Nearly one-third of the participants selected for the Zoroastrian Return To Roots (RTR) were Iranian Zoroastrians. The object of the 10-year program is to familiarize the youth abroad with the community in India. With eight of the 28 participants being Iranian Zoroastrians, fraternization among the Iranians and Parsis over a fortnight from December 22, 2023 to January 4, 2024, helped them to better understand each other, mentioned Arzan Wadia, president of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America who also serves as program director and board member of the Zoroastrian RTR.
After a three-year pandemic induced hiatus, the costs incurred on hosting the youngsters from the US, Canada, UK, Australia, Iran, Pakistan and India had increased by 40% "wiping out all our savings,” mentioned Wadia. The program is structured such that whether in Bombay or the neighboring areas of Nargol, Sanjan, Udvada, Navsari and Surat, the youth get an opportunity to interact with local Zoroastrians at the forefront of business, science, government, philanthropy, arts and music. For the first time, the RTR youth were taken to the Godrej & Boyce premises in Vikhroli, viewed the mangroves and the archives, and interacted with Dr Pheroza Godrej over lunch. While in Udvada, they partnered with the Clean and Green Udvada Trust to help clean a section of the beach.
Clockwise from top: participants of the 7th Zoroastrian Return to Roots
program outside the Iranshah; cleaning the beach in Udvada; attending a mid-sea jashan
The birth of the RTR program in 2013 "emerged out of an increasing disconnect between Zoroastrians in the diaspora and their ancestral communities in Iran and India,” states their website zororoots.org. Among the "non-negotiable” conditions that every youngster is expected to fulfill are: be a practicing Zarathushti; have at least one Zarathushti parent; be initiated into the faith.
Woven into the 7th RTR program was a jashan on the sea on New Year, January 1, when they set sail for three hours from the Gateway of India. When these photos were shared on social media, the two young priests who performed the jashan and a participant who had failed to cover his head were instantly chastised by the community vigilantes in Bombay. Wadia though maintained a jashan on the sea has been an activity of Sethna’s 18th West Bombay Scout Group for the last 30 years.
Among the youth whom Parsiana spoke to were siblings Kimiya and Mazda Shahzadi from North America. They had stayed back after the RTR program to attend the global conclave of the World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce in Poona in January. For Kimiya, the most memorable feature of the trip was attending the midnight boi at the Iranshah during their stay in Udvada. The youngsters were spellbound by two Ushahin gah bois at the Iranshah and one at the Navsari Atash Behram which lasted until nearly 2 a.m., clarified Wadia. For Mazda, the exposure to the food, dress, culture and history of Zoroastrians in India was an experience he enjoyed.