When Navsari based Khushru Deboo’s homestay was mentioned in an article on Parsi roots in the online news magazine The Print on September 25, 2023, there was an increase in enquiries about Deboo House in the town’s Agiary Street. "But we have been running the place since 2006,” Deboo told Parsiana. The facility is located in the heart of the South Gujarat town in a well maintained 125-year-old building very close to Jamshed Baug, the popular wedding-navjote venue. Open to all communities, Deboo mentioned that peak occupancy is from October to February when Parsis from all over visit the Atash Behram or families come to attend weddings. "Aapri ané Gujarati o ni wedding season saathé saathé chaalé (Wedding season for us and Gujaratis coincides),” the farmer-cum-"innkeeper” told Parsiana.
Above: interior and exterior views of home stay at Deboo House
The two-storied Deboo House has two air conditioned rooms with attached baths and toilets on each floor. Each room can house four people, Deboo stated, sharing images of huge four poster beds brought in from his farm in Ugat, 15 kms away. There is a smaller room on the ground floor for senior citizens who have difficulty negotiating the stairs. Tariff is Rs 2,000 per room and Rs 12,000 for the entire house per day, including taxes. Meals are provided, their cost varying according to what and how much is required.
"It was good in the beginning, when Navsari had few hotels… Now most communities have halls for marriages with accompanying accommodation like at the Dosibai Kotwal Orphanage (see "Utilizing resources,” Parsiana, March 7-20, 2023). "Pan saaru chhé (but it is all good),” he stated. Khushru, his wife Kashmira and daughter Afrin live in an adjacent wing in Deboo House. Another daughter, Sharon, is married.
Khushru may be contacted by email on khushru.deboo@yahoo.com or telephone at +91 9825458177.
F. J.