerships with businesses. In thelast few years, Bahram has reviewed fundingand governance in Lithuania, Bulgaria,Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Palestine.And sometimes, they do listen to his advice:“In Lithuania, they dropped the proposal for aneducation voucher scheme. In Jordan, I helped therelevant Ministry develop the arguments it neededfor negotiating with the government for morefunding and greater autonomy. In general,universities that are autonomous and free tend to

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be better than those that are constrained. If theyare made to operate just like any other governmentdepartment, they will never be world-class anddynamic.”

Bahram is full of praise for what he found inPalestine. “Of all the Arab countries, Palestine hasthe most admirable university system. Most of it isrun by NGOs and not the government. 25% of thepopulation there goes to university. But they sufferintolerable conditions. Students can’t get into thecampus till after 11:00am because of thecheckpoints. You can’t have normal exchangesbetween universities and academics there – forgetabout the rest of the world. The only purpose ofthese checkpoints is to humiliate and show who’sboss. Even if they had the money, they wouldn’t beable to access the equipment. Going there was avery moving experience. I was so impressed by howresilient they are and how they survive despite theextreme circumstances they are living in.”

Would he support an academic boycott? “Theevil that’s being done in Palestine,” he says withfeeling, “is so great that though I’m againstacademic boycotts in principle, if it galvanisesinternational opinion against it – though I doubt itwould – if there is a reasonable prospect for any orsome of these things being exposed, then weshould look at it as a serious possibility.”

What else can be done? “We can provideexpertise and persuade gifted academics to workthere. They need partnerships with Brit ishuniversities so that they can come here and doresearch. There is also the massive Palestiniandiaspora that is not benefiting.”

Later he sent me a note: “I have been thinking ofmy attitude to boycotts. The reason I am against themin general is because, often, they hurt those they aretrying to support; and as a principle I think dialogueis better than confrontation. But if they are likely tohave a real impact I would support them. I supportedthe South African boycott, and for similar reasons Iwould support a boycott of Israel if it lookedplausible. But I am against token gestures.” So hisconsidered response was in essence the sameas what he had said with emotion.

Has HEPI been invited to provide consultancyfor Israel? “They haven’t asked and I wouldn’t acceptit.”.

And what of Iran? “The British Council had askedme to speak at a conference on higher education inNovember last year. But in September, the BritishCouncil in Tehran closed down!”

I asked Bahram how he could helpZoroastrians here or in Iran. He said he wouldthink about it.

In response to the editor’s request for hispicture, he sent, instead, photographs of hisfather in full Kurdish dress! One got the feelingthat for Bahram, this article – about hisachievements - was a tribute to his father. “Hejust assumed that his children would always getthe best results and achieve.” And his father wasnot wrong. Both his children, Bahram and hissister, Shahin, went to Oxford and went on tohold positions of responsibility in society.

Bahram Bekhradnia is fiercely proud of hisparents, appreciative of the sacrifices theymade, respectful of their Iranian roots andmindful of his Zoroastrian heritage. A journalistonce described Bahram as a ‘very British, CivilServant.’ As I left him to catch his train backto Oxford, he seemed to me a very civil, BritishZoroastrian.

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An article appearing in the St Petersburg

Times Newspaper on Sunday 29 March ‘09

The Business Section asked readers for ideas on “HowWould You Fix the Economy?”

Dear Mr President,Patriotic retirement:

There are about 40 million people over 50 in the workforce; pay them $1 million a piece severance withstipulations:

1] They leave their jobs. Forty million job openings -Unemployment fixed.

2] They buy new American cars. Forty million cars ordered- Auto industry fixed.

3] They either buy a house or pay off their mortgage -Housing Crisis fixed.

All this and it’s still cheaper than the “bailout”.

Soonu Engineer is a freelance management andtraining consultant in UK,specialising in diversitymanagement and conflictresolution. She is a memberof the WZO committee.


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From his small apartment in a seniorsbuilding in Mississauga, Ontario, a retiredCanadian law professor reminisces abouthow a chance meeting with MohandasGandhi all those years ago changed thecourse of his life.

At the time, Fali Balsara was a young policeofficer recruited by the British under theDefence of India Act. There were many perksthat came with a government job like that. Butone of the discouraging elements was the factthat if recruited under this act, leaving theservice of the Raj could entail imprisonment. Auniformed position in India in those dayscame with considerable clout, butunconditional loyalty was expected in return.This was August 1942, when the young anddapper sub-inspector was sent off on hisfirst assignment.

Arrest Gandhi

At that point, Gandhi and members of hisIndian National Congress had just launchedthe Quit India movement in Bombay (nowMumbai) to try to move the British colonialpowers out of India.

Already a beloved political and spiritualleader, Gandhi’s non-violent approach ofpassive resistance had taken the country bystorm. But this was still in the midst of theSecond World War and the authorities werenot about to have any challenge to their order.As a result, Bombay’s deputy commissionerof police, H E Butler, dispatched Balsaraand his team to arrest Gandhi.

“I was dumbstruck,” Balsara, now 90, recalls.“We used to call him Bapu, meaning father.However, it was part of my job so I complied.”

Balsara and his team were to escort Gandhiin a special train to Poona, a quiet city 192kilometres south of Mumbai, where he wasto be held at the Aga Khan palace. That

b y t e e n a z j a v a t

How a chance encounter with the Mahatma changed one Canadian’s life

First published on January 29, 2009 on CBC.ca : reproduced with permission

train journey changed the course ofBalsara’s life.

‘Humble to a fault’

“Bapu spoke to us,” reminisces Balsara,“His calm demeanour amid so much uproarover his arrest completely took us by surprise.He was humble to a fault and respected allwho served him.”

Balsara recalls that, by the time thetrain reached Poona, he and his policeguards were thoroughly mesmerizedby Gandhi’s personality and his unshakablebelief in India’s right to its own destiny.

In those few hours it dawned on him thatthe path of non-violent resistance thatGandhi had chosen to guide India tofreedom was so completely at odds withwhat he was doing as a police officer.

“We were so influenced by Gandhi’s charisma and hiscaptivating toothless smile that on reaching Poona wedecided to quit our jobs, even though we knew quitewell that we would be imprisoned,” saidBalsara.That is exactly what happened: all sixpolice officers became prisoners of the Raj.

Mahatma Gandhi

Just over five years after this incident, onJanuary 30, 1948, Gandhi was killed, felledby an assassin’s bullet in New Delhi whileon his way to prayers. He was 78 years oldand had lived just long enough to seeIndia’s independence from Britain the yearbefore. Since, 1934, there had been sixattempts on his life. A lawyer, politician and,many say, saint, he is now officiallyremembered as the Father of the Nation.

Change of direction

They went on to spend 14 days in closeproximity to Gandhi as the Britishconsidered them mutineers.

Fali Balsara, then 82, at theZoroastrian cultural centrein Toronto in July 2001.

(Courtesy Fali Balsara)

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“The days I spent in jail with Gandhi, I remembervividly to this day,” Balsara says. “He convincedme to become a teacher, as according to him it wasthe noblest of all professions.”

Back in Mumbai, Balsara’s mother wasworried that her son, then just 23, was nowa prisoner of the Raj and in so much troublewith his employers.

However, her brother, who worked for thegovernor of Burma, was able to pull somestrings and appealed to the governor ofBombay, Lawrence Roger Lumley, topardon Balsara for his youthfulenthusiasms.

On being pardoned, Balsara wasdischarged from service and went back toschool where he would earn a doctorate insocial science and then emigrate to Canadain 1964, first to teach at the University ofBritish Columbia and then in Toronto.

Balsara taught at several universities andcolleges in Canada before retiring as aprofessor of law and economics from YorkUniversity.

The lessons he learned from Gandhi,Balsara says, have stayed with him hisentire life. “He taught me that one’s worth as anindividual lies only in your action.”

q

Teenaz Javat is a Freelance writer and part-timeteacher at Sheridan College’s Internationally TrainedWriters programme. She writes for severalpublications in Canada, India and Pakistan namelythe Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, CanadianNewcomer Magazine, Hamilton Spectator, Dawnnewspaper and FEZANA Journal, while alsoworking on a part time/casual basis at the CBC.She is also the Associate Editor of her communitynewsletter the Zoroastrians Society of Ontario.Having come to Canada with an MA in Economics,she received the President’s medal on graduating fromthe Canadian Journalism for internationally trained

Writers program at Sheridan College in June 2008. Shelives in Mississauga with her husband and two youngchildren.

I left my birth country India, twenty yearsago, but there is something that still stays inyour system, the desire to see places inIndia that you missed out when you werethere. Travel to India can make us humblein our knowledge and about our place in theworld when you view this from anenlightened perspective of an immigrant.

My travel to Mhow via Indore in Nov 2008began with my search for a comfortableresting place in Indore. Thanks to ourphilanthropic ancestors, there aredharamshalas in almost all the cities inIndia. The vice president of the Indore ParsiZoroastrian Anjuman, Dara Unwala ensuredthat my mindset was oriented towardsstaying at their wonderful dharamshala.

Indore dharamshala is not flash or fancy,but it was just spot on for my needs. Cleanand wellmaintained, thedharamshala iscapablymanaged byThrity AdilDossabhoy. Ayoung energeticand hardworking motherof triplets andan 8-month oldboy, Thrity’s lifeis full, withhome duties,administrative work, cooking forpassengers, and setting up the hall forweddings and other functions. Always readyto oblige, Thrity has never experienced adissatisfied passenger departing from theirdharamshala in the last ten years. The roomcharge is a nominalRs50 per day and the meal costs Rs250 forbreakfast, lunch and dinner.

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

Indore Parsi ZoroastrianAnjuman - Making A DifferenceAnd Creating Harmony

Thrity with her family


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Once a thriving and vibrant community(population of 500, some 100 years ago),the Parsis in Indore (Madhya Pradesh) livedin the Parsi mohalla. The settlement of theParsis started in 1873. In 1879 abusinessman Hormusji Maneckji Bhamgarabuilt the Atash Dadgah (agiary), a prayerhall in the mohalla, which was subsequentlyrepaired three times in 1920, 1972 and in1989 through various donations. Threegenerations of the Rao priestly familydedicated their lives to the spiritual needs ofthe Zoroastrian community of Indore.

In 1894 Bai Dinbai Petit built the SethJamshedji Nusservanji Petit school. In 1964the Indore community benefited from themunificence of Dr Motibai F Thanewalla whencharity blocks were constructed for the use ofneedy families. Further donations by familiesof Godrej, Dundas, Kerawalla and Marfatiasaw addition of more charity blocks. In 1920 aParsi entrepreneur by the name of GodrejEdulbehram started the automobiledealership business, which has sinceflourished and the name Noshirwan & Co hasbecome a local byword. The Dharamshalawas built in 1880 by Mr Hormusji Bhamgara inmemory of his mother Bai Cooverbai. As thebuilding had become decrepit and old, it wasdemolished and a new dharamshala wasconstructed and opened in 1999.

Today the Parsi mohalla is devoid of anyParsis except the family of Colonel Allavali.At present there are about 130 individualsresiding in Indore and the demographicssuggests that sixty percent are mixedmarriages. In light of the demographics andthe need of the hour, the Anjumancommittee has been very pragmatic indealing with socio-religious and socio-cultural issues to bring about greaterharmony and camaraderie within thedwindling community. The Indore Anjumanis not a rich association and while thehousing needs of the economicallydisadvantaged families are being met, theAnjuman constantly has to find new waysthrough fundraising and appeals for medicalneeds of the community.

Some of the changes that has allowed thecommunity and its non-Zoroastrian

spouses, with a wider circle of non-Zoroastrian friends and families to coexist ina happy and peaceful way in Indore are:-

∑ After the Paydast-Geh Sarna ceremony, thebody is brought out from the bungli and kept on astone slab for wider viewing by non-Zoroastrians.Whether the face should be covered or not, is apersonal matter, to be decided by the family of thedeceased. At this stage no one - Zoroastrian ornon-Zoroastrian - is allowed to touch the body dueto the danger of contagion. In earlier times afterAlexander, and later during the Arab conquest, thedisrespect and desecration during Zoroastrianritual was a common occurrence. Consequentlynon-Zoroastrians were barred from witnessing anyZoroastrian rituals. This prohibition wasextrapolated to the last rites ceremony resulting inprevention of non-Zoroastrian friends paying theirlast respect to the deceased face to face. There isno doctrinal justification why non-Zoroastriansshould not be allowed to pay their respect beforecovering the face.

∑ An hour and half after the Uthamna ceremony,another Uthamnu ceremony is held for non-Zoroastrians outside the hall. This time gap isintended, so that the non-Zoroastrians do nothave to wait while the Zoroastrian uthamnuprayers are being held. A photo frame andflowers are kept for viewing and they have anopportunity to meet the family of the deceased.

∑ Anjuman has no objection to a Parsi womanwho has married out, to come in the agiary,provided (1) she has not renounced theZoroastrian religion, (2) she is professing thefaith (3) she is practicing the Zoroastrian religion.This position is also respected by the Panthakpriest of the day.

∑ Non-Zoroastrian spouses also partake ineating at the various Ghambhars. Only a smallportion of the food made by the priest issanctified. This way everyone in the communityis able to enjoy. Families volunteer to make dal,rice and kebabs. This kind of thought and actionspreads the goodness in the whole community.

∑ Anjuman has no objection if the Anjumanpriest conducts a private jashan at the homes ofindividuals where non-Zoroastrian spouses arealso present.

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∑ Numerous Parsi/Zoroastrian fetes are heldwhere Parsi food is sold. Non Zoroastrians alsotake part in the festivity. Due to wider acceptanceof the non-Zoroastrian spouses in Indore, there is90% attendance at functions such as Navroze,Pateti and Ghambars.∑ Indore has a Dokhma and a burial groundadjacent to each other. The Anjuman regulation isclear on the burial issue. Any Zoroastrian wishingto be buried are able to have all the religiousceremonies performed at the agiary. Priestsselected by the Anjuman have to abide by thisregulation.

∑ On the cremation issue, the Anjuman is flexible.If the priest appointed by the Anjuman has noobjection and as long as the priest does not feelthreatened by political pressure, the deathceremonies may be conducted at the agiary.

∑ Due to shortage of firewood, sandalwood, andKathi funds, the priest has been instructed tokeep the kathi in the Agiary burning at slowcombustion. This indeed is a divine thought andaction on part of the Anjuman to maintainequilibrium of the natural resources like woodwhich are fast depleting in India.

In a small community which relies on thegoodwill of each other, behdins like JasmineBharucha, Jal Kapadia, Percy Kapadia,Shazad Irani, Shazad Anklesaria, FaridBoga, Naval Pavri and Dara Unwala backup as pall bearers, and look after the needsof Dokhmenashini and the Doongerwadiformalities. The upkeep of the Doongerwadiis supervised by Col (retd) Adi Patel. Theyare very helpful and nothing is too small ortoo big for them to give the dead a dignifiedand a clean farewell. Loss of habitat andlack of bodies has seen a rapid decline ofvultures. While carrying the body into theDokhma is a divine act which would pleasethe Almighty, it is not for the weak heartedand indeed the behdins who perform thisact of charity and service would like to seechanges in the custom of disposal of thedead.

A priest in the community must have certainbasic human qualities. He must be friendlyand approachable, caring, understanding,considerate, forgiving and well mannered.

Indore Anjumanis indeedblessed to havea young MobedKersaspDhunjishaKaranjia as thepanthak of theagiary. Intoday’s worldwhen mostpeople are in

various stages of economic migration tocities, Kersasp instead chose to return toIndore from Mumbai to honour and respecthis father’s wishes; to carry on the work hisfather gave up due to ill health and old age.While never complaining too much aboutthe monetary conditions and the sociallifestyle that he left behind in Mumbai,Indore to him is a community full ofunderstanding and kindhearted people. Hisgreatest joy would be to see more peoplecome to the agiary on special days whenjashans are held. Kersasp is an example ofa priest, understanding the changing needsof the community and adapting to the‘Winds of Change’.

So here lies a community in the middle ofIndia where the pragmatism of the Anjuman,the ingenuity and entrepreneurship of thebusiness fraternity, the adaptation of theirpriest and the kindness and generosity oftheir people which truly lives in the spirit ofhuman brotherhood, can best be describedas a role model community. The prosperityof the community is not in just havingmoney, but having a prosperous soul filledwith love. It is heartwarming to see thesigns of change. Eckhart Tolle in his book ANew Earth talks about this shift inconsciousness – “a growing number of followersof traditional religions are able to let go of dogma,and rigid belief systems and discover the originaldepth that is hidden within their own spiritualtradition at the same time as they discover the depthwithin themselves.”

Indore is the commercial capital of MadhyaPradesh. It has also produced some greatsportsmen. Late Jal Godrej representedIndia in table tennis in 1940’s, legendary

Mobed Kersasp with his brother

Jehangir Mehta, with hiswife Phyrooza lives inPerth, Western Australia.


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batsman late Capt Syed Mushtaq Ali wasthe first Indian to score a century away fromhome, a feat he achieved in England in1936 with the opening batsman VijayMerchant at old Trafford. His house liesadjacent to the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumanin what was once the famous Parsi mohalla.

The Anjuman is looking for kind donors fortheir Kathi fund and repairs to the Agiary.Bank drafts/cheques can be drawn in favourof Indore Parsi Zoroastrian Anjuman andsent to: 80, Usha Gunj, Parsi Dharamshalla,Chawni, behind Sanyogitanganj policestation, Indore 452001. The president, BomiHeerjee can be contacted [email protected].

My journey from Indore to Mhow (30 kms)saw me travelling south along the Mumbai-Agra highway. Mhow which once boasted acohesive population of rich and famouseminent Zoroastrians and philanthropists,including some famous war time heroes andarmy personnel, have many tales to tell oflife in 1800s, the current diaspora of theageing population and the stiff challengesfaced by the Mhow Anjuman.

Reference:The Parsis in Indore - A History by Jal Munshi

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by hufrish taraporewala

An Appeal

Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy Agiary is a 166-year-old Institutionlocated in the heart of Pune Camp area. The large Baugsurrounding the agiary is regularly utilized by Zoroastrians forhosting functions. Our agiary with its surrounding areas andbuildings are in urgent need of extensive repairs and renovation.Repair work on the main agiary building has already begun.

The trustees appeal to all fellow Zoroastrians in India andoverseas, to please help us in this worthy cause by donatinggenerously. Your contributions should be made in favour of SirJamsetjee Jejeebhoy First Baronet’s Poona Fire Temple Fundand sent to:

The Chief Executive, Sir J J Charity Fund, Kalpataru Heritage,127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001, India.

[Contributions from overseas may be sent in the same manneras necessary permission has been obtained by the Trust]

Mickey Mehta is no fluffy brand name. Heis consistently consistent at making winnerswho have excelled on an international level.He has shaped the destinies of numerousMiss Worlds, Miss Universes, Grasim MrIndias, a Ford International super-model,Channel (V) pop-stars, Indian Idols andnumerous Miss Indias amongst other famouspeople.

Many have cooked the perfect recipe forsuccess but a precious few have managed toachieve great personal milestones in their owncareers. The ingredients for his recipe aresimple and his methodology is perfect. WhenI first read his catchy slogan, “makes winnerswith a difference”, I always wondered whatthat meant till I met the man himself.

I met Mickey Mehta by default! Many moonsago I was active with the World ZoroastrianOrganisation back home in India. The thenPresident of the Youth Wing thrust theresponsibility of arranging a fitness seminaron me. A particularly famous fitness expertcould not make it. Destiny decided otherwise.The editor of a health magazine parted withMickey Mehta’s mobile number. Just onephone call and he was at my office door thenext morning. Thus started a wonderfulworking relationship that I will always treasure.

His hard-core professionalism was a lastingimpression. As they rightly say “firstimpressions are lasting impressions”. Thefitness session went swimmingly. His firstclaim to fame was his unique ability to teachswimming in less than 24 hours. This hasearned him a mention in the Limca Book ofRecords. His tip on learning swimming issimple as usual. “Befriend water, make loveto water”. He regaled the audience with histips on health and fitness. What was clearlyevident to one and all was his sincerity. Themedia report was well received by the Parsicommunity. This report was incidentally my

Making winners with adifference

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first tryst with writing. An astrologer’sprediction that Mickey will make a fortune inthe water came true.

At a recent examination at the University ofWestminster in London I bagged one of theworld’s highest scores. When I wascomplimented by one of the examiners, I hada very strong urge to mention the strong andpositive influence of Mickey Mehta in mycareer. Mickey Mehta is a small man whowalks tall. There is something about him thatsets him apart from other famous people whorun success institutes and hold seminarsworldwide. I have had the opportunity toattend quite a few but none have impressedme like the successful work and talent ofMickey Mehta. His holistic health centres havemushroomed all over the city of Mumbai andhe has very realistic plans of expandingoverseas. Nothing succeeds like success.Success has opened many doors for him.

This remarkably fit, talented and disciplinedman has the knack of helping people excel.His students are all winners in their own right.He makes them better than the very best.Besides fitness he brings much more to theplate. Washing karmic debts, prayers,meditation, finding the ‘still centres’ are someof the interesting things that he covers in histraining sessions. The sessions are bothrigorous and gruelling. Theself-discipline of this karateblack-belt has to be seento be believed. He is ontime every single time. Youcan set your clock by hispunctuality. We practisedwhat he preached becausehe has learnt to obeybefore he commands. Werespect his occasionaltemper because we knowthat he means well. He iscruel only to be kind. Hisself-discipline andgoodness rubs ontowhoever comes his way.He is no perfectionist.Never bothers to dot every‘i’ or cross every ‘t’. Heencourages people to

make big moves in their lives and career. Histip is to take calculated risks and move on tosomething bigger and better. As they say, “Onewho is over cautious, accomplishes little”.

For around three years I served as MickeyMehta’s Public Relations Consultant. He is sorespected by the fourth estate that it mademy task very simple. His articles wereaccepted with effortless ease. Mickey hasbeen the columnist to many prestigiouspublications. His article in Mid Day whereinhe filed a fitness report on top cops of Mumbaiis particularly interesting. Being an ex-PoliceCommissioner’s niece myself, I simply adorethat article.

I have won two awards in web designing andhave been interviewed by CNN for my work.When he requested me to make his officialvortal, I promptly agreed. Making his site;www.mickeymehtahbf.com was a labour ofmy love for his talents. Talents that know noboundaries. Talents that have transformedand metamorphosed rather ordinary lookingMiss India contestants into svelte andravishing beauties who have gone on to maketheir mark on an international level year afteryear. His ambitious project of making one ofthe world’s first web gymnasium is worth amention.

The URL:www.mickeymehtawithouthismoustachelooksmousy.comwould have soundedrather cute. Just joking!Like the famousWimbledon championwho says similar thingsto his kids, MickeyMehta once challengeda Miss India contestantthat he would shave halfhis moustache if shewon the crown. She didwin the crown but he didnot shave half hismoustache!

Mickey Mehta’s secretfor success is simple. Heonce taught me that the


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best things in life are simple. His weight trainingmethods are simple and yet so effective. Hisin-depth knowledge of nutrition and holistichealth is exceptionally thorough and well-updated. The brass tacks are remarkablystrong like the man himself. If you want tosucceed, listen to him. If you want to retire early,work for him. If you want to look attractive,follow his diets. And then be prepared to stoptraffic and make heads turn.

Taking into consideration his celebrity status,Mickey Mehta remains a humble man.“Pridecomes before a haughty spirit and arrogance before afall”. This has been mentioned in the HolyBible. I have always pondered over these linesand watched quite a few famous and arrogantpeople fall. Lord Ganesha has one missingtusk. ‘One’ is the symbol of maya, illusion,from which everything has emerged. Themissing tusk symbolises the necessarybreaking of the ego before spiritual progressis possible.“Pride will take you places”, he once told me whenhe was teaching me fitness walking atPriyadarshini Park. Today I am very proud ofmy humble guru.

Despite a packed schedule Mickey finds timefor wit and humour. He is a good mimic whohas his friends and staff members in splitsever so often with his wise cracks and mimicry.Even his naughty jokes are a source ofinspiration. He once remarked jokingly that itwould take me 20 years to become famous. Itook his remark in good spirits in which it wasintended. I called him the very next day tomake him eat crow. He is good at work andequally good at play. He will take the bull bythe horns at work but will also be the life of aparty. This has kept him balanced.

When Mickey Mehta spots talented people,he fires them up. He actually allows you torun neck to neck with him. We have mutualadmiration for each other when we areregularly interviewed or endorse the blackbrands. This quality of his makes him a rareentity. Ever so often he has improved the healthof business tycoons, media moghuls, beautypageant contestants, Bollywood stars andairline crew. His clientele reads like a who’swho list. Mickey Mehta is a luxury only

billionaires can afford. Unlike most obnoxiousbraggarts, Mickey never resorts to namedropping. He teaches us to rise above thelesser mortals who are ruthlessly jealous of oursuccess. We soar with the eagles and not withthe sparrows. We certainly do not associateourselves with crabs.

Mickey Mehta transforms people holistically.He focuses on the mind-body-and-soulconnection. His is not a fragmented approach.His approach to health is holistic and itintegrates saatvic diet, yoga, meditation andPilates. In addition to a perfect 10-body hehelps improve the stamina and mentalstrength. In short, he helps models, airlinecrew, beauty pageant contestants and othermortals blossom holistically. His methods ofheightening perception are exemplary. Mickeyserved as the brand ambassador andspokesman for Evian International MineralWater for the South Asian Region along withendorsing the product. He is the officialambassador of the world’s number one sportsdrink. He is a vegan who whole-heartedlysupports PeTA (People for Ethical Treatmentof Animals).

Let me narrate a personal experience. Justbefore I married Aspi and moved to London Iwas facing a rather alarming problem ofburning out. I had raced so much in my careerthat I had not stopped to gasp for breath. Somany achievements on a regular basis hadleft me drained and unable to tap my potential.From writers’ block to diffidence, I wasexperiencing it all. It was a crucial time in mypersonal life and my career. My otherwisestrong confidence was sagging. I approachedMickey at the office and poured my heart tohim. As usual, his cure was simple. He askedme to sit quietly in any peaceful place ofworship. That did it and I bounced back withmore fervour. Discovered talents whoseexistence I was not even aware of. I surprisedmyself with my renewed and rejuvenated self.I myself do not know what I was capable ofachieving. Till today I cling to his every word.He has made me a very contented andconfident achiever.

“Be in utmost passivity. Let quietude be your state.Let your mind dissolve into awareness progress into

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consciousness. Let consciousness take you beyondnothingness, hollowness, emptiness and wholeness andmay you be in blissful harmony.” This was oncethe voice mail of Mickey Mehta, one of India’sfinest and highest paid holistic health guruswhose “blood is deep into spirituality, deep into faith,deep into prayers”. His hands that give are holierthan his lips that pray. The good that this do-gooder keeps doing keeps coming back to himin multitudes.

Let me take this opportunity to discuss theenormous powers of prayer in medicine. AnAmerican physician has researched thepowers of prayer to heal patients. He haswritten many interesting books on this topic.An exceptionally interesting one cautions youto be careful what you pray for, for it may justcome true! Patients in hospitals in USA thathave a chapel have a higher recovery ratethan hospitals that do not have a chapel intheir midst. Bernard Russell once mentioned,“God heals, the doctor only collects his fees”. MickeyMehta’s spiritual powers are so powerful thathis sincere prayers go from his lips to God’sears.

Mickey Mehta has been interviewed on BBCextensively on his unique philosophy of HealthBeyond Fitness which has an allencompassing approach to health. HealthBeyond Fitness is a mission that aims atholistic health by building your spirit and notjust your body. Its prime objective is to liberatethe human society from suffering of diseases,ailments, surgeries and sail through life withjoy, peace and fulfilment. It has inter-weavedthe essence of the Vedas, Yoga, Zen, Tao,Tantra, to transform and enhance lives andlifestyles for the better. He has spoken onholistic health and spirituality at the IndianBusiness Report on CNN. He has been anexpert panellist of shows on CNBC andanswers queries on Microsoft MSNmessenger. They say that unless you seekpublicity, you may never get it. Mickey Mehtahas proved the PR gurus wrong. Publicity andsuccess follow him wherever he goes. Hecommands respect and even his rivalsgrudgingly admire him. We have great respectfor the man who has made us. I would notmind getting under his car and fixing his tyres.Something I will never do for my own car.

Incidentally Mickey is a school drop out. Whenyou hear Mickey speak he does not soundlike a man who had dropped out of school.He sounds like he is straight out of a topbusiness school. He is a good orator whospeaks from a position of strength. When Iwas 26 years old I had made a company alongwith graduates from a top business school inIndia. Mickey was gracious enough to supportus and lent his name to add credibility to ourweb-site. Needless to say that we merged thecompany with India’s second best health site.Even his name spells success. Nothingsucceeds like success. You do not need adegree from a top business school to besuper-successful. Life has a lot to teach youand the lessons are free. Coyotes learn fromtheir own mistakes and grow. They learn tosurvive against all odds and thrive.

Till today he remains a very caring son to hisold parents. The hand that once rocked hiscradle still rules his world. He let his old motherrecuperate in a nursing home for quite a whilewhilst he got a new house done up for her.He is a rough-weather friend who will standby you in hard times, an excellent teacher whosets good examples and above all anexceptionally good human being. The manabove has made him with care and at absoluteleisure. God has blessed him with so manygood qualities that I have lost count. Hisrandom acts of kindness are a daily affair. Heis truly a rare delight.

As I write this article I am listening to the famoussong “The winner takes it all and the loser isstanding small”. The same song that is playedat many a beauty pageant that I have attended.I conclude this article with heartfelt gratitudeto the adorable winner responsible for so manysuper-achievers. He has made such goodfriends on his way up that we ensure heremains on top and enjoys the magnificent viewforever. This is the rise and rise of MickeyMehta who started small. May there be a lifecoach like Mickey Mehta in everyone’s life anda son like Mickey Mehta in everyone’s home.He is a wonderful piece of work.

“Sir, Thank You for making me,/ I will fly with theeagles./ But may you soar so high,/ That you reachout and touch the SKY!” q

Dr Hufrish Taraporewalais a dentist by professionand a prolific health writerby choice. She has alsobeen a successfuldotcommer. She is theauthor of a book Doctorare you Internet Savvy?,the contributing editor ofIndian edition of theAmerican journalOphthalmology Times.Hufrish has two nationalmedical records to hercredit; widely interviewedby the media for hercontributions in the Timesof India, Business India,NRI & EmploymentTimes, Mid Day,rediff.com, CNNIndiadotcom to name just afew. Her official web-sitewww.drhufrish.co.ukshowcases her work andcontributions. Hufrish isbased in London with herhusband Aspi, where sheis currently studying forher Overseas RegistrationExaminations.


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In today’s world, “religious education” hastaken on a negative connotation, evokingvisions of suicide bombers andbrainwashed youth, particularly when youhear in the media that although Talibanfighters are Afghani, almost all of them,including their commander Mullah Omar,studied in madressahs (religious schools) inPakistan.

Yet, Pakistan is also home of innovativeprogrammes in religious education in theZoroastrian community. Shams-ul-Ulema,Dastur Maneckji Dhalla described religiouseducation in Karachi in his autobiography in1946,“The Parsi populace of Karachi dates back toabout a hundred and twenty-five years. The firstinstitution established in 1859 was called, as in thetownship of Gujarat and the schools of Bombay, TheKarachi Parsi Balakshala for teaching Gujarati andZend Avesta. Of course the knowledge of ZendAvesta in such schools was limited to making childrenlearn by rote the prayers necessary for the Navjoteceremony and whatever moral instruction the mobedwas capable of imparting ... Arrangements toeducate the children of the community in Karachicommenced from the time the Parsis settled here. Astime passed the schools progressed and within threedecades fine and spacious separate High Schoolssituated in large compounds started functioning forboys and girls. From the beginning the pupils of theseschools were being taught prayers that were necessaryfor the performance of their Navjote. Formerly, whenthe boys and girls schools had not yet been separatedand classes were conducted only up to the Gujarati6th grade, an Athornan teacher took the children tothe Agyari on every Hamkara day and made themrecite the Atash Nyaish and other prayers ... In1926 the benevolent heirs of the Eduljee Dinshawfamily donated a sum of Rs100/- every month to theTrustees of the Anjoman here on condition that I givecertain periodical religious instruction in both theschools. Not on the wide scale as is done in theschools of Bombay of teachers being appointed byvarious organizations to impart religious instructiondaily, but I was to teach combined higher classes inboth schools only twice a week and for half an hourat each turn.”1

by farishta murzban dinshaw

Keeping the Flame Alive

Karachi was fortunate that there were manyindividuals who followed in Dastur Dhalla’sfootsteps to impart in-depth knowledgeabout Zarathushtra’s teachings, such as DrManeck Pithawala, Tehmurasap Sethna,Ervard Godrej Sidhwa, Dr Ali Jafarey, allscholars and authors in their own right.However, Karachi was particularly fortunateto have two innovative programmes thatwere initiated in Karachi, but outreached theZarathushtrian diaspora worldwide thanksto the dynamism,creative talentand dedication ofthe twoindividuals whoalmost single-handedly kept theflame alive -Virasp PirozshahMehta of InformalReligiousMeetings (IRM)Trust Fund, andArnavaz MurzbanDinshaw of TheFriday School forLittleZarathushtis.

Virasp Mehta wasone of a group ofindividuals whogot togetherregularly to discuss Zarathushtrian teachingamongst themselves. In 1975, theseinformal meetings were formalized asInformal Religious Meetings Trust Fund(IRM) and he became one of the ManagingTrustees of its Trust Fund from its inceptiontill his death. He was the guiding light of theorganization, tirelessly and selflesslyorganizing lectures, quizzes, competitions,so that the community could learn about ourreligion and history. He was self-taught,reading extensively and going to lectures byKarachi’s own scholars like TehmuraspSethna and Ali Jafarey as well as visiting

Virasp Pirozshah Mehta

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scholars like John Hinnells and MeherMaster-Moos. One of his lasting legacies toour community and for anyone interested inlearning about our religion is the collection ofmonthly newsletters (named Ushao in 2000to mark IRM’s 25thanniversary) that heproduced almost single-handedly as a labour oflove. He took thenewsletter from a singlecyclostyled sheet firstchurned out on acreaking machine in abackroom of BhedwarLibrary in 1979 to a 16-page e-newsletter thatwas distributed in hardcopy and online tothousands of readersworldwide.

Virasp uncle was alsoprolific playwright. Healso wrote many playsproduced under theaegis of IRM. The firstone was The DreamComes True in 1977,but of more than 30plays that he wrote themost popular wasNavjote nu Band whichwent on for manyencore performancesdue to public demand.They were allentertaining plays withsocial or moralmessages andepitomized his teaching philosophy that youdo not have to hammer your point of viewwhen you can gently educate the audience.

One of the many things I valued about myrelationship with Virasp uncle over the spanof thirty years was his unending patienceand courtesy. Even when I was a fifteen-year old sulking through class because ofhaving to miss a picnic to help out at FridaySchool, his gentleness and generositywould nudge me into wanting to do the rightthing. One of the things I learned from him

was the “leap and the net will appear” kindof faith. He was always ready to publicizean event or publish a book even when allthe ducks weren’t lined up in a row, andtime and again, things would work out in the

end. But perhaps themost important gift that Ireceived from him was adeep appreciation forZarathushtra’s message.He unveiled for me theprofound beauty and thetimeless, universalappeal of the Gathas.From Virasp uncle Ilearned that being aZarathushti is not acultural or a religiousidentity, but a quest todiscover what is bestaround us and within us,to strive to serve andrefresh the world, topractice humata, hukhta,hvarshta as a way of life.I learned a lot about“walking the talk abouthumata, hukhta,hvarashta” from mymother as well. In 1970,a personal tragedychanged the course ofher life. My nine-monthold brother Dariussuffered irreversible braindamage when food gotstuck in his trachea,cutting off oxygen to thebrain and leaving himwith minimal responses

to his environment. My mother begansearching for answers in philosophy andspirituality, never losing faith in God orbecoming bitter. She used to say, “When youfall into boiling water you can become softand sweet like a potato or hardboiled like anegg. I pray ‘God, please make me a potato’.”She read books on Zoroastrianism, attendedlectures and corresponded with scholars.

One day, I came home from school andasked a lot of questions about our religionbecause our Urdu teacher had told our class

After an absence of nearly eight months,USHAO (The Dawn) is back. ViraspMehta’s demise in June 2008 wasfollowed by the disbanding of theInformal Religious Meetings (IRM) TrustFund in Karachi. The funds were handedover by the Trustees to Karachi ZarthostiBanu Mandal. This issue of the Hamazorhas been sponsored through thesefunds, courtesy of KZBM. IRM’s monthlynewsletter, USHAO, also ceased beingpublished at that time.

As a tribute to Virasp Mehta’s forty yearsof dedication to keep the flame ofknowledge and Zoroastrian faith alive,Farishta Murzban Dinshaw andJamsheed Virasp Mehta have decided toproduce quarterly issues of an electronicversion of Ushao. It is fitting that the firstedition of e-Ushao was circulated atJamshedi NoRooz (March 21), a time fornew beginnings. Please send an emailto [email protected] if you would liketo be added to the mailing list.


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that only Muslims canenter heaven.Recognizing thatZoroastrian children innon-Parsi Pakistanischools were inundatedwith Islamic or Catholicimages and information,she spearheaded amovement to startreligious classes forthem. She volunteeredher Montessori schoolpremises for weekendclasses for childrenwhere they could learn

about our religion through activities, songsand stories and she ran the Friday School forLittle Zarathushtis for over twenty-five years.My sister Diana and I were “voluntold” intohelping out every Friday [and later onSundays]. As I was in my mid-teens at thattime, this was not my preferred mode ofspending a weekend morning, but I learneda lot about our religion and history from thatexperience. She developed a series of fourActivity Books and a series of history booksto teach children religion through puzzles,stories and games. The Activity Books areused by Sunday School teachers andparents around the world. Over the years,Friday School students put up manysuccessful concerts and plays. Virasp unclecomposed the songbooks for FridaySchool’s lavish musical performances opento all community members: Song of Sanjan,which told the story of the Parsis’ arrival inIndia, and Shahnameh Cavalcade, whichdepicted stories of kings and warriors fromthe Shahnameh.

One of the traditions my mother started atFriday School was Jamshedi Navrozecelebrations, which, unlike Christmas orValentine’s Day, were unfamiliar to manyParsis. She read up on the history andtraditions of Navroze so we began to set thesofreh haft-seen – or tablecloth with sevengifts of Nature with names beginning withthe Farsi letter “seen”. Eggs are an integralsymbol of rebirth and rejuvenation, and aretherefore a big part of Navroze celebrations.I remember that every year on the night

Arnavaz, my mother

q

before Friday School’s Navroze party, wewould sit around our dining table withsheets of newspapers covering thetablecloth and bowls of food dyes in front ofus as Mummy, Diana and I painted enoughboiled eggs to offer every child.

From my mother I learned an appreciationof the deep meaning of our prayers. If I hadto single out one lesson, it would be thewords from the Jasa mein Avanghe Mazdaprayer, “Astuye humatem mano. I chooseto think good thoughts . Astuye hukhtemvacho. I choose to speak good words.Astuye hvarshtem shyaothnem , I choose todo good deeds”. My mother emphasizedthat free choice and individual responsibilitywere the cornerstones of Zarathushtra’steaching. I remember Alexander Pope’swords that my mother wrote in myautograph book when I was eight-years-oldand which have shaped my values andwork ethic, “Honour and shame from nocondition rise; act well your part, there allthe honour lies”. Both Virasp uncle and mymother were exemplary teachers who gave“religious education” a positive connotation.

Reference1 “As A Teacher Of Religious Instruction In Schools” (ChapterXLIII). Dastur Dhalla, The Saga of a Soul: an autobiographyof Shams-ul-ulama Dastur Dr. Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla,High Priest of the Parsis of Pakistan / translated into Englishby Gool & Behram Sohrab H. J. Rustomji. Karachi: Dastur

Dr. Dhalla Memorial Institute, 1975.

Farishta Dinshaw has teaching in her genes.Currently she works as a CommunityDevelopment Worker, Family ViolenceInitiative, supporting 11 ethno-culturalagencies in Toronto to raise awarenessabout violence against women, children &elders.She has presented papers on various topics

relevant to the Zoroastrian religion and community at threeinternational congresses. Farishta is also the author of theinsightful story of a fictional boy befriended by Zarathushtracalled “Discovering Ashavan”.

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by sammy bhiwandiwalla

In chic Hampstead, tucked behind theboutiques and trendy eating placesthronged by the 20 plus brigade, nestles theRosslyn Hill Chapel first erected in 1692, anoasis of peace and tranquillity, welcomingpeople of all religious faiths as well as thosewho are humanistic.

This small Gothic structure was the venue foran evening of classical music in aid of thecharity Global Tiger Patrol. Amada Bright, asolicitor by profession and Chairman of GTPgave a brief introduction on the charity’sactivities in minimising the threat that is posedto the fast diminishing numbers, currently aslow as 1,411 of this magnificent species.Poaching, habitat encroachment, depressedreproduction and demand for tiger skins andbody parts primarily in China were to blame.

GTP’s strategy involves Protection, Habitatconservation & reclamation, People-centredconservation: without the support and co-operation of local people the tiger has no

chance of survival.Research and datacollection: To save thetiger, it is crucial to knownumbers, where they liveand how much theymove in search of newterritory and differentmates (to maintain ahealthy population).Projects in India are runin Assam, Bihar,Chhattisgarh, Karnataka,Madhya and UttarPradesh etc.

The evening’sprogramme [20th March]commenced with theBrunelleschi StringQuartet playingSchubert’s –Quartettstatz No 12 in Cminor. This was followed

Meher Toorkey plays music to save tigers

with Hayden’s – Symphony No 26 in d minorunder the baton of Conductor PatrickNoronha and The Patrick Noronha Camerata,a small ensemble of talented youngmusicians who executed their performancewithprofessionalism.

Gabriela DiLaccio averytalentedyoungSopranofrom BrazilwithOperaticandBaroquerepertoire,performedMozart’s -Ah se in ciel,benignestele, K538whichconcludedwithenthusiasticapplausefrom theaudience.

After a brief interval the second halfcommenced with Mozart’s – Ch’io mi scordidi te, K505 sung once again by Gabriela DiLaccio and accompanied by renownedpianist Meher Toorkey and the orchestra.

Meher needs no introduction as a pianist.Meher has performed in India, America andat UK’s leading concert venues like WigmoreHall, Purcell Room and the Fairfield Hallswhere she played Beethoven’s TripleConcerto. Her performances have alsobeen televised on Central Television,Channel 4 and ITV and she has givenmasters-classes in the US to aspiring youngmusicians. [see Hamazor Issue 4/2004]


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Perhaps not so well known is her otherpassion, animal welfare. Meher has givenseveral concerts in aid of animal welfareorganisations including recording a CD ofRussian piano music for 21st Century Tiger.http://www.21stcenturytiger.org/ Today’sconcert was the second occasion in aid ofGlobal Tiger Patrol.www.globaltigerpatrol.org

The evening concluded with the muchawaited performance by Meher of Mozart’s– Piano Concerto in E Flat Major, K271. Arapt audience, captivated by her sveltefingers on the keyboard listened spellboundto a brilliantly executed and masterfulperformance.

Sammy Bhiwandiwalla since arriving in the UK was inemployment and in 1970, formed his own company togetherwith his wife Ursula, trading in chemical products for thefoundry and model making industry. After 35 years theyhope to call it a day soon, with four grand children to occupythem in the future.Ursula and Sammy always took an active interest incommunity matters in the UK andwere greatly influenced by the actionsand sincere beliefs of individuals thatin a changing world it was necessaryto create a more ba lanced andequitable community within the UK.He was requested to join the WZOBoard and in 1988 was elected asCommunity Relations Officer. Laterhe was elected as the Hon Treasurer,followed as the Jt Hon Secretary andsince 2004 the Chairman.

“Oxfam Trailwalker is an annualfundraising event organised and promotedby Oxfam New Zealand. The trailwalkerchallenges teams to walk or run 100kmsthrough Taupo in central New Zealand in 36hours. That’s not all, teams must also raisefunds – a minimum of $2,000 to helpsupport Oxfam’s work to overcome povertyand injustice in the worlds poorestcommunities.

“This year, Trailwalker had a team of youngZoroastrian students from Auckland walkingthe 100kms. SoupA Stars, a team of friendsconsisting of Perzen Darukhanawalla (21),Kashmira Medhora (21), Nazneen Sukhia(19) and Xerxes Sukhia (16) joined theevent in the hope that all the training wouldmake them ‘fit’. They also wanted to givesomething back to the community. “We tookpart in this because our funds were not merelygoing to be given to the poor. Instead, Oxfamhelps develop sustainable business within avillage and actually lifts them out of poverty”says Perzen.

“The event is all about teamwork and theright mental attitude. Members have to traintogether, fundraise together as well as startand finish the race together. It thereforerequires great mental strength as membersmust not only push their bodies beyond itslimit but also encourage the team to do thesame and not fall apart under pressure.The walk was very tough on all four of themembers who were suffering from lack ofsleep, sore knees and ankles, blistered feetand fatigue. But, they finished it in 33 hoursand 47 minutes. It was a commendableeffort on all the team members andespecially Xerxes who is only 16 and wasthe youngest participant on Trailwalker. Thesupport crew consisting of the participantsparents’, Shahrukh, Farzana and Nikideserve a special thank you for all theirefforts as the team could not have finishedthe walk without them. “They met us at everycheckpoint with food, drink, foot massages,medication, hugs and most importantly moral

Oxfam Trailwalker – TheSoupA Stars of Auckland

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support and have also helped us through thewhole fundraising process” says Kashmira.We would also like to thank everyone whohas donated to our team and supported usat every fundraising activity. The race isover but we still need your support and youcan provide this by donating on our teamwebpage.http://www.oxfam.org.nz/events/teams.asp?a=show_team_pages&eventid=23&teamid=3470

“Walking 100kms showed us that we trulyare SoupA Stars. Unleash the SoupA Starwithin you and help us create anenvironment where the under privileged canhelp themselves. Thanks!SoupA Stars”

q

L to R - Nazneen Sukhia, Kashmira Medhora, Xerxes Sukhia, Perzen Darukhanawalla

Sitting, L to R: Xerxes Sukhia, Perzen Darukhanawalla, Nazneen Sukhia, KashmiraMedhora, Pervin Medhora. Back: L to R: Niki Sreen, Shahrukh Khambatta, Firoz Sukhia,Zarin Sukhia, Kersi Medhora, Sarosh Petigara, Farzana Dumasia, Shernaz Petigara.

“Plant-A-Tree Programme: Contribute toOur Environment”

“Thirty Zoroastrian members and theirfamilies planted trees in conjunction with theNational Parks Board on Saturday, April25th, 2009. We were allocated a scenic plotof land along the Geylang Park Connecteroverlooking the Geylang River. Two types oftrees were provided for us, the prettyflowering pink Mempat (CratoxylumFormosum) tree, and the Glum tree (Puteh,Melaleuca Cajupati) with a paper-like barkwhich is indigenous to the area. Everyonewas very excited to be part of this projectespecially the children who couldn’t wait toget started on planting their trees.

“So we put on our gloves, picked up ourgardening tools, dug deep into the groundand left our marks, forever, in Singapore.”

Parsi Zoroastrian Association ofSouth East Asia (PZAS) -Singapore

q

Warren Buffett’s advice for 2009

Hard work: All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.Laziness: A sleeping lobster is carried away by the water current.Earnings: Never depend on a single source of income. (at least make your investments get you second earning)Spending: If you buy things you don’t need, you’ll soon sell things you need.Savings: Don’t save what is left after spending; spend what is left after saving.Borrowings: The borrower becomes the lender’s slave.Accounting: It’s no use carrying an umbrella, if your shoes are leaking.Auditing: Beware of little expenses; a small leak can sink a large ship.Risk taking: Never test the depth of the river with both feet. (have an alternate plan ready)Investment: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Mr Buffett feels certain those who have already beenpracticing the above principles remain financially healthy andthose who resolve to start practicing these principles willquickly regain their financial health.


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by katayoun [lizzie] bekhradnia

In January 2009, I started working for acharity called ORBIS - a global non-profitorganisation working to save sight andeliminate avoidable blindness across thedeveloping world.

I was thrilled to be offered the job. Not onlyis ORBIS a fantastic organisation, workingfor a hugely important yet understatedcause, but it is also an issue with which Ihave a strong affiliation.

In 1947 my Grandfather, ShahriarBekhradnia – an officer in the Iranian armyand a Zoroastrian - was blinded in a borderdispute between Iran and the Soviet Union.Despite the best efforts of the medical teamin the hospital in Tehran, they were unable tosave his sight. He came to London forspecialist treatment, but itwas too late to help him.Having been told he wouldnever see again, he madethe difficult decision to moveto London where the qualityof life for a disabled manwould be far greater than inIran. It would be two yearsbefore his wife and not yetborn son (my father) wereable to join him. [refer to pp 42-43 &Hamazor Issue 1/2006, pp 7-12].

My Grandfather’s story is all too familiar inthe developing world where, due to lack ofappropriate facilities and treatment,millions of people suffer from blindness.Luckily for My Grandfather, he was able tomove to London where he was taught askill, and was able to claim a decentstandard of life for his family. Unfortunately,for millions across the developing worldthis is not a possibility. What is worse isthat for most of them – unlike myGrandfather – their blindness is easilyavoidable.

Why ORBIS?It surprises many people to learn thatblindness affects over 37 million people in

ORBIS

the world, and that around 75% of thesecases could be prevented or cured with theright eye care resources and medicalinterventions. Though 90 percent of theworld’s blind people reside in developingcountries these treatments are often notavailable there.

ORBIS provides the tools, training andtechnology for local doctors and health careprofessionals to develop solutions to tackleavoidable blindness in their own countries.By building long-term capabilities in eyecare institutions, ORBIS supports itspartners in providing quality eye careservices that are affordable, accessible andultimately sustainable.

At the heart ofORBIS’s workis the FlyingEye Hospital.Established in1982 andstaffed by crewand volunteermedical faculty,this ‘hospitalwith wings’ is afully equipped

teaching facility built inside a DC-10 aircraft.ORBIS also carries out hospital-basedtraining programmes in the countries wherethe need is greatest and has established long-term country programmes in Bangladesh,China, Ethiopia, India and Vietnam.

What are the benefits?The benefits that ORBIS brings todeveloping countries are phenomenal andcan be seen for years after leaving acountry. ORBIS never simply flies in,operates, and flies out again, but ensuresthat sight-saving work will continue throughthe training of local doctors and nurses.What is more, these ORBIS trained doctorsand nurses can then train others meaningthat people will continue to benefit fromORBIS’s work for generations to come.

DC10 photo courtesy ORBIS

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Not only is ORBIS’s work sustainable, but theeffects are real and immediate. For example,cataracts are the most common cause ofblindness, and a simple sight-saving cataractoperation takes no longer than 20 minutes toperform. At only £19 per operation, few acts ofcharitable giving can have such a profoundand immediate effect on one person’s life.Just think – a single £20 donation can savethe sight of one person.

ORBIS does not work in Iran, the home ofmy Grandfather and father. But it does workin India which, sadly, shoulders the world’slargest burden of blindness. So I do have thesatisfaction of knowing that through my workI may be helping Zoroastrians among thethousands of people whose sight ORBISsaves in India each year.

My next step working for ORBIS is to raiseawareness of the work that ORBIS doesamongst different communities within the UK,particularly among those with links to thecountries which benefit from our work. Tostart, I hope to find volunteers in differentcommunities to put on various events to raisefunds and awareness. From social activitieslike cake sales and coffee mornings, to musicnights and dinners – for us raising awarenessof our work and the severity of the issue ofavoidable blindness across the developingworld is just as important as raising money.

If you are interested, or know anyone elsethat would be interested, in helping ORBISin any way, if you have any questions aboutthis article, or more generally about thework that ORBIS does across the globe – orif you would like a speaker at an event -then please do get in touch. You can writeto me on the address below, email me [email protected], or you can callme on 020 7608 7278.

Santosh Das at post-op examination And two days after surgeryPhotos courtesy Matt Shonfeld

Nand Pramod giving the thumbs up. Photo courtesy ORBISThe daughter of Bahram, and granddaughter ofShahriar and Laal Bekhradnia, YazdiZarthushtis, Katayoun (Lizzie) was born andeducated in England, graduating from theUniversity of Manchester with a Bachelors degreein Ancient History. She worked as a fundraiserfirst for Oxfam GB and then for a charity inNew York for a year. After leaving New York,

Katayoun travelled for several months in Central America beforereturning to the UK and began working for ORBIS UK in January.

q

Santosh's Aunt Sona was distressed and worried about the surgery, shespoke of Santosh’s life before he developed cataracts. “I feel very dreadfulthat Santosh cannot see, before he used to play and share things with his brotherand sister. At first the cataracts were only small and didn’t cause too manyproblems but they gradually got worse, he couldn’t even see things to pick themup of the floor.”When asked what his mother will think about his new eye Santosh replied:“She will be so happy and have a big smile.”When Dr Smith saw the grinning Santosh the following day she wasdelighted: “That was the first time I’ve seen him smile, I didn’t even realise hehad no front teeth, that’s amazing” she beamed.

From a mother of a 7 month old called Devprasannaraju,from India, who suffered from cataracts as a result of aninfection during his mothers pregnancy. “We named our sonas ‘Devprasannaraju’ which means God’s gift. God has giftedhim with multiple diseases, but given us a ray of hope as well inthe form of ORBIS-Sankara.” He was treated at Sankara EyeHospital where an ORBIS trained PaediatricOphthalmologist worked.


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NouRouz, PasargadHamazor has refrained from carrying news on how NouRouz was celebrated aroundthe world as Fezana’s Journal will be carrying this event.

Fariborz Rahnamoon sent this particular news which I feel is rather special, especiallyas it was celebrated by non-Zoroastrians at Pasargad. - Ed.

At the tomb of Cyrus, people showering flowers

Authorities made itdifficult for people to visitthe tomb. They were notallowed to park at theparking lot and publictransport was not madeavailable. But that did notstop the youth fromvisiting the tomb ofCyrus, specially at thetime of the Equinox whenthe new year begins. Forthe last few years people

walk long distances to be there at the timeof the NouRouz and shower flowerson the tomb and spread theirHaftsein table with the holy book ofAvesta and Shahnameh. Prayers andnational songs, “Ey Iran”, werechanted by all.

There were no Zoroastrians amongthe crowd.

This movement has started among thenew generation of Iranians which is notstoppable by the regime. - FR.

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Thirst – verb. To feel a need to drink. To have a strong desire for something.

Did you know?We are all water creatures, making up 60% of your body, 70% of your brain, 80% of your blood.While you can go almost a month without food, your body cant survive a week without water.The same water that existed on earth billions of years ago still exists today. It covers most of the planet, but just3% is freshwater and most of that is ice. Less than 1% of all freshwater is readily accessible for human use. To putit another way less than 0.007% of all the water on earth is available to drink.

Did you know?A quarter of all the clean water that enters your home is used to flush toilets, one toilet flush uses 3 gallons, asingle load of laundry 40 gallons, a 10-minute shower 50 gallons, brushing your teeth with the tap running 4gallons, but with the tap off 0.25 gallons.

Did you know?A water crisis is looming. Our water sources are under pressure. In the 20th century the world’s population tripledand the use of water grew 6 times. By mid-century there will be an additional 3 billion people. Most will be bornin countries already experiencing water shortages.

What will that mean for water use?The Los Angeles basin can support about 1 million people with its own water. By the year 2020, the populationis expected to reach 22 million. El Paso and San Antonio could run out of water in 10 to 20 years. Central Floridacould run out in less than 5.

Did you know?Millions of people in the world live on less than 3 gallons each day. The average American uses about 160gallons. 25 million refugees were displaced by contaminated rivers last year, that is more than were forced to fleefrom war zones.1 in 3 people lack access to adequate sanitation.1 in 5 don’t have access to safe drinking water.According to the UN, a child dies from a water-related disease every 15 seconds.

The emerging worldwide water shortage is serious. Its been said, we are going to run out of water before we runout of oil. Due to over-pumping the groundwater in several countries is almost gone. Depleted aquifers lead tocutbacks in grain harvests which lead to more food shortages and higher prices. China is already developing largegrain deficits, as India, Pakistan and Egypt. Our water problem is fast becoming a hunger problem.

So what does it all mean?It’s a thirsty world, industry is thirsty, agriculture is thirsty, we are thirsty, what will be the straw that breaks thecamel’s back?

Its time to give water a second thoughtUse less

Save moreAdvocate always

Now you know

Thirst for water


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The Joint Honorary SecretariesThe World Zoroastrian Organisation

Dear Sirs,

As I desire to become Grand Patron / Patron / Life Member / Ordinary Member / Student (delete as appropriate), I request you to submitthis application to your Committee.

I confirm that I am (Tick as appropriate):(a) person born into and confirmed into the Zoroastrian faith(b) non-Zoroastrian spouse married to a Zoroastrian(c) a child of marriage as described in (b) above

I note that the annual subscription for Ordinary Membership is payable on 1st January of each year. In case of arrears, I understand thatmy membership will be terminated after three months of sending the reminder.

Yours truly,

Block Capitals please FULL NAME

PROFESSION/OCCUPATION

IF STUDENT DATE OF BIRTH

ADDRESS IN COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE

TEL: RES

Proposed by Seconded by

Note: The Proposer and Seconder must be WZO members. For subscription fees please check overleaf.

FOR OFFICE USE ONLY

OFF

E-MAIL

Signature

Date Amount Received Date of Membership Register of Members Mailing List

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The Wor ld Zoroast rian Or ganisation135 Tennison Road, South Norwood, London SE25 5NF

Registration No 1510380 Cardiff, England A Company Limited by Guarantee

Incorporated 1980

A P P L I C A T I O N F O R M F O R M E M B E R S H I P

MOBILE

It may be more convenient for you to apply for or renew your membership of WZO throughour website, www.w-z-o.org, and paying by a Credit or Debit card.

64

HAMAZOR - ISSUE 2 2009Membership Fees

For Indian residentsGrand Patron Rs10,000 Patron Rs5,000 Permanent Assoc Member £ 150

Ordinary Assoc Member £10 pa Life Member Rs2,500 Student Gratis

Ordinary Member Rs450 for 3 years till 21 years of age

Please send application form to: The World Zoroastrian Organisation (India) to Union Press,

13 Homji St, Fort, Mumbai 400 001. Tel: (022) 2660357 or 2665526

For UK residents & other countriesGrand Patron £ 500 Patron £ 250 Permanent Assoc Member £ 150

Ordinary Assoc Member £10 pa Life Member £ 100 Ordinary Member for 3 yrs £ 30

Student Gratis till 25 years of age

Please send application form and cheque payable in Sterling to WZO, London to:

Mrs Khurshid Kapadia, 217 Pickhurst Rise, West Wickham, Kent BR4 0AQ. Tel +44 020 8777 5778

For USA residentsPermanent Assoc Member $ 225 Ordinary Assoc Member $ 25 pa

Life Member $ 150 Ordinary Member for 3 yrs $45


Please send application form and cheque payable in US Dollars as “WZO US Region” to:

Mr Keki Bhote, 493 Woodlawn Ave., Glencoe, Illinois 60022. Tel: (847) 835 1984

For Canadian residentsPermanent Assoc Member C$ 325 Ordinary Assoc Member C$ 30 pa

Life Member C$ 200 Ordinary Member for 3 yrs C$ 60


Please send application form and cheque payable in Candian Dollars as “OZCF, WZO Fees” to:

Mr Marzi Byramji, Regal Press, 3265 Wharton Way, Unit, Mississauga, Ontario L4X 2X9. Tel: (905) 238 8005

For Pakistani residentsGrand Patron Rs10,000 Patron Rs5,000 Permanent Assoc Member £ 150

Ordinary Assoc Member £10 pa Life Member Rs2,500 Student Gratis till 25

years of age

Please send application form and cheque payable in Pak Rupees as “WZO” to:

Mrs Toxy Cowasjee, 2 A Mary Road, Bath Island, Karachi 75530. Tel: (021) 5867088

For New Zealand residentsGrand Patron NZ$1,500 Patron NZ$750 Life Member NZ$300

Ordinary for 3 yrs NZ$90 Student Gratis till 25 years of age

Please send application form with your cheque payable in NZ Dollars as “WZO, New Zealand”, to:

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