FEZANA TABESTAN 1377 AY 3745 ZRE VOL. 22, NO. 2 SUMMER/JUNE 2008 MahJOURJO Amordad Shehrever 1377 AY (Fasli) G Mah Behram-Asfandarmad 1377 AY Farvardin1378 (Shenshai) N G Mah Asfandarmad 1377AL AY Farvardin-Ardehbest 1378 AY (Kadmi) LIVING WITH CHALLENGES Coordinating between 2 Continents & A Special Thank You to Ushta Confectioner's Tandarosti Team Also Inside: Erv. Brgd. Panthaki Invited to Papal Mass Jamsheed Choksy at the White House Farita−Best Female Solo Artist, Australia A Rejuvenated Cama Athornan Institute PUBLICATION OF THE FEDERATION OF ZOROASTRIAN ASSOCIATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA PUBLICATION OF THE FEDERATION OF ZOROASTRIAN ASSOCIATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA Vol 22 No 2 Summer/June 2008 , Tabestan 1377 AY 3746 ZRE President Rustom Kevala, Ph.D. www.fezana.org Editor in Chief: Dolly Dastoor 2 Editorial [email protected] Technical Assistan: Coomi Gazdar Dolly Dastoor Consultant Editor: Lylah M. Alphonse, Message from the [email protected] President Graphic & Layout: Shahrokh Khanizadeh, 4 Financial Report www.khanizadeh.info Cover design: Feroza Fitch, 6 FEZANA Update [email protected] Columnists: Hoshang Shroff:: [email protected] Homi Davier:: [email protected] 13 Living with Challenges Shazneen Rabadi Gandhi : [email protected] 50 Naurooz Around the World Fereshteh Khatibi:: [email protected] Behram Panthaki::[email protected] 73 Women in Finance Behram Pastakia: [email protected] Mahrukh Motafram: [email protected] 76 In The News Nikan Khatibi: [email protected] Copy editors: R Mehta, V Canteenwalla 90 Interfaith /Interalia Subscription Managers: Kershaw Khumbatta : 101 North American Mobeds’ Council [email protected] Arnavaz Sethna: [email protected] 108 Youthfully Speaking 119 Farsi Section FALL 2008 Apru Karachi: 120 PersonalProfiles WINTER 2008 Zarathushtis and Adventure SPRING 2009 123 Sunday Story from the Shahnameh Human Rights Issues--- 125 Milestones Photo on cover: 131s Between the Covers s 133 Business Mah Amordad Shehrever 1377 AY (F) Mah Behram-Asfandarmad 1377 AY Farvardin1378 (Sh) Mah Asfandarmad 1377 AY Farvardin-Ardehbest 1378 AY (K) Cover design Opinions expressed in the FEZANA Journal do not necessarily reflect the Feroza Fitch views of FEZANA or members of this publication's editorial board. of Published at Regal Press, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada Lexicongraphics FEZANA Journal Vo 22 No 2 ISBN 1068-2376 (USPS 021-495) published quarterly by FEZANA 5750 S. Jackson St Hinsdale Il 60521-5109. Periodical postage rate is paid at Oakbrook, IL 60523 and at additional mailing offices. Annual subscription $25 (US) ; $25 (Canada); $30 (surface) and $50 (air) for other countries; details on subscription Form. POSTMASTER: send changes to Fezana Journal, 8787 W. Airport Blvd. Houston, TX 77071 1 FEZANA JOURNAL – Summer 2008 A word from the Editor Dolly Dastoor Life is a opening of an educational challenge, which institution for Parsis which is each one of us face still operational after 167 in different ways. years. There were other Some collapse challenges which some may have considered as under the weight “heresy” and some as correcting a wrong. e.g. the and some climb to consignment of bodies of intermarried women to the heights carrying dokhma. (The Roxanne Shah Case). This led to the the burden, formation of the Association of the Intermarried transforming it into Zoroastrians. An individual’s challenges can and do an opportunity. Challenges come in all shapes and shape events. sizes from a simple challenge of going through a The community at present is going through boring and lonely day, to coping with challenges posed turbulent times trying to cope with the ideological by illness, by death of a loved one, by natural challenges posed by WAPIZ against adult franchise for disasters, by collapse of financial institutions, social the election of trustees of the Bombay Parsi ostracisms and the list is endless. Punchayat, the challenge of reversing the trend of This issue of FEZANA JOURNAL offers the reader shrinking demographics, the challenge of thinking an insight into the profound beauty of human emotion, outside the box to the growing movement of accepting on society’s problems, on human progress of all sorts, the religion as propounded by Asho Zarathushtra as perspectives on turns and twists of history. In this issue an universal religion. And now the community faces you will read of the personal challenges faced by Frian challenges posed by global warming. The location of Wadia, Nauvzer Sachinvala, Yasmin Shroff, and their the Holy Fire in the Atash Behram in Udvada is in peril willingness to share their innermost emotions in with the relentless encroaching of the sea water. But dealing with them, their determination, their positive the challenge which threatens the survival of the attitude, and their desire to see the beauty in their community is preservation of the Zarathushti identity, challenges which they considered as opportunities. I being a minority community in a Muslim majority in am amazed by the driving desire of Anahita Dua, Shirin Iran, in the Hindu majority in India and the Christian Kiani, Farishta Dinshaw and Mantreh Atashband to majority in the diaspora How we meet these help and empower those devastated by rape, challenges will define us as a community for HIV/AIDS, those crushed by society and their generations to come . patriarchal families, to rise up again. I am humbled to In an age when shock value determines the see the sheer effort of Jai Vakeel in transforming the content, it is comforting to know that the FEZANA challenge she faced in educating a developmentally Journal caters to personal stories & community news deprived daughter into an educational institution to increase (and difuse knowledge) of what is renowned all over India and Asia. happening in our Zarathushti world. Each story, each But there are also challenges we faced and are picture and each word illuminates what is startlingly facing as a community, and how we dealt with them, new, everlastingly significant and undeniably did and will define us for years to come. The challenge entertaining, always with readers’ interests in mind. Maneckji Limji Hataria faced in getting the jizzya tax abolished, defined the future of the Zarathushtis in Have a wonderful summer Iran; the challenge faced by the community in 1839 when a Parsi boy was baptized a Christian at the mission school of Rev Dr John Wilson, propelled the community into action. This challenged Sir Jamsetji Jejeebhoy to put his money to better use with the CORRECTION In FEZANA JOURNAL Vol. 22, No 1 page 18, entirely due to inadvertence, we referred to Farangis Zardoshty as the "late". Although we have already apologized to the family as soon as the error was discovered we consider it appropriate to apologize publicly to the family for this unfortunate error Dolly Dastoor, Editor-in-Chief, FEZANA JOURNAL 2 FEZANA JOURNAL — Summer 2008 A Message from FEZANA President I believe that the job of the president is to actualize will become a major center for the shared vision of the community. The first part of the scholarly studies in North job is to understand and articulate this vision. But the America. Beyond the office and harder part is to instill a sense of purpose and direction the FRC, I envision so that a group of independent-minded individuals and recreational facilities, retreats, associations are inspired to work together to achieve this and regional worship centers vision. If I have succeeded in doing this to even a small on the east and west coasts extent, then I have done my job. and in the north and south. A In a nutshell, our shared vision is to achieve: business roundtable can be set up to help fund our current and future infrastructure • A united Zarathushti community, needs. • Make Zarathushti presence an integral part of the To put all of the above in perspective, we also need North American landscape, and a realistic assessment of where our worldwide • Develop viable infrastructure. community stands today. FEZANA collaborates with Community unity does not mean that we must all many organizations in India, Pakistan and Iran. On the think and act alike. To me, it means a willingness to listen home front, FEZANA keeps close contacts with NAMC to the “other side” and to genuinely work towards a and WZCC chapters. Our Associations are also doing common purpose in harmony with the precepts of Asha. their part at the local level. Notably last year, ZAGBA, and ZAGNY volunteers worked with the FEZANA Critical We have made a start by celebrating Naurooz Assistance committee to help a young burn victim from together in a meaningful way. Mehrgan, Tirgan, Pateti Mumbai to receive treatment in Boston. and Yalda are other celebrations that have profound meaning in Zarathushti history and culture. We are Last January, Yasmin and I visited Mumbai, Pune, working towards a seasonal calendar to highlight our Sanjan, Udvada and Navsari, and villages in Gujarat connectedness with natural cycles. These initiatives are where the WZO-Trust is doing wonderful work to uplift helping to bind us closer together. poor Parsi families. We attended meetings and met many dedicated people working to uplift our mobeds, Children’s religious education is the foundation on energize the youth and preserve Parsi culture. We are which rests our future. We owe a great debt to the gratified to see that entrepreneurial spirit is thriving. religious education teachers and mobeds for willingly Community properties are helping to provide a better life giving their time and knowledge to teach our children. to many Zarathushtis. But personal agendas and More and more Zarathushtis are taking up the study of personality conflicts are sidelining many critical issues religion at university levels, and behdins and athornans that need attention. In Iran also, the Zarathushti are engaging in serious study and open discussion of population is fast declining and facing many problems our scriptures on their own.