My main aim is that The Zoroastrian Treasure Trove (ZTT) game box reaches out to more Parsi children,” says 33-year-old Dadar resident Anahita Dhalla who aims to acquaint Zoroastrian children with their religion. Dhalla wondered how to "encourage Parsi children to learn about the religion in a fun way,” so she launched her start-up education brand Flash-O-Mania (FM), in June 2020. She has her own YouTube FM channel, Flash-O-Mania, with 327 subscribers to acquaint children with everyday learning. One video is about fish, another about the thumb.
An online art competition was held in April 2021 for children to make them aware about the need to wear a mask. Zoroastrian children from Bombay decorated masks with motifs that represented our culture and forwarded them digitally. The first three prize winners received the ZTT. These prizes, Dhalla believes led to "the circulation of the box increasing and people started purchasing them.”
The concept and execution of the box, started in April 2020 during the lockdown, was completed in six months. Initially, Dhalla says it was "a gher no gambhar (all in the family).” She notes things started taking definite shape when Ervad Cyrus Dastoor of Frohar Foundation got involved, sharing his ideas about what activities could be included and visualizing content. Principal of the Dadar Athornan Institute Ervad (Dr) Ramiyar Karanjia too, with his vast knowledge and experience, lent authenticity and erudition to this educational aid. Before the games or activities were finalized, they were vetted by a core group to ensure that instructions could be easily understood and followed. Dhalla reiterates that different stakeholder feedback was taken to ensure everyone’s perspective had been considered. The box was launched in January 2022.
The ZTT contains 10 games with eight themes and a total of 25 activities. The instructions in the box support different levels of learners and show how one activity can be used in several ways. It includes a mix of math, pre-math skills, English, listening, speaking, reading and writing activities. It is age appropriate, student friendly, with graded levels of understanding. "The ZTT is suitable for children who are four onward, up to the grandparents who also play the board game enthusiastically,” says the entrepreneur.
There is a three-piece jigsaw puzzle with various parts of a sudreh, a ses and a lagan/navjote nu patru (the festive meal). Another game is akin to the well-known snakes and ladders. It comprises "Zoro cards” each of which has a question. If you answer correctly, you cast the die and move on as per the instruction on each square. For the young ones there are flashcards with basic knowledge — identifying the divo, varasyaji, farohar, etc. The alphabet uses words associated with Zoroastrianism — A for agiary, B for Bahman mah to Z for Zend Avesta. The 101 names of the attributes of Ahura Mazda have to be matched, each name with its meaning. Positive reinforcement is provided in the form of wrist bands earned for correct answers.
A seven-year-old has created a glossary of his own alphabet, Dhalla narrated. He has A for Ahura Bakery, which is on the way to Udvada. Other children have created A for Amesha Spentas, etc. She encourages young people to experiment and research to broaden their horizons. Some teachers who conduct religious classes also use this as an enhanced teaching aid. Drawbacks and glitches during the project were overcome with speed and precision.
Palak Agarwal illustrated the different components and graphics of the game box. Vahbiz Dhalla (Anahita’s sister), Kashmira Pastakia, Rukshana Marfatia, Jehan Marfatia (the youngest member of the team who used the activities to provide feedback), Anuradha Sawant, Shreen Tavakkuli, Yezad Tavakkuli, Karl Behramfram, Armaity Dhalla (mother), and the late Dadi Gazdar were all part of the team that created the box.
Anahita has priced ZTT at Rs 1,000 per box which, she notes, is the cost of two pizzas! Initially, friends told her there would be no takers, but she says the games have already reached 170 children in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Delhi and West Bengal. Some charitable Zarathushtis have sponsored boxes for those unable to pay the amount.
Proud of her orthodox roots, Anahita believes she is reaping the benefits of the reputation of her maternal grandfather, the late Ervad (Dr) Minocher Karkhanawala who lectured mainly on the mystical aspects of the religion. A scientist at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, he had represented India on "Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy” at the Geneva Conference of the United Nations. The orthodox priest believed religion takes over where science stops. Armaity continues the legacy of lecturing on the religion. Vahbiz is also an educator at Shishuvan School for a decade, teaching history and civics to high school students.
A pre-school educator with 14 years’ experience, Anahita imparts teaching skills to would-be teachers at the Adhyayan Quality Education Foundation (AQEF). She has created a two-part module labelled Making Math Meaningful. Her courses cover everything from licensing, school fee structure, teachers’ training, writing lesson plans, holding demonstration lessons and creating a curriculum. She instills interest by using puppetry, rhyme songs to suit the lesson and story-telling to make mathematics meaningful. She states, "I am a storyteller at heart, a drama artist as I inherited the skills from my (late) dad (Ervad Shahrukh Dhalla) who was a stage play artiste.”
AQEF partners schools to upgrade teaching skills and train teachers. Assertiveness, self-awareness and self-reliance are part of the curriculum. Kavita Anand, executive director of AQEF, lauds Anahita’s contribution: "Anahita’s clear voice can speak, sing and bring out the sun. Her eyes can twinkle and make people do what they never thought themselves capable of. Her presence can move a roomful of tired teachers into a high energy game from which they emerge laughing and refreshed. We’ve tasked Anahita recently, to take on interns to make more ‘Anahitas’ since the demand for her skills is growing from the schools we work intensively with. I wonder what it would take for AI (artificial intelligence) to make another Anahita? Come on coders, surprise us!”