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FEZANA JOURNAL Summer 2006, Tabestan 1375 YZ Mah Tir-Amardad-Sherevar 1375 YZ (Fasli) Mah Bahman-Asfandarmad 1375 YZ, Fravardin 1376 YZ (Shenshai) Mah Asfandarmad 1375 YZ, Fravardin-Ardibehesht 1376 YZ (Kadmi) ● SUMMER 2006 AncientAncie I Treasures A bronze sword with “Ohrmazd” engraved in Old Persian can be found at the National Museum of Iran. The sword dates back to circa 1000 B.C. Also Inside: FEZANA ELECTIONS AND AGM Newly-elected FEZANA officials DUTY CALLS Zarathushtis in Service RUN FOR THE DOLLAR These Zarthushtis “Walk the Talk” EXCAVATIONS The Lost Treasures PUBLICATION OF THE FEDERATION OF ZOROASTRIAN ASSOCIATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA FEZANA JOURNAL INSIDE THIS ISSUE PUBLICATION OF THE FEDERATION OF ZOROASTRIAN ASSOCIATIONS OF Vol 19 No 3 SUMMER 2006 TABESTAN 1375 YZ NORTH AMERICA http://www.fezana.org EDITORIAL Dolly Dastoor 2 EDITOR -IN-CHIEF : Dolly Dastoor FEZANA UPDATES [email protected] PRESIDENT Rustom Kevala 3 PAST PRESIDENT Firdosh Mehta 5 Technical Assistant: Coomi Gazdar SECRETARY Rita Engineer 6 CONSULTANT EDITOR : FINANCIAL CORNER Jerry Kheradi 7 Lylah M. Alphonse CRITICALLY SPEAKING 8 CALENDER OF FESTIVALS 9 [email protected] COMING EVENTS 10 GRAPHICS AND LAYOUT: FEZANA AGM-ATLANTA, 2006 11 Shahrokh Khanizadeh PROFILES OF OFFICERS 23 [email protected] NAMC ANNUAL MEETING 25 COVER DESIGN: 10TH ZARATHUSHTI GAMES 26 Hallie Schoff and Feroza Fitch, SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE 28 Lexicon Graphics NEWS FROM THE ASSOCIATIONS 31 [email protected] EVENTS AND HONOURS 41 ARYA ZARTOSHT, BEZAN IRANI, DR KETAYUN DINSHAW, COLUMNISTS: SHAHROKH MEHTA, ERICKA VOHUMAN, Between the covers: Hoshang Shroff [email protected] ROSHAN BHAPPU, NORTH AMERICAN SCENE 44 Business: Homi Davier DUTY CALLS Aban Rustomji 44 [email protected] MAKE LEVEES NOT WAR Zaneeta E. Daver 49 Children Stories: Shazneen Rabadi Gandhi [email protected] REPORTS 50 9th Annual Cultural Conference –Council of Persian Culture, LA Farsi: Fereshteh Khatibi SAZI Crisis [email protected] SSZ Conference, Chicago Interfaith: Behram Pastakia THESE ZARATHUSHTIS WALK THE TALK -Dilnavaz Shroff 59 [email protected] AROUND THE WORLD 65 Milestones: Mahrukh Motafram FEATURED ARTICLES --- Guest Editor, Dr Homi Dhalla 69 [email protected] Excavations /The Lost Treasures Special Interest: Dilnavaz Shroff Expanding role of excavations Homi Dhalla [email protected] A short note on how archeologists work Rukshana Nanji Youthfully Speaking: Nikan Khatibi Sanjan Bones Story Homi Gandhi [email protected] New Perspectives on the Zarathushti migration to India Homi Dhalla and Rukshana Nanji Ushtavaity Davar Kisseh-I Sanjan Author Soli Dastur [email protected] A brief note on the WZCF excavations at Sanjan Gupta, Dalal and Dhalla Copy editors: Farobag Cooper Impression of Zarathushti Religion on the old Silk Road Nick Rovan Jamshed Udvadia Dolly Malva Firetemple discovered at Sabzevar Arms and Armor of Achaemenians and Sassanians Manouchehr Moshtagh Khorasani SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER: Sassanid Dwellings - Abyaneh Excavations Ardeshir Damania Kershaw Khumbatta [email protected] Exhibition of Achaemenid Tablets and Seals Ardeshir Damania Reclaiming our Heritage and Legacy Dinaz Kutar Rogers ASST. SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER: Arnavaz Sethna INTERFAITH 98 [email protected] PERSONAL PROFILES 100 BUSINESS MANAGER: Rusi Gandhi Farhad Nargol-O’Neil, Farita Khambatta, Jamshed Udvadia, Shayan Italia YOUTHFULLY SPEAKING – Nikan Khatibi, Ushtavaity Davar, Farah Minwala 106 [email protected] FARSI SECTION Fereshteh Khatibi 110 Published at Regal Press, READERS FORUM 112 Mississauga, Ontario, Canada LAUGH AND BE MERRY Jamshed Udvadia 116 Photos on cover: SUNDAY STORIES Shazneen Rabadi Gandhi 118 Achaemenian Dagger circa 1000 BCE - FINANCIAL CORNER 121 courtesy of M. Moshtagh Khorasani MILESTONES and MATRIMONIALS 125 PRESIDENT FEZANA: Rustom Kevala Obituaries Prof Dr Mary Boyce; Minoo P.“Dada” Mistry; Shirin Kiash CHAIRPERSON PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE: BUSINESS SECTION 133 Khorshed Jungalwala WZCC BUSINESS DIGEST WZCC BUSINESS CONFERENCE IN ATLANTA CHAPTER NEWS FEZANA Journal Vo 19 No 2 ISBN 1068-2376 RELOCATE TO ATLANTA ( USPS 021-495) published quarterly by FEZANA 5750 Jackson St Hinsdale Il 60521-5109. Periodical postage BETWEEN THE COVERS FORGOTTEN EMPIRE 139 rate is paid at Oakbrook, IL 60523 and at additional WATER mailing offices. Annual subscription $15 (US) ; $20 SPACE BETWEEN US (Canada); $30 (surface) and $50 (air) for other countries; details on subscription Form. POSTMASTER: send SEA FOOD FIESTA changes to Fezana Journal, 8787 W. Airport Blvd. THE WRITINGS OF ROHINTON MISTRY Houston, TX 77071 FILMS AND CDS 1 FEZANA JOURNAL – Summer 2006 A Word from the Editor: Since the last issue, many events, some good and BPP? This saga, though based in Mumbai, affects some alarming, some professional, some the psyche of the world Zarathushti community personal, have taken place all around the and shatters trust and enthusiasm for public world, which have profound influence on office. our psyche and our life style. Continuing in the alarming area, there In June/July, my visit to Australia for a are natural disasters and then there are professional conference gave me a man made disasters. The train blast in wonderful opportunity to network with Mumbai, on July 11th, took 72 innocent Zarathushtis of Melbourne and Perth lives including that of a Zarathushti, the and Singapore, and I thank them all for war in the Middle East over land and their gracious hospitality and their religion, is escalating with innocent lives generosity of time and spirit. In Melbourne I being lost everyday, on August 10th there had an opportunity to talk to the hard-working were floods in Surat, which caused massive executive of the World Youth Congress 2007 and destruction, the new restrictions on air travel, due to met with Peter Schipperheyn the sculptor of “Thus renewed bomb threats at London airport, is making spake Zarathushtra” and his wife, a charming and our lives more complicated. engaging couple. In Perth I participated in their interactive session, the details of which are on the Here in North America, some members of the website of the Zoroastrian Association of Western "Church of Cognizance" of Arizona have been Australia. I visited my family in Singapore as well arrested for possession of 172 lbs of Marijuana. and it was a joy to see my grand children. It was a They are claiming they need this item, to follow the very gratifying experience to see our community ancient Zarathushti rites of hoama, as mentioned in members, both in Australia and in Singapore, active the Hoam Yasht. These news items are in the and doing all the right things to preserve the Arizona papers and on their website. This is community and the religion. disturbing news. FEZANA officials are gravely concerned and are working with the district attorney In the good category, FEZANA has a new President to resolve the situation in the best interests of our and a new board to take us all to greater heights, religion. we have Lord Karan Bilimoria, of Cobra beer fame, as the first Zarathushti Lord in the Upper House of These are troubled times, the world is facing new the British Parliament; we had the successful challenges, which need new and creative solutions. Zarathushti games in Los Angeles, the successful It is easy to finger point and blame the “other” but intercultural conference, also in Los Angeles, and what is needed is concerted action from the the conference of the Society of Scholars in community to pull together and stay together. Zoroastrianism, in Chicago. The World Chamber of There are socio-political forces at work resulting Commerce is going from strength to strength from the religious chasm which is growing deeper opening new chapters and grooming Young every day, a pull between the forces which moves Entrepreneurs, we have a new Zoroastrian News us forward and forces which pull us back. We, in Agency, to give us news from all around the North America need to reflect and work together as Zarathushti world, in one quick easy digest. we build our own infrastructures, deepen our roots and create our own future on this continent. In the alarming category, the four trustees including This is the time for all of us to practice “Frasho the Chairman, of the Bombay Parsi Punchayat kereti” with renewed zeal as there will be no resigned, on June 19th over a housing scam, and winners in this saga of confrontation and flat allotment by another trustee, a historical and polarization. dramatic first in the 300 year old history of this apex body. Then, on June 29, bowing to community pressure and earnest request from the remaining two trustees, the four trustees, withdrew their resignations. WAPIZ has moved the High Court to I 'n have the “resigned” trustees declared “non- I tV i trustees”. Are they still trustees or will the Charity Commissioner take over the administration of the 2 FEZANA JOURNAL – Summer 2006 FEZANA UPDATE MESSAGEMESSAGE FROMFROM THETHE PRESIDENTPRESIDENT........ Fellow-Zarathushtis in North America: a viable agenda for our (and our children's) future. An excellent suggestion I have received is to I am truly humbled and awed by the trust you have include Farsi language classes in our religious placed in me by electing me as the next FEZANA education curriculum. President. Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and to let him (2) Make Zarathushti Presence an Integral know that you trust him. I thank you. I will do my Part of the North American Landscape utmost to live up to your expectations. United, we must bring much stronger awareness of Zarathushtrian contributions to western ethics and I have worked with local associations, FEZANA and moral principles. Effective public relations are interfaith organizations. I was deeply involved in the needed through frequent press releases of our FEZANA Journal, funds management, religious festivals and major events. Other avenues are education, World Body, etc. Then scholarly seminars, distribution a few years ago, I made a of well-prepared texts to schools decision to gradually step back.