In the review of the Gujarati language play Bombay Flower, on Ruttie Petit and her marriage to Muhammad Ali Jinnah ("A colorful, wilting bloom,” Parsiana, April 21-May 6, 2023), the only question asked by the critic to the producer was regarding whether an uthamna had been performed for Ruttie after her elopement. Coming from Parsiana, this was not surprising. The producer Manoj Shah’s response to the relevance of their love story today also did not elicit any further reaction.
The same edition of the magazine contained a quotation from the Gathas which had already appeared in the issue of February 21- March 6, 2023. Are the quotations also "dwindling” like the Parsi population as mentioned in your depressing Editorial Viewpoint ("The last hurrah,” Parsiana, April 21- May 6, 2023)? If Parsiana is going to milk the franchise "Parsi,” at least bring out the best in the community — those who are identified as holding what is traditional and dear to them. Don’t be derogatory and humiliating to old customs and beliefs!
If at all Parsiana would wish to help, then, as in the poem To India My Native Land by Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, "Well let me dive into the depths of time and bring from out the ages… a few small fragments of these wrecks sublime which human eye may never behold.” That would be the guerdon of Parsiana’s labor!
The editors reply:
One of the guerdons or rewards of Parsiana’s labor is to hear from readers, their views about the community and the publication. Madon alleges we demean old customs and beliefs. We only do so when those customs are based on immoral and unZoroastrian values such as racism, misogyny and supremacy.
We have selected pertinent quotations from the Gathas which bear repetition.
"Milking” the Parsi brand is an exercise in futility. The milk dried up a long time ago and the community also is shriveling.