Parsis celebrate their New Year

UDWADA (Valsad District), Aug 22: An arc just outside the railway station which reads Jehangir Wadia Road' sets the mood of the 10-km-ri...

UDWADA (Valsad District), Aug 22: An arc just outside the railway station which reads Jehangir Wadia Road’ sets the mood of the 10-km-ride to The Udwada Ateshbehraam, the biggest and perhaps the most sacred of the Parsi Agiyaaris’ in India. Along the beautiful stretch of the road are palatial houses — bearing the stamp of typical Parsi architecture — with tall staircases, rosewood furniture, huge beds and pianos.

Fine luxuries, all, but few people to enjoy them. The population of the community is less than one lakh in the country, and dwindling by the day, threatening the very existence of a community that has contributed immensely to this country in practically every field.

While less than 250 Parsis reside in Udwada — where they probably first settled permanently after arriving in India in 630 AD — about 3,500 of them reside in Surat. Apart from some pockets in Mumbai and Pune where the Parsi presence can be felt, very few Parsis reside elsewhere in the country.

Their dwindling population could be felt on August 22, on the occasion of Navroze — the first day of the Parsi calender — when one expected thousands of Parsis to converge at the Agiyaari’ (fire temple) at Udwada. Instead, a few locals visited the Agiyaari to seek the blessings of the dasturji (the priest), offer prayers and meet each other amid merrymaking.

Similarly, not many Parsis from outside visited the Agiyaari here on Saturday, observed by the community as Pateti’, which when translated meant Returning back from the strayed path’.

Says Dasturji Kekobad Phirozeji Dastoor, “There was a time when about 10,000 Parsis came here during Pateti and Navroze. But in the past few decades, the number has been gradually going down.” The family of Dastoor have been priests at the Agiyaari and Dasturji Kekobad has been priest here for more than two decades now.

When asked why the population of the community was dwindling sharply, the old man promptly answered,“Literacy level is very high in our community. People do not have more than two children. Further, the last two generations have preferred not to even stay here. They have settled in Mumbai, Surat and elsewhere.”

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In fact, the entire community at Udwada was in a joyous mood; one reason being that many relatives had come over from elsewhere to celebrate the New year.

The Parsis first arrived in India in 630 AD at Sanjaan in Valsad district with their most prized possession, a fire called Iransha Aatash Behram Saheb’. They stayed there temporarily and moved to Diu and Daman before finally settling at Udwada after land was provided to them by the Rana of Gujarat.

Meanwhile, Navroze was celebrated enthusiastically by Parsis of the city on Sunday. Most of them were seen greeting each other “Saal Mubarak” (originally a Persian phrase) outside Agiyaaris of the city. The Parsi Panchayat here also held a special community meeting, where members exchanged greetings.